Outside of an Imperial villa that was hosting the Queen’s banquet, two Princes were awkwardly sitting next to each other. Both men remained silent with their gazes locked onto the edge of the carriage drop off area. The two men positioned themselves so as to remain out of sight while also allowing an unobstructed view of the arrival area.

Each man held their own thoughts and as dusk rolled around, Prince Roland became antsy Sol’s carriage was running nearly 6 hours late at this point. There were only 3 days slotted for the banquet. Every minute, every hour, and every day was precious time for him.

Beside him, Prince Elric was rather calm. He had already received word that Lady Reviarra was running behind schedule. As such, he only just recently sat down with his brother in the observatory. His restless brother’s actions didn’t escape his notice, however he didn’t see a reason to inform this competitor of his about Lady Reviarra’s situation.

The two men sipped their tea while various ballad music played to their end down stairs. 4th Prince Roland was being eaten alive by his anxiety. His prodigal brother’s calm only served to irritate him further. He was sitting and sipping tea for nearly 4 hours waiting for Sol to arrive while this brother of his only arrived about 30 minutes ago.

As far as courtesies go, Prince Roland had yet to even introduce himself to the banquet guests. His plan was to escort Lady Reviarra into the hall to get rumors started. Once the two were seen together enough over the next few days, he could move forward without drawing too much suspicion. Unexpectedly, this brother of his held a similar plan.

“First Brother, how is Mother Empress’s health these days?”

“Mother is well. How about Mother concubine?”

“She’s well…”

How awkward… The two men were uncomfortable with each other’s presence and yet they lacked any excuse to send the other away. Just as the atmosphere was turning cryptic, the sounds of horses reached their ears. Both men stood at the same time, walked forward at the same time, paused at the same time, then turned to stare at the other.

How awkward… Prince Elric broke the stalemate first.

“Brother, Mother Empress asked me to escort Lady Reviarra around the banquet. What are you doing?”

“Hahaha, nothing for my brother to worry about. This Prince felt the Lady would benefit from this Prince’s introductions.”

“Brother need not worry about such things, this Prince will ensure the Lady has an appropriate introduction and will safeguard the Lady from any social faux pas.”

“Brother, Lady Reviarra could only gain from having multiple Princes as an acquaintance. This Prince refuses to allow any disservice to the Lady.”

Neither Prince wanted to back down. While the two quipped with each other, they were unaware that their entire skit was seen by Sol who had long since alighted from the carriage. She and An exchanged troubled glances before gesturing to the servant to bring them inside.

As such, Prince Elric and Prince Roland missed their first opportunity. By the time the two settled their differences and compromised, they were informed that Lady Reviarra had long since entered the venue. The two men were frustrated, however they moved onto their next plans and moved the battle to the venue.

Inside, Sol was introducing herself to the many other guests at the party. Although she never had direct contact with these highly affluent families, Iridescent on the other hand, interacted with the families various businesses on a near daily basis.

Sol was well known in the business circle despite her absence in the social circle. Each introduction she made was tailored to the business side of the family and as such, there was little awkwardness. The comfortable sight of Sol interacting with strangers brought an exasperated sigh to the two Princes who observed the Lady from the side.

Without knowing, Sol had crushed another of the two’s plans. Sol arrived at dust for the banquet and as she was still considered a child, she was unable to remain at the banquet past 2200. With An attending to her, Sol left the venue and headed towards the guest rooms.

After practicing The Unchained Queen Beast, Solmanaged to gain a minor accomplishment in it. Her senses had started to expand and her spiritual awareness that originally only provided vague premonitions was now more refined. As such, Sol was able to detect the people following her at a distance. Although she didn’t know who they were, she kept track of them in her mind.

The moment Sol stepped into the world of Assemblers, her mindset had already altered. The Unchained Queen Beast method was constantly spinning in her mind and whether consciously or not, Sol was analyzing its effects on her and deciphering its components.

Those tracking her did little to scare her and instead sparked a bit of excitement in her heart. As her spiritual awareness became more refined, Sol extended it as far as she could and was experimenting with its use cases. Sol’s lips curled into a smile. So far, she was able to narrow onto the blurry signatures and vaguely track them.

The servant guiding Sol dropped her and An off at their designated room. After entering, Sol noticed the various trackers dispersing with only two remaining within her range. Her eyes darted to An as if to ask his opinion.

“They’re probably going back to report, no? Considering we’re in their territory, I’d be surprised if neither the Queen, King, nor their sons took steps to keep track of your whereabouts.”

“How troublesome…”

Her reply was brief and she dismissed the worry moments later. Sitting on her bed, Sol withdrew and focused on her cultivation. An watched the girl and felt somewhat helpless. He knew the girl treated the practice as a way to save her life, but did that mean she should ignore the dangers around her? Well… He was protecting her anyhow… An found himself creating excuses for the girl and laughed at himself.

Moments later, An’s figure flickered from view and left Sol alone in her room. His body reached the villa roof in seconds and from there, he accelerated along the roof until he found a window of interest. His spiritual awareness was locked onto all of the trackers that were following them earlier. He rested against the edge of the window and peeked inside.

“Oh? Queen Blonsall?” An muttered to himself. The tracker he was following must have just completed his report as the man had already started leaving the room when An arrived. An remained around as Queen Blonsall ordered a servant to bring Prince Elric. 

The wait was short and moments later, a familiar young man entered the room and genuflected.

“Mother, I-”

“This Queen doesn’t need to hear your excuses. You and your brother’s actions were already reported to me. What do you think you’re doing fighting against him and losing sight of your main goal?”

Prince Elric felt somewhat misrepresented by her critique. It wasn’t that he was distracted, but that Lady Reviarra was just too strange. Normally, after catching sight of two Princes, wouldn’t a Lady normally introduce herself and ingratiate themselves?

Instead, the girl slipped past them and acted as if they didn’t exist. Following that, what 9 year old would be so confident so as to walk right up to strangers without introduction and engage in conversation? Prince Elric felt helpless at the lady’s actions.

Queen Blonsall watched all the emotions flutter past Prince Elric’s face and she sighed in exasperation. It wasn’t that she was ignorant of his frustrations, but she couldn’t allow him to be bested by his brother. “Your men should have informed you of that girl’s temporary residence. When do you plan to act?”

“Mother, your son was planning to introduce himself after our meeting and then follow up with her over the next two days.”

Queen Blonsall’s reply followed immediately. “And then?”

“...And then?” 

Anger leaked from Queen Blonsall at her son’s response. What the hell does he think he’s doing here? Flirting? She barely held back her rage before setting her son on the right path.

“You will go introduce yourself to that girl right now. Get yourself into her good books and push the boundary until tomorrow afternoon. That girl better be yours by the time this banquet ends or you’ll have lost the most opportune time to claim her. Don’t forget that your brother is after that girl as well. Your father is dead set on leveling the field and that brother of yours is far more aggressive than you give him credit. IF you don’t act soon, that girl will be forced into his palm.”

As if on cue, a servant entered the room and delivered a report. The expressions of Queen Blonsall and Prince Elric underwent rapid adjustments as they heard it. “Prince Roland has invited Lady Reviarra out to a late dinner. The Lady accepted and the two just left by carriage.”