Chapter - 27
The feast kept on going after Aliana's big entrance. People circled around her like moths, wishing her the best for her birthday and how grateful they were that the lady survived the kidnapping attempt of those savage bandits.
And Aliana wasn't a noob in such situations, she narrated the ordeal she had to go through, in great detail. How she stood unfazed in the face of the Blackfang bandits, how she escaped from them, and everything in between till he finally reached Auravale.
And as usual, Leo barely got a special mention in her story.
But he didn't really care about this brat. He was halfway through his second plate when someone again shouted in the crowd.
"All rise for the Lord of Auravale, his benevolent Lord Caelum Dargan, and the Lady Seraphine Dargan!"
And this time, Leo actually stopped chewing. He put the food back on the plate and looked up.
Lord Caelum walked the first to appear on the edge of the stairs. He stood there with his back straight, and a serious face. He appeared like the actual Lord that he was.
But then Lady Seraphine entered and everything in the hall almost came to a standstill. No one spoke a word. They just stared above, without blinking.
She looked dangerously good.
Her dress was a deep emerald green that clung to her body as if it wanted Lady Seraphine all for herself.
The neckline was not low, but it was enough for everyone to see that beautiful white skin above her big boobs that left much to imagination, just enough to make every man tippytoe a little.
'Holy shit. That's what you call a mature woman. A perfect 10/10' Leo gulped as his gaze never left those bulging peaks of hers.
As they stepped down the last stair, Lady Seraphine looked at every face in the crowd with a smile that sent a wave of happiness among them.
But as she moved through the room, her gaze was searching for something in a sea of faces. It took her some time, but she finally found it.
Her gaze locked with Leo's who was already staring at him.
And that was it, her face bloomed into a beautiful smile. The smile was more personal than any other smile in the room. She politely gave him a nod, acknowledging him.
'Oh great,' Leo thought, 'Sexy, mature and considerate. Just what I needed.' And he matched her gaze.
Finally they stopped at the center of the hall and Lord Caelum raised a hand and everyone quieted.
"Thank you everyone for gracing us with your presence," The Lord started to address the audience.
"The house of Dargan had a tiny hiccup not too long ago," He said, "You all must have heard of it."
"So your presence here tells us how many good friends we have."
Then he launched into his speech. Predictable stuff. He thanked the gods, praised his daughter, spoke highly of the City Patrol for their efforts in catching the 'traitor'."
Leo almost rolled his eyes, 'Buddy your soldiers can only catch a cold and nothing else.'
But Leo barely cared about the speech. He was busy locking eyes with Lady Seraphine.
Meanwhile, Lord Caelum kept talking, thanking people one by one.
Finally he came to the two most important people in the room.
First was High Priest Remus of the Temple of Light in Auravale.
High Priest Remus looked so old as if he had just crawled out of a dusty coffin.
He was bald on the top of his head and had long white noodles like hair hanging from the sides.
His face was nothing but wrinkles and only wrinkles. His eyes looked dead, devoid of any energy.
He wore a heavy white robe with red stripes all over it and a big cross hanging on around his neck.
But somehow this Man of God looked wrong to Leo.
He looked like the old man who shouldn't be allowed near children.
And after the introduction as the old man appreciated the applause, he looked in Leo's direction. And Leo instantly looked away.
Yep… Child Predator.
Next Caelum thanked Baron Volkov.
He was another old fossil who was present in the party. With a thick belly and tiny legs. The man looked funny. He wore a yellow dress and a navy blue fur robe over it and enough jewellery to even make the ladies in the room feel jealous.
In a corporate world, he should be the immediate boss of Lord Caelum.
Lord Caelum then continued to thank a few more old geezers nobody really cared about. But by the time he ended, on expected lines, his name was missing.
There was no "Thank you for saving my daughter," or "He is the hero who exposed the traitor".
Leo wanted to play it cool on the face of it, but it stung. He didn't want to admit, but deep down, even he wanted to be praised in front of the crowd.
People like to say they don't care about the claps, the recognition etc. etc. But everyone wants it along with the money when they risk their life for someone else. And Leo was no different.
On the other hand, the men smirked with satisfaction. The balance has been restored and the nobody remained a nobody.
But right when every man in the room was gloating, Lady Seraphine, the one woman in the entire hall who actually mattered, did something that made their jaws drop.
She gently slipped her hand out of her husband's arm and walked away.
She did not go right or left. She headed straight. Straight towards Leo.
Nobody moved, as they stared as to what the Lady was up to. And under their fixed gaze, Lady Seraphine stopped in front of Leo.
The music abruptly took a high note.
"Why are you sitting all alone, Mr Leo," She spoke, her voice had a hint of playfulness, "I see you have found the food."
"But don't eat too much," She said as she leaned forward slightly, "Save some space for the dessert later."
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