There was at least one thing that was recognized for the balls of the Iberian aristocracy - the food they prepared was the most sumptuous on the continent, so that the guests did not have to worry about going hungry. The Pen ~ Fun ~ Pavilion www.biquge.info Mastar once commented rather bitterly: "They may not distinguish between a ball and a barbecue banquet at all." ”

When the Mastar people passed by the master of ceremonies and entered the ball hall, the first thing they saw was a large table filled with all kinds of food and fruit. The King and Queen of Iberia sat at the back of the large table, and they, like the rest of the hall, were now all focused on Princess Mastar.

The master of ceremonies loudly announced the names and identities of the guests to the crowd, and when Mazik's name was read, the master of ceremonies paused. Because the gentleman did not write his surname, the Iberian frowned and thought for a second, and then directly called out the title of "Knight of the Mazik Empire". Cyodora glared at her dancing partner with some apprehension, and the other just shrugged her shoulders indifferently.

They were followed by the Hayes siblings, followed by Lan Feng and Messis. The Iberians paid second only to the third pair of exotic pairs second only to Theodora, not because of their interest in the Far East, but because the little princess from the island of Ihel claimed to be the daughter of Sogrend Julius.

It was the first time that Messys had attended such a formal ball, and to be precise, there was no such ball in Arlan. She was still a child entirely, and there was nothing to sustain her but the pride of being Thorgrande's daughter. Therefore, Lan Feng could clearly feel the child's nervousness and discomfort from the small hand he was holding.

"Take it easy, Your Highness Missis, haven't you already learned those manners?" Lan Feng said softly to the little princess, "With me, a complete foreigner as a foil, they won't notice your little mistakes, don't care about other people's eyes, you are the daughter of that adult." ”

Hearing this, Mesedis struggled to straighten her chest, feeling better. Speaking of which, Lan Feng was not nervous at all when he was Messis's dance partner, unlike when he held hands with Fiona and Nastasya, probably because he regarded Messidis as a child at all. Young Master Hais, who noticed this, obviously felt that his sister was in a bad mood at this time.

Richard, who was standing beside the King, noticed her dancing partner as soon as Theodora entered the door, "Looks like a knight." As the prince was in his trance, his father said from the sidelines, "But it doesn't seem like a Mastar." ”

Theodora was the first to come to the king to salute, and he did a thing of diplomatic etiquette. If Michel Lance or other aristocratic youths from Shurasa were present at this time, they would not have believed that the woman in front of her, who had done all the etiquette, was the "Alien Eyes Enchantress" who fished and hunted women everywhere and provoked men. Of course, Sigrani would not be surprised, as Empress Marstar had always believed that her daughter was talented enough. If she hadn't been too rebellious because of her background, the model imperial princess from more than twenty years ago would have reappeared in front of the entire continent.

"It's really worthy of His Highness Cyodora, and indeed the descendants of those two outstanding people."

"I've always heard that her right eye is exactly the same as Marshal Luce, but I can't see it clearly with such a hairstyle."

"It's so exciting if such a princess marries our Royal Highness the Crown Prince."

The Iberians couldn't help but whisper to the side after seeing Celedora's perfect performance. Mazik noticed that Cyodora frowned at the whispers, which did not detract from her beauty.

The Iberian enthusiasm also spread to the Hayes siblings, who were naturally aware of the irreplaceable position of Bavar Hayes and his wife Atalanta in the eyes of Empress Mastar. The appearance of the twins is naturally speechless, and Fiore even attracted a lot of Iberian aristocratic girls.

And Lan Feng and Mesidis are in the realm of ice and fire. The emissary from the East was clearly left out in the cold, and his homeland, despite its prestige in the East, could not radiate to the continent. The Iberians were also unaware of the opportunities that the distant country would offer them, and perhaps Lanfeng's country was nothing more than a small overseas country that had not been to the mainland before. Lan Feng did not feel discouraged, firstly because he had the same experience in Mastar before, and secondly because the spirit of those sages in his homeland inspired him.

Messydis was favored, and although Sogrand had not yet recognized her identity, Princess Theodora was willing to travel with her, so naturally she regarded Messidis as her sister. This inference made the Iberians excited for a while, which was due to the nature of human gossip. It is estimated that in the coming year, the topic of the illegitimate daughters of the two princesses of Saugland will become the main topic of conversation in the salons of the Iberian nobility. "It's worthy of Lord Luce, the object of selection is either the empress or the queen." Presumably, the person concerned definitely does not want to hear such admiration.

After all the etiquette, the king asked the Duke of Carreras to announce the ball. The first piece must be danced with her dance partner, and this is very clear to Theodora. However, in the past, she would not bring her dance partner to the ball. In addition, she is also worried that this guy Mazik will not dance aristocratic dance at all.

"Would you like to dance the first tune?" Cyodora asked cautiously. Seeing Mazik looking at her suspiciously, the princess hurriedly added: "Don't make a mistake, I just think that if I don't dance the first tune today, it will be very rude to the master." ”

"That's what you said." Mazik said lightly, and then made a gesture of invitation.

Prince Richard sighed as he watched Theodora and her dance partner walk onto the dance floor.

