Chapter 85: Ball For Lionel (3)
Duke Arden and Princess Elara calmly looked toward the countless guests gathered before them. They have already arrived at the stage.
"First of all, thank you to everyone who attended tonight despite the short notice." Elara smiled elegantly before speaking. While talking, her voice sounded so graceful and clear enough to reach the entire ballroom easily.
"This celebration was prepared to commemorate my son’s acceptance into the Imperial Army’s training grounds."
As she spoke those words, several guests applauded immediately. Meanwhile, Lionel stood quietly beside his parents, maintaining his composed expression.
"The duke and duchess truly look proud," one noblewoman whispered softly.
"As his parents, we are grateful that all of you came here tonight to celebrate this important moment together with our family." Elara continued afterward.
She lightly turned her head toward Lionel afterward, and her expression softened visibly for a brief moment.
"We hope everyone enjoys the evening and welcome to our ball."
After she finished speaking, Duke Arden stepped forward next. However, unlike Elara’s graceful tone, Arden’s voice was calm and more direct.
"Thank you for honoring the Exelio family with your presence tonight."
"That is all."
"...."
For a brief second, silence filled the ballroom before several nobles awkwardly laughed at the short speech of Arden. Still, the guests showed a hand for it.
Clap! Clap! Clap!
The ballroom quickly became filled with elegant applause while the musicians began playing music once again.
And just like that, the ball officially began.
Not even a moment, nobles quickly began approaching the Duke and the Duchess one after another to greet them personally, and, of course, to introduce themselves.
"Congratulations, Your Highness."
"Duke Exelio, it has been a while. The Vern family greets you."
"Young Master Lionel, congratulations on entering the Imperial Army."
Many nobles smiled warmly while trying to build a favorable impression of the family. Several noblewomen also began subtly pushing their daughters closer toward Lionel’s direction, trying to see if their daughters could catch his attention.
Unfortunately for them, though, Lionel quietly escaped them the moment he found an opening. It wasn’t that he was uninterested in it. Of course, he’s a man. But with his age right now, it just seemed so inappropriate.
So, while his parents became occupied with entertaining the guests, Lionel slowly wandered toward the quieter side of the ballroom instead. Honestly, he was also more comfortable away from the center of attention.
As he walked through the ballroom calmly, servants immediately bowed respectfully whenever he passed by. But still, there were whisperers that followed him from different directions.
He thought he would have a quiet time on his own, but he forgot that peace inside noble gatherings never lasted very long. Not even a minute later, several young noble ladies slowly began approaching him.
"Young Master Lionel."
"It’s an honor to finally meet you."
One after another, girls around his age politely greeted him while trying to start conversations. Some smiled shyly while others tried to appear more elegant and composed to win his attention.
Lionel quietly looked at them before noticing something amusing. He noticed that several of their parents were secretly watching from not too far away.
With my sudden appearance in high society and with my sudden achievement, those nobles must be eyeing me. He sighed at that. Those nobles were insistent that they could push their daughters to approach him.
"It’s nice to meet you as well." Still, he maintained a calm expression while greeting them politely one by one. "Thank you for attending the ball tonight."
When the others saw that Lionel was actually interacting, more young women went to him. Some tried to strike up a conversation with him about the Imperial Army, while others who were introverted just simply introduced themselves to Lionel.
Lionel looked at the swamp of women around him. He was having a hard time talking because before he could even speak, another voice would sound out.
[Ding!]
In the middle of the chaos around, a familiar mechanical sound suddenly echoed inside his head.
What is this now? Lionel’s forehead creased at that.
[New Mission Alert!]
[Mission: Hold a good image until the end of the ball.]
[Reward: +1 Skill Point]
Lionel’s eyes widened slightly after reading the notification.
One skill point?
Just for acting properly tonight?
Reading that felt so tempting. After all, skill points were extremely valuable to him now, especially with Imperial Army training starting soon.
Every single point could help improve his abilities faster. And compared to difficult missions from before, this one sounded ridiculously easy.
Alright...
If all he needed to do was maintain a good image tonight, then he could absolutely do that.
With that mission in mind, his attitude toward the people around him became warmer. Instead of escaping the conversations, he began interacting with the guests more properly.
"Congratulations on entering the Imperial Army, Young Master Lionel." One young noblewoman smiled shyly while holding her fan close to her chest.
"I heard the evaluations this year were extremely difficult."
"Yeah," Lionel nodded lightly. "They were stricter than I expected."
"Then does that mean you performed very well?" another girl asked curiously.
Before Lionel could even answer properly, another voice interrupted.
"I heard you were personally called by one of the commanders afterward. Is that true?"
Several nearby nobles immediately looked toward him after hearing that question.
"I simply received instructions regarding my assigned training group, my lady," Lionel answered with a small smile on his face.
When he smiled, everyone’s eyes widened. A glimmer of sparkle appeared in their eyes as they got mesmerized by the looks of Lionel. He was truly his parents’ son.
"So did you get placed in a high group?"
"I did," Lionel nodded when another one asked that.
"To be placed in a higher group immediately..." another muttered quietly. "That’s amazing!"
"It simply means I still have much more to learn." Lionel smiled at them again.
The nobles around him visibly looked pleased at the way he talked. Some of them expected Lionel to act arrogantly tonight because of the celebration. But instead, he remained surprisingly polite toward everyone.
"He’s not only talented, but humble too..."
"He truly resembles Duke Arden."
"No, I think his temperament resembles Her Highness more."
Lionel continued answering questions calmly despite the growing crowd around him.
"What weapon are you planning to specialize in during training?" one young nobleman asked curiously. He’s not only surrounded by girls now, but also men of his age.
"For now, I’m still deciding," Lionel answered honestly. "Though I’ve trained more with the sword."
"I heard Imperial Army training is extremely harsh."
"I heard of that, too, but I can only train hard."
Several nobles nearby looked impressed after hearing that answer. However, just then—
"The Royal Family has arrived!" The loud announcement instantly echoed throughout the ballroom.
In an instant, nearly every noble inside the hall froze before immediately turning toward the grand entrance doors. Even the nobles surrounding Lionel quickly stepped aside.
"The Crown Prince is actually here?"
"And the Crown Princess too?"
"My goodness..."
A wave of whispers about the arrival of the royal family quickly spread throughout the ballroom once again.
They really came, Lionel thought.
