Megana was wearing a blue dress.
Her family was Earl family in the Grand Duchy, barely having one foot in the core of power. They could join the ranks of prestigious families if they were to take another step, but if they were not careful, they would fall back to the margins, putting them in an extremely awkward position.
Even so, within Class 11, only Clara from the past could be compared to her.
"Congratulations, Bai Xing, happy nineteenth birthday!"
Megana opened the gift box; inside was a high-quality Agate Stone, emitting a pale red glow. Bai Xing said happily, "Thank you."
After whispering for a moment, the two sat down.
The boys who were attending the banquet also arrived one after another.
Several of them were in a similar situation to Stia, having come for a specific purpose. Alida was one of them, and his target was Megana!
"Beautiful Miss Megana, may I invite you to dance?"
In the center of the living room was the ballroom, a traditional social custom of the duchy.
Megana frowned.
On a normal day, I certainly wouldn't refuse.
Alida's family were viscounts of the capital city of Saint Grand Fort, and owned a small fiefdom near Saint Grand Fort. Their status was no less than that of an ordinary Earl. Even if she did not want to befriend them, she could not afford to offend them. Therefore, she had never explicitly rejected the male student who frequently showed her goodwill.
But today's matter concerns a crucial intelligence point for the family, forcing her to proceed with caution.
With a slight smile, Megana said apologetically, "I'm sorry, I already have a dance partner today, and he hasn't come yet."
"Oh?"
Alida looked surprised.
But as a noble elite of the duchy, basic aristocratic etiquette led him to smile romantically and tenderly, nod, and leave.
Xiao Kang dressed up carefully.
At the agreed time, after meeting up with Reilo, they went together to Bai Xing's house.
"What are you so happy about? Bai Xing didn't even invite you that day; I was the one who invited you."
Looking at the smug expression on the naturally curly-haired chubby boy's face, Reilo couldn't help but ask in surprise.
"Hehe, what do you know? When has Bai Xing ever insisted on having me by your side instead of inviting you? And in the past, she wouldn't even give me a friendly look if I got even a little close. But she agreed so readily that day. Doesn't that speak for itself?"
The fat man beamed with pride, his face full of smugness.
"After you left Furnace Fortress, Yulia told me a few things, and I think this time it's definitely going to work out! Next year, once my business at Furnace Fortress is up and running, I plan to use some gold coins to invite Bai Xing to do some charity work. Then, hehehehe, you know what I mean!"
Cough cough cough.
The chubby boy tried to hide his lewd behavior.
Reilo was speechless.
Soon, the two arrived at Bai Xing's house together.
Unlike Reilo, who first rented a place in the old community and then stayed at his mentor Gubo's house, students with noble titles like Bai Xing, Xiao Kang, Orn often bought a house within the academy, which is why housing prices within the academy are so incredibly high.
"Happy birthday, Bai Xing."
Reilo opened the gift box, Bai Xing picked up the earrings, saying happily, "They're so beautiful! Thank you!"
Xiao Kang, standing to the side, also took out a gift box containing a sparkling butterfly hair clip.
"My dear Miss Bai Xing, I heard that your favorite flower is the Hikiyama Izumi Butterfly, so I had my alchemist create this magical hair clip based on the Hikiyama Izumi Butterfly. I hope you like it."
"What I love is living carefree in nature, like a butterfly."
Bai Xing first snorted, but then smiled gently and said, "But thank you for your kindness anyway, it's very beautiful."
Seeing Bai Xing accept his gift, Xiao Kang chuckled, looking utterly satisfied; his inner thoughts were practically written all over his face.
The two found an empty seat in the room and sat down.
There were about twenty people attending the banquet, most of whom were students from Class 11. Yulia had also changed into a silver-white dress and sat opposite Reilo, looking rather bored.
There were also a few unfamiliar faces, probably from other classes.
Hi, Yulia.
Reilo greeted him.
Yulia laughed, "You're a shining star now, the Eye of the Sun, hehe. It must have been tough hiding among us weaklings, right?"
When heading to the Furnace Fortress mission, Yulia had been aloof and mysterious, but now, dressed in a noble gown, she started making lighthearted jokes.
"Stop making fun of me."
Reilo shook his head and picked up his wine glass.
After Yulia clinked glasses with Reilo, this girl, who also held a marginalized position in the class, raised an eyebrow in acknowledgment.
"Hey, those girls have been staring at you ever since you walked in, especially Stia, she's been watching you for ages. Even Megana glanced at you three times, intentionally or unintentionally. Looks like if you're lucky today, you might just end your single life."
Well?
Reilo glanced sideways at the direction Yulia was pointing.
Several girls smiled at him, appearing quite generous.
Reilo felt somewhat embarrassed; he was not yet used to such blatant displays of goodwill among nobles, and could only raise his wine glass in response from afar.
"Oh my god, Reilo, Megana is coming towards you!!"
Xiao Kang's excited voice was squeezed out from between his teeth.
Looking at her, Reilo saw that Megana was dressed in a blue dress, poised and elegant. Combined with her serene and tranquil face, she had a touch of refined elegance.
