Lith had gifted Baron Wyalon the artifact intended for Count Lark, making him one of the few owners of a fully loaded DoLorean.
"Great." Wyalon laughed rrily. "There is not a single stuck-up, powdered-nose noble of the Kellar region that doesn't eat their heart out when they see it."
"Eiros, it's not nice to talk about our neighbors like that." It was supposed to be a reproach, but it was clear from the Baroness' tone that she was gloating.
Mirias giggled as she scolded her husband, and her cheeks flushed with pride, giving her pale visage a rare spark of color.
Since the Ernas were already inside, the last guests to enter were Zinya and Zogar Vastor, Duke and Ryssa Marth, and the Royals.
"Manoa… I an, your son is growing up big and strong, Headmaster Marth." The King said, doing his best to smile and sound jovial.
There was sothing unsettling in Dhiral Manohar Marth, and it wasn't just the black hair streaked with silver of his human form. That was the only physical resemblance he bore to the Mad Professor, and plenty of people shared those traits.
What truly upset ron was the way the baby boy looked at the people around him and listened whenever soone talked. It was as if Dhiral were studying his surroundings and paying attention to what was said.
The spark in his eyes wasn't that of a curious boy trying to understand the complexities of the world around him, but of soone who asured the people in his sa room and found them wanting.
The sa gaze of the late god of healing.
'It only lacks the ill-concealed spite and the condescending attitude to match the original.' The King thought.
"Thank you for your kind words, Your Majesty." Marth replied. "Dhiral is indeed intelligent for his age, and he has never gotten ill. The only issue with him is that he's very… curious, and he likes to experint with his Dryad powers."
"You are a smart boy, aren't you?" Queen Sylpha took the baby boy's small hand, talking in a soothing voice. "Can you say, Dada? Can you?"
"I'm sorry, miss." The baby boy took back his hand, staring at the Queen with eyes full of compassion. "I don't speak stupids."
At those words, the Royals went pale and froze as if Mogar had struck them down with a lightning bolt.
"Dhiral!" Ryssa's light green cheeks flushed in embarrassnt. "How many tis do I have to tell you that it's not nice to speak to strangers like that?"
"Does he say that often?" ron swallowed hard.
"But Mom, the old lady talks weird!" Manohar the Second replied. "Unless she has a concussion, that's not normal."
"A concussion?" Sylpha stuttered, refusing to believe that a child that young could know dical terms.
"See? She even parrots my words." Dhiral leaned towards the Queen. "Her pupils are not dilated, but I suspect she suffered a blow to the head-"
"Dhiral!" Marth bowed to the Royals in apology and rushed the baby boy toward the crib while Manohar the Second was still diagnosing the most probable causes for the Queen's ntal impairnt.
"I'm so sorry." Ryssa bowed so low that her golden hair brushed the stairway. "He doesn't an it. Dhiral is too young to understand the difference between baby talk and brain damage."
"I see." The King nodded, needing sheer willpower to keep his countenance.
Once the Royals were announced, the gala could finally start.
Lith opened the evening by leading his guests to the Main Hall, where drinks and appetizers waited for them. The King and Queen needed sothing strong to drink and sowhere to sit down, but luckily they were spoilt for choice.
The Main Hall was a tall, rectangular room filled with white oval tables surrounded by enough comfortable padded chairs to accommodate all the guests.
Butlers and maids stood beside the buffet tables lined up against the walls, ready to bring the guests whatever they wanted.
The Royals plopped on the nearest sofa and ordered an entire bottle of Water Dragon, a strong liquor with an alcohol content above 40%. They drank the first glass in one gulp, and took sothing to eat only after a waiter politely offered them snacks to go with the alcohol.
Many nobles used the opportunity to congratulate the Ernas.
Quylla's twins and Friya's marriage were still the talk of the Royal Court. No one understood why Quylla rarely brought Orikan and Jirya around, while the guests on Nalrond's side of the aisle had left a deep impression.
On top of that, due to Fyrwal's newfound position as Council Representative, hiding her identity as a Hydra had beco pointless. Between that and her role as one of the four founding pillars of the Kingdom, she had garnered the interest of many.
The Royals had not disclosed that she was one of the original mbers of Valeron the First's team to avoid causing an uproar. Having an Emperor Beast among the nobility was already quite the shocking news.
Rewriting the history of the Kingdom would have been too much, and it had to wait for more peaceful tis. The Royals couldn't risk Orpal inciting panic and using the unrest to further his agenda.
The reveal drew attention to Fyrwal, Faluel, and their unexpected guest.
Fyrwal had brought a young woman with her who seed to be in her early twenties. Her silver hair streaked with all elents and yellow eyes betrayed her non-human nature, and so did her beauty and grace.
She wore a pristine white gala dress that emphasized her hair and was decorated with magical gemstones of seven colors that matched the streaks in her hair.
"Is she a Hydra as well?" Many people asked.
Many people believed that the seven elental streaks that Fyrwal and Faluel carried and that Friya had gained after the start of her apprenticeship were sohow related to the Hydra blood.
Aside from Awakened, no one knew about Spirit Magic, and the noble guests couldn't explain the erald streak otherwise.
"Do you know her?" Vastor asked when Lith approached his table.
"Never seen her before." Lith replied. "Fyrwal asked if she could bring a plus one, and I said yes. Why? Have you t her before?"
"Not at all." Vastor shook his head. "Yet there's sothing familiar about her."
The first phase of a Royal Gala was ant for the guests to mingle, make new acquaintances, and blow off all the old gossip to make room for the events of the night.
Awakened and fake mages sward nadion, while the elders of all bloodlines asked about Elysia and took interest in the young Verhens like Aran, Leria, and the triplets.
They carried Lith's sa blood, and there was no telling if they would grow up to be as powerful as him or even more.
As nadion's sole heir and a Verhen at that, Solus had so many suitors that she would have chased them off with a stick, if only she weren't afraid that the Sage Staff might speak out of turn and put her into trouble.
'The last thing I want is to ruin Lith's birthday by drawing attention to and having to explain why my weapon looks so much like Vorgh's staff.'
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