The moment Diana’s eyes stopped on Lian, time seemed to stop for a few seconds.
Among hundreds of guests, dozens of politicians, famous Awakened, military commanders, and members of great families, she was the only one who showed a real reaction.
Not because of the Border City fame, and not because of the rumors everyone had been talking about these days.
But because he was her brother.
Two years, a full two years had passed since the last time they had seen each other.
And unlike many of the people in the hall, Diana had never forgotten him.
A few seconds later, the young girl gathered herself.
A gentle smile appeared on her face, and while many people in the hall followed her with their eyes, she walked through the crowd.
The sound of conversations around them slowly became quieter.
Even a few of the family elders looked over with curiosity.
When she stopped a few steps away from Lian, she gave him a small bow with the grace that had been taught to every child of the Vorhelm Family.
"Welcome home, big brother." Her voice was calm.
But in the hall that had suddenly become quiet, almost everyone heard it.
Lian looked at her for a few seconds.
Bright golden hair, clear blue eyes, and a face that looked very similar to their father.
A picture suddenly appeared in his mind, of a little girl who always walked behind him and asked him to spar with her using practice swords.
Time had really passed quickly.
A faint smile appeared on his face.
Among all of their brothers and sisters, he and Diana had one of the closest relationships.
The reason was simple, their age difference was not large, and they had grown up together.
Of course, Celestia had not been happy about that at the time, but she had not cared enough to stop it.
Although as they grew older, the distance between them became greater and greater, until Lian thought Diana had become like everyone else.
"Happy birthday, Diana."
"Thank you." The girl’s smile became a little wider.
They looked at each other for a few more seconds.
But Diana quickly composed herself.
Tonight, she was not only Lian’s little sister.
She was the main host of this event, and hundreds of people had come to see her.
"Sorry, I have to go take care of the guests."
"Go ahead." Lian nodded.
Diana smiled, then turned around and walked back toward the crowd.
Almost immediately, several nobles and politicians walked toward her.
It was as if the main star of the event had finally appeared.
Lian silently watched the scene.
And the longer he watched, the more he realized how different Diana’s position really was.
In this country, great families held birthday parties for their children.
But an event on this level?
Almost never.
In fact, even in the Vorhelm Family, a celebration like this would normally never be held.
The only exception was when someone from the younger generation awakened a Five-Star Class.
A class that could change not only one person’s future, but the future of an entire family.
That was why today looked much more like a national summit than the birthday party of a sixteen-year-old girl.
Generals, CEOs of multi-billion-dollar companies, members of Congress, heirs of great families, all of them were waiting to congratulate Diana.
In the eyes of many of them, Diana was not just a young girl.
She was a valuable investment for the future.
A national talent, maybe even one of the future pillars of this country and this world.
Five-Star Classes were that rare.
They were so rare that many families even hid the fact that one of their children had awakened a Five-Star Class for safety reasons.
Just like Seris, whose class was still completely unknown.
But Lian guessed that she most likely had a Five-Star Warrior Class.
Among all of the Patriarch’s children, only one other person was publicly known to have a Five-Star Class, and that was the eldest son.
As time passed, more and more people entered the hall.
Members of the different branches of the Vorhelm Family, uncles, aunts, cousins.
The atmosphere inside the hall slowly became heavier and more formal.
This was no longer just a party.
This was the gathering of the entire family.
But among all the faces, one absence was very noticeable.
The Patriarch’s first wife.
The strongest woman in the family.
The woman many people considered the true second most powerful person in the family.
But Lian was not surprised at all.
She rarely attended events like this, so her absence was almost normal.
At that moment, someone separated from the crowd and walked directly toward Lian.
Damian.
At the same moment, several curious eyes turned toward them.
Damian was one of the most important people in the family.
He could sit beside politicians, stand beside army commanders, or talk with the family elders.
But instead of all of them, he came directly to Lian.
There could not have been a clearer message than that.
"So, what do you think?" Damian stood beside him.
"It looks more like a global summit than a birthday party." Lian looked at the crowd.
"Welcome to the Vorhelm Family, if you stop being stubborn, you might have the chance to fight for control of this family." Damian laughed.
"Even if I don’t stay here, I can come back whenever I want and take the position of family leader."
"It’s fine if you say that in front of me, but don’t say it in front of the others, they might explode from anger."
Lian shrugged as if he did not care, then looked toward another part of the hall again.
