Shane Drakethorne entered the banquet and silently appeared beside Sera Azurestorm without making a disturbance.
People were busy talking to each other, trying to make new connections and strengthen old ones.
Shane Drakethorne looked at the people, who were from prestigious noble, knight, and merchant families; they all seemed to have forgotten about the previous emperor's act, but Shane knew well enough that they were deliberately not talking about that, as talking badly about the emperor would bring problems to them.
So, people chose to talk about something else, and made it seem like what the emperor had done previously was nothing but just a minor thing that didn't have enough spice to talk about.
Sera nudged Shane and whispered, "Honey, it is getting late; we shall begin the banquet. We will talk about that thing later." By that thing Sera was referring to the marriage agreement between their son and the emperor's daughter.
Shane came back to reality and put aside the thoughts raging in him. He looked at the side where his father was. He could see that Ragnar Drakethorne was also unhappy with how the emperor had gotten what he wanted.
Ragnar Drakethorne, being a powerhouse who could be said to be under the top 10 strongest forces of the Evernight Empire, was powerless against the emperor and more against that promise, which was held sacred by the Drakethorne family.
Shane looked around to see where his mother was all this time, but he didn't find her. He wanted to ask his father, Ragnar, where his mother had gone. But just as he was about to ask, she appeared at Ragnar's side.
Shane looked at the people. "I am thankful for all of you being here for my son's first week naming ceremony," he said, quieting everyone.
All the people stopped. They started looking at the terrace above the hall, where the Drakethorne's family stood. Their new heir slept on the throne.
Shane approached the throne. As Sera deactivated the magic circle, Shane gently lifted their son and turned to present him clearly to the gathered crowd. "I have given my son the name Alex, protector of mankind. From here onwards, my son, Alex, will carry the legacy of the Drakethorne Grand Ducal house. Welcome, the heir and next patriarch of Drakethorne, Alex Drakethorne."
Knights bowed on one knee. "We welcome our heir and young master, Alex Drakethorne!"
People clapped. Decorative magic circles filled the banquet, giving it an ethereal look and making the welcome for the Drakethorne heir even grander.
Shane put the child on the throne and took out the bracelet from his dimensional space.
The bracelet shone and was of mythic rank, the highest treasure ever seen.
Shane gently placed the bracelet on Alex's right hand. The bracelet sensed Alex's wrist and automatically adjusted its size to snugly fit the child's small hand.
This bracelet was a family heirloom passed down in the Drakethorne family. Every heir would receive it on their first week during the naming ceremony, from the present patriarch of Drakethorne. Only the firstborn is heir to the family in Drakethorne; others don't become patriarch unless something happens to the firstborn.
This bracelet is a protective treasure that would protect the bearer from spells and the magic power of Sage rank attacks, and can even protect from three attacks of Paragon rank. That was how powerful this bracelet was.
Shane, after making sure the bracelet was correctly fitted on his son's hand, stepped back to allow others to see the child.
Alex was still sleeping peacefully as the emperor's necklace seemed to calm him.
Sera stepped forward, reached into her dimensional space, and took out a pair of earrings. In this world, it was not rare for males to wear earrings. Many nobles wore them to look beautiful.
Earrings were of divine rank, and she carefully placed them in her son's ears.
Earrings fitted perfectly in his ears, even though no prior holes were made in the earlobes.
The earrings were small and had a sapphire at the center, with small petals that seemed to grow from the sapphire's edge and cover it halfway, giving it a beautiful look.
These earrings were specially enchanted by Sera using her magic powers, and they provided him with protection from mental attacks below paragon rank.
Sera kissed Alex's forehead and stepped back.
Ragnar nudged Nyra Blackheart to step forward. Nyra, lost in thought, was frustrated that she had not gotten anything from Emperor James Evernight.
After the Emperor exited the banquet, she followed the Emperor out, but saw that Shane had reached him first. Nyra hid in the background and listened to their conversation. Thanks to her assassin class, which was one of her dual classes, Shane did not notice her, although she was certain the Emperor did.
Nyra now replayed their words in her mind, especially the question of why the Emperor would let Alex null the marriage later, as he was the one forcing it in the first place. Only the Emperor could nullify the agreement, but now Alex could cancel the marriage as well.
Nyra Blackheart came back to reality and pushed those thoughts aside, not wanting to waste this precious time.
Nyra Blackheart stepped forward and bent down until her face was level with Alex's. Alex's eyes fluttered open, as if waking, but after a long yawn, he closed them again and soon slipped back into deep sleep.
Nyra smiled at her grandson's cute action. She felt blessed to have such a cute grandson, and she could feel the energy inside the blood of her grandson. Her grandson, Alex, was blessed with black dragon's blood that had been thinning out over multiple generations.
Nyra took out the ring from her dimensional space. The ring was black and of divine rank, just below mythic rank. This ring would protect its owner from poisons.
Nyra slowly and carefully slid the ring onto the pinky finger of Alex's left hand, not wanting to harm her grandson.
Nyra wanted to pinch those red, fluffy cheeks, but knew it would make her grandson, Alex, wake up.
So she steps back, resisting and controlling herself. "Aww, my grandson baby is so cute," she thought.
From the outside, she wore a neutral look, but at times her lips curved into a faint smile, and her eyes softened with love before she returned to her usual expression. No one could tell what this old lady was truly thinking.
If others knew what she was thinking, they would be shocked by how this dangerous woman could be so loving in her mind, given the horror of her power, which was well known in the world.
Ragnar, as if making a grand gesture, stepped forward to the throne and looked at the baby. He studied the infant, his brow furrowing in concentration, but no one could tell what thoughts were passing through the mind of one of the strongest people.
From the dimensional space, he took out a large egg patterned with multiple colors. All the people watching the ceremony were shocked and felt themselves losing their minds over what Ragnar had brought out.
Some even wondered how Ragnar could give something so precious to a child. Yet, because of Ragnar's deep love for his family, they knew he would act without hesitation. Some believed he should consider waiting, as the egg could be valuable to him. Its worth could fetch a fortune from anyone in the world.
Sera and Nyra were shocked, and at the same time, Nyra seemed to smirk at her husband's boldness for giving such an egg in front of the whole world, as if showing the world that I loved this grandson of mine, and if anyone dared to do something, he would be the first to cut off their head.
Shane's words faded as he clenched his fists and whispered, "Father, is this the egg I think it is? Tell me it's not."
Ragnar looked at his son's shocked face and said, "Yes, it is what you are thinking about, it is a dragon's egg".