I glanced back at Mary. She stood as still as a statue, her face a mask of professional indifference, but I could see the slight tension in her shoulders.
Purple eyes are not a signature color of royalty. It's rare but not unique. Black hair is also not rare and all of these nobles are below Marquis. Which means they wouldn't know me enough to recognize me. I shouldn't have been this easy to spot.
In other words, the only reason they can identify me, is because of Mary, or to be more precise, her Uniform.
Maybe I shouldn't have brought her, after all.
Almost half of the population in this hall is made of servants and most of them are wearing black and white servant uniforms with their family crest sewed on it.
The only exceptions to this rule are the servants that work directly under the royalty. They are wearing Dark red and white.
That goes for Mary as well, of course.
And the only black haired kid in the Royal family is none other than yours truly! Honestly, at this rate, I might as well have been wearing a neon sign that said 'TARGET FOR GOSSIP'.
"What else can you expect!" A random unimportant NPC noble commented, his voice dripping with unearned superiority.
Old man! You seem to have some serious expectation issues! Did your mommy not show you enough love! huh?!
"Look at that unsightly way of eating. How unsightly!" a woman in a garish dress added, fanning herself as if the sight of a child enjoying a snack was causing her to faint.
Lady! You should first look at your four year old kid! His snot is about to drop!
Oh... He cleaned it with his blazer.
Nice, boy! You're gonna be a great Noble. A bright Noble future awaits you. make your mommy proud! This is a blessing from this Great Tyler Von Regulus, A literal ideal Prince.
The boy looked at me with confusion.
After giving the boy a thumbs up and my everlasting Blessing and finishing my treat, I left the sofa.
Let's go somewhere quiet. My ears are Gonna rot at this rate, if I stay in the vicinity of these 'refined' hypocrites for another minute.
"Mary," I whispered.
"Yes, Your Highness?"
"Let's find somewhere actually quiet. Somewhere where the IQ of the room isn't dragged down by the weight of everyone's jewelry." Saying that i stood up from the Sofa. I said it loud enough for those who were close to me to hear.
"How Rude!"
"See?! the boy has no manners!"
As i left, I could hear them cursing from behind.
You gotta come up with some new Insults, Folks! Insults are not supposed to be sophisticated, You old fuckers!
I went towards the terrace to get some fresh air with Mary following behind me.
The door to the terrace was closed and beside it, stood a maid. Which means, there's already someone at the terrace and this maid is standing as a guard for her master.
As I got closer, I got a clearer look of the maid and as i did, i stopped at my tracks.
Not because I was hesitant to disrupt someone else's peaceful time or because I knew the maid herself. But because, I saw the crest on the maid's chest.
It was a crest that I was very much familiar with. And considering the fact that, that family has two children and one of them is at the terrace, I can guess who that is.
I Didn't really have high expectations of actually meeting her, but should i count it as a blessing ?
The person, on the other side of the door is One of the heroines of MAS.
She was quite famous in the player community for her character design and personality.
Gotta say, those who liked her for her personality were quite something.
Although, I was one of them, as well.
I personally also liked her. But I liked her more because of her past.
Ren Von Volk, My Cousin. Also known by the players as 'The Tragic Heroine'.
Her story wasn't something super tragic like losing her entire dear family or being used for human experiments or something cruel like that,
It's nothing sort of tragic like that. But it was still tragic and relatable enough for players to feel it deep.
Anyone can tell that being used for human experiment is a tragic past, but can anyone truly tell or feel how painful it exactly is ? Can they relate ?
The answer is a big 'NO'
But what about a past, like being ignored by your parents or not being loved by them or a heartbreak ?
Even if someone has not experienced it, they can still have an idea of how it actually feels. How painful it is.
So basically, Anyone can imagine the horror of an experiment or a Bloody massacre, but you can't feel it. But the hollow ache of a parent's indifference? That was something that resonated with every player who had ever felt small in a big house.
I signaled Mary to bring two strawberry milkshakes from the buffet. When she returned, I took the glasses from her hands and approached the Volk maid.
I took a step forward and as i got closer, The maid noticed me.
"Your highness!" She gave a Low instant bow, "I will inform my lady-"
"No need" I interrupted, my voice calm but leaving no room for argument "I will have some company. It will also be my first meeting with my cousin, after all."
"...Understood!" She said.
I entered as Mary opened the door for me.
"Stay outside." I told her, and stepped into the cool night air.
As I entered the terrace and saw her, my cousin and the heroine that I once used to like.
A girl who should be about the same age as me.
She wore a blue frock that seemed to shimmer with embedded gems, looking like a porcelain doll someone had left out in the cold.
So, this will be how it goes. my first encounter with a character huh..
She turned around and looked at me as I slowly approached her, her golden eyes catching the light of the mana-lamps.
Her hair and eyes are the same as I remember.
Beautiful Peach pink hair and Golden eyes.
Although there's a vast difference in 2D and 3D, and she is the younger and smaller version of the character that I know of. I can't deny, It is her, alright.
"Hello" that was my first word and first conversation with a character. A character who is not really a character anymore, but a living human with a unique past, a personality, a thought process, their own desires, their own future and a fate to follow.
It would be A meeting that, in the future, would cause me quite the headache. I would even sometimes wish i could predict the future to avoid it, but even if i could, I wonder if i would still approach her, that night, tonight.
Maybe I would not or maybe i would. I love comfort, after all.
But then again, She does look like a girl who could use a sweet Strawberry milk, this night.
Rule #101 'If you think, you will regret not doing Something, then Do It!'