Duke Pendragon

The population of the imperial capital reached about 500,000.

About 4 percent of the capital's total population consisted of nobles, which was about 20,000. In other words, two or three people out of every fifty were nobles. It was a much higher ratio compared to the normal great territories, but this was because numerous knights resided in the capital due to its nature. Of course, even so, the fact remained that there were many nobles.

Even excluding the knights, there were about 7,000 or 8,000 nobles residing in the capital. With such a large number of nobles, the luxury industry, targeting primarily nobles, was able to develop quite a bit, and the salons located near the high-class areas filled with large houses and luxury inns displayed splendor and luxury at their finest.

The nobles of the high-class residences had been suffering from a particular story for a while. And today, the story reached its climax.

"Did you all hear? King Pendragon entered the palace."

A nobleman threw his coat and hat to a servant and shouted while hastily running forward. The other nobles were already seated around a luxurious table on sofas, sipping wine. Even after hearing the nobleman's shocking words, their expressions remained unchanged, and one of them even clicked their tongue.

"Tsk, tsk. You only found out now? You are the third one already, Sir Salah, to say, 'Did you hear that? The King of Pendragon entered the palace!' Your information is truly slow."

"Hahahaha!"

The surrounding nobles burst into laughter, while two nobles licked their lips with bitter smiles.

"Ah, so…"

"Of course. Everyone gathered here have been talking about it since an hour ago."

"Oh, is that so?"

The nobleman sat down with an awkward expression. He had made his way to this place as soon as he heard the news.

"Not only here, but all the other salons are talking about it. And is it just us men? Not at all. Women, especially young women, are going crazy over it."

"It's no joke. Famous tailors of the capital are no longer accepting orders because they've been backed up with dress orders since ten days ago. Thanks to that, my daughter is whining and crying every day."

"My cousin Feyeni, who runs a perfume store as a hobby, made thirty gold coins today alone. I should have made my business with perfume, too."

"What's wrong with all of them? In the first place, the Knight King of Valvas already has three bride candidates recommended to him by His Majesty the Emperor, right?"

The newly arrived nobleman asked with a puzzled expression, and all the others stared at him with pathetic eyes.

"There's still the founding king of Pendragon, right?"

"What? But King Alan Pendragon has already formed a family and has children…"

"It's because he has no official wife."

"That's right. She is not a queen. She was taken in when he was still a duke, and… what was her official title…? Ah, they call her Baroness Conrad."

"Huh? Then that means…"

The nobleman blinked dazedly as if finally realizing something, and the other nobles spoke in unison.

"This is a golden opportunity. He is known to be the strongest knight in the emperor, and also a legendary hero who returned after seven long years."

"Is that all? This is a chance for anyone to become the Queen of the Pendragon Kingdom, while making connections with the empire's imperial family. It's only natural for all the unmarried ladies to get their hopes up."

"Not only the ladies, I think. From what I hear, Sir Miles has ordered his two daughters to be groomed and is eagerly waiting for His Majesty to hold a grand banquet."

"What? No, I… Ehem!"

A nobleman started to explain excitedly, then coughed vainly after being called out by another. He soon responded with a frown.

"Come to think of it, it's the same with Sir Rodney, is it not? All three of your daughters are already married, but I heard you took in a distant relative, a young girl, as a foster child only a few days ago. How old was she? Eight years old? Nine?"

"W, well, that's because I felt sorry for my distant relative… Ah, how could I send such a young child to the Pendragon Kingdom."

"The Pendragon Kingdom's successor, Prince Raymond is here too, right?"

"Heup…!"

"That's right! You were drawing an even bigger picture here, weren't you?"

"Ehem!"

It wasn't only the one nobleman who reacted in such a way. All over the place, nobles coughed vainly or suddenly found the most interesting to be the ceiling or the wall.

A large number of the gathered nobles wanted to send their female relative to the Pendragon Kingdom, whether it was as the bride of the father or the son.

It would be better to have the father, but the son wasn't bad either.

Even though he was the son of a concubine, he was currently the only successor of the kingdom. If they successfully tied the rope with the Pendragon Kingdom, they could, at the least, earn themselves the status of the count in the second most powerful nation after the empire.

"Tsk, tsk! Sirs, stop looking for the soup before even the bread's come out. As far as I know, King Pendragon hates bothersome things."

"Even so, a hero's returned after seven years. Will they not hold a banquet?"

"Phew, do you know how much Empress Irene cares for her brother? And His Majesty still calls her his little lark."

"….."

"There's no possibility that a banquet will be held. In addition, even if His Majesty the Emperor hosts a banquet, how many among us will be able to attend? It is obvious that invitations will only be given to those with family in the imperial castle or those on the level of a high lord."

"Well…"

The expressions of quite a few nobles turned grim.

It was true.

There were thousands of nobles in the imperial capital alone, and it was certainly impossible for all of them to receive invitations.

It was then.

Ring!

