The nobles were jealous and envious that such a gift was given to a child. Dragons are a powerhouse. They will reach sage rank for sure, if not paragon. In contrast, most humans struggle to even reach grandmaster rank, equivalent to level 300.
After the Drakethorne family gave their respective gifts, Ragnar Drakethorne and Nyra Blackheart descended the terrace and reached the banquet.
While Shane Drakethorne and Sera Azurestorm remained by the throne, the nobles, merchants, heirs, heiresses, and the veterans who arrived with Ragnar Drakethorne began approaching the terrace in an orderly fashion. Their intent was clear: to offer their gifts personally to the Drakethorne heir, Alex Drakethorne.
Gifts were of either enchanted or rare rank; none of them gave divine rank treasures except for a few high-ranking nobles who didn't want their reputation to look any less than that of Drakethorne.
One of those nobles who gave divine rank treasure was Malrec Veilcaster, the Veilcaster grand ducal patriarch's younger brother.
Malrec Veilcaster approached the throne, maintaining a reserved demeanor as he formally presented the divine rank ring to Alex Drakethorne. The silver ring, adorned with intricate patterns, emanated a sense of mystery as Malrec handed it over without showing strong emotion.
Malrec Veilcaster didn't want to give a divine rank gift. But his older brother, the patriarch of Veilcaster, was a close friend of Shane Drakethorne since his younger days. So he was forced to give.
The Patriarch of Veilcaster's grand ducal house was busy; if not, he himself would have come to give this gift.
The other two grand ducal houses were absent. Drakethorne maintained a strong relationship with Chronveil, making Chronveil's absence all the more surprising. The final house had strained relations with Drakethorne in recent years, so their absence was expected. Shane Drakethorne had not invited this latter house.
Malrec Veilcaster looked at Shane Drakethorne, who was standing and was always ready at a moment's notice for anything. "Tch, lucky bastard," Malrec Veilcaster thought as he descended the stairs to reach the banquet, where he met with his old fellows. He was not happy that his brother kept on maintaining a good relationship with Drakethorne.
Shane Drakethorne looked at Malrec Veilcaster's retreating figure as he was descending the stairs. Shane could feel that he was not happy about giving a divine rank treasure to a child of Drakethorne. Shane knew Malrec was cold and ruthless. He only favored his family and hated every other family.
Shane's gaze lingered on Malrec. He remembered how unchanging Malrec had always been and thought to himself, 'You are just like back then, Malrec.' Shane sighed softly, resigning himself to the likelihood that Malrec would never change.
The gift ceremony continued, with many giving treasures that still range from enchanted to rare.
Ragnar Drakethorne mingled with his old friends and other familiar nobles. He greeted each with a firm handshake or nod. Nyra Blackheart stayed close by, slipping her arm through his and lightly holding on as they moved together among the assembled guests.
"Haha, you are quite lucky, old man, that your wife still loves you this much. Look at her eyes," one of the veterans said out loud, nudging the other comrades to look at this loving couple. He had also given Alex a divine-rank treasure.
Many of the veterans who came with Ragnar Drakethorne had given divine rank treasures to Alex Drakethorne.
"Keep quiet, old man. I'm younger than you," Ragnar Drakethorne joked, laughing in reply.
After listening to Ragnar and his friends talk, Nyra Blackheart went the other way. Ragnar and his friends talked about borders and other things. These did not interest her.
Nyra Blackheart searched for her old friends but found no one. She considered returning to where Ragnar stood.
At this point, everyone had given a gift to Alex Drakethorne. Sera Azurestorm picked up her son from the throne and was about to take him to sleep in his private chambers.
As the magic portal unexpectedly opened in the banquet hall, Shane Drakethorne reacted instantly. He swiftly withdrew Darkred, his sword, from his dimensional space and moved to stand protectively in front of Sera Azurestorm and her son.
Darkred hummed in Shane's hand as he felt the resolve of its master.
At the same time, below the terrace at the banquet hall, Nyra Blackheart took out her wand. Ragnar Drakethorne drew the sword from the scabbard at his waist.
All the veterans who had come with Ragnar took their positions. Some gripped wands, a few brandished swords. Others wielded daggers, shields, gauntlets, or spears.
The portal shifted to violet; its small size marked it as a transportation portal, recently activated by someone.
All the nobles retreated, wondering who dared to come to Drakethorne Palace. There were three paragon-rank warriors—Shane, Nyra, and Ragnar. Their powerful troops guarded the palace.
Malrec stood in the rear corner, clearly frustrated that he couldn't enjoy his wine. The banquet was disturbed, one after another. Someone kept on disturbing his relaxation while he was drinking his wine.
Just as Malrec would find himself enjoying the wine and forgetting the things that were paining him, someone would come to disturb this banquet.
From the portal, a woman with violet hair and obsidian eyes stepped out. She appeared to be in her thirties, but the pallor of her aged, lustreless skin was clear on her face. Her eyes were half-lidded. She coughed up blood. At her side, a young woman in her twenties supported her. Their faces were similar, their hair identically colored.
Everyone recognized them instantly by their purple hair—a color unique to Chronveil. After all, who else but someone from Chronveil would dare to open teleportation at the center of the banquet hall?
Nyra Blackheart quickly stowed her wand back in her dimensional space and hurried toward Morgana Chronveil, recognizing that Morgana was struggling to remain standing at the center of the hall.
"Mother, we should return now. You are not well. We will come back later," said the girl supporting Morgana. Her name was Sophia Chronveil. She had fair skin, short purple hair, and a strong, curvaceous build. Her black eyes stared sternly at her mother.