It did not even take a day for Ragus to receive an answer to the letter he sent to the elders. Normally they wouldn't allow just anyone to attend the party since the face of the tower was at stake but this time, they gave a positive response. Together with Archmage Aviel Strome, they will be going with Ezio to the party.
After he got the response, Ragus wrote another letter and sent it to the academy. Since they were allowed to go, he needed to prepare appropriate clothes for Ezio to wear to the party. There was much to prepare so he can't afford to rest for the day.
Headmaster Aurellius received the letter so he called Ezio to his office. The young man came to the office with his usual straight face and waited for the headmaster to speak. He thought that he did something wrong again but when the man handed him the letter, he was slightly surprised.
"It is a letter from Archmage Ragus since it is personal, we did not open nor inspect it." Ezio took the letter and opened it in front of the master.
He silently read the contents of the letter and a grin appeared on his face after he saw what was written on it. "My request was granted. Thank you, headmaster, for doing this." He gave the man a nod before he left.
At the same time the Ginehart manor was also busy because of the clothing that they would need for the party. There were several seamstresses who were getting their measurements and letting them choose what outfit to wear. Throughout the day, Cygnus was wearing a long face because he was not used to this kind of treatment. He was used to the butler choosing his clothes.
After everything was finalized and he was able to choose the right clothes with the help of Mr. C, he immediately slipped away and left the manor. He would rather stay at the bakery than to deal with so many people in the manor. Aside from the clothes, they were also going to choose a gift for the royal family.
"What a hassle," Cygnus mumbled to himself. This was one of the reasons why he only wanted to live a simple life.
"By the way, master, I happened to hear that the major has received a draft of the list of the guests that will be attending the ball. Are you interested to know who will be present?" Mr. C informed him after he remembered that he saw the major accepting a document from one of the royal guards.
"Is that so, I'll let that be a surprise for now," Cygnus answered. "I'm only interested in the people from the magic tower because I have a big plan for them."
Mr. C did not comment on that and let his master be. Once they reached the shop, they saw that it was busy as it was this past few days. Even his shop in the slums was slowly doing well because of the free bread they distributed there and also due to the low prices they offer. Soon he will be opening the shop for those who want to dine in there.
One of the workers they hired to oversee the bakeshop came to them with a wide smile on her face. She enthusiastically greeted the owner of the shop and led him to the office upstairs where she handed him a letter bearing the royal seal.
Cygnus raised a brow as he took the letter, he opened it and the more he read the contents of the letter, the wider his grin became. "What a great opportunity!" He exclaimed as he threw the letter on his table. "I'll make sure to let them taste the tastiest bread ever."
Mr. C picked up the letter and saw that the palace had commissioned their bakery to bake snacks for the upcoming ball. In total, there were several bakeries that got commissioned and even though they were only known, they were still chosen. "Should we prepare for this order then?" Cygnus nodded so without any further instructions, Mr. C became busy that day as he prepared all the ingredients they would be needing.
Finally, the day of the ball came and the whole city of Lamier was in joyous celebration. The streets were buzzing with activities ang guests from the four dukedoms started to pour in. Everywhere was full of life as the festivities started. Banners of different colors were hung up above the streets to add more color to the occasion.
Carriage after carriage filled the stone paved streets as they lined up to enter the palace. People watched and pointed with smiles on their faces once they saw the insignia on the doors of those carriage. Even the children were fascinated with the fancy looking carriage that was passing.
Loud whispers of admiration could be heard once the carriage that passed by belonged to the four great dukedoms or from the house of the four great generals of the kingdom. The attention to these powers was not small only to show how influential they were in the kingdom.
Followed by the nobility were the delegates from the Magic Tower and the Hero Alliance which made the screams louder. These two organizations stood out even though their core members were not from any family with a prestigious background.
"These people do really respect you," Ezio couldn't help but comment as they passed by the group of citizens who were watching their entrance like they were in a parade.
"That's because the tower has done good deeds for the people of the capital." A woman dressed in a sky blue ball gown dress with silver butterflies as its detail answered proudly. There was a smug look on her face as he said those words.
Ezio couldn't help but frown, "Is that so?" he didn't believe what the other had said. The tower in his eyes was very different from the tower that the woman was talking about.
"You don't believe me?" Archmage Aviel Strome asked in bewilderment at the implication of those simple words. She thought that the young man was a fan of the tower just like the other novices in the tower and because he was considered a prodigy by the elders.
"You must have gotten the wrong impression about me archmage," Ezio withdrew his gaze from the crowd outside and looked at the woman who was clueless. She looked so gullible that Ezio couldn't believe that she became an archmage. "I hate the magic tower."
With those words, the smile on the woman's face disappeared. "Then why are you with the magic tower?" She was surprised at the young man's words and even more so because of his next words.
"Why don't you ask your beloved elders? Because honestly, I don't want to stay with the tower either." This time his gaze went to the other person inside the carriage.
Archmage Ragus was there when Ezio first arrived at the tower and he was clear as to how he became a part of the tower. He sighed and avoided the young man's gaze because he did not want to talk about it.
"What happened?" Aviel became even more curious. She had been away from the capital for a few years so she was a bit behind from the news.
Aviel Strome was one of those mages who was not bound by the tower because they can travel freely and get to do missions that they want. She only returned to the capital as per the request of elders and because she was also assigned to attend the ball.
Ezio stared at her eyes, "There's no need for you to know." After that, he continued to ignore the both of them and pretended that they had not existed. He returned his gaze to the outside of the carriage as it followed the path to the royal palace.
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