—Going premium at midnight, is everyone ready?
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Lucian gazed out the carriage window at the gradually darkening streets, listening to Victor, Rhein, and Lot chat casually about the scenery of the estate in this season.
"Lucian, why aren't you saying anything? Could it be that you're not interested in the 'Berni' wine that Phyllis's family brews themselves?" Rhein noticed Lucian sitting quietly by the carriage window and asked with a smile.
Phyllis's "Berni" estate included a rather fine vineyard, and most of the grapes harvested there were used for winemaking. After many years of cellaring and selection, "Berni" estate wine had already gained quite a reputation in Altor — a respectable second-tier wine. You could only taste it if you received an invitation to one of Phyllis's family's balls or banquets.
Lucian found an excuse to deflect: "Mr. Rhein, actually I'm a bit worried about the ball later. I don't know how to dance at all — it'll be rather embarrassing."
"Shall I teach you? Even though you're not a beautiful lady," Rhein teased. "Or you can just pretend I'm a beautiful lady."
Seeing Lucian's speechless, awkward expression, Victor laughed and told him: "We're all well aware of your situation, Lucian. No one will deliberately ask you to dance. Of course, if you want to learn, I'm sure the beautiful young ladies would be more than happy to teach you."
In this relaxed and casual atmosphere, Lucian's mood gradually settled. All the preparations were done — what remained was the actual execution. Worrying or getting nervous now wouldn't help in the slightest.
The carriage passed through the city gates, crossed the River Belen, and headed toward the estate nestled between the northern edge of the Melzer Black Forest and the river.
Thanks to the decorative stone quarry, Phyllis's family estate was quite prosperous. The main house was built from pale gold veined stone — opulent and grand.
Phyllis, wearing a red evening gown as fiery as flames, stood at the entrance of the main house with two rows of servants awaiting the guests. Six copper lamp stands, three on each side, burned with bright golden flames, dispelling the dusk of seven-odd in the evening.
"Welcome, Teacher Victor, Mr. Rhein, Lucian, Lot." When the carriage came to a stop, Phyllis approached to greet them with her butler in tow. Since this was her ball, her father Urban and her mother had both remained in the city of Altor.
Every noble lady had to hone her ability to host balls and banquets independently.
"You look truly beautiful tonight, Phyllis," Victor gave Phyllis a brief hug and praised her warmly in a manner befitting an elder.
The fiery red evening gown, paired with her crimson long hair, ruby-like eyes, and fair skin, truly made Phyllis far more stunning than usual.
Phyllis thanked him while greeting the other guests — she had invited not just her classmates, but noble friends as well.
After greeting Phyllis with a hand-kissing gesture, Lucian — dressed in a black formal suit — stepped into the main hall.
The floor, paved with blue-gray veined stone, was both grand and imposing. The hall was about five times the size of the combined living room and dining room of Lucian's garden villa — large enough to accommodate a gathering of over a hundred people.
Long dining tables were arranged along one corner of the hall. In addition to many glasses of deep crimson wine, there were refreshing and attractive salads, fruit tarts, fruit jelly, and other appetizers; roast meats, stewed meat cubes, sausages, noodles, fattened goose, capon, grapes, white bread, and other main courses, fruits — as well as various peculiar items that Lucian couldn't even identify.
An invited band played pleasant melodies from another corner, lending the entire ball a gentle and elegant atmosphere.
After entering, Lucian went to the buffet, took a plate, and loaded it with roast meat, fattened goose, sausages, white bread, and salad, then quietly ate in a corner while waiting for Phyllis to announce the start of the ball.
The candlelight dimmed. The music changed. Gentlemen invited ladies to the center of the hall to dance the "round dance" that had spread from the Triana court — it was denounced by stuffy old nobles as a lascivious dance involving bodies pressed close and limbs entangled. But the more those old fogeys criticized, the more passionate the young people — and even most of the noble ladies — became about it.
"Did you come here for a feast rather than a ball, Lucian?" After dancing the opening dance with her teacher Victor, Phyllis looked around for Lucian and finally found him in a corner. By this point, Lucian had nearly finished the heaping plate of food, leaving Phyllis caught between laughter and exasperation.
Ever since awakening his bloodline power, Lucian's appetite had grown considerably — and tonight there were still difficult tasks awaiting him.
Putting down his plate, Lucian spread his hands: "I don't know the round dance, Phyllis."
"Do you want me to teach you, or Mr. Rhein, or perhaps Yvette?" Phyllis had clearly heard from Victor about Rhein's earlier teasing of Lucian. Yvette was currently dancing merrily with a noble gentleman. Perhaps sensing Phyllis's gaze, she turned her head, looked over, and blew Lucian a flirtatious wink with a sweet laugh.
Phyllis turned back and said earnestly: "Lucian, if you want to integrate into high society and interact with nobles, music, dancing, and hunting are all indispensable. Very well — I'll teach you."
"I'd honestly prefer quiet work," Lucian said. He didn't want to stand out at such a critical juncture, so he had no choice but to follow the example of the other gentlemen and extend an invitation gesture toward Phyllis.
Phyllis smiled and reached out her hand in satisfaction: "See, you're not doing badly at all? Don't worry about others laughing — the first time is always like this."
One arm around Phyllis's waist, the other hand resting on her shoulder, Lucian listened to her instructions and began practicing the dance.
A few minutes later, Phyllis looked at Lucian with considerable surprise: "Lucian, have you learned the round dance before? You dance beautifully — you don't look like a beginner at all. Mm, except that you're very stiff and don't dare to get close to my body."
"The Princess taught me a little." The reason Lucian had picked it up so quickly was his extraordinary coordination and agility — but he couldn't explain that to Phyllis, so he could only use Natasha, whom he happened to know, as his shield.
Phyllis understood: "So that's it. The Princess is a Great Knight — having her teach you, the results would naturally be excellent."
Speaking of this, she suddenly broke into laughter: "The Princess is half a head taller than you, and she's a fifth-tier powerhouse. When she was dancing with you, who exactly was the lady, Lucian?"