𝐈𝐧𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐚 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫

3.3 || Honesty's Banquet

It was the first that Seungmin attended such a crowded, formal party. All the banquet invitees were people Seungmin recognized from the log of nobles in the Imperial library that he read the first week he was transmigrated, but to see them in real life was a different story—drawings of people come to life, in front of him, breathing like he was and living their own life, it was a strange sight.

Nevertheless, he didn't care about any of them, his eyes instead glazing from one face to another to find the Holy Princess. Because seats were not assigned at the round tables at the sides (to keep the dance floor open for people to enjoy), the Second Prince was free to sit anywhere, and sitting close enough to the Holy Princess to best view when she showcased her magic was of priority. Of course, he was aware that the tables were not truly unassigned, like how school buses in his own world had unspoken rules of where people sat, but he was sure that as a Second Prince, it would be fine to break it once.

The crystal chandeliers hovered over the center of the ballroom. With music playing from a live band in the corner, by the front of the stage where the Emperor was to give a speech, there were people dancing. The colorful fabrics of the dresses fluttered as the dancers floated around the floor.

Seungmin adjusted the golden brooch by his chest, sighing. He was already worn from the numerous nobles who talked to him as soon as he entered, all asking different things such as Cambriage, prospective fiancés, investments in the umbrella, etc. A server walking around with a metal plate asked if he and Yeong-Su wanted a refreshment. The Prince took one gratefully.

"Your Highness..."

"I'm fine," Seungmin interrupted Yeong-Su, who looked at him with worried eyes. After Sophia had told Yeong-Su about how much Prince Sion's rumors had evolved, incorporating old rumors of his attitude problems and his sudden change being a hoax, and how nobles showed hostility in ways he could never imagine, Yeong-Su was thoroughly anxious. Only fifteen minutes had passed, and the knight's palms were sweaty. Seungmin could only suppose that he himself wasn't this anxious at his first banquet because he was focused more on the Saintess than anything else.

But after some more scanning of the hall, Seungmin realized that she hadn't even yet arrived. He tried to find some other familiar people, and to his disappointment, all the younger Imperial siblings were sticking close by their mothers and other nobles.

"It seems the Princesses have many friends," Yeong-Su noted.

There were other little girls talking with Carlene and Christine a short distance away from the boys. Seungmin nodded his head and went back to sipping the juice given to him. To his knowledge, every Imperial family member is given at least one playmate starting as early as age five, and so to have friends to socialize with at parties like these was the norm. It was Seungmin that was strange for being alone after telling the previous Sion's playmates to stop talking to him, but they were obnoxious and talked only about girls and swords, so he didn't regret his decision, even if that meant he stood alone in the banquet hall.

From the corner of his vision, he saw the open balcony and decided to go there; it was another unspoken rule that the balconies were meant for those who needed fresh air, a break from socialization, and thus people couldn't enter without the person's permission.

Seungmin casually opened the glass door and unhooked the curtain, letting it dust the floors with its heavy, velvet-red cloth. The brightness from the room disappeared, and soon only the moon lit Seungmin's view of the Swan garden below.

Conjuring magic softly under his breath, Yeong-Su pointed his fingers at the lanterns hanging beside the balcony entrance. Small flames flickered inside, and the black-haired boy lowered his arm.