Inside the Lord’s Castle, there was a banquet hall so extravagant it was beyond belief.
Nobles and their attendants who participated in the recent war gathered there, enjoying the moment.
The venue was filled with an abundance of food and drink, accompanied by the splendid music played by a band.
And at the center of it all, there I was, stuck next to my Father for two hours already.
“Once again, congratulations on your victory, Count Turun.”
“Thank you, Count Sabre.”
A lean, middle-aged nobleman bowed his head in front of my father. Count Sabre.
He was one of the thirteen nobles who had made a significant contribution in this war, having taken down dozens of enemies single-handedly during a surprise attack.
“Thanks to the strategy established by you, we achieved victory. I knew you had a keen eye, but I never imagined you could even predict the weather and create such a perfect plan.”
“Haha, no, I really didn’t do much. To be honest, it was all my son’s plan.”
With those words, my father looked at me with a pleased smile.
Count Sabre, slightly surprised, responded, “Oh, really? This young man came up with such a strategy… Truly impressive, fitting for the heir of House Andreas.”
“I’m flattered, Count Sabre.”
“Our son is indeed remarkable. There was a time I worried when he ran off to become a paladin, but now he’s returned having grown into such an outstanding individual.”
“Aha haha…”
Hearing my father’s sincere praise, I forced a slightly awkward smile.
It wasn’t because of the praise itself.
It was because this conversation had followed a repeating pattern for the past two hours.
Even as I felt my lips twitching, I had to make an effort to maintain a polite smile.
‘I expected this to some degree… but still, this is getting a bit tough…’
Of course, I could understand my father’s desire to brag about his son.
Especially given that this son was one he thought he had lost.
However,
No matter how much, enduring a conversation with the same flow for two hours was quite exhausting for me, yet my father seemed not satisfied after boasting about his child; every time nobles came to greet him, he continued the narrative.
Moreover, each time, he wore an even happier expression.
Finally, as the two-hour-long greeting—better interpreted as my father’s bragging—was reaching its end, I cautiously looked at my father and said,
“Um… then, I’ll go have something to eat.”
“Yes, go ahead. Remember, you’re the protagonist of this gathering, so enjoy the moment to the fullest.”
“Yes, Father.”
With that, I acknowledged the fact that I could finally fill my growling stomach and headed toward the table piled high with food, leaving my still-excited father behind.
‘Honestly… I never expected Count Turun to be such a dimwit.’
As I served food onto my plate, I found myself repeatedly surprised by my father’s drastically different demeanor from the original work.
In the original, Count Turun had a fiery temperament and maintained a very strict attitude towards his child.
However, seeing him now, I felt none of that image.
While his fiery character was faintly visible, the way he treated me perfectly matched the saying “a fool for his child.”
‘Well, it’s not like the entire situation is incomprehensible… but at times like this, his demeanor can be a bit overwhelming.’
This banquet was attended not only by the nobles of Bohemia but also by many wealthy merchant allies.
As someone who needed to survive as a noble and further grow the heretic forces to oppose the Emperor, I needed to remember the faces of the nobles and merchants I met today to lay the groundwork for future endeavors.
‘To achieve great things, connections are always key… Thankfully, thinking of each of them as sources of income makes them somewhat easier to remember.’
With my thoughts about the past two hours wrapping up, I finally took a seat with the plate full of food.
The rich dishes were enticing my already hungry stomach.
With a whole cooked beef dish as the main course, the table was filled with cheeses, various vegetables, and baked fruits, making me start my meal somewhat hastily.
The meat, seasoned just right with various high-quality spices, felt like it melted in my mouth.
On top of that, the incredible aroma of the delicious cheese combined made it literally a top-tier match.
‘Every time I think about it, it’s great how much better the food is compared to when I was a paladin. One should eat well in life like this. I mean, living on bread scraps all day…’
It was a complete world apart from the dreary meals during my military years.
Of course, I could have eaten expensive food since I earned a lot of money back then.. but unfortunately, I couldn’t afford to indulge in such luxuries while living with a group.
As I savored my meal, starkly contrasting with those past memories, I suddenly heard:
“Are you done, Mr. Santana?”
“Haah… that really took a while, didn’t it, Master? What’s with all the greetings for two hours?”
The moment I turned to see who had just sat down across from me, I felt a bit perplexed looking at them: Cazerose and Polena.
“Did you two… not eat anything until now? You must be really hungry…”
I asked, filled with a sense of guilt as I looked at the food piled on their plates.
In response, Cazerose picked some vegetables with her fork and said, “I couldn’t just fill my belly while my colleague was struggling.”
“Me neither. While you were busy with greetings, the maid can’t be carefree and gorge herself. I thought I was going to starve, but I held on.”
With that, Polena took a big bite of the meat on her plate.
It appeared she really enjoyed the flavor as her eyes sparkled brightly.
The same could be said for Cazerose, as she quickly stuffed salad in her mouth.
Seeing them like this made me feel a different kind of calm, a sensation I could describe as happiness.
I had met countless people for two hours.
However, most of them were simply connected through their respective networks, lacking any genuine human warmth.
Those encounters had been purely administrative.
But now, sitting with these two, I felt the pure bond of friendship, completely unrelated to such connections.
Just looking at each other’s faces brought a sense of comfort and joy.
So, as I shared a meal with my ‘friends,’ I felt my weary soul uplifted.
“Um… Mr. Santana, I have something to tell you.”
“What is it?”
As we continued our meal, Cazerose spoke with a serious tone.
I sensed she had something important to say, and I began to feel a twinge of curiosity.
Just then…
“Uh? Hey, Master. We have a guest…”
“Yes?”
Suddenly, Polena called out, turning to the side.
Her words made both Cazerose and me stop talking and turn our attention.
In the next moment, I saw three women standing beside us.
One of them was my younger sister, Dust.
And through that, I could roughly guess the identities of the other two.
Due to random coincidences, I had never spoken directly with them.
These were…
Santana’s older sisters.
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