Chapter 42: Preparing for the Banquet
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 42: Preparing for the Banquet
The next morning, Blair came down to the dining room and had breakfast with Herdin as usual. The only sound in the room was the clinking of their cutlery.
In the silence that had now become familiar, Blair’s thoughts drifted to her conversation with Agnes from a few days ago.
When Blair had asked, after their counseling session, when they could proceed with the hypnosis, Agnes had replied with a troubled expression.
"You must obtain His Grace's consent first. He gave strict orders on the matter when we began the counseling."
Blair assumed Herdin wanted to oversee the hypnosis process, just as he had before.
Since it was clear Agnes would not budge without Herdin's consent, Blair had backed down without a fuss.
However, after meeting Katrina yesterday, she felt a sudden sense of urgency. It wasn't just because of her contract with Herdin.
She was curious. What was the truth that Katrina feared so deeply?
"Herdin."
Instead of answering, Herdin simply raised his gaze to look at her.
Blair got straight to the point.
"I was told that your consent is required to perform the hypnosis. Will you give it?"
Herdin, who had been listening quietly, paused and fixed his gaze on her.
Blair continued.
"Since my condition has improved a lot through counseling, I thought we could try hypnosis again—"
"No."
Herdin cut her off, his refusal firm and immediate.
Blair looked at him in confusion, her eyes silently demanding an explanation.
"I heard you decided to host a banquet soon. It would be troublesome if you fell ill again like last time."
Only then did Blair remember the banquet, which she had completely forgotten about, her mind having been entirely occupied by her meeting with Katrina the day before.
It seemed Mason had already reported it to Herdin.
"There is no need to rush at the cost of disrupting other plans."
"Then will you permit it after the banquet is over?"
"We'll see."
Herdin replied nonchalantly, lifting his glass to wet his throat.
At his vague response, Blair's delicate brow furrowed slightly. Her lips pressed together in a dissatisfied pout—an unconscious habit, it seemed.
Watching her over the rim of his glass, the corners of Herdin's mouth curved up slightly, though the movement was hidden by the cup.
Setting the glass down, he added a beat later, "We'll see when the time comes."
Blair was clearly displeased with his answer, but she seemed to give up on persuading him further and quietly finished her meal.
As the meal ended and she rose from her seat, Herdin spoke.
"Ah, Ruth will be helping you prepare for the banquet today."
Blair's eyes widened at the unexpected news.
* * *
Ruth's expression was dark as he walked toward the drawing room where Blair was waiting. He looked like a child dragging his feet to do unwanted homework.
Letting out a deep sigh, Ruth recalled his conversation with Herdin from earlier.
'Mason has fallen ill. It seems his body isn't what it used to be.'
'Well, he is getting on in years. Is it serious?'
'The medicine seems to be working well, so you don't need to worry.'
'That's a relief.'
'Never mind Mason. I need you to help Blair today.'
'Yes. ...Wait, what?!'
'She said she would start preparing for the banquet today.'
Ruth blinked, not immediately registering Herdin's words, before gaping in shock a second later.
He found Blair difficult to deal with.
He put on a polite, social smile in front of her and maintained proper etiquette, but that was only because she was his superior and deserved to be treated as such.
From what he had observed at Herdin's side over the past few months, Blair did not seem like the typical members of the Imperial Family. Even so, she was still royalty, which meant she was someone to be kept at arm's length.
Ruth disliked this contradiction. The more he realized how different Blair was from the rest of the Imperial Family, the more he wanted to avoid getting close to her.
'I-I don't even live in this mansion anymore.'
'Not now, but you lived here for a long time.'
It was Herdin's mother, Eloise, who had found a young Ruth scraping by as a pickpocket in the back alleys, brought him into the Ducal Mansion, and raised him. Indebted to her grace, Ruth had lived in the Delmark Ducal Mansion ever since—until Herdin returned from the war, made Ruth his aide, and Ruth received a title and became independent.
Perhaps even more than Herdin, and second only to Mason, Ruth was the one who knew the inner workings of this mansion best.
'Well, that's true, but...'
'It's not like you're going to tag along and hunt magical beasts.'
Herdin was scheduled to head to the outskirts of the Imperial Capital today for a magical beast subjugation. With spring approaching and the weather warming up, reports had come in that the hibernating magical beasts were waking up.
And so, Herdin had left, dumping this uncomfortable task onto Ruth.
"Sigh..."
Having arrived in front of the drawing room before he knew it, Ruth let out another heavy sigh. Just as he was about to reach for the doorknob—
"Sir Ruth."
