The Grand Ball — Yulan

We returned to the ballroom.

Judging by the lonely Jean sitting by himself, Haruki must’ve gone to dance with Himari.

“Ms Yulan! Want to dance with me—” Emile rapped his knuckles sharply against Jean’s head. “Hey! What was that for?”

I chuckled. I guess Emile can be strict when he wants to. Then, the music turned solemn, and a wave of sadness hit me, no, an eerie feeling spread through my body.

Meilin was waltzing with elegance, Jianyun twirling along with her. It was a stunning sight. But my body tensed up when I saw something flicker behind them.

Suddenly, a scream echoed through the ballroom.

A mysterious figure, their face covered by a veil, made their way before the Queen. Some people were being restrained by men with bizarre-looking features. The mysterious figure was dragging a girl—no, a nymph—by her hair towards the Queen.

“Queen Josephine.” The person greeted the Queen. He forced the nymph to bow down, then took off his own veil.

The Queen narrowed her eyes. “To what do I owe the pleasure of thy visit, King Giovanni Vittorio?”

The King of Rinascimento—King Giovanni Vittorio. Rinascimento is a city located near Kingdom de Fleuve, further away from Tian Cheng. According to historical records, it was once a formidable nation, now reduced to a tiny city. After the development of Kingdom de Fleuve, it had shrunk both in power and size. King Giovanni Vittorio is King Victor of Fleuve’s older brother. From the looks of it, I already had an idea of what’s about to happen.

“Take the Prince and hide somewhere, Emile.” I gripped a knife tightly. I don’t have my sword on me, so this was my last resort.

“First, let me tell a story to your dear guests.” He raised a glass of champagne and drank it all in one sip.

There were once two kingdoms. One named Arkanashar, and the other Rinascimento. Both nations were potent; however, both wanted the other to be rid of. So a war had started. Rinascimento was on the verge of winning and was pushing into Arkanashar’s capital. For a mystical reason, the war ended, with both sides losing. The victory that once belonged to Rinascimento had vanished, stolen by none other than Sauveur Fleuve himself! He brainwashed the people into believing his lies with an orb and stopped the war. That marks the beginning of Kingdom de Fleuve, and the fall of Arkanashar and Rinascimento. Arkanashar slowly merged into Kingdom de Fleuve and is now known as the Forgotten Kingdom, Arcana.

“And how may this story have any correlation to thy visit?” The Queen demanded. King Victor is now standing next to the Queen, a sign of his support.

King Giovanni Vittorio laughed hysterically. “My, my, how clueless can a woman be? To reclaim my kingdom, of course!” He held up a glowering orb. The orb behind all this madness. “My plan was going perfectly, until this stray had ruined everything.” He tugged the nymph’s hair, causing her to squeal and squirm in pain.

King Giovanni Vittorio’s men began grabbing the guests’ lucky charms frantically. Fights began to break out. “This is war, to my dear Queen Josephine. And of course, the traitor.” He pointed at King Victor and chugged down another glass of wine.

“Listen!” The Queen’s eyes were bloodshot, tired from all the drama, and rage flared in her veins. Despite the odds being against her, she showed no signs of giving up. “No matter what dirty tricks you do, King Giovanni Vittorio, I am the Queen of my nation. My citizens stand by me, and my rule, even if you did conquer us, they’d fight. For their Queen, for themselves! The sheer number of my citizens will tear your kingdom down, and your reign will end. And my Victor is no traitor. He’s the King of Fleuve, and you’ll refer to him as King. He’ll obey my rules and stand with Fleuve.”

“What absurdity, to let a woman rule—” A sharp ping split the air, and a beam of light shot toward Giovanni’s orb. For a split second, nothing had happened, but the horrified look on his face said it all.

The orb was halved.

The person who had broken the orb was none other than Meilin. “Next time you try to conquer a nation, don’t use dirty tricks.” She glowered at him. An orb user’s weakness is always the orb.

Himari and Haruki had helped the nymph escape from the grasp of King Giovanni Vittorio, and Jianyun had captured his men.

“You’re just a feeble woman, with the blood of that Fleuve scum! You have no right to be on the throne.” King Giovanni Vittorio roared as King Victor tackled him down. The Queen brought a sword to his throat, “Just admit it. Even a feeble woman can rule a country better than you. And I’m living proof. Guards, take him.”

The Queen turned to the guests. “Now. I have a speech to make. While some may question if the story King Giovanni Vittorio had told is the truth,” Some people began muttering among themselves. “The part about Sauveur Fleuve using an orb to deceive his people was true. However, that orb is broken now. With the orb gone, our lives will no longer be as harmonious as before. There will be arguments. There will be fights. But if my country wishes for the orb to return, then I shall seek out that orb. If my country wishes to face the truth of Kingdom de Fleuve, then I will continue to rule this land to the best of my ability.”

The speech was met with claps as well as murmurs among citizens.

The musicians struck their bows as if they had never stopped, as if the sudden declaration of war were just another part of the evening’s entertainment. Himari was waltzing in the ballroom with Haruki, grinning widely. My heart felt warm. If the girl finds someone fit for her, even if it were a stray, then I’d be content. I looked at the young man sulking next to me. As long as the person isn’t Jean, then it’s fine.

“Would you care to join me for a dance?”

A hand reached out. It was Emile’s.

“Of course.”

I took his hand. And he gently kissed it.

Ah.

Those entrancing, emerald eyes. My body feels fuzzy. Must be the alcohol…

It feels wrong that I’m having more fun than my daughter on her birthday, but perhaps Linhua would have wanted this, for me to dance again.

Happy birthday, Linhua.