"Wow..."
Luna, in awe, looked around the ballroom corridor.
Her eyes wide open, Luna's demeanor resembled that of a puppy exploring a new place.
The building's interior was adorned with decorations too valuable to be estimated in money.
I was amazed myself, so I understood why Luna was acting this way.
"Luna, let's start heading in."
"Uh, okay!"
Luna, who had been gazing around, quickly came up behind me.
"This place is really incredible... I wonder how much they spent."
"Indeed..."
The ballroom is located in the center of the capital.
Considering the land value here and the decorations in the ballroom, it was clear a astronomical sum was spent on it.
Although it was not a big issue since the ballroom is operated directly by the country, not built by any particular family, the extravagance was still astounding.
As we walked around admiring the place, we arrived at the entrance of the ballroom.
"Welcome!"
A waiter holding a small tray approached us at the entrance.
"Are both of you on the guest list?"
"Yes, Rudy Astria and Luna Railer."
Though there was a guest list, the question was somewhat redundant.
All graduates of the Academy were invited.
Including the students.
They had a list of all those people, but it wasn't practical to check everyone.
In any case, at the ballroom, people usually interacted only with those they knew, so it didn't really matter if someone unknown entered.
Moreover, for Academy graduates to come here intending to cause trouble was practically a suicide mission.
That's why the ball was open and welcoming.
The waiter, after noting our names, opened the doors to the ballroom.
"Please go in. Have a great time."
As the doors opened, a bright light enveloped us.
Inside, there were numerous people and dazzling decorations.
On the tables were cakes and various desserts, and people were gathered, holding wine glasses and chatting.
"Hmm?"
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64ce79d606107d003c23ea27", id: "pf-5140-1"})"Who are those kids?"
Some people tilted their heads in curiosity upon seeing us.
They looked at us, intrigued by the unfamiliar faces.
"Who are you?"
"Are you this year's graduates? No, the graduation ceremony hasn't happened yet, so you're not, right?"
"Well, that aside, you're so cute! What are your names?"
Contrary to what I heard about the place not welcoming strangers, people started to gather around us.
Perhaps they were welcoming new faces because it was the graduation season?
I couldn't be sure.
The problem was...
"What's this..."
"Oh dear, this little lady seems scared."
"We won't hurt you. We're your seniors."
Luna was surrounded by women who appeared to be in their thirties.
Luna stepped back, seemingly frightened by the sudden attention.
I stood in front of her protectively.
"Ru, Rudy."
"She's a bit scared,"
I explained.
"Oh my, is he your boyfriend? Ho ho, he's cute too."
"This boy is adorable too~. Shall I gobble him up?"
Startled by the seniors' remarks, Luna clung tightly to my arm and pulled me back.
"No, you can't. Rudy is..."
"Oh, look at them!"
"She's trembling with fear but claiming the boy as hers? Too cute~."
"Uh, no, it's not like that..."
Luna was at a loss, overwhelmed by the ladies' teasing.
While it was nice to be the center of attention, this situation was becoming uncomfortable.
What I needed was to connect with one or two individuals who could introduce me to my uncle.
With so many people crowding around, it was just a waste of time and made it harder to slip away.
"Hmm..."
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64cc9e79c7059f003e4ad4b0", id: "pf-5109-1"})A man in the crowd studied me intently.
He was a neat-looking man with glasses.
"Do I know you? Why do you look familiar?"
"As if you'd know him! You're in your thirties. How could this young-faced boy have been at the Academy with you?"
"Well, I might have seen him on a Homecoming Day or something."
The man started to grumble at the woman's teasing.
Then he looked at me again, suddenly clapping his hands.
"...Astria?"
"What?"
"Why bring up that family now? It's spoiling the mood."
"It must be the Astria family's..."
As the man spoke, all eyes turned towards me.
There was a sense of curiosity about Luna's and my sudden appearance.
"Who are you?"
I answered the question.
"My name is Rudy Astria. And this is Luna Railer."
"Ah..."
"..."
It was like a stone had been thrown into a still pond, creating ripples.
Some faces turned pale, while others quickly stepped back.
"That's... the Astria family we know of..."
"Rudy Astria, isn't he that notorious second son?"
"Hey, that was just a rumor. He's competing with Ian Astria for the heir position. A real deal."
Whispers of both praise and sarcasm filled the air.
But everyone's visible reaction was the same.
The people who had been joking around began to step back, distancing themselves from us.
"Uh..."
Luna looked both relieved and perplexed as people dispersed.
It was a natural response, given that people distanced themselves just from our introduction.
Before everyone left, I managed to catch one person.
"Excuse me, I have a question."
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "663633fa8ebf7442f0652b33", id: "pf-8817-1"})"So, sorry. I'm actually very busy!"
The person I grabbed made an excuse and quickly pulled away from me.
All the people who had gathered around us began to distance themselves, warily watching me.
"…This is troublesome."
So many people had crowded around us, only to disappear in an instant.
I understood to some extent.
Although this was a gathering of graduates, it was at the heart of the political arena.
They avoided getting close to me, not wanting to fall out of favor with Ian Astria.
There were nobles from the Emperor's faction, but none who truly believed in me.
Even though I had become known as a supporter of the Emperor's faction within the Astria family, the Emperor's faction supported the Emperor, not every member of it.
