A short while after, the noble guests, who had arrived in Belfast all over the last few days and had been staying in the city, began to arrive. Tobias, the old butler, announced them all as they came into the hall.

"Announcing Lady Constance of the Roberts Barony!"

"Announcing Lord Abel of the Yunif Baronetcy!"

"Announcing Lady Serenity of the Liman Barony!"

And so on, and so on. Felix was quite impressed with the old butler's ability to recognize and name all of those attending. He truly had some skill, worthy of being the head butler. Felix also noted that, as expected, there were actually mostly young Ladies who had come to attend. After some thought, he realized it made sense, since it wouldn't make much sense for a noble house to seek a marriage without knowing Scarlet's elements first, as the only young Lords who could afford to disregard elemental affinity would be those who already awakened themselves and were lucky enough to already match their own house's preferred element. So it was more worthwhile to try and snag Leo at this particular event.

Felix humbly greeted and shook hands with as many of the arrivals as he could, trying his best not to look nervous, while he saw Leo looking completely in his element through his periphery. Many of the newly arrived were quite surprised when they saw Felix, but some of them were not. Scarcely after five minutes, Leo was surrounded by a veritable crowd of young Ladies, all shamelessly vying for his attention and trying to talk to him. Felix and most of the rest of the young Lords could only smile wryly, and so they pulled off to form their own much smaller group on the side to have their own discussions, rather than standing around staring at the walls.

"Well, I never heard the Belrose Earldom gained a second Young Master. You'll have to introduce yourself first." One of them started. Felix looked him over - he was a rather dapper fellow, with a well-fitted and slim red suit, blonde hair which curled slightly, and bright green eyes, and he always seemed to be smiling, in a way which showed his pearlescent and sharp teeth.

"Well, it's a bit of a long story, but I'm Leo and Scarlet's second cousin, and I was only recently reunited with them as my family. They've embraced me with open arms, and I couldn't be happier." Felix said.

"Truly? And from where do you hail, then?" he asked.

"Gurnkey. I don't know if you know of it, but it's a small town in the southeast of the kingdom that serves as a midpoint to the fort, and is headed by the Baron Wiseman." Felix explained.

"I have heard of it, actually, my family manufactures arms for the military, so we're acquainted with Lord Wiseman and do business with him semi-regularly." one different young Lord who stood nearby quipped. He was a somewhat shorter and portlier man, wearing a light blue suit with a fancy feathered hat. His hands looked rather rough for a young Lords, betraying the physical labor he must have done, perhaps as a craftsman. Felix was quite surprised to see an artisanal noble house, and so he asked him about it.

"Oh, this?" he said, waving his hands about. "I don't know if you know much about enchanting weapons, but in order to get the most powerful and best effects, you need to imbue the metal itself with the elements while forging it. My family, house Yunif, is well known for making extremely powerful daggers. Here, take a look!" he said, and he unsheathed a dagger from his waist and carefully handed it to Felix.

Felix eyed the dagger. It was sky blue, but it had a pattern that reminded him of when in his old world, he would see soap scum, or perhaps oil on the road, with that sort of wavy pattern on it, interspersed with dark lines. He could feel a powerful dark magic imbued into the blade.

"Very fine work." Felix said, handing him back the dagger carefully. "What is it enchanted to do?" he asked.

"Two things. Firstly, it increases the swing and thrust velocity of the wearer, which can easily catch people off guard, and secondly it's imbued with a powerful regenerating darkness toxin. I would say anyone who is so much as nicked by this dagger and isn't themselves at the level of an old Earl or higher, or treated by a powerful light mage, will be dead within fifteen minutes." he said proudly.

"Remind me to stay on your good side." Felix joked, to which the group laughed.

"So, Felix, will you be helping the Belrose family ply their trade?" the first man in red asked.

"I hope to, but they have not foisted that responsibility on me. I'm scarcely turned eighteen but several months ago, and so lately I've been constructing spells. But I do have a couple of the basic slavery spells handled already, and I would say I have some small adeptness in dark and soul magics already. I do plan to offer to help, and wish to do so though, yes." Felix said.

"Lucky bastard, got your pick of thousands of cute maid slaves." the man in blue, who Felix realized was the same Abel announced earlier, said while elbowing him approvingly. Felix could only smile in response.

"Announcing Young Master William and Young Mistress Serenity of the Tinnit Viscounty!" Tobias announced loudly.

Felix and the rest of the group of guys turned to look. In walked an extremely pale young man, wearing a long robe that was white, with hair as dark as obsidian, and eyes that were a pale icy blue. He was tall and thin, and pinned to his front was a crest which bore a shattered snowflake. He gave Felix an aura like he wasn't truly alive, and was an ice sculpture. Following right behind him was an extremely similar icy beauty, who anyone with two eyes and two brain cells could tell was his sister, as she had the same extremely pale skin, the same obsidian black hair, and the same pale icy blue eyes. Her expression was as if she put no one under heaven and earth in her eyes, making all of the young Lords present feel as if she did not even see any of them. Felix also noted she was rather well endowed.

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William was surprisingly humble, and he thanked Tobias, even bowing to him, to which Tobias smiled and politely rejected his bow. Both of them nodded to Leo, but left him to his miserable fate of being swarmed and opted to join the much smaller group of bachelor Lords on the side.

"So," William began, arriving before them. "You must be Young Master Felix." he said, speaking to Felix directly.

"I'm honored Young Master William bothered with such a small fry as myself." Felix said with a courteous bow. William smiled in response.

