Yustia Banquet (13)
Zeke furrowed his brows deeply.
What? Beautiful? This bastard for real.
Like a scene straight out of a movie, the First Prince was making it painfully obvious that he'd fallen head over heels at first sight.
His mouth hung open in a dumbstruck expression—it was quite the sight.
Yeah, sure, she's the heroine, so even if she's 99% doomed to die, right.
The moment Soy Spoon stepped into the banquet, she'd reeled in the First Prince like she'd doused herself in pheromones.
But Zeke couldn't hand her over to some other guy right now.
Soy Spoon, with her sad ending scripted from the start.
Given that her main stage was a romance fantasy world, her tragedy would undoubtedly kick off with her crossing paths with the wrong man and her fate twisting from there.
Sure, she'd have to move independently at some point to advance the story.
But not now. Absolutely not.
Soy Spoon was the one girl in this world who was Zeke's sole hope of getting sent back to Earth.
She's got a 99% death flag, so the biggest problem is you can't predict when or how she'll get dragged into some incident and end up flat as a flounder.
Look—the moment he decided to teach her super senses, this crap happens.
It was almost like her unlucky fate was trying to get in his way.
Zeke suppressed his irritation and cooled his head.
Stay calm. Hiding Soy from this guy first off... that's gonna be tough.
Zeke glanced at Yuri Gilbert, standing rigidly beside Ilouis with a blank expression.
Even if he brushed this off roughly, the First Prince would just ask Yuri about Soy Spoon and figure it out in no time.
No, he's probably already got all the other info. He just hadn't seen her face until now.
A guy like First Prince Ilouis was the type to get even more obsessive if you tried to dodge his gaze.
He had to give a little, create some pretext to block his approach.
To do that, there's a way...
Zeke mulled it over deeply.
That's when First Prince Ilouis spoke up.
"Milady. A pleasure to meet you. I am the First Prince of the Empire, Ilouis Leonine. If it wouldn't be too rude, might I have your name?"
Soy Spoon flinched.
She looked up at Zeke with trembling eyes, as if she had no idea what to do.
Hmm.
Zeke addressed the girl standing beside Ilouis.
"Yuri Gilbert."
"...Yes."
"Didn't you tell him about Elise?"
"Yes, I did mention her..."
"Elise?"
Ilouis raised an eyebrow at the exchange between Zeke and Yuri.
"Yuri, didn't you say that girl was a commoner? Then how is she at the Yustia banquet..."
Ilouis turned to Yuri with a flustered tone.
Then, as if finding it amusing, the First Prince curled his lips.
"Ah, I see. Iriel Yustia did send invitations to all the students, didn't she? Ha. Right. So that's how she got in."
Zeke couldn't hide his discomfort.
Can you drop that shitty smile? It's nothing big, why the 'ah, I see' act.
"Right, Elise. I remember. The commoner running Hilais Bakery with her family, top entrant at Lamieli Academy... accounting department, was it? And swordsmanship..."
The First Prince muttered her details like he was flaunting how much he already knew.
With each piece of personal info spilling from his mouth, Soy shrank back further.
It sounded like he was grilling her for daring to show up today.
"Enough."
Zeke cut in, interrupting him.
"Hm? This doesn't concern you right now."
Ilouis frowned at Zeke.
"Pathetic. First Prince."
"What...? What did you just say?"
"If you want me to voice the crap spinning in your head, keep going."
"...I don't think this is your place to step in."
Look at this slimy bastard. No way in hell I'm giving Soy to you, asshole.
The moment he learned she was a commoner, out comes that crap.
Muttering her personal details to plant guilt,
Then showing off his magnanimity as a powerholder to bind her to him.
Commoner status versus imperial blood.
Prodding the opponent's weakness while pressing with his own strength.
Gaslighting as naturally as breathing.
Everything about the guy grated on Zeke's nerves.
Fine, then I'll butt in with something similar.
"I'm intervening as her instructor."
"As her instructor?"
"Yeah. I don't want Elise catching the eyes of other nobles. As her master, it's my duty to protect her."
Zeke stepped forward, meeting Ilouis's gaze.
