Chapter 126: Long Time No See! (45)

As the banquet progressed, the topics of conversation among the nobles kept shifting.

And the one mentioned most was the same question—who was the most dazzling presence in the Frost Crystal Kingdom right now?

To this, every noble would give the same answer—

Princess Feliya!

She was universally acknowledged as the most beautiful woman in the entire Frost Crystal Kingdom.

In the tales of the world, she had skin fair as snow, exquisite features like artworks carefully sculpted by the finest craftsmen, and eyes that always radiated intelligence and gentleness.

A head of pale golden long hair, dazzling as sunlight—when she walked through the castle corridors, that hair was like a flowing golden waterfall, radiating a captivating sheen.

At the moment of her birth, a bright meteor streaked across the sky, and the court astrologers prophesied that this girl would bring an extraordinary destiny to the kingdom.

And from a young age, she displayed intelligence far beyond that of ordinary people.

Court etiquette, history, philosophy, art… in every aspect, she was exceptionally accomplished.

Moreover, like her mother, Feliya possessed extremely high talent in magic, and four years ago had already become the youngest mid-tier mage in the history of the Frost Crystal royal house.

Of course, part of the reason was that Feliya was the first descendant of the Frost Crystal royal house to possess spellcasting ability…

The Frost Crystal royal house had always produced powerful warriors, with every generation boasting legendary figures who claimed they could slay dragons, and never had any talent for magic.

And in terms of character, she was also beyond reproach, forever the very embodiment of kindness and gentleness.

No matter how one looked at it, this was a perfect princess.

Even the noble ladies, usually so adept at envy, expressed admiration for her, wishing they could become such a person themselves.

Feliya was, moreover, the dream lover in the hearts of countless young nobles of the Frost Crystal Kingdom.

Only, for certain reasons, in the past they had never dared imagine that they could become the object of her favor.

After bringing up this point, they began to discuss a certain person—a young man who had once been very famous in Wang Cheng.

Because there had once been such a young man, long regarded as Princess Feliya's future husband; the two were deeply affectionate, leaving no room for outsiders to come between them.

That young man who had once become famous throughout Frost Crystal for his extremely high artistic attainments, becoming the moonlight in the hearts of countless noble ladies, but later disappeared because of some scandal—the second son of the Silver Wing Duke—【Bai Ge】

For the Silver Wing family, which had always produced powerful knights, a weak offspring was the greatest shame.

Yet the current Silver Wing Grand Duke, Adrian Albert, a legendary strongman as fierce as a male eagle with sharp, piercing eyes, had in the end fathered a weak heir as pure and gentle as a white dove.

That alone was a disgrace, let alone the fact that now that young man had taken the initiative to break his own wings and run off to a monastery to become an ascetic monk.

This caused that already-mocking title to be further preceded by a contemptuous descriptor—【The Dove with Broken Wings】

Since that incident occurred, more than three months had passed, and everyone had already seen clearly—the Bai Ge had flown away and would never return.

No matter how intimate his relationship with the future princess had once been, that was already in the past.

And this caused some fellows who had originally given up hope to revive, with hope reigniting in their hearts, feeling they might as well give it a try.

This was also why the princess's coming-of-age ball had attracted so many young nobles.

They ought not to have appeared at such an occasion, yet each and every one desperately pleaded with their own elders, hoping to be brought along.

What if she takes a liking to me?

Love at first sight isn't impossible!

If that really won't work, getting familiar wouldn't be bad either.

Only, sometimes expectations are plump, but reality is bony.

Although this was a ball right now, not a single young noble had the courage to walk up to her, let alone invite her into the dance floor for a dance.

When it truly came to facing Feliya, they suddenly lost their courage, each one halting in place, feeling only that they were inferior and unworthy.

The king, due to poor health, had not attended this important ball, and Feliya's mother was also absent, occupied with critical research for the Witch's Assembly.

Thus, from the very start of the banquet, after smiling and chatting with a few elders, Feliya had remained alone, quietly standing at one side of the dance floor.

Feliya quietly watched the men and women in the dance floor, watching them spin, embrace, nuzzle intimately cheek to cheek, the corners of her lips curving slightly, but not a ripple in her eyes.

No one noticed how cold, how lofty and remote Feliya's gaze was when she looked at them—like she was looking at a group of lifeless dolls.

"…"

Normally, a ball would usually begin in the evening and last until past midnight, but Feliya did not like that pace, so she had moved the ball's time up to dinnertime.

And now the sky was darkening, the dance music had already played through most of its pieces, and the ball was about to reach its end.

"This boring game is finally about to end…"

Feliya thought, shaking her head slightly, continuing to maintain her elegant posture—also like a doll.

Suddenly, some unusual commotion arose among the banquet, breaking the elegant atmosphere.

"Who, so late and still… what?"

"Wait, that is!?"

At first, Feliya paid no heed.

Commotion and accidents were common at banquets and would soon fade away.

Eccentric behavior at a ball was despised by others, because it was not elegant enough, not decorous enough, not in keeping with a noble's bearing.

But this time was different; this commotion did not shrink under the gaze of others, but instead gradually spread, growing larger and larger!

"…Hm?"

Feliya finally sensed something was off, turned her head with a flicker of awareness, and looked toward the source of the commotion—the banquet hall's great doors.

!!!

In an instant, Feliya's calm eyes widened slightly.

She saw a striking flash of snow-white.

There, a figure appeared who ought not to have been here.

A tall, upright youth with an athletic build, yet seemingly brimming with a gentle and elegant air, with white hair.

"…Bai Ge!?"

"Herbert!?"

"Isn't he at the monastery?"

"He…"

The peace of the ball was utterly shattered, and the entire hall was filled with startled, suspicious murmurs.

They watched the figure that had suddenly appeared in astonishment, some even in horror.

Why had he come back?

Why come back at this moment?

And at that moment, amid the noisy commotion, the boy and the girl looked toward each other.

In the end…

Their eyes met.

The white dove who had broken its own wings gazed at the beautiful girl surrounded by the crowd, the corners of its mouth curving upward in spite of itself.

"Firia."

Herbert looked at the "dear friend" he had not seen in a long time and could not help murmuring.

"It really has been a long time…"

(End of this chapter)