"Whoa!"
Startled by the voice right beside him, Ruth let out a loud cry. Blair was equally startled by his dramatic reaction.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to startle you."
Ruth worried for a moment that Blair might have heard his sigh or sensed his reluctance, but her expression showed only surprise. Fortunately, she didn't seem to have noticed.
"N-No, not at all. My mind was elsewhere, so I didn't see you coming."
Ruth, who had been about to enter the drawing room out of habit, stopped as he realized there was no need to go inside.
"Shall we start by looking around the banquet hall?"
The two began touring the mansion together, starting with the banquet hall and moving on to the lounges and balconies where guests could rest.
Contrary to Ruth's worries about potential awkwardness, once they started discussing the banquet, the conversation flowed naturally.
Standing beside Blair, Ruth observed her while jotting down her notes in his pocketbook—things that needed repair, decorations to be added, and other arrangements.
Blair was preparing for the banquet with far more skill and meticulousness than Ruth had expected.
I heard she rarely hosted banquets when she was a princess, but she acts like she's done this dozens of times.
Ruth followed behind her, secretly impressed by her efficiency.
Next was the art gallery, which offered a brief glimpse into the history of House Delmark. The gallery housed various paintings, ranging from portraits of successive Dukes of Delmark to portraits of the late duke and duchess, as well as Herdin himself.
When a banquet was held, this gallery was also opened to the guests. While a banquet might simply be a day of enjoyment for the attendees, for the host, it was an opportunity to showcase their family's prestige. Though few guests paid close attention, it was a significant place for the hosting family.
Upon entering the gallery, the first thing that caught the eye was a massive tapestry embroidered with the Wings of the Divine Beast.
The crest of Delmark.
Blair knew the origin of that crest.
Long ago, there was an era when magical beasts and the demon race threw the world into chaos. A Divine Beast lived in this world. Like other magical beasts, the Divine Beasts had crossed over from another world. However, unlike the beasts that brought chaos, they sided with humans to protect the peace and order of this world.
Gradually, the world found stability, and the Divine Beasts departed, declaring that their work was done.
Even as all of his kind left, the last Divine Beast remained because he loved a human woman. But he lost his beloved in the final war and fell into deep sorrow.
Before leaving this world, he wished to pass on a portion of his power to the First Emperor, who had been his lover's companion. Though his beloved was dead, he knew how much she had loved humanity.
However, this immense power came with two flaws.
First, because it meant housing an extraordinary power within a human body, there was a risk of a mana rampage if it was not controlled properly.
Second, while one could draw upon a power that transcended all limits in special circumstances, the price was the lifespan of the person they loved most.
Such restrictions were placed because it was an unnatural power that disrupted the balance of the world.
However, the Emperor refused to inherit the power. The Emperor was the heart of the nation. If a leader, who must remain unshakable at all times, were to be swayed by power and suffer a mana rampage, it would immediately lead to a national crisis.
Instead, he had the power passed down to his most trusted companion: his close friend and loyal knight, the First Duke of Delmark.
Thus, the symbol of Delmark became not the Divine Beast itself, but the Wings of the Divine Beast—representing the protective wings the guardian beasts left behind for this world.
In this manner, the power of the Divine Beast was passed down through the direct bloodline of Delmark.
Eventually, one of the past Dukes of Delmark, who had lost his beloved as the price of this power, broke the Second Constraint. He did so in the hope that his descendants would never have to suffer the same grief he did.
People condemned it as an utterly selfish choice, but no one knew how to restore a constraint that had already been severed.
As a result, subsequent descendants of Delmark could no longer wield power that transcended their limits. Even so, they still possessed the power of the Divine Beast, and House Delmark remained as formidable as ever.
This was the story as Blair knew it.
That's why I worried so much...
While others envied and revered him for possessing a power no one else could match, Blair had worried for him. She feared that the weight of the power given to protect others might be too heavy, that it might eventually consume him. She worried that he might leave her side in tragedy, crushed by that power, just like his father who had met a tragic end.
But knowing it was a wound he would rather not reopen, she had never been able to voice her worries.
"This is the first head of the house."
Guiding Blair further into the gallery, Ruth briefly explained the figures in the portraits one by one. Knowing the history of the family she had married into was, after all, a basic duty of the Duchess.
Of course, having regressed, Blair already knew all of this.
Once Ruth finished his explanation of that portrait, Blair moved on to the next one.
At that moment, her footsteps faltered.
This painting is...