“…Excuse me?”

What? Whose lover? The servant frowned and requested once more, so Antes, leaning on the window, launched himself once more.

“I mentioned, the mansion proprietor’s lover. Once I say that, you’ll know. Go and inform her.”

“Oh… she’s not right here proper now.”

“Did she exit?”

“Sure, she left about an hour in the past.”

“Oh?”

She’s out at this hour? Though it wasn’t deep into the night time, it was previous six within the night.

“The place did she go?”

“She went to a celebration.”

“Celebration? Which celebration?”

“She mentioned it’s a celebration on the imperial palace. Somebody got here to select her up, they usually left collectively.”

A celebration on the imperial palace? And she or he’s accompanied?

At the moment, the one celebration taking place on the imperial palace could be the coming-of-age ceremony. Why would Luna go there?

Feeling puzzled, Antes furrowed his brows.

“Is Royer inside? Name him, anybody will do.”

“Are you speaking about Legal professional Royer?”

Why was he asking so many questions? Impatient, Antes simply nodded.

The servant hesitated for a second after which went inside to fetch Royer. After a short time.

“Sir Antes!?”

Royer, trying as if he had seen a ghost, rushed out. The identify ‘Antes’ additionally shocked the servant who returned with him.

No matter all that, an uninterested Antes instantly requested about Luna’s whereabouts.

“The place did the younger woman go? I heard she went to the imperial palace.”

“Ah… nicely, she went to the coming-of-age ceremony with Rosemary.”

“…”

There was a second of silence. He had anticipated some points when he heard Luna had purchased Rosemary’s mansion, however he by no means anticipated them to go to a celebration collectively.

“…Why the hell?”

That’s all he might say. Why would she, who grew to become an grownup two years in the past, go to a coming-of-age celebration? And with Rosemary of all folks?

Royer additionally appeared troubled. He had been surprised by this sudden pairing for weeks now. However one factor was clear.

“Rosemary appears to actually like younger woman Luna.”

“What?”

“I believe she fell for her at first sight.”

Ever since Luna caught the falling Rosemary, her gaze had been fairly uncommon.

“What nonsense are you speaking about?”

Antes was irritated. Royer understood. To anybody, it sounded absurd.

“It would sound like nonsense, but it surely’s true. Rosemary likes Luna a lot that they’ve turn out to be shut, and Luna went to the coming-of-age ceremony collectively as an escort.”

To lend credibility to his assertion, Royer nudged the nonetheless shocked servant close by, who nodded in settlement.

Regardless of the reason, Antes remained silent with a displeased expression, then checked his apparel. Thankfully, pondering of assembly Luna, he had turned into clear garments earlier than arriving within the capital. His hair was additionally decently groomed.

“How lengthy since they left?”

“It’s been some time.”

“Flip the carriage round.”

Antes, opening the small door connecting to the motive force’s seat, mentioned so.

“The place to?”

“To the imperial palace.”

Immediately asserting he’s going to the palace, Royer, pale-faced, grabbed the open window of the carriage.

“You’re not saying you’re going to the coming-of-age ceremony, are you!?”

“Hm, why not?”

After all! How might you not know what would occur if you happen to went? Royer needed to retort, however he didn’t have the braveness. As an alternative, he identified the practical downside.

“How do you plan to go with out an invite?”

“Simply bounce over the fence.”

“How would you recover from such a excessive wall?”

“Properly, I can break it down.”

You’re mad! For those who do such a factor, who do you assume must take care of the implications? Royer’s eyes grew to become sharp.

To forestall Royer from objecting any additional, Antes slapped his hand away from the window.

“Change the gatekeeper. He blabs in regards to the grasp’s private life to a stranger whose id he doesn’t even know.”

With a ‘faucet faucet,’ the sound of knocking on the carriage wall made the coachman flip the carriage in haste, whereas the servant was paralyzed in shock.

It wasn’t as in the event that they have been being chased, but the quickly disappearing carriage left Royer touching his brow, muttering, “This isn’t my concern.”

* * *

Upon nearing the imperial palace, Antes confronted a line of carriages all making an attempt to enter the imperial fortress. All have been there to attend the coming-of-age celebration. On account of thorough id and invitation checks, a protracted line had shaped.

Realizing that Marquis Vincent’s carriage wasn’t within the lineup, he shifted his gaze to the palace partitions.

‘Seems prefer it might be damaged down.’