"My dear prince, don't be so melancholy, you have time tonight." Queen Isabella came up behind her stepson.

"Mother, that's what you said." The prince replied.

"Let's dance with your sister first, she's been looking forward to it for a long time." The queen smiled.

"Okay, I'll get over it." The prince retired to his stepmother.

Just as the Iberians began to bask in the joy of the beginning of the ball, there were three people outside who could not enjoy the entertainment.

"Speaking of which, why can't the three of us go to the ball and steal horses and carriages here?" Celeste asked.

"Well, because we're not the best people." Estella replied.

"Hmph, superior people, to hell with the superior people." Celeste muttered.

"But, Miss Salest, even if you could go to the ball, you wouldn't have a dance partner, would you?" Estella heard her complain.

"It's not easy to get a man to be a dance partner, I'm in Nawei, but a lot of people are chasing me to dance. I can't even look at it. Celeste boasted.

"So, the person you like isn't the one who chases you to dance with?" Estella hit the nail on the head to point out this fact.

"Alright, girls, stop your small talk, we have business to do." Nataya interrupts the discussion between the two girls, who had always been the captain of the Arkran Queen's guard and had commanded hundreds of female warriors. Naturally knows how to manage a girl of this age.

Back at the ball, the first piece had just ended. To Theodora's surprise, Mazik danced so well that he didn't look like a novice at all.

"Where did you learn this?" The princess asked.

"Ah, a relative taught me." Mazik replied vaguely.

"Do you still have relatives of noble blood?" Theodora asked, staring at the mercenary.

"Who knows."

"You liar with a mouth full of lies." Cyodora scolded, but not as angry.

Just as the two of them were about to end their conversation and go to someone else, an unexpected gentleman interjected.

"Presumably, this is His Royal Highness Theodora of Mastar, it's really better to see than to hear."

"Who are you?" Cyodora wondered.

"Ah, it's natural that you don't know me, and if you don't mind, call me 'Mark'. Speaking of which, my ancestors were also nobles of Mastar, but they were purged and exiled for accidentally offending a certain emperor. Your Royal Highness the Princess, please don't care, this is a long time ago, but I think this is a better tempering for the next, as you can see, isn't it still free to go in and out of this circle now? "The other party was a charming young man, with very beautiful blue eyes, and all his manners did have the smell of Mastar.

"Hah...... I deeply regret what happened to your ancestors. Cyodora said.

"You're such a good-natured person, that's all in the past, isn't it?" The Mr. Mark smiled, "Your Majesty Tohigrani is blessed to have a faithful servant to protect me, and I have survived until now." Well, Your Highness Princess, may I take the liberty of inviting you to do a dance? It should be a relief to me, an orphan who has been away from my homeland for many years. ”

Just as Theodora was about to agree to this request, Mr. Mark's rival appeared, and it was naturally His Royal Highness the Dauphin of Iberia. He originally wanted to come to find Cyodora after appeasing his lively sister, but when he saw the foreign young man who had visited his father appear next to Princess Mastar, Richard immediately changed his mind and dragged his sister with him.

"Good evening, Your Highness Seodora." The prince greeted them two miles away.

"Good evening, Your Highness Richard." Celedora bowed gracefully.

"Who are these two gentlemen? You haven't introduced me yet? The prince smiled. However, Princess Sophia beside him was clearly dissatisfied.

"Your Highness should be next to you, right?" Instead of answering, Cyodora asked rhetorically.

"It's the sister-in-law, Sophie, why don't you greet His Royal Highness Cyodora?"

Sophia was a little reluctant, but it seemed that she did not want to disobey her brother, so she reluctantly saluted Theodora. Cerodora naturally saw that the girl did not have a good impression of her, and the look in her eyes clearly said: "I hate you vixen who seduced my brother." Something like that. Although being disgusted by the beauty embryo is something that our "Alien Pupil Enchantress" is reluctant to do, but since the other party is a complete brother, then Theodora has no intention of reconciling with her. Moreover, the orientations of Princess Mastar and Princess Iberia are completely different.

So, Theodora bent down and said to Sophia with a smile: "Ah, sure enough, like Her Majesty the Queen, she will definitely be an excellent beauty in the future, and if possible, I will propose to the Queen that Her Royal Highness Sophie become the crown princess of Mastar." ”

"Really? That's a great honor. Richard was clearly thinking about something else.

At this time, Theodora smug as she watched Sophia hugging her brother's arm tightly, and the expression on her face immediately turned cloudy, as if she was about to be caught by the female demon in front of her to marry a guy she didn't know at all, so as to be separated from her dear brother by the end of the world.

"Your Highness, you are too cautious." Mazik sighed softly in a voice that only Cyodora could hear.

"You have to take care of it." Sailor Dora whispered back without looking back.

The young man who called himself "Mark" couldn't help but laugh out loud at this time, which made everyone else feel inexplicable.

"Ah, I'm sorry," Mark put away his laughter, "by the way, the second piece is about to begin, Your Highness Cyodora, you should enjoy the light and dance with me." He pulled the conversation back.

"His Highness Cyodora......

