# 116
When they left the Third Prince's Palace, Dayaren was completely unaware of what awaited her.
Dearyn was wearing a lavish, eye-catching dress, and Sirius was eminently handsome.
The first thing that attracted attention was Deyarine's luxurious dress, then eyes turned to Sirius next to her, whom people continued to look at with admiration and amazement.
This was normal at first.
But upon leaving the Third Prince's Palace and heading to the Emperor's Palace, the feeling of the gazes began to change.
At first, they thought that Sirius was just a young and beautiful noble from the Third Prince's Palace. And there were already those who thought so.
But some people, especially the older ones, scrutinized Sirius' face, especially his hair and eyes.
Anyone who knew Sirius in his teens would have recognized him even though his features had changed greatly.
Most of the forces in the Third Prince's Palace were young men who appeared after Sirius' disappearance, so they were not aware that Sirius bore the features of men of the ruling family.
'Is there something going on somewhere else?'
Accidents always come from where one does not expect them.
Dearyn felt very nervous and squeezed her hand on Sirius' arm.
But Sirius ignored all these looks as if he saw nothing, and confidently stepped forward, allowing Dearyn to walk behind him.
When they entered the ballroom, the gazes directed at Sirius softened slightly, because there were many attention-grabbing figures there.
“Mr. General, I heard that you have achieved an outstanding achievement this time.”
“It's too much of a compliment. All credit goes to the Second Prince.”
“I heard that the youngest son of the Marquis Sarten family participated in the battle himself? Was he injured by anything?”
“The enemy’s arrow almost touched my ear... Look, this is my honor’s wound.”
“His Majesty the Emperor will honor you for this achievement!”
This was a celebration of victory, and many who had participated in the war against Sorben were in attendance, each telling stories of their heroism.
At the same time, there were those wondering about strange faces, coming perhaps as invitees due to their connection to the war.
Since the ceremony was being held by the Emperor himself, there was no clear division between the supporters of the Second Prince and the Third Prince, and everyone was mingling and exchanging smiles.
But no one can stop people who know each other from coming together.
“Oh, there you are!”
“Why didn't you come out with us in the first place?”
People from the Third Prince's Palace recognized Dearen and Sirius first and approached them.
Deyarin felt as if she was starting to implement a plan, so she smiled with difficulty. As for Sirius, he was ignoring everyone as usual.
“You seem nervous about the big party!”
People laughed and made fun of it, which made Deyarin laugh with them a little.
She had thought that they were worth nothing, but she realized that she could get unexpected support even from them.
“I hope the Emperor will come quickly, so they can start distributing drinks.”
“Since it's a victory party, I expect they'll serve better drinks today.”
At every party, the serving of food and drink did not begin until the host or important person had appeared, in which case the appearance of the emperor marked the beginning.
“Here is His Majesty the Emperor!”
Suddenly the Emperor appeared.
“Huh, he arrived just in time this time.”
Someone in the audience whispered respectfully.
It seems that the Emperor even the date of his appearance was indefinite.
Dearyn bowed slightly, pulling her stomach tightly, as her preoccupation with greetings made her tension return again.
Inside the hall, power struggles continued, as those near the emperor's entry corridor were considered the strongest.
Of course, Dearren and those with her were pushed to the far corners.
The Emperor appeared first, followed by Empress Penelia and the Second Prince, then Charlotte and the Third Prince behind them.
"Come here."
The Emperor rose to the dais and gave a brief order.
Only then could Dayaren see the Emperor's face clearly for the first time. Despite the distance, it was very close compared to what she had seen during the military parade.
'He looks like him.'
Unexpectedly, Sirius resembled the Emperor in many ways. If someone had a keen eye, he probably would have stopped and looked at his face twice.
As for the second prince, he looked more like Empress Penelia.
The Third Prince was still young, so Djaren did not feel that he clearly resembled either Charlotte or the Emperor.
