Ding!

  　　Ding!

  　　A man in a white coat suit clanked his wine glass with a silver spoon as the chit-chatter immediately calmed down. Following their silence, Yasmine turned her gaze towards the dashing couple walking down the stairs with King Bredia. Who could be so dashing other than the prince and princess of Bredia? It was Andrew Winston and Katherine Bredia.

  　　Andrew was rocking the suit and looked extremely handsome. He wore a clean shirt and buttoned it up fully to support the bow tie. On top of the shirt, he wore a chic vest with six buttons. It had a deep v-line, which caused the vest to line up perfectly with the jacket's v-line.

  　　The jacket fitted him like a glove, a tailored glove. It had an intricate rope strike pattern, making it look stylish and graceful. The buttons of his double-breasted jacket were all buttoned up, with the exception of one for playful touch to a classy look. 

  　　He was wearing pants that copied the style of the jacket, both in color and pattern, and made an ideal combination with his brogue oxfords shoes.

  　　To top it all off, he wore a refined belt accompanied by a tie clip and cufflinks.

  　　Besides Andrews, Katherine looked like a goddess among mortals. The sparkling dress covered her shoulders halfway, flowing into an elegant jewel neckline. It was a close fit giving the dress a relaxed yet graceful look, whereas her arms were uncovered entirely. This was a good thing, as her silky skin wasn't something that should be covered up.

  　　The dress's waist was thin, but it was a comfortable fit. A bow had been wrapped around Katherine's and rested gently on her lower back.

  　　Below the waist, the dress fitted snug around her and had a straight style. The dress reached just above her ankles and was slightly longer at the sides.

  　　She was wearing t-straps, which went hand in hand with the dress. To top it all off, she wore an ornate necklace and large jeweled earrings.

  　　The couple drew all the attention while the King stood aside with a bright face. At that moment, he felt like the happiest man in the whole world. His little girl had grown and would be a lady soon.

  　　"Your majesty"

  　　"Your royal highness" 

  　　"Your royal highness" 

  　　The nobles bowed respectfully. Soon after, Andrews noticed Yasmine among the crowd alongside his mother and aunty. For a moment, he couldn't believe his eyes.

  　　Seeing the look on Andrews's face, Katherine led him to his family. 

  　　"Yasmine," Andrews grinned ear to ear,

  　　"Hello prince, come here" Yasime embraced him in a tight hug,

  　　"Katherine, this is my cousin, Yasmine" Andrews introduced Yasmine to Katherine.

  　　"How should I address you? Princess, your royal highness?"

  　　" Katherine or Kathy" Princess smiled brightly and hugged Yasmine. Soon the two girls began to talk, and Yasmine's adventures immediately hooked Katherine. The gala was lively. Everyone danced, drank, and exchanged pleasantries until a soldier came running to the king.

  　　"Your majesty,"  said the soldier, breathing heavily with a pale face. He looked as though he had seen a ghost. Since the king was talking to Natalia and Emelda, he stood closer to the Winstons. Thus, the Winstons, including Yasmine, halted her stories and turned her gaze to the soldier.

  　　"What?" 

  　　The king was annoyed by the soldier. So he specifically asked his men not to disturb him for three days. For a few moments, the soldier looked reluctant. Then, he stepped forward, leaning towards the king. Yasmine and everyone saw the soldier whisper something to King Bredia. 

  　　As soon as the soldier finished whispering, King Bredia lost all the color on his face. Seeing the sudden change in Bredia's face, Katherine lost her bright smile,

  　　"Father, what happened?" she asked with a weakened voice,

  　　"Nothing" King Bredia showed the fakest smile there was. But, to be honest, his mind went blank. Then, slowly realizing the consequences of what he had done on impulse and anger was on its way, he shivered.

  　　"Carry on Kathy. I'll be back." 

  　　Thud!

  　　Just as the king was about to step forward, a soldier fell from the rooftop.

  　　"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" a noble lady screamed, looking at the lifeless eyes of the soldier staring at her.

  　　The orchestra players stopped playing. As a result, the lively gala became silent.

  　　Thud!

  　　A few seconds later, another soldier hit the ground, just a few inches away from the previous one. 

  　　Thud!

  　　Then another one,

  　　Thud!

  　　Another one,

  　　Thud!

  　　One after another, soldiers rained down from the roof entrance, horrifying everyone. Yasmine's battle instincts kicked in as she stepped in front of Katherine and her aunties, shielding them with her body.

  　　Blood was coming out of the fallen soldiers, and soon, they were lying in a pool of their own blood.

  　　"Where are the Royal guardians?" Yasmine kept calm despite the situation, unlike the rest in the hall.

  　　"They……they…are the royal guards," Andrews stuttered,

  　　After what happened in the tournament, King Bredia and the Winston family spent a large portion of resources to strengthen the royal guards. In addition, they also hired a few level 10 Core Strengthening stage warriors to guard the King and Princess all the time.

