The grand banquet had started. King Solomon welcod the honored guests from both kingdoms– High-ranking officials and nobles from Averion and Eldara.
He made a toast celebrating the victory of two allied kingdoms while presenting Crown Prince Cassian to the crowd.
"We are deeply honored to be graced by Crown Prince Cassian’s presence. He traveled from the faraway kingdom of Eldara just to be with us tonight. Let’s make a toast for him!" King Solomon raised his wine glass.
Everyone responded with a loud cheer, lifting their respective wine glasses.
anwhile, Crown Prince Cassian kept his indifferent expression, feeling a little bit bored.
"Bro, can you smile a little? You should appear friendly in front of Averion’s people. They are our allies. Why are you putting on a long face?" Thalia whispered, nudging her brother’s shoulder.
"What else? Simply because I’m bored," he plainly responded before drinking his wine.
Princess Alessandra, who was standing near them, overheard Crown Prince Cassian’s words.
"Prince Cassian, my father has invited the famous group of Lady Musicians called The Siren Ensemble. They will entertain us later. I heard you love playing the zither. One mber of them is known for her skills in playing the zither," Alessandra butted in.
Prince Cassian just raised his eyebrow with intrigue.
"Oh really? Let’s see if she can satisfy my ears. So far, Sylvana is the only one who can satisfy ," Prince Cassian replied, smirking aningfully.
Princess Alessandra fell silent when Crown Prince Cassian ntioned a woman’s na.
’Is she his woman?’ she marveled to herself.
"Who is Sylvana?" she asked, unable to hold her curiosity.
Thalia replied, "She is our Kingdom’s Seer."
"Wow! You have a seer. Is she good? Can I ask her to see my future?" Princess Alessandra said enthusiastically while eyeing Prince Cassian.
Queen Amara instructed Alessandra to interact more with Crown Prince Cassian. However, the more she talked the more he got annoyed.
Thalia smiled sheepishly. She already knew that her brother was already pissed by Alessandra. He hated noisy people and here she was– keep talking to them.
"Princess Alessandra, I’ll ask Sylvana later. By the way, have you seen Alaric? Why is he not here yet?" Thalia changed the topic, still searching for Alaric.
"Oh. Don’t worry. I will ask my father to summon Alaric here," Alessandra reassured her.
"I would love that." Thalia’s eyes lit up.
"Shall we proceed to our tables? The performance will start in a few minutes," Alessandra said, inviting Thalia and Cassia to join the royal family at one table.
"Yes. Let’s go. Our families still have sothing to discuss. Am I right, brother?" Thalia anchored her hands around Cassian’s arm, her gaze reminding him of the marriage proposition to Alaric Stormholt.
Prince Cassian just nodded in response.
The three of them imdiately proceeded to the table of the royal family. Crown Prince Cassian sat down next to Crown Prince Stefan, deliberately avoiding the spot next to Princess Alessandra.
"Princess Thalia, can we exchange seats? General Alaric might sit next to ."
Upon hearing Alaric’s na, Thalia didn’t hesitate to give her seat to Alessandra. Prince Cassian glared at his sister for allowing Alessandra to sit beside him.
’This princess is so persistent. I’m not interested in her,’ Prince Cassian thought, his face contorting in annoyance.
"Kindly summon General Stormholt. He is also part of the royal family. He has to join us here," King Solomon said, commanding the royal servant to look for Alaric.
Prince Cassian frowned upon hearing that.
"General Stormholt, the kingdom’s hero? What do you an he is part of the royal family?" He asked King Solomon in confusion.
"He is my son-in-law. He is married to my third daughter, Princess Evelina," King Solomon replied.
Prince Cassian narrowed his eyes, glancing at Thalia. ’He is already married! Why is she insisting on marrying him?! Has she gone mad?’
Thalia chewed on her lower lip upon eting her brother’s sharp gaze. She didn’t ntion to her brother that Alaric was already married to the third princess of Averion.
"Where is Princess Evelina?" Prince Cassian asked. He only t Princess Alessandra and Princess Aliyah.
"The third princess rarely attends gatherings like this. She is always weak and frail. She also has a contagious disease so she can’t join us tonight," Queen Amara said, answering Cassian’s query.
No one from the royal family opposed Queen Amara’s statent even though they knew that Eve didn’t have a contagious disease.
Prince Cassian didn’t ask further. Now, he wondered how he would support Thalia after knowing Alaric was already married to soone.
But Thalia was still confident that her brother would propose the marriage between Alaric and her because she knew that Prince Cassian would not agree to marry Princess Alessandra.
Their parents had tried convincing Prince Cassian to find a wife and marry another princess. But the stubborn prince never listened to them, refusing to marry anyone.
"Let’s enjoy the feast," King Solomon urged everyone to taste the food and delicacies served on their table.
As everyone started to eat, the Siren Ensemble was invited to perform on the center stage. They had prepared seven performances tonight to entertain everyone.
"Ladies and gentlen! While you enjoy the food, let’s watch and listen to the wonderful songs and performances of the Siren Ensemble!" The Royal Chamberlain announced.
Loud cheer reverberated in the banquet hall as the masked ladies entered carrying their respective musical instrunts.
A few seconds later, the sound of the different instrunts echoed in the hall. So honored guests started to dance along with the harmony while others stayed on their tables, watching the masked ladies.
"I can’t see anyone who is playing the zither," Crown Prince Cassian blurted out.
Princess Alessandra smiled in embarrassnt. She was the one who ntioned a lady playing the zither during the performance.
"It will be a solo performance later. It will be the last performance. Wait for it, Crown Prince Cassian," Crown Prince Stefan answered on her behalf.
Alessandra gave her elder brother a grateful look.
"Hmm. I hope this performance is worth waiting for," Prince Cassian casually said.
"Yes. I’ve listened to her performance once. You will be amazed," Crown Prince Stefan reassured him.
Prince Cassian just shrugged his shoulders. He didn’t have high expectations for the performance. He just hoped it would ease his boredom even just a little. Otherwise, he would be forced to go back to his chambers without watching the last performance.
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