Family POV

[POV: Zerisa Zanuki]

"Arghhh!!!!!! I'm so fucking lazy to go!!!" Karin started throwing tantrums while reluctantly changing into a dress and sitting still while her servants applied makeup on her face.

"Shut up. Your uncultured behavior makes my mood worst than before" Kara commented while waiting for the hairstylist to finish styling her hair.

"Did you guys get grandpa's gift?" I asked trying to lighten up the atmosphere since preparing for a Royal Ball was a tedious process and many annoying people would be attending with so many etiquettes that needed to be strictly followed thus Karin's tantrum was reasonable.

"Hell no way I'm wearing that" Karin commented.

"It doesn't suit my dress" Kara replied emotionlessly.

"I bet that kid Ian will wear it" Karin added.

"I gave mine to Ares since he always loves grandpa's gift"

"What if he already has one?" Karin asked.

"He didn't mention it in his letter a few days ago so I think grandpa gave him something else"

"That sounds possible," Karin said

Knock knock

"Who is it?" I asked when hearing knocks on the room's door.

"Girls it's me" a young man's voice can be heard replying outside the door.

"Yo Ian wait for us in the living room. We didn't finish yet" Karin shouted.

"Nah, I'm waiting in the car since it's already arrived in front of the gate. Uncle Jin said that he will go first since he has something to do at the palace"

"Will we meet grandpa later?" Karin asked since none of us want to wear his gift.

"No, he said he has things to do" Adrian answered before he went away.

"Our family elders rarely show up at formal events like this. Don't you remember that Uncle Jin always attended as their representative" Kara commented.

"Yeah I forgot grandpa doesn't like those noble sucking up to him"

"Are you done? We have to go now" I said when seeing Karin almost finished her makeup.

The four of us arrived at the palace plaza where dozens of cars line up waiting for their turn to drop off the guests of the ball. After waiting for 10 minutes, we finally managed to get out of the car and enter the palace hall by following a guide.

Today's ball was hosted by the crown prince thus most nobles only send their unmarried child for them to mingle with each other and create connections.

"From Zanuki household, Lady Zerisa, Lady Karin, Lady Kara, and young master Adrian Zanuki have arrived from the south entrance," said the hall announcer.

"Damn it's already this noisy when the crown prince does not even arrive" Karin commented when we were seated in our seats.

"They said that the wolf rule when the tiger is not around" Kara replied nonchalantly while Adrian started eating without minding the gazes of other nobles.

"Hey, I see Keanu is also here. Should we invite him to sit with us rather than sitting with those sucked-up nobles?" Karin said while her eyes focused in a direction.

"I already send a message to him and he said he will come later" I replied after taking a bite of the food served on the table.

"The crown prince sure is easy-going since he allowed guests to eat first" Adrian commented while eating.

Even though the way he eats looked elegant and civilized but within a few minutes, he already finished the third plate of spaghetti and lasagna. He proceeds on eating steak after the server put it on the table.

"Adrian, you have to stop eating after finishing that steak," I said reminding him.

It's a well-known fact that the Zanuki eat a lot but it seems improper to eat our regular portion of food here at the royal ball.

"Yes, I know" he replied nonchalantly.

"Hey" suddenly a voice greeted us and a young man wearing spectacles with neatly combed dark hair was smiling at us before seating beside Adrian.

"Keanu, you finally come huh" Karin commented.

"I have to greet noble kids from families that investing in my family's territory before I managed to slip away and come here," he said before sipping a juice served on the table.

"The crown prince of Hargan Empire, Prince Leonard Von Hargan has arrived" the announcer's voice sounded louder than before and upon seeing the crown prince figure, all the guests in the hall stood up and politely bowed towards the prince.

"Thank you for coming and I'm glad to see that my guests are enjoying the ball. The dance will start after this so young misses and young masters, this is your chance to find your perfect other half" the crown prince said giving a short speech before he sat on the highest platform in the hall where his food have been served.

He could see everyone from the place he sat.

"I planned to leave early since dancing is not my forte," Keanu said after glancing at the crown prince who started to be busy getting greetings from other nobles.

Zanuki and the other five prominent noble families usually avoid interacting with the royal family members since they were the ones keeping the royal family in check so they do not abuse their power.

Because of that, they always came to formal events just to show face and then went back especially since the Zanuki was a family situated in the northeast corner of the empire, thus they were not keen on involving themselves in other nobles' matters.

