—Somewhere in Radiance City.
A grand hall filled Armin's eyes, easily equal to that ballroom in the Emerald Palace ― no, it might even be better than that. It seems the Korver family had gone all out in their preparations for this event.
As expected, the resources of an Earl-ranked family were of a completely different level than that of a Viscount family. Although to actually find a hall that could rival the ones in the Emerald Palace was something even Armin hadn't expected.
Saleo had sought his council beforehand as the one who had introduced the Darknar envoy to him on whether or not he should go all out and arrange the grandest of halls for the emissary or play it cool and use a regular ballroom.
Of course, he had chosen the former as he needed everyone distracted and not focus all their attention on the envoy else he risks lowering the success rate of his plans.
To compensate Armin for his help in organizing this event as it would no doubt become the grandest of balls ever thrown by the Korver family, Saleo had added his family's name on the invitation letters he sent out as a co-sponsor of the event.
This was an honor no doubt, but it was one Armin did not care for but had no choice but to accept. He hadn't wanted his family's name to go down with the Korver family given the events that were about to unfold here but he had no choice but to salvage the situation as it comes.
After all, nothing ever goes exactly as planned so he needed to be even more cautious than ever.
As the night went on, the guest began to arrive one after the other.
As they entered the hall, the first person everyone spoke to was Saleo. After that, they'd generally come to greet him. Although, they only did so reluctantly, after Saleo mentioned Armin's name as a sponsor. It seems, none of them really liked him due to his gloomy demeanor and his fiasco in the Emerald Palace hadn't changed that.
Well, that didn't bother Armin in the least, it was best if he was only considered a side character in this party, allowing him to move around more freely without all the eyes staring at him or random nobles trying to speak with him.
As Armin's eyes observed the room, he could see a few members of Numbers mixed flawlessly among the servers in the hall, a faint smile appeared on his face as he did his best to hide it.
Just as he moved his hand to cover his mouth, Saleo walked over to him and asked.
"Something wrong?"
"Uh? Oh no, it's nothing."
"Really... Well alright. It seems all the invited guests have arrived."
"Is that so? As expected of the Korver family, there are a lot of high-ranking noble families heads and representatives here."
"Oh please, they're all here to meet the Darknar family's representative, not me. I've always invited them to any dinner party I throw but this is the first time most of them are accepting my invite ever since I took over as the family's head. What a shameless bunch."
"Is that so? I did not expect even you to be going through something like that."
"I suppose I don't show it. But I have to thank you for introducing the envoy to me Armin, if it wasn't for you I don't think I would've had the courage to speak to her. I guess being as gloomy and solitary as you makes you immune to being intimidated by such a godly beauty. You must've built up a tolerance from the scornful looks the ladies always give you. Hahahaha..."
"..."
The smile on Armin's face froze for a second, he hadn't expected what had just come out of Saleo's mouth. Honestly, Armin didn't know what he was expecting, this was everyone's impression of him after all. He didn't know why he had expected Saleo to be any different.
"I mean come on, with your appearance and demeanor, no one had expected you to be the first to speak with the emissary. Who knew you had it in you? Good thing you brought her to me though, I was afraid you'd end up causing an international incident if you kept talking to her, that was smart of you. Ke ke ke..."
Taking a sip from his wine, Saleo continuously spoke without much regard for the words that came out of his mouth, he seemed to be a little tipsy but Armin didn't think this was a result of alcohol so he couldn't help but smile.
"Isn't it about time to escort the emissary in?"
"You're right. Since everyone's here, there's no need to keep them waiting any longer. How do I look? Never mind I always look good I'm sure the envoy would instantly fall for me."
"Right."
"Hahaha... what do I do if I unintentionally make the wife of a Demon Lord fall for me. I'm afraid my charisma may be too high for me to control. Oh well, we'll cross that bridge when we get to it."
Armin was completely at a loss for words as he just stared blankly at this man as he gulped his drink. He really hadn't expected something like that to come out of his mouth despite his reputation with the ladies.
Well, who could blame him, even Armin almost couldn't control himself after seeing the envoy once? He shouldn't have expected more from this buffoon, his only hope was that someone would not overhear this and implicate him in the downfall of the Korver family.
"Listen, Armin, I'm a demon of principles so I will not forget your help today as I become the new leading force of the Floato Region."
Saleo said seriously as he handed Armin his glass and walked away. The smile on Armin's face soon shifted to a rather sinister expression as he handed the glass back to the server before walking to a different server and whispering something to him and then walking away.
