Me and Mareline walked through the hall until eventually reaching my family in the dining hall. She bowed, walking out of the room while closing the door.
"A ball?" I asked as I sat down.
"It's the princess's birthday ball"
"Oh?"
"She's turning 15, the same as you" My mother voiced.
Using the system I had learned when my body's birthday was; the 12th moon
But the importance of my mother's statement wasn't my birthday revelation. Suddenly my expression morphed into one of shock.
"Wait, you mean Estelle?" I yelled.
"Oh you know her name?" My father asked curiously.
"Uhh..I read a book in our library about the royal family."
Over the course of half the year, I explored the castle more and found a library where I had spent some time every now and then.
"Oh." He raised a brow, but eventually accepted the answer.
"Back to the main point. You're expected to go, as the king and many other nobles had been asking about the mysterious addition to our family." My mother explained.
A few moons ago, my existence was revealed to the world, which caused an uproar not just among the duchy. Rather, the entire kingdom was shocked and questioning my father and mother.
"Her birthday is on the first day of the first moon, so until then you'll be practicing etiquette with Mareline."
"So, I only have 2 weeks?"
"Exactly." A grin appeared on her face as she rested it on the back of her hand. "You're a quick learner right? You went into the forest with only a day's training after all."
'Oh..'
This was her revenge for my reckless behavior.
I looked at my father for some assistance but he only looked down at his meal avoiding my gaze.
'Coward.'
What's the point of his title as one of the strongest?
I coughed and smiled.
"Of course. It's plenty of time."
"Excellent."
We eventually shifted topics where I talked about how I had finally slain the blue-eyed wolf.
"Oh? How strong did you say it was?"
"It equalled me so I'd say 2nd rune" I answered my father.
Suddenly my father and mother exchanged glances before looking back at me.
"Are you sure it was a wolf?"
"Yes, you can ask Zeffrey. He was with me when we first saw it."
My father nodded before smiling.
"Goodjob Ro, it sounds like you fought quite hard."
"Mhm, especially since you've reached your 2nd rune rather early. I don't believe any other student can compete with you during the entrance exams."
"Hopefully not." I stifled a laugh.
"What's funny?" My mother asked.
"Nothing"
That was a lie.
I almost laughed because of how wrong that statement was. Considering there was even a 3rd rune in the mix, and I'm only one of three 2nd runes.
In fact the only reason Estelle lost is because Aureus had the experience of 67 lives by the time he met her. Otherwise, I doubt even Aureus would be able to win.
"Hmm okay." I could see a slight pout on my mother's face.
"Anyways…" My father coughed.
We continued talking until dinner eventually ended.
Then tomorrow morning after breakfast was my first etiquette lesson with Mareline.
I walked into our family's ballroom as Mareline had requested. There I saw her standing with a pointing stick in hand, and a chalk board.
Despite this being a mediaeval world, many inventions already existed here. Like the screens seen before, the magical equivalent of a printing press, and many other things.
I walked to her and said a greeting.
"Hello Mareline."
"Hello young lord" she said with a bow.
"What are we learning?"
"Well today we're learning." She waved her finger as words and drawings started appearing on the chalk board behind her.
"The nobles and other notable figures."
"Oh?" I sat down on the chair she had prepared and looked at her attentively.
"The duchess informed me that you've already read a book on the royal family. Care to tell what you've already learned?"
"The last name of the royal family is Windsor. The current king's name is Mikael August Windsor. The oldest child, and daughter's name is Dorothy Windsor, followed by the first son whose name is Seth Liones Windsor, then the second son Grant Windsor, the second daughter Anne Windsor, and finally the youngest Estelle Windsor. The first two children were born from the king's first wife, the third from his second wife, then the last two were born from his third late wife."
"How can you recognize those from the king's bloodline?"
"The king and his children all have red eyes, like the Ruena. Though, his first two have blonde hair like his own, the third has red hair, and the last two have blonde and brown hair respectively."
"Impressive young lord."
"Thank you."