"Yeah, same. We will go home after they started busy dancing" Karin replied while Adrian just watched the other nobles around the hall since he couldn't eat anymore.

Kara still eating slowly and I kept fidgeting with my smartwatch out of boredom.

"Hey, why are the eldest princess and the second prince not here?" Karin asked after a moment of silence.

"The eldest princess must be busy in her magic research while I'm not so sure about the second prince since he rarely shows up in public" Keanu replied since the Moran is an expert in information gathering almost on par with the Manic family intelligence group.

It is just that they didn't specialize in information gathering as their specialization is more towards assassination arts.

"The second prince is supposed to enroll in HGA next year right? The other noble family might have already started reminding their kids to suck up to the prince" Kara commented with a bored tone.

"It is said that the second prince is a loner that doesn't like mingling around. But~ that just a rumor that I accidentally heard" Keanu replied nonchalantly as if he was not talking about a royal family member.

Although the royal family's power was not absolute and restricted by law, they were still royals, and talking bad about them would have serious consequences if it became known. However, as Moran was being backed up by the Zanuki, even the royal family would not hastily punish them.

"Stop talking about him. We're in the 'royal' hall" I said and purposely emphasize the word 'royal'.

"Ehem excuse me young ladies and young master from the Zanuki household. The crown prince asked you if you can spend some time greeting him" suddenly a royal butler come to our table and said.

It sounded like a request when it was an order you couldn't refuse, especially in a public event where rumors could easily emerge.

I gave a glance to Adrian, Karin, and Kara before replying to the butler.

"Yeah sure, it's our pleasure to have this opportunity. Please lead the way" I said to the royal butler.

"Oho, I'm glad the Zanuki is willing to spend some time with this humble crown prince," said the crown prince as if he had won a jackpot.

It is well known that the crown prince has a glib tongue thus he didn't mean everything that he said. However, I didn't care about that, as long as the royal family does their duty, then everything is fine.

"Thank you for inviting us your highness the crown prince," I said representing the four of us.

"It's my pleasure that you guys come to this humble ball," he said smiling widely.

'If a royal ball is humble then what about the events hosted by everyone else. Will, theirs looked like a housewarming party instead' I complain in my heart; starting to get annoyed with the crown prince's extra-sugary words.

"Is there anything that your highness wanted to request from us?" Adrian asked straightforwardly sensing the gazes of the other nobles in the hall.

"Ohh yes, it's about my younger brother, the second prince. He will enroll in HGA next year and I remember that the Zanuki also have one of your family members who are supposed to be the same age as my brother" he answered directly to the point.

"Yes, your highness. It's the youngest grandson of our matriarch" I answered without giving any extra information.

"I hope that family member of yours can befriend my brother since he's a shy guy" he requested.

"Sure I will relay your highness's request to him later" I answered perfunctorily since nothing good would happen if I opposed this sly crown prince.

"Yeah thank you so much then. You can continue enjoying the ball" the crown prince excused us after we accepted his request without any hesitation.

"Hey, I don't want Ares to be close with a royal family member" Karin commented.

"Let's see first, how the second prince act. If he is no good, we can just advise Ares not to get too close to him" Kara suggested.

"I'll tell Amma and grandpa about this, they'll know what to do," Adrian said trying to reassure me.

"Keanu, can you find information about the second prince and passed it to Ares's butler at Kazigare Valley," I asked Keanu.

"Sure, I already put my people on all of the royal family members," he said confidently.

"Then it's now time to go home," Karin said excitedly when she heard the dancing songs have started playing across the hall.

"Ok then, let's meet up at the royal hunt later," Keanu said before we part ways outside the palace hall.

**********************************

[POV: Zen Zanuki]

"Mom isn't it time for us to open half of the seal" Anith asked her mom.

"Oh it's already time huh"

"We were supposed to lift the seal two years ago but since he was in a coma it couldn't be done so before his enrollment, at least half of the seal must be lifted. His mana mixed around his aura must be the result of this" Anith sounded desperate.

"Relax my love, mom knows what she's doing," I said while looking at the floating lantern outside, tied up at the balcony railing.

"You come here and open the seal yourself since it's you who put it in the first place," mom said calmly since she might already realize that Anith seems serious not like her usual easy-going self.

