On the last day of the Lantern Festival, the king hosted an enormous banquet for Kyrie.
As the principal figure of the banquet, he is required to attend.
At first, Kyrie is worried that Ian would not be allowed to attend the banquet. Surprisingly enough, the king also sent an invitation to him. Ian looked at the invitation letter for days already, and his face is still with the same uncomfortable look. Ian was ready to face the fact that the king would ignore him for the rest of his life.
Seeing how Ian has yet to put on his suit for the banquet, Kyrie asks, "Do you not want to go to the banquet?"
"No, it is just that I have never received this kind of attention from the king. I thought that I would be overwhelmed with joy if I just received at least the minimal bit of attention, but with this, I don't know how to feel. I am not happy, but not as sad as well. It feels like nothing. All those years that I have been waiting for father to at least visit me once were like just a mirage. Maybe it is because there was nothing to gain from waiting in the first place. Something else must have been waiting for me instead."
[Me.]
Kyrie smiles as he continued to fix his tie.
---
Kyrie and Ian enter the banquet. Everyone's eyes immediately go towards them as if their presence is a form of entertainment. But, who would not be amused to see such a pairing- a holy paladin with a cursed prince. Their pairing seems to be the very definition of opposites attract.
When Kyrie walks further into the hall, he gets stopped by the chancellor of Aria, Samuel Hanover. He asks Kyrie to step aside for a private conversation. Despite being reluctant to leave Ian alone, Kyrie went with Chancellor Hanover to a secluded corner since Ian urged him to go.
Chancellor Hanover says without flowering his words, "Sir Rowan, I hope that you can make a good decision tonight if you get any offerings from the King of Ethern. After all, the house of Rowan is still Aria's vassal. This is only a suggestion. You wouldn't be so hasty to create a difficult situation for your family since you are said to be wise. "
Kyrie frowned at Chancellor Hanover's words.
[What suggestion? More like a threat!]
"You don't have to worry, Chancellor Hanover. I would not jeopardize my family's wellbeing," responds Kyrie.
Without even biding goodbye, Kyrie walks away after discovering that he lost sight of Ian.
When Kyrie leaves with Chancellor Hanover, Ian is also summoned by the king just seconds later. He follows the servant who is guiding him to the king. Once there, Ian sees the king sitting on his throne with Queen Silvia sitting next to him. Queen Silvia flashed a wicked smile that caused Ian to feel goosebumps all over his body. However, Ian controls himself and greets both of them like a subject.
"My son, it has been a long time that I have not seen you. How is your time spent in the academy?"
Ian tightened his hands into fists and responds, "Thank you for your concern, your majesty. I have been well."
"I must commend you for being so hospitable to Sir Rowan."
"No, your majesty. This is the least I can do."
The awkwardness in the conversation between father and son can be perceived by everyone who is eavesdropping on the conversation.
There is not a single person in the kingdom who does not know that the king does not favor the prince. In fact, the king completely disregards his presence altogether.
For him to suddenly give so much attention to the prince for having good connections with the holy paladin is quite shameless, but who can say that to the king?
Kyrie arrives at the scene and stands next to Ian. He sees that Ian is trying to control himself from bursting.
"Greetings to the King and Queen of Ethern. Thank you for your generosity in holding such a grand banquet in my name," says Kyrie.
"You may rise, Sir Rowan. There is no need for such formality since you are our savior. As the king of Ethern, I want to express my gratitude for what you have done," says the king.
"Your words flatter me, your highness. I am just following the commands from Vita," says Kyrie.
"I would like to award you for your sacrifice and present you with the title of Viscount," declares the king.
"As Vita's paladin, I would have to decline your offer. I have only followed the commands from Vita. However, the ones who actually protected your citizens are prince Ian and the church. They erected a protective dome surrounding the capital city to avoid the blow from the destruction of the evil spirit. I was named two years ago, so embarrassingly, my powers are not enough to stop the counterblow after destroying the evil spirit which culminated mana for years."
The information about how there has been an evil spirit for years gathering mana causes a harmonious gasp from all the banquet attendees.
They start to say out of relief, "Goodness, a good thing that the holy paladin came on time. Imagine what could have happened."
