Primordial Villain with a Slave Harem

Chapter 1017: In The Spotlight

Felicity had already turned, walking with practiced grace toward the maid who’d called for her presence. Then she paused.

One step. Two. Halt.

She half-turned and arched a brow at the group still seated. ”Well? Did your legs stop working from the sheer awesomeness of the tea I brewed?”

Feng didn’t agree with the way she put that. It just didn’t sit well with the girl. ”Would you happen to be talking about the tea my elf mother brewed, with maybe one percent input from you? You wouldn’t be such a shameless brat, would you?”

Felicity lifted her chin with a great deal of smugness, looking down on the black-haired, oriental teen. ”Shush, Jiai.”

Another round of scoffs and amused exhalations followed. It was turning into something of a tradition. Feng calling her out on being a haughty brat, just as Quinlan did for her back in Zhenwu, and Felicity brushing it off like the entitled heiress she was.

It was Aurora, however, who brought a thread of logic into the moment.

”Why would we go with you? The maid called for you, not us. It’s not our right to go where royals are summoned.”

Felicity blinked with confusion for a second, as if the idea itself was strange. Then she waved her hand dismissively, continuing her gentle stroll forward. ”Maybe so. But it was my father who invited you to the party, yes?”

”... Yes? The invitation came from him.”

”Well, that’s only because I’m still too young to hand out official royal invitations. If I were of age, I would’ve invited you myself. So...” she turned with hands behind her back and head tilted playfully with a cheeky grin, ”... you might as well be considered my guests, not Father’s.”

Vex let out a big giggle. ”What an amusing bending of logic. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think you have ties to the underworld.”

Felicity tilted her head even more and gave her a beatific smile that practically glowed with childish innocence. ”I have no clue what you could mean, Miss Yandere.”

That earned a couple of giggles from Aurora, Lucille, and Kitsara, and a quiet laugh from Serika, who until now had been quietly sipping her third cup of tea.

Even Quinlan gave the princess a small, amused smile.

Behind Felicity, the maid sighed. Clearly, she’d long suffered under the whims of her mistress. Still, she didn’t argue. It was far above her station to challenge a royal’s decisions, even when they bent etiquette over their knee and made it squeal.

She simply bowed lower.

”... As Her Highness commands.”

With that, the strange little group that consisted of masked nobles and legal slaves stood, gathered their grace, and followed the youngest daughter of the royal family into the jaws of politics, performance, and prelude to war.

The banquet had begun.

The maid, still bowing, spoke again in a subservient but urgent tone.

”Your Highness... if I may. The King and Queen have already made their entrance. Your siblings, too. We will make the court wait.”

Felicity stood still for a moment, then laughed, bringing her hand to her lips to cover it. ”Oh no, how rude of me,” she smirked, utterly unbothered. ”Well, we can’t have so many people waiting on little old me, can we?” 𝐫₳𐌽𝔬𝖇ƐS

With that, she turned and led them down a wide marble corridor, flanked by gilded columns and lit by chandeliers. The doors at the end of the hall stood open, revealing the golden glow of the grand banquet hall.

As they neared, a stern-faced announcer in crisp formal wear stood ready with a scroll in hand. Felicity leaned in close, cupped her hand, and whispered something in his ear.

The announcer stood frozen for a second before blinking, looking horrified. But he gave a bow. ”As Her Highness commands.”

She turned and gave Quinlan’s group a wink before skipping forward with perfect princess poise.

The announcer’s voice rang out with clarity and power, amplified by magic to fill every corner of the hall:

”Her Royal Highness, Felicity Primrose Amabelle Valorian, Third Princess to the Crown of the Vraven Kingdom, has arrived. Stand and bow in honor of her presence.”

A thunderous cheer erupted from within, followed by the scrape of hundreds of chairs being pushed back and dozens of boots clicking together. The nobles and vassals of the realm rose to their feet in synchronized reverence.

Outside, Quinlan and his group waited just before the main hall. The applause and cheering spilled through the open doorway.

Lucille raised a brow. ”They like her, huh?”

Ayame nodded. ”Yeah... I don’t remember the other siblings getting such enthusiastic applause back then.”

”Or maybe the fear for her family has increased since then,” Kitsara murmured.

Vex offered her view, which was perfectly Vex. ”That’s almost the same thing, isn’t it? Feared or beloved... It doesn’t change much.”

That’s when the announcer peeked out again, glanced at the group with uncertainty, then cleared his throat and read not from the scroll this time, but speaking without script, clearly reciting what Felicity had just whispered to him.

”Presenting... Lord Black and his family. Personal guests of Her Royal Highness, Princess Felicity Valorian.”

Quinlan had to close his eyes and sigh tiredly.

The realization hit instantly.

He glanced toward the hall with disbelief.

”You were right, daughter. The princess is an even bigger brat than you are...” he muttered under his breath.

”I’m nothing compared to this girl! Don’t even put me in the same brattiness-level!” Feng protested while crossing her arms beneath her flat chest.

”I have my reservations about that...” Quinlan chuckled, remembering back to the many bratty actions the girl had displayed before.

”Hmph!” Feng scoffed and refused to acknowledge his existence.

”Ladies and gentlemen...” the announcer whispered, sounding almost as if he was pleading for them to move.

They did just that, entering with grace and control, walking in formation: Quinlan at the front with his head high, followed by the women of his harem, with Feng walking beside Ayame.

Despite no one being asked to stand and pay their respects as they were ordered to do so for Felicity, the hall fell into a hushed stir as heads began to turn.

Whispers rippled across the hall.

”Did he say guests of the princess?”

”She invited them?”

”No way. She doesn’t even like people.”

Some gasped outright. Others looked appalled. More than one young noblewoman furrowed her brow.

But the harshest reactions came from the ambitious noble sons and their families.