Ennoblement Ceremony of Sir Oswald Sponsored by the Noble Faction

AFTER THE incident in his greenhouse, Cory had yet to see Victoria again. And now, he was looking forwards to take a glimpse at her even from afar.

"Announcing the arrival of the royal family! May the blessings of the Goddess Gaia rained upon you!"

King Elphaim and Queen Aurina together with the two princes entered the grand banquet regally. The air of dominance whipped around them with equal grace. All of them showed respect to the highest authority in the empire. Cory simply scanned the assembly hall to see the pair of cherry eyes that he wanted to see for many days already.

As soon as they situated in the banquet, the aristocratic faction and noble faction flocked around the king and queen.

King Elphaim stood in front of them. "Innovations keep our glorious empire prosperous for many years. With the help of our magicians, the empire led the continent by having the most number of innovative discoveries. Today, I am glad that Duke Luwen Rozenreff found the greatest talent the empire has yet to see! Let me present you, Sir Oswald!"

"That Oswald has a talent, brother," observed Cory that was intended for Prince Lauren to listen.

Lauren tapped his shoulder as if they were close enough for this kind of interaction, but Cory went along. He wanted his brother to see that he was far from the cool and gentle Corean like before. He wanted everyone to maintain their impression of him that he was rebelling.

In some ways, he was indeed rebelling. Cory was rebelling against his brother and his once trusted friend, Merilla.

"I am glad that my faction noticed him first, brother. He is indeed a rare gem." Lauren boasted his feat to Cory which the latter did not mind. He knew first hand who was Oswald loyal to, his fiery beloved.

"That indeed, brother."

The booming echoes of the clapping sound from the audience welcomed the smiling Oswald as it interrupted Cory and Lauren's conversation. Scanning the field of nobles and aristocrats, Cory finally found what he was looking for, the only reason why he attended the goddess-forsaken banquet.

Cory stopped clapping his hands midway as his axis stopped spinning when he witnessed the smiling face of Victoria, who was standing in the corner as if she was afraid to be noticed, no, as if she attended the banquet as an audience.

Her smile was contagious that it almost made Cory forgot that there were eyes on him. His heart was warm as he witnessed a genuine smile from her where her left dimple showed. Cory had to take a sip from the goblet of wine that he was holding as he averted his gaze from the temptress in the midst.

The old magician walked towards the king as he was being introduced to high society. Cory was just watching the subtle exchange between Oswald and his beloved. His observation was disrupted when King Elphaim, his father, continued his speech.

"Though he came from humble origins, he has proven his self useful for the empire. Thus, I would like to let Sir Oswald's benefactor decide for his new house name as we all welcome this magician to the high society!"

Another round of applause erupted while Duke Luwen Rozenreff stepped forward in front of Oswald to grant him a house name. "Starting today, you will be a member of high society. On behalf of the noble faction, I welcome you, Sir Oswald John."

Just as Cory expected, his faction members were not happy with how Oswald, a growing talent of the empire, was being ennobled by Duke Luwen Rozenreff from the noble faction. If they only knew who owns the great magician.

Cory was about to turn and leave the banquet since he was more than satisfied after witnessing a rare smile from his beloved. His exhaustion after playing gentle and in love with Tessa took a toll on Cory, but he was stopped when he saw Merilla's silhouette a good meters away from Victoria. What also thicked him off was Tessa who was standing behind him the entire time.

Concealing his feelings from his supposed beloved, Cory gave Tessa a wink that other nobles and aristocrats noticed. He had no choice but to turn back only to meet Victoria's blank look which bothered Cory to no end. Clenching his hands inside his pocket, Cory gave Victoria his icy glare that was too rude to be given to any lady especially to his beloved.

She looked beautiful in her dress. Cory missed complimenting her openly, touching her openly, and possessing her openly.

Her looked trailed from him to Tessa behind him. And just like Cory expected, Victoria smiled sweetly at them which he received with a cold look for two reasons. First, her smile meant that she was irritated at them and it was because of Tessa who was standing behind him. And second, the noblemen around them were also looking at Victoria, something that Cory loathed most.

King Elphaim continued when the applause died down. "To demonstrate the use and samples of the KONON camera, let us have Sir Oswald and Duke Rozenreff showed their samples."

The gasps of excitement were evident for everyone especially the ladies. The excitement doubled when the servants brought a painting-size frame covered with white silk. Each frame had two servants carrying it. There were a total of three frames that would reveal the samples of the KONON camera.

"Let us call Queen Aurina, Prince Lauren, and Prince Corean to take off the veil from the frames in one go," King Elphaim instructed. The three of them immediately stood by the side of each frame while holding the veil, ready to take it off with the king's command.

Cory took notice of the way Victoria eyed them like a predator. He hid his sly smile as he remained passive. He finally realized what all of this farce about.

"I give you, KONON camera!"

