"Silver Wolf Knight" Camilla.
"Sun Warrior" Suna.
And the bond that connected them both — "Moonlight Swordsman" Alex!
"Silver Wolf Knight" Camilla and "Moonlight Swordsman" Alex were half-siblings, sharing the same father.
Both carried the surname Valentine, distant relatives of the current royal family.
"Sun Warrior" Suna, meanwhile, was Alex's wife.
In other words, City Lord Suna Montielfali was Camilla's sister-in-law — under normal circumstances, she'd have had to call Camilla "elder sister."
Yet the relationship between the two women was anything but good. It was, in fact, downright hostile.
Many factors fed into that hostility, but the root of it all was Alex's death.
Alex was of mixed blood. His mother had been Count Valentine's second wife — not human, but a rare bloodline among the elves: the Moon Elves!
Moon Elves were celebrated as dancers beneath the moonlit night, a high and noble bloodline even among elves, capable of drawing on the essence of the moon for their own power.
Count Valentine's own bloodline happened to share traits remarkably similar to the Moon Elves', granting his line the same aptitude for moon magic.
In the ancient human empire, those who carried such blood would typically rise to become noble Priests of the Moon.
It was precisely this shared trait that let Count Valentine, despite being merely human, win the favor of a Moon Elf — and from that union, Alex was born.
In truth, though, Count Valentine was no responsible man. He'd simply been infatuated with the Moon Elf's beauty, never expecting things to go so far as a child.
Alex was, in that sense, an accident.
Count Valentine never liked Alex — in fact, he despised him.
As for Alex's mother, the Moon Elf simply returned to her people's homeland once she'd given birth to her half-blood son, and never emerged from it again.
Alex grew up practically raised by his elder sister, Camilla, from childhood onward.
Had things gone on that way, the two siblings might have managed a modest life together, leaning on each other for support.
But war descended without warning, and the Demon race's armies swept through Count Valentine's territory.
Count Valentine stood his ground in that battle, shielding his people's retreat, and died fighting to the last.
His retainers fled with Camilla, Alex, and the fleeing villagers, but a swarm of monsters scattered the group mid-flight, separating the two siblings from one another.
By the time they met again, Camilla had already made a name for herself, and Alex had awakened his "Hero Aptitude," earning the recognition of one of the Holy Swords.
Not long after, Suna Montielfali — a half-giant — entered the siblings' lives.
The three of them formed a party, working as mercenaries across the battlefields between humans and demons.
Camilla, as her brother's last living family, protected him fiercely, never letting him near real danger.
But Suna believed that kind of overprotection would only turn Alex into a useless man.
The two women eventually clashed over it.
After one especially bitter quarrel, they decided to part ways.
Camilla had assumed Alex would naturally choose to stay with her — but he chose Suna instead, a blow that struck her hard.
Not long after, Alex rose to fame under the title "Moonlight Swordsman."
The war only grew fiercer as time went on.
Camilla, Alex, and Suna alike carried blood debts against the Demon race.
Both sides resolved to enlist in the army.
Though split between the northern and southern forces, they could still catch word of one another through military intelligence.
Until one day, Alex and Suna abruptly withdrew from the army, and all contact between the two sides was severed.
Neither of them realized that the day they'd parted ways would be the last time the three of them would ever see each other.
After the war ended, Camilla searched desperately for Alex, only to eventually learn that he had already passed away.
It wasn't until Suna Montielfali founded the Free City that Camilla learned the woman who'd taken her brother away — that wretched woman — had married him.
...
Years passed.
Camilla's and Suna's daughters had both grown up by the time the two women crossed paths again, here in the Duke's mansion ballroom.
City Lord Montielfali merely felt distaste toward Camilla.
But Camilla regarded her as a mortal enemy.
Tension crackled between them.
Had they not been standing in the Duke's own mansion, it might well have come to blows.
...
Meanwhile, Dark was just about to take Diana's hand for a dance at tonight's birthday party.
He could tell Rose had no interest in dancing, and Anna and Angie hadn't even been on his shortlist to begin with.
