Imperial Banquet (2)
Imperial Banquet (2)
"It would be good if our Renoa went."
A gathering to choose the one person to attend the First Imperial Prince's coming-of-age ceremony.
Pascal's statement brought everyone's movements to a standstill.
Lowell, who had been strongly convinced it would be him; Idella; and even Florencia, who didn't particularly care which of her children it was.
Everyone's expressions froze as if they had heard something they shouldn't have.
"......Pardon?"
Even Renoa, the person in question, was no exception.
Having never imagined she would be chosen, her reaction came quite slowly.
"I said Renoa should go. To the Imperial Banquet. Think of it as a gift for becoming an adult."
"But...."
"Who knows? Perhaps the Prince will fall head over heels for our Renoa and start courting her? If we form a connection with the Imperial Family, there could be no greater celebration for the Edelheid family."
The Duke's statement was certainly a logical one.
However, no one agreed with that pleasant assumption.
The first to break the ice-cold silence was Lady Florencia.
"Dear, are you saying that in your right mind?"
The mask of elegance the Lady had been maintaining cracked instantly. Her voice trembled hideously with suppressed rage.
"This is an Imperial Banquet where all the eyes and ears of the Empire will be focused. To think you would set a lowly bloodline of unknown origin as the family's representative. Are you intending to make Edelheid a laughingstock?"
"Mother is absolutely right, Father."
Lowell couldn't contain himself and stood up roughly. His chair was pushed back and fell with a Kung.
"Idella eonni and I are standing right here with our eyes wide open. Why on earth should a mere bastard represent the family!"
"It's just as Lowell says. To put a half-blood before His Imperial Highness the Prince. If we're not careful, the entire family could suffer for the crime of deceiving the Imperial Family."
Idella also chimed in with a sharp voice, supporting Lowell.
Since they didn't dare glare at the Duke, their blatant contempt and condemnation were poured onto Renoa.
Renoa merely toyed with her knife in silence, her gaze lowered.
"I see. So that's what you all think."
Pascal nodded his head up and down as if he understood.
"But you see. Since when did I start seeking your permission to decide the family's affairs?"
It was just one sentence.
The voice that had been gentle until a moment ago vanished without a trace, and a chilling aura dominated the space.
Florencia's complexion, which had been flushed red with anger, turned deathly pale.
Idella, who looked ready to flip the table at any moment, slumped back into her seat as if strangled by an invisible pressure.
"If anyone has a different opinion on my decision, they can discard the name Edelheid and leave this mansion right now."
Pascal's gaze swept over his family members one by one.
No one dared to meet that gaze, and everyone held their breath.
"Anyone dissatisfied?"
"......."
"Good. It seems there are none."
As if nothing had happened, Duke Pascal smiled brightly at Renoa.
"Renoa, go and enjoy yourself."
After the suffocating banquet ended, Renoa walked down the long hallway of the main building toward the annex.
Over her steady footsteps echoing on the marble floor, the sharp sound of shoe heels followed as if in pursuit.
"Stop right there."
A voice thick with venom.
It was Idella.
Perhaps she didn't even have the leisure to manage her expression, as she glared at Renoa with distorted facial muscles and bloodshot eyes.
"You, what on earth did you do to Father?"
Idella snapped, blocking Renoa's path.
It was a groundless interrogation. Renoa's steps slowed to a halt.
"I'm asking what kind of dirty tricks you played to make that iron-willed man act like a senile old man overnight!"
Idella's shrill voice echoed through the hallway.
From her perspective, it was enough to drive her crazy.
To suddenly give the position of family representative—and the stage of the Imperial Banquet at that—to a bloodline that had been neglected as a bastard for a lifetime.
"What, did you learn some aphrodisiacs or sorcery? Otherwise, there's no way Father would choose someone like you over me or Lowell!"
An outcry fueled by spite.
However, Renoa's green eyes, receiving that blame head-on, were chillingly calm.
In fact, Idella's outburst perfectly pierced through the suspicions Renoa herself had been harboring.
This was because Renoa, too, could not understand Pascal's abnormal favor.
She couldn't tell what he was up to.
But.
"It must be because the Head of the Family believes I am more suitable for that position than all of you."
For Renoa, it was an unmistakable opportunity.
If she played her cards right, she could make her presence known to numerous nobles. With this one event, she could close the distance with the direct descendants.
Even if it were a poisoned chalice, she would gladly drink from it.
"You arrogant......! Do you even know what kind of place an Imperial Banquet is? You'll bring shame to the family name and be kicked out miserably!"
Idella's fierce shouting tore through the hallway.
Her blue eyes, tangled with shame and inferiority, glared at Renoa as if cursing her.
"Thank you for your concern, eonni. But I will take care of my own affairs."
"...Eonni?"
"It seems I'll be quite busy preparing for the banquet from now on. I hope you will pray for my successful debut from the main castle, eonni."
A formal bow.
Renoa turned on her heel without a shred of lingering regret, leaving the frozen Idella behind.
Soon, the sound of a scream and objects being thrown reached her over her shoulder.
The Imperial Capital, also known as the heart of the Empire.
A four-horse carriage engraved with the Edelheid crest came to a stop.
It was in front of the main gate of the Imperial Castle, where lights so dense they made one's eyes sting illuminated the night like broad daylight.
As befitting the pinnacle of imperial power, the plaza was lined with the endless, splendid carriages of high-ranking nobles who had rushed from every territory.
Irion dismounted from his horse.
