The mont the towering doors parted completely, the banquet hall finally ca into view.
And Luca stopped breathing for a second.
The space beyond them stretched so far that it almost looked unreal. Vaulted arches rose high above the guests’ heads in elegant, repeating patterns that disappeared into the distance like the ribs of so enormous cathedral. Each arch was traced with delicate lines of luminous blue light that ran along the structure like veins, forming intricate patterns that shimred softly against the polished surfaces.
But what truly captured Luca’s attention was the ceiling.
Instead of just stone or tal like the ones in the Kyros Manor, the vast expanse above them looked like the night sky itself.
Galaxies drifted slowly across the imnse do, their colors shifting between violet, gold, and deep indigo as distant stars flickered into existence and faded away again. Nebulas stretched across the ceiling like painted clouds of cosmic dust, while tiny constellations sparkled and shifted as if the heavens themselves had been pulled down and carefully arranged overhead.
Floating lanterns drifted lazily through the air beneath that artificial sky.
Hundreds of them.
Perhaps thousands.
Small golden lights hovered weightlessly, moving slowly as if guided by gentle currents that no one could see. So rose toward the arches before drifting back down, while others glided between the towering pillars, casting warm reflections across the mirror-like marble floor below.
The polished surface reflected everything.
The lights.
The arches.
The people.
The entire hall looked as though it had been duplicated beneath their feet, creating the illusion that the guests were walking through a world suspended between two skies.
And yet, despite how magical the entire place appeared, Luca could imdiately tell that much of it was the result of extrely sophisticated technology rather than spiritual energy.
The glowing architectural lines embedded within the arches.
The controlled drones that acted as pretty floating lanterns.
The projection systems woven seamlessly into the do that rendered the moving galaxies above them with almost impossible clarity.
It wasn’t just decoration.
It was engineering.
Ridiculously expensive engineering. The kind that the baby D-64 apparently wanted to play with according to D-29.
"..."
Well, that wasn’t currently possible because wayward lanterns would definitely be too suspicious. So Luca thought about maybe asking to see one later.
Like much later.
For now, the first-tir simply looked around the enormous hall, his golden eyes reflecting the endless lights and drifting stars.
He had seen a lot of incredible places since he returned, and so of them he had even helped build.
And yet...
He was genuinely impressed.
For a brief mont, the small dungeon owner could only stare at the vast hall before them while one simple thought crossed his mind.
Their guild base must have really shocked his friends.
Of course, unbeknownst to the insan—intense penny pincher, "shock" was actually an understatent for how they felt about the rickety old shack, but it was already good enough that one Luca Kyros was starting to see the light.
But how could he not co to such a realization after fully understanding that this was seriously soone’s house.
Wow.
Beside him, Xavier cast a brief glance across the enormous hall.
The Imperial Crown Prince had not seen this space in a very long ti. His gaze passed over the glowing arches, the floating lanterns, and the drifting constellations with quiet familiarity.
It looked like the palace staff had truly gone all out tonight. Sure, the structure was the sa, but the interior had changed so much he wondered how long it took to co up with this.
The lighting.
The sky projections.
The mobile lanterns.
He personally thought they did a pretty good job.
But despite noticing all of that, Xavier wasn’t particularly interested in further studying the decorations.
Instead, his attention shifted almost imdiately toward Luca.
Because in the end, it didn’t really matter whether the nobles liked the hall.
Or the cadets.
Or the foreign delegates.
What mattered was what Luca thought.
After all, while it might still be far too early to worry about such things, even for the normally confident Crown Prince, the quiet truth was that he couldn’t help wondering about the house he would one day present to his wife.
So naturally—
What mattered most was his little wife’s opinion.
Just as Xavier began to lift a hand, intending to quietly ask what Luca thought of the place—
The Imperial Crown Prince suddenly pivoted.
His movent was sharp, instinctive, and protective.
Because in that exact mont, he felt sothing barreling.
And it scread danger.
And a whole lot of fucking annoyance.
"!"
__
While the mbers of DG were still quietly marveling at the banquet hall, the atmosphere within the room had already begun to shift.
Because for the vultures of the Empire, tonight ant sothing entirely different.
See, while several factions had prepared for the banquet, there was actually one other faction that had been preparing for far longer than a single evening.
Years.
For so families, even decades.
Normally, such a faction would hardly matter to most people. Their presence would be little more than background noise among the countless other concerning beings that could threaten Imperial security.
But for a certain and mildly unfortunate few, they represented the greatest threat present in the room.
And as people could probably guess, right at that mont, they were all looking at the sa thing.
The door.
More specifically, the door that had just opened.
Because that door had revealed sothing many of them had long considered to be the gateway to success.
Naturally, when Luca and the mbers of DG finally stepped into the hall, the change was imdiate. The arriving cadets didn’t know any better, but the others certainly did.
Conversations slowed.
Then stopped.
A noticeable ripple passed through the crowd as guests began turning toward the entrance, their attention drawn almost instinctively to the newly arrived group.
After all, even if the mbers of DG were simply walking into the hall like everyone else had done before them, the effect they created was entirely different.
Perhaps it was the timing.
Perhaps it was the lighting.
Or perhaps it was simply the quiet confidence with which they carried themselves.
Whatever the reason, the mont they crossed the threshold, the attention of the hall shifted.
Luca walked at the front.
There were many ways to describe him. And at that mont, depending on who was asked, they would actually describe him in so many different lights. But at the end of the day, it could be sumd up with the word: scrumptious.
Then just a bit behind the delectable leader walked the rest of DG.
Xavier was the closest, followed by Ollie, Kyle, and Jax just behind them.
Further back, and needing a bit of space as she too happened to be a royal, followed Princess Kira, Ada, Theo, and Noah.
None of them were doing anything particularly dramatic.
They weren’t speaking loudly or making grand gestures.
And yet the simple act of them walking together through the hall produced an unmistakable presence that made people pause. From the staff to the officials, there was an inexplicable instinct to pause and look.
Even those who had originally been deep in conversation found their attention drifting toward the entrance.
Naturally, this kind of attention didn’t go unnoticed.
Across the hall, many nobles exchanged subtle glances with one another.
Then sothing interesting happened.
Several of them began looking at each other.
Not in confusion, but in silent communication. Though honestly, it was really more of a silent competition.
For families hoping to climb higher within the Empire’s social hierarchy, survival was rarely left to chance. Plans were drawn, alliances were considered, and opportunities were seized whenever they appeared.
Particularly for those who didn’t manage to produce prodigies for several generations, they would have to resort to intricate strategies.
And right now, an opportunity had just walked through the door.
Several extraordinary ones.
After all, the individuals who had just entered were not only talented, powerful, and widely admired across the Empire.
They were also available.
And mostly very noble.
Which ant that several possibilities were still open.
So, almost as if guided by an unspoken signal, the nobles began moving.
Well, technically, not themselves.
That would have been far too obvious and far too distasteful.
Instead, they sent in the first wave.
Noble children.
Oh, and not the ones capable of asking people out, but the really tiny ones who would roll every twenty steps.
Yeah, those little critters.
But why?
For a very important reason such as the older and more dangerous one running over while screeching, "Oh my god! Martie! Co back here!"
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