Chapter 120 - Preparations for the Banquet

Conversations far removed from her purported goal of recruiting Burnel to the Empire continued.

"I also heard you acquired the Dandolo trading company. Is it the Hestia trading company now?"

"That is correct. How are things within the Empire?"

"It's an emergency. The Pascal trading company and Dandolo, which is now called Hestia, right? Those two are currently leaning toward the far east."

It was exactly as he had heard.

"In the case of the Hestia trading company, it seems they are wrapping things up and establishing their headquarters in the far east, so there shouldn't be much of an issue, but the Pascal trading company will definitely be a major sticking point. They might issue a corrective order to restrict trade with the far east."

Stephan had mentioned this point in advance and said he could handle it.

Ferda subtly threw out Stephan's strategy to ask for her opinion.

"What if the Pascal trading company takes charge of the external sales of magical engineering goods?"

"Oh my, if you make a move like that..."

Olivia racked her brain with a serious expression.

Her blue eyes brimmed with more vitality than when she was smiling.

"Even within the Empire, they won't be able to touch them easily. They'll have to walk on eggshells around the far east. Was this Chairman Pascal's idea?"

"It was the next chairman's idea."

"I see."

She smiled faintly.

"It's a pretty good situation, but you need to be careful, Regent. Do you know about the recent rumors?"

"You mean the one about us siphoning off the refugees."

"Yes, those utterly detestable fools."

Olivia contorted her beautiful face.

"What does that make you, the Regent who took care of them throughout that long winter, for them to say such things?"

"My thoughts exactly."

"Let's say they do send the refugees back. What will they do once they return? Naturally, they'll exploit and siphon off the territory's people! Once they've filled their storehouses to the brim in autumn, they'll toss them aside like pets! Treating them like easy marks has a limit."

Even though it was someone else's business, it was a rather passionate reaction.

It was fitting for someone trying to draw out a support base from the commoners.

"My administrator informed me that we needed someone within the Empire who could exert some influence on our behalf anyway."

"In that regard, I won't be able to be of direct help."

Olivia showed a look of apology.

She pondered deeply over something before asking Ferda.

"Come to think of it, Hestia is still lacking in the elite class, isn't it?"

The elite class referred not merely to nobles, but to the upper professions encompassing scholars, merchants, artisans, and priests.

People called artisans had come from various regions in their own right, but they were at the level of handymen, making it ambiguous to call them elites.

"For the merchants, Stephan is currently forming a union, and as for scholars, Bernard, the Chancellor of Escolaia, is currently receiving recommendations for interested scholars while linking them with the far east exploration project."

"With scholars and merchants, it's safe to say you've filled about 70 percent."

"The problem is the priests."

From the start, Ferda, who had the qualities of a Dark Mage, had poor compatibility with priests.

Furthermore, he despised the hypocrisy of Altes, which emphasized philanthropy and mercy while being ruthless toward heretics.

'Even so, priests are necessary.'

The majority of this village hailed from the Empire, and most were believers of Altes.

With the far east, where demonic creatures poured out, right in front of them, the role of a proper spiritual pillar was needed.

"I might just be able to help with that. I will look into the people from the Order of Altes for you. I'll look for those from the moderate faction, since it's a land where various people mingle."

"I would only be grateful if you exerted your influence like that."

"Don't mention it. Isn't this the path toward our shared goal?"

Olivia smiled brightly.

"Since we brought up the Order of Altes, do you perhaps have any thoughts of holding a banquet at Valdrova Castle?"

"A banquet... you say?"

Olivia made a stand with both her hands and rested her head on them.

Her smile was radiant.

"The people of the new Order of Altes will soon prepare for the Start of Spring Festival. The same goes for the nobles. It's the time to announce the joy of spring by holding banquets in the meantime."

"Is that so?"

"So I think it would be good to prepare a Start of Spring Festival for the youth of the Empire. It would be beneficial to make acquaintances with those who will lead the South and the North, rather than limiting it strictly to the Empire. Don't you agree?"

"I believe the intention and the effects would be good, but..."

Ferda asked her about what was weighing on his mind.

"Do you think they will attend my banquet?"

Banquets were the most important events for nobles.

Because it was so important, everyone wanted to host a Start of Spring Festival.

Being able to host one meant being able to extend that much influence.

In other words, this was also a battle of power.

Right now, Ferda had nothing but 'dismal' connections.

"Why wouldn't they come?"

Olivia smiled with her eyes.

"I'll be there, after all."

She had decided to become the bait herself.

Declaring that the Flower of the Empire—outstanding in background, conduct, and even appearance—would attend was enough to draw the attention of youths from all over.

If the men of the powerful class gathered, women would naturally flock as well. Like a chain reaction, many people would naturally throng together.

'A banquet...'

Annoyance preceded any fluttering or excitement.

Was she telling him to mingle with greenhorn youths at his age?

Even as he thought that, Ferda realized that his own physical body was still a greenhorn youth itself.

"I understand."

"You're going to do it?"

