The carriage ride to the palace didn't take long.

"Remember, enjoy yourself, but be careful. Some of these nobles can be rather sly and manipulative in their intentions." Mother spoke to me specifically.

"Don't worry. I'll keep an eye on him." Micah patted my shoulders.

"I'll be fine." I brushed his hand off as we got off the carriage. "I'm not a child."

Technically if we took the whole regression into account, I was the same age as Micah, if not older.

My eyebrows furrowed as we entered the palace ballroom with chandeliers illuminating the massive space of columns and large works of art decorating the walls.

Music coming from an orchestra wafted through the marble floored room at the perfect volume. It provided the right ambiance without forcing anyone to speak louder than needed. And this ball was full of whisperings and back-corner deal-makings.

Unfortunately, I knew the dangers of these nobles more than my parents in some ways. And I had an awful feeling about today.

My eyes moved towards a shrill laugh.

On the right was her highness Anastasia, the sole daughter of the Duke and Duchess of Genuiver. She was in her early thirties yet partied like a teenager, getting wasted at every party she attended. She usually got so drunk, she had to be carried out by her entourage. She would take over their estate in just two years due to the rapidly declining health of her parents.

It was a poor transition. Anastasia didn't care about her people. She continued to play around in the city even after taking responsibility for managing her region. Then when war came, she was the first to make her escape. How she wasn't stripped of her position before then was a mystery to me.

I knew it was a bit hypocritical of me. I was also an awful heir in my first life, but at least I tried in the end. I was just too incompetent and naive to save the Frey Merchant Guild. She was negligent.

Another unpleasant voice sounded to my left.

"I heard you won the phoenix eyes pendant of the first queen of Adovoria at the auction."

My eyes narrowed towards the group of people surrounding Lord Blanche, a pompous man with a fat mole on his left cheek. More than anything else, Lord Blanche loved to show off his wealth.

"Ah, indeed. You heard correctly. Cost me 3,000 gold Deux coins," Lord Blanche said loudly enough for everyone nearby to hear.

The women and men surrounding him gushed.

"Oh my! What a price."

"However, it's such a beautiful necklace!"

Fans fluttered, and mustaches twirled. They all admired the pendant hanging off his wife's neck.

I scoffed.

I knew that it was a fake. It had turned into a big scandal when it was discovered that Lord Blanche had the pendant switched out and resold the original gemstone on the black market. He did it to offset the massive gambling debts he had accumulated.

The pendant wasn't the worst of it, however. He sold off magic stones belonging to The Order on the sly to further cover his debt. His greed led to us not having properly equipped mages to fight against the Kobar Empire.

"What are you scowling at?" Micah whispered.

"All these nobles are trying to show off one to one another how much fancier and richer they are…" I glared at one particular group of nobles. "…but I only see trash."

It's them. The ones responsible for the fall of the Frey Merchant Guild and the demise of my family.

Micah followed my gaze.

"Hmm, the Selvine and Mentisun families? I don't think you ever met them. Or did you?" Micah was looking at me oddly.

"No, I haven't," I said.

Not yet in this lifetime anyway.

Only when I had joined The Order did I learn that these two families orchestrated my family's downfall and the guild’s. And they were right in front of me now, enjoying the party. Not a care in the world.

I clenched my jaw.

"Luca, you could slice a man in half with the glare you're giving them," Micah whispered.

I averted my eyes and moved myself to a table with the drinks and food. Micah walked alongside me.

"Our family does a lot of business with the Selvine family. So you should be careful with that death glare of yours." He picked up a glass of wine and swished the red liquid inside.

"Unless you care to share why you glared their way like that?" he added.

I picked up a glass of water and downed it.

"I just don't like them," I said. "I don't trust them.

I glanced their way. My mother had gone to speak with the Selvine heads. If I didn't know what the future held, the scene appeared like a merry reunion between good friends.

What a load of backstabbing snakes. Their insignia fits them well.

The Selvine family's insignia was a shield with a snake eating its own tail.

"I see... But you need a better reason than not liking someone," Micah said.

He was right. I needed to come up with better explanations for my odd behaviors in the future.

Micah sighed and took a sip of his wine.

"I know you have a reason," he said. "You're just not telling it to me. I told you before, but you can rely on me if you need help."

I studied Micah's face. He was sincere. However, he didn't consider just how insane my reasoning would sound if I tried to explain it.

"I'll leave you be. I'm going to grab some food," I said.

A crowd had moved in to speak with Micah already. As the Frey Merchant Guild's heir, many wished to build connections with him.

I did not envy his position. I hated schmoozing in my first life after he passed. The scummy and insincere flattery, back-handed compliments, and constant battles of words where I had to watch every detail were exhausting.

No, thank you.

Luckily he's alive now, so he can take on all that responsibility. And I can enjoy this feast.

