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nThe royal hall of the palace was filled with people of the nobility. Powerful families, regardless of their factions, were gathered altogether.

nSome of them were still yet to arrive and that includes the Hermans, the Ethalions, and the Vineas.

nEach of these powerful families would snatch the chance of making their presences known during these formal events. It is not rare to see them at all, but what's rarer would be the appearances of some prominent figures of the Empire.

nMarquis Eim Ritch, the wealthiest merchant who would only attend such occasions once in a blue moon, was present. He was accompanied by his wife and two sons.

nThe Shai family, who are also of noble birth, are there. They are of Count status but even so, they are old money. Meaning, their family existed even before the empire was founded. They don't appear much as well and would rather stay in their fief located in the South..

nThe patriarchs of the Noneims, and the Aidunno and Enimor families, are in the middle of a conversation. These three families are all business partners that dominate agriculture.

nIf you look around the big hall, you will notice how the nobles are divided. The other side were filled with the royal faction who back up the Crown Prince.The opposite of course, were those who are still in doubt and are on the side of the people.

nThe royalists values the Empire's citizens above all and leans their support towards the Hermans and the Ethalions. The left on the other hand, holds status important and are supporting the Vineas and the Gallans.

nThe rest are those who stand on neutral grounds. They are neither leaning towards any powerful families and are enjoying the party with the others. In short, they are chilling. They would support whoever wins in the end.

nThese chill families know the disputes of those two sides and would rather not get swept away by the tides, thus remaining on the sidelines.

nThen there's a side where young people gather to mingle and are all further broken down in groups as well.

nAs of now, they are all just waiting for the ball to formally start. The Royal Family has still not come but it was fine that way, for there were three families that are still not in sight.

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"Aaahh, why must those guys be late to come? I'm getting bored,

" Eon sighed an munched on a grape.

nLuther snickered at him,

"You're just excited to see one person though.

"

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"Shut up,

" Eon muttered and looked away, not bothering to deny it.

nGwen only glanced at the two before looking back at the entranceway. She was waiting for Bea and Nadia to come and was silently drinking wine as she did so.

nBefore, they couldn't get to taste it, not even a sip. But now that they are adults and of legal age, she has the free pass now to drink alcohol.

nThe three of them had been looking forward to it, especially Nadia. Her reason was because it would make her look like a real adult. Her other reason was because it would make her look like a villainess as she talks down to people while holding a glass of wine.

nThe two do not understand the way Nadia's mind runs, so they just accepted it without questions.

n'Well, that's one of her charms…' Gwen thought.

nShe was also starting to get bored. Good thing that her favorite pastimes during these events are observing people and admiring their dresses.

nNot only her, but it was the other noble ladies's thing either. They are like hawks, waiting for their prey. These ladies are most looking forward towards Elen's creations and are all vigilant. If a new family or person comes in, they would all look at them and scrutinize their clothes.

nStrange, right? Gwen thinks so too.

nOne of the victims as of the moment is the Noneims younger daughter. She was wearing one of Elen's latest designs which earned her lots of attention. She's currently being smothered by the others right now.

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"The Herman family has arrived,

" the messenger announced loudly.

nOf course, those who are familiar with that surname all turned. Almost everyone has turned, and they are mostly the younger generation.

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"It's the Hermans!

"

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"Lady Nadia…

"

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"Miss Nadia is here…

"

nThose are a couple of hushed comments from ladies nearby. The older people were slightly confused from the attentiveness of them all. Even the children of the powerful families like the Ritchs and the Shais were paying attention.

nWho wouldn't know about Nadia Eleanor Herman? The first ever woman to win and be dubbed as King of The Hunt, had coined that at a very young age at that. She is also Elen's muse and the so-called Darling of Society.

nShe's much more influential than the two women who were competing for the Crown Princess position.

nGwen looked around, feeling amused. Nadia repeatedly voiced out her displeasure about the attention she gets to both Bea and her.

n'I bet she's feeling tired already…'

nNadia also hated attending these types of events but still goes for the sake of formality anyway.

nThe door opened and five figures appeared. Walking ahead of the group was Leon Herman, the ferocious general and behind him are Nadia and the rest.

nNadia had heaved a deep breath before entering the hall just to get rid of lethargy. As they went in, she was being sandwiched by three people. To her right was her brother Nathaniel with their arms linked together.

nTo her left was Kai, who seemed nervous upon seeing all the people staring at them. And behind him was Lost who looked like he didn't care about anything and remained calm.

nThose who had seen the Herman family before were confused. They seemed to have two additional people with them and they both looked unfamiliar.

nLeon joined Duke Reichen who was with three other men, while the four of them went straight towards their friends.

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"Bea's still not here huh,

" Nadia remarked as soon as she approached Gwen.

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"Yep. Hello Kai and Sir Lost,

" Gwen greeted.

nThe two nodded at her and stood stiffly beside Nadia. It was obvious that Kai was nervous but still amazed about everything nonetheless.

nThere were people who greeted Nadia briefly but none of them came to talk with her.

nThe first ball, she had welcomed everyone and had talked to every single person who came to her. Then after a few more balls, Nadia distanced herself away and progressively snubbed them.

nThey had learned to behave and had stopped pestering her ever since, though there are those who are persistent, but only a few. It should have tainted her name. She should have been called a snob and be dragged down but it didn't happen at all.

nApparently, it only made her famous.

n'People's mindsets are strange…'

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"I love your dress!

" Gwen commented as she studied her gown--

"It's refreshing to see, even the color.

"

nNadia smiled,

"I know right. I look less conspicuous this way.

"

nGwen stared at her best friend who looked like she's so pleased with herself.

n'Uhh, nope. You still stand out like really really hard…' She wanted to say otherwise but held her tongue.

n'Eh... If that's what makes her sleep at night then whatever, I guess...'

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