Olivia blinked her eyes.

It was a face that said she hadn't expected it.

"Is there a problem?"

"I thought you would consider it a pointless endeavor, so I had prepared myself to persuade you. Should I say it feels a bit anticlimactic?"

'She knows me well.'

Had Isabella not warned him beforehand, he would have said exactly that.

"Since you've agreed, very well. You don't have a separate party planner, do you?"

"No."

"I will dispatch one from the Empire this time. Events like banquets will be held frequently from now on, so it would be best to hire them in advance as a team."

"Thank you for the advice."

As someone who played the role of the lady of the house in the Empire, Olivia was highly knowledgeable and skillful.

'If she were the 3rd Prince instead of the Princess, she might have been able to overtake her older brothers.'

She, too, bore a cruel fate.

Ferda thought to himself.

"Do you know the dances popular in the Empire?"

Ferda's body flinched for a moment.

"It's called the 'Moonlight Step'."

"I do not."

"It'll be a problem if you don't. If the host of the banquet falls behind the trends, they become a laughingstock, you know? They'll say the Regent of Valdrova has no interest in worldly affairs."

"... I just want to call it off."

"Oh my, there are no take-backs."

Olivia let out a trilling laugh.

"Don't be like that and let's practice just a little bit. It's derived from a light waltz. You'll learn it quickly once you grasp the knack of it. You at least know how to waltz, right?"

"..."

"Oh my, you don't even know that? I thought you would have naturally learned it being from a noble family..."

'Should I just scrap the banquet?'

Olivia made a show of thinking for a moment, then stood up and held her hand out to Ferda.

"Here."

"... What is this?"

"You have to stand up to dance, don't you? Hurry up and get up."

He knew he had to practice, but he hadn't realized she meant to do it right this instant.

"Don't you want to dance wonderfully with Grand Duchess Valdrova?"

Valdrova.

The first banquet he would welcome alongside his fiancée.

Imagining that sight, Ferda's lips moved first, completely bypassing his calculations.

"I want to dance with her."

"Right? Then wouldn't every minute and second be precious? Wouldn't it be more perfect if someone who knows dances well—and a woman who knows women well, at that—taught you?"

Ferda felt a strange sense of persuasion at those words.

However, unable to just eagerly bite the bait, he reflexively looked at Luri.

For some reason, she was quiet.

Was she intending to turn a blind eye since she had received a bribe?

'No matter how easy she is to tempt with food, she wouldn't be someone to act so loosely.'

There was definitely an ulterior motive.

Ferda let out a sigh.

In any case, delaying the inevitable was impossible.

"I understand."

Setting the discussion aside like that, they decided to practice dancing.

"Come to think of it, I haven't seen Her Highness's Polymorph form... How large is her build? She is a woman, correct?"

Her build.

Ferda looked at Olivia.

Because she was the only one he could use as a measuring stick right now.

"She is slightly shorter than you, Princess."

"Then there shouldn't be any problem with me teaching you."

Olivia's hand slipped through the gaps between Ferda's fingers.

The already close distance became even closer.

"Now, hold my hand like this here... and imagine the music playing. Da-da-da-dum, da-dum. Yes, tap your foot lightly here and step to the left..."

He learned to dance under her guidance.

Ferda did his absolute best to move his body according to her words, and when her humming came to an end, her evaluation was as follows:

"Mmm... You're very clumsy at dancing."

She was putting it nicely; in truth, he had two left feet.

Olivia couldn't hide her bewilderment.

Because he always carried such a dignified weight, she had thought he would have hidden incredible dancing skills beneath that solemnity.

However, dancing was a matter of using one's body.

And using his body was the thing Ferda was worst at.

"You're not saying anything?"

"... What can I say? I was kicked out because of this junk body, after all."

"Junk, you say? When you're this dashing..."

Her trailing voice held a hint of seductiveness.

"Let's just get the feel for a light waltz and the Moonlight Step. Let's just hold hands for now."

"Do we have to keep dancing?"

"Of course. I pride myself on having a knack for teaching others. You've touched my pride, Regent. You don't know how steep the price is for touching a woman's pride, do you? You'll have to dance all day."

He didn't know, and he didn't want to know.

To drag him into this as she pleased and then act so stubbornly like this.

"I'll help you master it in a single day, so just follow my lead."

"Does that mean you plan to stay until tomorrow?"

"Yes. Is that a problem?"

"Before being the Princess, won't rumors spread if you stay the night at an unrelated man's house as an unwed woman?"

"Unrelated man, you say? You are a spoken-for man, are you not, Regent?"

"There's a saying not to even fix your shoelaces in front of a melon field."

"You worry so much. We have plenty of excuses."

"Such as?"

"Hand Burnel Marquis over to me."

Olivia suddenly struck deep.

"No."

"Right. Then there will be quite a lengthy discussion about this matter, won't there? The Princess will continue a marathon meeting. Since we won't have anything else to do during that time, you might as well learn to dance. For Valdrova's sake, that is."

Would that really work?