Another well-dressed nobleman rushed in while shouting as the salon door opened.

"D, did you all hear? King Pendragon…"

"Ah, we heard already! We know! We know."

Dozens of nobles shouted simultaneously, and the newcomer became startled and looked around the room. Then, he squeaked while looking around.

"Ah, everyone knows already. Since His Majesty is going to hold a grand banquet for King Pendragon and his entourage, I thought…"

"What!?"

The nobles shouted in unison.

***

- A grand banquet will be held the commemorate the visit of King Alan Pendragon, the founder of the Pendragon Kingdom, to the imperial castle.

The emperor's declaration spread throughout the capital in less than a day.

A grand banquet.

It was the largest among the different banquets, and with the imperial family as the host, all of the nobles of the imperial castle and the capital were invited.

Only a single grand banquet had been held in the last seven years, when the current emperor first ascended to the throne. The attendance of the ritual ceremony had been prohibited to certain members, but the grand banquet was open to all members of noble families registered to the imperial castle.

It was an enormous event.

Thousands of nobles would be entering the imperial castle.

Hundreds of gold coins would be consumed in a single night. However, it wasn't a huge burden for the imperial family to bear such a cost. There was a different reason why such large banquets weren't held frequently. Even larger banquets only sent invitations to hundreds of nobles, and strict security checks were maintained to guarantee the safety of the imperial family.

After all, there was no guarantee that none of the nobles would be trying to harm members of the imperial family. Nevertheless, the emperor was hosting a grand banquet, and the nobles speculated two reasons for the magnanimous event.

First, it was an expression of friendship and loyalty towards Alan Pendragon, the empress' older brother and a beneficiary to the emperor.

Second was an expression of the emperor' confidence.

It was clear that the emperor wanted to display the powerful wealth and the strength of the empire to his knights and loyal subjects, since the empire was enjoying a rich, abundant, peaceful era.

However, regardless of the reason, the nobles of the capital were elated by the news. It was a little disappointing that they were only given a two-day notice, which meant only nobles from the imperial capital and the surrounding areas would be able to attend, but it was good in its own right.

It would be better for there to be a smaller number of competitors to somehow get into the eyes of the emperor and King Pendragon.

Two days passed by in excitement and anticipation, and the day of the glorious celebration finally arrived.

***

The largest palace in the imperial castle, the Golden Lion Palace.

It was an overwhelmingly enormous palace with a width of 100 meters and a length of 170 meters. Usually, the emperor would hold audience with the knights and officials of the imperial castle in the large palace.

Dozens of columns taller than 20 meters supported a round, dome-shaped roof, and hundreds of servants and maids were busily preparing for the banquet since morning.

The royal knights and royal guards were also occupied.

They were in a state of extreme tension facing a grand banquet. Not many had been held over the history of the Aragon Empire. Over 3,000 nobles were estimated to be attending thus far.

They could not do enough to fully prepare for the event.

On the other hand, the protagonists of the banquet, Raven and Ian, were relaxed. All the others apart from the two were rather confused. It was because they knew Raven to dislike bustling, bothersome things, but had personally asked the emperor for a banquet.

"Are you sure you will be all right, brother?"

"What do you mean?"

Raven asked after hearing Irene's worried words. The two of them had spent almost all waking hours together during the past two days.

"I'm talking about the banquet. All sorts of nobles will flock, and most of them will be there to see you. It might become…"

"Ah, there is no need for you to worry. I asked your husband, the emperor, because it was needed."

"Phew… I already know what you are meaning to do, but I am still worried."

Irene wasn't told about that Raymond and Mia had almost been kidnapped. He had told the two of them to refrain from telling Irene as well. Right now, she was expressing concern only for himself, her older brother.

He knew well of her affectionate heart, so he stroked her head.

"Even though you aged and got married, nothing has changed."

"You have not changed at all either."

Irene smiled like a pleased kitten under the spring sun at the warm touch, even though she was already in her mid-20s.

"No, I have changed a little. As you know, I am no longer Duke Pendragon. I am a king. The weight of responsibility is different."

"Ah…"

Irene nodded, feeling a little emotional.

She already knew.

When her brother first came to his senses in the past, his personality had undergone a dramatic change. He was somewhat sensitive and hot-tempered. He possessed sufficient responsibility as the successor of the duchy, but there were times when she felt that he was uninterested in others and treated them half-heartedly.

However, her brother gradually transformed over time.

And the most important show of his change had been the last she saw of him and Soldrake. She felt her heart ache when she thought of the moment, even after seven long years.

Her brother and the guardian of the family had sacrificed their lives to resurrect everyone in the Pendragon family.

At first, she had difficulty understanding it. Only the cruelty of the situation reached her at the time, but now she understood.

He had fulfilled his responsibility and expressed his kindness as a monarch. And now, even though she knew he hated bothersome things, he was asking for a banquet because of the same responsibility.

He was acting as a true monarch, willingly utilizing his return for the sake of the Pendragon Kingdom.