Chapter 1062 Banquet
The moon gradually rose up as the bright sky turned dark. The lamps in every single corner of the town had been lit up, creating a warm atmosphere.
The people were cheering for Noel and Anna, creating a festive mood.
Similar to the town, the banquet venue had been decorated by the rune lamps, which could shine without any smoke or fumes, creating an elegant atmosphere inside the venue.
A lot of n.o.bles had entered the venue and talked to each other while waiting for the host to start the banquet.
However, they were still pretty shocked by the sheer number of important people in this venue.
"Hey, look at that. Isn"t that the commander of the Demon Banner Army? He is coming all the way here?"
"Wasn"t the Marquis a part of the army in the past? I heard the commander also recommend him when he wanted to become a n.o.ble."
"Instead of the commander, I thought you would be more curious about the Sword Arbiter."
"He was already known to be very supportive of him, even though he still did his best to maintain his neutrality."
"If you want to be surprised, it would be the Ezenholm family."
"Yeah. Isn"t the one talking with the former head of the Ezenholm family the prime minister of the Greenwood Kingdom?"
"You are right. And if you take another look, you will also see the prime minister from the Zaecuria Kingdom."
"The Marquis has been recognized by the two kingdoms."
"I don"t think any n.o.bles have achieved such a feat in the past. But shouldn"t our royal family send someone too?"
"Ah. You got that right! A sacrifice!"
The n.o.bles whispered to each other. The royal family would be too embarra.s.sed if they came here. Then again, Noel was a high ranking n.o.ble, it would be rude if the royal family didn"t attend this banquet.
In other words, they would send a sacrifice to bear all the shame tonight.
As if responding to their words, the soldiers at the entrance shouted, announcing another guest.
"The third princess, Wendy Ve Lenfenth, is entering."
"!!!" All the n.o.bles instinctively turned around, watching the princess with dead eyes enter the venue. She didn"t have any expression on her face as if she were a doll.
"As expected, the one they send is the third princess. She doesn"t speak a lot and doesn"t show any emotions, so she is a perfect sacrifice."
"Pfft. This is ridiculous."
"Even though it"s just a formality, I kind of pity her."
The people cast a mocking gaze on her. It was clear what the royal family tried to do to Noel, yet they had never succeeded. So, those in Noel"s faction sneered before her presence.
They didn"t realize what kind of person the real third princess was.
"Earl Haverlan is entering the venue."
The next guest made his appearance. It was the Earl located south of Earl Canmond.
"What? Earl Haverlan is coming?" The people were a bit shocked. Considering his position was near Earl Canmond, they thought Earl Haverlan planned to side with the royal family.
However, several people were already aware of Earl Haverlan"s scheme with Noel.
It was not only him, there were several other lords near the three n.o.bles who attended this banquet. When seeing their number and force, it showed how much connection the Ardagan family had.
Almost a third of the total n.o.bles in the Muivell Kingdom had actually sided with Noel. It wouldn"t be wrong if Noel could be considered an overlord among n.o.bles even though it had only been a few months since he became one.
Still, the surprise had yet to end. There was one more guest that Noel had kept secret the whole time.
"Prime Minister, Great Protector Tej, is entering the venue!"
"!!!" All the people widened their eyes when they heard that name. They all looked at the old man, who had just entered.
"That"s… Tej… The prime minister of the Atracaeca Kingdom!"
"What?"
Yes, the Atracaeca Kingdom actually sent representatives to this banquet.
"But isn"t the Atracaeca Kingdom supposed to have a grudge with the Marquis?"
"No. Are you blind? Can"t you see that? The fact that their prime minister is appearing here means the Atracaeca Kingdom has made their stance."
"!!!"
The n.o.bles couldn"t believe what they saw. They thought that the Atracaeca Kingdom wouldn"t lower their heads in this scenario, so their arrival blew everyone"s mind.
"Well… Isn"t this interesting?" Raincart glanced at this new guest before turning to Dimitri.
"Ahaha. I didn"t know much about this since I had been too focused on the wedding. But the other side was the one who approached us first."
Raincart was the one who taught Noel that while he could maintain his integrity, he should be decisive.
That was why there was a rift between Noel and the Atracaeca Kingdom. To think that the other party would take the initiative to resolve this conflict, it seemed that he had underestimated his grandson.