The Pendragon Family.
They were gathered on the eastern side of the hall.
And the longer he watched them, the stranger the relationship between the two families looked.
There was no conflict.
There was no disrespect either.
But the distance between them was obvious.
The members of the two families only spoke when it was necessary.
The conversations were short.
The smiles were fake.
And almost no one stayed beside the other side for more than a few minutes.
It was as if everyone had agreed to be polite... but nothing more.
"If they really dislike each other this much, then why were the Pendragons invited?" Lian slowly raised an eyebrow.
"Politics, inviting them was necessary to avoid creating hostility." Damian only shrugged.
That one word explained almost everything.
Lian thought about it.
No matter how many problems the two sides had, they had never called each other enemies.
And it seemed both sides were trying to make sure their conflict would never become true hostility, or even worse, an existential conflict.
"Where’s Aron?" he then asked.
"With the other young people, he has many friends among them, and maybe he can also find himself a good wife." Damian answered without taking his eyes off the hall.
"..."
A few minutes later, one of the family elders stepped onto the central stage.
An old man with white hair and a formal robe.
The noise inside the hall slowly disappeared.
Then his voice echoed throughout the hall.
"Before the banquet ends, I need to announce the rules of tomorrow’s competition."
Almost everyone’s attention was drawn to him.
Even the politicians.
Even the foreign guests.
Many of them had come here exactly for this announcement.
The old man continued.
"All main participants will be free to choose their own opponent, the winner of each battle will advance to the next round, and then will once again choose the next opponent from among those who have already won."
Whispers spread through the crowd.
But the old man continued.
"This process will continue until only three people remain."
Then he paused and spoke the most important sentence.
"The final three people, no matter which family they belong to, will receive permission to enter the Heavenly Treasury."
A short silence filled the hall.
Even some of the foreign guests were shocked.
The Heavenly Treasury.
A name that almost everyone had heard.
But very few people had ever seen it.
They had never expected that the reward would be access to the Heavenly Treasury.
Everyone’s expression became serious.
They immediately told the younger members of their families how important it was to win.
Time passed.
Slowly, the banquet reached its final hours.
The music was still playing.
But more and more guests were starting to leave.
Lian looked at the time, then said to Damian,
"I think I’ll head back to my room."
"No problem, tomorrow will be a long day for you."
Lian placed his glass on the table and prepared to leave the hall.
There was nothing for him to do here.
From the very beginning, his attendance had only been a way to show respect for Diana.
But at that exact moment... a woman’s voice echoed throughout the hall.
"Wait."
Silence instantly filled the hall.
The music stopped.
Hundreds of people turned at the same time.
Every eye stopped on one person.
Celestia Vorhelm.
The Patriarch’s second wife.
Diana’s mother.
She slowly stepped out of the crowd.
Her face was calm.
But there was power in her eyes that made many people fall silent without even realizing it.
For the first time since the banquet had begun, she looked directly at Lian.
A few seconds of silence passed.
"Since you arrived, you haven’t even bothered to come and greet your stepmother, and now you’re leaving without saying goodbye? Didn’t anyone teach you manners?" she said.
Lian stared at her.
He could see the mockery in her eyes.
This woman had a plan against him.
"My apologies, greetings to the Second Matriarch." he calmly replied, intentionally using the word "Second."
Celestia’s expression immediately became stiff when she heard "Second Matriarch."
It was as if she had heard a very sensitive word, one that could drive her mad.
She spoke in a cold voice.
"I heard you plan to participate in tomorrow’s competition."
"That’s right." Lian answered without changing his expression.
Celestia slowly nodded.
"Good, then I hope that unlike your manners and your lack of respect, at least you won’t bring shame to this family during the duels."
In an instant, it felt as if the temperature inside the hall had dropped by several degrees.
Some people held their breath, others completely froze, this was not just a sentence, it was a public challenge...From one of the most powerful women in the family.
Directly in front of hundreds of witnesses.
Lian let out a quiet sigh.
He had decided not to cause any trouble during this banquet.
But it seemed that fate... had other plans.
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( A/N : So far, how has this arc been?
I feel like it’s been a bit weaker than the previous ones, but I think we need a slower arc like this so I can properly set things up for the next one.
Anyway, if you have any questions, criticism, or suggestions, I’d be happy to hear them. The Discord link is also in the Author’s Note. )