He was half in doubt, but Olivia didn't give him the chance to make such a judgment and moved.

In the end, he matched her pace and went along with the dance practice.

Say what you will, Ferda also had the desire to dance well.

To do that, he needed help from someone who knew the trends and dances well.

Olivia's gaze was directed at Ferda.

She had a smile on her face the entire time she taught him to dance.

As if every single moment of this was enjoyable to her.

Olivia looked back on her life.

When was it that she started this sickening play?

She felt it had been from the moment she realized that even her nanny, whom she had thought was her only ally, was the Emperor's dog.

From then on, she sat in front of the mirror for hours every day, practicing how to smile.

While others did it to make their smiles even brighter, Olivia did it to assign meaning to her smiles.

Part of it was to manipulate men, but there was a more fundamental reason.

It was to prevent unnecessary meanings from being attached to them.

She objectively knew just how beautiful she was.

There were countless men who, upon receiving a single absentminded glance or smile, deluded themselves into thinking she loved them and launched one-sided bombardments of affection.

Because of that, she couldn't even smile as she pleased.

In that sense, her encounters with Ferda were truly comfortable.

He didn't delude himself just because she smiled, unlike other men.

And even if she were to smile with such intentions, he remained unshaken.

Because his heart was already elsewhere.

That was why she could even make requests like this.

"Regent. How about trying to smile a little?"

"Smiling might be difficult."

"You have to practice smiling too. Try imagining something else that's enjoyable when we're talking about trivial things."

Even after saying that, it seemed difficult for him to smile, as his lips only twitched before returning to normal.

Even that was quite satisfying to Olivia.

Because that smile was undoubtedly reserved solely for his fiancée.

'How noble of him.'

A noble heart wasn't simply a matter of how much one believed in a god.

It meant constantly doubting, agonizing, and tormenting oneself for the sake of one's convictions, yet still shouldering the burden and moving forward anyway.

That nobility inspired Olivia.

Her circle, which not even Altes had been able to touch, moved smoothly.

It moved, becoming the wheel driving toward her dream of becoming a Saintess.

Just a little more.

She wanted to stay like this for just a little longer.

Knock, knock, knock—.

A knocking sound shattered the good atmosphere.

At that sound, Ferda let go of Olivia's hands.

Olivia put her mask back on.

Ferda watched Olivia's demeanor before giving an order to Luri.

"Let them in."

The Knight Captain entered, offered a brief greeting, and spoke.

"Princess. You must depart now."

She had expected it, but he was intent on completely ruining the mood.

"I do not think I can return today. We are currently discussing matters regarding the engineer—"

"It is the order of His Majesty the Emperor. It is a message to return swiftly right this instant."

"Is there a need to depart as the day is fading? Let us at least return in the morning."

"You need not worry about that. An imperial mage has already been dispatched. Preparations have also been completed for you to return via Teleport."

"..."

Ah.

The wonderful mood and atmosphere from just moments ago scattered like a midsummer night's dream.

She wanted to stay here a little longer...

Just when she thought she couldn't resist any further,

"We are in the middle of a discussion."

Ferda intervened.

"She came here as the representative of the Imperial family and is engaged in a serious conversation, yet you intend to cut it short?"

"The Princess visited this place for the sake of interacting with the Grand Duchy's territory. It is unrelated to the recruitment matter."

"So are you saying we should treat the conversation we've had so far as if it never happened? Do you wish to turn a formal negotiation into trash?"

"That is not what I meant."

Ferda cornered him, answering as if he was displeased.

Olivia stared blankly at Ferda's figure.

For her, who had lived a life merely destined to be someone's trophy, it was the first time she had been treated like a human being.

Why was he acting like that?

Olivia knew the reason.

Ferda was helping her because he assumed there must be a reason she was so reluctant to return.

He was helping her as a collaborator who shared the common goal of tearing down the Empire.

But,

Even though she knew that,

If he made such an expression and defended her like that,

'I really might end up deluding myself.'

Olivia stood up from her seat.

"It seems this is as far as we can go. Regent, I shall take my leave now."

"Are you not going to discuss it further?"

"What can we do? Strange rumors will spread if a fully grown unwed woman stays the night at an unrelated man's house. Wouldn't it be better to leave?"

Olivia threw Ferda's exact words back at him.

Ferda didn't try to hold her back any further.

"I hope you return safely."

"Yes. And I am truly looking forward to you hosting the Start of Spring Festival. I will be sure to attend."

Leaving those words behind, Olivia walked out the door.

Even until the very last moment before the door closed, she looked at Ferda and waved her hand.

Valdrova's lair.

"Are you saying the banquet will be held in a month?"

Valdrova, having heard the entire situation from Luri, asked her.

Within Valdrova's ferocious eyes, a pure light sparkled.

"Yes. He said he will hold the Start of Spring Festival in a month."

"I see."

For her, who longed for the banquets of humans and wanted to attend one, it was far too enticing a venue.

It was one of the places Valdrova definitely wanted to attend at least once.