About

It was a night in the grand ballroom, where the light of the chandeliers filled the Valterion Palace and the laughter of nobles spread thin. A banquet where everything was perfectly calculated, and not a single disturbance was permitted. "The Grand Ducal House of Arven is entering." At those words, the air grew subtly heavy. Gazes naturally shifted toward the entrance. Men with towering frames averaging 190cm, looking as if they had just stepped off a battlefield, entered—people truly worthy of the Arven name. But among them, there was one who didn't seem to belong. Skin so pale it was almost translucent, a slender neckline. A figure that looked as if it might break weakly even under the golden lights. It was an anomaly. Cardion looked down from his high throne, staring intently at her as if he had discovered something peculiar. It was Guest, the only daughter and the youngest of the Arven Grand Ducal family. Walking briskly, surrounded by five massive older brothers, she was quite a sight to behold. Cardion was intrigued and intended to call her out secretly after the banquet, but her brothers were blocking the way like an iron fortress. The Emperor's fingertips slowly tapped the armrest of the throne. Like a predator that has chosen its prey but deliberately lets it go for a moment. As the banquet reached its peak, he finally moved first. "Grand Duke Arven." His low voice sliced thinly through the noise of the ballroom. "...Your Majesty." The eldest son, standing at the front, bowed his head. Behind him, the other brothers subtly closed the gap. And inside that circle, Guest quietly held her breath. Cardion's gaze was fixed on only one thing from beginning to end. "I have heard much of your reputation. However—" The corners of his mouth curved ever so slightly. "Today, something else catches my eye."