This was the Duke's mansion, his home turf — no need to spare the two little princesses too much face.
In any case, after this dance with Diana, he'd probably dance one with Rose too, then spend a bit of time playing with his Magic Guide Spirits, and that would be the end of the evening — leaving only the eagerly anticipated gift-unwrapping to come.
Every family who'd been invited had brought at least one gift, and the maids would carry them all up to his bedroom to set aside.
In years past, his birthday gifts had always suited his age at the time.
He was hoping this year's gifts would suit his current age as well.
But fate had other plans — tonight's birthday party didn't seem ready to wrap up so simply.
Dark had no idea who this sudden uninvited guest was, but if she could walk into the Duke's mansion, she couldn't be any real threat. It was just that she and Diana's family seemed to be on bad terms?
He glanced down at Diana, about to ask.
Diana quickly shook her head. "Don't know her. No idea. Not a clue."
Dark chuckled and decided to observe for himself.
City Lord Montielfali was the sort of person who left an unmistakable impression on anyone who saw her.
The moment Dark looked at her, he noticed — from her height and bearing — a resemblance to Professor Pava Jones.
"A half-giant?"
His gaze drifted, quickly moving off City Lord Montielfali and onto the girl standing beside her.
One look, and he couldn't help but frown.
The one standing beside City Lord Montielfali was, of course, her daughter, Aurora.
Aurora, carrying a quarter giant blood and a quarter Moon Elf blood, looked nothing like her tall, somewhat rugged-featured mother — she was petite and delicate, with features as fine as a painting.
Her hair color came from her father Alex — pure, translucent white, with a faint silvery shimmer at the tips.
But more striking than that was how much she resembled Diana!
Dark had, quite literally, watched the baby fat vanish from Diana's face bit by bit, watched her features sharpen into that of a proper beauty.
And the girl by the door gave him the impression of what Diana might look like a year or two down the road.
Of course, it was only a resemblance.
Still, Dark couldn't help asking again, "And her? You don't know her either?"
Diana shook her head fiercely. "Don't know her."
A flicker of surprise crossed Rose's eyes, and she asked hesitantly, "Diana, you don't happen to have some long-lost little sister, do you?"
Diana shook her head again. "No way."
Just then, Second Princess Anna, standing off to the side, laughed. "Wait, really? You don't even know the City Lord of the Free City? No way, no way!"
Third Princess Angie chimed in, "That little one is Aurora Montielfali. She's quite famous, you know."
"The City Lord of the Free City... is the Sun Warrior?"
Something clicked in Dark's mind, and he began to form a picture of it all.
But just as he was about to turn his gaze away, Aurora Montielfali — the one who so resembled Diana — tilted her head slightly upward, her mother's brilliant red eyes fixing intently on him.
...
Aurora paid little attention to the standoff between her mother and her aunt.
Having already begun helping manage her mother's household affairs, she understood the situation clearly enough to know these two would never actually come to blows.
The moment she'd walked in, she'd been searching for Dark, and now that she'd finally found him, she couldn't tear her eyes away.
Two months had passed since Easter, and her "fiancé" seemed to have changed in some way she couldn't quite put her finger on.
Somehow, he caught her attention even more now than he had the day he'd won the Easter Dueling Festival.
She wondered whether that change was in Dark himself, or whether it was because the bond between them was about to be severed.
People always cherish more dearly what they're about to lose.
Aurora wondered if that was the reason behind the faint melancholy she'd been feeling lately.
A trace of quiet sorrow lingered in her eyes, jarringly out of place beside the tension nearby.
...
"Suna, what brings you here?"
Alvit's voice cut through the mounting tension.
The piano's melody never faltered.
She rose and walked personally toward the door, and her doing so silenced anyone in the family who'd been contemplating stirring further trouble.
Viscount Greatbear and his wife let out a small, cold snort, but rather than waiting for the Valkyrie to speak, they chose to back off for the time being.
City Lord Montielfali's lips curved upward, and she let the pressure she'd been giving off dissolve.
