Friends? Fiancée?

The hall was filled with people, just by looking around. One could find around over 500 people there. From old to young, every family and organization that has any importance has sent their envoys to the celebration of the Roderick family's quincentenary that comes along with the birthday of Jayce.

Normally, the public appearance of Jayce when reaching 5 years would be conducted in a more subtle manner. But, his grandmother decided to conduct the quincentenary and Jayce's public appearance ceremony on the same day. Since they both came along with just a month difference.

No one knows what day or month Roderick's family was formed. They only knew the year, so they matched it up with Jayce's birthday, which was in the second month of the year.

Jayce and his family are now standing at the front podium. Taylor, Jayce's grandfather, is the one who is going to give the opening speech, followed by his wife and other important members of the Roderick family.

The Roderick family isn't just about five or six people. It has over a thousand members across the Asper Empire. Just the number of branch families alone is in dozens. The main family is decided by the Nominal head of the family. So far, the nominal heads had only chosen their own family for the role.

For instance, Clara is the current nominal head. Thus, her family is now the main family.

*Ding Ding Ding*

Taylor clicked his Champaign glass three times in a row to gather the attention of the guests.

"Good evening to all those who have come here to celebrate the quincentenary of the Roderick family along with us."

"I don't want to take too much of your time and wish to end this short. First of all, before talking about our quincentenary, I think we should..."

And so he started with the history of the Rodericks, how they raised into prominence and how their illusion magic is the best not just in the Asper Empire, but the whole world.

15 minutes passed...

"So, what is the difference between us and a family which was then..."

30 minutes passed...

"Ah! I didn't mention it all this time. Not because I forgot. Of course not, I just wanted to keep it for the last..."

'What the hell? Didn't he say he would keep it short? I can already see some kids falling asleep.' (Jayce)

Seeing her husband just keep going on and on about things, Clara had a strange look on her face. She mentally sent him,

[End your speech.]

[Bu-]

[NOW!]

[Yes, mam.]

After that, as if someone plugged the power, he finished his speech in a dispirited manner.

Then the other main members of the Roderick family went on the stage and gave their speech.

Time passed for another 30 minutes, and now finally time for the closing speech by the nominal head of the Roderick household.

Clara got onto the stage, she had now been completely healed, so she had already got back her youthful look. With her blonde hair cascading down to her waist wearing a , her gray eyes swept the crowd.

Instantly, the atmosphere froze. No one chatted, not even a movement, as if they were glued to their seats. Nor did the envoys or the children who came to participate dare to breathe loudly.

Wherever Clara's gaze passed through, everyone in the vicinity held their breath. It isn't just fear, but rather respect and reverence. After all, they all grew up hearing her legends but, now they are in her very presence.

In the presence of Clara Roderick!

The one who is crowned as the strongest woman of the Aspire Empire!

A woman Monarch in this patriarchal society!

"I believe my husband Taylor had talked about all we had to talk about. So, welcome to the quincentenary of the Roderick family!"

"Enjoy your evening, I have an announcement to make at the end of the ceremony about my grandson, since it's his 5th birthday today."

Saying so, she flashed a rare smile towards Jayce. For which, he smiled back without knowing what was in the store for him.

The crowd clapped as the dinner began. All kinds of food were served. Jayce was now surrounded by many people who gave him all sorts of gifts to offer their wishes.

After half an hour, Jayce is now finally free from attention. He asked a maid for some orange juice but when he was about to drink it,

"Hii"

A boy with green colored eyes along with two girls, one with pink hair and another with light brown hair.

The boy was Kenn Klassen and the pink-haired girl was Elisa Alverin.

The light-brown-haired girl, also about 6 years old, had hazel eyes, graced in a rose-colored gown and a Ruby crystal necklace.

'Adorable'

That was what Jayce thought as he looked at that girl. She introduced herself first,

"Hello, I'm Mia Hazelwood. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Yes, the pleasure is mine."

'So this girl is a royal princess.'

He thought as he took a sip of juice after offering her one glass for herself, Kenn spoke up,

"I'm Kenn Klassen and ..."

Then he pointed at Alice and continued,

"It's my fiancée, Alisa Alverin."

'pfff'

He almost spit out the juice. Almost. Years of acting, now, gave Jayce a poker face that's hard to crack even using canons.

He promptly replies with a smiling gesture, causing Kenn to raise his eyebrows.

"You know, it's actually a first." (Kenn)

"Sorry?" (Jayce)

"It's the first time someone has actually treated it as a normal occurrence."

Before Kenn could reply, Elisa interrupted excitedly.

"Is that so?"

Jayce smiled wryly. He didn't know whether what he did was right or not. Although he did learn about common demographics, he didn't get to know much about graded family customs.

Marrying at a young age is not uncommon among the general population, but within graded families filled with awakeners, it's extremely rare. Especially at their age, it is basically an occurrence that happens once in a century or so.

"Haha, it's actually quite refreshing. Makes me happy not to be looked upon as some sort of weird animal when I say that to someone." Kenn laughed heartily.

Jayce, again, couldn't help but give a wry smile as he thought,

'Well, I would've done the same if not for my acting abilities. We are the weird ones here, buddy.'

"Jayce, when I came here. Our parents instructed us to make friends with you. Honestly, I thought you would be like others, but looking at how you didn't show any weird reactions. It really makes me want to be friends with you. What do you say?" (Klenn)

"Yeah, yeah. He is right. Let's be friends."

Elisa repeatedly nodded her head as she moved her hands forward towards Jayce, Kenn placed his hands atop her, followed by Jayce.

"Yeah, sure."

"..."

Then the trio pointed their gazes at the princess standing with them with an expecting gaze.

Mia flinched and looked at their hands but eventually placed her hands atop Jayce's hands as well.

"YEAH, LET'S BE FRIENDS FROM NOW ON."

They shouted. Well, only the couple to be, did. The two little singles kept silent.

Then, they talked about a variety of things, from food to about their families, likings and even politics.

'Surprisingly, these guys are quite knowledgeable. Though not as much as I am, it's still far from the average 5 or 6-year-olds in those memories.'

Jayce, all this time, didn't get to know many of his age. Though he would meet some, when people visited his house, there weren't any other opportunities. Thus, he made use of this opportunity to gauge them of the limit to their knowledge.

'After all, they should be the best among the best in their generation, considering their families. In the future, I can match my growth with theirs. Showcasing only enough talent for others to consider me a genius, not a bit more or less.'

It's a plan that he has cooked for a while now. He's well aware that even if he didn't get a head start on learning magic, even without any knowledge pertaining to this world and its laws, his mind is still superior, far superior to others of his age or even to kids considerably older than him.

'After all, blending in with others and avoiding the heavy spotlight is the best way of survival in a magical world.'

As they were chatting, they heard all the noises halting abruptly. Looking up, they saw Clara, who had already got up on the stage.

"Everyone, thank you so much for your time. It was wonderful to have you all. Now we are at the end of this ceremony, but before that, I would like to talk about the announcement I made before. It's about my grandson Jayce... who is going to be the future head of the Roderick family."

She announced as smiled at Jayce, who had already frozen at her words.

----

A.N:

Hello!

Hope you all liked the chapter. If there are any issues, leave them in the comment box.

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Thank you!