With Delight’s decision, the preparations for the Foundation Day celebration proceeded rapidly.
And then—
“This is perfect timing. Since it’s the spring social season, how about officially debuting Ollia at this year’s spring banquet? What do you think?”
Blueny brought up the idea of my spring banquet debut, saying it was an excellent opportunity.
“Isn’t it too soon?”
“It’s the perfect time. Ollia is an adult now, and having the princess’ coming-of-age debut during the Foundation Day period would be meaningful.”
Blueny tried to persuade Delight, who didn’t seem too thrilled, while also gauging my reaction.
“I’m fine with it.”
Making a debut as an adult would allow me to expand my range of activities.
It was something I welcomed.
“I’ll make sure there’s time for everyone to mingle before the main Foundation Day ceremony.”
“Alright, understood.”
“Even though it’s an official debut, it’s just a casual event with dancing and socializing, so there’s no need to be nervous.”
Blueny said this to ease my mind, just in case.
To be honest, a debut ball wasn’t a big deal to me.
Although I was never the center of attention, I had attended several debut balls in the past.
I would usually lean against a pillar, yawning and bored, before eventually leaving.
Still, I had seen enough to know how it worked.
As I smiled confidently—
“Wait a moment. Who is Ollia going to dance with?”
Delight, who had been quietly accepting the idea despite not liking it much, suddenly asked in a nervous voice as if realizing something important.
“Well, among those who ask Ollia to dance that day—”
“Who dares to ask Ollia for a dance?! Of course, she should dance with me!”
Delight exclaimed, outraged at the thought.
He turned to me, about to insist that this was absolutely unacceptable.
“You’re supposed to dance with Mom,”
I interrupted.
“…….…”
Delight couldn’t argue. Blueny, standing right beside him, was staring daggers at him.
“I’m going to dance with someone else, not you, Dad!”
I firmly shut down Delight’s idea with a mischievous smirk.
***
Disguised Peacefulness.
For the past ten years, interactions with Ilnord had continued steadily.
However, there had never been an invitation extended for a national event.
“Will Ilnord attend?”
Zaire asked.
We had paused our walk and gathered in the office to discuss the Foundation Day.
For some reason, Hiel was also present when we arrived.
Delight had called for him.
“They’ll come. Right now, they’re feeling quite triumphant,”
Delight replied confidently.
There had been some changes over the past ten years.
Previously overshadowed by Promian, Ilnord had undergone a reorganization and was starting to show signs of strength again.
Recently, Ilnord had made a bold announcement.
– A new Archmage has emerged in Ilnord. He surpasses the legendary Archmage Sherina. The new Archmage, Hayron, will now lead Ilnord forward. –
It was news meant to ignite anticipation among the people of Ilnord.
Sherina.
Her name remains unforgotten, still remembered by many.
‘It’s been a while since my name came up.’
It seemed that Ilnord’s Archmage was subtly conscious of Delight.
Perhaps they wanted to imply that Delight was weaker than them.
And Delight was well aware of this.
“Now that a genius mage has appeared to protect Ilnord, if they want to boast, they’ll come.”
Delight appeared intrigued about how Ilnord would respond.
After saying this, Delight paused briefly, choosing his words carefully.
When he spoke again—
“There’s one more place to invite.”
“Including Ilnord, that should be all. Where else do we need to invite?”
“Invite Luciel as well.”
Delight had decided on the final recipient of the invitation.
Luciel?! What a surprise!
I hadn’t seen Luciel for such a long time, and it had been frustrating not to hear from him.
He hadn’t visited even once in the past ten years.
“Lord Luciel, too?”
Zaire, equally surprised, asked again for confirmation.
“Yes.”
Delight replied calmly.
“It would be meaningful to have everyone gather for Foundation Day.”
Delight spoke with significance and then turned to Hiel, who had been quietly sitting in the corner.
“Hiel. You have a way to contact him, don’t you?”
So that’s why Hiel was here.
It seemed Delight had intended to invite Luciel from the very beginning.
