"Knock"
"Knock"
"Creak"
The sound of knocking and the door opening woke Caesar up.
"Yawn"
Caesar put his hand in front of his mouth and yawned with squinted eyes.
"Young master, these maids will help prepare you for tonight"s ball"
Caesar opened his eyes and saw Sebastian along with 4 other maid girls. The maids seemed to have stars in their eyes as they looked towards Caesar.
"Help me with what exactly?"
"Fitting, changing, bathing, tr.i.m.m.i.n.g, cle"
"ok, I get it" Caesar felt as though Sebastian would go on forever If he didn"t stop him.
"Clap"
Sebastian clapped his hands and the maids pounced on Caesar…. Their womanly instincts took control of their earlier fear for the young master.
"Oh, boy" were the only words Caesar could let out of his mouth before the maids had their way with him. They trimmed his eyebrows, put a shine in his hair, gave him very expensive cologne. They even stripped him to check his "height" and "width"
After Caesar was dressed Sebastian looked at him and hurriedly nodded repeatedly.
"Very nice, as expected of the duke"s son"
Caesar walked in front of the tall mirror and saw his appearance. Foxy eyes, tall nose with a beautifully featured face and long white hair that extended down to the ends of his back. The black and red military outfit complimented his looks and made him more "devilish". Caesar put the military cap on his head and nodded with approval.
"Ok, young master the lord is already waiting for you inside the carriage"
"Alright, let"s head out then we don"t want to make my father wait too long"
Caesar put the gloves on his hands and started following Sebastian out of the door. The maids started whispering as he left, he could just barely hear their conversation.
"With the young master"s pretty looks I didn"t think he would be so bi- well endowed"
"I know right, G.o.d is truly not fair"
"He puts my husband to shame"
Pride suddenly showed in Caesar"s smile as he walked out of the door. Sebastian lead Caesar through the manor and out the front door.
Rows of guards were around the carriage, they all had muscular bodies and looked battle hardened. There were about 5 knights on horses escorting the carriage from in front.
Sebastian stepped into the carriage and put his hand out to help Caesar up… he grabbed his hand and stepped in the luxurious carriage. Caesar sat on one side of the carriage while his father and Sebastian sat on the other side.
Caesar started looking around and admiring the carriage, it had engravings of dragons intertwining. The carriage itself was colored black, however, all of the engravings were a shiny gold.
"An excellent carriage father" Caesar could not help but praise
"It is called the "celestial dragon carriage" I bought it when I was a young man"
"Father, what is the king"s personality like?" Caesar had asked some maids however no one actually knows what the king was like so he was rather curious.
"He is quite easy going…. Unfortunately, his sons didn"t take after him"
"What do you mean?"
"All three of his sons are fighting over the crown, each having their own faction. Although the crown prince is the inheritor in name that could change very easily"
"So this ball is meant to seek candidates for the crown prince"s faction?"
"Sigh, that"s what I a.s.sume as well but I could be wrong…"
Caesar looked out of the window of the carriage while deep in thought.
Although Caesar has been living a relatively easy going life thus far this was going to change eventually… he used to be the CEO of one of the biggest companies in the world. How could he settle for being a mere "son of a duke".
Caesar smiled coldly at the thought of children manipulating him into their faction.
Chills went up Sebastian"s back as he looked at Caesar"s smile.
The carriage traveled relatively peaceful, no one had the courage to stop a duke"s carriage that was being protected by hundreds of trained knights.
The carriage soon approached the inner castle"s gates.
As the carriage pa.s.sed the castle gates a guard rushed out towards the carriage window.
"Identification please"
Crowley took out a golden seal from his pocket and handed it to the guard after the guard inspected it for a few seconds he respectively handed it back.
"Have a wonderful time Lord Crowley"
Crowley nodded in response and the carriage started moving forward again.
The carriage reached its destination soon after and parked next to quite a few other elegant looking carriages.
"It seems that lots of others got here before us," Caesar said as he got out of the carriage
"Hmph, they are so quick to lick that prince"s shoes"
Caesar chuckled in response to his father.
Both Caesar and Crowley walked up very wide stairs towards the hall doors as Sebastian went towards the "servant room"… The hall doors were open wide with a blood red carpet went through the middle of the floor.
When Caesar and Crowley entered the halls they saw the tables spread out through the room with many young men and women chatting while sitting at them. There was a dance floor in the middle of the hall with an instrumental band playing melodious tunes.
Not many people noticed Caesars and Crowley"s entrance as they were absorbed with talking to their peers.
Caesar sat down at an abandoned table located in the corner of the hall. Crowley went to go pay his greetings towards the king.
Caesar started observing everyone in the ballroom since the "party" hasn"t officially started yet the crown prince and king have yet to make an appearance. They are presumably getting prepared in the back rooms.
