It was so tense. Elise followed her attendant to the main dining room of the Royal Family. Her 'guards' were also accompanying them, of course, but they didn't get in since there were already Royal Guards placed inside the dining room. They were standing at the corners of the room and beside the door, fully armed and ready to step in at any time. But the guards' shiny armors were pale next to the room itself.
The room was lit with bright lights that could even fill the whole place. Elise could sense the Energy swirling inside them. The whole palace was filled with them, and many more magic devices helped the palace operate with Energy. Elise was able to sense them all inside the walls and doors and such. She was astonished at how advanced their use of Energy was.
There was a huge rectangular wooden table in the middle and two arrays of long and thin tables on the side walls. Fifteen fancy chairs were placed around the huge table, the biggest one at the end, and the other ten at the sides, and eight of them were already taken.
One of them was her father, Regory Vandenberg, who had come early as usual. The others must have been the government officials her attendant talked about on the way here. Some had come with their wives and husbands. All of them had fallen silent after she entered the room and were following her with their eyes. Stupid dress.
While her attendant guided her to her seat, her father stood up to meet her. She walked slowly toward him under the looks of the guests. She unintentionally opened her mind to their intentions directed at her, but she only found one. This intention was stronger than any other she felt in the Kingdom. A strong feeling of curiosity was coming from the man furthest from her.
He was an old man with a luxurious blue robe. His face was covered with wrinkles, but his eyes were as lively as a kid's. He was sitting closest to the seats Elise thought were reserved for the Royal Family. The amount of Energy she could feel from him was remarkable. It was a lot more than Elise could manage, but compared to the Demon they encountered, it was nothing more than a droplet. He must have been the Head Magician Gustave Vorony, one of the guests of this dinner, her attendant mentioned on the way.
She knew the intentions she could feel were linked with Energy usage, but what about the people she could feel on the way through the Capital? Were they all magicians? But they all looked like regular citizens. But what about...
She snapped out of her thoughts with the hand directed at her. The awkward silence was still going like everyone was waiting for her to sit down. Her attendant had already pulled and prepared her seat for her while her father was waiting to assist her as a formality. She quickly grabbed her father's hand and sat down. She always hated formalities like that, like she was a helpless kitten, but this time it was a huge help. Not only snapping her out of her thoughts, also the bottom part of the dress was making it impossible to sit normally. So that was why these formalities were a necessity, to cover up ridiculous things to save face. Stupid dress.
Everyone continued their small talk while Elise was trying to fix her dress to sit more comfortably. Two women were sitting on her left and opposite side, while her father was on her right. The opposite seat of her father was still empty, but next to that, the old magician was sitting. He was still curiously examining her.
"The dress looks good on you." Her father must have felt her discomfort and was trying to cheer her up a bit. But this was the last thing she wanted to hear right now.
Elise slowly turned her head and looked at him with fierce eyes. "What am I doing here?" This was the main question on her mind for a while. Why would they even invite her? "And why didn't you say anything? When you say dinner, I thought it was just us."
Her father had a visible confusion on his face. "I thought you were informed, and it was obvious. Sorry if it came as a surprise, but I assure you this was not my idea. The King Arteon himself requested it, and I thought this would be a great opportunity to clear your name before the court."
"Consider yourself lucky, young Lady Vandenberg." The woman opposite her was talking. "They say you committed adultery, against the Royal Family at that. It is not a light subject."
She was looking younger than the Head Magician, but she was still older than most in the room. She had a white baggy dress that covered her whole body, excluding her face. She was even wearing white gloves. Compared to everyone attending the dinner, she was the simplest-looking. But her face was telling a different story. It was like looking at a rough cliff, filled with sharp rocks. She may be looking simple, but she was someone no one could defy easily. High Priestess of the Church of Six, Anna Miona.
"Please don't be like that, Priestess." This time it was the woman on her left. "I am sure she had her reasons to break the engagement. I don't believe those rumors. She is a Vandenberg, after all. If she is even a quarter of her father, there is no way she would do such things. I am right, Regory?"
Valery Cartha. The Head Director of the Kingdom's internal and external trade. Elise remembered her visiting their family mansion from time to time to discuss trade relations within the Vandenberg territories. She was adorned with jewelry all over. She was almost as tall as her father, and she was carrying that height with much elegance. Her straight golden hair was pouring down her back. She must have been around her mother's age, but, unlike her mother, Valery Cartha was looking younger than ever. Overall, she was a beautiful woman. But why was she supporting her?
"Thank you for your kind words, Lady Cartha." Her father replied.
"Oh, stop it, Regory. We are not strangers. Please call me Valery." She granted a stunning smile to her father. "How is your wife, by the way? She must have been worn out after the childbirth. She is not young anymore after all." Now it was obvious why she was supporting her. She was after her father.
