23

Upon arriving at the event, the first thing on Ezra's mind was how grand the Alois family mansion was, followed by the fact that he came here empty-handed. As he stepped through the front door, he clung the cloth hem of Raphael's suit and followed closely behind him, like a child hiding behind his mother in an unfamiliar place.

The front door guard glanced towards them, but before he could ask for an invitation letter, Raphael spoke up first and handed over the invitation letter from his chest pocket. Instantly, the guard's eyes widened when he realized that he was a representative of Winchens.

But that wasn't the end of it; the guard attention now fell on Ezra, seemingly wondering if he too had an invitation. Ezra remained silent, occasionally stealing glances at Raphael, who surprisingly, without hesitation, wrapped his arm around Ezra's waist, pulling his body closer so that he would no longer hide behind

"He's my partner,"