52. Royal Banquet (1)
As time passed, it was August.
The last month of summer had arrived.
The day of the royal banquet that had been postponed to early August.
Lucia greeted Owen with a smile.
“You look good.”
“I’m glad to hear that.”
Owen was dressed in the banquet attire they had picked out together at the boutique earlier.
It was the very outfit Lucia had personally chosen.
Made with both red and black, the banquet attire had a subtle, mysterious feel to it.
It was dark and decadent, reminiscent of a deep, dark rose.
Rather than a bright red, it had a calm, subdued tone, almost wine-colored, which made it neither awkward nor tacky.
It was much more extravagant than the clothes Owen usually wore.
“You look good too.”
Lucia’s banquet attire also had a decadent and enchanting design that matched Owen’s.
The ornament on her head was a black-red accessory resembling a rose, while the necklace and earrings were crafted from black-red spirit stones she had commissioned before.
“Yes.”
Lucia reached out her hand with a smile.
Today, her hands were covered with black lace gloves made of black silk tulle to match the dress.
Owen overlapped his hand over the gloves that covered his wrists.
As usual, his hand was gloved, but today he wore a patterned glove with a flamboyant design carved with black and red threads on black cloth.
“Is this your first banquet in a year, Owen?”
As they rode together in the carriage, Lucia asked him.
“Yes.”
Although this was actually his first, Owen casually nodded.
“What do you usually do in your spare time?”
When he answered affirmatively, Lucia suddenly asked him, “You don’t like banquets, or attending other social gatherings. You don’t seem to have any hobbies either.”
Perhaps she had found out about all that through background checks.
Lucia often did such things with the maintenance of her dignity allowance.
She was a VIP customer of various guilds.
Not only the Information Guild but also the Mercenary Guild and other miscellaneous guilds were the same.
Since she used all available means, she knew everything about Owen, a well-known figure in society.
Owen believed he knew Lucia better than anyone else, just as Lucia thought she knew him the best.
“Mostly occupied with piled-up tasks.”
“…Have you considered expanding the business?”
“Well, I have more leisure time compared to before.”
It was the truth, so Owen wore a confident expression.
“You seem to have practiced other things. Managing the knights.”
“Tedious.”
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“Is that so?”
“Yeah. What do you do in your free time? Don’t tell me you work nonstop even during breaks?”
Although the position of a guardian was inherently busy, Lucia, observing Owen’s intense focus on work, raised an eyebrow and inquired.
To that, Owen tilted his head slightly in puzzlement.
“Meeting you. Buying your gifts.”
With a candid response, Lucia momentarily fell silent.
Owen sometimes surprised her with such honest answers.
He would casually bring up astonishing stories with a face that seemed to indicate he was just stating a simple fact.
“Is that all you do besides work?”
“Well, I do sleep and eat.”
“Except for that, I mean.”
“True.”
He nodded.
And Lucia, once again, could only part her lips without making a sound.
Eventually, she managed to let out a faint voice through the gap.
“Owen, do you quite like me?”
“I suppose that’s the case.”
“…”
“Am I being too forward?”
His unwavering voice filled the carriage.
The gaze of his black pupils was piercingly direct.
“But it’s the truth. There seems to be no reason not to tell you, Lucia.”
As Lucia remained speechless, her ears perked up, the carriage came to a halt.
They had arrived at the palace.
The carriage stopped right at the entrance of the central palace where today’s banquet was set to take place.
Due to the vastness of the palace, walking inside was not feasible, hence the carriage would undergo a final inspection at the main gate before proceeding to the ultimate destination.
“Allow me to escort you to the waiting room.”
As they alighted from the carriage, a servant approached and guided them.
They could sense the gazes of nobles who had arrived around the same time falling upon them.
Yet, both Owen and Lucia remained unruffled.
“Oh, Owen.”
As they reached the corridor leading to the waiting room, a familiar voice reached their ears.
“You arrived early this time? Last year, you barely made it.”
“Kyle.”
The owner of the voice was Kyle.
Similar to the Duke of Verdin, he, as the tower owner, was obliged to attend the summer banquet.
The reason was simple.
The Emperor had decreed it, and it was a long-standing tradition.
Of course, beneath the surface lay complex relationships and reasons.
“Oh, he was with you. No wonder…”
“Lady Edelt, greetings. I am Kyle, the tower owner of Martop.”
Unfamiliar with etiquette, Kyle greeted them in his own way.
Not even aware of Lucia’s name or status, he was on the verge of being impolite.
“Pleased to meet you.”
Though it was an impolite greeting, Lucia replied with a smile.
Perhaps it was because Owen introduced her as his first acquaintance, sparking her interest.
“Right. I’ve almost finished what you requested last time.”
“Is that so?”
“Yeah. Once everything is ready, I’ll bring it to Martop. You can come and collect it yourself.”
“Not sending it?”
“Taking it directly is safer. It’s something that needs to be handled carefully.”
As Kyle began to talk about the starstones, Owen listened attentively and responded.
Lucia watched with interest as Owen and Kyle engaged in a lively conversation.
Both Owen and Kyle were known for their lack of social interactions and aversion to people.
