[@Marmalised Junk][@Minvix][@Bright_Ops]
Elizabeth narrowed her eyes at Nos. Clearly, she was not pleased with his words. She was more than simply not pleased. However, she did her best to continue to remain calm and formal, even as she spoke with her half-brother. 

"Excuse me? First of all, this ball is not some mere 'party'. The right of succession ceremony is to occur by the end of it all. That attitude could easily make it so you are not even close to chosen if you are not careful. Besides, second of all... do you think you are the only one who cares about our people? What if one of our less caring siblings were to be chosen, and eventually take the throne? What then? We cannot take any chances. You know this, of all royals. Making father angry shall not help matters. I do not wish for you to be firewood in the flame that is his anger, so to speak."


There was no denying the sincerity in her tone. She truly seemed to care. For a time, it sounded like she had been worried when he was seen coming in late. That was the case. She truly had been worried. After that, the princess took a breath, and she just barely kept herself from sighing. 



"And please do not be rude. I was going to confirm you were working, or at the very least, keep father from noticing you were late, you know."



Elizabeth turned towards the others. She spoke to Victor first. 


"I doubt if he has. The successor is finally chosen, and announced, at the end of this entire affair. It has been a tradition for many generations. I doubt if father shall go against it. Besides, the rules behind the tradition never said the heir had to be directly related to the king. Also, son or not, you share blood with him. That is what counts, Victor. What I mean is... you are family, no matter what."


Before she could say more, Victor had left. She frowned when she saw him take a drink from a servant. 


"He is drinking already...."


Elizabeth sighed.  She turned towards Bea after that. 



"....................."


The princess almost narrowed her eyes again. She gave a shake of her head and managed not to do so. That was when she finally spoke to Bea, if only for a brief time. 



"Do not try to fight over it. Once he makes his final decision and announces it, there shall be no changing his mind. It shall be official and permanent from then on... unless something were to happen to them, which I highly doubt will happen. "



She turned towards the other guests as they arrived. The princess did her best to greet them all. One guest in particular looked towards Nos and winked at him. She seemed to have taking a shine to Nos, and this did not escape Elizabeths' notice. She whispered towards boss. 


"Seems you have already caught someone's eye. Careful though. I believe that is Lady Emmaline Nightingale...the daughter of the Earl of Wolflight. She is rumored to be power hungry, and her father IS looking to marry her off. Be on guard. However, I shall not stop you from associating with her if you wish to see for yourself."