"Then we'll start from that. The royal family of Windsor's is the highest power in the kingdom. Followed by the four dukedomes, Ruena, Gale, Zemilan, and Bruin. Despite being the strongest in terms of military power there are strength gaps. The Ruena and Gale families have the strongest army and both heads are at the 11th rune. The other two are at the 10th rune. But despite the four of them all being dukedoms, the Ruena family is considered a grand dukedom due to the fact the first Ruena was one of the kingdom's founders alongside the first Windsor."
"Really?"
I knew my father was called the grand duke but I never quite knew why. You never really learned the history of the kingdom in the game, all you knew is that there were 3 founders but never their names.
"Yes, the kingdom had 3 founders. Ruena, Windsor, and one that to this day we don't know the name of."
"Mhm." I nodded my head thinking about the unnamed founder.
'The first 11th rune.'
"After the duchies would be the marches, ruled by the 11 marquesses. They protect the borders of the kingdom, despite not being the strongest. They mainly have survey troops and revolve around abilities that control the natural elements. The most notable four are, Marquess Vlad, Marquess Zan, Marquess Derrick, and Marquis Rose. They report directly to the king if there is any sign of attack, and they are located close enough to the four duchies to receive assistance. I took a mental note down as I paid close attention to what she said.
Despite knowing the important figures, I had never known why they were so important. So, this was a good chance to learn.
"Following them are the 32 earldoms. They are situated within the duchies. Most of them aren't very important besides 2. Earl Cian, and Countess Vanessa. The first Earldom is located with the Gale duchy; they have the highest population of farmers within the kingdom. While the second Earldom produces the most scholars than any other and is located in the Bruin duchy. They're important because a lot of those scholars are outsourced to other dukedoms or even the capital as either teachers or strategists."
"Mhm."
"After them are the 128 viscountcies. The only notable figure of the viscounts is Viscount Dorren, his family name is Vaunt. He's quite strong, despite being a viscount. He's a 9th rune, which is equal to most earls and surpassing a few of them as well. And recently rumor has it he's found a successor. I believe his name is Aureus?"
My eyes widened.
'How could I forget..This is the same month Aureus was found. Wait, does that mean he'll be at the ball?'
"Oh? Will he be attending the ball?"
"No, the Viscount has informed everybody that Aureus is still undergoing etiquette training, and will have to be assimilated slowly."
In the first run Aureus was etiquette trained until late into the first year of the academy. So, that would make sense since he doesn't regress until the beginning of the entrance exams.
"Thats unfortunate. Now what about the barons?"
"The barons while attending the ball have no notable figures. Since, they're all retired knights that have just made enough contribution to be granted land."
"Ohh that makes sense."
I couldn't help but smile since that fact wouldn't remain for long considering that Owen comes out of a baron family.
"Now that we've gone through the nobles, remember the only ones you should consider higher than you are the other dukes, and the crown. Your authority alone is equivalent to those of the earls if not slightly higher."
"So don't bow my head?"
"Exactly. You are now the heir to the Ruena Duchy, the future grand duke."
"Understood.."
The pressure dawned on me as I realized how important etiquette training really was.
After the lesson Marline taught me how to do things with 'dignity' as she'd refer to it.
Ranging from how to walk like a noble, how to eat and drink like
a noble, even how to talk like a noble. I hadn't realized but everybody in the duchy had an english accent, I kind of did too but it was more subtle since I probably subconsciously copied them. However, after practicing with Mareline I had started talking with the accent more frequently.
'Who would've thought accents could be learned' I shrugged as Mareline continued on with a dance lesson.
"First you'd approach a lady like this…" She continued on for a while.
And like this two weeks passed, my lessons themselves only took a week or so.
My father and mother stood outside the castle right in front of a carriage.
The moonlight revealed a carriage with the emblem of a sword outlined in red, and behind it was a pair of black wings. The carriage itself was attached to two giant horses, with hooves the size of typical wheels.
"Oh it's the carriage from back then." I voiced, reminiscing my first day in this world.
"Mhm and now you get to sit inside of it" My mother mused as she sat in the carriage.
We didn't have our clothes for the ball on since we'd put them on while we were stepping out using the magic rings on our fingers.
In this world there were magic tools that could instantly equip clothes without having to go through the long process.
So most nobles used this for multiple piece suits or big dresses. Of course we were included in that since none of us really found the dress up process fun.
