Chapter 86: The Crown Prince and Princess
The moment the grand ballroom doors slowly opened, the atmosphere inside the hall instantly changed. After a second, the Crown Prince and Crown Princess of the empire entered the ballroom together.
With it, a collective gasp quietly spread among the guests.
The Crown Prince, his uncle, looked exactly as Lionel remembered. He was tall and composed, but he looked frail. Crown Prince Cedric was wearing dark silver formal attire that was decorated with royal embroidery stitched carefully using gold threads.
His kind eyes calmly swept across the ballroom, instantly making several nobles lower their gazes out of respect to the man. He may be frail, but his character and brain were something respected in the kingdom.
Next to him was the Crown Princess.
Unlike Elara’s dazzling and elegant beauty, the Crown Princess Victorina looked more bold. Her black hair swept on her shoulders, and she was wearing a deep crimson gown adorned with jewels.
"The imperial family truly came..."
"This ball has become even more important now."
"As expected of Her Highness Elara..."
However, Lionel didn’t see his cousin arriving.
He must have skipped the ball, he whispered to himself.
Once the two important figures arrived in the middle of the room, everyone bowed their heads altogether, except for Elara and Arden, who just lowered their heads slightly.
"Greetings to their Imperial Highnesses!"
All the nobles muttered at the same time.
Elara’s smile widened beautifully after seeing her younger brother arrive. Contrary to everyone’s belief, the two had a good relationship with one another.
"Cedric," she greeted warmly after stepping forward.
"Sister," Cedric lightly nodded toward her before his kind gaze looked for Lionel. When he saw him a few meters away, he gestured forward for him to come.
"So this is my nephew who has been causing quite a commotion lately." Cedric’s voice was filled with lightness.
Lionel immediately stepped forward at that. He straightened himself before bowing respectfully.
"Greetings, Your Imperial Highness."
Cedric chuckled at the formality of it.
"There’s no need to be that stiff around me, Lionel," he said kindly. "This is supposed to be a celebration tonight, isn’t it?"
"Yes, Your Imperial Highness." Lionel straightened himself afterward.
Cedric looked at him for a few more seconds before smiling faintly.
"I heard quite a lot about you recently." His tone remained gentle and calm. "Especially from your mother."
"Your mother has been sending me letters, bragging nonstop these past few days," Arden muttered from the side.
"That is because my son deserves it," Elara immediately replied proudly.
Cedric laughed softly at the interaction between the two before turning back toward Lionel.
"Entering the Imperial Army at your age is not easy," he commented honestly. "You must have worked hard for it."
"Thank you, Your Imperial Highness."
"And I also want to thank you for saving my son."
When Cedric mentioned it, Lionel’s eyes immediately went to him.
"That was no big deal, your highness. Cassian is my cousin."
The Crown Prince looked genuinely pleased with Lionel’s attitude tonight. His answers were calm, respectful, and properly measured.
However, besides Cedric, the Crown Princess, Victorina silently observed Lionel from the very beginning.
Unlike Cedric’s warm demeanor, Victorina’s presence felt much colder.
Even while standing beside Cedric elegantly, there was a natural sharpness around her that made people cautious around her instinctively. Her brown eyes slowly examined Lionel from head to toe before she finally spoke.
"Congratulations, Lionel." She greeted him.
Lionel immediately turned toward her respectfully before bowing once more.
"Greetings, Your Imperial Highness."
Victorina merely nodded lightly in response to that. The moment Lionel met her eyes briefly, he could immediately feel the coldness hidden behind them.
It was not open hostility, but he knew the woman didn’t feel any warmth toward him at all.
Even in his previous life, his relationship with the Crown Princess had never been particularly nice.
No... to be more exact, he barely remembered speaking with her at all.
Victorina rarely attended gatherings in person unless necessary, and whenever they met during imperial events, their interactions remained limited to simple greetings.
Unlike his uncle, who naturally treated Lionel kindly, Victorina always maintained a polite but distant attitude toward the Exelio family, especially toward Lionel.
For some reason, Lionel always felt that the woman disliked him slightly. Though back then, he had been too immature to care enough to understand why.
Now that he thought about it carefully, Lionel realized something else. Victorina had always been someone difficult to read.
Even now, while everyone around them smiled warmly during the celebration, her expression barely changed at all.
"Still," Victorina finally spoke again while looking at Lionel calmly, "being accepted into the Imperial Army at your age is worthy of praise."
Lionel bowed his head lightly.
"Thank you, Your Imperial Highness."
Though her words sounded like praise, Lionel knew it was more of formality than ever.
Besides Victorina, Cedric seemed to notice the slightly tense atmosphere immediately. He simply smiled helplessly before patting Lionel lightly on the shoulder.
"Go enjoy the ball, young man. You may go back with your peers," Cedric said with a faint smile.
"Yes, Your Imperial Highness." Lionel nodded lightly afterward.
He respectfully bowed once more toward Cedric and Victorina before turning toward his parents as well.
"Mother. Father."
Elara smiled warmly at him immediately.
"Enjoy yourself tonight, dear."
"Don’t cause trouble," Arden added calmly from the side.
Lionel almost wanted to laugh after hearing that. Still, he maintained his composed expression and nodded lightly.
"Yes, father."
With that, Lionel finally stepped back properly to leave the group. However, just as he turned around completely, his movements paused for a moment.
From the corner of his eyes, he noticed Victorina.
The Crown Princess looked the same, but the moment Cedric changed his attention toward Elara and Arden, Victorina quietly rolled her eyes before looking away and talking to others.
It was subtle that no one else around them seemed to notice it at all, but Lionel saw it clearly.
"...."
For a brief second, Lionel became stunned internally.
That reaction alone practically confirmed what he had always quietly suspected.
Victorina truly disliked him.
