As Marcus made the ring he had poured his soul into making reappear on Mrazivy’s finger she nearly began crying seeing it again after so long.
It had pretty much always been with her other than when Marcus absolutely needed his full power, but she had to keep it hidden until this moment when they would publicly announce their relationship.
Now however, she could wear it proudly and she was very happy to finally be able to.
Still, she held back her tears as it would be unbecoming over her to mess up her makeup and have puffy eyes when appearing in front of so many people.
“Shall we go out and make everyone else jealous with how great of a couple we are?” Marcus said with a mischievous grin to give Mrazivy some comfort.
She nodded her head with a large smile on her face, and a few moments later they walked out into the hall where everyone was waiting.
The second they were in sight thousands of eyes were turned towards them from the people that were in attendance.
Naturally they were the center of attention as the stars of tonight’s festivities, and everyone was staring right at them.
Some of the looks were friendly from those that knew them well, while others were curious as this was their first time seeing either Marcus or Mrazivy.
Many looked at them with greed in their eyes wanting to foster closer relations with the two of them who could be powerful allies in promoting business or for their martial prowess..
Of course, there were also a few radiating hostility. Either form jealousy, or simply for their dislike of one of the two.
Nevertheless, neither of them let this bother them, and they gave a few waves to those that they passed as they made their way towards the large stage at the front of the room where a few others were already waiting.
Sitting up on the stage towards the front and to the left of the seat meant for Marcus was Kalt.
As the king could not be here today, he was taking up that role himself as the deputy king and as Mrazivy’s uncle.
On the other side was Frostine whose seat was right next to Mrazivy. As her full-blooded sister and the future ruler of the kingdom, it was important that she be here to show her approval and bless Marcus’ and Mrazivy’s engagement.
Also sitting on the stage a bit further away were some of Mrazivy’s siblings who were also in Frostine’s camp. Here to show their support not only for Marcus and Mrazivy, but also the future monarch.
Among them was James and he gave them both quite the large smile as they approached.
Unfortunately, while the stage was filled with Mrazivy’s family, Marcus unfortunately had no one that could be up there to support him.
Nevertheless, the one member of his family in this world was in attendance. And even though she was seated fairly far in the back, Marcus was able to make eye contact with Lilia who was sitting with Alaric and his family.
The two of them were able to exchange brief smiles from across the hall, and just seeing Lilia sitting there helped to wash away any lingering sorrow Marcus felt for his original family beign unbale to be here.
Once they had finished their walk to the stage they were promptly brought to their seats of honor and sat down right in the middle.
Immediately after Kalt got up and addressed the crown of people, before he began giving a rehearsed speech about how the royal family was happy with the Marcus’s and Mrazivy’s union.
Speeches of similar manner were then said by Frostine, James, and a couple of Mrazivy’s other siblings, until it was finally their turns to move to the front of the stage.
They both announced that they were officially engaged and extremely happy to be so and looked forward to everyone’s blessings and support.
Many people were actually surprised by the genuine looks of happiness that both of them were unable to hide.
It was quite often that marriages with royalty were purely political, and it was rare to see a couple that seemed to truly love each other.
Yet this shock was quickly overtaken by another, as some gasped seeing the ring on Mrazivy’s finger.
For those in the know they immediately recognized it as amethros, which was not something that was ever used liberally enough to be made into an engagement ring.
But there it was on Mrazivy’s finger, and the buzz in the room soon became incredibly loud even though everyone was speaking in a whisper.
“I cannot believe that the royal family had something like that commissioned. It seems preposterous to use such a rare metal for just an engagement ring.”
“Who do you think made it? I have heard that the head royal forgmaster has gotten too old to do his job anymore, so it must have been Thabon.”
“No, it could have been Thabon’s apprentice Irene. I have heard that she is a prodigy and is a friend of Princess Mrazivy. That could have been her work.”
“I doubt it was Irene Geist. I heard she is too busy with making Princess Frostine’s crown under the king’s orders to even come to this engagement party. That is why her little siter came instead.”
“Oh, but maybe she made the ring sometime ago and that was a test the crown put before her before giving her the honor of making her highness Frostine’s crown.”
“It also could have been an outside forgemaster for all we know. Thabon only makes items for those he likes, and we do not know if his apprentice Irene is even capable of such craftmanship, prodigy or not.”
Conversations of this type echoed throughout the venue as hundreds of hushed voiced speculated about the origins of the amethros ring on Mrazivy’s finger.
Though before these conversations turned into an uproar, Kalt moved to the front of the stage again and used a magic tool on his person to create a loud ringing noise that sounded throughout the room.
In just an instant everyone got quiet and looked towards the deputy king, knowing what this sound meant.
“Now that the new couple has been introduced it is time for the days meal to begin, please stay in your assigned seats during this time and enjoy the royal family’s hospitality.” Kalt said.
Not long after Marcus, Mrazivy, and the other members of the royal family got down from the stage and took their seats at the largest and most opulent table at the head of the hall.
They were the first to receive their food which started with an amber soup that Marcus recognized but had not set seen in this world.
‘Oh, it is consommé! I did not think I would see it here. I have tired making it before, but I honestly do not know the recipe. I wonder if I can get the recipe from the castle’s chefs.’ Marcus thought as he at the soup with interest.
After eating the soup, the next course of a salad was brough out, and then following that was a dish that focused on fish, before the main course was brought out.
It was an especially elaborate dish using puff cow, one of the staple high end ingredients as its focus and was accompanied by natural treasures that all tasted very rich.
Finally, was dessert which had many options to choose from.
For Marcus he chose a robust cake that had a red fruit that was slightly sour that had been soaked in wine. While Mrazivy had a piece that had a number of brighter colored fruits on top and a layer of powdered sugar sprinkled around it.
‘This is certainly delicious. But it makes me feel as if I have been letting my cooking slip by. I may have a high skill level, but my knowledge is still lacking. Maybe for a couple of months I need to come to the castle’s kitchen and learn from Koki.’
Once the meal was finished up, the severs of the party began taking the items off of the table as they prepared to clear out the room.
It was now to the party of the party where everyone would mingle around with each other, and when those that wished to would be able to dance.
There were also a number of private meeting rooms set up outside the main hall for those that wanted to do business away from prying eyes.
However, before anything else were to start the two stars of todays party had to start off with a dance.
“This certainly takes me back. I believe the last time that we danced in front of a large crown was in the viceroy’s castle in Lathlain.” Marcus said as he took Mrazivy out to the center of the dance floor.
“Yes, that would have been. You certainly took me by surprise when you suddenly showed up like that, and it caused me quite the headache afterwards. I also do believe that the elusive Cheshire is still a wanted man. Perhaps I should say something and collect the reward.” Mrazivy said with a smirk.
The two of them were soon in the center of the hall and beautiful music began to play as they prepared to dance.
They had practiced a number of times for this and both of their dancing skills had actually made it to level six, making them some of the best in the kingdom.
Yet before they could begin a loud crash could be heard in the room as a man threw over one of the tables set along the walls.
“That is enough of this farce! I will not have my bride stolen and flaunted around in front of me by this commoner! All of you will pay for your disrespect of the house of Krenston!
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