Caesar soon spotted someone he knew. Anastasia was chatting with a group of girlfriends at a table close to the middle of the hall, after staring for a few seconds he averted his gaze and looked at the refreshments on the table. Caesar picked up a gla.s.s of expensive wine and started sipping it awaiting the upcoming show.
The hall doors closed and the light in the ballroom dimmed. The hall turned silent and only the sound of footsteps could be heard.
"Step"
"Step"
A blonde haired old man with a long white beard walked inside the ballroom, alongside him was a pretty middle-aged woman and three teenagers. The oldest one looked about 16 while the middle one looked 15 and the youngest looking 14.
They all had very similar features but there were some noticeable differences such as the nose and eyes. The oldest of the three, the crown prince walked into the middle of the ball and started giving a speech.
"Thank you all for coming here. The n.o.bles present today are the backbone of our kingdom and I don"t know what we would do without you. You all have my deepest grat.i.tude for gracing me and our kingdom"
The Crown prince spoke with a slightly immature voice but very confident tone.
"Clap"
"Clap"
The prince suddenly carried on with a troubled look
"Unfortunately the elves and fairies in the northern forest are blocking our trade routes with other kingdoms… Our kingdom has decided to send an expeditionary force to eliminate these forces…... alas we have no generals of high enough rank to lead the soldiers, Would any of the younger generation n.o.bles like to volunteer"
-Silence-
No one in the hall said anything, none of the younger n.o.bles had experienced a difficult upbringing. All fed with a silver spoon since birth. Who would want to lead an army on a battlefield?
Caesar squinted his eyes and continued drinking his wine, "none of this was going to be my problem anyway" he thought as he took a sip.
"I know that it is a difficult choice to leave home and enter a battlefield and that is why I have selected three of the most excellent candidates for the expedition."
The crown prince paused here and everyone waited to hear his candidates
"Could Reynolds Rall, Grifford Lion, and Mephesto Pheles please walk towards the middle of the ballroom"
Caesar was flabbergasted, "why was my name called" he whispered under his breath
Caesar"s father wasn"t much better off, his eyes started trembling in shock.
Two young men that looked the tender age of 15 and 16 respectively started wobbling towards the middle of the hall, their shaking legs was evidence of their fear.
Caesar looked over towards his father and saw him nod his head towards him.
"Sigh, why the fuc*k was my name called" Caesar muttered under his breath as he slowly stood up.
*step*
*step*
Caesar walked slowly and steadily towards the middle of the room.
Once he reached to where the other two were he stood with them. He was at the bare minimum a head taller than the other two.
"Whoa"
Gasps of admiration could be heard across the room.
"Which n.o.ble is that?"
"I didn"t know there was such a handsome man among the younger generation hohoho"
"Psh, how could a guy like that enter battle"
Whispers of admiration and jealousy rang out across the floor halls.
"Ahem"
The crown prince cleared his throat, "do any of you three wish to volunteer to lead the expedition"
-silence-
"Heh what cowards"
"These are the candidates the prince found?"
Caesar rolled his eyes at the jeering, " Weren"t these the same fools that were silent just a second ago when the prince asked for volunteers"
Reynolds clearly affected by the jeering was blushing in embarra.s.sment and slowly raised his hand. "I-I-I w-will v-volunt-"
"I"ll do it"
Caesar said in a cold voice
Reynolds breathed a sigh of relief.
The crown prince looked at Caesar,
"Thank you Mephesto, you will go down as a hero"
"I have a few conditions"
"Huh" The crown prince tilted his head in confusion
"I want low-mid level beast cores, lots of them"
"I don"t know why you want beast cores but that can be arranged"
"Excellent"
The rest of the n.o.bles started whispering to each other about the development but Caesar didn"t care.
Caesar turned away and sat back down at the table in the corner, He continued sipping his wine.
Crowley"s quickly walked over to his son
"Do you know what you have signed up for? This is practically a death trap, defeating elves in their own forest is basically an impossible feat"
"I know what I"m doing father. Besides, I didn"t want that kid to go kill himself and others with his impulsive orders"
"Sigh, you are truly your mother"s son," Crowley said and walked away dejectedly
The crown prince walked over right after Crowley and put his hand out…
"Thank you for volunteering, the expedition moves out tomorrow morning"
"Will the beast core"s arrive tonight or tomorrow morning?" Caesar didn"t shake his hand and asked him a question instead
The crown prince"s brow furrowed for a second before turning back to normal, he retracted his hand and said.
"They will arrive at your manor tonight after the party"
"That"s good"
Caesar downed the rest of the wine in his gla.s.s and stood up. He walked over to his father.
"I"ll be waiting in the carriage father."
"Okay, I"ll be right there"
Caesar walked outside and entered into the carriage. "I need to do some quick research on elves when I get back"
Caesar gazed outside the window and started laughing into the night. "This will be the start of my legend in this world," he thought inwardly