"Ha, that's something I would—"
Ilouis let out a hollow laugh in response.
Zeke cut him off again.
"No, you wouldn't. If you really meant that, you'd swear not to drag other nobles into this. Right now, on your name, promise you won't use anyone else to get at Soy."
"..."
Zeke looked down at him with cold cynicism.
No way you can. Manipulating her to rely on you via others is your specialty.
The First Prince chewed his lip, clearly annoyed by Zeke's sudden interference.
"You're getting a bit cheeky. I've let it slide before, but I am the First Prince, blood of the Empire's Emperor."
"Sure. But that exalted Crown Prince seat hasn't been decided yet, has it?"
"What does that have to do with anything? Your attitude right now is outright lese-majeste—!"
Zeke nodded in agreement.
"Yeah, can't be helped then. Guess I'll back the Second Prince."
"What!?"
"Hm? Any reason not to?"
"That was back with the magic stone!"
Sparks flew from Ilouis's eyes.
"Instructor Zeke! Did I just hear right...? You're supporting me?!"
That's when Second Prince Rosnante barged in from behind, face urgent.
Zeke had spotted the blond head peeking from afar and infused a bit of mana into his voice to carry it right to his ear.
"!"
Ilouis's eyes darted side to side at the Second Prince's sudden intrusion.
Watching him panic, Zeke grinned.
Hey, dumbass. You should've prepared more than one beating. Keep yapping about the magic stone, see what happens. Checkmate.
Zeke had indeed made a deal with First Prince Ilouis for magic stones to stay neutral,
But last time he'd checked Rosnante's mana roads, he'd overheard mutterings of 60 stones.
Zeke had only asked for 40. So the extra 20?
He could tell the sly First Prince had inflated the price and pocketed the difference from the dimwitted Second.
Zeke leaned in slightly and whispered into Ilouis's ear.
"First Prince. You know I have the contract for our magic stone deal, right? Wonder what happens if I show it to the Second Prince. You probably wrote one with him too."
No doubt, he'd detailed the circumstances to blackmail the Second Prince in various ways.
That could be used to expose the First Prince's sleaziness, nullify the contract, and trash his image.
For a type like Ilouis, who manipulated through image without real power, his past tricks coming to light would be a fatal blow.
Watching Ilouis's face stiffen was satisfying, but Serena would arrive soon.
Zeke decided to wrap it up here.
"One more thing: after tonight's banquet, you'll come find me again. We'll talk then. Hope your attitude's better by that point."
By then, you'll know I'm Yohayden's savior.
Iriel kept stealing glances at where Zeke stood.
She'd pinpointed his location the moment she heard he'd arrived.
"Why's he stuck to Elise like that..."
Iriel muttered without hiding her unease.
Zeke chatting with a beaming Elise.
Jealousy bubbled in her chest.
But she couldn't approach him now.
For the dramatic flair, it was right to wait until Serena Yohayden—that flowerhead—revealed Zeke as her savior before mingling.
"This is the most splendid banquet I've ever seen!"
"Glory to Yustia."
"Hoho, thank you."
Iriel exchanged greetings with other nobles, keeping as much distance from Zeke as possible.
After a few more words, she sent them off.
With a tired expression, Iriel asked Hades standing behind her.
"I wish the dance would start already. When does it begin?"
"Preparations are complete."
"Hm, where are the First and Second Princes?"
Iriel asked to mask her real intent.
Didn't expect both to actually show. But it works out better.
Their presence at the Yustia banquet made her plan with Zeke and the flowerhead feel less contrived, adding credibility.
"Er, seems they're with Zeke Clayman."
Hades narrowed his eyes as he answered.
"What!?"
Iriel whipped her head toward Zeke.
By now, the First and Second Princes had gathered around Zeke Clayman.
They were face-to-face, glaring—it didn't look friendly.
What? I heard the First Prince favored Zeke. What's going on!?
At that moment, the piano's first melody announced the dance.
"The daughter of Yohayden Duke, Lady Serena Yohayden enters!"
At the call, every stunned gaze turned to the banquet hall entrance.
Serena Yohayden's grand entrance.