My mouth watered at the delicious food before me.

I grabbed a plate and proceeded to stack it fully. I was layering on my third stack of food atop the first two when I got the sense that perhaps I was overdoing it.

I glanced around to see how much food others had picked up. Most people's plates had a measly five or so appetizers.

"I see you've also got the right idea." A cheerful voice sounded beside me.

I turned and had to do a double-take.

I didn't know what was odder. The tall pyramid of appetizers on this man's plate or the smiling man himself.

He looked to be in his early twenties. He had a sharp jawline and pale violet hair that gleamed in the light and contrasted against his dark complexion. 

It was a miracle that I had only just noticed him. He had a face that was hard to forget and by his clothing choice, he was obviously some wealthy eccentric.

He wore a tailored white suit with thin black pinstripes, and atop the bridge of his nose sat a pair of golden round reflective spectacles. It was impossible to distinguish his eyes from under them, and I was left staring at my own puzzled reflection.

"I haven't seen you before. What's your name?" he asked.

"Luca Frey," I replied.

"Mmm, interesting." He tossed an almond pastry in his mouth and walked off without bothering to introduce himself.

I balked. 

What the heck was that?

"Who was that?" I asked a nearby guest.

The old woman squinted and shook her head.

"Not a clue. Probably one of the Daylan Dynasty guests."

Whatever, not my problem either. I was at this ball mainly for the food too.

I took my plate and walked outside on a large balcony. The sun had just set, and the palace gardens looked beautiful in the twilight glow. It was the perfect view to stuff my mouth with appetizers. 

The carrot tart filled my mouth, and I savored the rich taste.

Food was indeed the greatest pleasure in life.

When I worked as a contractor and later a soldier of The Order, everything I ate was always bland and practical. The goal was merely sustenance, not enjoyment.

How did I take for granted all the delicious food I got to eat at this point in my life?

A rustle sounded behind me.

I turned around and realized I was far from alone.

Two royal guards stood on either side of the balcony entrance, and to the left, on one of the marble benches, sat a beautiful woman in equally breathtaking attire. Crimson red hair the color of rubies framed her face. Atop her head sat a crown of phoenix eye gemstones. 

"My, oh my. Black hair and golden eyes? You must be Luca." A smile painted over her red lips.

I immediately bowed my head and gulped down the food in my mouth.

"Your royal highness, Crown Princess Evelyn, it is an honor that you know my name," I said.

I was thankful for the last-minute etiquette training Lady Elizabeth gave me this afternoon. I was still rather rusty, but it was better than nothing. Before me was none other than Crown Princess Evelyn, the host of this ball.

"Oh, hush. Stop with the formalities." She waved me over. "It's just the two of us. Come. Sit with me. I want to get a better look at you finally. Micah told me so much about you."

I blinked and walked over to sit beside her.

"He has?" I asked.

I didn't even know Micah was close with the crown princess. Especially not enough to talk about me.

"Yes, and clearly, he has never mentioned me?"

I pursed my lips.

Should he have? Should I nod? Is it bad he never mentioned her? Maybe he had? And I don't remember. It's been seven years for me, technically. How would I remember? Micah had died back then. And she had also died young, so I had never formally met her before.

"Stop racking your brain. I can clearly tell he hasn't." She tapped a golden fan over my head.

I blinked. I remembered hearing that Princess Evelyn was rather unorthodox for a royal, but I didn't expect this behavior. I was at a complete loss for how to behave appropriately around her.

"Oh good, you brought food," she said. "I was going to ask one of the guards to bring me some."

She picked up two tarts on my plate and popped them in her mouth. Her cheeks bulged out like some sort of hamster as she chewed.

I tried to hold back my laugh.

This was the Crown Princess Evelyn? She would have made for an intriguing ruler had she lived to take the throne.

"Oh, hush." She tapped her fan on my head again and swallowed down her food.

"I was so busy, I didn't get a chance to eat yet," she explained. "And I have to go back out soon. I'm the host. But once I do, I'll be too busy to get a bite of food in."

"How do you know my brother?" I asked.

I didn't know what else to say. It was probably a dumb question, but it was pretty established that I had no idea my brother and she were in contact.

"He's been helping me sort some garbage out. And he's certainly been accommodating. But, unfortunately, Adovoria has a lot of garbage…." She unfolded her golden fan and fanned herself. Her hazel eyes gazed out towards the palace garden.

"Say, Luca, what do you think the future holds for Adovoria?" She asked.

Complete destruction.

"What do you mean by that?" I asked.

"Say five or seven years from now, how do you suppose Adovoria will be?" Her hazel eyes met mine.

"Destroyed," I answered honestly. "There's too much corruption now in the kingdom, and it'll only worsen. If we are attacked in such a state, Adovoria will be utterly destroyed.”

