A mage? A spell engineer!

Chapter 468 The Handsome Guy at the Ball

The reform of single-member constituencies focuses on other states, but its success or failure hinges on the Kingdom of Malin and the capital.

The heart of the empire is in a state of arrhythmia.

Unrest, attacks, and attempts by some audacious individuals to emulate Valuwana's past tragedies raged. The news lost its luster, and the public's initial pride and arrogance turned to suspicion and unease. While the killings among the upper classes subsided somewhat, the infighting among politicians began to reveal horrific and shameful acts to the public.

"Upholding fairness and justice" is not the real intention; it is merely an attempt to use righteousness and public outrage to drag political enemies down with them. It's like a pillow fight, where when you throw a pillow at someone, the gorgeous silk pillowcase breaks, and the dirty stuffing bursts out.

If we were to attribute the root cause of all these problems, it would simply be that His Majesty the Emperor's life had come to an end.

If there was anyone in the capital who felt a complex mix of gratitude for this situation, besides His Highness the Crown Prince, Richard could also be considered one. Because His Majesty the Emperor was ill, according to custom, nobles could not hold celebratory events until he recovered or after the next emperor began holding public banquets.

Therefore, a certain event that was troubling him could be postponed.

"Tonight's ball will feature the youngest daughter of the Grand Duke of Württemberg, the second daughter of the Marquis Palatinate, and the only daughter of the Grand Duke of Bohemia. These are their portraits; don't mix up the names." Richard's father tossed over three gold pendants; opening them should reveal miniature busts of the girls.

The mother then examined her son's "appearance": "Agnes is your cousin. She likes painting and humanistic philosophy. You should talk to her more."

"As for Bohemia, good heavens, there are too many barbarians there. I'm afraid even the court there has been tainted by barbarian habits, unlike a country that produces dignified and civilized ladies. Just be polite to the only daughter of the Grand Duchess of Croc, Richard."

"But she's beautiful, okay? I mean, let the child choose for herself." The father's words annoyed the mother for a while, but at least he showed some degree of open-mindedness.

Today's ball has an important purpose—to find Richard a wife. And all the female guests are, without exception, noblewomen who are a good match for his family. If it weren't for some bold young man making a move, the ballroom might have been graced by Princess Amelia of the Kingdom of Byrne.

After Richard returned, his parents quickly realized that they had to try to produce a fine next generation for the family while their precious son was still at home, even though Richard insisted on the view he had learned from the academy: magical talent is not a stable inheritance.

"Even if Richard isn't a spellcaster, he still has a sufficiently excellent bloodline!" This was usually used to describe Richard's older brother, but this time when he returned home, his older brother was nowhere to be found, and his parents and servants gave vague answers when he asked.

Then awaited him was a ball ostensibly for matchmaking. With rumors of reforms spreading throughout the empire and speculation about a potential change of emperor growing stronger, nobles began frequenting the capital under the guise of socializing. This conveniently facilitated the activities of Richard's household.

Although a wedding cannot be held immediately, it is not impossible to get to know each other first, cultivate feelings, and then raise grandchildren.

As dusk settled over the castle hall of the manor, all the light sources, designed to showcase its grandeur, were magical. Pointy-eared elves were invited to play music on the dance floor, and the guests present were all wealthy and powerful.

The guests entered one by one, and Richard, holding his mother's hand, greeted them one by one. Everyone praised him as a promising young talent with a bright future.

Richard was dressed in military uniform, complete with a cloak and medals symbolizing his status as a mage. This was how the mage corps initially assembled for battle, only to suffer heavy losses from Valois artillery fire. Richard couldn't help but think that the manor's castle had lost all its defenses; even medium field artillery could breach the main gate, and repeated shelling of the side towers could cause them to collapse.

The hall was filled with high-value properties. No, perhaps they've depreciated significantly now, especially after the electoral reforms.

Besides him, there were many others dressed in military uniforms, gathered in groups at the edge of the dance floor, drinking and smoking without restraint, addressing each other by their military ranks. Such uncouth people would never have been seen in the halls of great nobles in the past; they were merely insignificant minor nobles, or even just unloved youngest sons.

However, as the empire expanded its military power, even the former dukes, marquises, and earls were willing to lower their status and exchange a few words with these people in a friendly manner. What enhanced their value was the behemoth that was the imperial army.

It would be a grave mistake to simply understand the Imperial Army as an armed force. It has its own schools, priority that it constantly establishes in war, a giant corporation that seeks profit from arms, countless small estate owners who have retired from the military, and a system of accompanying mages.

The armed forces of those dukes were reorganized by the capital at the beginning of the war due to their poor defense, and the southern army of the empire was completely incorporated into the war machine dominated by the Kingdom of Marin.

Thus, these young officers gained entry into the inner quarters. Their uniforms and imposing demeanor inspired both fear and admiration among the young women of the empire, a trend in mate selection also aided by the empire's propaganda machine.

However, Richard knew his mother's thoughts. Those officers existed to make him look better: among those officers, those with higher ranks were not as young as him, those with lower ranks did not have as promising a future as him, and Richard could say without hesitation: none of the people sitting or standing were as handsome as him!

The fact that the women wanted to look more but were too embarrassed to do so is a good proof of this.

Finally, the last guests arrived. Grand Duke Croc of Bohemia was not present; instead, his wife and daughter entered the ballroom.

As expected, their attire differed from the others. The lady wore an overly bright red dress, while her daughter's color-blocked long dress with overlapping geometric patterns made her look exceptionally lively, though lacking in formality. Neither mother nor daughter's dresses were suitable for this occasion.

Richard's mother raised an eyebrow, clearly thinking to herself, "What a barbaric attitude!"

The girl looked up, her big eyes fixed on Richard. After a moment of silence, she spoke: "I didn't expect your artist to be so honest, not overly beautifying things."

"Libust!" her mother scolded.

Next, Richard followed the procedure and became a tool, inviting the girls to dance in the order specified by his parents. He also paid special attention to his cousin, just as his mother had instructed.

She stammered as she tried to chat with Richard, but Richard couldn't keep up at all. It was really difficult for him to understand the family of the most popular pastoral painters in the capital at the moment.

Richard's reaction frustrated his cousin, but the Imperial Army colonel showed no remorse and mechanically went to find the last mission objective.

"I'm not going! I'm not full yet!" Libs said decisively, with icing sugar still on her lips.

"Okay." Richard felt like he had been granted a pardon and turned to leave.

"Wait a minute!" the woman exclaimed anxiously. "According to the novel, you should say: Reject me? Woman, you've successfully piqued my interest!" Her lines were fluent and rhythmic, possessing a strange and shameful magic.

This forced Richard to turn around: "Where did you read that novel?"

"The most popular serialized novel in the Kingdom of Byrne, <The Overbearing Mage Falls in Love with Me>, is now available in a standalone volume! And it's signed by the author, Martin!"

Richard saw the other person pull out a novel from an unseen place in public.

(End of this chapter)