Reilo hurriedly got up, a look of confusion on his face.
May I sit here?
Megana gestured to the empty seat next to Reilo.
"Of course, it would be my honor, beautiful Ms. Megana."
You could tell that Reilo's voice was somewhat restrained.
Several unfriendly gazes fell upon them. Besides a male student looking at Reilo, two female students looked at Megana. Among them was Stia, who had been about to get up, but her face turned extremely ugly, and she had to sit back down after she had just half-risen.
"Beautiful Lady Stia, would you be so kind as to invite me to dance?"
A male student in a black tuxedo smiled and reached out to ask. It must be said that Stia's low-cut, waist-cinching outfit was quite eye-catching at the banquet today.
"Um."
After a long pause, Stia managed a weak smile, placed a hand in the male student's hand, and walked towards the dance floor.
On the other side.
"Giggle."
Megana covered her mouth and smiled, then sat down next to Reilo.
"At the previous class social gathering, someone said you were a tasteless peasant, but now, seeing how glib you are, you're not just a socially awkward ascetic."
"Uh, what advice do you have for me?"
"Cough cough!"
Reilo had barely finished speaking when Xiao Kang coughed.
" Reilo, since the beautiful Lady Megana is here, you should invite her to dance first."
"Well..."
Reilo remained silent.
Seeing this, Megana, who was standing nearby, took the initiative and said, "Then, Mr. Reilo, may I invite you to dance?"
"I'm sorry, I don't know how."
Reilo was quite embarrassed and glared at Xiao Kang. Xiao Kang, who had been looking smug and envious, was taken aback and then looked apologetic.
"It's okay, you're very quick to learn, I'll teach you!"
After a fleeting look of surprise, Megana offered some very considerate encouragement.
At Megana's invitation, Reilo put one arm around Megana's slender waist and held Megana soft hand in his other hand. He let Megana's hand rest on his shoulder, feeling the faint warmth of the girl's body. Under Megana's gentle guidance, he stiffly began to move to the music.
"See? He's very eager to learn."
Megana said with a smile on the dance floor.
"Um."
Reilo's steps were still stiff.
"Actually, I'm more interested in the title 'Eye of the Sun' that the school gave you than dancing. I wonder if Mr. Reilo would be interested in having an academic exchange with me?"
Clearly, Megana is very familiar with ascetic scholars like Reilo.
Besides family matters, Megana herself is also a scholar of asceticism, but as the sole heir of the family, there are many things she cannot escape.
She must take on this responsibility!
"Here?"
Reilo asked in surprise.
"Certainly."
"Great! I'm also quite interested in Ms. Megana's title of 'Soul Lens '."
Just as Megana had guessed, Reilo immediately became interested upon hearing the invitation to the academic exchange, his excitement making no attempt to hide it.
At the birthday party, many eyes were on the two of them.
But now, no one seemed to be mocking Reilo; instead, they all looked on with envy. It was unclear whether it was because of Megana as his companion, or because he had earned the title of Eye of the Sun from the academy, or something else entirely.
After a while...
Reilo's stiff dance moves caused beads of sweat to appear on his forehead. Megana wiped the sweat away for Reilo Reilo and they returned to their seats.
At this moment, Xiao Kang finally managed to invite Bai Xing, who was dancing gracefully to the music on the dance floor. Seeing Xiao Kang's elegant dance moves, Reilo couldn't help but sigh.
What an agile fat man!
"Alright, let me first talk about my research on the power of the Gods..."
Megana and Reilo began their academic exchange.
To outsiders, all they could see was that Rai and Magana were passionately engaged in conversation, seemingly their feelings for each other were rapidly growing, and they appeared to be mutually appreciative.
"I never imagined that the usually arrogant Megana was actually such a despicable woman!"
Stia, back in her seat, was practically spitting fire.
"She's already the daughter of an Earl, enjoying wealth and luxury, so why does she still want to compete with me for this commoner? What a despicable woman!"
Driven by a desire to compare social status and wealth, Stia is like an extremely conservative Gran nobleman; the more impoverished a family is, the more it cares about these things.
That's it.
At Bai Xing's birthday party, Reilo spent the time in a lively academic exchange with Megana.
Thanks to Megana's research on the Gods, Reilo has gained a relatively deep understanding of the spiritual scholarship of Willand and has benefited greatly.
At the end of the banquet.
Megana finally asked about the purpose of her trip.
"Hehe, so, Professor Gubo, what is your opinion on Prince Ping?"
Well...
The previous conversation was about the recent business situation of the Megana family, the Prince Ping's visit, and the fact that Gubo had not taught him about astrology. Now, the two topics were connected, and Reilo instinctively became wary.
After a slight hesitation, Reilo smiled and said, "My mentor has his own perspective, and I don't know it."
"Hehehe, I was just asking casually."
Megana understood immediately.
No one supported Prince Ping?
Most people achieved their goals through this birthday party, while a small number left in anger.
The social circles of the nobles of the Grand Duchy consisted of countless such banquets, forming their own unique political ecosystem.