The moment the king signaled to the three to take the veils off was also the moment that Victoria's cunning red eyes shone with pure malice. Cory worried that the retaliation of his brother would cause harm to Victoria. He knew Lauren, and his brother hated being defeated.

Vulgar words were being whispered among the upper echelon as they witnessed the malicious photos displayed, but Cory did not mind. He wanted the enemies to see him being the rebellious prince so he put up his blank façade. He saw the discreet exchange between his mother and Victoria. Knowing this was all a set-up to antagonize Tessa, Cory felt beaming with pride for Victoria. But he felt the tension from his brother so he acted like a lovesick fool.

"Tessa," said Cory with worry laced upon his voice which could be heard by Lauren. He refused to move not because he was afraid that Tessa would sow the high society's wrath, but because he was waiting for his brother's move together with Merilla who's around the corner.

The chains of deceptions hindered Corean to take action against them. If he had only himself and his mother to worry, he could surely face them head-on. But Victoria became an integral part of his life that he must protect.

Across the hall, Cory met her cherry-colored eyes. Victoria was mocking him which he did not mind. Instead, he wanted her to go. He could not bear hearing her being slandered openly. With a pleading look, he wanted her to go and leave everything for him to clean.

For Cory, Victoria did not deserve to hear the high society's malicious words. She was far more precious to him than his pride.

Cory felt relief washed upon him upon seeing her walking away. Though Tessa was with her, he knew that Duke Rowan Castaña would give his life to protect Victoria. For now, he's at ease.

THE INDIFFERENT look of Crown Prince Yei Lin was the first thing that Cory recognized as he entered the small abandoned house located quite far from the capital. His knights and the Ming Country's prince's knights secured the area outside as the two of them would talk inside their rendezvous point.

"You dare to meet me even after what you did to Tori," said Prince Yei Lin who was standing near the broken window in front of him. The way he nonchalantly crossed his arms in front of the empire's star showed that he did not respect him. If it was another situation, Cory could demand an impertinent prince in front of him to bend the knee since there was still a huge difference in their status. But Cory did not meet him for that.

"I do not have the luxury of time to please you. Listen well, Prince Yei Lin. Victoria is in grave danger than she realized. As we speak, my brother plots to eliminate her by using me. Though my actions remained questionable for the past months, I came here with only one thing. I want you to help me protect Victoria."

"My deception could only last much. In the end, I must find a way to outsmart their plans but I needed time and information. No one can compare to your connection, Crown Prince Yei Lin."

"So you wanted to use my connections to report Tori's activities and your brother's? Why can't you use the Information Guild?"

Cory shook his head. The very thought of Merilla's betrayal still hard to take in. "The leader of the Information Guild is the reason why I meet with you here. It was the day that she secretly paid a visit to Lady Sabina that I overheard their heinous plans towards Victoria. And my brother is aiding them. Even Duke Luwen Rozenreff is someone that can't be trusted even if he fathered Victoria."

The crown prince frowned upon hearing the news from him. He understood him being tongue-tied since they truly thought that the Information Guild was under the aristocratic faction. "And to think that she knew our every move and Tori's plans."

Cory did not disagree but he knew that Oswald's connection with Victoria was something that Merilla did not know. The way his brother boasted Oswald and the way he threw icy sideway glances at Victoria at the banquet after that incident. Cory was also aware that Tessa was staying in the Rozenreff estate which he did not mind. He was sure that his mother would convince his father to take Tessa to the capital's prison cell judging by how Victoria exchanged looks with his mother.

He worried that Merilla and Prince Lauren would take a rushed decision. For Merilla, who he was not able to grasp her intentions of betraying him, she would ask to move their plans for Victoria by killing their spy, Tessa. His brother, Prince Lauren, would agree to this since he could make another plan should Merilla's plan failed. That new plan would be out of his radar, something Cory could not afford. These scenarios must be stopped so he needed to protect Tessa and continued the farce. He must make them believed that he was head over heels in love with their spy so could grasp their plan against them.

"Will you aide me, Prince Yei Lin?"

The moonlight that escaped from the broken window pierced Corean's silhouette. Prince Yei Lin stared at the empire's second prince. Corean's golden eyes shone like the brightest stars in the night, but Prince Yei Lin could not risk Lady Victoria's safety. He needed proof. "How can I trust that this is not your plot for revenge against Tori after what she did to your beloved Tessa?"

Cory did not waste time and he meant what he said to the crown prince. What he did shocked Prince Yei Lin.

Contrary to what everyone believed, the second empire's star was in reality a cunning man hiding behind the pretext of being gentle who did not care for power. In fact, Prince Corean knew best the ins and outs of the politics within the Eckrett Empire. For Prince Yei Lin, watching the second prince kneeling before him, breaking all the etiquettes and norms, was the greatest proof of his sincerity since a royalty should have to kneel to no one.

With his knees kissing the dirty floor, Cory looked up to the shell-shocked crown prince. "I beg of you. Help me protect Victoria."