Chapter 120

Chapter 120: Preparations for the Banquet

Preparations for the Banquet
Chapter 120. Preparations for the Banquet

The conversation continued, far removed from the purpose of recruiting Vernel for the Empire.
— I heard you acquired the Dandolo Company. Is it now the Hestia Company?
— That is correct. How are things within the Empire?
— It’s an emergency. The Pascal Company and Dandolo, now called Hestia, you know? Those two are currently leaning toward the Far East.
Just as he had heard.
— In the case of the Hestia Company, it seems they are wrapping up preparations and establishing their headquarters in the Far East, so there shouldn’t be much trouble, but the Pascal Company’s side will be a massive headache. They might issue a corrective order restricting trade with the Far East.
Stefan had mentioned this point beforehand and said he could handle it.
Ferda casually tossed out Stefan’s strategy to gauge her opinion.
— What if the Pascal Company took charge of external sales of magic-technology goods?
— Oh my goodness, if you make a move like that…
Olivia tilted her head with a serious expression.
Her blue eyes held more vitality than when she was smiling.
— Even within the Empire, they won’t be able to touch it easily. They will have to watch the Far East’s reaction. Is this the Pascal President’s idea?
— It’s the next President’s idea.
— I see.
She smiled faintly.
— It’s quite a good situation, but there is something the Regent must be cautious of. Are you aware of the recent rumors?
— You mean the one about smuggling refugees out.
— Yes, they are absolutely despicable.
Olivia’s beautiful face contorted.
— What do they think the Regent has become—after caring for them throughout that long winter—to say such things?
— Exactly what I think.
— Suppose they send the refugees back. What would they do then? Naturally, they would exploit and squeeze the subjects dry to the very last drop! Once they fill their storehouses after the autumn harvest, they’ll discard them like pets! There is a limit to treating people like fools.
A rather passionate reaction for someone else’s affair.
She was exactly the type of person who would attempt to build a support base among the common folk.
— The Administrator informed me that we need someone who can exert influence within the Empire.
— In that regard, I cannot be of direct assistance.
Olivia seemed apologetic.
She pondered deeply on something, then asked Ferda.
— Come to think of it, Hestia is still lacking an elite class, is it not?
The elite class referred to high-ranking positions that included not only nobles, but also scholars, merchants, artisans, and priests.
Artisans from various regions had arrived, but calling them elite was ambiguous; they were essentially general workers of all kinds.
— On the merchants’ side, Stefan is forming a guild, and regarding scholars, Chancellor Bernard of Escolleia is linking the Far East exploration project while recruiting interested scholars.
— With scholars and merchants, one could say 70% is covered.
— The problem lies with the priests.
Ferda, who from the beginning possessed the qualities of a dark mage, had poor compatibility with priests.
Furthermore, he abhorred the duality of the Alte Order: they emphasized philanthropy and mercy while showing no pity toward heretics.
“Even so, priests are necessary.”
Most of the residents of this village were from the Empire, and most were believers of Alte.
Facing the Far East, where monsters endlessly erupted, a proper spiritual anchor was absolutely needed.
— That works out well. I will look into the people of the Alte Order. Since it is a land where diverse people mingle, I will target the moderate faction.
— If you were to exert your influence in that manner, I would be nothing short of grateful.
— Don’t mention it. This is the path toward our shared goal, is it not?
Olivia smiled broadly.
— Speaking of the Alte Order, have you considered holding a banquet at Castle Valdrova?
— A banquet…?
Olivia rested her chin on both hands and laid her head upon them.
Her smile was radiant.
— The people of the Alte Order will soon be preparing for the Spring Festival. The nobles as well. It is the time to announce the joy of spring with a banquet in between.
— Is that so?
— So I think it would be good to host a Spring Festival for the youth of the Empire. Not limited solely to the Empire, but also for them to become acquainted with those who will lead the South and the North. Don’t you think?
— The purpose and the effect seem good, but…
Ferda asked her about what worried him.
— Do you think they would attend my banquet?
A banquet was the most important event for nobles.
Due to its significance, everyone tried to host a Spring Festival.
Being able to host one meant possessing that scope of influence.
In other words, this too was a power struggle.
Ferda had nothing but “miserable” connections at that moment.
— Why wouldn’t they come?
Olivia let out a laugh with smiling eyes.
— I will be coming, after all.
She decided to become the bait herself.
The Flower of the Empire—outstanding in lineage, conduct, and appearance—declaring her participation was enough to draw the attention of youths from everywhere.
If men of the ruling class gathered, women would naturally follow. One thing would lead to another, and many people would flock naturally.
“A banquet, huh…?”
Annoyance arrived before any fluttering of the heart or excitement.