But, we did our hair and all that stuff.
My father's hair was combed to the side and back showing off his forehead and deep red eyes.
My mother on the other hand had her hair pin start behind her head letting it flow down to her lower back, leaving a little bit in front to frame her face. Her eyes were a deep black with a slight glow of emotion.
I on the other hand simply had my hair parted in the middle not caring enough to style it.
The distance between the duchy and the king's castle was only around 300 kilometres.
Considering this carriage was faster than most supercars on earth it shouldn't take too long.
Carriages for high nobility like this one use horses that have runes as the pulling force. And these horses in particular can move around 1,000 km an hour so we'll get there in less than an hour probably.
That's why we left when the sun was already set since it wouldn't make sense for the grand duke to arrive before everybody else. The only people we should arrive earlier than were the royal family.
In fact, we arrived at the castle in less than 20 minutes, stopping right in front of the gates.
First my mother stepped out as her simple attire morphed into a completely a red ball gown with sleeves that reached her wrist. The gown also had black frills, despite the skirt not being too wide making it flow down elegantly. The skirt however, did not hide her black heels that added a few cms to her height.
Then my father stepped out as his clothes morphed into a 3 piece suit, with a long black coat reaching a little below his waist. Under that was a grey vest that wrapped tightly around him, and covered half of the red tie that was on a black dress shirt. Below the waist he was wearing simple black trousers, with black shoes.
And then I took a step out of the carriage activating my ring. My casual clothes transformed into a suit that resembled my fathers. I had a black coat, but not nearly as long as it stopped a little below my waist. Underneath was simply a black dress shirt and red tie, since I had decided to not wear a vest. But I did add a silver watch, and a ring placed on my right ring finger. Below the waist was simple black pants and shoes like my father.
However, one of the more notable aspects of our clothing were the domino masks on our face. The masks all resembled a dragon in some way with a scaly appearance and the protrusion in the middle that resembled a dragon's snout.
It was a masquerade ball, courtesy of Estelle no doubt.
I had convinced my parents to go with dragon masks since I thought it would be nice. They agreed since they had accepted that side of me a while ago, and were kind of happy I was owning it, even if indirectly.
My father and mother stood behind me, and I stood between the two in the center. We greeted the guards who led us to the entrance of the ball room after processing my existence. We waited outside the entrance as we waited for him to introduce us.
"Now coming in…The Grand Duke and Duchess Ruena, and their son."
We walked in as the heads of all attending nobles snapped to us. Magical crystals snapped images of us as we made our entrance.
This world used magic crystals in the place of things like cameras or phones, but usually they'd be engraved into something. Different crystals had different features, the ones in front of us used mana to capture images.
After all in a world with humans there had to be some form of journalism, it's simply the nature of mankind to feed their curiosity.
'System partially activate Crowned Grace'
[understood]
With a partial activation crowned grace commanded respect that was worthy of a high noble.
My father and mother noticed but simply believed I had learned to control my aura.
I saw three figures approach us.
One of them was a woman with long white hair tied into a braided ponytail that reached her waist. Her eyes were a mint green that matched her long flowy dress.
Following alongside her was a man with dark green hair that was combed and gelled back. He also had a beard that was trimmed so it clung close to his face, complimenting all the green was his sky blue eyes that had matched the tie on his also green suit.
Next to those two was a bald man with golden sun-like eyes, and copper skin. His stature was like a giant as he stood at what I'd assume to be 3 meters. His suit was barely a suit as all he wore was a brown dress shirt that was unbuttoned at the collar, and a similarly colored blazer. Along with black trousers and brown shoes.
"Evening Duchess Gale, Duke Zemilan, and Duke Bruin." I greeted them in the order that I noticed them.
As I greeted them my hand was placed on my heart but my head was only slightly tilted forward, making sure not to bow my head too much.
"Oh? Isn't that well-mannered?" The duchess commented
A hearty laugh sounded from the burly bald headed man. "Where did you hide him all this time?"
"Truly.." Zemilan added
"He was a rather new addition to the family as you know" Father answered while shooting a slight glare at Bruin.
"Oh right..we forgot he wasn't your biological son since you look so similar."
