Chapter 438 – 438. Royal Banquet (2)
“This time, the project we want to propose is…”
“Please on our side too…”
As soon as they attended the banquet hall, Eunhyeon and Eleanor had to spend a busy time dealing with the many nobles and wealthy merchants surrounding them.
Currently, the Armitas Territory is enjoying a more economic boom than Pernin, so anyone with a little quick calculation has already noticed that the Armitas Territory is a goose that lays golden eggs and has been approaching.
As the population continued to grow due to the influx of adventurers and villagers, the demand for various products from the Armitas territory was unending.
Starting with food, equipment for adventurers, building materials, daily necessities for food and shelter, and products that could be sold simply by providing them, various people from nobles to merchants were busy queuing up for Eunhyun and Eleanor, who were related to the Armitas Territory.
Originally intelligent Eleanor and smirking business skills, Eun-hyeon grasped the inner thoughts of those who approached them and thoroughly weighed the gains and losses of their interests and distinguished between people.
I sorted it out in my head by distinguishing between people who could be of help just by making connections and those with a black heart who were just trying to get and eat beans for immediate gain.
When you’re having such a busy time.
“The Queen and Her Highness are entering!”
Due to the position of Queen Diane and Prince Damian, the voices of many people were buried at once along with the elegant sound of music.
The sound of magnificent musical instruments announced the start of the event, which is the purpose of hosting this banquet.
All of them raised their heads and stared at the stage in the hall on the second floor.
Attracting the attention of everyone present at the banquet, Queen Diane opened her mouth.
“Thank you all for coming to this banquet.”
The first started with a simple greeting and a speech by Queen Diane.
“This seat is for the knights and magicians who protected the people of our kingdom from the threat of an alien race called vampires. And it is a place to praise the feats of the priests of the Temple of Vesta.”
Calmly, he continued by explaining the purpose of the banquet.
“Then… First of all, the members of the Magus Court Magus Order, who helped effectively wipe out the beasts and vampires in this operation by confining them in one place to prevent them from escaping. And on behalf of them, the leader, Count Magius. Please come up in front of me.”
“Yes. Queen Mama.”
Simon nodded and walked up to the platform on the second floor of the concourse where Queen Diane and Prince Damian were sitting.
“I will elevate Count Magius to the title of Marquis and award 20 platinum coins to the Magius Order of Magius.”
“Thank you.”
“I look forward to continuing to do many things for the kingdom.”
“I follow the Queen Mother’s order.”
Even 20 platinum coins is not an insignificant amount.
However, no one disputed the decision.
Queen Diane then turned her attention to Lyod.
“The members of the Knights of Artia and the leader of the Knights, Marquis Olivion.”
“Yes.”
“Please come up to me.”
“I take orders.”
Lyod moved her steps toward Queen Diane, alternating with Simon coming down the stairs.
Reaching in front of her, Leode got down on one knee and bowed her head in salutation.
“The bravery of Marquis Olivion, who fought on the front line to wipe out the vampires and killed the bat beast that almost endangered the people of the kingdom, is a great feat incomparable to anyone else. Really…”
Queen Diane closed her eyes and was speechless for a moment.
Thousands of thoughts ran through her head.
He recalled 20 years ago of Riod, the son of an insignificant aristocratic family.
A blunt yet dignified young man in his 20s who returned as a hero after ending the war.
At that time, when the armor he wore was in good shape and was in a state of disrepair, Riod was in a sense of loss as if he had lost something big.
Diane, who was taken by her despondency, wanted to help him, but Diane’s family objected to Diane’s relationship with Riod.
Riod certainly made achievements befitting a hero, but there was no way he would allow anything that had no merit in marrying the eldest son of an insignificant aristocrat who had no support base.
Besides, at that time, marriage talks were going on between Queen Diane and her next king, Crown Prince Andrea, so marriage to Riod, a young hero from a small aristocratic family, seemed too unattractive compared to becoming a member of the royal family.
There were many differences in the aristocratic hierarchy between the families, but Diane was confident that she would convince her family if Riod would accept her.
What made Diane even more angry was that Riod refused Diane’s favor.
Riod did not choose Diane until the end.
Later, when she heard the news that she had married Theresia, Diane felt a great sense of betrayal.
‘Why, why did I fail?’
Queen Diane recalled her then-her past and took care of her current situation on her own.
Even if she had chosen herself and not Theresia, she was confident that she would support Leode as much as she supported Leode, no more than she did.
She was confident that if she chose her, she would give her a higher position than her current position, but why didn’t Liode choose her?
Using the sadness and betrayal she felt towards Riod as a stepping stone, Queen Diane wanted to show her to Riod.
‘I want to make you regret not choosing me.’
So, accepting her marriage talks between her royal family and her own, Queen Diane was thoroughly instructed in her queen’s etiquette, and she was able to take her place as the country’s first queen.
From the beginning, there was no feeling of love between King Andrea and Queen Diane.
She had a child out of a sense of duty, strictly weighing only her political gain, and the relationship between the king and queen was nothing more than a business partnership.
As the wife of the king, she, the highest in the country, she wanted to show off to Riod, who chose Theresia after dumping herself.
‘The woman you wore has now become the queen of this country.’
‘So, live with regret for the rest of your life and dedicate her life as a sword-wielding knight for the son I gave birth to.’
But what about Riod now?
Riod, which has maintained its neutrality by steadily building up its performance, has suddenly become a powerful force that no other faction of nobles can touch.
Even though he tried to keep his faction and himself in check by using his spirit to prevent them from attacking and rising, Riod never gave in and rose to the top step by step.
Queen Diane had only recently had to admit her own ugly inner thoughts that she never wanted to admit.
‘I wasn’t a man I could handle.’
