After Aeetes led the royal family of Colchis in welcoming their guests into the great hall one by one, the banquet soon began.
Unlike most banquets, a welcoming feast naturally required everyone to eat and drink their fill before discussing business.
The food prepared was sumptuous.
In this era when civilization was blossoming, Colchis, backed by the Mystra Academy, could be regarded as a paradise within all of Greece.
Although the Academy did not directly support the kingdom, many advanced creations that flowed out from it always reached Colchis first: various magical tools, crops enhanced through magical cultivation and breeding, and so on.
Combined with the mage population thriving due to Mystra Academy, Colchis was far more prosperous than any other nation on the continent.
And with the cooking techniques Alaric had brought from the modern world, an amalgamation of ancient and modern, paired with crops unique to the Academy, countless dishes of unprecedented richness had been created.
The Argonaut heroes were utterly lost in this ocean of delicacies.
Even the six people who had accompanied Jason during their initial visit to the palace were no exception.
Compared to taverns among the common folk, the royal family's offerings were naturally far more extravagant.
But among these people, Jason alone was the exception.
At this moment, Jason had absolutely no appetite; his mind was completely occupied.
The dazzling array of dishes tasted like wax to him. He absentmindedly sipped his wine, his gaze unfocused as it drifted forward, as though pondering something.
Only the way he occasionally glanced toward the center of the hall revealed that Jason was lost in thought.
This kind of loss of composure… was a first for Jason.
Anyone with a bit of awareness could follow his gaze and discover that he had been staring at the violet-haired girl standing beside the king at the center of the feast.
Her delicate and refined features were pleasing to the eye.
Her innocent, unblemished aura was as pure as a butterfly among flowers, drawing the attention of every man present.
Jason's heart was utterly ensnared by her.
The girl possessed not only incomparable beauty, but also powerful magical ability.
Compared to a girl like this, one with both talent and appearance, every noble lady Jason had ever met seemed drab and dull.
All this time, in pursuit of his ambition to reclaim the throne of his homeland, Jason had not cared about women.
As long as he possessed power and influence, how could he possibly lack women?
That was what he had always believed.
Until now,
He could no longer look away from that girl.
From the moment he first saw her at the entrance of the hall, the instant she gave him a small smile, Jason knew that his heart had already been captured by her.
That feeling, the kind bards described in their tales, the "love at first sight" he had always scoffed at.
Of course, it wasn't simply "love" or "fondness." In truth, Jason instinctively sensed that this girl was extremely important to him.
It was a feeling like destiny, an intuitive certainty whispering.
"You cannot let this girl go. She will matter to you for your entire life."
Jason had never felt such a strong intuition, but he believed it completely. Throughout his past adventures, such intuition had helped him solve many troubles.
He continued staring straight at Princess Medea.
Perhaps his gaze was too fiery and obvious, for the girl sitting beside the king suddenly lifted her head and looked directly at him.
Under the soft violet of her eyes, the fearless Jason felt a rare moment of tension.
His body stiffened, his expression frozen, unsure what to do.
Then he saw the girl smile.
It was a playful smile, adorably mischievous.
And then, she stood up and walked toward him.
Jason froze entirely.
"She… she's walking toward me? What does this mean?"
His thoughts spun wildly, full of nervous anticipation.
"She smiled at me. Does that mean she likes me?"
"She's coming this way. Does she want to meet me?"
"How should I greet her?"
"What should I talk about to make her like me?"
"Damn it, I don't know anything about magic, will she find me boring?"
A man who had always been smooth and experienced with women was now behaving like a nervous novice, anxiously trying to guess the thoughts of the girl he liked.
As she drew nearer, Jason could hear his own heartbeat.
Thump....
Thump....
Closer....
Even closer.....
The beautiful girl finally reached him.
Just as Jason prepared to stand gracefully, greet her with poise, and say something handsome,
"Excuse me, could you move aside a little?"
Her voice was clear and sweet, as melodious as the song of a nightingale.
But the words themselves filled Jason with crushing disappointment.
He froze mid-gesture, his expression stiff.
Her unexpected request left him unsure of what to do, and he could only watch as she walked right past him, heading somewhere behind him.
"Thank you."
Although Jason hadn't actually moved aside, the polite girl still offered a word of thanks.
But Jason didn't hear it at all, his heart was entirely consumed by one emotion.
Embarrassment…
Utter embarrassment…
Only now did Jason realize that the girl had never come for him.
Her beauty, her smile, they were not meant for him. He had completely misread the situation.
To think he had narcissistically assumed the princess of Colchis liked him, even preparing to stand up to greet her…
He was even slightly relieved that he hadn't blurted out anything self-important, or the humiliation would have been unbearable.
To avoid letting others guess what had just happened, Jason didn't sit back down immediately.
Instead, he pretended he had stood up for a reason, walking forward a little as though he really had something to do.
Only after a long moment did he return to his seat, hoping the embarrassing moment would fade unnoticed.
Then, the first thing he did was turn around, to see just who that smile he had mistaken for his own had truly been meant for.
Who had Medea gone to find?
Or perhaps she had simply wanted to step away for a moment? That must be it. After all, other than him, Jason, there was no one among the Argonauts worthy of the princess's attention.
Thinking this, he looked back.
And what he saw next made his eyes burn red.