Because of Alaric's appearance, chaos erupted at the gates of the palace.
Facing someone as unprecedented as Alaric, the upper nobles of Colchis practically dropped all pretense of dignity.
They rushed forward, desperate to meet him, which immediately resulted in the Argonauts being completely surrounded.
The guards had to exert tremendous effort before they finally managed to restore order.
Of course, part of the credit went to Alaric himself. He used magic to drastically reduce his presence, and only then did the crowd's enthusiasm calm down.
As for causing this situation in the first place, he felt quite depressed and regretful.
Originally, he had just acted on a whim, he wanted to try wearing the Raiment of the Goddess and see how it felt, to test just how far his charm could be pushed under its blessing.
Who would have thought it would lead to this.
And not just him, every one of the Argonauts, especially Jason, was feeling extremely frustrated.
They were all heroes celebrated throughout the lands, beloved by countless young maidens.
As long as they boasted of their achievements, they would have no shortage of girls willing to throw themselves into their arms.
Yet now, before the nobles of Colchis, all of their spotlight had been stolen by Alaric alone.
There were, however, a few who were quite delighted by this result.
One was, naturally, the ever mischief loving Circe. To the Eagle Witch, her man possessing such irresistible charm was something she felt proud of.
The other was, of course, a certain goddess of espionage and infiltration.
To her, the partner she chose should possess this kind of allure.
...
This episode was nothing more than a small interlude before the banquet began.
Under the escort of the guards, the Argonauts, as honored guests, were finally led into the great hall of the palace.
At the entrance stood Aeetes, the King of Colchis, whom Jason had already met earlier that day, personally welcoming them.
But this time, Alaric saw a man and three women standing beside Aeetes.
The man, or rather, boy, was Aeetes' son, Prince Absyrtus of Colchis.
The three women were: Aeetes' queen; his eldest daughter Chalciope, mother of the four Argus brothers who were Jason's cousins; and finally, his youngest daughter, Medea.
As the wife and children of Aeetes, the four of them all carried divine blood inherited from the gods.
Naturally, the men were handsome and the women beautiful, none could be described as ordinary.
But among the four, the one who drew the most attention was the youngest daughter, Medea.
The moment Jason saw the girl, he was wholly captivated.
Her pale lavender hair was tied into a simple ponytail by an ornate golden coronet, falling straight to her waist, swaying gently with each movement.
Her features, still slightly youthful, but already refined and lovely, made it impossible to look away from her face, which held the faintest trace of an innocent smile.
Her pale violet eyes were as clear and flawless as amethysts.
She wore a pure white long dress, the upper portion reaching just to her chest. Beneath the purple lace, her tender budding curves were faintly visible.
Under a layer of lavender gauze were a pair of ivory-soft arms, and her long, slender legs were wrapped in white thigh-high stockings that perfectly outlined their graceful shape.
She cast Jason a barely noticeable glance and showed a smile of innocent sweetness.
In that instant, Jason stared at the girl in a daze.
It was a trembling that stirred directly from the soul.
Perhaps, in the original course of fate, Jason would later come to resent and avoid Medea for the "cruelty" she committed for love, for daring to betray everything, even killing her own brother.
Or perhaps, due to ambition or the common "weakness" of men, he would grow tired of her and seek novelty elsewhere.
But at this moment, there was one thing that could be said with certainty: upon first meeting Medea, Jason truly felt affection for the girl.
It was likely because Medea genuinely sensed Jason's true feelings at that moment that, in the original story, under the influence of the love god's power, she would throw herself toward him like a moth to flame, without hesitation or restraint.
But it was also precisely because of betrayal after true love that she later fell into the abyss of hatred.
Now, seeing this beautiful girl brimming with youthful purity, Jason couldn't help but reveal a smile of admiration and affection.
And in that moment, a clever plan arose in his mind.
Perhaps he could court this girl, win her over, and through that obtain the possibility of securing the Golden Fleece.
In fact, he had already gathered information about the royal family of Colchis earlier that afternoon while wandering the capital.
According to what he had learned, this young princess before him was not only a royal beauty, but also an exceptionally powerful mage.
Of course, what he did not know was that Medea's teacher was none other than the same being who taught her aunt Circe, Hecate, the Goddess of Magic.
To Jason, setting aside her beauty and royal status, her magical talent alone made her someone worth befriending.
After witnessing Alaric's power, Jason knew deeply that in certain fields, the value of a mage could not be compared to that of ordinary warriors, even if those warriors bore the title of hero.
Jason had great confidence in his own appearance. As a disciple of Chiron, he had spent twenty years practicing music, arts, literature, poetry, horsemanship, and archery.
Regardless of his actual abilities, at least on the surface he could certainly pass for an outstanding hero.
His cultured, refined charm had enchanted countless noblewomen and young maidens in the past.
Even if the girl before him was a powerful sorceress, in matters of love she was still nothing more than an inexperienced young maiden.
Jason was confident he could win Medea's heart in one strike.
In fact, in the original myth, Jason likely would have succeeded.
For Medea's magical talent was unparalleled, even Hecate herself marveled at it. But she was not a proper mage.
She had little interest in pursuing higher magical truth, the deeper essence all mages sought.
She was like the princesses of fairy tales: pure, innocent, and deeply lovable.
She still believed in the pure love between prince and princess, between knight and maiden, and dreamed of noble heroes who stood tall against the world.
Of course, even so, Medea had an extreme side, her obsession with love.
Indeed, while many in myth and history would give up everything for love, killing one's own brother for it was still far too extreme. One could even call it yandere-like.
In short, Medea was such a girl, one whom anyone would be unimaginably fortunate to receive affection from.
In the original tale, Jason, perhaps with divine assistance, became such a fortunate man.
But now…