At this age, am I supposed to mingle with brats who still have milk on their lips?
Even while thinking that, Ferda realized his body was still young and inexperienced.
— Understood.
— You will do it?
Olivia blinked.
It seemed she hadn’t expected it.
— Is there a problem?
— I thought you would consider it a useless waste of effort, so I was prepared to persuade you. I suppose I feel a bit deflated, should I put it that way?
She knows me well.
If Isabella hadn’t warned me first, I would have said exactly that.
— Since you agree, then fine. You don’t have a separate party planner, do you?
— No.
— This time, I will have the Empire send one. Since banquets will be held frequently from now on, it would be better to hire a team in advance.
— Thank you for the advice.
As someone who fulfilled the role of the lady of the house in the Empire, Olivia was knowledgeable and skilled.
“If she were the Third Prince instead of a Princess, she might have pushed the other siblings aside.”
She too possessed a cruel fate.
Ferda thought that.
— Do you know the dance that is popular in the Empire?
Ferda’s body flinched for a moment.
— It is called the ‘Moonlight Step’.
— I do not know it.
— Not knowing it is a problem. If the host of the banquet falls behind the trend, do you become a laughingstock? They say the Regent of Valdrova has no interest in the world.
— …I just want to give up.
— Oh my goodness, there’s no turning back.
Olivia laughed, “Hohoho.”
— Don’t be like that, just practice a little. It derives from a light waltz. If you get the hang of it, you’ll learn quickly. You know the waltz, right?
— …
— Oh my goodness, you don’t know that either? I thought a noble house would teach that naturally…
Should I just give up? On the banquet.
Olivia pretended to think for a moment, then stood up and held out her hand to Ferda.
— Come on.
— …What is it?
— To dance, you have to stand up. Hurry and get up.
He knew he had to practice, but he didn’t know she meant this very instant.
— Don’t you want to dance beautifully with Grand Duke Valdrova?
Valdrova.
The first banquet welcoming his fiancée.
Imagining that scene, Ferda’s lips moved before his calculations could catch up.
— I want to dance.
— Right? Then, isn’t every minute and second precious? If someone who knows how to dance well, and furthermore a woman who knows women well, teaches you, wouldn’t it be more perfect?
Ferda felt a strange persuasion in those words.
Yet he could not simply bite greedily; he reflexively looked at Ruri.
For some reason, she was quiet.
Had she accepted a bribe and intended to turn a blind eye?
“As easy as it is to tempt her with food, she wouldn’t do something so careless.”
There was definitely a plan.
Ferda sighed.
Be that as it may, delaying the inevitable was inescapable.
— Understood.
Setting the conversation aside, they decided to practice dancing.
— Come to think of it, I haven’t seen Her Highness’s polymorphed form… What is her build like? She’s a woman, right?
Build.
Ferda looked at Olivia.
She was the only immediate measurement available.
— A little shorter than the Princess.
— Then teaching you won’t be a problem.
Olivia’s hand slipped between Ferda’s fingers.
The distance, already close, narrowed even further.
— Now, hold hands like this…… imagine music is playing. Da-ra-ra-ran da-ran. Yes, tap your foot gently here and move to the left…….
Under her guidance, he learned the dance.
Ferda did his best to move his body as she instructed, and when her humming ended, her evaluation was this:
— Mmm…… your dancing is quite clumsy.
To put it nicely, he had two left feet.
Olivia could not hide her bewilderment.
She had thought that, with his constant seriousness, incredible dancing skills had to be hidden beneath that gravity.
However, dancing is physical work.
Using his body was what Ferda was worst at.
— Aren’t you going to say anything?
— ……What can I do? I was cast out because of this useless body.
— Useless, my foot. You are so unyielding…….
Her lingering voice held a bewitching quality.
— We are just going to get familiar with a light waltz and the Moon Step. For now, just endure.
— Do I have to keep dancing?
— Of course. I take pride in my ability to teach others. You’ve wounded my pride, Regent. Don’t you know how great the price of wounding a woman’s pride is? You will dance all day.
I didn’t know, and I didn’t want to know.
Dragging me onto her own terms and then being so unreasonable.
— I will help you master it in a day, so just follow me.
— Do those words mean you are staying until tomorrow?
— Yes. Is that a problem?
— If an unmarried woman stays at the home of an unrelated man, before even being a Princess, won’t rumors spread?
— Unrelated man? The Regent has an owner, does he not?
— There is a saying: do not even tie your shoelaces in a melon patch.
— My, such worry. I have plenty of pretexts.
— What kind?
— Hand over Marquis Vernel to me.
Olivia went all in.
— No.
— Exactly. So, will we have a rather long discussion about this? The Princess will continue a marathon meeting. You’ll have nothing to do during that time, so learn to dance. For Lady Valdrova’s sake.