"I guess they were hoping that the Supreme Devil Organization would destroy him or something. But after seeing numerous miracles he created, they realized it would be bad if they continued with this conflict. You could say he beat them into submission." Raincart chuckled.
"Are you…" Dimitri looked at Raincart as if wanting to warn him not to cause chaos. Even though they were enemies in the past, they could still be allies.
In fact, Dimitri was already aware the moment Noel began to put on gla.s.s windows on his territory and even the rune technology.
That was probably why Noel extended the road to the n.o.bles in the west. He wanted to be connected to the Atracaeca Kingdom through that route since the middle area was blocked by the royal family.
"Don"t worry. I"m not going to do anything. It"s his matter. Other than giving him some personal advice, I won"t do anything. If he believes this is the best action, then so be it." Raincart shook his head, a.s.suring Dimitri.
Dimitri let out a breath of relief and took a step back. "In that case, I"ll inform the master that all the guests have arrived."
Raincart nodded.
A few minutes after Dimitri disappeared, the door that led straight to the back room of the venue was opened.
"!!!" All the people stopped what they were doing and turned around.
Noel and Anna started walking to the stage. Her hand was on top of his palm as he guided her carefully to the center. Anna had changed to a lighter red dress which was easy to move but still gave her elegance.
Noel looked at all the people and said, "Allow me to express my grat.i.tude for coming to this happy occasion despite your busy schedule.
"There is no reason to deny that I can rebuild the Ardagan family thanks to everyone"s support.
"On this occasion, all I wish is to share my happiness with everyone. Without further ado, let"s begin the banquet."
Dimitri came to them with a pair of gla.s.ses of wine.
Both of them raised their gla.s.ses with a smile as the others followed right after.
"Cheers!" Noel announced.
"Cheers."
The music began to echo inside the room as Noel gradually walked down the stage so as to greet everyone. This was the purpose of the banquet after all.
Obviously, the first one he met was none other than Raincart.
"Grandfather. I apologize for not bringing her to you before all this. Even the marriage is so sudden."
"Hahaha. You don"t have to worry about that. Bringing her to me will simply raise suspicion. However, I"m satisfied with the granddaughter-in-law you"ve chosen. This is your time, so this old man is not going to occupy you any further." Raincart patted Noel"s shoulder. "I"m proud of you."
Noel smiled as Raincart turned his head toward Anna.
Anna politely lifted up her skirt while bowing. "It"s an honor to meet you, my name is Anna Stargaze. Noel has been taking care of me."
"Mhmm. You can call me Grandpa. Don"t be like him, who keeps calling me grandfather," Raincart joked a little to ease the atmosphere.
Anna looked surprised for a second before smiling. "Yes, Grandpa."
Raincart nodded, satisfied. He just ended it there and let Noel greet his children and grandchildren before moving to another guest, which was Kevin.
"You haven"t forgotten what you promised back then, right?" Kevin smirked cheekily.
"Of course I haven"t, Father." Noel finally changed the way he addressed Kevin as he promised.
"Hahaha." Kevin laughed as if he had achieved a great victory.
Dylan extended his hand to Noel while saying, "I"ll leave my sister to you. She is a bit hard to handle, but please take care of her."
"Definitely. If you need anything, don"t hesitate to ask me, Brother."
Anna chuckled, not feeling embarra.s.sed since she was indeed hard to handle.
Noel continued walking around and greeting one guest after another. It was a bit nostalgic when he met people like Oscar or Clara.
He also thanked the n.o.bles who supported him and had attended the banquet. However, he was quite amazed by the sheer will of the third princess. Even he would have a hard time enduring this kind of humiliation.
After greeting the guests for almost two hours, the main event of the banquet had come.
The melody turned mellow, creating a graceful atmosphere. The tables had been moved to the corner, leaving a big s.p.a.ce in the middle of the venue.
Without hesitation, Noel was the first to extend his hand. "Milady, would you be so kind as to accompany me for a dance?"
"I"d love to." Anna smiled.
Noel and Anna went straight to the center and began to dance. After their first dance, the others started to join them, enjoying themselves to the fullest.
The entire banquet lasted for almost four hours as Noel had to end it before midnight. They went back to the mansion, where Anna had prepared a surprise for him.