***
On the day Serdin departed for Promian.
After finishing his preparations, he headed toward the waiting carriage.
The Emperor was there to see him off.
At that moment, Serdin felt puzzled.
The Emperor had already given him all the instructions he needed.
Moreover, Serdin’s departure was scheduled for early dawn.
It was unlikely that the Emperor had come out just to bid him farewell.
As Serdin approached, still questioning the situation, the figure of someone previously obscured by the Emperor slowly came into view.
When Serdin saw who it was, he unknowingly furrowed his brow.
‘Could it be…?’
The Emperor quickly turned Serdin’s concerns into reality.
“Who is coming with me?”
Serdin asked, his voice tinged with suspicion.
Standing beside the Emperor, Hayron gave him a nod of acknowledgment.
“The Archmage will accompany you. Since he represents Ilnord, it is appropriate for him to attend the Foundation Day celebrations.”
“……….”
“Please take care of me during our journey to Promian.”
Hayron greeted Serdin with a polite bow, though his expression betrayed a smug grin.
Despite his courteous demeanor, his face radiated arrogance, brimming with overconfidence.
To Serdin, the sudden appearance of Archmage Hayron was unexpected.
Where had he been all this time, and how had he suddenly emerged with such remarkable abilities?
Could he really be someone greater than Archmage Sherina?
Frankly, Serdin doubted it.
Throughout their journey to Promian, Hayron constantly tried to engage him in conversation.
“Haha, I’m still quite new to the ways of the world. If I make any mistakes, I hope you’ll forgive me.”
“It’s fine.”
“I heard you lived as a hostage in Promian, Your Highness.”
“Yes.”
“Then you must know the Emperor of Promian quite well.”
“……..…”
“This will be my first time meeting him, so I’m honestly curious.”
When Serdin didn’t respond, Hayron continued talking enthusiastically on his own.
“I wonder how impressive he’ll be. Or perhaps he’ll turn out to be surprisingly unimpressive.”
Hayron exuded a sense of ease.
Serdin couldn’t shake the feeling that, as long as Hayron was with him, trouble would be inevitable in Promian.
Closing his eyes, Serdin silently wished that when he opened them, they would already have arrived in Promian.
***
Meanwhile, in Promian. Guests were beginning to arrive one after another.
The atmosphere was already lively and bustling.
Creating such a festive ambiance required preparation as intense as a battle.
With each envoy’s arrival, Delight grew increasingly worn out from greeting and interacting with them.
In contrast, Blueny seemed to grow more energized the busier things became.
At present, the two were locked in a different kind of heated debate.
“I think the dress on the left looks better.”
Blueny strongly insisted.
“I prefer the one on the right.”
Delight stood his ground, refusing to give in.
“The left one has a more mature and elegant vibe. Since this is her debut in high society, she needs something sophisticated.”
“Ollia is adorable. That’s what suits her best, and she should wear what suits her the most.”
The two were locked in a tense standoff.
Today, the candidates for my dress arrived.
While I had several options to choose from, I could only wear one of them for the spring banquet ball.
And the two of them were being excessively passionate about which dress I should wear.
Hmm.
At this rate, they’d keep arguing until the day of the banquet.
This called for a wise decision.
I stepped between the two of them.
“I’ve got a great idea.”
“What is it, Ollia?”
“Let’s combine the two dresses.”
“What?”
“You’re joking, right?”
“No, I’m serious. Since they’re both designed by the same designer, it’ll work out even better.”
I was about to take action when—
“Oh, no!”
“Exactly, Ollia. You mustn’t do something like that.”
Both of them shouted urgently, practically reaching out to stop me.
It seemed they were imagining some terrible result.
“Wow, you two finally agree on something!”
I teased, clapping my hands in amusement.
“………”
“…Ahem.”
As I clapped and marveled, they both averted their gazes awkwardly.
“Ollia, I’ve shown you a bad side of myself. I was being too selfish and not thinking clearly,”
Blueny said, taking the first step to concede.
“You put so much care into choosing a dress for Ollia, so it’s my fault,”
Delight admitted, apologizing and stepping back as well.
“I’ll give up, so it’s better to go with the dress you chose.”
“No, the one you picked actually suits Ollia better. Let’s go with that.”
Now, they were taking turns yielding to each other.
