It's nighttime...

In the brightly lit ballroom of Yulas Mansion, all who had received the invitation, local nobles, well-known high-level adventurers and people from the Golden Dynasty entered one after another.

Einar changed into a dinner suit and stood beside his mother with a dejected expression on his face.

Achilles didn't particularly enjoy this kind of haughty aristocratic dinner party, he much rather feast and drink with his men. So he just wore his usual armor to attend the dinner party.

Since Ladybug doesn't have any suitable dinner attire, he simply borrowed one of Jin's kimonos. So one can see the strange sight of a samurai and a blond white man wearing kimonos at a dinner banquet.

Siduri was wearing her usual Uruk-style priestess dress. Siduri believes that as a priest of Marika, she should wear a priestess dress no matter what the formal occasion was. However, no one felt that her attire was inappropriate. On the contrary, it was because of her beauty that many men present spared her quite a lot of looks.

In the end, as the people with the highest status in this banquet. Marika the king and Melina the princess will enter the venue at the end according to local banquet etiquette.

At this time, outside the gate of the banquet hall...

"Melina, are you nervous?"

Marika asked Melina.

"With the Mother here, I think the dinner banquet will go well."

Melina said with her usual emotionless expression.

'You are not nervous, I am nervous! '

Malika cried out in her heart. Although she had participated in company year-end banquets in her previous life, she was just a small employee who didn't matter at that time, not the focus of the whole banquet! Now she is extremely nervous.

'What should I say? Who should I talk to? How much should I drink? Do I need to dance?' Countless thoughts swirled in Marika's mind.

"Master, it's time for us to enter the venue."

At this time, a crisp voice interrupted her cranky thoughts. Marika looked to her left, and it was Bedivere.

"Um...yes. Let's us enter."

Malika said with a forced calm.

"Very well then…"

Bedivere smiled reassuringly and held out his left hand to Marika.

"Eh?"

Marika was a little puzzled.

"What's wrong, Master?"

Bedivere was also a little puzzled by Marika's unexpected expression.

"Sir Bedivere, what are you doing?"

"Ah! Master, as your knight, it is proper etiquette to escort you into the venue, but if you do mind..."

Bedivere realized what Marika was puzzled about, and explained.

"Oh! That's right. I just haven't attended a dinner party for a long time, I think I had forgotten some of my party etiquette."

Marika blushed, trying to put on the calm expression of a king. But from Bedivere's point of view, her expression was as shy as a girl who is attending a ball with her partner for the first time.

Bedivere chuckled and said:

"It's okay, Master. If you can't remember something, feel free to ask me anytime."

Hearing Bedivere's assurance, Marika's nervous heart was relieved by some kind of wonderful effect.

Marika took a deep breath, put her left hand on Bedywell's slightly cold silver arm, and said with firm eyes:

"Let's us enter!"

"Yes, my Master."

Back in the ballroom...

"The guests are all here. Young master, it is about time for us to invite Her Majesty to enter."

Edger reminded Einar.

As the current head of the family, Einar needs to announce the king's entry.

"Right…"

No matter how reluctant he is, this party must be held. He took a deep breath, then picked up the spoon and tapped the wine glass in his hand.

Everyone was attracted by the sound of knocking wine glasses, and Einar cleared his throat and said in a loud voice:

"Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for attending tonight's dinner banquet. I would like to thank you all for your support. With your support, the overthrow of Stank's tyranny is just around the corner! Now we invite our honorable king, Her Majesty Queen Marika, and Her Highness Princess Melina to enter!"

[Recommended BGM: KOKIA-Dance of the Spirits]

After speaking, the two servants opened the door, and the golden queen walked into the ballroom accompanied by her silver-armed knight. Marika was wearing the Greek-style aristocratic dress that she complained about earlier. The wheat-colored fabric matched with her dazzling blond hair attracted everyone's attention. Known as the home of philosophy, the Greek-style long dress gave her more intellectual beauty than usual. Her inhumanly beautiful appearance needs no makeup to make the hearts of countless men present flutter. Her graceful and plump figure made the men present couldn't help but gulp. The queen's pristinely white left hand rests lightly on the prosthetic hand of her one-armed knight. Although the queen was two heads taller than her knight, the two walked into the ballroom in perfect harmony.

The handsome knight with incomparable androgynous beauty and his pale golden ponytail gave off a bookish aesthetic. Coupled with his cloak and silver armor that faintly reflects light, he is like a prince charming from a fairy tale.

The brown-haired princess following her mother also attracted everyone's attention. Melina put on the aristocrat set (without cape) that Marika prepared for her. The white skirt and trousers give her a girlish and youthful vigor, forming a pleasant contrast with the princess's beautiful face and cold expression. It has an unparalleled appeal to the men present who like ice beauties.

