Chapter 542 Chapter 179 – Grand Ball (part 1)

Any party thrown in the royal castle simply had to be grand – and a grand ball in celebration for a new king ascending the throne had to be something else or the gossip would not stop even after the next generation would take over.

Horeo knew that, and even though everyone except his few friends was like ants to him, he was still going to make those ants experience a fraction of his greatness through the festivities in his name.

That kind of benevolent man Horeo Marets Bellcephora was.

Zoemi wanted to arrive silently, without getting too much attention, preferably – but that was something that an attendant could allow himself to do.

…and not the head of the mysterious Banemor family and the friend of the king…

“Head of the Banemor family, best friend of his majesty Horeo – Zoemi Benevi Banemor!

The herald at the door straightened his back and cheered out, barely able to stop his voice from trembling.

“Continue, kind man, every member of my family is more than deserving of a proper introduction.”

Zoemi asked, as his eyes gleamed with an evil light as he smirked – which was the act that he assumed according to Horeo wishes.

“O… of course…”

The herald gulped down his saliva and nodded before taking a deep breath.

“Ettemi and Oemir Benevirau! Lady Elsby Benevirau! Head butler of the Banemor household – Benevirau!”

Following the young man dressed almost exclusively in black with the only splash of color being the green handkerchief sticking out of his chest pocket supporting himself on a crystal cane, was almost the entire Banemor household.

His two corpse puppet sentinels were standing on both of his sides – with their androgynous features only made harder to differentiate by their choice in wardrobe.

Both were wearing black pants that were the go-to choice for men during parties, but they also both picked the white short-sleeved shirts and lacy black corsets, paid long lacy gloves – which threw everyone seeing them for a loop.

The complete absence of makeup of any sort only added to the confusion.

The two of them continue to keep the mana-free space in between them to allow Zoemi to feel as comfortable as possible.

Behind them was Elsby.

Her choice of clothes was somehow even more eye-catching despite being tame.

She went with a dress, but not the ballroom dress that would be a custom for, well, any ball really – but rather sleek, silky one that accentuated her slender line. Despite being a dress that didn’t cover much skin – Elsby’s coffee-with-milk skin made all the sour-cream-skinned nobles was getting the most attention.

Originally, Elsby wasn’t supposed to show up like that, but Zoemi and Horeo agreed that having her walk around out in the open might work out for them.

Whether it will prompt the other Ghosts to reveal themselves sooner or deter their enemies from going with their plans – both outcomes could potentially benefit them.

As for suddenly adding her to the Banemor family – was there an even better way of showing off her new allegiance? And not only to her former comrades but to every single sage who was around.

With the relatively simple decision, anyone stupid enough to consider making the Banemor family their enemies would be forced to reconsider all of their life choices.

As for Benevirau – anyone even a bit interested in the local affairs would have heard that he was the servant of the previous head of the Banemor family and he singlehandedly kept the entire territory away from the Bellcephora kingdom for over fifteen years.

His appearance alone was a reason for a big commotion because it was well known that he almost never left the Banemor territory that he cherished over anything else except the Banemor family.

As for his choice of wardrobe – it was simple and didn’t differ from his usual choice.

A perfectly ironed butler’s uniform – the obvious choice for the head butler.

Without even counting Zoemi who despite having the vastest mana reservoir out of the group, the other four had the firepower that equaled and even topped some of the nations – even when counting every magician that wasn’t in the military.

“That’s better.”

Zoemi snickered, without changing the slightly mocking expression and passing by the herald, walking down the stairs slow enough for everyone to have good look at him and all of his entourage.

If the Ghosts of Bellcephora were watching, they certainly had enough self-control to not come out of their hiding and attack their former comrade on the spot – but truth be told, that was expected of the unit formerly known as the best assassins.

To begin with, Ghosts showing up early would be one of the best outcomes because it would cause the guests to be evacuated, stopping or at least postponing any possible schemes that Arisu and Barbariacca nation could try to pull off.

But alas, standing by in hiding, waiting for the right opportunity was the thing that the former assassins were remarkably good at.

“We should have taken little Arreta too, she was quite bummed out that I could go but she had to stay and watch the house.”

Elsby looked around the grand ballroom of the royal castle where obviously the ball was taking place and said lightheartedly while responding to some less-than-friendly gazes she was given with a proud smile.

“She doesn’t believe how old I am and how strong is my magic, same thing with you, telling her that she was the best choice for guarding the Banemor mansion was simply easier. To begin with, would she even accept that she could be in extreme danger by coming to the royal castle?”

Benevirau smirked and despite his words being rather on the harsh side, there were some affectionate tones mixed in while talking about Zoemi’s cousin.

“I have not known her for long but… I don’t think she would. Little Arreta would most definitely say something like – But the royal castle is the most secure place in the kingdom! – or something. Hey – we should go ahead and help her find a date – that should cheer her up, especially since that is all that she recently talks about. For someone who doesn’t believe who I am, she sure is keen on looking for partners together.”

Elsby rolled her eyes and sighed, sounding a bit tired because of the problematic behavior of the Banemor family’s gardener.

“Did you tell her that you prefer girls? Or maybe it was her attempt at flirting with you?”

“Flirting?”

“Flirting!”

Zoemi who was waiting for the two sages to take their sweet time with walking down the stairs asked and his sentinels perked up and gasped with interest.

“As much as I would be honored to have such a cute little lady interested in me, it doesn’t feel like that was her intention. She’s just a cute innocent kid who thinks she made a friend in similar circumstances – being single and almost thirty.”

Elsby scoffed, waving her hand in denial.

Despite trying to keep the lighthearted tone, the jet-black-haired girl did come off as disappointed.

“I agree with miss Elsby’s assessment – for some time even I believed that miss Arreta didn’t realize her own preferences in partners until I was the one to realize that she is looking for an ideal instead of a real person that she would be happy with. Apparently, the rivalry she feels towards young lady Perserios who – and I quote – caught herself a good man, only cranked her own expectations all the way to twelve on the scale that should go to ten.”

Benevirau breathed out and allowed himself to rub his forehead to show off how worried he was about the brown-haired young woman under his care.

“She did grow up sheltered, it is possible that we as the people closest to her at the moment, should sit down with her and have a talk about it…?”

Zoemi wondered as the complete group walked towards the line formed to greet the most important person of the evening – the young king in person.

“I didn’t want to push myself into Miss Arreta’s love life, but if a talk like that could prove beneficial for her in the long run, I might reassess that opinion.”

“Aww~! Grandpa Benevirau is equally worried about all of his grandkids!”

Benevirau tiled his head to the side and considered, causing Elsby to grin and elbow the young-looking man in the ribs.

…to which she got no reaction except the pain in her own arm…

“I do. If you started acting like an adult – even forgetting about acting our age – maybe you would be the same.”

The dark-blue-haired shrugged his shoulders, effortlessly ending the conversation by making Elsby lower her head in embarrassment when her joke backfired completely.

“Grandpa, please refrain from murdering our Elsby, you will have plenty of chances to do that to her former comrades – if not tonight then in the near future.”

Zoemi went along with it and glanced over his shoulder at the water sage.

“I am restlessly awaiting such a chance to occur.”

Benevirau smiled and winked in the black-haired boy’s general direction.

The gray-haired man was seeing through mana, and despite Zoemi possessing a sizeable mana reservoir, the young head of the Banemor family was surrounded by a bubble completely devoid of mana which slightly messed with Benevirau’s perception.

“…that said, it is quite rude that no one is trying to make some small talk with us as we all wait for a chance to greet his majesty…”

The dark-blue-haired young-looking man’s expression turned more serious and he pointed out in a hushed voice.