Chapter 36: 036 Banquet (Part 1)_1
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Three days passed in the blink of an eye.
As scheduled, the Sudor family’s banquet had arrived.
As night fell, the castle at the centre of Ice Rock City bustled with horse-drawn carriages and crowds of nobles who had gathered to attend the banquet.
One has to admit; the timing selected by Cynthia Sudor was extraordinarily clever.
With the influence of the Sudor family, it would be impossible to invite such a large group of nobles for a banquet.
However, it coincided with the Troll Army retreating from the North Territory, with lost castles being easily regained one by one. Although some may consider this delusional, it could still be barely seen as a victory.
Also, the only two Marquises in the North Territory just happened to be in Ice Rock City.
Under these circumstances, unless Duke St. Hilde personally hosted a banquet in Winterfell City, Ice Rock City was destined to be the focus of the North Territory this night.
The banquet began at six o’clock, and Knight Colin arrived at half past five. He came alone.
This was a high-profile noble banquet, and naturally, commoner attendants could not be allowed entry.
Knight Raymon was initially barely qualified to participate, but he had been sent back to Grey Castle Town by Colin to deliver a message.
Colin felt that he was now capable of forging relationships with both heirs of the St. Hilde family, so Count Uman presumably wouldn’t dare to be too audacious.
So, there was no longer a need to skulk in the shadows.
Thus, he sent Raymon back to prevent any chaos from arising at home, thinking he was dead.
“I’m sorry, sir, could you please show your invitation?”
The guard at the castle gate quickly stopped Colin when he saw him, his face lighting up with anticipation.
Colin took out his invitation and handed it to the guard.
The guard hastily accepted it, carefully verified it, and had to let him pass after confirming its authenticity. “I’m sorry, Sir Knight Colin, for the inconvenience.
Welcome to the banquet! Please enter!”
Only then did Colin leisurely enter the castle.
Along the way, everyone who saw him appeared astonished, and many even whispered something while pointing fingers at him.
Colin was not bothered by these glances and walked on confidently towards the Banquet Hall.
“Sir Knight, please wait!”
Unfortunately, he was stopped at the hall entrance by the Sudor family’s butler.Recognising the Angler Family crest with a glance, the butler jovially said, “You must be Knight Colin, right?”.
“Yes.” Colin crossed his arms, contemplating whether he should smash the butler’s fake smile with a punch.
Perhaps the butler had heard of Colin’s reputation, or sensed the danger, as he took a step back, “I’m sorry, Knight Colin, you cannot participate in the banquet in your battle armor.”
Indeed, Colin had not found any ceremonial dress, so he chose to wear the newly-bought armor to the banquet.
Ordinarily, it would be considered quite disrespectful.
However, Colin was prepared for it.
Without any hurry, he asked, “Then what should I wear?”
“You should be wearing a ceremonial dress,” the butler’s gaze seemed like he was looking at an idiot.
He had already started to signal the guards nearby with his eyes, preparing to forcibly remove the disrespectful knight from the castle.
“Ceremonial dress?” Colin sneered, suddenly pounding his chest plate with his fist, and loudly proclaimed, “The North Territory has just suffered humiliation, the Troll Army retreated intact and without casualties!
And you all have the heart to dress up and enjoy this feast, indulging in music and dance?
Where is our counter attack?
Where is our vengeance?
Where is our spirit?
Why haven’t we done anything?
I am just a small knight, with no right to question the decisions of you lords! But I grieve for my father, Baron Angler, who died in battle on the frontline!”
As his only son, I swear here that without avenging him, I will not take off my armor!”
The hall fell silent!colin’s righteous words felt as though it had pressed the pause button on the scene.
Everyone stared in disbelief at the odd man dressed in armor who had come to attend the banquet.
Especially the old butler from the Sudor Family.
Even till now, his mind was buzzing.
Whether he was stunned by Colin’s booming voice or by the content of what he had said, he was unsure.
At this point, he knew that it would be impossible to oust this rude knight from the castle as he had originally planned.
Colin was indeed rude, but he was righteous!
This banquet, strictly speaking, did have a deceptive tinge of peace.
However, this was because of the unexpectedly sudden defeat earlier and the troll’s withdrawal was unexpectedly perplexing.
Thus, the lords and nobles who had easily retaken their lost lands, greatly needed an opportunity to cover up their past failures and to promote their current “victory”.
Hence, this celebration of “victory” came about with the impetus of many parties.
Unexpectedly, someone had now stepped forward to harshly rip apart the false mask of this “victory” and throw it hard in the faces of the nobles.
Among the crowd was Cynthia Sudor.
She had wanted to personally watch the disgraceful sight of Colin being expelled from the castle, but she had not expected to see this scene.
Cynthia was on the verge of grinding her teeth to bits but at the same time, a sense of regret emerged in her heart.
This banquet was initially an excellent opportunity for the Sudor Family to gain reputation, but now, it seemed to have become a joke.
All because of one person.
A person who was initially of no consequence.
A person she had intended to humiliate through some petty tricks.
Perhaps, she shouldn’t have overdone things…
Colin was unaware that the mad woman Cynthia was also watching him, still maintaining his righteous demeanor.
Ignoring the surrounding stares, he boldly strode forward.
“Bang!”
The dazed old butler was fiercely bumped aside by Colin.
But he dared not stop him again.
He watched with wide eyes as Colin, in his pure white armor, stepped into the banquet hall.
A sizable number of nobles who were attending the banquet had already gathered in the hall. Seeing Colin’s figure enter the hall, the crowd’s faces showed varying expressions, whispering amongst themselves with heated discussions.
Clearly, Colin’s loud voice had carried his “boastful words” into the banquet hall.
Therefore, he naturally became the temporary focal point of the banquet.
However, nobody came forward to greet him.
Apparently, Colin was being ostracized.
But he didn’t mind at all.
Even feeling pleased in his heart.
After all, this was a banquet meticulously planned by that mad woman, originally meant to benefit the reputation of the Sudor Family, but now, seemed to have been completely ruined by Colin’s speech.
There was still some time before the banquet officially began.
Thus, the nobles who were attending continued to arrive in succession.
The newcomers obviously felt that the atmosphere in the hall seemed a bit off. After inquiring about it, they found out that it was Colin’s doing.
Thus, the glances directed at Colin became more and more numerous.
Colin also started feeling annoyed, so he simply closed his eyes.
As time passed, the status of the arriving guests became higher and higher.
Until Marquis Charles appeared at the entrance of the hall.
Then, the banquet hall suddenly fell silent again.
This was not because Marquis Charles had a high prestige among the nobles, on the contrary, due to a series of previous horrendous defeats, his reputation among the nobles of the North Territory was extremely poor. But his appearance still brought the hall into silence once again.
Because, he too was wearing armor!