Eleanor broke the barrier and had everything to return to normal. The Lichtenstein House continued to stand in a corner of the rooftop, away from the buzz that lay at the center.
"…the Third Prince, Malkov Vanderbilt, has arrived."
A handso young boy clad in elegant blue robes walked up on the stage and stood beside the King after greeting him. He looked quite similar to the King, possessing the sa facial features and exuding a similar regal aura.
The rooftop filled with nobles erupted in loud cheers as they welcod the Prince. In return, the Prince gave them a soft smile and waved his hand, acknowledging their excitent with an elegant nod.
A while later.
"…And now, we welco His Royal Highness, the Second Prince, Vino Vanderbilt," the announcer’s voice rang out, lifting the spirits of the gathered nobles even further.
With a joyful grin, Vino Vanderbilt made his entrance. Clad in a rich crimson robe that shimred under the soft lights, his light steps were full of life and cheer.
The nobles could feel the warmth emanating from him as he made his way to the stage. His eyes sparkled with uncontainable enthusiasm as he waved at the crowd, his smile wide and infectious.
The cheers from the nobles were filled with excitent, their admiration for the jovial prince palpable.
Vino took his place beside King Alderman, offering a respectful nod before gesturing to the crowd with a final wave.
"…And now, we present His Royal Highness, the First Prince, Levisky Vanderbilt," the announcer’s voice rang out with solemnity, creating a noticeable shift in the atmosphere.
A sharp contrast to the lively Vino, Levisky Vanderbilt, the eldest son of King Alderman, erged with a solemn elegance. His attire was a deep, muted blue, decorated with intricate gold embroidery that only highlighted his aristocratic composure.
He moved deliberate and controlled steps, exuding quiet dignity. His face, handso yet austere, remained stoic as his piercing gaze scanned the crowd.
The mont he stepped onto the stage, an uncomfortable silence fell over the nobles, as if his very presence demanded respect and distance. His expression remained unfaltering, giving off an air of cold authority. The nobles instinctively straightened up, unsure whether to greet him with their usual exuberance.
The three princes stood side by side, each casting a different presence over the gathered crowd, as the King looked on solemnly.
"Who do you think will be crowned?" Katherine leaned to the side and whispered to Eleanor, continuing to act like her lover and staying in character.
Eleanor placed a finger in front of her veiled face and gestured to Katherine to be quiet.
Julien, having not heard their conversation, turned to his mother and asked the sa question.
"Any idea on who will be crowned? And, are we supporting that said crown?"
He wanted to know whether his family was going to make the King a proper puppet of themselves or would they continue to let them reign freely and be under them as a Duke house.
Hearing his question, Katherine was surprised once again. It wasn’t because of the question per se, but his interest in politics and his active participation in the conversation.
To her, it still felt sowhat unreal that her older brother was now a normal person and perfectly healthy.
Eleanor on the other hand was getting used to her awakened Julien. She turned to him and said in a low whisper, "We are not supporting anyone, my dear. We don’t indulge in politics. As for who will be crowned, I believe it will be the Third Prince."
As nobody was near them, it was fine for them to indulge in such sensitive conversations.
Hearing such a reply from her mother, Katherine knitted her brows.
’When I asked her, she shushed . And when big brother did… wow… so she has a favorite child now?’
Katherine gave Eleanor a rueful side-eye for the discrimination.
Feeling her gaze, Eleanor turned to Katherine and asked, "What?"
"Nothing." Katherine clicked her tongue and looked at the stage.
Eleanor didn’t quite get her daughter this ti, but oh well, it didn’t seem much of a big deal so she didn’t bother asking her again.
"It is my pleasure to tell you that…"
The King began giving a speech.
It was nothing noteworthy.
Finally, he ca to the important part.
"…the Crown Prince… my successor and heir to the Silverose Kingdom’s throne…"
The nobles were at the edge of their seats, anticipating the outco.
The King walked past the three Princes and finally stopped beside the Third Prince, Malkov.
Raising his hand, he continued, "…it’ll be the Third Prince, Malkov Vanderbilt."
"Wooooo—!"
The crowd erupted in happy cheers and a joyous atmosphere spread on the rooftop.
