Chapter 24

“Hahaha! It’s great!”

“This is the best banquet!”

The banquet’s host, 1st Empress Isabelle, curled up her lips at the compliments from all around her.

“Of course it is, because every single one of them was taken care of with the best.”

“As expected, you’re very generous, like your father who is one of the first rich sons in the East.”

In particular, the Eastern nobles gave their thumbs up and did not forget to mention not only her, but also Duke Cherkah, the head of the Eastern nobles.

When the story about his maternal grandfather came out, the lips of the boy who was standing next to Isabelle twitched.

Everyone who noticed the boy added some words for him.

“Your Highness the 2nd Prince, you have become dignified.”

“You are already ten years old, time flies so fast. The time has finally come to make his name known to the Empire!”

The 2nd Prince Stoneham accepted everyone’s interest in him calmly and for granted.

However.

“It is already dazzling with a single person alone, but when two people who look alike are together like this, everything around them seems to lose their light.”

His lips twitched when they mentioned his mother and himself at the same time.

Stoneham glanced up at his mother, and his eyes lit up proudly…

“Now, everyone should enjoy the banquet, not standing around here. We’re going to have a lot to talk about today. It’ll be fun, I promise.”

Isabelle was busy dealing with the people, keeping her son’s gaze lightly.

Everyone dogged around her.

The main character of today’s banquet is the 2nd Prince, but no one realized who the real owner of this place is.

Of course, that didn’t mean that the protagonist was left alone.

Stoneham was the 2nd Prince and the grandson of Duke Cherkah, the head of the Eastern nobility.

People around also greeted him, covering him in their shadows, but Stoneham’s sharp expression did not subside.

Stoneham was about to tear apart the people around him when Marchioness Bahrain approached his mother and whispered in her ear.

Stoneham, puzzled as to what was going on, suddenly felt the air around him change, and his eyes widened.

Then he turned his face to follow where his mother was looking.

There were dolls just entering the entrance to the Golden Hall.

“Huh?”

Stoneham, who checked the opponents, let out a puzzled groan without realizing it.

Why are you so upset when there are only things that are not worth seeing?

But even as he thought so, Stoneham was unaware that he was keeping his eyes on the new arrivals.

Elisha entered the Golden Hall and told me and let everyone’s eyes focus on her. Their eyes that were like swords didn’t come to pierce her in the stomach, so there’s no need to panic.

But for the two young knights protecting her left and right, it was not like that.

Elisha lowered her gaze to look at the two children, and then smiled involuntarily.

Far from being discouraged, the children were vigilant with their eyes wide open for fear that someone might harm Elisha.

Fortunately, Ascencio was like a naked leopard, and his dignified appearance was acceptable, but Leon only looked cute, like a pecking kitten with its tail shot upright.

As Elisha, who couldn’t stand it anymore because the children were so bold and lovely, was about to embrace the children, a sweet scent hit her.

“Your Highness the Crown Prince, thank you for coming.”

It was 1st Empress Isabelle.

After greeting Ascencio in a formal way, she moved her eyes to Elisha.

The green eyes scanned the tip of Elisha’s head to her toes, before rose again and stopped moving at the empty white nape of her neck.

“Ha.”

Isabelle made a sound of surprise or ridicule and pulled the corner of her lips, before turning to Marchioness Bahrain, who was next to her.

“Come to think of it, didn’t you say there is something that needs to be checked urgently?”

“Yes, Your Majesty, would you like to go?” As if she had been waiting all along, Marchioness Bahrain led the 1st Empress and headed somewhere else.

Before turning around, Marchioness Bahrain made a small gesture towards Elisha, but that was all too rude to say that it was a greeting to the 2nd Empress.

Of course, it was nothing compared to the 1st Empress who completely ignored Elisha.

Ascencio’s eyebrows wrinkled, as Elisha put her hand on his shoulder.

The attendees of the banquet were disappointed as they expected that the 2nd Empress, whom everyone said had changed, would show something interesting with the newly held Crown Prince.

But the banquet had just begun.

It was too early to be disappointed, as there was a notice from the 1st Empress. As the attendees’s eyes shone again, Elisha lowered her head between the children standing on her left and right.

“Why are you exuding so much strength?”

“They are looking at us as if we are delicious prey, how could I not?”

In response to Ascencio’s answer, Elisha tilted her head slightly and spoke to his ear.

“Why do you think they are not, Your Highness?”

“Huh?”

When Ascencio asked the question without understanding the meaning of the words at once, Elisha spoke again with the kindness that is usually limited to children.

“They are delicious prey for us too.”

“Ah…”

“Do you remember, Your Highness? I said that I needed something at this banquet. They’re just something I could pick up, but since the 1st Empress dared to raise a plate and make it a hunting ground, wouldn’t it be polite to enjoy it enough?”

Therefore, relax your shoulders and straighten your back.

Raise your chin and laugh at those who run rampant without knowing who will soon regret it, Elisha said.

There was no bluff in the surprising content.

