The hall that had been buzzing moments ago fell completely silent.

No one spoke. The only sound was the clink of armor as the guards leveled their weapons at the trio standing in the center—Evangeline, Aiden, and Arthur.

A tense pressure filled the air.

Then a man stepped forward from among the nobles.

He looked to be in his twenties, with the same magenta hair as Eliana and Evangeline, and a handsome face marked by a confident gaze. His eyes, however, were anything but gentle as they fixed on Evangeline.

"Evangeline, what is the meaning of this?" he demanded.

His glare shifted to Arthur.

"Why is a monster walking side by side with you?"

The moment the word "monster" left his mouth, Jessica’s expression darkened, the shock she had felt earlier disappearing in an instant.

"How dare he call an Imperius—"

She took a step forward, fury in her eyes.

Before she could move any further, Sylvia grabbed her wrist.

Jessica stared at her in surprise.

"Mother, what are you—"

"Just wait and watch," Sylvia cut her off quietly. "Haven’t you felt it? The feeling coming from Arthur... it doesn’t seem purely human anymore."

Jessica’s gaze snapped back to Arthur. She focused properly this time, letting her senses stretch out.

Now that Sylvia mentioned it, something did feel different—his aura was sharper, older, not quite human.

Her eyes widened.

"It can’t be..."

Sylvia’s face darkened slightly, but there was a trace of relief there too.

"He has awakened his bloodline," she said. "But it’s not from the lineage of the Imperius family."

Jessica’s face turned white.

"If Father finds out..."

"He might already have," Sylvia replied calmly. "There is not a nation in this world where our spies are not present."

Jessica gritted her teeth, hands curling into fists at her sides.

-----

On the other side, Eliana noticed their exchanged looks.

"Is everything alright, Sylvia?" she asked, her voice smooth.

In an instant, Sylvia’s expression returned to its usual calm and cold composure. Jessica’s face also settled back into a neutral mask.

Sylvia smiled.

"Nothing," she said lightly. "I was just enjoying the show. It seems your youngest has brought quite the specimen to this party."

Eliana chuckled.

"Well, I can’t deny that. She was always quite unpredictable."

But in her mind, thoughts moved quickly.

’They definitely know that black-haired young man. And it looks serious.’

A sly smile tugged at her lips.

’Now this banquet is getting interesting. All thanks to the youngest one.’

—

While all this was happening, Evangeline stepped forward from the trio, her heels clicking against the marble.

Her gaze sharpened as she looked at the ring of guards.

"You all have five seconds to put away your weapons," she said, voice cold. "Or there will be no heads left on your shoulders."

She didn’t shout, but her words cut cleanly through the silence.

"Aiden," she added without looking back, "cut off their heads the moment I count to five."

The purple-haired man opened his mouth to speak, but Evangeline’s cut him off first

"And it will be the same for you too, brother," she said flatly. "So back off. Now."

Rage and humiliation distorted his features.

Around them, the guests watched in stunned silence. Everyone knew who he was—Joan, the second child of the queen and the First Prince of the Ashford Empire.

The guards hesitated, throats bobbing as they swallowed hard. They knew exactly who Aiden Nexaris was and that he was not someone they could take lightly.

But the prince had been openly challenged and insulted. Retreating now would be a stain on their honor.

Evangeline’s lips parted.

"Five."

The guards had thought she was bluffing, that she would at least start from one.

Aiden moved.

His blade flashed out, appearing right next to one guard’s neck.

"STOP!"

The shout rang through the hall.

Aiden’s sword stopped just a hair’s breadth from the guard’s skin.

All eyes turned.

It was Jasmine who had spoken.

Her cold gaze and cunning smile settled on Evangeline as the tension in the hall twisted in a new direction.

"You’d better have a good explanation, Eve," Jasmine said.

Evangeline smiled, unbothered.

"Of course I do, Sister."

Evangeline glanced sideways at Arthur, lowering her voice so only the two beside her could hear.

"So," she murmured, "what should I say?"

Arthur’s mouth twitched.

"You’re asking me?" he whispered back.

"You are human, right?" Evangeline pressed.

Arthur gave her a deadpan look.

"What do you think? I have two hands, two legs, two eyes, and two ears."

"I don’t know about your penis," she muttered. "Do you have more?"

Arthur didn’t miss a beat.

"What about your boobs? Are they inverted?"

Evangeline froze, then quickly covered her chest with both arms, cheeks flushing.

"Pervert," she hissed.

"Right back at you," Arthur shot back.

Aiden rubbed his forehead.

"Great," he sighed. "Now I’m babysitting two people. As if one wasn’t enough."

"Hello," Jasmine’s voice cut through from the front. "We are waiting here."

Evangeline straightened and looked at Arthur again.

"Do you want to take over?" she asked.

