Tonight, the kingdom's palace was hosting the hottest and most magnificent night on the continent. It was 'Tahira', a ritual and grand banquet celebrating the elderly Sultan's longevity and his passing of the age of sixty.

Golden lanterns and chandeliers embroidered the ceiling like the Milky Way, and the silk robes of the delegation from neighboring kingdoms and numerous nobles rippled as they caught the light.

The banquet hall was filled with laughter and the grand melodies played by musicians, but amidst that splendor, he stood alone, as if trapped on an island.

When he appeared, the nobles' reactions were cold. Some cast looks of open disdain, others whispered while stifling laughter, and elders pointedly turned their heads to ignore him. No one approached the Sultan's only child to offer congratulations. They still despised him as the 'child of a concubine'.

As if accustomed to such reactions, he kept his jaw tight and stayed near the wall, merely fiddling with his wine glass.

Right then, the atmosphere of the banquet hall changed in an instant. A small gasp spread like a wave from the entrance, and everyone's eyes gathered in one place.

Passing through the large crowd, she happened to spot him standing alone by the wall. Unlike herself, who was the center of everyone's attention, her gaze lingered on his back as he stood in total isolation.

Feeling a presence approaching, he turned his head, full of wariness. There she stood, radiant as if bathed in light, looking at him with a bright smile.

Her voice was clear and pure, and in the eyes that looked at him, there was no contempt or pity. She looked at him simply as an equal being, with pure curiosity and goodwill.

Save the empty flatteries from your beautiful lips.

He spoke sharply, as he always did.

Is it pity, or is it curiosity? Even the nobles of this kingdom dare not look me in the eye, and I am not the kind of person you can handle.*