Everyone at the dinner party was amazed by the looks of Marika, Bedivere and Melina. Under the lights of the ballroom, the three of them are like ethereal beings, unconstrained by worldly vision, and fully showing beauty beyond human beings, at least in this world.

Although everyone had heard about Marika's beauty, when they actually saw her in person, they were still deeply fascinated by her figure. Even the few elven women present were dwarfed by Marika's beauty. The natural beauty that their race is famous for is not worth mentioning in front of the real goddess.

Marika and Bedivere walked slowly till they towards Einar and his mother, only then did she let go of Bedivere's hand when they arrived.

Even though Einar's mind is occupied by his longing for Lydia and guilt, he is still briefly fascinated by Marika's beauty. It wasn't until Marika walked in front of him that he recovered.

"Your Majesty, allow me to introduce you. This is my mother, Gloria Yulas."

Marika turned her gaze to the lady next to Aina. Although Gloria looks well maintained, with dresses and makeup as a foil, she still can't hide the traces of time. There are a few strands of white hair, and the wrinkles around the corners of her eyes and mouth are very obvious. However, she still has the demeanor of an aristocratic woman. She holds the corner of her skirt and does a lady's salute, and said in a respectful tone:

"It's an honor to meet you, Your Majesty. Thank you for taking care of my son recently. When he insisted on traveling a great distance to meet Your Majesty, I was frightened. It is thanks to Your Majesty's magnanimity that he can return safely."

Although Gloria was polite and respectful, Marika caught a glimpse of purpose in her eyes. Her New Type intuition that she had gradually become familiar with told her that the lady in front of her was hiding some kind of strong desire. But Marika still tried her best to maintain a polite smile on the surface, and said kindly and dignifiedly:

"You're welcome, Mrs. Yulas. Your son has been of great help to the Golden Dynasty. It is thanks to him that we can meet today."

"Hehe~ Your Majesty flatters me too much. However, I wonder if Your Majesty is satisfied with tonight's dinner banquet? We were in a rush to prepare for today's banquet when we caught wind of Your Majesty's arrival."

Gloria covered her mouth with the fan in her hand and laughed.

"Well, with you and the servants in the house making the best preparations, I am naturally satisfied."

"As long as Your Majesty is satisfied, all is well."

"Speaking of which, Your Majesty and Her Royal Highness are very dazzling tonight!"

"Thank you."

Gloria winked at the nearby servant, who quickly walked between the two with the saucer on which goblets were placed. Marika and Gloria each took a glass of wine.

"Then let us not keep the guests waiting for too long. I hereby wish Your Majesty a happy evening."

Gloria raised her glass and toasted to Marika.

"As do you, Lady Yulas."

Marika also bent down to clink glasses with her. The crisp clinking of wine glasses became the signal for the banquet to begin. After everyone applauded and celebrated, they moved to the long table with a lot of delicacies and wines to start eating and communicating, and the banquet orchestra also began to play elegant music.

But both Marika and Einar lacked interest in the party. Both of them mechanically dealt with the nobles and high-level adventurers who came to toast and chat. Einar's heart is still occupied by Lydia, but because he needs the support of the nobles, he can only force himself to smile. Marika herself was starving because of her secret nervous breakdown just now, so she could only put as much food on her plate as possible in an unobtrusive way.

Gloria noticed her son's abnormality, so she use the chance of a toast to approach him and whispered:

"Einar! What are you doing? Hurry up and talk to Lady Marika! You are still young and not bad in appearance, you must seize the opportunity!"

"Mother, what are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about flirting with her! Didn't you say that she is single? Don't let such a good opportunity go to waste! As long as you succeed, the Yulas family will have a relationship with the royal family!"

"But I already have Lydia, how can I—"

"Who cares about that elf woman! Her life or death is uncertain, in the hands of another man no less, do you still want to be her widower? And I didn't tell you to be Marika's husband, but to be her lover! Look at the knight next to Marika , handsome and young. That woman must have a lot of boy toys."

"I'm just a minor lord, how am I supposed to approach Your Majesty!"

Gloria patted Einar with her fan angrily, and said bitterly:

"Use your brain! Son! If Marika is off the table, then Princess Melina is also good! If you can't be her lover, you can be her son-in-law! Really! Why are you not more like me when it comes to things like this? !"

Einar knew that her mother didn't like Lydia much because she was born as a commoner. But he couldn't give up on Lydia. Although he was angry at his mother's snobbery, he didn't make a big deal out of it for the sake of Marika's reputation. He just turned around and left without a word, making Gloria jump her feet in anxiety.

At the other end of the ballroom, the invited female adventurers and female nobles surrounded Bedivere and Achilles.

"Sir Bedivere! How old are you this year?"

"Sir Achilles, what do you like to eat?"

"Sir Achilles is so handsome and manly!"

"Sir Achilles, are you considering finding a wife?"

"Sir Bedivere is so dreamy! Just like a prince!"