"I'm sorry, Your Highness Richard, but I arrived first this time." Mark laughed.

"It's not a first-come, first-served issue, what's more, I don't think His Highness Cyodora hasn't promised you at all before." The prince grasped the crux of the matter at once.

"Ah, can't you be humble to your guests as a host? It's also a good time to show off your demeanor like Theodora. ”

"Humility on important matters will only make people feel cowardly."

The two sides clashed with each other. The impression of the two young men in the first year of junior high school is that they are both well-educated and humble gentlemen, and they should have at least aristocratic cultivation, and it is really hard for people to believe that they quarreled like this when they met for the first time. Cyodora felt that things might get out of hand if this continued, and she wanted to go up and persuade her, but she was held back by Mazik. The mercenary motioned for her to remain silent and wait to see how things unfolded.

Obviously, Prince Richard was more fleshed out than Mr. Mark, and when he couldn't make the other person back down with words, he simply took off his white gloves. Seeing this, Princess Sophia desperately grabbed her brother's arm, trying to stop him from doing something impulsive. It's a pity that the little princess's power is so small. The prince's white gloves were still accurately thrown into Mark's handsome face.

"In that case, Mr. Mark, let's be like a knight and fight for the right to be the guardian of His Highness Cyodora tonight. Choose your weapons! The prince shouted so loudly. This volume made the audience pay attention to this side, and everyone was a little overwhelmed by the sudden change.

Mark paused for a moment, then laughed, a somewhat grim smile.

"Glad to accompany you, Your Highness. Today is also a festive occasion, so let's finish it, I don't want Iberia to be burdened with any more blood debts. Let's just choose a thin stabbing sword, let's be gentlemen. ”

King William frowned slightly when he figured out what had happened; Queen Isabella, on the other hand, looked at her husband worriedly. The king had no choice but to caress the back of the queen's hand, and at the same time motioned for his attendants to prepare the weapons they wanted for the dueling. The stabbing sword is not lethal unless it hits the vital point accurately. To be sure of what happened, the king also instructed that both of them wear a cuirass of ceremonial armor.

"It's all you who stopped me, otherwise how could things be so big?" Cerodora grumbled.

"If things don't get bigger, how can we find a chance to slip away, Your Highness." Mazik replied. At this point, Fiona looked over to them, and Mazik motioned with her eyes that she could find a chance to leave. Fiona nodded knowingly, and dragged her brother to find Lan Feng and Messis.

At this time, the space in the middle of the hall was vacated, and the two young men had already appeared at both ends of the hall in full dress. As the referee was Subisareta, the respected knight raised his hand to signal the two to prepare. After the two sides of the duel took their poses, Subisareta's right hand fell, and the duel began.

Fencing, as a course of aristocratic cultivation, is practiced by almost every aristocratic man on the mainland. While the art of using a thin stabbing sword doesn't have much practical effect on the battlefield, the program trains participants' gait and reflexes, and it's safer than having two people practice with a two-handed sword. In addition, as a low-intensity duel event, it can also allow young people to compete and not cause any homicides.

In the eyes of Subisareta, Richard's martial arts are still lacking in the fire, but they are outstanding among his peers. The Mr. Mark from Reynosque was not weak either, but Subisareta could tell that he was not making the pace of the Reynolds routine, but more like the Mastar routine. It is not surprising that many of the Reynolds nobles learned the culture and skills of Mastar.

Richard's continuous stabbing was extremely sharp, and he was about to succeed in several times. The women in the crowd let out a few soft screams from time to time, and they naturally didn't feel that the matter was serious. Watching two handsome young men duel for the favor of a princess is really an inexplicable feeling of excitement for these aristocratic women whose minds are always full of various fantasies.

The Iberian Dauphin, although on the offensive, could not immediately decide the winner. Mark is in a defensive posture, it's not that he's not strong, he's just waiting for his chance. The opportunity soon presented itself, and Richard stabbed too hard, perhaps thinking he could beat his opponent in one fell swoop. But it turned out that the Iberian Dauphin was wrong, and Mark dodged his attack sideways, and then immediately launched a series of counterattacks. If it's a mediocre person, you may be defeated immediately. But Prince Richard was not in this category, and even if he was forced to retreat again and again by Mark's combined attacks, he was not immediately defeated.

"Alright, that's it, young gentlemen!" King William's voice rang out.

Confident that victory was imminent, Mark put away his sword; Of course, the crown prince also thought that he had waited for an opportunity to turn the tide. So both men looked at the King of Iberia with some dissatisfaction.

"Your Majesty, don't you want to interfere with the legitimate rights of me, a foreigner?" Mark said.

"Not really, dear sir." The king smiled, "I just want to remind you both that there seems to be no need for you to continue the duel, because the winner has nothing to gain and the loser has nothing to lose." ”

Prince Richard looked around, and of course he could no longer see the figure of the man in his heart. Mark, who also noticed the situation, dropped his sword and took off his cuirass.

"What a sad result." With that, the guest of unknown origin swaggered away.

"Father's ......"

"My son, you ought to think about what you lack, instead of fighting strangers."

The prince bowed his head silently.