Stained by her jealousy and sense of betrayal, Queen Diane never wanted to admit it, so she struggled desperately, but it was Queen Diane herself who grew ugly with each passing day and tarnished the dignity of her royal family.
After her flashbacks and complicated thoughts, Queen Diane finally opened her eyes, which had been gently closed.
She said to Leode, who bowed her head on one of her knees as she made her formal courtesy in front of him.
“I will award 30 Platinum Coins to the Artia Knights. And…”
As she was about to say her last words, Queen Diane was momentarily speechless, but she cleared her throat once more and continued her words.
“I will elevate the family of the Marquis of Olivion to the second ducal family.”
“… !”
At the announcement of Queen Diane, the atmosphere in the banquet hall suddenly became turbulent and chaotic.
Among them, the most surprised is Queen Diane’s party, Rio de herself, who did not expect her decision.
“Queen Mama, that is…”
The awarding of platinum coins as a reward for meritorious deeds was expected.
But elevating a family to the dukedom is more than just a huge financial reward.
There would probably be resistance from many aristocrats, but there was no way that Queen Diane was unaware of that as well.
“I made a feat of protecting the people of the kingdom from menacing beings called vampires. Do you think this is not enough?”
“…”
At Queen Diane’s point, all the nobles, including Rio de, were silent as if she had lost her words.
Eleanor’s role was very important in bringing the troops who participated in the sweep operation back to life safely with zero losses, but it is undoubtedly Riod’s achievement that she was able to defeat the threatening being called Nosferad in that operation.
If this achievement is not suitable for awarding the promotion of the title of a noble, what kind of achievements should other nobles achieve to promote their own noble family’s rank?
Queen Diane was asking the nobles who attended the banquet by repeating that part.
As it had no choice but to affect their future aristocratic life, the aristocrats were cautious and spared their remarks.
“Stop going down.”
“… All right.”
In the end, Riod had no choice but to accept the reward of Queen Diane’s victory.
As he rose from his seat, paid his respects to her queen, and went down the stairs leading down to her, Queen Diane followed her last name.
“Lastly, Eleanor Armitas, who took care of the personnel who participated in the clearing operation and helped send troops to Pernin safely without causing a single death. Please come up.”
“Yes.”
Finally, as her own turn approached, Eleanor took her steps straight ahead.
Eventually she tried to climb the stairs to the top.
“Eww… !”
Her waist gently trembled, and Eleanor’s staggering body was supported by Eun-hyeon so that she wouldn’t fall.
“I’m really sorry. Queen mama. My wife is not feeling well. Will you please allow me to accompany you?”
“…”
Eleanor biting her lip and glancing at Eun-hyeon, her husband, her appearance was somewhat strange.
Her slight blushing and her breathless appearance really made her body not look all that good, but she wondered why her little boy was messing with her husband. Are you making a look as if you are looking at it?
“… Please.”
Queen Diane slightly frowned at Eun-hyeon’s request with a smile on her face, but she did not refuse his request itself.
For some reason, Eun-hyeon, who had a pretentious attitude and had a nasty expression, was enjoying the current situation.
Sharing a secret that only the two of them know that others can’t understand at all, Eleanor slowly climbed her stairs, accompanied by Eun-hyun’s sincere escort.
“Ha…”
Every time I climbed the stairs, the trembling body and the sound of breathing were strangely bewitching.
Finally, she reached Queen Diane and stared at Eunhyeon and Eleanor, who knelt on her knees and bowed, and Queen Diane opened her mouth.
“Your ability, along with the Knights of Artia and the Magus Mages, to return the participants of the clearing operation without a single casualty by generously displaying the support of the Armitas family and the ability of the priests, is a great feat, just like Duke Olivion. No see.”
“It’s an overstatement.”
“As a result of contemplating what kind of reward to give, I promise to give you 20 platinum coins and adjust the tax rate of the Armitas for 2 years to reduce the tax rate. And although this is out of my jurisdiction, I will also make a suggestion on my part so that the temple of Vesta in the Pernin branch, which was completed in the Armitas territory, can be staffed.”
“Thank you so much for your undeserved consideration.”
“Then I hope you all enjoy the rest of the banquet.”
After congratulating all the key contributors to the clearing operation, Queen Diane immediately left the banquet hall in the central hall of the palace with Prince Damian.
“After… Right. What!?”
When she was about to raise her body with a small sigh of relief, Eunhyun picked up Eleanor’s body and lifted her up.
“All, you! What are you doing!?”
“Why?”
“Yes, people see!”
Eleanor blushed as her grace’s bold action and her own screams drew her attention to herself at once.
She resisted by beating Eun-hyeon’s chest as she hugged her, but such feeble resistance did not interfere with her at all.
Ignoring her Eleanor’s resistance, Eun-hyeon moved her steps while holding her Eleanor.
As soon as she moved her feet and disappeared using Lee Hyeong-hwan’s stomach, no one was able to chase after Eun-hyeon and Eleanor.
At least, when he saw Eun-hyeon’s back as he disappeared with Eleanor in his arms, he immediately paid attention.
Arriving at the balcony in a deserted place without being noticed by anyone and undisturbed, Eun-hyeon put Eleanor down and drove her against the wall.
Thud!
The reverberation of the wall hit hard was transmitted to Eleanor, who was right next to her, and Eleanor’s body trembled.
“All, you…”
Eventually, Eleanor pulled herself back and saw Eun-hyeon’s eyes looking down at her.
Not the usual gentle look, but the eyes of a male who wants to conquer himself.
The gaze shown on her bed is the wild gaze that Eleanor likes to play with her own mind.
Eleanor’s heart started pounding wildly.
“Should we finish what we did in the wagon?”
