Chapter 988 Oh My, The Womanizer Is Here
Valerie, Ali, and Ari arrived at the Great Hall of the Elven Royal Palace, escorted by Lady Faustina and the other Saints of the Dragon Race.
Disguised with a plain-looking face, the most attention Valerie received from the High Elves and other guests were mere passing glances.
On the contrary, Ali and Ari, her handmaidens, were more eye-catching than her, earning a few favorable looks from Elven Nobles.
The two handmaidens were true beauties in their own right. They were simply not fond of dressing up and making themselves look too presentable since they always accompanied Valerie whenever she snuck out of the Royal Palace.
Valerie scanned the surroundings and finally saw Aur, whom she hadn't seen for the entire day, sitting with the envoys of the Crystal Palace.
The handsome Dragon Prince looked exceptionally breathtaking tonight, which made some of the single ladies in the event hall look at him with flushed faces.
"I am honored to have you here, Lady Faustina," King Kazimir said with a smile, and then he subtly moved his gaze to Valerie, giving the young lady a nod of acknowledgment.
Lady Faustina had already talked with the Elf King, requesting for him to not pay too much attention to Valerie because she didn't want their Princess to be in the limelight.
Because of this, the Elf King didn't call her out and simply nodded his head to greet her.
Valerie smiled and also nodded her head in greeting. Ali and Ari did the same as they stuck close to their ward.
After escorting them to their table, the Elf King greeted the other guests, especially those who had accompanied them back from the battle in the Divine Empire.
The Dragon Princess looked at her surroundings, hoping to see Lux, but the Half-Elf was nowhere to be seen.
After giving them the clothes that they would wear to the party, the beautiful Elf kidnapped her Grand Disciple and dragged him away.
She said that she had something special prepared for Lux, so they would be a little late to the party.
"I'll get us something to eat," Ali said before standing up to head to the buffet area where special Elven delicacies were laid out for everyone.
Faint music reverberated in the surroundings as the Elf Performers played their musical instruments to liven up the atmosphere.
When the performance ended, the Elven King made a short speech and thanked everyone for coming to the party to celebrate Hereswith's return to the Elven Kingdom.
A minute after the Elf King's speech ended, all the lights in the event hall suddenly dimmed, which caught everyone by surprise.
Just as the High King was thinking what could have possibly gone wrong, a spotlight shone towards the top of the staircase.
The moment everyone's gaze landed on the two individuals that were on top of the staircase, they felt as if their breaths had been taken away by such a beautiful sight.
Hereswith, who was wearing a white and green ball gown that bared her smooth shoulders and back and highlighted her voluptuous chest, made all the men look at her like wolves who had found their prized prey.
Standing beside her was a handsome, red-headed Half-Elf, who was wearing white princely clothes. A faint smile could be seen on his face, and his eyes, which were as green as the leaves of the world tree, captivated the ladies who saw them.
Valerie couldn't help but blush due to how handsome Lux was.
Even Aur, whom many Elf ladies considered to be extremely good-looking, couldn't keep his gaze off the Half-Elf, whom he had been avoiding since their encounter in the hot spring.
Hereswith placed her hand on Lux's bicep as the two walked down the stairs with steady steps.
They were like Celestials descending from the Heavens in order to join the mortals in their celebration.
The Elf King and Elf Queen looked at their daughter with love and affection. They hadn't seen Hereswith for many years, and both of them wanted nothing more than to hold her tight.
However, they reined in their emotions in order to keep the dignity of the Elven Royal Family.
They could embrace each other behind closed doors, but it would not be appropriate in the presence of everyone, who had traveled from all corners of the Elven Kingdom just to see the return of their Elf Princess, whom many loved… and hated, at the same time.
When they arrived at the base of the stairs, the two continued to walk until both of them were at the center of the dance floor.
Lux bowed to his Grandmaster before placing his right hand on her waist and holding her hand with his left.
A melodious music played, and the two began to dance, mesmerizing the crowd.