"No," Arthur replied calmly. "I want to see if I’m siding with the right princess. So go and explain the unknown."

Evangeline grinned.

"Then prepare to be dazzled by my greatness."

She stepped forward.

—

Evangeline approached the front of the hall and bowed gracefully toward the queen, her movements smooth and respectful. When she rose, her expression had changed—her eyes turned moist, her lips pressing into a trembling line.

"The man you are accusing of being a monster," she began, voice soft, "is a human."

She looked around the hall, letting a hint of hurt show on her face, a single tear forming at the corner of her eye.

"Do you have any idea how much this man has been through?"

Her words pulled everyone’s attention tighter.

She turned and pointed gently toward Arthur.

"This man here was an orphan. He had to fight life tooth and nail just to survive. He didn’t even have enough to eat—sometimes he had to dig through trash for scraps."

A few gasps echoed around the hall.

"When he didn’t have a home and the rain poured down, he used cardboard boxes as shelter."

Evangeline clenched her hands.

"Yet, even then, he grabbed whatever education he could and became a hunter while being only an F-rank. He thought life might get a little better."

She shook her head slowly.

"But life wasn’t done breaking him."

Her voice dropped lower, heavy with emotion.

"On the very first dungeon he tried to clear, the dungeon collapsed. He was dragged into the Null Realm. Alone. No food. No clean water. Surrounded by monsters. He spent his days hiding from creatures that could kill him in an instant."

The hall was deathly silent.

"Do you know the main reason you feel something ’off’ from him?" she asked, scanning the crowd. "It’s because, to survive there, he had to eat monsters. Things like larva-kins."

The reaction was immediate.

Many faces twisted in disgust; several nobles flinched outright. They all knew what larva-kins were—bloated, pus-filled, writhing sacks of flesh that oozed foul-smelling fluids when they moved. Among monsters, they were infamous as one of the most revolting species in existence.

The idea of someone being driven so far that they had to eat larva-kins to stay alive was almost unimaginable to them.

Murmurs spread through the hall, equal parts horror and reluctant respect.

"And yet," Evangeline went on softly, "this teenage boy in front of you still did whatever he had to do to survive."

She let that sink in for a moment, then continued, voice trembling.

"But even that wasn’t the end of it. One day, he was captured by vampires. They turned him into their test subject and food source, draining his blood every day. They performed experiments on him, subjected him to pain most of you can’t even imagine."

Arthur watched her from behind, fighting the urge to laugh and groan at the same time.

’Wow,’ he thought. ’That’s clever. Really clever. Eating monsters and experiments as an excuse... Now no one can question her.’

Evangeline pressed on, not giving the crowd time to recover.

"The only reason this man is alive and standing here as my second knight..."

She paused, letting the silence stretch.

"...is because Aiden, I, and our other soldiers—who died tragically while fighting for me—arrived in time and saved him."

She swept her gaze over the hall, eyes sharp through the tears.

"If you still want to question his humanity after all that, I don’t know if I can even call you human."

A wave of guilt washed over the crowd. Many nobles shifted their weight, unable to meet Arthur’s eyes. Even some of the soldiers lowered their weapons slightly, shame visible on their faces.

Evangeline wiped her tears with the back of her hand.

"But I, Evangeline Cael Ashford," she said firmly, "do not discriminate against those who need my help. I am willing to give my life for this country if needed. That’s all."

She took a slow breath.

"I thought this banquet was for my achievements," she added, voice turning bitter. "But it looks like it was prepared for my humiliation."

She turned around.

"Arthur, Aiden," she said, "let’s go. It looks like we’re not needed here."

They began to step away.

"Stop. Where are you going?"

The queen’s voice rang out.

Eliana took a step forward, her expression composed yet softer than before.

"Forgive us," she said. "For accusing this young man without hearing his side of the story. And you will also be rewarded for your heroic deeds."

Applause broke out—hesitant at first, then growing louder as more guests joined in.

Evangeline bowed her head toward the queen.

"Thank you for your understanding," she said.

"Lady Evangeline!"

"Princess Evangeline!"

Her name echoed around the hall as people clapped, some even cheering.

Arthur stood there, stunned by how quickly the situation had turned.

Inside his mind, the system spoke up.

[ Host. ]

’I already know what you’re going to say,’ Arthur replied silently. ’So don’t say it.’

The system’s voice came back, filled with laughter.

[ Looks like you finally found competition... in acting. ]

Arthur couldn’t even deny it.

[ Host, your mother and sister are also here. ]

This time, Arthur didn’t answer. He simply remained quiet, eyes flicking briefly toward the side where he knew the Imperius group stood.

Evangeline, catching his gaze, winked at him with a bright smile.

Arthur sighed.

Aiden just stood beside him...as if all of this was normal for him.