It was heartwarming to watch, but honestly—
“I’m going with this one,”
My choice was neither of the dresses they had been passionately debating.
In truth, I had already made up my mind from the start about what I wanted to wear.
“…Really?”
“Haha. Of course, Ollia should wear what she wants,”
They said, forcing smiles to hide their disappointment.
And thus, the final say on my spring banquet dress went to me, despite Delight and Blueny’s earlier efforts.
They looked disappointed, but there was no helping it.
After all, the dress I chose was one I had specifically commissioned with great care.
“With the dress decided, here’s a gift I prepared for the banquet,”
Delight said, handing me a brooch made of green sapphire and a magic stone.
“Thank you. I’ll definitely wear it to the banquet!”
To be honest, I had hinted at this some time ago.
“I think a green brooch would look great with the dress at the banquet. It matches Dad’s and my eye color.”
Delight must have started working on the gift as soon as he heard that.
‘As expected, it’s rare, expensive, and highly valuable.’
One of the criticisms people had about Promian was its short history and lack of deep roots.
Building a foundation requires time.
But if you can’t afford to wait for long periods, symbolism becomes crucial.
Green.
This will become a symbol that immediately reminds people of Promian.
‘The next thing needed is attention.’
The more people talk about it, the greater the interest it generates.
If people start associating Promian’s spring banquet with special occurrences, everyone will want to visit and dream of being a part of it.
Therefore, I was determined to make this spring banquet the most dazzling and successful event yet.
***
After helping Blueny inspect the banquet hall where the spring event would be held, we decided to stroll through the garden adjacent to the hall.
As we were leisurely exploring the connected courtyard—
“Who’s here?”
“Apparently, an unexpected guest from Ilnord has arrived, and it’s causing quite a stir.”
Monia returned after checking on the situation to deliver the news.
An unexpected guest?
The person most likely to hate coming to Promian…
It had to be the Crown Prince, who nearly ended up here as a hostage.
“Don’t tell me the Crown Prince came?”
“No, not the Crown Prince. It’s that mage.”
“What? Who?”
“That Archmage from Ilnord, Hayron. He’s here!”
Hah.
I couldn’t help but scoff.
“They say his skills surpass even Archmage Sherina’s, so naturally, everyone’s on edge.”
“Even so, he’s just a mage no one’s properly seen yet.”
“But there’s a chance he might be greater than His Majesty…”
“Who said that?”
Seriously.
Even if they didn’t know any better, doubting Delight because of something Ilnord said was absurd.
As I sharply questioned the situation—
“Haha. It seems I’m quite famous here.”
Just then, the so-called Archmage Hayron appeared.
“Were you eavesdropping to confirm how famous you’ve become?”
His perfect timing suggested he had been waiting for the right moment to make his entrance.
“I have no interest in fame. I merely overheard by chance.”
He had already done everything possible to draw attention, yet claiming he wasn’t interested in fame was laughable.
People like him always made such statements, yet they were the ones desperate for recognition, often resorting to reckless acts.
“And to meet the princess like this—what an honor.”
Seeing him up close only confirmed it further. This man was a fraud.
“But aren’t you going to greet each other?”
Suddenly, Hayron glanced behind him as he spoke.
Dealing with him alone was already tiresome, and now…
“Why should I…?”
I shot a dismissive glance at the person standing behind Hayron.
“I heard the two of you used to get along quite well. Was that not true?”
Hayron asked, his tone laced with curiosity.
Me? Get along with someone from Ilnord?
Wait. Could it be?
“Serdin?”
There was only one person from Ilnord I had ever been close to.
“Violyana. It’s been a long time.”
Serdin stepped past Hayron and approached me.
His greeting was a bit awkward.
But that didn’t matter.
“It’s really you, Serdin!”
I had wondered if he might come, and now he truly was here.
“You’ve grown so much, just as promised!”
“And you’ve become an adult.”
“Of course! It’s been a whole ten years.”
A cheerful curve appeared in Serdin’s eyes.
But there was something about him that had been bothering me since earlier.
His age or height wasn’t the biggest change.
“Serdin, what happened to your eyes?”
There was a reason I didn’t immediately recognize him.
Serdin’s eyes were no longer red.
Nor did they have an orange hue.
His eyes were black.