"Sir Bedivere, would you like to be my dance partner tonight?"

Flirts and pursuers like these kept bombarding the two men. Even Ladybug and Jin have a few sharp-eyed female adventurers who come to talk to them. It was the same situation with Melina and Siduri, several noblemen and adventurer men came to invite them to be their dance partners. Marika on the other hand was quite relaxed. After she finished talking about political affairs with the nobles, she was free. Due to her miraculous beauty and her noble status as a queen, plus the noble gathered here are mostly minor ones, no one has the confidence to strike up a conversation with her, so they can only stare at her flourishing beauty from a distance. But Marika herself enjoyed it, and kept stuffing her mouth with the delicacies she just got.

Back to the handsome men's duo, they managed to temporarily reject all the women's pursuits just now, and they were resting at the long table drinking fine wine.

"PWAHH~! That hit the spot! I was so exhausted just now! I never thought that one day I would complain that there are too many women!"

Achilles sighed after taking a big gulp of wine.

"Indeed. Didn't expect those ladies to be so enthusiastic."

Bedivere smiled a little embarrassedly.

"But Sir Achilles, I actually want to ask you something."

Bedivere looked down at the wine glass and asked suddenly.

"Yeah?"

Achilles raised an eyebrow.

"What do you think of Master?"

Bedivere asked seriously.

"Well~ This is really a big question! Master huh? Well... if I really must say, Master is definitely a beautiful woman!"

Achilles said in a joking tone.

"I'm talking about her person and character."

Bedivere said, a little annoyed.

"Hahaha! Alright! Alright! I'm joking! Hmm...let me think about it. Master's character?"

Achilles thought carefully while pinching his chin.

"Hmm... Master is very serious in her work, treats everyone equally and kindly, and I also like the fact that she takes the lead in battle. But if you want me to say... She is a person who is too strict with herself. She has already done a good job with everything up to this point but she still can't help herself but to stress herself over. I guess that's what I think of her?"

"Being too hard on herself...?"

Bedivere fell into deep thought after hearing Achilles' evaluation. He thought of King Arthur whom he had served in the past. Bedivere is one of the few knights of the round table who really cares about King Arthur's own happiness, and always hopes that his king can show a sincere smile for her own self. But King Arthur went farther and farther on the road of the lonely king, and was constantly swallowed up by the wishes of the people and her self doubt, until she completely collapsed after the Battle of Camlann. King Arthur was even eroded by the Holy Lance in the timeline of the sixth singularity and turned into a god swallowed by the desire to protect her people. No matter what happens, Bedivere's hope that his king can get happiness will not change. Seeing that his master seems to be gradually following in the same footsteps of King Arthur, Bedivere is eager to prevent such a tragedy from happening again.

Then he noticed that it was time for dancing at the dinner party, which gave him a flash of inspiration. He can't change the responsibility of his master as the king, so what he can do is to let her relax and enjoy human life during her rest time.

Bedivere bid a quick farewell to Achilles, and walked towards Marika.

Marika was already full at this time, so she had nothing to do and nothing to pass the time, she could only look at the dancing crowd in a daze.

[Recommended BGM: Kakegurui xx OST-Lily Flower]

"Master, may I have the honor to invite you to dance with me?"

Bedivere's voice interrupted her wandering thoughts. She looked at the silver knight who stretched out his hand to her and invited her to dance with him with a modest and polite smile.

"Dancing? Me and you?"

Marika pointed to herself unsurely.

"Yes, Master."

Seeing her cute reaction, Bedivere chuckled amusedly.

"Eh—! Uh, I haven't danced for a long time, and I've already forgotten how to do it properly. Let's forget it! And the height difference between the two of us..."

Marika declined in a panic. In fact, she doesn't have the slightest clue how to do ballroom dancing.

"It's okay, I will guide you slowly."

Bedivere said with a charming smile.

'It's just a dance, it should be Ok... right? '

Marika thought hesitantly in her heart, and finally she mustered up the courage to hold Bedivere's hand timidly.

"Then—then please excuse me, Sir Bedivere."

"Leave it to me, Master."

In this way, the silver knight led his king and danced slowly on the dance floor. Bedivere carefully and slowly guided Marika's every step, so that she could slowly become familiar with the rhythm of the dance. Malika also tried to move to his beat. Gradually, the dance steps of the two became more and more compatible, and they began to dance more and more naturally on the dance floor. With the melodious music, the two gradually became immersed in the dance. During the dance, the world in the eyes of the two slowly became fixated on each other's figure. Only the beautiful golden queen remained in the one-armed knight's eyes. Only the gentle and delicate knight remained in the godly queen's eyes. Under the dazzling candlelight, some kind of wonderful emotion quietly sprouted between the two.

Small suggestion from the author: When reading, please imagine the voice actor of the protagonist as Narusawa Narimiyuki's, it makes it better. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)