Food was served all around. Various delicacies filled the table which Earl enjoyed with his family which consisted of his mother, Aria, and Lily. Due to the earlier interaction with Xavier, there was not much of a talk at the Court Mage table. As Earl chewed on his piece of steak, he could practically feel the holy old man's gaze trying to burn a hole through him.
To this, Lily glared back without a hint of fear. Earl reckoned the old man must be feeling quite intimidated to be glared at by a fierce girl like Lily...
When he was finished with his food, he went outside to get some fresh air. The cool night breeze felt refreshing and serene. It was a nice break from all the loud chattering of nobles and music that was played in the hall. Earl jumped onto the stone railing and sat down together with his maids.
At his left was his dark elf slave maid. At his right was his special demon slave maid. Across the stone railing was an artificial pond that was lit up by the moonlight. It was another garden within the Royal Palace. The pond was surrounded by many tall bushes. From his perspective, the neatly trimmed bushes looked like a maze.
Such a sight was enough to calm anyone down. Aria suddenly leaned her head onto Earl's shoulder.
"This feels nice, master."
Lily saw Aria's example and followed suit.
"Mhm. Lily likes this..."
Earl was now sandwiched by his two girls but it was nothing to complain about. The only thing that felt a bit strange was the sensation of Lily's horn hitting against his shoulder but it was short enough to not cause any discomfort.
"You guys sure are spoiled..." Earl smiled wryly and hugged the waists of his girls, bringing them closer. The night breeze continued to blow, bringing the wonderful fragrances of the two maids straight to his nose.
Earl's quiet time was interrupted when girls of many different noble families came.
"Earl? My name is... from... family. Pleased to make your acquaintance." A tall girl approached and said. She repeated the same line every other girl before her said.
"Stella? Pleased to make your acquaintance. Do you mind leaving me alone? The noise of the hall has made me quite uncomfortable." Earl smiled and dismissed the girl politely. He had no interest in such superficial interaction with girls who only came under the order of their parents.
He did not see anything wrong with them trying to ride Ari's coattails but this sort of approach was a little too low class for him to bite.
After dismissing all the approaching noble girls, Earl escaped into the bush maze with Aria and Lily. The brightness of the moon was enough to light up the paths in the maze. The shadows cast by the leaves left a fascinating sight to be seen. A few spirits could be seen hovering around at the top of some bushes.
It was a natural occurrence in nature from a high concentration of mana. The Royal Palace would naturally be located in a location of high mana density.
These spirits resembled fireflies. They were little particles of lights that flew around in groups randomly.
"So pretty..." Aria exclaimed.
"Right? We don't come out at night and see stuff like this very often." Earl opened his hand and the spirits were suddenly attracted. A small group of spirits broke away from the main group to hover above Earl's palm.
"Woah!" Lily exclaimed when she saw this. "Can I do that too?"
"Sure you can." Earl moved his hand over to Lily's and the spirits moved to Lily's hand.
"Sis, look! They're on me now!" Lily ran around excited when the spirits gathered around her. To see a little demon girl run around with lights was a cute sight to be seen. Her smile was radiant and her bicoloured eyes were sparkling.
However, when she got close to Aria, the spirits suddenly dispersed.
"Eh?"
"Spirits don't come near dark elves, Lily." Aria sighed and said.
"How come?"
"It's because Aria is really strong and intimidating to the spirits!" Earl answered while spreading his arms wide.
"So that's why!" Lily nodded simply when she heard her master's answer.
The sight of Earl trying to convince little Lily got a smile out of Aria. She has always been concerned about spirits avoiding dark elves but to see her master and fellow sister not care about it made her feel much better.
They continued to walk around the bush maze. Before they moved on, "Bye spirits!"
Lily jumped and waved her goodbyes to the spirits after seeing that they would not approach anymore. After they left the area of the maze, she did not think much about it anymore. There was no reason to care when the company of her master and Aria was more enjoyable.
At the end of the maze, they encountered an unexpected face. The end of the maze was a small clearance and a platform.
They found the prince sitting on the platform alone, curled into a ball and staring at the moon. Compared to his front at the beginning of the party, he looked like any other child at this moment.
Due to the way the shadows were cast by the bush, Lily and Earl were hidden in the shadows, leaving only Aria exposed in the light.
The sound of their footsteps startled the prince out of his daze. His eyes darted around and landed on Aria.
"Aria? What are you doing here?"