There was a bout of silence in the ballroom, as the door closed shut with a loud thud. It was more audible than usual, because so many people held their breath collectively. Rowena started to feel a little lost, holding her bouquet and waiting for a pin to drop, despite the orchestra now playing a slow waltz.

It wasn't as if they had seen a ghost, but it sure felt as if they did, when the Marquis of Nerena stepped in, with the sound of his walking stick clacking along with his steps resounded through the hall.

"Grandfather, you came?" was all Rowena could utter.

How did he do it? Wasn't he still mostly bedridden? She had seen him walk around for sure, but he managed to come all the way over to the capital!

"To my only Granddaughter's debut?" he said and let out a raspy laugh, "I wouldn't have missed it for the world."

He looked genuinely happy, as Rowena felt her eyes sting with a weird sensation welling up inside of her. To counter it, she blinked a few times and greeted the man who had come so far for her.

"I am grateful to be in your presence today."

As he came closer, he put a hand on the crown of her head, patting it lightly with a gentle smile. Only a second later, she could hear footsteps approaching, knowing whose it would be.

"Father, I'm glad you could make it." He made it sound as if he had been aware, yet his face had made it obvious that wasn't the case.

When the Marquis had started getting weaker, the Grand Duke would start sending over better physicians he had obtained through his merchant connections. Nothing had ever truly worked, and their relationship had grown significantly colder after the Duke's second marriage.

At least that was what was known in the novel, as it was all that the general populace was aware of and gossiped about. The reality was a bit more complicated than that.

"It must have been my Granddaughter," Maxwell Wynn Nerena said with vigor, "I haven't felt this elevated in many years, Son."

"I am pleased to hear you are doing well." He did look relieved, but only for the fraction of a second.

Carlisle van Varnhagen wasn't a man who scared easily, at the same time he approached most matters with care. Showing his emotions in public as he had just now was not like him at all, and even Rowena felt fascinated by it, while barely knowing the man.

She felt his odd behavior at the mere fact that he didn't even notice her staring straight at him. Had he noticed, she was sure he would have averted his eyes already, as if looking into her eyes might turn him to stone.

Rowena might have a hunch as to why it was that way now, but it didn't lessen the sting she felt whenever she thought of his frightened expression. Shaking her head slightly, she turned around to see the young man who was still standing next to her.

"Excuse me, I'm truly thankful for the thought, Sir Shelton," she finally said, waving a servant over, who had walked nearby, "and give my regards to that friend who told you about my flower preferences."

She smiled, but felt a bit of an ick about the fact that someone was talking about her behind her back, acting as if they knew her. Who was it?

Asking would have sounded paranoid, rude, even weak, as she would have come off as insecure.

It annoyed her, as she handed the flowers over to the said servant, ordering him to have them taken to her carriage; she noted the change on his face before he turned away.

He was still smiling, but his dull eyes, which hadn't really shown that smile before, were gleaming with something unidentifiable to her. Amusement, perhaps? She shook off the thought.

There was someone else waiting as well, even with something in his hand. "I apologize for letting you wait," Rowena said with a grateful smile, taking a glass of water from the hands of her dance partner.

"I understand," Lucan said, "are you feeling better already?"

"Yes, indeed." She hadn't felt sick in the first place. "You are truly considerate, Your Imperial Highness." It felt as if some people turned their heads at her softly spoken words.

He gave a crooked smile. "Just why does it feel insincere when you say it like that?"

So she gave a shocked expression in return. "How can that be? I'm serious!"

"Right, my Lady, I must have imagined." Holding out his arm, he let her take a sip of the water and then took her hand, "So that is the great Marquis of Nerena."

"He is."

"I heard he wasn't feeling well." According to the rumors he had heard, this was quite the understatement, but he didn't wish to speak of potentially hurtful matters. "You must be very happy."

"I am." She looked over to where her Grandfather was talking to her father, as she had been busy with her own affairs.

"Well then, shall we dance, Lady van Varnhagen?"

For a second, she felt confused. It must have been his way of coming back at her remark from earlier. He was there with his identity hidden after all.

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Dancing across the ballroom would feel fitting as the finishing act to this draining day. It wasn't as bad as she would have expected, but there were things that felt uncomfortable. Some she could place, others she couldn't.

With a nod and a smile, she gave her Grandfather a non-verbal sign that she would be back soon, before she headed into the center of the masses.

She felt gazes at the back of her head, as she was concentrating on her opponent on the dancefloor, eager to never miss a step. In a way, she had fun. A smile crept on her hardened face and as she looked up at the first time, meeting Lucan's eyes, he seemed happy enough to her.

As she turned, she saw the people, the ball gowns, the lights and all the glamour. The night sky darkened all of the windows, making the hall seem like an infinite sea of light. Her dress, flying around her as she spun around, visualizing an ocean of stars in the midst of it.

There were some people she wanted to share this moment with, of which not all could even attend this event. But if it had to be one of them, Lucan might have been the right one, she figured. She felt like she might be able to trust him. Her heart felt light.

It reminded her of something she could still not put her finger on, but it was exactly what she wanted to portray with her dress. And it was beautiful to her. Nothing else seemed to matter in that very moment – not even the new day dawning soon.

