A BEAUTIFUL ARIA

THE KING looked at the pair dancing at the center with satisfaction. Winter and Lady Aurum seemed to be getting along quite well. Arthur really thought that this cold son of his would be more averse to the idea of him purposedly getting close to Lady Aurum. But it looked like Arthur didn't really have anything to worry about. It seemed his years of educating this son of his didn't go to waste.

"Don't be too happy. Have you already forgotten? That girl is an SS level telepathic monster. No matter how much your bastard try to get close to her, she would surely know that his intentions towards her are not exactly pure," Callista said, reminding this husband of hers that no matter how much he wanted to get a piece of that boy's company, it wouldn't be through that girl.

"Then how about you? Have you forgotten who taught Winter how to use his Gift? I would never let him be defenseless against any mental attack."

Telepaths could be one of the most dangerous Gift user because of their ability to attack, control, and even read a person's mind. So one of the first things Arthur taught Winter was how to protect his mind against any mental attack. He has no doubt that that kid hasn't neglected sharpening his mental defense until now.

Callista scoffed. "Yes, you must be really proud of that bastard of yours," she said, full of sarcasm.

"He's the heir I honed perfectly for the past 12 years. Of course I'm proud."

Callista clenched her fists when she heard that. "Heir? That bastard will never sit on the throne as long as I'm alive."

The King only gave her a dismissive glance. "If you gave birth to powerful children, then you have the right to say that. But as it is, only Icelyn is barely acceptable. Unless she became a boy, I don't think you could convince me to give her the throne."

"You--!"

Callista stopped and took a deep breath. She slowly tried to calm herself. She couldn't lose her temper now in front of these aristocrats. But the anger in her heart couldn't be easily extinguished. She swore, she would do everything to give Icelyn that throne. She wouldn't stop until she could look into the eye of Arthur and tell him; 'look, one of the children you forsake now sat on your beloved throne'. She would make sure that she would have the last laugh.

The music stopped and the people partnered in the dance floor bowed and curtsied towards each other. Argent lead Ruby back to the corner they've just been.

"I'm going to powder my nose. All that dancing made me slightly sweaty," Ruby said.

"Do you want me to go with you?" Argent asked.

"No. I'm not a child, Argent. I'm sure I could find the powder room alone without a problem," Ruby said with a teasing tone. After that, she walked towards the exit of the ballroom.

A new round of music started and Argent saw Mishla practically running towards Aurum. Her sister laughed and allowed Mishla to lead her to the center of the dance floor. Argent just shook her head when she saw that. She never really entertained the idea of her sister being together with a man. But seeing the way Mishla acted, Argent should probably start thinking now on how she would screen all the men who would want her sister's hand. Only the best should be given to Aurum. And that included the man she would marry.

Argent was about to take a glass of drink from one of the waiters walking around the room, when she noticed the first princess walking towards her direction. Beside her was a slender man with delicate features. Based on his rather oriental look, it was easy to assume that this must be the fourth prince of Xing. Besides, the man who introduced himself as a general and acted out that 'I'm lost' game with her was silently walking behind the two.

"Lord Hanover," the first princess greeted and curtsied towards her.

Argent made a slight bow. "Your Highness."

"This man is the fourth prince of Xing - Prince Li Jun," the first princess introduced, confirming Argent's guess. "He has been wanting to meet the famous duke who founded Silver Corporation."

Argent raised her brow and turned to the Xing prince. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Your Highness."

"Oh no, the pleasure is all mine, Lord Hanover. I've always been a big fan of your work. I honestly think you're the most brilliant person in the world right now," the prince said with obvious admiration and honesty in his face.

"I'm honored that Your Highness think of me in such a high regard."

Li Jun observed the young duke. Although he said that he was honored, there was nothing in his face and expression that told Li Jun that he really was indeed honored. Instead, he looked bored and uninterested. The young duke probably didn't even mean anything he said. Li Jun couldn't help but smile. Interesting. A person would surely need to work hard in order to gain this young man's favor.

Argent suddenly felt a very strong gaze directed towards her. She didn't need to look far because she knew where it's coming from. She turned to the silent bodyguard standing just behind the prince and just as she expected, he was staring at her. When their gazes met, he immediately looked away. And Argent once again noticed his ear tip turning red.

Argent felt somewhat amused and curious at the same time. What's wrong with this guy's ear tip? Why does it always turn red? Does this guy have some kind of illness or something?

"I really do hope we could talk after this party. If Lord Hanover is not that busy," the Xing prince said, cutting whatever it was Argent was thinking.

Argent returned his gaze back to the prince. She was about to say no, because really, after the upcoming events, who'd have time to have some meeting? But then she noticed the first princess' expression when the prince talked about a meeting. It looked like she just swallowed a very bitter candy. So just to make fun of her, Argent said, "Sure. I don't have anything after this, I would be happy to have a talk with Your Highness."

"What talk?" suddenly asked by Ruby's voice.