"Well Liz that's because he awakened the blood element" My father explained.
This time I saw everybody, not just the dukes in front of us widen their eyes.
"So you just happened to find a kid with the blood element?" This time the one who spoke was Zemilan.
"We of all people shouldn't question fate's mysteries." Mother chimed in.
"She's right yknow we all wouldn't be here if not for those mysteries." Duke Bruin supported.
Zemilan nodded
"I guess you're right. Plus this just means another new talent for the kingdom, an impressive one at that"
Elizabeth raised a brow.
"2nd rune?" She questioned
This time I nodded my head.
"Yes I broke through a little while ago."
"Well aren't you lucky Q"
My father rubbed my head with a smile.
"Very"
My mother used her head to point to the half of the ballroom with the children of the nobles.
"Why don't you go over there and meet the other kids"
I nodded and walked towards the group situated on the right half of the gigantic ballroom.
While walking I admired the room and it's decorations.
The room was painted an almost golden color, with beams of white reaching up. There were windows on the top of the walls, which I'm assuming are atleast 30 metres high. In the far back center of the room were two curved staircases that curved towards each other, leading to what looked like a second floor. There were enough tables to seat the thousands of people, and they were evenly spread out so there was room to dance in the middle.
The lighting was what looked like an even number of magical lanterns on each of the side walls, and then a large crystal chandelier in the middle.
I eventually reached a group of the noble children.
"Hello."
The group I approached just stared at me, quivering a little bit.
'Oh yeah, system weaken Crowned Grace a little bit so 1st runes won't be too scared.'
[Understood]
As the pressure weakened on the children they looked more calm.
"Hello" They all bowed their heads, even slightly bending at their hips lowering themselves further.
The group was made up of 3 boys and 2 girls.
The girls had silver hair and brown eyes, and brown hair and green eyes respectively.
While the boys were all black haired with green eyes.
"Triplets?"
One of the boys nodded.
"Yes"
"Well nice to meet you all I'm Rohan Ruena."
They all looked shocked at my greeting
I could hear one of the girls whisper to the other.
"I knew he was a high noble but Ruena?" She seemed absolutely stunned.
I smiled trying to be as sincere as possible.
"Yes this is my first outting."
"Ahh" one of the other boys nodded.
Before we could continue out conversation I was called over by a different group.
The group was likely the children of the other Dukes.
I said my goodbyes and then walked over to them.
When I arrived I scrutinized the children.
The group was made up of 6 people total. It was a ratio of 3 girls and 2 boys.
One of the girls had dark green hair that curled around her face and pink eyes. Her dress was a similar shade of green to her hair and flowed all the way to the ground. In her arms was a baby boy that had the tiniest bit of green hair, and bright blue eyes. He was wearing a little green tux that matched his father's colors.
Next to those two was a copper skinned girl with short blonde hair, and bright yellow eyes. She stood at a stature even taller than me, her dress was a simple yellow that had a slight slit at her right leg. It didn't flow like some others as it ended at her ankles. However, she had complimentary gold jewelry. Bracelets on both hands that took up half her forearm, a golden ring on her index finger, and three golden earing's on each ear that dangled down in a staircase pattern.
She was holding the hand of a little girl that had a bob of white hair and crystal blue eyes. She was wearing a little baby gown that was purely white.
Next to that little girl was a boy who I'd assume was her brother, he stood tall and proud. He had shoulder length white hair, and mint green eyes like this mother. He was wearing a white suit, with a green vest and tie. His shoes were black and had a slight point to them.
"You're Ruena's son right?" The golden eyed girl asked.
"Yes, I'm Rohan."
"Well I'm Azure."
"And I'm Sophie" the little girl holding her hand yelled out while raising her hand.
"Miller." Answered her brother.
I turned to the green haired girl who seemed a little shy.
"Uhh..Sera." She said in a hush tone.
Azure answered for the little boy.
"He's Finn."
"Pleasure to meet you all." I placed my hand on my chest.
"The pleasure is ours." Miller voiced.
I glanced at Azure.
With her golden eyes flickering with curiosity she looked like she was about to explode.
"Question?"
"What rune are you?"
It looked as if all of the eyes, besides the toddler and infant were on me.