The Second and Third Princes gathered next to the Emperor on the dais, but Charlotte, since she was not from the royal family but was accompanying the Third Prince, stood next to him instead of sitting.
After everyone was seated, the Emperor stood up, raising his cup.
“Today we celebrate our victory, everyone, drink comfortably.”
Servants started walking around with full cup holders.
Dearyn took a glass from the rack.
The Emperor said in a strong voice:
“This war was sparked by Sorben’s irresponsible provocations. They tried to blame an incident that happened to the First Prince, Sirius, on our family, the Racleron.”
Dearyn's hand gripped her cup tightly.
She didn't expect to hear Sirius' name directly from the Emperor's mouth.
“It was a painful misunderstanding.”
She raised her eyes to the ceiling, not knowing how to express her feeling, then she lowered her gaze and met a man's eyes.
Prince Greylind.
The only surviving prince of the Sorben family, Survivor.
She didn't expect this man to be invited to the party. Who summoned him?
But there can't be too much of a loophole in the royal family's party.
...It's intentional.
They see all this to feel ashamed. To remind Sorben that Racleron is at their feet once again.
She felt coldness in her shoulder even though there was no breeze. She tried to suppress the trembling in her shoulder.
I focused on the Emperor's next words.
"But we managed to resolve all these misconceptions, and restored the peace of Racleron. For the glory of Racleron!"
The Emperor raised his cup high.
The sparkling cups sparkled under the dazzling lights.
“For the glory of Racleron!”
“For the glory of Racleron!”
Voices echoed all around as glasses were raised, and they were astonished.
The Emperor drank his cup at once.
The audience drank their cup as well, but Deyarin couldn't drink hers.
What glory is this? Who made it? Who brought it? It is not their glory to appear so resplendent and elegant on those high places.
Even Sirius did not raise his cup, but left it in his hand.
“Now, we will begin by giving honor to those who fought for the glory of Racleron.”
The Emperor sat down, and one of the servants organized the ceremony.
“General Kleinde!”
"Yes!"
“Despite being wounded by an arrow in the Battle of the Garneta Plains, the general fought bravely and was able to break the enemy’s morale and occupy the Sindis Heights.”
“Excellent, how is the wound?”
“It is thanks to my loyalty to Your Majesty that I endure it!”
“Your loyalty has warmed my heart. We will give you the territory of Runde.”
Things were going this way.
Servants read the prepared names, people step forward, and the Emperor praises them and bestows awards.
Deyarin waited a long time.
There were so many awards, she couldn't count them. But of course Sirius' name was not mentioned.
The Emperor does not see the need to mention the name of an ordinary soldier.
“Also, the person most credited with opening Sorbin Castle is His Highness the Second Prince!”
“Waaah!”
Of course, the hero's name was finally being announced.
Second Prince Endean sat motionless despite being called, and did not change his facial expression.
He was calmly looking at his cup in front of him, which made the cheering of his supporters gradually fade away.
The Emperor stood.
The Second Prince finally raised his head.
“If you were to ask me to name who has accomplished the greatest feat in this war, it would be my son, Enden.”
“Waaah!”
The echo of the chants that had faded began to flare up again.
“Before I present the awards, would you like to say something?”
The Emperor gave the Second Prince the floor.
Normally, the awards are given and then the honoree gives a speech of thanks, but allowing him to speak first is an implicit threat that his words might influence the awarding of the awards.
Dearyn frowned clearly, there was no one in the hall who did not understand this game.
But no one, not even the Second Prince, showed any discomfort.
The Second Prince said, maintaining his respect for the Emperor:
“I thank Your Majesty for giving me the opportunity to speak.”
The Emperor nodded in agreement.
The Second Prince looked around the audience slowly, smiled, and said:
“My victory is the victory of those who participated with me. And I want to share this victory with my loyal soldiers.”
'Huh...?'
There was something strange.
This was not the image of the Second Prince I expected, as he usually did not share credit with others.
The second prince smiled and said:
“I want to share this glory with the members of the 8th Unit, who fought loyally for me.”
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