Chapter 61: The Male Lead [Part-4]

The carriage rattled steadily along the capital road, and I spent most of the journey staring out the window like some wide-eyed farm boy seeing the world for the first time, which, honestly, wasn’t too far from the truth.

The capital city of Valkar stretched out endlessly in every direction, tall buildings, bustling markets, people dressed in finer clothes than anything I’d ever owned in my entire life. By the time we reached the palace itself, my nervousness had built into something close to full-blown panic.

’What in the world am I even doing here?’

I climbed down from the carriage, smoothing out the borrowed formal jacket the tailor had hastily fitted for me two days earlier. It fit well enough, though I still felt distinctly out of place among the sea of nobles making their way up the grand palace steps, their expensive gowns and jewelry catching the evening light.

I made my way carefully through the crowd, trying my best to blend in despite clearly failing miserably. A few curious glances followed me, though thankfully, nobody seemed to recognize me as anything more than another minor guest.

As I approached the entrance hall, a sudden commotion caught my attention off to the side. A young noblewoman, dressed in an elegant blue gown, stumbled awkwardly over the hem of her own dress, her arms flailing as she began tipping dangerously toward the floor.

Without really thinking about it, I lunged forward and caught her just before she hit the ground, my arm wrapping steadily around her waist.

"Whoa, careful there," I said, helping her regain her footing.

She blinked up at me, her cheeks flushing bright red as she quickly straightened herself, smoothing down her dress with trembling hands. "Oh my, thank you so much. I don’t know what happened, I just... tripped."

"Hey, it happens," I said, giving her a small, reassuring smile. "You okay?"

"Yes, I’m fine, thank you, That was... very kind of you." she said, still visibly flustered.

[Ding!]

[Affection Point Gained: +6]

[Target: Rosalind Ashfield]

[Current Affection: 6/100]

I blinked at the sudden notification, momentarily distracted before quickly refocusing on the girl in front of me.

’Wait, this is happening with other girls too? Not just Elaine?’

"I’m Kael," I said, extending a polite hand.

"Rosalind," she replied, taking it gently. "Rosalind Ashfield. Are you... new to court? I don’t believe I’ve seen you before."

"Something like that, First time at one of these, actually." I said vaguely, not particularly eager to explain my entire complicated backstory in the middle of a crowded entrance hall.

She smiled warmly. "Well, I hope you enjoy yourself, Kael. Perhaps we’ll speak again later this evening."

"Yeah, maybe," I said, watching as she gave a small curtsy before disappearing back into the crowd.

I shook my head slightly, still trying to wrap my mind around this whole affection system business, before continuing on toward the grand ballroom.

The moment I stepped through the towering doors, I was immediately struck by the sheer scale of everything, glittering chandeliers overhead, marble floors, an orchestra playing softly from an elevated platform. Nobles mingled in small, elegant clusters throughout the hall, their voices blending together into a low, constant hum of polite conversation.

I stood near the entrance for a long moment, feeling distinctly out of my depth.

’Okay. Just find Elaine, say a quick thank you for the invitation, and try not to embarrass myself too badly.’

I scanned the crowd, searching for any sign of her, but there was no immediate luck. I wandered further into the ballroom, grabbing a small pastry from a passing servant’s tray, mostly just to give myself something to do with my hands.

It wasn’t until nearly half an hour later that I finally spotted her.

Princess Elaine stood near the raised dais at the far end of the hall, surrounded by several older nobles, all clearly engaged in some kind of important conversation. She caught my eye briefly across the room, offering a small, apologetic smile before turning back to whatever discussion currently held her attention.

’Right. Guess she’s busy being an actual princess right now.’

I sighed, deciding to simply wait it out somewhere less crowded, when a sudden ripple of excited murmurs swept through the ballroom.

"Did you hear? Apparently there’s a formal duel about to happen!"

"The Draven heir and the Mordain heir, if the rumors are true!"

"This should be interesting. Those two families have hated each other for generations."

Curious despite myself, I followed the growing crowd as they began filtering out toward what appeared to be an outdoor training ground attached to the palace grounds.

By the time I arrived, a fairly large gathering had already formed around the edges of a wide, open arena. Two young men stood facing each other at opposite ends, one with striking red hair and confident, aggressive posture, the other with sharp silver hair and an oddly casual, almost bored expression.

"That’s Neo Draven, Heir to the Draven dukedom." someone nearby whispered excitedly.

I studied him carefully from where I stood. He stood there with an almost effortless calm, his posture relaxed, his expression completely unfazed. Dozens of nobles had their eyes fixed on him, yet he acted as though their attention meant nothing. There was no hesitation in his movements, no trace of nervousness—just the quiet confidence of someone who knew exactly where he belonged.

’Huh... this guy’s got some serious confidence.’

The duel began almost immediately after that, the red-haired noble launching aggressive flame-based attacks, while Neo calmly dodged and countered with what looked like some kind of gravity manipulation. Within minutes, the fight had turned completely one-sided, ending with a brilliant, overwhelming burst of silvery light that sent his opponent crashing to the ground in complete defeat.

The crowd erupted into stunned murmurs.

I watched Neo straighten up as if nothing had happened. He wasn’t even breathing heavily. He simply looked down at his defeated opponent, his expression carrying no excitement or pride—only a faint hint of boredom, as though the entire fight had been nothing more than a minor inconvenience.

’Man... there’s no denying he’s talented. But there’s just something about this guy that rubs me the wrong way.’

He walked away from the arena without so much as a backward glance toward his fallen opponent, his posture radiating the kind of effortless, careless confidence that only came from someone who’d never once had to struggle for anything in his entire life.

’Typical spoiled noble. Probably never had to work hard for anything in his life. Everything was handed to him on a silver platter, and now he probably thinks he’s better than everyone else because of it.’

I frowned slightly, watching him disappear back toward the ballroom, a violet-haired girl walking quietly at his side.

’Guess that’s the difference between people like him and people like me.’

I turned away, deciding I’d seen more than enough for one evening, my earlier curiosity souring slightly into something closer to quiet resentment as I made my way back toward the ballroom, completely unaware of just how wrong my first impression of Neo Draven truly was.

...

[NEW TARGET:

>50 GT: 3+ Extra Chapter! Or

>Magic castle(or above): 3+ Extra Chapter+(your Favourite Character’s POV)]