"Thank you for your concern, Lady Cartha. She is getting better." And of course, her father had no clue.
She opened her mouth to continue the conversation, but the doors opened, and everyone's attention turned to the entrance. A man gave his sword in its scabbard to the guard beside the door and entered the dining room. He crossed the room with quick but steady steps. His every move screamed that he was a soldier through and through. Something about him resembled Elise her father, even though this man's skin was darker. Maybe it was his dark and short hair and strong build, befitting of a soldier.
He pulled his chair and greeted everyone with respect before sitting next to her father. Elise saw everyone greeting him back in the same respectful manner. There was no doubt, he was the Head of the Military, Avir Fortis. The best swordsman in the Kingdom, maybe in the whole continent. He was one of the role models of Elise when she was a kid. She never imagined meeting someone like him here and now.
"It is nice to see you again, Lord Vandenberg." He said, while he sat in his seat. Elise knew her father was acquainted with Avir Fortis, but she didn't expect a personal greeting. Also, Lady Cartha did not seem to be happy about the sudden change of attention.
"Likewise, Lord Fortis. Did you get a chance to look at my request?"
"I did, but it looks like it will take a while to get some results."
"No need to rush things. I just want to know who is behind all this baseless fuss. My family appreciates your assistance in this dire matter."
"I can at least do this much for an old friend."
So, her father went to him to get help on the investigation. Avir Fortis had a huge influence on the Kingdom, and he was known as a righteous warrior as well. He could be a great help indeed.
"I see young Lady Vandenberg is also with us this evening." Avir Fortis leaned forward to look eye to eye with her. "You were just a little kid last time I saw you, now look at you. You resemble so much of your father. I can see a warrior inside you, just like him."
Elise felt flattered by the praise coming from such a warrior. Although she didn't know it was really because of her fighting spirit, or her well-built shoulders and arms for her age, sticking out of her dress.
"Thank you for your words, Lord Fortis. I train with my Master every day to get better." She should use every opportunity to convince everyone that her relationship with the Traveler was limited to a master and apprentice.
"He seems like a formidable man. I wish to meet him, if possible."
He looked sincere with his words. A warrior of his level must have been eager to meet some strong people. Whether just simply to know who was stronger or to exchange some blows to train. It must have been hard to train with someone to get better when you are the strongest around. Elise knew he was strong, but she also saw what the Traveler was capable of. Avir Fortis, the best warrior of the Alethani Kingdom, had no chance against him. She needed to prevent them from meeting, just to make sure nothing would happen, but her father acted before her.
"We will visit him after dinner. We would like you to accompany us if you want to, right, Elise?"
He turned to Elise for her approval. She looked at her father with a half-open mouth, but quickly recovered herself and answered.
"S-sure... I mean it would be great." What else could she even say?
"I appritiate your..."
He got interrupted by the door opening. A man with a small round figure and a bolding head came inside. His jacket was as extravagant as his facial expression. He was moving and looking around like he was above everything and everyone. Elise checked the others for their reaction to him. Most of them were avoiding even looking at him, but the ones who looked at them were looking like they were expecting him to do something. They were all on guard around.
He walked toward the only empty seat, except for the ones arranged for the Royal Family. Between the High Priestess and the Head Magician, right in front of her father. He didn't say anything to anyone on the way and sat in his seat, looking directly at her father.
"Vandenberg."
"Landa."
Elise could feel the tension between the two territorial Lords of the Kingdom. So, this person was the head of the House of Landa, Edward Sigeberht Landa. He was not a warrior type, that was obvious, but even Elise heard about his cunning intelligence. He was the type of man who could do anything to his benefit. It was known that he and her father were on bad terms because of his vicious acts towards them before. What was he even doing here?
"I didn't expect to see you here today." Her father's attitude had quickly shifted. The man who was talking to a friend just a moment ago was gone now.
"I had business to attend at the Capital, which does not concern you."
"I meant at this dinner."
"Why, are you the only one who could attend such events? Don't get ahead of yourself, Vandenberg. And learn to be more grateful, I even talked to our King to let your daughter attend this dinner."
"So, it was you, after all. What are you scheming this time, Landa?" Her father was not known for his patience, he could snap at him any time now.
Elise finally managed to put the clues together. How could she not have all this time? She was focused too much on getting out of this situation, she couldn't get her mind around who was behind all of this. But now her brain started to work like never before. The Landa boy at the Rhiona village, Jacky. He must have told his father about her and the Traveler. He used this knowledge to his advantage and started this rumor about her running away with her lover.
Then he made her attend this dinner to probably provoke her father in front of the already biased Royal Family to force him into doing something irrational, depending on his known short temper. He wanted to make the House of Vandenberg fall out of favor. Elise needed to tell her father about her inference and warn him. She reached his shoulder to get his attention. But right at that moment, the doors opened one last time.