Chapter 61 - 『Rolling the Ball』

The Sweet Sound of Violins filled the night sky dotted in stars, there were no clouds in sight, not on this destined day. People were arriving by the dozens, either by the carriages that now lined the street, or by their very feet. Fallen Nobles and regular nobles alike were invited.

Men in suits helped their ladies from their carriages and lead them along into the manor.

Teenagers, children and their parents. All of which entered the premises with ease. Little did they know, they were being watched and scrutinized from beings afar.

They dressed lavishly, or in drab old clothes depending on their statuses. Either way, they wore their best. The first to arrive was the Emperor himself, not to be late to a party dedicated to himself and his Empire. What kind of leader could he possibly be if he were to skip out on such an occasion?

His Knights lead him forward into the house he had seen once, or twice, before. It was a warm gaze he shared toward the building, knowing its owner was someone not only powerful but worth having at his side. If anything bad happened here, he knew that it would be all on his hands, or on his head.

His violet eyes flashed towards some of the nobles who were standing around idly outside the games and on the front lawn. So far there had only been pleasant memories with this place. Other than the purge in which he commenced. He hoped that it would stay that way, but knowing the fact that the nobles had great pride.

How would they treat Jack? Of course, they would behave at this event, the Emperor would be here. The Emperor was the main guest, the star of the show.

A grin remained over Jircniv's lips as he looked to the sky very briefly, his eyes on the roof of the building. Overlooking everyone was a man leaning on a spear, dressed in a noble suit.

Though he didn't see the small blonde with him, he was sure that she was inside.

As the man gave the Emperor an acknowledging nod of his head, he nodded his own head towards the man overseeing those who entered. Barely anyone else seemed to have noticed Jack standing up there, or really seemed to care.

His jacket practically blended in with the sky as he wore mostly black and white, with a purple sash as a belt over his abdomen and along his waist.

If he recalled correctly, the master of this house had committed suicide in his study rather than let him revoke his riches and title of nobility. It was truly pathetic. Jircniv, however, did not share a chuckle with any of his men, or woman, who accompanied him.

This was a ball that was to introduce Graham as a member of their society, the society of the powerful and the downtrodden. It was all too clear that the man had more assets than it lets on.

All assets were put to work, from the slaves, and to the magic that was used to bend the weather to the taste of the Ball's host, Jack. Respect was everything here, it seemed, as even if he wasn't close to any of the people here, they bowed their heads.

Food, the smell was something that assaulted the Emperor's nose the moment he entered the foyer. It felt as if the scent and aromas were being trapped within the house.

Letting out a lightly amused snicker to himself, he looked over to his guards and before moving onward into the great hall that split off into the three different directions. Notably, two of these directions were entirely barricaded off by sliding doors which seemed to have been installed recently. It was an interesting touch, one that would allow the house to be sealed off into three quadrants.

Moving forward, the Emperor continued to the ballroom which many of the guests were already lining up towards. No one has begun to enter just yet, but as he made it to the wide-open archway leading into the room, he narrowed his gaze on the blonde that usually accompanied Jack. She was in a beautiful custom made dress made lush and soft material, which complimented her fragile doll-like complexion, it almost made her out to be an elegant woman on display.

His eyes then moved towards the Elf which was blocking the way into the room, well, blocking the other guests. She seemed to be wearing a mask that covered the area around her eyes, a colorful one.

For an instant, their eyes locked.

"Welcome to the Manor, your Majesty. Right this way," she gestured towards the interior of the ballroom. Though not audible, some of the younger nobles groaned as they had been waiting for a bit to enter the room.

It was obvious to Jircniv though as he glanced to the side very briefly at the sound of discontent, that some of the young nobles were eying the young blonde in the ballroom.

They knew who she was, a girl of the Fallen Noble house of Furt, a house that was known to be in debt. It wasn't until recently that her parents were killed, though there was nothing left behind to show who had done it. Divination below the tier level of four had been blocked, and it seemed even Fluder 'found' nothing from his personal 'investigation.'

No one questioned the Court Wizard, nor his alignments.

The short elf lead the man and his knights into the Ballroom, and over towards a lavish area, to what seemed to be a slightly elevated platform in the center. It was furnished with chairs and a linen-covered table. A number of high-class consumable beverage items could be seen in containers in the very center of the table itself.

Jircniv was curious about what Jack had in store, he turned to his knights and made a motion for them to take a seat. Although it wouldn't appear that the place had a high level of security, at least not to the naked eye, he had been briefed by Fluder about the measures taken by Jack.

This elevated platform served as a selective barrier, only certain individuals could enter, those being Jircniv, his Knights, Fluder and Jack. Other nobles and peasants would have to stand outside of the platform in order to converse with them, should it even be allowed.

The Emperor's Imperial Knights did as they were instructed and took their seats which surrounded his own as he himself went to sit down.

