The final scene of the play showed the Moon Duelist standing before a number of heroes—the great figures of their time, the heads of the Six Great Families of that time—who surrounded him. Yet, because of the unique inheritance he possessed, the Moon Duelist was nearly invincible, while the family heads, unable to obtain their ancestors' inheritances, were comparatively weaker.
At last, the long-awaited moment arrived. The Moon Sorceress Lily was still alive, and the princess Celisia Joul stood beside her. Together, they launched an attack on the one man they had both loved—and who had betrayed them both. The sorceress confronted him with the same power of the moon, while Celisia supported her with her eyes, which could perceive many of his movements. They fought side by side until the Moon Duelist attempted a suicidal technique, but Lily suppressed him and used a forbidden spell, destroying him completely. Tears streamed down both Lily's and Celisia's faces in deep sorrow.
The scene paused, followed by the narrator's voice explaining that, because Lily had helped the Moon Duelist escape, she was punished. However, Celisia intervened to reduce her sentence, forcing her to undertake dangerous missions to atone for her mistakes. Eventually, Celisia became the First Queen in the kingdom's history.
An additional scene followed, showing Celisia visiting Lily, who was still murmuring the Moon Duelist's name with tears in her eyes, standing before a grave she had built for him. The queen comforted her, and thus the play ended on a deeply dramatic note.
After the play ended, Lily said, "In truth, the Moon Duelist used a forbidden technique to protect me, but he lost his mind afterward because of the immense bloodshed caused by Celisia's followers at the time. He lost control of himself, and I was forced to use a forbidden spell as well—one that left me between life and death. That's why the Moon Sorceress never disappeared… I still exist."
Kin Light understood, but then his eyes widened in shock. "So… how many years have you lived?!"
Lily smiled helplessly, and Kin grasped the answer. "It seems you've witnessed countless events."
She shook her head. "No. I was trapped within the inheritance, waiting for someone to free me… until you came."
Kin looked at her with sympathy and pain. "You didn't even get to live your life… how did you endure all that time?"
"I lost my sense of time. I did nothing but wait and improve my inheritance," she replied, then quickly smiled. "Anyway, that's not important! Because of this curse, I can manifest myself without spirit magic and use great power as if I were alive."
Kin raised his hand and gently patted her head. Although to others it looked like he was touching empty air, Nell Stroman understood and asked, "What are you doing?"
"She was just remembering those events," Kin replied.
Meanwhile, Lily blushed shyly, and Kin felt a quiet satisfaction inside him.
' She's beautiful… '
…
On another balcony, Shion Lan stretched after watching the play and noticed how affected Pearl Jewel and Redo Grant were.
"This is strange," Shion said. "Haven't you attended celebrations like this before?"
Pearl replied, "No. Even though the Jewel family is wealthy, getting an invitation from the king isn't easy."
Shion looked at her suspiciously. "But isn't your family involved in major trade? Haven't they contributed anything at all?"
Pearl lowered her gaze in embarrassment. "My father is extremely greedy, so the king doesn't have a good impression of him. In every deal with the king, he would push too far and end up angering him."
Shion understood and asked, "Shouldn't you be hiding something like that from me?"
"Unfortunately, many nobles already know about it," Pearl said. "But if you take this information without exaggeration, things will be better between us in the future. After all, you're an investor in our guild."
Suddenly, a small booklet appeared. Shion smiled and opened the second one, which contained literary works, poetry, and the names of poets participating in the next event.
' I witnessed a lot of poetry in Shi Yun Lan's world. Let's see the difference. '
Tables of food and drinks were brought to the guests, and Shion sampled some of them before noticing a bottle of wine.
Something about it caught his attention.
When he opened it, he found a note—a greeting from the head of the Shine family. Shion stared at the bottle again, feeling uneasy, but Redo interrupted him.
"Lord Lan, let me smell that bottle. I feel something's off."
Shion opened it, and the fragrance spread across the balcony. The scent was so strong that Pearl covered her nose with a handkerchief, her cheeks flushing.
"So?" Shion asked calmly.
Redo replied, "An extremely strong drink, my lord! And rather aged! Just inhaling it could make someone faint!"
"It seems you know quite a lot about alcohol," Shion said.
Redo replied proudly, "Of course! I deal with such substances while making perfumes. Drinks and fragrances share similarities—some perfumes can have even stronger effects than certain drinks!"
But Shion still felt uneasy. Refusing a gift from the Shine family would be bad… but losing consciousness in front of everyone would be worse. Is he trying to take revenge for what happened?
Then something occurred to him, and he communicated with Shi Yun Lan.
' If I can't handle it, so he can. '
When his consciousness contacted the Veins Domain, a cold tone appeared.