Would that really work?
Half-doubting, yet Olivia left him no room to judge; she moved.
In the end, he followed her rhythm and accompanied the dance practice.
Whatever the case, Ferda also harbored the desire to dance well.
For that, he needed help from someone who knew trends and dancing.
Olivia’s gaze turned toward Ferda.
She kept smiling throughout the entire dance lesson.
As if every moment were delightful.
Olivia reflected on her life.
When did this tedious farce begin?
It seemed to be ever since she learned that her nanny—her sole ally, she had thought—was the Emperor’s bitch.
From then on, she sat before the mirror for hours every day, practicing smiling.
To make others smile more brightly, Olivia gave a meaning to that smile.
There was an intention to manipulate men, but the fundamental reason was different.
To avoid meaningless interpretations.
She knew objectively how beautiful she was.
A casual glance, a single smile—countless people mistook it for love and launched one-sided romantic offensives, too many to count on one’s fingers.
Because of that, she couldn’t even smile freely.
In that regard, meeting Ferda was truly comfortable.
He did not misunderstand or think that she liked him just because she smiled.
And even if he smiled with that purpose, he did not waver.
Because his heart was already elsewhere.
That was why she could make demands like this.
— Regent. How about trying to smile a bit?
— Smiling is not difficult.
— You also need to practice smiling. When you tell a boring story, try imagining something pleasant.
Even so, smiling seemed difficult—his lips only twitched before returning to normal.
Olivia found even that quite satisfying.
That smile, without a doubt, was open only to his fiancée.
“How noble.”
A noble heart is not simply about how much one believes in a god.
It is doubting oneself, agonizing, and suffering for one’s convictions, yet still enduring and pushing forward.
That nobility inspired Olivia.
Her circle, which not even Alte could touch, stirred gently.
It turned, becoming a wheel toward the dream of becoming a Saint.
Just a little more.
Just a little more, I want to stay like this.
Knock, knock, knock—.
A knocking sound that shattered the pleasant atmosphere.
At that sound, Ferda released Olivia’s hand.
Olivia put her mask back on.
Ferda observed Olivia’s face, then ordered Ruri.
— Let them in.
The Captain of the Knights entered, gave a brief salute, and spoke.
— Princess. You must depart now.
She expected it, yet they truly intend to ruin the mood completely.
— It seems I cannot return today. We are discussing the matter of the technician—.
— It is an order from His Majesty the Emperor. A proclamation to return immediately.
— Do we need to depart on a waning day? At least let her return in the morning.
— There is no need for such worry. An Imperial Court Mage has already been dispatched. Preparations for return via teleportation are complete.
— …….
Aaah.
The atmosphere and the feelings that had just reached their peak disperse like a midsummer night’s dream.
I want to stay here a little longer…….
Just as she felt she could no longer resist,
— We are in the middle of a discussion.
Ferda interjected.
— She came here as an Imperial representative for a serious dialogue. Do you intend to interrupt it?
— The Princess visited here for an exchange with the Grand Duchy. It is unrelated to recruitment.
— So are you saying we treat all the dialogue we’ve had so far as nonexistent? Do you want to turn a formal negotiation into trash?
— That is not my intention.
Ferda replied with displeasure, pressing the attack.
Olivia stared fixedly at Ferda’s figure.
For her, who had lived a life as someone’s trophy, it was the first time she received humane treatment.
Why is he acting like this?
The reason, Olivia knew.
Ferda thought there had to be a reason why she desperately did not want to return, and he was helping her.
Helping her as an ally with the shared goal of destroying the Empire.
However,
Even knowing that,
If he protects me with that expression,
“I might truly end up misunderstanding.”
Olivia rose from her seat.
— It seems it can no longer be helped. Regent, I take my leave now.
— Will you not continue the discussion?
— What can I do? If an adult maiden stays at the home of an unrelated man, strange rumors will spread. Wouldn’t it be better to leave?
Olivia returned Ferda’s own words back to him.
Ferda did not stop her further.
— I wish you a safe return.
— Yes. And since you say you will hold the Spring Festival, I look forward to it. I will make sure to attend.
Leaving those words behind, Olivia walked out through the door.
Until the very moment the door closed, she waved her hand while looking at Ferda.

Valdrova’s Lair.
— A banquet in a month?
Valdrova, having heard all the circumstances from Ruri, asked.
Within Valdrova’s fierce eyes, a pure light sparkled.
— Yes. They say they will hold the Spring Festival in a month.
— I see.
For her, who yearned for human banquets and wanted to attend, it was an enticing place.
It was one of the places Valdrova wanted to attend at least once, without fail.