Nonetheless, if there have been guards on the opposite facet, the state of affairs might get trickier. He might presumably take care of the guards as nicely, however he had no intention of inflicting such a scene.

Antes then fetched a number of paperwork and a field and instructed the coachman:

“Don’t wait, cost straight to the doorway and inform them you’re from the Antares Service provider Guild.”

“Sure.”

Had Royer been within the carriage, he would have actually protested. However these from the Antares Service provider Guild by no means questioned his orders.

The coachman did as instructed and lower on to the entrance of the doorway line.

An aristocratic younger woman, who was simply getting her invitation checked, appeared aggravated at Antes’s= carriage.

The guard, puzzled by this audacity, approached, and the coachman rapidly spoke up:

“We’re from the Antares Service provider Guild.”

“Antares Service provider Guild?”

Concurrently, Antes opened the carriage window and handed over the paperwork to the guard.

“I’ve come to current the Crown Prince, now of age, with a present.”

On the point out of the ‘Crown Prince’, the guard couldn’t not verify. The doc was solely about inspecting the high-purity gold from Antares. There was no point out of a present for the prince.

Antes, irritated, retorted, “Are you implying there’s a problem with the doc?”

“No, however… there’s no point out of the Crown Prince…”

“The present was verbally mentioned. Are you able to simply allow us to in with out making a fuss?”

Why did he come on the day of the coming-of-age celebration when guests have been to be restricted?

Seeing the guard’s hesitation, Antes opened a field revealing its contents.

“I introduced a golden wine glass for His Highness to drink his first wine as an grownup. Step apart.”

It was a wine glass made from gold.

With the higher half made from glass and the center crafted with gold, the attractive glass was truly a present for Luna. The Crown Prince was of no significance to him.

It was a lie, however with the official doc and a worthwhile present, the guard couldn’t deny them entry.

“What on earth is occurring!?”

An aristocratic younger woman, who had waited for a very long time for her flip, was enraged on the cut-in.

“Understood. I’ll confirm your id.”

“Antes Vincent, the pinnacle of Antares Service provider Guild.”

With that, Antes confirmed his household’s brooch. The guards immediately turned chilly.

“If it’s verified, allow us to in.”

Nobody tried to cease them. No, nobody needed to. It wasn’t the guards’ fault; if anybody was in charge, it was Antes who selected to go to that day.

Having efficiently entered the palace, Antes stepped out of the carriage and entered the inside.

“The place’s the ballroom?”

“It’s on the third flooring, the primary corridor.”

His look was neat and appeared like a well-grown aristocrat, so the servant of the palace didn’t hesitate to inform him the placement of the banquet corridor.

As he checked the steps and was about to ascend, somebody known as out to Antes.

“Hey! Wait there for a second!”

When he circled, it was the younger noblewoman who was earlier aggravated by being lower in line. She approached Antes with a really offended expression.

“The place do you get off slicing in line with out ready your flip!?”

Behind the angrily fuming woman, a guarding knight was watching the state of affairs with a tense expression, able to act at any signal of bother.

“I apologize. Though I had pressing enterprise, it was incorrect of me.”

It was certainly a mistake. If there was a traditional strategy to enter, he wouldn’t have accomplished such a factor.

The girl, who didn’t anticipate him to apologize after slicing in line, hesitated for a second after which mentioned”

“Why are you chatting with me informally?”

Recalling his first assembly with Luna on the point out of casual speech, Antes set free a small chuckle.

Till then, he thought he’d by no means have the ability to use honorifics. However later, when he met a Baron and wanted to make a superb impression, it got here out naturally. Since then, he’d used it with out hesitation when needed.

Nonetheless, now wasn’t the time.

“It’s a behavior. I apologize for that too.”

Wishing to wrap issues up rapidly as they have been losing time, Antes smiled brightly.

Utilizing his good-looking seems normally resolved conditions swiftly. It was less complicated and higher than getting offended and bodily.

If he had all the time used his seems nicely since childhood, it could have been helpful. After all, it didn’t all the time work on everybody.

“…!”

Certain sufficient, the younger woman’s face turned pink in a flash, her shock evident.

Benefiting from her distraction, Antes rapidly ascended the steps. The girl, having momentarily forgotten her dignity, shouted after him.

“Hey, wait! You must not less than inform me your identify! I’m, I’m known as Flory Flora!”

Whether or not he heard her or not, she remembered his face so it could be alright.

Flora, together with her cheeks flushed, slowly adopted Antes up the steps, tracing the trail of the now-vanished determine.