🔊 TTS Settings
Chapter 45
Attending a Banquet After 5 Years
That damned banquet had finally begun.
“Entering now—the contractor of the Water Spirit King, Lady Einra, and the sorcerer, Lord Harnen!”
Before my eyes, the massive doors swung open.
Through the gap, a flood of dazzling lights poured out, almost blinding me.
Inside, nobles chatting in small groups all turned their gazes toward us at once.
I hadn’t even taken a single step yet, and already I wanted to go home.
…Well, to be honest, I had wanted to go home since last evening.
Sensing my hesitation, Harnen, who was escorting me, chuckled softly.
“It’s fine, Einra. You’ll be able to go home soon.”
He spoke gently, as if soothing me.
I desperately wanted to ask, ‘Soon? How soon?’ but instead, I forced a smile and nodded.
“Yes, Harnen.”
My favorite person was comforting me—surely I could endure something like this!
Straightening my back as much as I could, I recalled my etiquette lessons and stepped forward.
The nobles’ eyes followed our movements closely as we walked.
With the smile I’d perfected during my previous social experiences, I advanced toward the emperor seated upon his golden throne.
“Einra, blessed by the Water King, greets His Supreme Majesty, the Emperor.”
“Sorcerer Harnen greets His Supreme Majesty, the Emperor.”
Bowing with Harnen, we offered our respects. The emperor, smiling gracefully, replied:
“You may raise your heads.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“I hear that Spirit Master Einra and Sorcerer Harnen are peers who graduated from the Atlantan Academy as its youngest ever alumni. How admirable that Einra, upon returning to the capital, has chosen Harnen as her partner for this banquet. Such friendship is truly heartwarming.”
Speaking languidly, the emperor flicked his left hand.
A waiting attendant stepped forward, presenting a tray laden with various wines and drinks.
“Take a glass of whatever you desire.”
“Thank you, Your Majesty.”
Harnen and I each took a glass politely. The attendant stepped back with practiced grace.
The emperor spoke again.
“This banquet is held by my own hand to celebrate your return to the capital, Einra. I hope you enjoy it to your heart’s content.”
“Your Majesty’s grace is boundless.”
After replying courteously, I accepted his gesture to step down, descending the dais alongside Harnen.
The moment my feet touched the floor, the nobles—who had been sneaking glances at us—let their eyes flash with predatory gleam.
It felt like being surrounded by beasts staring at prey, sending a chill down my spine.
This reminds me… of my very first banquet when I entered society.
My first memory of such an event, after being officially appointed as a royal Spirit Master of the Elberk Empire, was… not a good one.
Nobles sought my favor, wanting ties with the contractor of the Water Spirit King.
But of course, not all nobles were so welcoming.
Some resented me. They envied me.
To them, I was just a commoner who had lucked into extraordinary affinity with nature and clawed my way into their social world.
And since I had stepped right into their home turf, I must have seemed like the perfect morsel to chew up, tear apart, and toy with.
Naturally, they never missed a chance to humiliate a clueless commoner.
“Oh my, look at this! Aren’t these the two prodigies who graduated from Atlantan Academy at the youngest age ever?”
As Harnen and I tried to stay unnoticed in a corner while nibbling finger food, a group of young nobles approached.
They looked youthful, but their titles made them formidable enough that we quickly offered greetings.
But they clearly weren’t pleased with us. They immediately began to nitpick, saying things like, “That’s not how you greet properly, you know.”
“Are you perhaps foreigners? You don’t seem to know Elberk etiquette very well…”
“Ah, but that’s right—you were commoners once. That explains why you never learned, doesn’t it?”
Hee-hee.
Their snickers spread, drawing more attention our way.
Eager to disgrace us publicly, they began quizzing us on noble knowledge and etiquette, pressuring us to answer.
“We have a question for the youngest graduates of Atlantan Academy.”
“Surely such brilliant minds wouldn’t be ignorant of Sir Keliano, the famous painter of the ancient Feinal Kingdom, and his work ‘Portrait of an Era.’ Could you explain the aesthetic differences between his style and modern painting?”
It was obvious—they were hoping we’d stammer and embarrass ourselves.
But did they forget who Harnen was?
He had once been an emperor in his past life.
No silly provocation like this could faze him. With a calm smile, Harnen began:
“Sir Keliano’s ‘Portrait of an Era’ is often praised for its effective use of negative space. His style is dark and rough, and unlike the modern focus on delicate contrasts of light and shadow.”
“H-ha, yes, indeed… You are quite knowledgeable…”
Foiled, the nobles forced an awkward laugh and tried to fire off another question.
But Harnen wasn’t about to let them lead.
“Though I must admit, I find it strange. This is the first time I’ve heard someone discuss the style of ‘Portrait of an Era’.”
“…Pardon?”
“Usually, when discussing this painting, the focus is on what Sir Keliano sought to express. For instance, the madness of the times, or the defiance of individuals against overwhelming oppression.”
Harnen’s words flowed with effortless authority, far exceeding what they had expected.
While the young nobles stood frozen, at a loss for words, he continued smoothly:
“After all, ‘Portrait of an Era’ depicts those executed after rebelling against foreign occupation. Armed soldiers versus defenseless civilians—resistance seems meaningless. Keliano even conveys this through the angel statue, shrouded in darkness within the negative space.”
“…”
“But notice the condemned figures. One weeps, another despairs, another looks away. Yet among them, one man in white stands with arms outstretched, shouting. Though resistance is futile, he resists. That is the essence of Keliano’s message.”
Knowing smiles curled Harnen’s lips as he added:
“To resist, even knowing it is meaningless. To defy, even knowing it will be crushed. That is what ‘Portrait of an Era’ wishes to say.”
In other words—talking only about brush style betrays one’s ignorance.
Harnen’s gentle yet arrogant smile seemed to spell that out plainly.
The nobles’ faces reddened as they realized they had been thoroughly outclassed.
Even as they kept trying with new questions, Harnen handled them easily, even toying with them.
Finally, realizing they couldn’t win, they found an excuse to shoo Harnen away to the far side of the hall.
And so, I became the sole target.
“Since the sorcerer had to step away, I suppose we’ll have to ask you instead, Spirit Master.”
“So then, about the current trends in music…”
The group surrounded me with forced smiles, baiting me with questions meant to trip me up.
The other nobles around us only whispered with pitying expressions, but not a single one stepped in to help.
After all, they were curious too. Curious about how much knowledge I, the youngest top graduate of Atlantan Academy and the world’s sole contractor of the Water Spirit King, truly possessed.
