As evening fell, brilliant red clouds spread across the horizon, and the slowly setting sun cast a warm orange glow over the rooftops and courtyards of the Sterling estate.
As twilight deepened, lanterns hanging along the covered walkways and around the gardens were lit one after another, gradually bathing the entire residence in warm light.
The banquet hall was even brighter.
The spacious room had been decorated with great care.
Several finely carved display shelves stood against the walls, each holding rare treasures that had been collected over many years.
Some had a smooth, lustrous sheen, while others were unusual in shape and craftsmanship.
Under the bright lamps, they were especially eye-catching, and guests passing nearby often found themselves slowing down to take another look.
At the center of the hall stood five chairs made from high-quality dark wood.
Two occupied the seats of honor, while the remaining three were arranged along either side.
Alaric Sterling and Lillian Sterling sat at the head of the hall, with several of their daughters seated nearby.
A personal maid stood behind each of them.
From the clothing of the hosts to the attire of the servants, everything had clearly been prepared with great care, and every gesture reflected the strict etiquette expected of a noble household.
Today was Alaric’s fortieth birthday.
The banquet had been personally arranged by Lillian.
In previous years, the celebration had been fairly simple, usually consisting of inviting the Lords of the various clans to gather for a meal while taking the opportunity to maintain good relations between their families.
This year, however, the scale was noticeably grander.
From the decorations at the entrance to the arrangement of the banquet hall and even the clothing worn by the servants, everything carried an unusual sense of formality.
Anyone who didn’t know the truth might have assumed Alaric was already an elderly man celebrating some rare milestone birthday.
What made the occasion even more surprising was the guest list.
The Black Tortoise Clan, which usually sent gifts but rarely had members appear in person, had sent two of its sons this year.
Even the High King, who was usually too occupied with official matters to attend private celebrations like this, had specially sent his own son in his place.
The fact that Lillian had managed to gather so many important guests under one roof was enough to show how much effort she had put into this year’s banquet.
“Congratulations on your birthday, Lord Sterling. May you enjoy yourself today, remain healthy and prosperous year after year, and may you and your wife soon be able to set aside clan affairs, travel wherever you please, and enjoy a peaceful life together.”
Felix Ravenholt stood before the seats of honor with a bright smile, delivering his birthday wishes so smoothly that even his pauses seemed perfectly timed.
He was already handsome, and with his brows relaxed and a cheerful smile on his face, he looked especially charming.
Several young women nearby kept glancing at him, and a few were so distracted that they forgot to continue playing with the handkerchiefs in their hands.
Felix, however, was completely used to this kind of attention.
He had always been thick-skinned, and he had received looks like these more times than he could count.
Acting as though he noticed nothing, he continued smiling at Alaric with the perfect appearance of a polite and well-mannered young nobleman.
His flattering words had exactly the effect he intended.
Both Alaric and Lillian were smiling broadly.
“Good, good, very good!”
Alaric nodded several times.
Much of his usual sternness had disappeared, and with the cheerful expression on his face, he looked more like an easygoing, handsome middle-aged nobleman.
“You must be Felix. I’ve heard your father mention you before. He said that of his two sons, you were always the sweetest talker. Now that I’ve met you in person, I can see he wasn’t exaggerating.”
“Yes, I’m Felix.”
The corner of Felix’s mouth twitched, but he managed to keep his smile in place and obediently admit it.
Inside, however, he couldn’t help wondering exactly how much his father had been saying about him to other people.
Why did everyone seem to know that he was good at talking?
If phrased nicely, it meant he knew how to charm people.
If phrased less nicely, didn’t it simply mean he talked too much?
Lillian, meanwhile, studied him carefully.
The clothing of the Black Tortoise Clan was already quite distinct from that of the other clans, and on Felix, it made him look even more striking.
After looking him over for a moment, she smiled and asked,
“You’re quite handsome. Have you been promised to anyone yet?”
Promised?
Felix nearly lost his smile.
The corner of his mouth twitched much more obviously this time.
He was still wondering how to answer when his gaze shifted sideways and landed on Lucian Ravenholt, who was standing beside him.
An idea immediately came to mind.
“My older brother hasn’t even settled his marriage yet. As his younger brother, how could I possibly rush ahead of him?”
The moment the words left his mouth, Felix reached out and pushed Lucian forward without the slightest hesitation.
Brother, forgive me.
There has to be some respect for seniority, right?
At a time like this, shouldn’t an older brother protect his younger brother?
Lucian had clearly seen this sort of behavior far too many times to be surprised.
He barely reacted.
Instead, he simply stepped forward with the movement, handed the birthday gift in his hands to the white-haired old man standing beside Alaric, then gave a calm and proper bow.
“May Lord Sterling enjoy lasting health and many peaceful years ahead.”