I couldn't tell her I knew the future, but perhaps a hint would help? Who knows, perhaps by informing her, I could circumvent Adovoria's fall under the Kobar Empire? But then again, the future I knew didn't have Princess Evelyn either.

A smile formed across her lips, and she laughed.

"My, oh my. You and your brother not only look alike, but you even think alike."

I furrowed my eyebrows at this.

"But we look nothing alike..?"

Micah was blonde, green-eyed, and tall. I was black-haired, golden-eyed, and—well, not tall, but definitely not short. I was a good height. Normal. No, definitely higher than average. Micah was just unusually tall.

"The way you smile is similar. Ah, but you have a better personality, that's certain," she added.

That made even less sense to me.

"I don't think you know me well enough to assume that," I said.

If anyone had a better personality, it was obviously Micah. He was more intelligent, kinder, and more put together than me. At this period of time, I did nothing but laze around and play poorly humored pranks. And in my original life, after the Frey family fell, my life was filled with nothing but bloodshed.

Princess Evelyn stood up and patted her gown out.

"I suppose that's true. You could have a nasty personality as well." She winked at me. "Well, I better be a proper host and greet my guests now that everyone should have arrived."

I watched her walk back inside and felt flabbergasted.

What was with her?

I wasn't fond of her sister, who eventually had taken the throne. Still, Princess Evelyn was beyond any of my expectations or comprehension.

"Welcome, everyone!" Princess Evelyn started to speak.

I walked back inside to see Princess Evelyn standing alongside Micah before a packed ballroom.

I guess Micah and Princess Evelyn are close.

I leaned against one of the columns and continued to munch on the remaining appetizers on my plate.

"Thank you all for taking the time to attend this ball of mine. You are all important figures to the future of Adovoria, and it makes me happy to share this evening with all of you."

An attendant came by Princess Evelyn and Micah with two flutes of champagne. They grabbed one each.

"I would like to make a toast to the prosperity of our kingdom and to working together in the coming years towards a bright and prosperous future. Also, at the end of the evening, I have a few special announcements to make. Please look forward to them, and thank you again for your presence!"

I noted that all the other guests also had flutes in their hands.

"Young master." An attendant came by and offered me champagne.

I took the flute and raised it up symbolically to toast the speech. I didn't bother taking a sip, however. I set the flute down and continued to munch on my appetizers.

I wonder if it'd be possible to poach the royal pastry chef. Probably not, right?

I bit into a gooseberry macaroon and felt the sweetness and sour combination overflow in my mouth.

It's worth a try. No, we absolutely had to have them. If we doubled their salary, they'll probably come over, right? I should talk to Mother about this.

I licked my fingers while eyeing the ballroom, but Mother was nowhere to be seen. She was likely working some back-room deals on behalf of the Frey Merchant Guild as well.

Cough. Cough.

"Oh my!"

"Aghhhhh!"

Screams sounded near me. 

I looked over and saw Princess Evelyn's golden ball gown covered in red. Her hand was up to her mouth, and more blood was seeping through her fingers.

Beside her, Micah was crouching. His own hand was over his mouth. Blood spilled out onto the white marble floor through his fingers. The red puddle was enormous.

No.

The plate in my hand fell and shattered. Pastries scattered across the floor.

No.

I lunged forward toward Micah.

Damn it. No.

"Hey… you got some crumbs on your face." Micah looked up at me and managed a smile. Blood covered his mouth.

"Damn it. What happened?" I clutched him in my arms.

Micah's green eyes moved towards the shattered champagne glass.

"I suppose… the champagne didn't agree with me." His eyes flickered closed.

Damn it. What was with Micah and his lousy last words? Every damn time!

I knew something would go wrong. I had a bad feeling about today from the start.

Tsk.

And to think I was worried this morning about making a fool of myself for not knowing the proper etiquette?

I looked over Princess Evelyn's lifeless body lying beside me. Guards surrounded her, but their presence was useless. It was evident that she was dead.

I clenched my jaw.

How could I be so careless? Especially after I barely managed to save Micah once earlier today? I should have been on better guard!

But everything today was unlike my original life. I had remembered that Princess Evelyn died young, but it wasn't at this ball originally. She had died a few days after Micah.

I didn’t even consider the possibility that their deaths might have been related. Especially given how I had just discovered they were close.

My eyes swept across the attendants in the ballroom.

Who was it? Who poisoned them?

My eyes moved towards the corrupt and backstabbing nobles standing at the sides of the ballroom.

And who was behind it?

Whoever it was, they did something foolish. And they were going to pay for their stupidity.

"Luca Frey, please come with us."

I felt two hands roughly pull me up away from Micah.

"You were reportedly the last one seen with the Frey heir and Crown Princess. We have some questions for you."

Luca Frey just doesn't get a break now does he? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

And how did he go about changing the day so much that Princess Evelyn actually died a few days early?