The dinner had concluded, but the banquet had not; as servants deftly moved tables and chairs and tidied up the mess from the meal, a space suitable for a ball opened up.
This was Rostislav's idea, and naturally, no one had any objections, as this format had been practiced in Moscow for many years.
At the shouts of the personal guards, dancers who had been waiting for a long time streamed out from the side doors on both sides of the hall.
Young men and women, dressed in their finest clothes, danced gracefully to the accompaniment of musicians who had appeared at some unknown time.
Moscow's most famous actress and singer, Viona, was also by the band, singing cheerful songs.
Many variety show performers invited from the countryside also appeared from unknown places, breathing fire or juggling in various corners of the hall, showcasing their skills.
The dancers were not performing elegant dances; to put it plainly, it was the kind of social dance that even villagers could do, but it was exceptionally suited to the current atmosphere.
The people here were not those who appreciated high art; perhaps some of the exiled Greek down-and-outs might have been, but now, that decorum was a thing of the past, and they knew it was not suitable for the present—the wind and snow on their journey had worn away all their arrogance.
Soon, the perpetually energetic youngsters jumped into action.
These were all members of Moscow's privileged class, sons of nobles or wealthy merchants; they boldly invited girls their age.
Faced with this, the shy young women first paused, then immediately accepted the invitations, dancing joyfully among them.
This was a trend initiated by Rostislav; banquets should allow young people to have a good time, while the "elders" either watched performances or found a corner to discuss matters.
Even many Greek young men and women were infected by the atmosphere and participated; they first looked at their parents with respectful, tentative glances, then, after receiving approval, eagerly joined in.
These Greeks were still very sensible; their Sharpness had long been worn away by the arduous journey north, and they clearly understood their status as exiles.
As for those who still had influence in the Imperial Capital and could soon return, those people basically remained in Kiev.
They knew that since they would live here permanently and work within their system, they could only get close to the locals and accept their customs to secure a good future for themselves.
The elders were not as energetic as the young people; most of them sat on the pre-arranged chairs, exchanging information they knew with those around them, whether familiar or unfamiliar, and discussing various matters.
Some others were listening to music or watching the variety show performers, and a relaxed atmosphere permeated the air.
Rostislav sat at the head of the table, his face full of joy as he watched the scene before him; he loved such a sight, and so did Zoe.
Such a magnificent banquet scene was rare, even for Rostislav, the Moscow Prince.
However, amidst this joyous banquet, some people harbored different thoughts, thoughts that diverged from the merriment.
Leo Papas was one such person; he stood alone in a corner, his face full of melancholy.
Many people had tried to curry favor with the Moscow official earlier, but Leo had fended them off; he truly had no desire to discuss such things.
The reason for Leo's melancholy was simple: he had always wanted to ride Rostislav's momentum in the future, return to the Imperial Capital as a victor, and take revenge on those who had persecuted him.
Especially those colleagues; he would never forget their kicking him when he was down.
But now, those colleagues who persecuted him back then were either dead or exiled to the North, living more miserably than him; many would even have to work under him in the future.
It seemed that the long-suppressed military nobles had seized this opportunity to thoroughly deal with a wave of civil officials.
Although he now had the power of life and death over these people, seeing the situation, Leo genuinely had no desire for revenge; nothing was done, everything fell into his hands, which made him feel nothing.
Leo was truly infinitely melancholy; didn't this make everything he had done seem meaningless?
The Greek was very confused; he felt he needed a goal to find a purpose for his efforts, but he couldn't think of one, so he remained in melancholy.
And as Leo was feeling melancholy, he inadvertently touched his nose and suddenly recalled some past events, forgotten memories.
At that time, he had just graduated from Constantinople University, so full of confidence, so full of upward desire, and his whole being exuded an incredibly strong self-confidence, as if he radiated light like the sun.
At that time, Leo indeed had a promising future, going to Antioch to serve as an official, but this was merely a stepping stone; as a graduate of Constantinople University, he could return to the Imperial Capital after a few years.
His height and handsomeness also earned him many points; he had many admirers at that time.
But he did not choose any of them, because he knew that his marriage would absolutely determine his future political life, and he had to be extremely cautious.
However, while marriage was not an option, he could still have some fun.
At that time, Leo was serving in Antioch, and his task was to patrol the border; nominally patrolling, it was actually visiting those border heroes, those ancient border defense families.
And taking advantage of this opportunity, Leo hooked up with many women from these families, and the open customs on the border gave him great leeway to do so, as many border nobles and the Allah believers on the other side had a relationship of mutually snatching daughters to be wives for themselves or their sons.
Leo had a very good time during that period; there were invitations and beautiful women everywhere, and he could return to the Imperial Capital when the time came.
But, but, he should never have hooked up with the daughter of a true great military noble, and afterwards, that young lady, after becoming pregnant, insisted that Leo become her husband.
Leo firmly refused this, because if he agreed to this marriage, his future could only be in the provinces, and he would never be able to enter the central government, which was something he could not accept.
However, later, that woman miscarried due to his machinations, and it seemed she could no longer bear children after that.
Initially, Leo thought this wouldn't have much impact; wasn't it just about a woman? What could she do to me?
However, Leo underestimated the power of the military nobles; although they were suppressed by the bureaucratic group in the Imperial Capital, dealing with a disobedient young upstart was still no problem.
He was first arrested and beaten; his nose was almost cut off at the time.
Originally, those nobles intended to kill him, but for some reason, they didn't do so then—Leo later learned that they wanted him to suffer more.
Next, Leo was thrown into the most dangerous mountain gorge on the front line, where he faced many enemies: Jihadi Ghazi, Asia Minor natives, and even border rebels and bandits; it was clearly meant for Leo to die.
Leo endured there for several years, achieving many military successes during that time and walking on the edge of death several times, but due to the influence of those military nobles, he did not receive any promotions, still toiling at the grassroots level.
As for promotions, that was simply impossible; returning to the Imperial Capital was even more out of the question, just a dream.
Finally, Leo could no longer bear it; he directly resigned and ran back to his hometown, Paphlagonia.
Originally disheartened and planning to be a farmer there for the rest of his life, he met John, the orphanage director, who had returned to his hometown to recruit fellow villagers.
Leo seized this opportunity, which led to his success; the Imperial Capital gained a high-ranking official, who even participated in the deposition and enthronement of emperors.
Cooperating with the orphanage director, he wielded great influence in the Imperial Capital's political arena; at that time, he could enter the Imperial Palace without any obstacles.
However, just as he rose with the orphanage director's power, he would naturally fall with the destruction of the orphanage director's power.
Then he came to Rus and became a small administrator in Moscow, managing Rostislav's small court.
"Dalasenos..."
Leo murmured the name of that family; he knew that what happened back then was mostly his own doing, that he had brought these things upon himself.
But now, Leo needed a motivation for revenge, he needed a goal, so the Dalasenos family, which had such a significant impact on him, was naturally the first choice.