It was quite remarkable to see them getting along so well.
“They seemed to have become quite close since the last hunting competition.”
Reflecting on it, they had really hit it off during this year’s hunting event.
Up until then, they had merely exchanged obligatory greetings whenever they crossed paths.
“It seems like the two of you have gotten quite close.”
Lucia smiled mischievously as she opened the conversation, prompting Kyle and Owen to turn their gaze towards her.
“Oh, we just happened to become closer.”
“There was an opportunity for that during the last hunting competition.”
“I see.”
Kyle blushed slightly, scratching his cheek as if feeling embarrassed.
He seemed more unfamiliar with forming personal relationships than even Owen.
“Um, but… Lady, there’s no need to address me so formally, right?”
Blushing, Kyle hesitated before asking further.
Lucia nodded in response.
“You’re a baron. You hold such a title.”
“True, but…”
Kyle didn’t deny the fact of his status being significant.
However, he also couldn’t quite accept Lucia’s formality towards him.
“Other noble folks speak more casually.”
“If that’s the case, you’ll be more memorable as a unique baron.”
“What?”
“You said I’m uncommon. So, you’ll remember me as an uncommon baron, at least.”
Lucia smiled mischievously.
“It seems like you’re not remembering me.”
“Ah…”
Kyle was poking fun at his recent inability to recall Lucia’s name.
It was light-hearted enough not to feel offensive.
“Remember. It’s convenient to know the names of major noble families.”
Before Owen could interject with Lucia’s remark, Kyle simply nodded without a word.
“Well, that might be true…”
“Yeah. Especially since today’s gathering will be full of nobles.”
“I hope no one greets me.”
“Your hair color, face, and eyes are too striking not to be noticed.”
At Owen’s comment, Kyle let out a deep sigh.
Lucia watched the two with renewed interest.
They were conscious of their appearance, it seemed.
Owen and Kyle were known for being the most handsome men in the empire.
Following them were Prince Richard, Lucia’s stepbrother Louis, and Viscount Yeongshik.
Lucia was considered a prominent figure in social circles, much like how Prince Richard and Viscount Yeongshik were mentioned in relation to her.
“Do you know the names of foreign nobles too? Ambassadors come often.”
“I know most of them.”
“You only focus on magic research, after all.”
Their conversation ended there.
Lucia, who had been enjoying their playful banter, turned her gaze to Owen’s outstretched hand.
“Shall we head to the waiting room now?”
“Sure.”
“Kyle, see you at the banquet later.”
In response to Owen’s farewell, Kyle curtly replied before turning away.
It seemed like he was headed towards the designated waiting room as well.
“The rest area assigned to Owen is similar to my own rest area.”
The waiting room was elegantly furnished with plush sofas, tables, cushions, all neatly arranged.
It served as a place to wait before the banquet began, but also doubled as a resting area during the event, complete with a dressing room for changing clothes if needed.
Mistakes with attire during the event were not uncommon.
“It didn’t seem heavily used, though.”
The space that served as both a rest area and a waiting room was usually allocated individually to nobles, prominent families, and diplomatic envoys.
To put it simply, it was a kind of special treatment.
Viscounts or barons, for instance, had to use the common lounge.
Since they entered first without the need to wait, they didn’t have to endure any delays.
Of course, uniquely, the Lord of the Tower, Kyle, was also given a resting room.
This was due to his annual attendance at the banquet, as the Emperor personally invited him to the summer event.
“You must keep watch over the banquet hall.”
The royal summer banquets were known for their grand scale.
The banquet lasted only four days, and all the nobles and high-ranking officials of the empire participated.
Furthermore, with several diplomatic envoys visiting from abroad at this time, the capital became bustling, and the security around the palace became strict.
The Emperor’s willingness to accommodate domestic figures over foreign ones during times when incidents could occur was evident.
“Indeed, Your Majesty seems quite worried.”
There was no one in the empire who was unaware of this fact.
It was amusing how they extended their hands to those they usually feared and shunned when the need arose.
Even though it was peculiar, neither the Tower nor the Verdin Duchy refused, as there were things to gain or maintain in return.
The palace disliked the Verdin Duchy gaining power, but rather than interfering in business matters, they refrained from stepping into political affairs.
Likewise, while preventing the Tower from being established within the capital, they allowed the Tower to freely set up its facilities anywhere else and ensured that magical businesses could thrive.
It was a kind of trade-off.
A pact not to encroach on each other’s territories.
“There was an incident in the past, so one might wonder if that’s the reason.”
There was a valid reason for the Imperial Palace to even invite the Tower and the Verdin Duchy, with whom relations weren’t particularly warm, to the palace.
The incident that occurred during the reign of the former Emperor, who was then the Emperor, and the current Emperor, who was the Crown Prince, was the catalyst.
Until that incident, neither the Verdin Duchy nor the Tower had ever entered the palace.
Similarly, the palace had always been diligent in avoiding the Tower and the Verdin Duchy until then.
This was evident in their interference with business and their refusal to grant permission for the use of magical items, among other things.
Even the temples staunchly rejected the Tower, and the nobles didn’t object, so the isolation of the two forces was natural.
“Perhaps they fear a war might break out.”