His voice was steady, and his manner was composed.
Compared with Felix, who could hardly stop once he started talking, Lucian was noticeably more restrained.
Alaric looked at the young man standing before him, and the smile on his face deepened.
His memory of their brief meeting in the mountains ten years ago had long since faded, so now he simply saw a remarkably handsome young man with calm manners and an impressive presence.
Lucian was the sort of person who naturally left a good impression.
Even so, admiration did not stop Alaric from studying him with his usual sharpness.
“You are Lucian, the leading candidate to become the next Lord of the Black Tortoise Clan?”
“That is correct.”
Lucian smiled slightly, though one of his brows lifted almost imperceptibly.
Was this truly the same Alaric Sterling he remembered?
The man somehow felt different from ten years ago.
More than anything, the broad smile on his face felt strangely unfamiliar.
As for the title of “next Lord,” that only made Lucian feel somewhat helpless.
The position had not officially been handed over to him, but he had already been managing matters large and small within the Black Tortoise Clan for ten years.
His father had spent those years living rather freely, while most of the real responsibilities of the clan had gradually fallen onto Lucian’s shoulders.
Thinking about it left him mildly exasperated, but none of that showed on his face.
He simply maintained his polite smile.
Alaric’s words quickly stirred quiet discussion throughout the hall.
Guests who had previously been paying attention only to the brothers’ appearance now shifted their focus almost entirely to Lucian.
The looks directed at him carried curiosity, admiration, and inevitably a little envy.
The reactions of the younger women were especially obvious.
Being handsome was already enough to attract attention.
Being the future Lord of the Black Tortoise Clan only made things worse.
Some quietly raised their eyes to study him, while others pretended to adjust their sleeves to hide their embarrassment.
A few exchanged knowing glances with the women seated beside them before looking back at him again.
Alaric’s daughters were no exception. This story is hosted at g.com.
The only person who wasn’t among them was Evelyn.
She wasn’t in the banquet hall at all.
Instead, she sat alone in a pavilion not far away, staring with little interest at the warm light spilling from the hall.
From time to time, laughter and conversation drifted toward her on the evening breeze, which only made the pavilion around her feel even quieter.
Evelyn pressed her lips together and shifted into a more comfortable position.
She was starting to become annoyed.
Honestly.
If they disliked having her around so much, why insist that she remain here at all?
What was the point of making her sit alone in a pavilion while everyone else enjoyed the birthday banquet inside?
She would have been much more comfortable back at her haunted estate, where she could sit however she liked, lie down whenever she wanted, and avoid all of this pointless formality.
Fortunately, she wasn’t completely bored.
Evelyn had casually found a ghost to keep her company.
Unfortunately—or perhaps fortunately—the ghost was just as incapable of sitting still as Felix.
One moment, it would float over toward the banquet hall to watch the excitement.
The next, it would drift back and eagerly report everything it had just seen.
It described how Felix had smiled while offering his birthday wishes, how Lillian had suddenly asked him about marriage, and how Felix had immediately pushed Lucian forward to save himself.
The ghost told the story with such enthusiasm that it even imitated the expressions on everyone’s faces.
At first, Evelyn only listened halfheartedly.
But after a while, she gradually became more interested.
Especially when she heard that Felix had pushed his older brother into the conversation the moment marriage was mentioned.
The corner of her mouth finally lifted.
That man really hadn’t changed at all.
Whenever trouble appeared, his first instinct was still to drag his older brother into it.
Although Evelyn wasn’t inside the hall herself, she hadn’t missed much of what was happening.
With such a talkative ghost keeping her updated, at least she wasn’t bored enough to start counting the wood grain on the pavilion pillars.
Inside the banquet hall, meanwhile, most of the attention remained fixed on Lucian.
Cassian Valerius stood nearby and watched everything unfold.
The smile on his face gradually became a little strained.
He had also been sent by the High King as an honored guest.
A short while ago, he had been standing there perfectly comfortably, receiving plenty of attention.
Yet from the moment the Ravenholt brothers arrived, the eyes around the hall had slowly shifted away from him.
The way the young women kept looking at Lucian made him especially uncomfortable.
It was almost as though no one else in the banquet hall was worth noticing anymore.
Cassian handed his gift to the white-haired old man, then turned around and put on a pleasant smile once more.
The expression looked courteous enough.
The jealousy hidden in his eyes was much harder to conceal.
“I’ve heard quite a lot about you. So you’re the future Lord of the Black Tortoise Clan.”
He looked at Lucian, his voice sounding mild and friendly.
“I’ve heard that you’ve managed the affairs of the Black Tortoise Clan extremely well over the past several years. No wonder the elders of your clan feel comfortable traveling for so long without any hurry to return.”
Cassian paused slightly, and the smile on his lips deepened.
“Truly, a hero among the young.”