The king says, "Your contribution to this country is too great for me to ignore, Sir Rowan. If I do not award you, I might look like a petty king."
[What a sly fellow... If I take in the title of Viscount, I would be tied to the kingdom of Ethern since I have yet to inherit my father's title of Marquis. I would normally not mind if it was not for my parents. They would be condemned if I accept this title.]
The king's words made the attendees agree with his words. Kyrie's side glances towards Chancellor Hanover, whose frown deepened, but Kyrie reassures him with a quick smile.
"King Ethern..." A voice from the crowd called out the king. The attendees gave way, and the Vicar walks towards the king. The status of Vicar is on par with the king because he is the head of the church, so it is okay for them to put themselves on equal footing or even higher than the king.
The king stands up and walks towards the Vicar greeting him.
"King Ethern, I am sure that Sir Rowan is grateful for your good intentions. However, Sir Rowan cannot receive a noble title because he has to uphold only one title, and that is his title of being Vita's direct paladin. Sir Rowan is considered stateless. That means that he is only subject to Vita. I hope you understand," says Vicar.
Hearing those words, the king does not hide his annoyance. After all, he just lost a gripe of power that he could extortionate. The Vicar side glances at Kyrie, and they both exchange a silent greeting.
"Is that so? If your holiness says so, then I would not pursue such matters," says the king.
"Your majesty!!! Your majesty!!! We have an emergency, let me in!!! Your majesty!!!"
The pleading voice attracted everyone's attention. A wounded soldier was being stopped at the entrance to the banquet hall.
The king frowned at the racket, and asks in a bad mood, "What is this, racket?"
The servant runs towards the king and says, "A soldier from the fortress of Labam came with an urgent request, your majesty."
The blood of Kyrie suddenly runs cold. His face immediately goes pale and staggers back. Ian holds him and asks, "Are you alright?"
"Let him in!" says the king.
The bloody soldier, carried by two guards, kneels in front of the king and says filled with distress, "Your majesty! A horde of demons from the forest of Labam broke through the walls of the fortress and heading towards the capital city in a matter of three days! We need immediate backup, your majesty!"
"What? Prepare immediate backups!" The king urges and looks at the Vicar.
Everyone in the banquet starts to panic and concerns shot one after the other from their mouths.
The Vicar understanding the king's expression said, "Then I would go back and prepare to assist! Sir Rowan, please give me a moment."
Kyrie holds Ian's wrist and tells him, "Come with me."
Then, the three of them walk away from the royal palace.
They took a carriage and rushed to the temple. The entire way, Ian can see Kyrie's anxiety. He has never seen Kyrie so panicked before. On the carriage, Kyrie eventually takes Ian's hand and squeezes it hard causing Ian to feel some pain.
However, Kyrie seems to not even be aware that he is inflicting pain on Ian despite how much attention he usually gives to Ian usually. The carriage eventually stopped and when they had to go down.
Kyrie loosened his grip and let go of Ian's hand to get off the carriage. For some unknown reason, the gesture gave Ian the creeps as if something extremely bad was going to happen.
When they were walking up the stairs of the temple, the sky started to turn red like red ink getting spilled and covering the surface. The moon hanged high and unusually bright. The wind blew hard, whistling, shaking, and slamming on the windows.
Then, the earth shakes violently for a minute and abruptly stops when a strike of lightning clashes on the horizon, forming a column of light. The sound and gust reached them seconds later after the lightning strike.
The thunder roared throughout the capital city.
[What is happening? Why? Why? Why are the occurrences that should happen years later occurring right now? Why is Imogen already here? Did my actions speed up the pace of the future?]
Kyrie looks at the Vicar with a darkened expression and says to him, "Your holiness, I must go there right now. Please help me take care of Ian. Please."
The Vicar asks, "What are we looking at?"
Kyrie looks at the Vicar with concerned eyes and says, "It's a summoning from Vita."
Kyrie looks at Ian with an apologetic smile and runs towards the carriage. He takes one of the horses and gallops towards the column of light. Before Ian can react, Kyrie is already far away on his horse. An ominous feeling takes gripe within Ian's heart. Before Ian can move, the Vicar restricts his moves.
Ian pleads, "Please... Please, your holiness... Something does not feel right... Please let me go! Let me go with Kyrie!!!!"