Just as his bottom made contact with the chair, the first group to enter was the violin players who had been playing their tunes outside along with a number of cello and flute players which he had never seen before.

His eyes watched as the group set up in the far northwest corner of the room.

"This is... Very Organized," his eyes shifted towards the young blonde who was checking the banquet table. The other guests not yet entering as the Elf was making her way back to the doors before leaving to go to the kitchen.

"I see he has a lot of teas here," One youngest of the male Knights said with a light chuckle, looking over one of the many teabags resting by a pitcher of hot water. "He never ceases to impress," though this man loved collecting teas and doing ceremonies, he had not reached forward to try the exquisite display was placed there to amaze them each on a personal level.

Looking at the Knight, the Emperor nodded lightly before noting one that looked to have some sort of Cherry blossom in it. Reaching over, the Emperor sniffed the bag and blinked smelling the strong sweetness it exhibited. "This one smells like some sort of fruit..." He held it out for his Knight to take.

Blinking, the Knight reached over and took it into his hand, looking over the bag before sniffing it himself. "That... Is a lot of sugar." It was hardly what he could call the tea he was used to.

Even then, he wanted to have a taste.

That was when Jack appeared at the table, sitting at the other end with his back to the crowd at the doors. He had teleported inside. "Everyone seems a bit anxious, think they'll enjoy the show?" The angel laughed lightly to himself with a fine grin across his lips.

Fluder soon came walking through the crowd and into the ballroom. "Ah!" As he spotted his charge and the man who held the key to seeing into Magic's abyss, he rushed on over to the elevated area. "Your Majesty."

"Welcome, Gramps." The Emperor gestured for his court wizard to take a seat between him and Jack. In which he would almost immediately, looking over the two of them.

That was when the world began to change around them. The lights lining the walls of the room shifted to a light blue hue, orbs of gold emitting from them and began to float around through the air. There were many who found themselves in awe as another slave, one of the gardeners, began to announce each person who entered the room with a clear and crisper voice.

"Duke Wimburg and company have arrived!" The voice boomed above the chatter of the crowd.

A few seconds later, another set of nobles arrived. Nobles were being allowed to enter the room first, over the fallen ones. In a way, it was allowing those who had kept their status due to their merit, to come in before those who didn't.

"Count Femel has arrived!"

"Count Flavella has arrived!"

"Count Granberg has arrived!"

This continued on up until the fallen nobles who had lost their titles and outstanding wealth arrived. Those who survived the purge and those who were just scraping by.

Some of them had done well for themselves, as the stipends from the Empire were not their only income. There were a number who became merchants, but hardly any had made it too large. Though that was likely due to the Emperor's doing in the first place as he influenced the market.

It would appear that some of the nobles had been forbidden from taking part in trade after their titles had been revoked. There were some gazes of discontent towards the Emperor, some of which even had the same outlook as Arche's father.

Once he was dead, once there was a revolution, they'd get their wealth and titles back.

Little did they know, that was never going to happen. There was no one in this very room who would rise up against this Emperor as he himself was now on top of a pinnacle civilization within the human territories that had survived for hundreds of years.

While everything was going on, Arche had vanished looking over the food. Letting out a sigh as she heard the music take the room, she smiled faintly seeing people shifting around.

She saw a few friends from the academy, all of the students had been ultimately invited. A faint smile remained across her lips as she folded her hands in front of herself and casually walked along the side of the room.

Then she leaned against the stone inner wall of the ballroom, watching as people did their thing. She closed her eyes listening to the music for a short period of time, before opening her eyes again.

Her blue hues narrowed on Jack who was sitting there talking with the Emperor and his associates. No one could hear them over the sound of the music, let alone from how far away she was, she couldn't hear a thing.

All the same, the music made this place come to life so it seemed. Standing along the trim of the upper levels of the ballroom, she could see what looked like two dark elves wearing brown mantles, their faces hidden by masks that covered their mouth and nose.

One of them had a bow resting diagonally across their torso, while the other held a staff in hand with a shy or even cowardly demeanor.

"Hm.. How did they get up there?" Arche wasn't aware of who they were, but she knew they were related to Jack in some way or another. She remained there, just watching the people around the room dance and talk.

Nothing really exciting was going on, other than the vast amounts of interesting music choices. Some of the songs she never expected to hear from such equipment. The violins had become wild and energetic, the cellos becoming heavy and emotional.

The flute called for her to move her feet as it held the middle ground together against the string instruments with beautiful harmony.

Her gaze then raised to a trio of boys who suddenly cornered her, their shadows casting over her. From what Arche could see from a brief glance, was that they were her age if not a bit older.

They still had their noble status based on their clothes, or they were children of bureaucrats who served the Emperor.

"If it isn't the little Arche-dono," huffed one of the boys scratching his chin as he not only verbally mocked her, but also cheekily bowed half-assedly to make fun of her.