There was no longer anything left for him to say or do, all he needed was to sit back and relax as he watch everything unfold.
??????
Feeling completely satisfied with his current situation right now, Saleo walked through the corridor and headed for the room the Darknar family's representative was waiting in.
He hadn't expected things to so quickly fall into place for him. One moment he was being forced to become a knight for his elder brother or leave the family, the next he was being named the sole heir to the entire family's estate.
He couldn't believe it and spent the last few months in complete ecstasy, throwing one lavish party after another. However, it didn't seem like the other surrounding noble families liked him very much and most of them would not accept his invites so he was forced to associate himself with the odd and gloomy Viscount Heartrail.
However, it seems his kindness had paid off as he had been rewarded with this generous opportunity. Not only was the Korver family gaining a lot of attention from the other surrounding families, but in these few days alone they had been getting a lot of trade and partnership requests.
All this was because of his seemingly close acquaintanceship with the emissary giving as no one wanted to associate themselves directly with the worthless head of the Heartrail family.
Not to mention the emissary in question was incredibly beautiful. If she wasn't already wedded, Saleo would've probably proposed to her even though she was just a Dark elf.
Arriving at the room she was in, he knocked on the door and a maid came to receive him into the waiting room. She was one of the Royal maids assigned to the emissary by the Jaxith family.
Her maid's outfit was simple, unlike the usual design from the ones in the Emerald Palace, perhaps attempting to bled in with the maids of this mansion.
Saleo didn't shook the pointles thought off his mind as he was led into the room by the maid.
What he saw behind that door was a being whose beauty knew no equal.
She wore a silver-colored dress, a different one from their encounter in the Emerald Palace. Her neck was adorned by the most beautiful necklace he had ever laid eyes on. Her hair was styled to the side with an exquisite platinum hair ornament with intricate design.
How beautiful…
Saleo blushed despite himself. For a demon noble that believed there were no other races at the same level as demons, he could barely control the blood flow within his body.
"―Then, shall we?"
The emissary's words brought him back to his senses as he hurriedly replied:
"Yes. Please permit me to be your escort."
Saleo took a hand that was sheathed in a grey lace glove and helped Rain up.
A fragrance came from his side. What kind of perfume is this, it makes my heart feels so light. Although he subconsciously wanted to sniff at it, that would have been terribly rude.
While the two of them were already walking side by side toward the ballroom, proceeding in silence like this made the air seem heavy. Even though he didn't believe a dark elf should be on the same level as a Demon noble, to his surprise, he found himself being intimidated by the emissary.
He felt an overwhelming pressure just from walking by her side and found it difficult to open his mouth to spark a conversation.
"Are you alright? You look rather pale."
To his surprise, the one to have broken the silence first was the emissary, having noticed his strange behavior and trembling fingers.
"Oh no, please. I am fine. Thank you very much for your concerns."
At his words, Rain smiled tenderly, making Saleo's heartbeat speed up. He tried his best to maintain his composure as he decided to change the topic.
"I should thank you for accepting my invitation today, Lady Rain. Because of you, there are many nobles in the ballroom. All of them have gathered to see you."
"Hmm, really? Then I should thank you for this opportunity as well."
"No please, it's absolutely my pleasure."
Saleo panicked as he spoke. He didn't know what was wrong with him. This was the first time he had ever found it difficult to speak with someone of the opposite gender.
Yet, he now found himself unable to hold a conversation as his heartbeat raced uncontrollably. Before he knew it, they were already at the entrance of the door leading to the ballroom where everyone was waiting on his entrance with the emissary.
Saleo gulped.
He couldn't afford to waste this golden opportunity to walk into the spotlight as the rising star of the noble society. Hell, if things went well, he could even become the new leader of a noble faction with authority rivaling the Elders.
With that in mind, Saleo steeled himself and stretch out his elbow in an exaggerated motion that caught the attention of the emissary. He couldn't bring himself to look back at her as he closed his eyes and hoped for the best.
He could feel the eyes of the emissary turn to him for a moment before returning, his heart began to sink when she suddenly held onto his arms, allowing herself to be led into the hall by him.
The lights shown brighter as the doors swung open and all the eyes in the hall shifted in a single direction.
It was a sight to behold.
Seeing everyone's gaze shift to them as he led the emissary into the ballroom made Saleo feel he had done it. Everything was finally going his way and he could tell that his future was bright. This was his Grand Entrance into the world of the truly elites.
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