As lighthearted as she had felt the night before, the awkwardness at the table right now brought Rowena back to reality. She suppressed a sigh, as she took her cup and sipped her tea, which wasn't Norina's, but of course, there was some quality in what the Palace would serve to guests.

There she sat, beautifully, just as much akin to a doll as Rowena herself: Isobel Amelia de Previa Arlen. Unlike Cassius, she was a genuine daughter to the crown, born as the second child of the Mother of the Arlen Empire.

That, in itself, held its own little bundle of troubles, but right now, nobody felt anything but dignity coming from their one and only Imperial Princess.

Her place was at the head of a table that was round. Rowena didn't know if it was the winter garden around them or the way they sat there, but it was clear she sat in the master seat, without there even being one.

Saintess Baldwin found a seat to her right, but no one sat to her left. Rowena herself sat almost across the table from them both, watching intently, while being watched in turn by everyone around her.

They were uncomfortable speaking, seeing as they tried to open their mouth, then looked over to Rowena and suddenly stopped. Maybe it was because the tea party hadn't quite started yet?

They had brought out the tea to those who were there already, but there was more than enough to drink a second cup, or even a third, while they were waiting for some attendees.

"Lady Rowena," the Princess suddenly addressed Rowena, who almost spit her tea back into the cup, "do you mind that I still call you Lady Rowena?"

"I don't mind, if you are more comfortable that way, Your Highness."

"How thoughtful of you", she said, knowing the fact that it basically meant that she could call her that if she was lazy, since they weren't acquainted yet, "How do you feel about the upcoming Hunting Festival?"

"How I feel about it, Your Highness?"

"Yes, with the grounds barely cleared by the Grand Duke and right after your debut into society as well. How do you feel about all of that?" That Highness was now met with a strict side eye, coming from her only friend at the table.

Scarlett, unlike Rowena, knew exactly what she was going on about. The Banquet was a direct ballroom event held at the palace, of course there would be some murmuring, but it was relatively mild compared to an open event like the Hunting Festival.

The Varnhagen family might have been the one hosting the tea gathering, but the Imperial Family won't be there the entire time and people will be split all over the place. Anxiety will be heightened, due to the fact that the hunting grounds were infested with monsters up until two months prior.

In the event of even the smallest mishap, any ill will would be directed at the family that everybody loved to hate. Scarlett hated the idea of that happening, as she was, in the end, the one who had blessed the ground, but she knew people wouldn't blame her – they couldn't, because she embodied their faith; their hope.

The real work had been done by the soldiers, and among them came the greatest contribution from the head of the Varnhagen family. He had made it possible for the Saintess to bless the unholy ground and give it a chance to heal.

On top of all of that, was she the thing they could not fully flap their lips about at the banquet, so she would be the talk of the town once more at the festival, while her family would be out and about, as they had always been integral parts of the hunting grounds.

Not only as participants, but also as a means of security. Rowena would be all alone in that mess, while the Grand Duchess was too busy preparing and tending to the tea tent and the younger sister wasn't old enough to attend.

And as the Saintess had thought, Rowena had none of that on her mind, because she wasn't aware of these implications yet. Of course, she was worried about the terms of safety, but that wasn't because she feared something could happen, but because she was aware of the fact that something would happen.

There were two pairs of eyes watching, as Rowena tried to answer the Princess' question mindfully. One of the two had a bunch of frilly blond hair on her head, the other a neat and simple cut. Sir Sean seemed tense, while Norina was bursting with anticipation, but both felt the same worry for their mistress.

This was like a minefield. "I can't help but feel excitement, Your Highness."

That wasn't what she expected at all, but the Princess didn't let it show on her porcelain face. "Excitement… I guess that is an emotion you ought to feel. This is your first Hunting Festival, isn't it?"

Rowena wasn't exactly sure if it was her first time, as the Hunting Festival was a big even which could be attended by minors of invited families in the past. The change was likely due to the inherent uneasiness that people felt toward that plot of land at the moment, while still pretending to have conquered it all, in order to appear strong to the foreign nations they were trying to show their strength off to.

'Flexing around has never helped in these situations. Do people ever learn?'

A few of the girls around her looked at each other questioningly, wondering if she was truly airheaded enough to not see all the things she ought to worry about.

But they were right, she had been too preoccupied with all the other things that had happened and the things that she had to think about to even consider any of that.

"The first time I remember attending," she finally decided to state ambiguously, as the festival had been set on hold for a while now, so maybe they would believe that she forgot, "I will be so excited to hunt alongside my brothers and my father."

"Hunt alongside your brothers and your father? What is this, a comedy?" a voice came up from behind them, as a servant hurried along to whisper to the Imperial Princess.

"The last guests have arrived, Your Imperial Highness," he quietly spoke, though not quietly enough for Rowena's sharpened hearing.

"Of course, I can see that as well. Seat them," the Princess answered curtly, looking at the one who had intruded on their conversation.

They weren't late, per se, but it was customary to appear a bit early, while they were on time. It wasn't like the daughter of Neuhaus to do this, but she had heard about the new arrival at the table she had fought so hard to sit on.

It was in her blood to stir the pot if it didn't look the way she liked it. And she truly didn't like the way it looked at the moment.

'Great, now another nut has rolled in from the courtyard.' Rowena wanted to roll her eyes, while Norina and Sean seemed to perplex at their ladies last words to even feel offended by what Lady Sheila had said.