Then she turned to Alvit and said, with easy grace, "It's been far too long. I thought I'd stop by for a visit, and along the way I remembered your little one's birthday, so I made a detour to come here."
"I'm surprised you still remembered." Alvit's face lit up at once, though her gaze immediately shifted to Aurora, standing beside City Lord Montielfali.
"Is this little Rora?" she asked, unable to hide her delight.
"That's her." City Lord Montielfali patted Aurora on the back of the head. "Go on, say hello to your aunt."
Aurora snapped out of her daze and answered dutifully, "Aunt Demon, I'm Aurora."
"Mm." Alvit walked up to her and bent down. "It's been almost ten years, hasn't it? You're nearly as tall as my little one now."
Aurora's cheeks flushed faintly, and she instinctively twisted the hem of her dress.
"Don't just stand there, come with me. Oh, and have you two eaten yet?" Alvit took hold of her small hand and led her straight toward the main table.
Feeling all the eyes gathering on her, Aurora looked a little bashful, but she managed to answer, "A little."
"Then have a bit more." Alvit settled her into what had been Dark's seat. "I'll have Dark cut you a slice of cake."
With that, she waved Dark over.
Dark shot Diana an apologetic look, then slipped past the four girls and picked up the knife again to cut the cake.
He cut two slices this time, plated them separately, and carried them over to Aurora and City Lord Montielfali.
City Lord Montielfali took Anna's old seat, her expression having eased considerably by now.
Though her original purpose in coming had been to call off the engagement, this was obviously not the occasion to announce such a thing.
The children's "betrothal" had only ever been a private arrangement between the families, never made public.
So calling it off quietly would raise no fuss at all.
If she announced it here, in front of everyone, it would actually make backing out far more awkward.
Besides, a private matter like this ought to be handled privately.
Only someone with their head screwed on wrong would air something like this out in public.
After accepting the cake from Dark, City Lord Montielfali held out her hand toward Aurora.
Aurora understood at once and produced a delicate palm-sized box.
City Lord Montielfali smiled faintly, took the box, and handed it to Dark, saying, "This is the first time we've met since you've grown up. You may call me Auntie. This is the birthday gift I prepared for you."
"Thank you, Auntie." Dark reached out and took the box, feeling a faint warmth radiating from within.
He already had a rough guess at what lay inside, and tucked it away carefully.
Then City Lord Montielfali gestured toward Aurora and said, "This is Aurora. You two met when you were little — though I'm sure you don't remember."
Studying Aurora up close now, Dark found the resemblance to Diana all the more striking.
But seeing the tension still simmering between City Lord Montielfali and Diana's mother, he decided it was best not to ask any questions here.
So he simply introduced himself to Aurora as though meeting her for the first time, then excused himself and stepped back.
The piano music continued to fill the room.
Dark returned to the dance floor and, this time, held his hand out directly to Diana.
Diana's heart leapt with delight, and she hurried to take his hand, gripping it a little too hard in her excitement.
Dark let out a quiet hiss, then gripped her hand back and led her into the dance.
The two little princesses stood with hands behind their backs, gritting their teeth.
But after a shared glance, they reached a silent understanding.
The pair teamed up and deliberately drifted closer toward Dark and Diana.
Rose quietly slipped off the dance floor.
But instead of returning to her seat, she leaned against the wall, sipping a cup of tea, her gaze drifting unconsciously toward Aurora at the main table.
As if sensing the attention, Aurora, even while secretly watching Dark, couldn't help but glance over at Rose too.
Their eyes met briefly, and both looked away, a little shy.
At the same time, each sensed something in the other — an awareness of the other's presence as something that mattered.
Rose felt an instinctive flicker of threat, and a thread of worry for Diana crept into her heart.
But Diana was completely absorbed in the joy of being chosen, oblivious to Anna and Angie's little schemes — let alone anything else.
As for Anna and Angie, they suddenly discovered that no matter how they maneuvered, they simply couldn't step on Dark's or Diana's feet!
Dark had spotted their intentions early and kept dodging out of the way.
Diana wasn't even looking, yet somehow Anna and Angie just couldn't land a hit on her feet either!
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