Chapter 36 — The Banquet
Blade of Dawn · Page 3 of 4
The Oak Hall was sealed once more, and a grand feast was held in the banquet hall on the castle's second floor. Fine wine and delicacies were laid upon the tables. Here the king and his most trusted nobles would celebrate the return of a legendary hero. Many nobles whose names no one could quite recall, who had seemingly been hiding somewhere all along, suddenly popped up, and the banquet hall was bustling with excitement.
Those who had newly appeared were nobles who lacked the qualifications to enter the Oak Hall but were entitled to learn of the meeting's results at the first opportunity. They had waited in the rest chambers throughout Silverhold for a full half day, and only when attendants ran into the banquet hall and rang the brass bells announcing the celebration did they appear, smiles on their faces.
This was Rebecca's first time participating in such an occasion. This lordling of a fallen house had never in her life entered such a magnificent place, and owing to the entire noble circle's rejection of the Cecil family, she had attended very few proper banquets growing up. The grandest feast in her memory was when she came of age at sixteen, and her father had held a lively celebration for her in the castle—but even that was nothing more than a long table piled with food.
It could not remotely compare with the banquet in Silverhold.
Long tables lined the entire perimeter of the hall, all laden with delicacies and fine wines for the taking. At the center of the hall was the space where the ladies and gentlemen danced, and there was a gorgeously attired orchestra performing on a stage to one side. Mages released magic at the four corners of the hall, continuously conjuring all manner of wondrous dazzles and drifting snowflakes in midair. That precious mages would be used to create such atmosphere-warming illusions—to Rebecca, this was simply inconceivable.
His Majesty the King... is so wealthy.
At first, Rebecca tried hard to keep a straight face and put on the demeanor of a mature and composed lady, but soon her girlish nature overwhelmed the modicum of composure she had forced upon herself. She clutched Gao Yang's hand and asked about this and that, while Gao Yang, smiling, spun her a stream of tall tales based on his memories and a transmigrator's imagination...
Rebecca's country-bumpkin behavior could not escape the great nobles who had long since sharpened their eyes, but they showed no contempt toward this minor lord from the countryside—perhaps they felt some inwardly, but Gao Yang Cecil stood beside Rebecca the entire time. This ever-present "guardian" forced everyone to rein in their disdain and at least maintain a smile toward Rebecca on the surface.
After that, several young men came over to invite Rebecca to dance—presumably thinking that with the Cecil family now having a founding ancestor to watch over it, there was some potential value in drawing closer. But all of them were turned away by Gao Yang.
Ridiculous. With that brain of Rebecca's—as if it had been caught in a door—and her stubborn, iron-headed temperament, she couldn't even make it in the southern frontier. How would she fare dealing with these cunning, monkey-sharp types in the royal capital? She'd have sold the whole family off in an instant.
"Overprotection will not help a child grow," a gentle male voice came from nearby. "Viscount Rebecca is already of age. You ought to let her have more contact with high society's social circles."
Gao Yang turned and saw Duke Bai Yu Franklin of the Western Marches standing behind him, and beside Bai Yu stood Duke Victoria Wilder of the Northern Marches.
"I died young back then—didn't have much experience in raising children." Gao Yang shrugged, utterly unbothered.
Bai Yu: "..."
Victoria: "..."
"And besides, I don't think Rebecca would have any time for anyone else even if I didn't stop her."