"Can you please not call me darling? It creeps me out." Lith replied.
The only times the Hydra acted flirty with him was when she needed Origin Flames to refine a new batch of materials. Faluel's experiments with the Hands of Menadion required a constant supply of resources that was up to him to purify.
The process had already made Lith interrupt his research several times and wasted precious time to recover from the fatigue that the extensive use of Origin Flames inflicted upon his body.
Sure, it counted as Spirit Domination training, but Lith hated both being interrupted and his work schedule being scrapped.
"No can do, darling. You asked me to be your plus one for the night and I'm just playing my part. Am I such a bother that you'd rather be swarmed by noble dames and gold diggers?" Faluel said.
"The jury is still out on that."
"You son of a-"
"Spellbreaker Archmage Lith Verhen and Lady Faluel Metina Riseta Nyxdra." The Royal valet announced them and cut her short.
As a recognized descendant of one of the founding members of the Griffon Kingdom, the Royals had given the Hydra plenty of names to befit her status. Yet very few in the room knew that she actually was an Emperor Beast.
To the others, she was just an incredibly pretty woman wearing a gorgeous dress.
Faluel looked like a young woman in her mid-twenties, about 1.7 meters (5'7") tall, with waist-long light brown hair and hazel eyes. Her face had a delicate oval shape and the light makeup she wore along with her voluminous soft hair framed her fine features.
She wore an emerald green gala dress embroidered in gold and decorated with several mana crystals shaped to look like precious gems. It left exposed her fair shoulders and arms, sticking to her body like a second skin until the hips.
Her gown was loose and fluffy, giving the impression that she walked on a cloud that danced around her with each step she took.
The simple grace of her slender body seemed to be perfectly attuned with her demeanor, making the final result much more stunning than the sum of the single parts.
As for Lith, under his deep blue Archmage robe, he wore the high uniform of the Kingdom. It was comprised of a deep blue jacket with golden epaulets, deep blue mid-waisted black trousers with galon, a trim one with two silk stripes to conceal the outer seams, and black shoes.
He wore a silver brooch shaped like a Phoenix with rubies for eyes on the collar of his white shirt and the gold embroideries on the lapels of his jacket were shaped like feathers.
It had taken quite a while to organize the Royal Gala, but since the investigation had come to a halt and the mysterious sender of the Balkor cards had yet to strike again, the ceremony couldn't be delayed any longer.
Lith had given a lot of thought to his choice of a dance partner. He couldn't ask Phloria without giving her hopes, couldn't ask Kamila for obvious reasons, and he couldn't even ask Quylla or Friya without Jirni beating his ass into oblivion.
"First my daughter and now my apprentice. Do you have something against me in particular or it's just that you are impossible to please?" Lady Ernas had never resented Lith before since it had been Phloria who had broken up with him.
Kamila, however, was another story entirely. Between the tears and her being adamant in not sharing a single detail about the events, Jirni was certain that whatever had happened was Lith's fault.
'I can't blame Jirni. If I went to an award ceremony with Friya or Quylla, rumors would spread that I cheated on Kamila with either of them. On top of that, I don't like the idea that people might think that I'm sleeping around with the entire Ernas Household.' Lith thought as the magically amplified voice of the valet spread through the throne room.
It was over forty meters (133 feet) long and thirty meters (100 feet) wide, with a single red silk carpet with gold embroidered edges going from the three meters (10 feet) wide double doors up to the two steps that distanced the floor where nobles stood and the raised platform for the Royal family.
That way, even while sitting on their golden thrones, the Royal couple would be able to look down on everyone present, reaffirming their status and authority.
The whole room was lighted by crystal chandeliers, fueled by magic, leaving no space for shadows or need for maintenance.
On the walls, magically enchanted tapestries would recount over and over the great feats that the current King had accomplished to be deemed worthy of his power. Both the floor and the pillars of the room were realized from gold veined marble, the most precious and robust material available in the Griffon Kingdom.
The room was filled with nobles and mages of all ages and relevance. Some Lith knew personally like General Vorgh, Baron Eiros Wyalon from Jambel, General Berion, and the Ernas family.
Others were his sworn enemies like Archmage Deirus, Archmage Kwart, and the Headmistress of the Black Griffon, Archmage Onia Gotharn. The rest of them were complete strangers to him.
Lith wore Solus on his finger, hidden under the white gloves that covered his hands.
'Faluel is really pretty in that dress. She is definitely the right pick for the gala.' She said via their mind link.
'Unless Kamila thinks that I've slept with my teacher and adds it to the list of her grievances against me.' Lith sighed. 'Keep your eyes peeled, Solus. I know that Valeron is the safest place in the Kingdom, but this is also the perfect opportunity for the sender of the Balkor cards to strike.'
'Right, sure.' Solus pointed at the Royals wearing the Saefel suit, at Manohar whose core burned brighter than ever and was in perfect shape, at Vastor's now violet core, and at the dozen of soldiers wearing the Royal Fortress armor in the room.
'I stand corrected.' Lith said. 'A meteor is the only thing that might put a dent in this room. Any chance you can turn into the Eyes and give a few artifacts a look?'
'No way. There's enough magic in this room to blind my mana sense. If I activate the Eyes of Menadion, I'd be lucky if I became just a babbling idiot.' Solus replied.
Lith's entrance was accompanied by the most quiet and polite uproar he had ever seen. Etiquette required people to be silent until the newcomer bowed to the Royal Couple, but there was too much juicy gossip to talk about and everyone started whispering about their favorite topic.
Some wondered about the identity of his companion, envying her beauty while others discussed Lith's feat of crafting the DoLorean that had him being recorded in history as one of the tier one forbidden mages.
Yet the noisiest and most frequent topics were all related to his personal achievements.
"How did Verhen manage to destroy not one, but two Lost Cities?" Duke Phalmar said. "The first time he was lucky enough to find the blueprints of the Black Star, but the second time he succeeded with a group of three where entire armies failed."
