Chapter 139 - The Dreaded Banquet

 

When I peeked out the window, I saw a long procession of carriages stretching from the gates of the palace. ‘It’s been a long time since I’ve been here.’ It had almost been six months since I’d been to the imperial palace, as I had avoided it after I learned about the details of Jubelian’s past life. Although it was a building that held nothing but terrible memories, the imperial palace was extremely magnificent and beautiful, as expected from the place where the emperor of this empire resided.

‘I used to have an immature desire to live here when I was young.’ I caught a glimpse of my father, then turned my attention back to the scenery outside the window. ‘Though I gave up on that idea when I came to visit my father and was turned away…’ Now that I thought about it, to be able to live here, I had to either become the crown princess or the royal princess’ maid, which were both crazy ideas. ‘I guess it’s a good thing I gave up on the idea early on,’ I thought for a moment, then suddenly recalled that it was the royal princess who was overseeing this banquet.

‘Will the royal princess be attending the banquet today as well?’ Just thinking about keeping two people in check made me tired, but thankfully, those thoughts were brief. ‘There’s a good chance that she won’t be at the banquet since her coming-of-age ceremony will be held two weeks from now.’

The once in a lifetime coming-of-age ceremony was considered an extremely important event in high society. Many aristocratic women would agonize over how to stand out the most on that day. Such an important event was to be held in two weeks. This meant that the royal princess, who had never shown her face in public before, had no reason to attend the victory banquet held to celebrate her stepbrother’s achievements as it was known that the two were not on good terms with each other.

‘That means I’ll see her in two weeks, so that will be fine.’ The royal princess was someone I desperately wanted to avoid as well, but I haven’t had many worrying thoughts about her lately since I wasn’t going to run into her unless I caused a commotion. ‘The problem is the crown prince.’ All aristocrats with titles were obliged to attend, which meant that the banquet hall was bound to be crowded. However, it was going to be difficult to slip out of my father’s field of view even if I attempted to escape amid the confusion. ‘I’ll have to find a way somehow.’ While I was pondering over how to escape the banquet hall, my father suddenly spoke.

“Don’t worry too much,” he assured with a warm voice.

I stared at him in surprise. ‘What is he trying to say now?’ 

I was engulfed in an ominous feeling, when my father showed a handsome smile and said, “The crown prince will only have eyes for you.”

I had expected him to say something about the crown prince, but didn’t think that he was going to openly express his greedy thoughts just like that. ‘Why is he being so mean? It’s an undeniable fact that I have a boyfriend already!’ Although it was a contractual relationship, my father thought that Max and I were actually dating. Despite that, he kept mentioning the crown prince, which made me feel uncomfortable. I couldn’t stand his actions any longer and decided to speak up.

­­­“I disagree with you, Father. Many people have probably dressed up in fancy attire in order to be noticed by the new hero.” I had made a roundabout statement, but still denied his words about catching the crown prince’s attention. My father looked at me in surprise, as if he was taken aback by my unexpected defiance. However, his gaze gradually became cold.

‘Is he angry?’ I wondered what I should do now, but, for some reason, didn’t want to give in to my father today. ‘I guess I can’t help it. If one thing goes even slightly wrong today, then my life is going to be over. I’ll think about the future later,’ I made up my mind. At that moment, the carriage, which had been moving slowly as if it were crawling, came to a halt. The door shortly opened afterwards.

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“Let’s get off,” my father said and reached out his hand towards me. I stared at his hand, hesitating for a bit, then grabbed ahold of it.

* * *

‘Is she okay?’ Regis watched as his daughter walked feebly next to him, then slowly lifted his gaze to the imperial palace. At the sight of the building, his blue eyes became bitter like the biting wind during midwinter. ‘That contemptible wretch.’ His daughter, who had been dispirited while his disciple was away, had come to the conclusion that the crown prince wouldn’t like her. ‘I can’t believe he couldn’t even assure her… yet dared to go on about being her lover.’ Regis didn’t care if the victory banquet was happening. If he could, he would have quit this act and taken his daughter home. Despite his desires, there was a reason why he was being patient.

‘Jubelian must have been looking forward to today’s banquet.’ Despite her denial, his daughter’s eyes had remained fixed on the palace, almost as if she was filled with a lingering attachment to the crown prince. ‘I don’t know why you’re so concerned about a worthless guy like him, when you’re not lacking anything.’ Even objectively speaking, his daughter was very beautiful. She also had a ton of virtues, to the point where he couldn’t count them all.

‘All the noblemen will be attending the banquet today, so I should start looking for…’ Regis’ eyes turned fierce in the middle of his thought. ‘Come to think of it, I’m sure useless men will try to approach my daughter.’ Determined to protect his daughter today, Regis held her hand tightly.

* * *

I glanced at my hand, which was being held captive in my father’s hand, and sighed. It didn’t hurt, but his strong, unyielding grasp made me think it was going to be difficult to shake him off. ‘Is he already keeping his eye on me because he thinks I’m going to run off?’ I was immersed in my gloomy thoughts, when I heard a sonorous voice.

“Duke Regis Adrey Floyen and his daughter, Lady Jubelian Eloy Floyen will be entering.” 

I realized that it had been two years since the royal family had hosted a mandatory banquet like this. An unfamiliar feeling washed over me when we were referred to as people of lower status as we were always greeted with polite words when we attended other banquets. ‘I guess the person who’s announcing the guests is taking into consideration that the royal family are the ones listening to his welcoming words.’ With these thoughts in mind, I stepped foot inside the banquet hall. Even after accommodating all the nobles in the empire and the knights who had participated in the war, it was still quite spacious.

‘This just shows how big the palace is… Anyway, it looks difficult to navigate.’ Others might praise this place, saying it represented the majesty of the great empire of Assiette, but for me, it was just a useless wide-open space with a difficult to find hiding place. ‘I’ll definitely get noticed here if I try to go to the terrace,’ I thought. At that moment, my hand, which I thought was going to be held captive in my father’s hand for the whole day, was released. ‘Huh?’ I glanced towards my father to see that he was looking straight ahead with frigid eyes.

“Stay alert, and if possible, don’t raise your head.” 

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