Then Argent felt her arm being hugged and being attached to something soft. She looked down and saw the owner of the voice. Argent's brows immediately furrowed.

"Oh, it seems your beautiful partner is back." Argent's brows furrowed even further when she heard the prince say that.

On the center of the dance floor...

When the music ended, Mishla returned Aurum to Winter's side.

"Do the two of you really need to stay glued together for the rest of the night?" Mishla asked with a hint of grievance in his voice.

"Not really. Something will happen later so we might not need to," Aurum answered.

"Oh you mean that," Mishla said, understanding what Aurum said. Then he turned to his friend. "Do you really think it would work? I mean, all of this would depend on the King. He might punish you instead, for all we know."

"It will work," Winter answered with certainty. "I know him. He wouldn't do something unjustly under the gaze of all these people. Especially if there's a chance they could record everything using their sPhones. After all, he still has an image to protect."

Aurum didn't have any opinion about that. So instead, she just looked around the room and searched for her brother. When she saw Argent, she couldn't help but frown. Her brother and Ruby were talking to three people, one of them was the first princess. But what made Aurum frown was the expression of her brother's face. Her brother's brows were deeply furrowed. That's the expression she made everytime she encountered a problem with no immediate solution.

Was it the fault of the first princess? Or maybe the people she brought with her?

"Hey, popsicle, those two people with your ugly sister, who are they?" Aurum asked Winter.

Winter just sighed when he heard the moniker Lady Aurum called him. He couldn't really get used to it. He turned to the direction she was looking at and saw the first princess with the fourth prince of Xing together with that bodyguard. They were talking with Argent and his partner, Miss McAllister.

"That's the fourth prince of Xing and his bodyguard," he said, answering Lady Aurum's question.

The fourth prince of Xing? Does her brother have some sort of problem with him? Before Aurum could think more, the three were already walking away from Argent and Ruby. But then she noticed that bodyguard giving one last glance towards her brother before following the prince. Was it the bodyguard then? But she didn't see any hostility with that glance. And even though the three were already far away from her brother, she was still sporting that expression.

"Popsicle, escort me to my brother," Aurum said.

Winter agreed because he also wanted to talk to Argent. They both walk towards the young duke. Mishla decided to follow. Along the way, many people gave the third prince their congratulations. Which really annoyed Aurum. But then, of course, she still has to smile and act like a shy young girl everytime someone would tease the two of them. By the time they reached her brother, her patience was already running thin.

"Brother," Aurum greeted, smiling and hugging her brother's arm.

Argent's expression slightly eased with her sister's arrival. "Are you enjoying yourself?"

"Not as much if you're my partner," Aurum honestly answered.

"Then what if I'm your partner?" Mishla interjected.

"No, I still prefer my brother."

Mishla didn't know if he should laugh or cry because of Aurum's answer. It looked like his biggest rival would be the Duke of Hanover himself.

Argent turned to Winter. "When will it start?"

"After the third dance."

Just when Winter said that, another round of music started.

"Brother, you still haven't danced with me yet. Dance with me now," Aurum said, acting spoiled.

Argent helplessly smiled and just lead her sister towards the dance floor. Then the two started to dance.

"Brother, I saw your expression earlier. Is there any problem?" Aurum asked what she's been wanting to ask since earlier.

Before answering, her brother glanced at the place where Ruby, Winter, and Mishla were. "Maybe. I still need time to make sure. Nevermind that, are you prepared for what you have to do?"

Aurum grinned. "Of course. You don't have to worry, Brother. I will do my part perfectly."

When the music ended, they both saw Winter walking towards the stage where the orchestra was. He immediately gathered everyone's attention.

"Thank you for coming and celebrating this special occasion with me today," he said, his voice was not that loud but it was enough to let everyone in the ballroom hear it. "As a sign of my gratitude, I would like you all to hear the best opera singer in all of Albion. Please, let's all give her a warm round of applause."

There was a murmur in the crowd. Guessing who might this opera singer be. But they still raised their hands and clapped.

A woman walked down the staircase. She was wearing a simple blue silk gown. Her long blue-black hair was freely flowing behind her back. But what took everyone's attention was the mask she was wearing. It almost covered half of her face. Only revealing a pair of enchanting red lips. She walked towards the stage. She curtsied to everyone.

And then she sang the most beautiful aria.

*****

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT!

NoGift will go premium anytime next week (if it won't encounter any problem, that is). Some of you might think, wait- you only have 70 free chapters, how could you go premium now? But you see, my word count already reached 130K. Unlike some novels here, my chapters were never short, i.e. 500-1000 words. My chapters always ranges between 1200-2500 words. I even have some chapters that reached 3000 words. If my chapters only ranges from 500-1000 words, then I already passed 100 chapters. So I really do think that going premium at this point is not really unfair.

I know, some of you might drop this because of that and I will understand if you do. But to those who won't, then you have my thanks. Let's all follow Argent in her adventures and discover all the mysteries alongside her. (≧∇≦)/

Lastly, a very big THANK YOU to all of you! (⌒▽⌒)☆