Getting close to me would be risky for them, especially if Ian ended up inheriting the family.
While I understood their behavior, it still felt disappointing.
After all, I had worked hard at the academy, yet there was no one to support me.
"Isn't everyone being too harsh…?"
Luna seemed to agree, pouting her lips.
"How can they change their attitude just because of a name?"
"What can we do? It's the situation."
Regardless of the situation, our task remained unchanged.
I didn't know my uncle's face.
He wasn't at the main house, but at a mansion in the capital, so there was no portrait of him.
We needed to find my uncle, but…
"Luna, shall we split up and look for him?"
It might be a burden for the socially awkward Luna, but it was necessary.
If I stayed, people would just run away.
I had to trust Luna.
"Leave it to me…! I'll give it a try!"
Luna, realizing this, clenched her fist and responded.
I smiled at Luna's cute determination and continued.
"We'll look for my uncle and ask the people around."
"Can we really find him?"
"It's somewhat possible. The Astria family's hair color is not common."
The Astria family's notable feature was their blond hair.
The gold in the hair of the royal family and the Astria family was closer to a true golden color, unlike other blondes.
Such radiant blond hair was rare in other families.
"So… we're looking for a sociable person with blond hair!"
"Yeah, he should be in his fifties."
"Got it! I'll do my best!"
So, we split up and asked around.
But no one was willing to help us.
Having already attracted attention once, the rumor quickly spread throughout the ballroom.
Even though we were just looking for one person, people refused to answer.
I understood why the Wizard Tower considered this a fearful place.
People drew lines so sharply.
Despite our sense of camaraderie as members of the academy, people kept their distance.
Even the most ordinary people avoided approaching us, as if no one of that kind existed here.
It was a gathering of those with abilities and much to lose.
What had Ian Astria done to make everyone tremble with fear?
It was unbelievable.
We momentarily stepped out of the ballroom to catch our breath.
"Rudy… I'm sorry…"
"It's not your fault, Luna."
We had split up and asked around for about an hour but got no answers.
Even Luna was being ignored, as the rumor had spread that we entered together.
"And how come we haven't seen a single blond man?"
"I found one or two... but they looked too young to be your uncle…"
I had been confident we could identify people by their hair color.
But the absence of anyone resembling our description was disconcerting.
"Maybe he didn't come today…"
"That would be the worst-case scenario…"
It dawned on me that there was a possibility my uncle hadn't attended the ball.
"Shouldn't have revealed my name…"
Mentioning my name had been a mistake.
I didn't realize people would shun us to this extent.
As I sighed, Luna patted my back.
"It's not your fault, Rudy! It's the people who run away just because of a name who are to blame!"
Luna placed her hands on her hips and glared towards the ballroom.
"Cowards! Ostracizing Rudy! What did Rudy do to deserve this!"
Luna's scolding brought a smile to my face.
"Right, it's their fault, not mine."
I took a deep breath and looked around.
"Let's continue our search."
The situation wasn't ideal, but what could we do?
We had to do our best in the given circumstances.
"I'll check around the center of the ballroom. Luna, can you cover the second floor?"
"Got it! Then…"
As we were talking, someone approached us.
"You're Rudy Astria, right?"
"…?"
Luna and I turned towards the voice.
It was the bespectacled man who had recognized me earlier.
"Sorry about earlier. I have my own situation, so I couldn't talk to you with everyone watching."
"Ah…"
It seemed he had waited for us to leave the ballroom.
"You're looking for Yurik Astria, right?"
"Yes, yes! That's right!"
Luna nodded vigorously at the man's words.
"But coming here blindly, without any information. Wasn't that a bit reckless? If you knew a little about him, you could have found him easily."
"You're right."
It was an unavoidable situation.
We had come right after hearing Astina's advice and the ball was soon after.
I had no intention of making excuses.
The man, seemingly pleased with my acceptance, smiled and pointed towards the ballroom.
"Go back into the ballroom and look for someone without hair."
"…Bald?"
I widened my eyes in surprise.
"Yes, Yurik Astria is bald. That should make it somewhat easier to find him, right?"
My uncle wasn't blond; he was bald.
I was taken aback by this unexpected revelation.
Luna, equally surprised, opened her mouth and quietly muttered to herself.
"Bald… delinquent…"
"He doesn't look like a delinquent, though."
"Oops…"
Luna quickly covered her mouth with her hands.
"Anyway, with this information, we should be able to find him, right?"
I nodded at the man's words.
"Thank you so much. This is a huge help."
"Well, I must be going now."
The man waved his hand and started walking back towards the ballroom.
"Wait!"
I called out to stop him.
"Sorry to ask, but… what's your name? I'd like to repay you someday."
The man chuckled.
"You're not like the typical Astria family member, are you?"
"Pardon?"
"My name is Wuying."
Wuying?
The sudden mention of such an Eastern name made me tilt my head in confusion.
I had heard of Eastern names, but they were very rare.
While I was still pondering this.
"I should go now. Staying here will only raise suspicions."
The man who introduced himself as Wuying quickly disappeared towards the ballroom.
"Wuying…?"
But how did he know about me?
With a puzzled expression, I watched the man's retreating figure.