Julien had a look at the guy, then lost interest. He stared at the other two and found Vino, the Second Prince to be smiling happily and clapping slowly. The First Prince Levisky was also clapping slowly, but with an unfazed and gloomy expression.
The actual banquet started after this announcent and when the crowning was done, the guests began talking to each other on the rooftop.
The Crown Prince walked down the stage and talked to one noble after another.
As his mother had stated, Julien soon got a lot of aristocratic ladies flocking towards him, wanting to strike a conversation and get him to know better.
Simply by conversing with them, Julien could take them ho and spend a night. Though, he didn’t plan on doing that as he wasn’t interested in any of the ladies here.
None of them looked even half as good as his maid Sophie. Forget won, even Jackie who was pretending to be a guy looked much better than most ladies here.
Julien was on the verge of questioning his sexuality when he found Jackie to be really cute. Thankfully, this lad wasn’t actually a lad, so this was a safe territory to venture in.
The Crown Prince eventually walked up to the Lichtenstein House.
He was accompanied by the King’s officials when conversing with most nobles, but when it ca to the Lichtenstein, the King himself accompanied the Crown Prince to strike a conversation with the Duchess.
It was nothing noteworthy once again.
Simple pleasantries were exchanged between the Crown Prince and Sophie, who acted as the representative of the Lichtenstein House.
Katherine, looking like a noble, was standing beside Eleanor and this raised many questions in everyone’s head and further confused them.
Katherine was repeating the House of Commons, an organization made up of heroes and champions who did not belong to any nobility. These guys represented the common folks and were an important part of the Silverose Kingdom.
Sophie briefed Julien about this from the side, and he found this to be really ironic. An organization that was ant to be represented by the common folks was actually being represented by a noble. That too soone from a Duke house.
Julien continued to stand still and watch whatever was happening with a disinterested look. Honestly, it was getting really boring. He really wanted to go ho.
"…the Crown Prince is still ignorant about the ways of the Lichtenstein House. I hope the Duchess can enlighten him…"
Using the pretense of Malkov being ignorant, the King asked Eleanor for an introduction to the various mbers of the Lichtenstein House present here. It was shaless and Eleanor could completely see through it, but she didn’t mind. She had sothing in mind and wanted for such a chain of events to take place.
She slightly turned her head to the side and did a slight nod, gesturing to Sophie to co forward and do the deeds.
Sophie took a step forward and said to the King and the Crown Prince, "Greetings from the Lichtenstein House."
She began giving an introduction of the various mbers present here.
"This is our Priestess."
"This is our young master’s butler."
"This is our young master — Heir of the Lichtenstein Family."
"I see…" the King gave a slight nod whereas the Crown Prince was silent.
They may appear calm on the outside, but internally they thought:
’WHAT!?’
’WHAT DID SHE SAY!?!’
’Heir? HEIR? HEIR!?!’
The reason for their turmoil was the lack of information they had on the Lichtenstein’s.
As far as the King and the Crown Prince knew, the Duchess only had two daughters who were pretty active in the Tower and stayed clear from the political affairs of the Kingdom. They were rarely seen in events, but seen nonetheless.
Both of them had seen both the daughters.
However, it ca as a major shock to the two to find out that the Duchess had a third child. That too, a male.
The Lichtenstein had a history of being a female only family. How they reproduced or kept their lineage continuous was a mystery to all, but they knew one fact, and it was that they disliked n.
How did this family have a male successor all of a sudden?
The King felt his legs go numb from the sudden revelation.
If such an important thing was hidden from them for such a long ti, what else was the Duchess hiding?
How powerful was she even?
What were the depths of her strength?
The King did not dare think about it.
Sweating and forcing his hands to stop trembling, the King flashed a polite smile and said, "I’m pleased to et the heir. Seeing how he and our Crown Prince are of similar age, I think they will make good friends. Do visit the Royal Palace in future, young man."
The King then made the Crown Prince say a few pleasantries and hurried to finish the conversation, eventually leaving.
Julien on the other hand wondered, ’I am the heir?’
Katherine on the other hand wondered, ’Hoh… he’s already made the heir? Seems like my big bro displayed so of his strengths to mom. I wonder what they were…’
…..
A/N: There’s deleted scenes uploaded on Patr**on of this and the past chapter. You should check them out.
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