97: Chapter 69: Going to the Banquet in Disguise 97: Chapter 69: Going to the Banquet in Disguise A faint scent of the sea drifted in with the wind to the window sill on the second floor of the inn.
Azeryan pondered over his phrases, hunched over the table, penning a formal document known as an “invitation letter” with the signature of the Baron of Leding Castle’s son.
Without an invitation from the host, this was also the procedure of etiquette for nobility to visit one another.
To Leon, it felt somewhat akin to the calling cards used in the customs of his ancestral country in a previous life.
However, submitting an invitation letter at the time frame close to the wedding celebration was actually a breach of etiquette.
For grand noble events such as hosting a wedding, uninvited visitors who do not give advance notice of their visit time, personnel, and purpose might pose a challenge for the hosting family if their finances or venue are insufficient, leaving them unable to prepare properly for welcoming the banquet attendees.
But now, aside from this method, there was no better way to approach the Felcon Family’s castle.
Leon and the other two hoped that the local Great Nobles would not refuse a distant noble’s son carrying gifts of congratulation on such a joyous day.
After all, possessing such a rich city with a grand castle as lavish as theirs, there must be spare rooms and stables for unexpected visiting guests and their horses.
Trying his best to emulate the wording habits of the Kantadar people, Azeryan also dared not elaborate in the letter.
It was necessary only to mention the death of “my father,” Baron Dawson, the fall of Leding Castle, and that he was currently traveling around the Kingdom with a gift of money, hoping to gain the assistance of the Great Nobles for a chance to revive his family’s fortunes and reclaim the lost territories to the North.
It was fortunate that on this continent, still in the feudal era, there were enough dispersed factions within each Kingdom.
According to the captive Mamor, once Orland had taken over Dawson’s main territories in the North, the family was only left with a few estates in the far southeast.
In this world devoid of telephones and telegraphs, verifying a visitor’s identity from such a distance by exchanging letters was far too time-consuming.
Generally, to identify the identity of an unfamiliar noble, one could only rely on attire, speech, the scale of travel, and the Herald Officer to recognize family emblems.
Of course, if one could present official documentation, that would carry more weight.
But the identity Azeryan was impersonating was simply that of a noble scion whose family territories were lost, not an actual Baron, and with the possible discontinuation of the title itself, it made sense that he could not produce such documents during his exhaustive travels.
Sealing the letter with the Seal Ring and the completed invitation letter, Leon and Lokhak dressed Azeryan in Baron Dawson’s Armor and battle robe.
Leon felt somewhat relieved that he had been too busy with his domain’s affairs to ask Brian the Blacksmith to alter that obtrusive snake-engraved helmet decoration of Dawson’s.
Now with Azeryan fully equipped, and donning the distinctively featured noble’s Sword, he truly resembled a young Baron’s son who had lost his father and was full of eager revenge…
Leon rubbed his head, feeling somewhat guilty toward his brother.
Even without the disguise, this description perfectly matched Azeryan’s real identity and life story.
With this realization, a sense of guilt emerged in his heart.
To help Lokhak, Azeryan hadn’t voiced any objections to this guise that was akin to salt on his own wounds…
After confirming their stories and finalizing the details of Azeryan’s assumed identity, Leon and Lokhak played the roles of his Attendants, and the three mounted their warhorses to head to the Felcon Family’s castle atop the cliff.
The journey was smooth with open gates.
Ever since his masquerade in Selva, Azeryan seemed to have become more extraordinary in his acting skills.
Moreover, the difference in his status, the aristocratic air he carried, and his impeccable manners left the guards at the passes without a shred of suspicion.
Besides, these days there was already a multitude of nobles continuously arriving at the castle to attend the wedding.
Such a small party of merely three would hardly draw much attention.
Riding on the main road leading to the castle, when coming across the nobles going to and fro, Azeryan would naturally greet them, seamlessly blending into his assumed identity.
Leon also obediently bowed his head and paid respects to the various “lords.”
For him it was bearable, but it was torment for Lokhak, whose heart was full of hatred.
In order to find his sister, he had to suppress his hatred and bow to the nobles of this enemy nation.
They entered the outer area of the castle along with the group of nobles who were visiting.
Upon reaching the tower at the entrance, they informed the knight of the Felcon Family of their identities and handed over their letters of visitation before heading back to their residence to patiently wait for a response.
The letter of visitation specified their current lodging in Western Port; if the stewards within the castle were to accept the visit from “the son of Dawson,” they would naturally send a servant to notify them.
While anxiously waiting, Leon took the time to lead his companions to a high-end tailor’s shop in the city to select formal wear.
If they were to play this part, they needed to have appropriate noble attire for contact with the Felcon Family, even if they could not attend a banquet.
However, there was no time for custom tailoring, so they settled for clothes that more or less fit and bought them.
Fortunately, only Azeryan really needed to withstand the scrutiny of the nobles; Leon and Lokhak simply had to play the role of servants.
And once the handsome noble son cleaned up his appearance, he naturally resembled a walking clothes rack.
Now dressed in a neatly tailored, ornately patterned doublet, his youthful demeanor was flawless and beyond reproach.
Leon walked in circles around their clean and tidy companion in the inn, nodding repeatedly in approval.
In another life, Azeryan could have swept through a video sharing website without even needing a filter and still garnered a slew of views.
After a short and tense wait, when a servant from the Felcon Family came the next day to invite them to the banquet, the three finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Once again following the dispatched servant into the castle and after submitting a sizeable wedding gift that pained Leon’s wallet, they settled in the inner castle building designated for hosting guests.
But before they could catch their breath, Azeryan was summoned to meet with the lord of the castle.
Naturally, Leon and Lokhak did not have the status to accompany him and had to diligently play their parts as servants, waiting in the room and silently praying their companion would glide through the encounter with ease.
When Azeryan returned safely with his composure intact, both of his companions could not help but breathe a sigh of relief.
They didn’t know the nature of the conversation he had, but he had managed not to reveal any flaws in his talk with the local earl.
Lokhak came up and gave him a big bear hug, patting Azeryan on the back.
His gratitude was too deep for words.
For a comrade to take such risks for his sake, Lokhak knew he could never repay him, not even if he were to be smashed to pieces.
However, just because they’d managed to infiltrate the first layer of the castle didn’t mean they could freely search around.
Before entering, the servant had already informed them of the areas they were permitted to move in.
At the moment, their scope of movement was not wide; Azeryan was still okay, he could walk around as long as he avoided certain restricted areas.
But now, posing as his servants, Leon and Lokhak could not wander around unless they were closely following their “master.”
Unlike the attendants of Great Nobles, they now had very little freedom to move about without their “master” by their side.