"Yes I already planned on doing that so I will come a month early before our winter celebration"

"I can't go with you since there's an audit meeting with the Emperor. I will arrive the day before the celebration" I said telling them before sipping the warm tea while enjoying the night breeze coming into the room.

"You seem quite relaxed huh" mom commented seeing my behavior which stark contrast with my wife, Anith.

"Nothing is upsetting me so far. Those four brats behaved perfectly as a Zanuki during the royal events and my youngest grandson sent me gifts so how can I not relax" I answered honestly.

"They got a request from the crown prince isn't it?" mom asked.

"To be honest it's more like an order but there's no reason for him to give an order like that" Anith commented while recalling back what Adrian have told them before.

"The royal family is always as sly as a fox. They might be planning on observing Ares closely this time since we never reveal almost anything about him" mom replied in agreement.

"They try to lure Kara by using the eldest princess and magic research but it failed since Kara chose to enroll into HGA and not Soraz Magic Tower(SMT). So now they are targeting Ares?"

"Seems like it," mom said calmly while I just listen to their conversation without any hint to reply or interrupt.

"What is he doing right now mom?" Anith asked curiously.

"He might be holed up in his lab all night again completing his assignments"

"It isn't good for him to stay up all night," Anith said seemingly worried.

"That's why he always a sleepy head. But the healers said that his health is fine and he doesn't seem like he lacks sleep" mom replied reassuringly.

"As a Zanuki, isn't it normal to be able to stay up a few nights straight?" I said to my wife who seems to be overly worried when a certain person was mentioned.

"Yeah it's normal but that is a bad habit"

"It can't be helped since it's already the end of summer and he has less than five months before enrolling in HGA so everything must be completed before that" mom said calmly.

"Mom, I think you should explain to him about the seal and what will happen after it is lifted later" I suggested when I see my wife seems to be lost in thought.

"I already planned on telling him during our dinner tomorrow"

"Eh what if he asked why we put a sealing on him"

"Nah I bet he won't ask if mom doesn't urge or hint him to ask more," I said confidently.

"That brat won't even try to ask if I don't say the reason since he knows something is better to remain unknown"

"Are you sure? What if he comes up with his own assumptions?" Anith asked warily.

"Then I can just tell him that we're trying to manage his haywire aura. It's not like I'm lying since that is also part of the reason" mom decided after seeing Anith's anxious face.

"Mom, that kid seems sharper every time I see him so I think he will realize sooner or later that your reasoning is incomplete," I said reminding her to properly make up a backup reason.

"So what? It's not like we have a bad intention and want to harm him. He has a bright mind and is not a petty person so I don't think he will dwell on this matter too much" mom said before she excused herself since it was almost midnight.

The room was enveloped in silence after the call was disconnected and to ease the tension, I hugged my wife's shoulder and said everything will be just fine, reassuring her I would correct everything if something wrong happened.

"Fine but you must increase his Shadows," she said after I finished coaxing her.

"Of course. I already planned on adding more Shadows when he enrolls later" I said reassuringly before continuing saying, " Hey do you know that Ares suggested I let the lantern fly towards the sky after I wrote my wish on it since it kind of signifies that I'm sending a letter to God up in heaven."

"What nonsense. A small kid might believe it but an old man like you also believe in things like that?" she snorted hearing my words.

"I didn't believe it but isn't it cute imagining his stoic face saying cute childish things like that. That means he is still a kid and I still can pamper him" I said happily.

"You can't pamper him too much lest he becomes crooked like your beloved son Zenin" she complained.

"That's not my fault since he is already an oddball to begin with," I said defending myself.

"Properly reward those four brats for their proper behavior during the royal events", she said changing the subject.

"Hah I already gave presents to them before the start of the royal events but I got complaints instead of the word of thanks from those ungrateful brats"

" What did you give them?"

"Matching ruby pendant. It's made of red crystal and its expensive since I have to find four of the same diamond crystal which has the same red blood color"

"...." Anith seems stupefied.

"What? It's pretty right?"

"They will like it if they were still kids but those brats who are in their rebellious phase will feel cringe when they have to wear matching jewelry. They don't even wear matching clothes anymore" she commented.

"But they said matching jewelry will always be a trend" I retorted.

"Couple or pair items are the trend but the same looking jewelry are not"

"....."

"You should just let your aid buy the gifts next time"

"Fine"