“Well, I haven’t been able to contact him for the past year,”
Hiel hesitated before adding.
“You’re not going to fight again this time, right?”
He seemed worried as he asked cautiously.
“Don’t dislike Luciel too much. His affection for you is genuine.”
Delight’s expression briefly twisted in displeasure.
“This time, it’s an official invitation.”
In other words, Delight meant to welcome Luciel as a guest.
And, of course, there would be no fighting!
“Hehe. I’ll go contact him right away!”
Hiel, excited, left immediately to reach out to Luciel.
Thus, the list of invitees for Foundation Day was finalized.
***
Ten years had passed. It felt like Delight had changed significantly during this time.
He no longer let his emotions take over but made rational decisions. It seemed he was finally ready to face Luciel properly.
That’s a relief.
If Luciel comes, I’ll have to do my best to help clear up any misunderstandings.
I was already making plans in my head.
But the real issue wasn’t Luciel; it was Ilnord.
“Come to think of it, who will Ilnord send?”
On my way back to my room, the thought suddenly struck me.
For major events like Foundation Day, it was common to send the heir.
Could the Crown Prince be coming?
Or perhaps it might be Serdin.
“If it’s him, it’s been such a long time.”
The thought of Serdin made me feel happy for no reason.
I wondered how much he had grown.
Though I didn’t know who would come, I hoped it would be Serdin if possible.
It was when I returned to my room with these thoughts swirling in my mind.
As soon as I opened the door, Monia was looking at me with an unusually determined expression.
“Monia? What’s with the serious look?”
“Look at this. It’s the list of tasks you need to complete by the time of the banquet, Your Highness.”
Monia had already organized everything neatly on paper.
This didn’t feel like a simple matter.
“You haven’t had the chance to shine until now.”
“…Um, Monia, there’s really no need to go this far—”
“What are you talking about? This is the most important time in your life.”
As expected.
Monia was showing a firm determination I had never seen before.
She seemed absolutely unwilling to compromise on this matter.
Suddenly, memories of fierce social gatherings from the past came to mind.
Especially Ilnord’s spring banquet.
The nobles’ battle of pride was always so intense that it felt like you’d get hurt just by being nearby.
I used to watch from afar, wondering why they acted that way.
‘Now it seems I’ll be in the middle of it!’
Monia was clearly channeling all her enthusiasm for this moment.
I had a gut feeling that nothing could stop her.
Well, no choice then.
I gazed at the fiery determination in Monia’s eyes and finally spoke.
“Alright. I’ll cooperate with you and do my best.”
To achieve the outstanding results Monia envisioned, I needed to share the same goal.
Since it’s come to this, I might as well show everyone my splendid side and spread my reputation far and wide.
‘Spring has always been the season where Ilnord boasts about their spring banquet, and it’s so annoying. This time, I’ll put them in their place.’
Ilnord’s spring banquet had a long history and cultural significance.
It was so prestigious that nobles from other countries would go out of their way to attend.
A banquet every adult dreams of attending.
A social stage with real pedigree.
These were all terms used to describe Ilnord’s spring banquet.
As a result, every spring, comparisons between Ilnord and Promian were inevitable.
Unfortunately, Promian was often labeled as lacking in heritage.
Even Promian’s spring banquets were modest in atmosphere compared to Ilnord’s.
“Whoever comes from Ilnord, I’ll make sure they’re so dazzled by me that they won’t even dare to look me in the eye.”
With so many people from different countries attending due to Foundation Day, it was the perfect opportunity.
‘And while I’m indifferent about the title of Archmage Sherina, I can’t stand them using my name for their tricks.’
Archmage Hayron, they say?
Hah.
‘That’s ridiculous.’
Perhaps some people would get swayed by such a claim.
‘But it doesn’t work on me.’
From the moment I heard about it, I could tell it was an exaggeration.
‘There can’t be a genius greater than me in this world.’
There was no other reason needed.
My existence itself was the proof, wasn’t it?