The calm tone that seemed to list only the facts to the last made Ascencio calm down.

Ascencio took a deep breath once, and immediately smiled brightly, revealing his white teeth.

“According to the words of the 2nd Empress, it will be a rare and enjoyable banquet.”

“Of course it should be. Now, shall we start looking at other things before the real drama begins?”

Elisha raised her gaze and turned back to the people who were watching them.

Those people who couldn’t see her inner self, those who met her eyes that reflected their emotions back were surprised and turned their faces away without realizing it.

Elisha blended into the center of the banquet, lightly placing her hand on the children’s shoulders.

“I guess what you said the other day was true.”

“Didn’t I tell you? I saw it clearly with my own eyes at the banquet I attended with the 1st Empress. I couldn’t find the old-fashioned look, and everything seemed to fit just right, looking so natural.”

That was the case even now.

“Ashirang’s wine is truly excellent. Don’t you think so?”

“Yes. Because the weather in Ashirang is nice, it’s fantastic. Ah, the fortress also values Royden’s wine as high as Ashirang. Have you tried it?”

“Obviously. Because it is a high-end product, the quantity that comes out is small, so I only bought a bottle because it is very expensive. It’s definitely been great.”

Aristocratic women from the East, who were talking about giving or receiving, secretly turned to Elisha and asked.

“Of course the 2nd Empress has tasted it too, right? There is not a single aristocrat who does not enjoy wine these days.”

“…”

When Elisha gave her children some food but didn’t answer, the one who spoke to her first opened her fan and gave a pint glass to the woman who had just asked her a question.

“How frivolous. Do you ask such a question, knowing the difficult circumstances of the 2nd Empress?”

“Oh, you’re right. I made a mistake. My apologies, Your Majesty.”

The woman apologized to Elisha.

Anyone could tell it was said without the slightest bit of sincerity.

Elisha put her fork in Leon’s hand and straightened her back. She then looked at the arguing women.

They were touching Elisha while discussing rituals and formalities, and replied to each other with great answers beyond expectations.

The topics were not related to Elisha’s brilliant brain, who was a promising mage, or the knowledge she could have accumulated because of her love of books, but the kind of things that could only be acquired with money and spare time.

However, that was entirely their mistake.

Elisha opened her mouth.

“You don’t need to apologize. However, I was just confused because it seemed that the wines of Ashirang were mistaken for the Ashirang region.”

“What do you mean…?”

The woman who had mentioned the weather in Ashirang asked with a frown.

“Actually, the wine from Ashirang that you like doesn’t refer to the wine from the vineyards of the Ashirang region. To be precise, it refers to what a merchant named Ashirang Ferbora put his name on.”

The dream of a merchant who wanted to make his name widely known in the empire, made with red wine, has finally come true.

The fact that there were many people who misunderstood like these women for quite some time until then became an interesting story and added to the fame.

“It’s the first time I’ve ever heard of it!”

“Just because you heard it for the first time doesn’t mean that what happened is going to go away, so if you want to refute me, it would be better to check the facts first before coming back, lest you suffer from further embarrassment.”

Elisha came out so proudly that the woman did not react immediately and only chewed her lower lip with her upper teeth.

The finely painted pink color was peeled off, revealing the original dull lip color.

When she was forced to take a step back, Elisha added one more thing, as if she had just suddenly thought of it.

“And the reason Royden’s wine is so low is not because it’s a high-quality product, but because of its lesser harvest. The price of Royden’s wine is actually not as expensive as you know. Their goal is to make cheap and delicious wine so that more people can drink it, and they achieved it with good technology. However, it is still difficult to produce on a large scale, so that’s why.”

“What are you talking about? Don’t you know how expensive Royden’s wine is? I’m afraid you’ve never bought one and just said that carelessly after hearing…”

“It’s because if it’s not expensive, you won’t buy it.”

Elisha cut off the woman’s words.

The woman’s eyes widened, but Elisha ignored it and said only what she had to say.

“The maker set a reasonable price according to their beliefs, but the top that sells them must have been nervous because the products they put out with confidence didn’t go well. So, what would happen if we raised the price by the same as other wines, just in case? It’s what you see. Royden’s wine became as famous as Ashirang’s wine at once. You guys did a good job. You can brag about the new wine, the top makes a lot of money, and the Royden’s wine can carry on its name.”

In the end, there is sincerity. They didn’t really mean it, but they did a good job.

Thanks to them, Royden’s wine did not fail and was able to carry on the faith, and later impress several other wineries.

Therefore, as time passed, it could be said that wine, which was the exclusive property of the aristocracy, was able to establish itself as a culture that the middle class and commoners could enjoy.

The surroundings were so quiet that when Elisha looked around, everyone kept their mouths shut and only Elisha was staring at them.

Since you guys did well, are you asking me to give you a round of applause?

She thought about it for a while, but no matter how much Elisha was, she stopped the thought because it didn’t seem like that.

However.

Clap! Clap! Clap!

A fairly loud applause echoed through the banquet hall even though Elisha did not play.