Victor Aldren, Elena’s older brother.
Victor had also seen him, for a few seconds, their eyes met across the crowd.
Then the young man gave a short and professional smile and walked toward him, there was no hurry in his steps and no hesitation.
Just like a politician who had spent years dealing with influential people.
When he stopped in front of Lian, his smile became a little deeper.
"To be honest...I didn’t think I would see you here again."
"Interesting. I thought the same thing about you." Lian also gave a faint smile.
Victor’s eyes flashed for a moment.
"I guess neither of us planned for this meeting."
"Probably."
The two of them stayed silent for a few seconds.
A silence that might have looked strange to ordinary people, but for people who had grown up in political and noble circles, it was completely normal.
"Unfortunately, Elena didn’t come." Victor was the first one to speak again.
Lian did not expect this explanation, but he said nothing.
"She and Roderick entered the Ruined Realm a few days ago."
"I heard."
"They probably won’t come back for a long time."
Lian only nodded, to him, the matter was not very important, he had already left Elena behind a long time ago, but he could tell that this man did not want to let this subject go.
One of the people who had pushed the hardest to cancel his engagement with Elena was Victor himself.
This man had an absolute political mind.
Everything in his eyes was about profit.
Only profit and his own power.
And if Elena had married him, her future would have been damaged.
It was true that Lian was from the Vorhelm family, but at that time, after the news of his failed Awakening spread, he was no different from an outsider.
His importance inside the family had fallen to the lowest possible level.
And the fact that the Patriarch’s two wives had problems with him became another concern for Victor.
Elena wanted to end the engagement, and her brother gave her his full support.
He convinced their parents, and they handled the situation in a way that did not damage the relationship between the two families.
"I thought your father would come instead of you." Lian said something random to change the subject.
"Our family is more focused on politics, so they usually leave events like this to me." He picked up his glass.
"After all, someone has to talk with the different families."
Lian gave a quick look around.
Almost every ten meters, there was a politician, businessman or member of an important family.
Victor’s presence in a gathering like this was completely natural.
After all, as a politician with great potential, he could shine here.
A few seconds later, Victor smiled again.
"My sister has been very busy these days, I guess having a new boyfriend also brings its own problems."
"I heard, but don’t you have your own life? Why do you keep talking about your sister?" Lian answered without changing his expression, and he could tell that this bastard was trying to provoke him.
In a way, this man was one of the First Wife’s dogs.
Because besides the help he received from his own family, it was with the First Wife’s support that he was able to cancel the engagement and later enter the country’s Congress.
Being able to enter Congress at Victor’s current age of thirty was a very great achievement.
There were even many rumors that many people saw him as one of the country’s future presidents.
But all of that was only possible because of the Patriarch’s First Wife.
Otherwise, even the Aldren family did not have that much power.
The only reason the Vorhelm family had been willing to form a marriage alliance with them was because of the mines they had found in Europe.
Chaos Stone mines.
Victor looked at him for a few moments.
There was no anger on his face.
It was as if he had not heard those words at all.
In the end, he laughed quietly.
"You know? I thought after everything that happened, you would never come back."
"I thought so too, but it seems life always has its own plans." This time, Lian also laughed shortly.
Victor let out a quiet breath.
"Anyway, I’m happy to see you, I wish you the best, there are more important people I need to talk to."
"Thanks."
"You’re welcome, and oh, I hope things go better this time, I hope they don’t throw you out again."
After saying that, Victor took one step back.
Then he put the same diplomatic smile back on his face.
"I have to go, there are many people I need to talk to tonight."
"Good luck."
"I’m always successful."
Victor nodded in farewell and disappeared into the crowd.
In less than a few minutes, Lian saw the young man talking with three different families and two political officials.
"So annoying." He let out a sigh, that bastard kept trying to make him angry, it did not work, but it was still annoying.
Unfortunately, he could not beat him up here.
Otherwise, it would only bring him trouble.
"Anyway, where’s Seris?"
Then Lian’s eyes naturally stopped on another part of the hall.
The Pendragon family.
The senior members of the family were standing near one of the main tables, and among them...was Seris, and complete boredom could be seen in her eyes.
For a moment, their eyes met.
But at that exact moment, Seris looked past him.
As if she had not seen him at all.
No greeting.
No sign.
Not even the smallest change in her expression.
Completely formal and completely indifferent.
Lian only looked at her for a moment, then looked away.
He understood the reason.
Logically, they were not supposed to know each other.
At the same time, while he was looking around, he noticed that many other people were also looking at him.
Some politicians.
Some businessmen.
Some members of the great families.
And even a few of the Vorhelm elders.
From time to time, all of them looked at him and watched him.
The rumors from the Border City had spread.
Everyone here knew about his reputation.
But no one had a complete picture of him yet.
They also did not know what the Vorhelm family’s current attitude toward him was.
That made everyone act carefully.
But it was clear that many people wanted to talk with him.
Among those looks, there were a few others as well.
His brothers and sisters.
The different children of the family.
Sometimes one of them looked at him from far away.
Then acted as if they were busy with something else.
Sometimes another one gave him a short look.
But no one came closer.
No one knew yet how they should treat him.
At the same time, Lian noticed something else as well.
Not all of his brothers and sisters were here.
He quickly counted.
Out of the seven of them...he could not see two at all.
Not inside the hall.
Not among the guests.
Not even near the family.
They were probably not even in the country.
He had a guess about where they might be.
At that moment...the music suddenly stopped.
The noise inside the hall became quiet.
All eyes turned toward the main entrance.
The guards lined up on both sides of the path.
The servants stepped back.
Even many of the family’s elders stood up from their seats.
Then the loud voice of one of the ceremony hosts echoed through the hall.
"Lady Diana Vorhelm."
The entire hall became silent.
And then...she appeared.
A young girl with bright golden hair that shined under the light of the chandeliers.
Her bright blue eyes moved across the crowd.
The Vorhelm family’s formal dress had been made for her with great care.
But more than her appearance, what attracted attention was her popularity.
Many guests smiled.
Many family members looked at her with respect.
Even some of the foreign guests showed positive reactions.
Diana was truly popular.
And it could be understood just from the atmosphere inside the hall.
Walking beside her was a woman whose presence attracted just as much attention.
Lady Celestia Vorhelm.
The Patriarch’s Second Wife.
Long golden hair.
A beautiful but cold face.
And eyes that gave off a feeling of power even from far away.
She walked calmly.
But almost half of the hall was unconsciously watching her movements.
At that moment, Lian completely understood.
This woman’s real influence was much greater than he had imagined.
Years of power.
Years of management.
Years spent building a network of allies.
And the result of all that...was this position.
Diana was greeting the guests.
She smiled.
She talked with different people.
After all, she was the main star of this banquet.
Until...her eyes landed on Lian.
She suddenly stopped.
The smile on her face froze.
Her blue eyes widened slightly.
For several full seconds...she did not move.
"It’s been a while, Diana." Lian simply looked at her and said with a smile on his face.