Given the occasion, today he wore a black formal uniform instead of the Edelheid knight's uniform.
The carriage door opened. The first to appear was the maid, Bibi.
Renoa followed.
She wore a black dress with a hint of green, and she was decked out in makeup and accessories she didn't usually wear.
Renoa's hand, clad in a black glove, was placed gently on top of Irion's hand.
She stepped down carefully while being escorted, making sure not to slip.
"Excuse me for a moment."
Bibi stepped back after tidying Renoa's dress and accessories with skillful hands.
"Everything is ready. Have a safe trip, Agassi."
Only nobles and one escorting knight are allowed inside the Imperial Castle.
General servants must wait in a separate waiting room assigned by the Imperial Family until the banquet ends.
"Let's go in."
"Yes, Agassi."
Irion and Renoa began walking toward the main gate.
Irion looked up at the Imperial Castle.
He had been surprised when he saw the Alderin villa, and he had been surprised when he saw the main family's grand mansion, but this place was even more incredible than those.
As he was staring blankly, Renoa poked fun at him from the side.
"Don't stare like an idiot. People will think you're a country bumpkin."
"Don't you want to look, Agassi?"
"I already saw it yesterday."
It wasn't today that they had arrived at the capital. They had arrived a few days ago and had already finished their sightseeing.
"Seeing it from afar and seeing it right in front of you like this is different."
"Then just glance at it without being noticed."
So she's allowing a glance.
He marveled at his master's broad generosity.
"It hasn't been long since I was called to the Duke's residence, and to think I'm even participating in an Imperial Banquet. I've lived long enough to see everything."
"Indeed."
He said that, but Irion wasn't particularly surprised by the fact that Renoa was attending the banquet.
The First Imperial Prince.
Aether Argenwald.
He was one of the sub-male leads of [Lady Maker], the original work of this world, and the person who would become the protagonist's lover.
His coming-of-age ceremony was the prologue scene of the game.
Even if he couldn't remember every scene, he remembered the prologue exactly.
Renoa's face also passes by here once, briefly.
'I wondered how on earth a bastard in a rural villa would participate in the Prince's coming-of-age ceremony.......'
As if it were pointless to worry about the method, Duke Pascal simply pushed it through by force.
That was it.
'The Duke seems to be the mastermind, but....'
He had no idea what kind of person he was or what his goal was. Even in the original work, the final boss wasn't the Duke, but Renoa.
Yet Renoa hadn't even touched black magic even now that she was an adult.
'This is a fucking trash game.'
To not inform him of something this important within the game. It was truly a game based on a makjang drama romance fantasy.
"There will be a brief inspection. Please present your invitation."
Before long, an Imperial Guard blocked the two of them.
Irion pulled the invitation from his coat. In an instant, the guard's eyes widened.
"You've come from the Duke Edelheid family. Confirmed. But the person next to you is......."
The guard's gaze landed on Irion's neck. A crude metal necklace was hanging there.
"My escort knight."
"An escort knight...... I see."
"Is there a problem?"
"...No. Since the Lady is vouching for him, there shouldn't be a problem. However, according to Imperial regulations, the bringing in of weapons is prohibited."
As it was directly related to the safety of the Imperial Family, it was a natural demand.
"I've already removed my weapons. You may check."
"Excuse me."
The guard patted Irion down.
"There don't seem to be any problematic items. In that case, please both of you wear these bracelets."
"What are these?"
"They are magic tools that suppress the use of mana."
The two of them put on the bracelets without a word.
"Thank you for your cooperation. You may enter."
The guards lowered their spears and bowed politely.
The two entered the Imperial Castle.
Renoa stared blankly at the bracelet on her wrist.
"The flow of mana is very heterogeneous. I can't even use a small bit of magic."
A strange vibration constantly flowed from the cold metal surface touching her skin.
It made the mana flowing through her circuits messy and disorganized.
Every time she tried to gather her power in one place, it was swept away and crumbled by the unruly turbulence.
It was to the point of being unpleasant.
"Hmm...."
Beside her, Irion, who was also staring intently at his bracelet, let out a low groan.
"What's wrong?"
"No, it's just that I think I can do it."
"...You can? How?"
"Can't you just do it?"
As if to prove it wasn't a bluff, golden mana flickered at the tip of his straight index finger.
"It certainly feels like the threads are tangled up randomly....... Well, if they're tangled, you just have to untangle them, right?"
"......."
Irion spoke nonchalantly, as if asking what was so difficult.
Renoa looked at him with an incredulous expression.
This was a magic tool that dozens of talented magic scholars would have put their heads together to craft.
It was a shackle that neutralized the user by disrupting the fundamental pathways of mana.
Even Renoa herself couldn't produce a single small flame right now.
It meant that Irion's mana manipulation ability far exceeded Renoa's.
"You. You're subtly annoying."
"Pardon?"
"Forget it."
The more outstanding Irion was, the higher Renoa's position as his master would rise.
There was nothing bad about him being talented.
'If those high and mighty people saw this, I wonder what they would say....'
If they knew that their magic tool had been bypassed by a mere slave, what would happen?
They would probably be shocked out of their wits.
"Don't use it recklessly, as it will be troublesome if you stand out."
"I will keep that in mind."
Before they knew it, the golden doors leading to the banquet hall appeared.
Irion showed the invitation once more to the Chief Chamberlain standing in front of the doors.
The Chief Chamberlain nodded as if confirming it. Then, he shouted loudly enough for everyone in the hall to hear.
"Lady Renoa of the Duke Edelheid family is entering!"