"2nd."
Miller placed his face in his hands while Sera looked shocked. Azure on the other hand had a grin plastered on her face.
"And you haven't taken the entrance exam yet?" Miller asked.
"No, I'm taking it in two moons."
He sighed out.
"I was still at the the peak of the 1st rune last year, and I was considered talented.." He voiced with a nervous smile.
"Same.." Sera added quietly.
"Oh you're both second years?"
They both nodded.
"What about you?"
"I'm taking the exam with you. But I'm still 1st rune." She shrugged. "But don't worry I'll catch up soon enough."
The smile was plastered on her face, and frankly it scared me a little.
I may be a little battle junkie but from what I remember she was on the extreme end of the spectrum. I remember she used to challenge Aureus everyday, especially when he tried hand to hand combat.
"I think you'll rank at the top of your year with that amount of talent." Miller voiced.
"remember her?" The hush whisper refuted.
"How could I forget..the monster amongst monsters."
Even Azure flinched when this monster was brought up.
"Hm?"
"Estelle Windsor. Rumor has it she's about to break into the 3rd rune." Miller explained.
"3rd rune?" I asked with a brow raised feigning ignorance. "The birthday girl is rather impressive huh.."
"More than impressive…she's a monster in more ways than one."
"Oh?" I asked with an amused tone.
"No..I mean it. No matter what. Do. Not. Get. Involved. With. That. Princess." He emphasized each word.
I chuckled.
"Got it." I held my thumb up.
We continued talking and I found myself enjoying the conversation. Even the little one, Sophie, was a joy.
Suddenly all the lights except the ones on the staircase dimmed. All of the nobles split up onto the right and left sides. I followed Miller and the rest of them to the right staircase.
One of the knights came up and stood in front of the leftward staircase.
"These people need no introduction but with no further wait…the Royal Family makes their way in.
The guard announced each of their names as they made their way into view.
Suddenly from both the right and left sides walked two people. On my left, or the right stair case walked down Dorothy Windsor and she walked to the bottom step while waving her hands. On the left staircase walked Seth, and he, like Dorothy, stopped on the last step. Their blonde hair glistened as the lights reflected off.
Following them was Grant that walked down on the left staircase like Seth, and stopped on the step right above him. With him walked Anne that stopped on the step right above Dorothy.
Then walked the two wives of the king. The one who had fiery red hair liked Seth that went all the way down to her waist took graceful steps down before stopping by her son. The other wife, the first wife, with her long blonde hair, and shining green eyes stopped at the staircase right above Anne.
"And finally…His majesty himself and princess Estella"
All the other members of the family walked off of the staircase, standing below the first step in lines going left to right. So now, the first wife, Nora,and second wife Siena, were both right by the staircases, while Dorothy and Seth were farthest from the staircases, closer to the other nobles.
Down the left staircase walked the King, Mikael. His elegance was unmatched as his silk-like curly golden hair stopped right at his ears, and his well-kept beard went down to the bottom of his neck both glistening in the light of the ballroom. His attire was made out of black fabric without a single wrinkle. On the sleeves and chest of the shirt were golden accents. He also wore golden shoulder pads. To which were attached a red satchel and cape. On the satchel were tens of badges going from top to bottom.
I was awe struck as I watched the golden aura emanating from him and his crown.
But following his walk was the princess.
Her head was down as she carefully walked each step, each step
louder than the other. I could hear the heartbeats increase pace in my general vicinity.
As she walked her simple black dress became clearer and clearer.
Her dress was a pitch blank one that became tighter around her hips and to her legs. Her left leg had a slit that allowed you to see the black heal she was wearing that had a vine like like part that went up to her calf. Her sleeves on the other hand were a mesh with flowery patterns that went all the way down to her wrists. Past her wrists were black gloves that she wore that added to her mysterious vibe.
Due to the force as she stepped down her hair moved out of the way revealing a silver chain earring that held a ruby.
As she walked down, rather than my heart rate speeding up like the rest I could feel it slowing down.
[Host your body heat is rising]
I couldn't take my eyes off of her until the moment she reached the bottom step and her father stood beside her.
The king stepped forward and held out his arms to the people before he opened his mouth.