"What is it this time?!" came the annoyed response.
"You helped me resist poisons before, right?" Shion asked.
Shi Yun Lan's tone turned serious. "Have you been poisoned?! That's impossible—I didn't sense anything!"
"It's not poison. It's just a strong drink… and I have to drink it."
"…" Shi Yun Lan cursed silently. "I never thought my great art that made massacres would be used for something so trivial! I, who am immune to poison, am now being used to handle alcohol?!"
"It's not like that," Shion replied. "A noble sent it to embarrass me. I can't refuse."
"Just drink, you fool! You don't need excuses. Next time I'll kill you slowly so you'll never drink again!"
Shion felt a headache—not just from the connection, but from the threat.
' I don't know what if he was talking seriously.... Ahhh. I will handle it later. '
He poured himself a glass.
"Lord Lan!" Redo said urgently. "You might hallucinate or say something inappropriate if you drink that!"
Pearl was already nearing her limit just from the scent. Shion placed his hand on her head, and she leaned slightly, resting her cheek in his palm, letting out a soft sound.
"Ammmm...."
' All this just from the smell? ' he thought.
"Wake up!" he said, surrounding her with a starry aura that dispelled some of the effects, enough to revive her.
When she realized their position, her face turned red in embarrassment.
Shion closed the bottle, stood up, and walked to the balcony railing. Everyone in the hall noticed him.
"Who is that person to have such a position?!"
Shion realized he was seated directly below the king and the heads of the Six Great Families. Glass Sano was momentarily stunned, then smiled.
Shion looked toward the head of the Shine family, smiled, and raised his wine glass to the head of the Shine Family. The man was expected to return the gesture—but his expression darkened.
' Is he trying to make it look like I forgave him for insulting my son? If I refuse, he might expose me for sending the wine… '
Reluctantly, he smiled back, raised his glass, and drank.
He thought inwardly,
' No matter. He'll be drunk from just one cup. When the poets begin, he'll embarrass himself publicly and be finished before he even begins! '
Meanwhile, Shion returned to his seat completely fine. In fact, he felt his strength and energy improving.
Then he heard Shi Yun Lan's shocked voice: "Your body… is absorbing the beneficial effects and expelling the harmful ones?!"
"Really?!" Shion was just as surprised.
"Drink more!" Shi Yun Lan insisted.
"What?!" Shion was confused.
"It tastes sweet! With our combined resistance, we won't get drunk even if we drink barrels!"
Shion remembered the sweetness and poured another glass.
"Lord Lan, don't!" Redo warned.
"Listen to him!" Pearl added. "Even the scent nearly made me drunk—you should stay away!"
"I'm fine," Shion replied.
Unconvinced, Pearl raised her fingers. "How many fingers do I have?"
"Three."
"What about now?"
"Seven."
"What am I wearing?"
"If I answer, I'll hurt you with my words," Shion said impatiently, drinking another glass.
Redo turned to Pearl. "Lady Jewel, is Lord Lan a heavy drinker?"
"I don't really know," she said thoughtfully. "But from what I've heard, he used to be the disgrace of the kingdom before being cast out of his former family. Now he leads a new family under King Jord Joul."
"Disgrace of the kingdom?!" Shion scoffed. "Then perhaps you should leave. I'll tell others you felt unwell."
He looked at her with threads of the deadly aura raised from him and said, "If that's how you see me, I won't work with someone who doesn't value me."
Pearl waved her hands quickly. "That's not what I meant! Please don't take it seriously!"
"Words define a person at first," Shion said coldly. "Reality either confirms or destroys them. And now you're telling me not to take your words seriously? Are you a clown?"
Pearl thought to herself, ' Even after drinking, his eyes are still clear but.... Why am I feeling like I will be dead?! '
Shion got the aura back when he realised that she was uncomfortable. Yet she found herself drawn into the silver eyes, blushing again under the influence of the scent.
"Snap out of it!" Shion said.
She had already leaned very close to him—almost face to face—when the next event began.
"..."
"..."
Shion thought,
' I think I was overthinking. '
Pearl thought while getting back to her seat,
' Damnit! '
Poets stepped forward to recite their works. Some spoke of history and the annual celebration, others of personal journeys and experiences. Some praised heroes, especially those of the royal family and the Six Great Families, hoping for recognition.
Shion casually rotated his glass, evaluating them,
"Very good… too repetitive… unnecessary lines… excellent structure and rhyme, fitting its purpose…"
Pearl listened carefully to every word.
' Is he a poet as well? '
Finally, the last poet stepped forward. His performance relied more on delivery than content, so Shion lost interest and took a sip but.....
He suddenly spat it out when he heard:
"I am the Poet of the Moon."