"The Tinnit family and the Belrose family are as close as water and lotuses, and belong together just as the moon and the stars, or a sword and a sheath. I would be letting my house down if I didn't pay attention to such an affair as large as house Belrose gaining a new Young Master." he said.

"Then I will accept the Young Master's favor. One can never make too many friends in life, after all, and you seem like someone with enough wit to rival my cousin Leo." Felix said.

William's smile grew. "You flatter me. Leo is as crafty as a raven, as resourceful as an octopus, and is as determined as a hungry osprey. I'm a long way yet from being his equal." he said humbly.

"I wouldn't be so sure. After all, he's the one drowning currently, while you instead have the opportunity to be casual with us!" Abel said jokingly, to which they all laughed. Felix glanced over at the throng around Leo, and even he felt exhausted, let alone Leo whose eyes looked like his soul had left his body already. He saluted him in his heart. Godspeed Leo.

"Oh? Is the presence of womenfolk so detrimental to you, young Lord Abel?" Serenity spoke up suddenly.

Abel shook his head. "If it's you, Lady Serenity, no, Fairy Serenity, I won't grow tired of your presence even if you hover near me for a thousand years. However, wouldn't it be the same for you, if you were surrounded by a couple dozen Young Masters for an extended period?" he asked, without skipping a beat.

Serenity smiled. "I only put my brother and Young Master Felix in my eyes in the first place, so even if there were five times as many of you swarming around me, it would make no difference." she said.

"Be careful that you don't end up unmarried if you don't even put noble Lords in your eyes, Lady Serenity." Abel said back to her viciously.

"I thank Lord Abel for his concern for my sister's wellbeing and future happiness." William said humbly. Felix was surprised at how well he took the verbal venom. "However, your concern is unfounded and unnecessary. After all, did she not say she at least put one of you in her eye?" he said with a smile.

The group of bachelors was surprised, and looked between Serenity and Felix. They had taken the comment as a throwaway comment, meant to showcase respect towards house Belrose, who was their ally. They didn't seriously think Lady Serenity would try for Felix over competing for Leo.

"House Tinnit's schemes run deep indeed." the man in red (whose name was Andrew, apparently), muttered.

"Young Master Felix, can I bother you to accompany my sister while I accompany this ragtag group of other young Lords? It seems she finds this particular location disagreeable and it may be impacting her mood. I hope you can be magnanimous and forgive her, and not hold her comments against young Lord Abel against her, I assure you they were made in jest." William said with a bow.

Felix was dumbstruck. "Uh... well, since you have asked me so politely, how could I have the face to refuse?" he said, and he walked off to an unoccupied area of the hall, as Serenity followed him quietly. After he felt that he was far enough away, he turned to her, at a loss over the situation.

"What's the matter, Young Master Felix? Is my beauty so great that you've forgotten how to speak?" Serenity asked him teasingly.

"Indeed it has. Your face is as an ice sculpture by the greatest masters, your countenance is as a blizzard, cold and aloof, such that it makes men yearn for you as an un-pluckable glacial flower. The ravine on your chest is deeper than the fjords, your hair is as dark as the abyssal voids, your eyes are as- mmmph!" Felix started, but Serenity cut him off by placing her finger on his lips.

"If you're too honest with me, Young Master Felix, I might look down on you. No girl likes it when a man presents her no challenge at all." she said with a smile.

"And yet," Felix said, grabbing her finger, to her shock. "You already knew how all the young Lords would think of you. It is only what I already said. And so, you have not gained any information on me at all, save that I have eyes and function properly as a man should. You know nothing else." he said, kissing her hand, as Arboro fiercely yelled instructions at him in his soul.

Serenity pulled her hand back quickly, with a slight blush, her eyes having changed how they looked at Felix. They seemed to have a slight light in them now.

"Indeed? So how will I learn more of you, Young Master Felix?" she asked him coyly.

"I suppose you'll just have to pry the information from my lips." Felix said, raising his hand suddenly and brushing his thumb lightly against her lips.

Serenity pulled back quickly. "You! You!" she sputtered.

"I? I? What?" Felix asked with a smile.

"N-no man has before ever touched me, and yet you've done so twice within scarcely five minutes of meeting me! Are you a beast wearing the flesh of a man?" She asked him with a bit of rage.

"I suppose I'm just that blessed by the heavens to have gotten the opportunity to do so." Felix said.

Serenity looked positively flustered for a moment, but then she smiled. "You really know how to push my buttons, Young Master Felix." she said, looking him in the eyes.

"And that is why I am the only one of the young Lords present you put in your eye." Felix responded simply.

Serenity laughed. "Your schemes run as deep as my brother's do, yet I find you much more agreeable." she said with a smile.

"To be honest, your brother comes across as very dangerous, to me. I feel like he would take any humiliation under the sun so long as it would make him more powerful." Felix said, glancing at William in the distance.

"Hmph. He fancies himself quite the actor, thinking he's made everyone see him as nothing more than a polite and humble young Lord of a most agreeable attitude. But it's as you've said, it's nothing but a facade. And usually my litmus test of whether or not one is intelligent is if they see through him. You'd be surprised at how many noblemen fail this simple test." Serenity said.

"Do they truly fail, or are they not willing to badmouth your brother to your face for fear of offending you?" Felix asked.

"It makes no difference. If they put me on such a high pedestal that the thought of offending me ranks higher than the thought of offending one of the great spirits, then I could never respect them anyway." she said disdainfully.