Feuer König

Chapter 16 - 8th Birthday

It was late in the evening. The last rays of the sun were dyeing the sky in beautiful violet color. Street lanterns were slowly littering the city with lights and in middle of such city was the royal castle shining brighter than anything else. The gates were strictly guarded yet open as they were even now receiving guests in a festive manner.

Today was a special day for that nobles form far and wide traveled to the capital. Today was the eighth birthday of the second prince. Since he has been barely seen in public and has not taken part in any social gatherings it was his social debut and many nobles wanted to catch a glimpse of said prince in hopes to find ties to knot with the royal family of the empire.

Charlotte the daughter of the Pie family with blue eyes and blond hair might not have been of an astoundingly influential heritage but none the less was still a count's daughter earning her enough qualifications to attend a gathering organized by the royal family themselves.

After hours and hours of riding the carriage she finally arrived at the scene. Since her preparations took longer than expected she was quite late and most of the guests were already here. But neither was she aware how much trouble this caused for her father nor did she care.

She was the only daughter of the house. Because of that she has been receiving quite a lot of attention from her father. She was 'spoiled rotten' as they would say. While there is a custody of seven year old ladies to perform the duties of a maid while being watched over by a different family her father couldn't bring it over his heart to burden his adorable little princess with such atrocious tasks.

She was never on the giving side and for that did not even know a single letter of the word 'hardship'. If she wanted something her father would go the hell and back for her to fulfill her every whim. So it was no surprise that she was fine with having other people wait for her.

As she entered through the door a man announced the arrival of the Pie family and closed the door right after to indicate that she was indeed, the last guest, that they have been waiting for.

It was a beautiful ball room. Chandeliers were littering the top and the floor reflected their shine perfectly, making it seem like the guests were dancing atop a sea of lights. Opposite the entrance at the other the end of the room were elegantly decorated stairs clearly signaling from where the royal family would descend.

Eyes were gathering on top of Charlotte. Misunderstanding these gazes as admirers she was proudly walking into the ballroom. While she was indeed a beauty she was not one of a rare kind. There were several ladies attending, who were more beautiful than her. No, the reason why so many people turned their heads towards her was, because of her audacity to arrive so late while keeping an arrogant attitude.

Yet no one could show open dissatisfaction since there were barely any people that could show open hostility against a count family. With the count rank being one beneath the highest, duke, it was no surprise that all they could do was frown upon her attitude, but not voice their dissent.

Charlotte, not aware of such underlying thoughts, was scanning the room looking for her acquaintances.

'Ah-'

A near silent gasp escaped her as she found the handsome light brown haired noble son Philipp from the Miekka family and his entourage of mediocre boys.

Having spotted said acquaintances she gracefully(?) walked over with a smile all over her face.

"Sir Philipp!"

"Good evening, Charlotte."

With a gentle smile Philipp received her overly enthusiastic greeting.