Chapter 22: EX 22. The Celebration II
All eyes turned to the grand doors the moment the Feran family stepped into the hall. The music screeched to a halt, the orchestra's instruments falling silent mid-note.
Conversations froze in mid-sentence as nobles from across the East Sector turned to face the stars of the night. The main reason for the celebration had finally arrived.
The Ferans stood proudly at the entrance, basking in the attention. They took a moment—just a breath—to scan the hall, as if weighing the worth of each guest with their gaze.
Then, with perfect poise, they moved forward. Their steps were graceful, synchronized, refined. The crimson-and-gold of their formal wear shimmered under the chandeliers, and each stride radiated practiced nobility.
But it wasn't the patriarch or matriarch drawing the stares.
It was the red-haired boy in their center.
Eden Feran.
The prodigy. The boy who completed his first trial in just four days.
Every gaze followed him as the family walked toward the head table—positioned between the Queens and Kael families. The moment they sat down, the music resumed as if on cue, and conversation rippled back through the crowd like a wave restarting after a sudden stillness.
Among the guests, two nobles stood near a marble pillar, speaking in hushed tones. One, a gray-bearded man in a silver-trimmed robe—an influential Rank 2 noble from a region under the Feran domain—gestured subtly toward the high table.
"I hardly ever see the three Lords gathered in one place like this," he said, voice tinged with admiration. "The young master of the Ferans must truly be exceptional for them to give him such face."