"Heh, this Graham guy knows how to dress his toys," the other said reaching forward slightly to touch her from over one of the other boy's shoulders.

"Hey, I saw her first," The boy turned his head to look at the one who had gone to touch her. He then licked his lips slightly and turned to look at Arche who was looking over them with a reserved gaze.

Grinning deviously, the second boy looked her over. Easily undressing her with his eyes. "How about we take this to one of the upper rooms?"

"Yeah," the center one which had seen her 'first' agreed with a laugh.

No one seemed to be noticing at all. Though Arche kept calm, at least tried to. She flexed her gaze at them, taking a step back as they finally tried to usher her towards the kitchen door.

It was the only way to get to the other parts of the house without passing through the barricades that kept the manor sectioned off into three parts.

"That's n-not happening," Despite remaining reserved, she found herself squirming. Personally she didn't like the situation and too many thoughts were going through her head, even if they were weaklings, she didn't have the staff to increase the effectiveness of her magic.

"You're just a slave, aren't you? The man's toy, right? You think we have a choice?" One of their voices became harsh and he lunged forward, taking her by the forearm and raising it above her head. She was still petite and he brought her onto her tiptoes. "We're guests here," he brought his face in close to hers, "Entertain us on behalf of your master, would you?"

His other hand roughly touched at her lower back, sliding down previously towards her bum.

Beads of sweat formed on her forehead and side of her face, a shiver going down her spine. She couldn't hold back, she couldn't allow hesitation otherwise they would get the better of her.

Just as he was about to squeeze her ass through her dress, he quickly brought her free hand down on his shoulder and her knee between his legs. Arche was sure she felt a definitely squish, as well as the feeling of something hard.

The boy was at a loss of words, and could only make small croaking sounds before collapsing to the ground in fetal position, practically foaming from the mouth.

By now people had started to notice as the music stopped abruptly. People were beginning to turn their heads to see what was causing the disturbance.

"How dare you hurt my brother you slippery little bitch!" One of them shouted, "You won't recognize your snatch once I'm done with you." With that, they went to strike her, only for a massive heavy blade to come smashing into the floor between them like a makeshift shield.

His hand struck the blade, a satisfying crunch resonating from his knuckles as they split.

Standing mere meters away, was Momon in his black armor with Nabe at his side wearing an armored dress. "Treating the Host's lover as your personal toy... Is this what your Empire stands for?" The skeleton wearing armor asked with a booming toned emitting from the lip bug he used to disguise his voice.

"Uh... Ah..."

"Er..."

The noble boys had become nervous, even the one who held his bloody knuckles withheld cries of pain as he stumbled back from the sight of the Darkness group. Behind Momon and Nabe, were the Swords of Darkness dressed in improved gear. It was clear that Darkness and the Swords of Darkness together made their lives a bit more profitable.

"Cowardly worms, you humans are. Your filthy blood is not even worth the coin your purses are filled with." Nabe spoke callously as she glared at them, daggers in her eyes, ready to kill them if given the command. Her hand was even on the hilt of her weapon, just waiting for Momon to say when.

"What is the meaning of this!?" The Emperor stood from the table, seeing the mess.

Without delay though, Jack had slipped from the table with silent feet and strode over to the scene. The emperor followed behind once he noticed where he had gone.

Arche immediately tearful rushed over to the man she had been spending the past few months with and planted her face into his torso. Compared to him, she was extremely short, at least two feet shorter than him at least.

"This bitc--" The third boy went to talk, without seeing who he was responding to, only to freeze as if his insides had suddenly exploded. He had sworn towards the Emperor.

"That slave kicked me..." Groaned the boy on the ground.

"She's not a slave," Jack's appeared to be empty and almost entirely unfeeling as he gazed down towards the human, "She's my fiancée." These words echoed from his mouth as he lied outwardly.

Arche though didn't correct him nor did she deny it. If anything, it made the Empire look bad, really bad, now that these nobles who had kept their titles and status had tried assaulting her.

Not only had they done that, but they had insulted her by believing her a slave, in extension severely insulting Jack himself. Either way, no one was allowed to touch his slaves in such a manner either. He was truly ready to slaughter all three of them to make an example.

There was no protecting the noble boys now, and Jack's demeanor had become colder.

The Emperor stepped forward, "Arrest the boys, round up their family members present."

"Yes, Sir!" Two of the Knights responded and rushed off to identify and detain the members present at the ball. It wasn't hard, everyone had been announced and there was only one way out. There was no escaping his orders.

"Please, my friend." Jircniv turned to look at Jack as he stood between the boys and him, his remaining two Knights arresting the three teens. "Forgive this act," He made grandiose hand gestures to get the severity of his apology across. "Don't let it reflect on our mutual or political relationship," but all the same it came off as a plea.

One in which Jack didn't want to take. However, his existing plans seemed to give birth to new ones. The unveiling of Nazarick will be his wrath upon the Empire.