Chapter 5

Young Alaric did not have the seriousness and reservations that he later possessed as Silverania's Alpha King. Currently, he was full of vigor and strength.

Everyone stood up to welcome the young heir. Over the years, Alaric would use his clever mind to negotiate with the rogue packs populating the outskirts, expanding Silverania's territory without bloodshed.

Everyone's eyes were on him, but his eagle-eyed gaze was fixed upon me.

At that moment, Perry glanced at his pocket watch and said, "I have to pick someone up. Behave yourself in the meantime."

He was already hurrying out of the banquet hall as he spoke.

I ignored him, staring directly at Alaric instead. Alaric also seemed to have noticed me return his gaze, continuing to look at me.

After he finally finished his conversation with Lacus and Adelaide, he immediately strode over to my side and stood where Perry had been sitting just now.

He exchanged pleasantries with the nobles, then tugged me into sitting down and courteously poured me some tea.

Meanwhile, I retrieved the box I had hidden under my seat just now and handed it to him.

"Is this for me?" he asked, surprise flashing in his eyes.

I nodded shyly, explaining the gift's origin to him. When he heard of its precious origins, he could not hide the happiness on his face. His overexcitement caused a pair of wolf ears to appear on his head, and his furry tail swished energetically behind him.

Just then, Perry burst into the hall with Shirley in tow.

Everyone present had awkward expressions on their faces at the sight of them. After all, the two of them had frequently displayed their affection in public during these days without regard for time or place, as if they were mindless beasts in heat.

Adelaide's expression darkened instantly. "Ms. Lamos was not invited to tonight's banquet. Please leave."

Perry interjected hurriedly, "I was the one who invited her, Mother. She's Sylvia's cousin, so it's perfectly reasonable for her to witness tonight's joyous occasion."

As soon as he said that, he tugged Shirley down to sit next to him without regard for anything else. It was only then that he noticed that Alaric was sitting next to me.

His expression immediately turned ugly. He had clearly never really paid attention to me before, but tonight, I seemed to always have his attention. He hardly even noticed Shirley constantly calling his name.

After seeing Alaric peeling grapes and feeding them to me, he could no longer suppress his anger and started bombarding me with mental messages through the mind-link.

"What are you doing, Sylvia?" he asked accusingly. "Are you putting on a show with Alaric in order to make me jealous?"

However, I ignored him.

Just then, Alpha King stood up with his wine glass raised high and declared, "Everyone, the main purpose of tonight's banquet is to announce joyous news from our royal family.

"To show just how much importance the royal family places upon this marriage, we'll be having them formalize their bond before the Moon Goddess on a full moon night—"

Afraid that the truth would be exposed, Perry hurriedly spoke up before Alpha King had even finished speaking. "There's no need to go to too much trouble, Father. Let's just keep things simple."

He kept urging me to back him up via the mind-link, but I did not wish to pay him any mind.

At that moment, Alaric took my hand and walked up to Alpha King, bowing respectfully to him.

Still holding my hand, he said gently, "Thank you for giving us your blessing, Father. I'm willing to give Sylvia the grandest ceremony possible so that she can marry me amid the entire country's blessings."

Then, he turned and said to Perry, "You don't have to worry about how we're going to hold the wedding. After all, we're the ones who are getting married."

"What? That's impossible!" Perry yelled in shock, drawing strange looks from the people around him.