Birthday Party Part-3

[General POV]

While Alex had started greeting all the guests, a few people seemed to stand out in the crowd.

The people had seen how confident and polite he was. Any hint of him being weak-willed was absent. Some found themselves admiring the young man, while others felt annoyed that they had lost a golden opportunity to shepherd a poor sheep. Unfortunately for them, Alex was no sheep.

Among the various groups and individuals, a few seemed to stick out thanks to their prestige, looks, or both.

In a crowd of young girls, one of the girls seemed to be the center of attention.

Having fair skin, platinum blond hair, and blue eyes, she had a small but cute face that was adorned with a constant smile. Yet if one could peer deeper, one would realize she hid a calculating gaze behind the calm smile.

She wore a greyish white dress with accents of black and black heels. The dress had a black ribbon bow above her small-sized breasts with a round blue gem in the center of it. A blue rose-like flower pattern was stitched on the right side of the ribbon near her shoulder joint. Finally, she had a portable watch hanging on the left, on the side of her hips.

The only daughter of Count Longriver, Hazel Longriver.

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As the girls surrounding her talked about all sorts of girly stuff, one of the topics including the main star of today's party, his good looks, and a polite smile, she was busy in her own thoughts, wondering how this could have happened.

She was among the very few who had seen and met Alex during his older sister Emma's birthday party and she was not impressed.

She had seen his timid and shy self and found him not worthy of her time since at the time it seemed as if he wouldn't even inherit the title of Marquis. And so she had instead focused on making a connection with his sister Emma, even though they both seemed to have completely different views. As the only child of the Count family famous for its numerous trades, she was by heart a businesswoman. She saw everything in terms of profit and loss. And at the mere age of 15, she was already trying to learn the more intricate aspects of a business. Her dream was to make her family richer and more prominent, and she wouldn't hesitate to even sell herself in an arranged marriage if it meant she could get a worthwhile trade out of it. But that didn't mean she didn't have standards.

Due to those very standards and her aspirations, she was in pursuit of a powerful husband. And among the dozen or so young nobles she had conversed with, only a few seemed somewhat worth her time, yet not one who was what she was looking for.

Coming back to her surprise, she was quite astonished to see that the wimpy young boy had turned into a charming young man. His looks now rivaled the best of the best, even among the myriad of good-looking noble boys she had met. But that was only a secondary observation. He had a calm demeanor and polite smile. As she watched him converse with the many old and young nobles, she could tell he wasn't scared like he used to be. He had a new aura, an aura of confidence.

'Yes, he seems to have grown.'

She thought for a while and came to the conclusion that she would have a proper conversation with him, to gauge him. He already had 1 of the three things she was looking for: Power. As the heir of Marquis, he was sure to be a prominent figure in the future. All she needed to know was whether he had the talent and determination to back his position, other than the obviously good foundation grade and if he shared the same philosophy as her.

She had had a bit of bad luck so far in her pursuit, but she was ready to give him a try as well.

But she was well aware that she wasn't the only one who had such thoughts. Who wouldn't want to marry the only son of a prominent noble house such as the Maximus house? She knew she had to make a move.

She promptly decided to get familiar with him and waited patiently for her turn.

***

In another corner of the room, another girl sat on one of the round tables arranged in the room. She too was surrounded by a myriad of boys and girls who tried their best to be polite and get to her good grace. Yet she had an impassive look on her face. She didn't seem to care much about the party, the people around her, or even the main star, the red-haired handsome young man whose birthday she was attending.

In her head, she only had one thought.

'When will this end?'

She was an extremely fair girl, skin almost pale white. Her untied hair was blond at the core and top, but as it cascaded downwards, it turned into a greenish blond color. A trait she had inherited from her mother. She had beautiful blue eyes that seemed as if they would glow in the dark. Her multi-layered blue and dull white dress was full of intricate gold designs and she wore a black ribbon bow that seemed to have multiple crests of her family printed on it, along with a light blue gem matching the color of her eyes. Finally, she wore long tear-shaped earrings that also matched her eyes, but were slightly darker in color.

Even though she looked like a beautiful princess—she technically was—she didn't have any bashfulness or a damsel-like appearance. She was always impassive.

She was the daughter of Duke Crestflow, Ember Crestflow. The princess of one of the 4 Dukedoms of the Arendelle Empire.

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She watched as the host family slowly but surely went around and mingled with the guests.

She sighed internally but maintained her proper posture as she waited patiently for this to end.

She really wanted to go back home.

***

In yet another part of the room, two siblings seemed to be by themselves, observing the ongoing party. One of them, a girl of age 18, who wore a red dress that showed her cleavage, shoulders, and lower legs sighed as she watched the others. Her long and curly brown hair that reached to her hips was tied loosely in a ponytail by a red ribbon while in front her bangs created an M-shaped crown on her head. She had greenish-yellow eyes her face clearly conveyed that she was quite bored. (A/N: Her image is down a few lines, along with the other sibling.)

Finally getting frustrated, she complained to the sibling accompanying her.

"Ugh, how long is this damn party going to last? I'm bored out of my mind."

"Calm down Patricia. It's only been 30 minutes since it even began. Have some patience. Enjoy the party."

The handsome boy, who also seemed to have the same age as she replied. He was was a fairly tall young man with short spiky grey hair that had a small patch of it extending to his shoulder covering his right ear. He too had the same greenish-yellow eyes that his sister had.

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Their facial features had some similarities, further emphasizing their blood relation.

"How can I enjoy the party for the kids? I can't believe father sent us here alone."

"He didn't have any option. He was preoccupied with something important and our family couldn't be absent from the party. Not only are the Maximus house our allies, but we were also told the princess will be making her appearance as well. Just wait patiently. She must be on her way. It's almost time."

"Fiiine…"

The girl, Patricia, replied in an exasperated tone.

"So…"

Patricia started, trying to talk herself out of her boredom.

"Hm?"

The boy looked at her, curious to hear what she had to say.

"What do you think about him?"

She asked, eyeing the red-haired boy who was going around greeting the guests with his family.

"Alexander Maximus? He seems like a decent young man."

"Wait, you're calling him 'young man'? How old are you? 50? Sheesh."

The boy smiled wryly at his sister's jab. She didn't know how to hold back and was always quite verbal with her thoughts. He didn't mind it, of course, but the others often didn't take to it kindly.

'No wonder she doesn't have many friends.'

He sighed, worrying about his sister's social life, or lack thereof.

"You just thought of something rude, didn't you Wilson? Like, I don't have manners or friends or something?"

Patricia narrowed her eyes in annoyance and stared down at her brother.

"Haha, of course not. Anyway, as I said, Alexander Maximus seems like a decent person. Well, I can't conclude anything just from what I've seen today of him, but I can tell he's trying his best to leave a good impression on everyone here. It IS his debut after all."

Patricia raised an eyebrow at Wilson's casual change of topic. But she decided to let it go… for now.

"Hmm. I see."

She hummed as she took a glass of juice and took a sip from it.

"He's not bad looking. Look at all these girls, they're dying to meet him."

"He certainly is charming. He'll have lots of troubles with girls in the future."

"Like you do?"

Patricia smirked as she saw her brother smile wryly. He too was charming, and many girls in the academy tried to get close to him all the time. She could count the number of confessions he had received in her presence alone in the 30s. Too bad for them he wasn't that interested in relationships. Something that seemed to be the case even for her. But she just found romance plain annoying.

The brother and sister duo continued to make small talk as they patiently waited for the princess.

[End of General POV.]

***