Chapter 384: Invitations (III)

As always, Giliath demands your power stones!

*****

"Oho. Well aren't you suddenly popular? Almost makes your big sis jealous. I didn't think you'd be an attention seeker.", Shizuna replied with a playful smile.

"I'm not. And since when are you my big sis? We're just disciples of the same school.", Rean retorted.

"Oh dear. I'm heartbroken. And here I thought a connection was beginning to form. Let me guess. There's only Elise in your heart.", Shizuna teased.

"You...", Rean uttered, feeling more annoyed now.

"Hehe.", Elise giggled again, seeing these two bicker. "I think that's enough teasing for Brother. It is true this letter is addressed to him. I'm curious as to what it's for.", Elise said, taking a moment to hand Rean the letter.

"Me too. I rarely get stuff addressed to me, if at all. It's not like I'm that unknown to Liberl. Recall that guy who came to our town a while back? The memory's hazy, I almost completely forgot about it. There's no way it's from him though.", Rean said, denying that this letter could be from Naoto.

It is true, however. A while back, Naoto paid a short visit to Ymir. Angelica and a couple others were with him at the time. It was where Angelica's confession took place, causing the two to start dating one another. And it was the first time that allowed Naoto to check up on Rean to see how he was doing. Rean's power hadn't manifested by then. But now it had. Not much had changed overall, but Rean's trying to grow stronger because of what took place.

"A letter huh? Sounds boring if you ask me.", Shizuna replied. "Might as well open it at least."

"Yeah. I'm curious about its contents.", Rean nodded. He cut open the letter, and sure enough, he saw it was addressed to him.

"Dear Rean Schwarzer, you and one extra of your choosing are hereby invited to attend the engagement banquet that will be hosted in Valflame Palace. The dining itself will take place at Karel Imperial Villa, one month from now, beginning February 1st...", Rean uttered, repeating the contents of the letter.

Reading the contents of the letter, Rean's mind began to fizzle out.

"WHAT!?", Rean exclaimed in shock.

"An invitation to some fancy-schmancy noble party? Not really my thing. You can take your dear sister with you. Then again, it would be kind of fun to crash a party like that...", Shizuna uttered, reviewing the contents of the letter alongside Rean.

"Do not forget you are the son of Teo Schwarzer, young Rean. You will eventually have a duty to uphold. And not a pleasant one. The circle of nobles surrounding the Empire run their roots deep, and it is quite vicious. In this aspect, you are the bottom of the barrel. The one inviting you stands near the top, albeit the prince does hail from a different country. If things go as intended, this prince will be joining that circle at the same level of the Imperial Family. You ought to make use of this event. You might be able to make some connections.", Yun said, drawing the three's attention. Rean raised his eyebrows at the old man.

"The duty of a noble...Father has warned me about this. I'm still quite young to consider such matters. But you are saying that I should still attend this banquet, Master?", Rean questioned, still doubtful.

"I almost forgot you are one of those nobles, Rean. Even if you aren't considered part of Elise's bloodline.", Shizuna mused, remembering where Rean's home was.

"Regardless of whether the Brother is adopted or not, I do agree with Master Yun. It would seem there will be lots of nobles attending this event. Potentially even commoners. It might be a bloodbath waiting to happen, but it will still be good for you to get connected with other individuals. You can't remain held up inside this tiny little dojo forever you know, Brother Rean.", Elise said, also agreeing with what Yun had said.

"Even you, Elise? I'm just scared that a repeat will happen with you-know-what...", Rean uttered. An event he didn't want to recall. It caused his ogre power to surface for the first time.

"Haha! Being scared serves you no purpose. Take the chance! If you really want to, big sis can go with you and be your support. I don't mind ruining some nobles' days~", Shizuna said, teasing Rean.

"You aren't my big sister!", Rean retorted. But hearing that, everyone let out a laugh.

"Hehe. I'm just surprised it was addressed to you specifically, Brother Rean. It mentions one extra. It is possible Her Highness will send me a separate invitation, considering I'm already a part of her circle. If Shizuna wants to tag along, I don't mind.", Elise said.

"We'll see. Whatever floats my boat. It's still a month away. I may or may not be back in Calvard at the time.", Shizuna answered.

"A noble's party, huh...", Rean uttered to himself. Attending such an event would be the first time for him. He wasn't sure how he would dress the part, or even know what to do. Nobles follow a strict code, and etiquette plays a major role in what they do. It was all about the image.

Hearing Rean utter that, Elise happily clapped her hands, revealing a playful smile.

"This just means I have an entire month to drill a full course on etiquette into your head, dear Brother~", Elise said, teasing him.

"Oh dear Aidios...", Rean retorted, finally letting it dawn on him of what was going to happen to him next. Shizuna also grinned when she heard this.

"You can have fun with that, lil bro. It's nice not having to deal with the duty of a noble. I can crash that party on my own accord. I'll still stick around for a couple days though. You can't slack off on your training.", Shizuna said.

"Hohoho. I guess things are going to get lively up here a bit. If that is the case, I too will stay for a couple days, before I depart for Calvard. You, on the other hand, don't have that luxury.", Yun said, glancing at Elise.

"It is sad to say, but you are right. School picks up after the week is over. I won't be able to teach Rean during the week, but I can at least ride back here for the weekends.", Elise nodded.

"Then it's settled. Until I head out, I'll look after lil bro for you.", Shizuna said, looking at Elise.

"For Aidios's sake, I'm not your little brother!", Rean retorted again.

Yet all that did was cause a wave of laughter to echo around the dojo. One thing was for sure, though. What Master Yun had just said. It will become lively here in the dojo and in Ymir altogether. Rean's attention was going to shift some attention to some schoolwork, in order to prep him to attend the incoming banquet. He's still around twelve years old right now, and it won't be until another four years or so until Rean starts attending Thors Military Academy with the rest of Class VII.

There was just one thing to point out. It wasn't just Rean who had received such a letter...

Somewhere not too far away from Ymir stood one of the second largest cities in all of Erebonia.

The Industrial City of Roer, home to one of the biggest manufacturers of the entire Zemurian continent.

The Reinford Group.

Not too long ago, the Reinford Group suffered an attack by an unknown group of assassins, looking to disrupt their supply chains. With the Reinford Group being one of the leading producers of both raw material and synthesized orbal gears and crafts, they've earned their fair share of likeminded competitors, and enemies alike. Some even went to the extremes, and what happened was the result of that. Someone hired the Garden of Swords while Naoto was out and about.

It resulted in Naoto facing off against the Garden of Swords first seat at the time. He wasn't necessarily the overseer, but the fight still ensued. Back then, he was called Ace Rayne, Nadia Rayne's older brother. The very same individual Swin would be forced to kill to make their retreat from the Gardens.

It is unknown whether or not this will play out this time around due to Naoto's interference. He essentially gave Ace freedom from the Gardens. By killing "Ace" and giving him a fresh, new identity. To which he is now Hearts, a fresh new Private of Liberl's Royal Army. His current station is currently temporary, being posted at Eternal Spring, Naoto's private villa he had built in secrecy in the recent year or two, off the coast of Valeria Lakefront.

That meant Hearts was free from the Gardens.

But that also posed a problem.

You see, every person in the Garden has a designated partner. During this time, Ace is considered Swin's partner. It was possible Swin lurked around while the mission happened, or Ace deemed it too difficult for Swin to come with him. But the fact remained that they were partners.