Hereswith wanted everyone to see her Grand Disciple, so she purposely made this arrangement to introduce him to everyone.
She knew about the discrimination directed against Half-Elves, so she decided to send everyone a subtle message that anyone who dared to badmouth or harm her Grand Disciple would face her wrath.
When the music ended, the two beautiful people bowed to each other, and a resounding applause reverberated inside the event hall.
Lux then held his Grand Master's hand and led her towards her parents.
Before the Elf King could even praise Lux and Hereswith for that wonderful dance, the Half-Elf spoke something that made the extremely beautiful Elf giggle.
"Father, Mother, thank you for giving birth to Hereswith," Lux said in a monotonous tone. "I will make her happy for the rest of her life."
King Kazimir and Queen Eurydice blinked once, then twice, as they looked at the handsome Half-Elf, who seemed to have just asked them for their daughter's hand in marriage.
After regaining his composure, the High King sighed and looked at his daughter with a fed-up expression on his face.
"Hereswith, you never change," King Kazimir stated. "You still make things difficult for people. Can't you show mercy even to your own Grand Disciple?"
Lux, who had just followed along with what Hereswith had instructed him to do earlier, looked at his Grand Master with a calm expression on his face.
"Grand Master, it seems that your prank didn't work," Lux said. "Can I go now?"
Hereswith affectionately patted Lux's head and smiled. "Okay. But don't leave the party and go off somewhere. You promised me."
Lux sighed before reluctantly nodding his head.
"Go, make sure to treat ladies well," Hereswith smiled. "Don't worry. I will make you take responsibility no matter what."
"Grand Master… what are you talking about?"
"Nothing."
Hereswith giggled before she lightly pushed Lux's back towards Valerie's table.
Knowing what his Grand Master was trying to do, the Half-Elf obliged and made his way towards the plain-looking lady, who had breathed a sigh of relief after hearing that Lux's earlier declaration was only a prank forced on him by Hereswith.
Valerie didn't know why, but she felt a sense of anxiety when she thought that Hereswith wanted to marry Lux.
It was as if something very important was being stolen from her, and she didn't like it one bit.
"Oh my, the womanizer is here," Ali said in a teasing tone as soon as Lux sat beside Valerie.
"Hide the ladies, hide the little girls," Ari commented. "This Half-Elf will attack anyone wearing a skirt."
Lux snorted. "Since both of you are wearing a skirt, does that mean that I will attack you as well?"
Ali and Ari exchanged a glance before looking at Lux in disdain.
"Do you even have the guts to do it?" Ali chuckled. "Even if I strip naked in front of you, I doubt that you'll be manly enough to make a move."
"Heh~ how about we put it to the test later?" Ari smiled sweetly. "Bet you a million gold coins that you won't even last five minutes after looking at my drop-dead gorgeous body."
Lux rolled his eyes at the two beautiful ladies taunting him. He knew that Ali and Ari were just joking, so he didn't take their words to heart.
Instead, he looked at Valerie and smiled.
"That dress looks good on you Valerie," Lux said. "You should wear beautiful dresses more often."
"Uwah… what a lame pickup line." Ali shook her head. "3 points."
"I'll give him 4 points for the effort," Ari remarked. "At least he complimented Valerie, so he gets one extra point."
Valerie, who was very happy after being praised by Lux, glared at her two handmaidens, who immediately averted their gaze and shut their mouths.
Aur looked at this scene from his table with a frown. He also wanted to sit down with his friends and chat with them.
But every time he was about to do it, he would remember the scene of what happened in the hot spring, making him unable to look at the Half-Elf in the eyes.
This made him very conflicted, so he simply resigned his fate to stay at their table and watch Lux and Valerie from afar.
Piccoro, who noticed his reaction, only clicked his tongue before glancing in the Half-Elf's direction.
He already had a feeling that Aur was starting to develop feelings for Lux.
But since their Steward wasn't doing anything, he decided not to intervene and let nature take its course.
This 𝓬ontent is taken from fre𝒆webnove(l).𝐜𝐨𝗺