  　　They hired a Soul Refining stage mage to oversee the royal guards. The dead bodies of the soldiers rained down in the hall until they formed a mound of bodies.

  　　"How strong were they?" Yasmine asked in a relatively quieter voice,

  　　"Core Strengthening stage level 10" 

  　　Yasmine creased her brows, hearing Andrews. She was at Core Strengthening stage 6, thanks to all the potions and pills the elves gave her. To be honest, Yasmine could fight a few level 10 Core Strengthening royal guards simultaneously and triumph over them easily. However, she knew it would be challenging to kill twenty of them. Thus, it was evident to her that whoever or whatever killed them was far stronger than the royal guards or a group that killed them.

  　　Looking closer at the bodies, she noticed a greenness in their skin.

  　　"They were poisoned," Yasmine mumbled under her breath.

  　　As soon as she realized, they all saw a blacked-robed youngster descending through the roof entry. Immediately, a crossbow materialized in Yasmine's hands as she aimed the bolt at the young man.

  　　Except for Yasmine, the Winstons recognized the young man.

  　　"Master Ghost sent his regards, King Bredia" the young man snickered at King Bredia.

  　　The moment King Bredia and Ketheirn heard the name 'Ghost,' they shuddered. Overwhelming fear and shock clutched their hearts. 

  　　"You killed them?!" Andrews lost his patience as he stomped the ground. He was trembling in anger. Today was a special day in his life; he never wanted anyone or anything to ruin it.

  　　Everyone in the hall was looking at Ricky. Even though the royal guards were no more, the soldiers garrisoned in the capital stormed the hall through the roof entrance, surrounding Ricky and King Bredia.

  　　"How's my engagement gift, King Bredia?" another calm voice echoed through the hall. They saw Ricky smirking. The first one to turn around was King Bredia. As soon as he turned around, yet again, he was startled. One by one, everyone in the hall turned around to see someone else sitting on King Bredia's throne.

  　　"Ghost," Yasmine heard several gasps resounding in the hall. She saw Andrews stepping back subconsciously, and his face immediately became pale while his body trembled. On the other hand, sweat beads broke out on King Bredia's face. Even the soldiers were not an exception as they all looked like King Bredia, sweating and pale.

  　　"Who is he?" was the question that immediately rose in her head. Yasmine noticed he was sitting on the throne leisurely while blood trickled down through the black swords in his hands. Yasmine had never seen him in her life. He dressed in completely black, just as handsome as Noah, but unlike Noah, he looked colder. None of them knew how or when he entered the hall.  Everyone was too terrified to notice what was under his feet. Yasmine was one of the few who noticed and recognized it.

  　　"Sergio" King Bredia uttered a name breaking the silence,

  　　"That was his name huh?" 

  　　The next moment, he kicked the black object under his feet. It rolled towards King Bredia and hit the king's feet with a sickening thud.

  　　"AH!" Immediately, Katherine let out a short squeal as the object was a head, head of their personnel guard, Sergio.

  　　While everyone was terrified, he raised his sword at the orchestra. 

  　　"Play something cheery" the blood splattered on the instruments, giving the orchestra team chills through their spines.

  　　"What did I tell you Bredia?" asked Michael. He didn't bother hiding the killing intent in his voice. Bredia would have been dead several times if a stare could kill one. 

  　　"What…you…you," Bredia stuttered. Despite having numerous soldiers around him, he didn't feel safe at all because he knew Ghost could massacre everyone in the hall.

  　　The orchestra team played something cheery dosed with a darker tone, giving the scene a cinematic charm.

  　　"What you you you. Cat got your tongue," Michael mocked Bredia as he stood up from the throne. 

  　　"Why are you doing this?" tears rolled out of Katherine's eyes,

  　　"Ghost, this is too much. Being strong doesn't give you the right to bully the weak," Andrews coldly said,

  　　"Tell that to your father-in-law."

  　　Andrews was stunned by his answer, and when he turned to look at Bredia, he saw the king opening and closing his mouth, struggling to find the right words.

  　　"They don't know, do they?"

  　　"I don't care what happened between you. You are not ruining this event " Yasmine stepped forward, surprising Michael and The Winstons.

  　　"Yasmine!" Emelda tried to pull Yasmine back, but she simply couldn't.

  　　"Another girl prodigy of Winstons, typical," Michael thought.

  　　They expected the guardians to intervene somehow. However, the guardians were busy trying to save themselves from the PR nightmare Michael threw at them.

  　　"Yasmine, please. Stay down. I beg you" Emelda begged Yasmine. She knew what Ghost was capable of, what he was really capable of. 

  　　They had no one to stop him if he decided to kill them. Michael knew this too. That was why he chose today instead of the actual ceremony date, as the prominent guests would arrive only tomorrow. At that time, someone might be strong enough to battle Michael. For instance, Rowena or Noah. But today, there was no one to stop him.