Dream Life Vol 3 Chapter 36.1: “The Banquet”

　4:00 p.m. July 20, 317 Tria calendar.

　The banquet began with the appearance of the two main characters.

　The groom Rodrick and bride Rosalie, who had returned from the parade, entered with smiles on their faces, showing no signs of fatigue. On the other hand, my father and mother beside me were tired from the parade, and their smiles were slightly stiff.

“As expected, waving your arms for two hours… I thought my face would freeze the smile I put on.” (Matt)

　My father says this playfully, but he definitely seems tired. It’s no wonder, since it is impossible for a rural lord to be exposed to the eyes of tens of thousands of people. My mother likewise divulges, “As expected, I can’t live the life of a noble.”

　Even so, she forgot her fatigue and applauded with a big smile on her face when my brother and his wife made their entrance.

　The venue was not like a Japanese wedding banquet hall with round tables, but rather a long table about five meters long. There were four rows of tables with six tables per row, and on the upper side was a table where the Frontier Count’s family and my brother and his wife were seated, which was elevated about 50 cm.

　We were seated at the second table from the back of the row on the courtyard side. Since the Imperial custom clearly stipulates the order of seating at such banquets, the Lockhart family, being of knightly rank, was assigned a place near the back of the table. Behind us sat my maternal grandparents and my other relatives.

　In the row next to us sat my father’s sister, Luana Busby, my aunt, with her husband and son. Before this banquet, we had a brief greeting, but it seemed that the relationship between my aunt and my grandfather Govan was not very good, and I got the impression that the conversation with my father and mother was awkward. I haven’t heard the details, but after my grandmother Belinda died of illness, my aunt became a maid to a certain barony, and she returned to Welburn from Rathmore Village. he has had little contact with the Lockhart family because country life did not suit her, and she believes that my grandfather did not love his wife, Belinda.

　The Busby family is a family of knights distantly related to the Roswell family and are higher in family rank than the Lockharts. However, my grandfather’s military fame is still high, and the Lockharts, who are now related to the main family lineage, attract more attention from the nobility. So, my aunt cannot afford to be unfriendly to the Lockhart family since she has left them, but neither can she ignore them completely. Therefore, she probably felt awkward for some reason.

　After the entrance of the wife and groom, the Governor of the North, Hubert Roswell, gave his speech.

　The speech was delivered in about two minutes, in a friendly atmosphere, without any political talk, and a toast was given. The arrangements were not so different from those in Japan.

　The Frontier Count held up a silver goblet, and the attendees followed suit, taking the goblet in their hands and standing up.

“Finally… I offer this cup to the gods and His Majesty the Emperor… Cheers!” (Hubert)

　At the sound of his voice, everyone chants “Cheers!” Then, all at once, they emptied their cups.

　I empty my glass in the same way, and the slightly warm red wine spreads into my mouth.

(I wished it had been about five degrees cooler. If I had noticed it a little earlier, I would have chilled it myself, but I didn’t. …Well, it’s harsh to expect that with a metal goblet in the middle of summer…) (Zack)

　The goblets for the toast were handed out before the greeting by the Frontier Count, and they seemed to get even warmer in this great hall, where there is no air conditioning. Of course, I was not so dissatisfied with the temperature, since it was not for enjoying the taste but for ceremonial purposes.

　After the toast was finished, the five waiters and the fifteen maids started to move at once.

　The waiters pushed a wagon with a silver wine cooler to each table, while the maids of honor dispersed at once with trays of appetizers and amusements.

“First, I would like you to taste the sparkling wine presented by the Lockhart family…” (Hubert)

　The Frontier Count briefly explained about the sparkling wine and the glasses. Meanwhile, the waiters nervously popped the corks.

　The corks were pulled out without making a sound, and the bottles were quietly poured. After pouring, they turn the bottle halfway around and quickly wipe the mouth of the bottle with a twist of a napkin. They then placed the beautiful glasses on the table. The movement was so fluid and refined that the guests were amazed.

　They had mastered the art of serving in just two short days.

(Since they were originally dealing with high-ranking aristocrats, as expected… they are already better than me.) (Zack)

　My father, who was standing next to me, was impressed by the smooth, graceful movements of the waiters.

“Those are wonderful movements. I heard that you taught them, but how strictly did you do it?” (Matt)

　Liddy, who was sitting diagonally in front of me, let out a chuckle when I replied with a wry smile, “I didn’t teach harshly them”. When my father saw this, he just shook his head slightly with a look of relief on his face and didn’t say anything else.

　It seems like my father misunderstood me, but I thought it would be foolish to explain, so I didn’t say anything else.

(He seems to think that my personality changes when alcohol is involved. It doesn’t change because of that, but… it shouldn’t change right…?) (Zack)

　While I’m pondering my own conduct, the waiters are serving and serving sparkling wine one after another. With so many people staring at them, none made a single popping sound when they opened it.

　Fergus, the head waiter, himself came to our table. He poured the sparkling wine with a serious gaze. My father was constantly impressed by his refined manners.

　Aina, a young maid, served the amuse-bouche with an explanation. Aina is the girl who broke the on-the-rocks glass two days ago while practicing making on-the-rocks and burst into tears. She was the youngest member of the maids, but she seemed to have done her best.

　When I told her with my eyes that she was doing a good job, she smiled happily, but she never stopped serving the food with poise.

(I think he must have been 14 years old, but I guess that means she has enough skill to serve in the castle…) (Zack)

　From what I have heard, it is quite difficult to become a maid at Welburn Castle. Nobles and knights try to send their daughters to the castle for apprenticeship and good marriage partners, but to become a maid, one must pass an interview with Baron Ferdinand Oldham, the head of the ministers, and Baroness Barbara Harding, the head maid. The odds were ten to one. These women are the elite who have passed through this difficult process.

　Those who received the sparkling wine exclaimed in admiration for the first time at the beauty of the glass and the wine.

“What a beautiful wine! It’s like a fountain of gold. …The glass is also wonderful! It looks as if it were melted crystal… Even the Imperial Palace has never seen a glass like this…” (Marquis)

　A marquis in his mid-thirties who was in the front row was shouting so loudly.

　Voices of agreement rose one after another.

“Sir Hubert said it was a gift from the Lockhart family, but I wonder how something like this could be made in that remote area…” (Voice)

　It was too far away to hear well, but it seemed that such voices were even being raised.

　There were several requests for the glass to be gifted later in the banquet, but I declined all of them because it was too much trouble.

“These are handmade by me, so I don’t have enough materials. I have already run out of stock after giving some to His Excellency, the Frontier Count… If you allow me to contact you, when I have enough materials, I can give them you. I will do it.” (Zack)

　Just in case, I’m not lying. It’s a hassle to get the glass and lead materials, and the stock of “negotiation” glasses is running out. There really isn’t any material for “gifts”. However, since they are not willing to give in, it is unlikely that the materials will ever be available.

　The reason I declined is that it’s simple. It was simply because it was troublesome to deal with high-ranking nobles.

　Certainly, there would be buyers even if I charged a price of 1,000 Crona, or one million yen per piece. I didn’t like the fact that the blood tax collected from the commoners was being used for the glasses, which were luxury items. I expect they would say something like, “You sold it to so-and-so, but you won’t give any to me.” I thought it would be better to not deal with anyone in the first place. By no means am I expecting the value to skyrocket.

　The banquet went without a hitch.

　I only went to the table to congratulate the Frontier Count in between dishes, and there were no speeches as at the wedding banquet, so there was no need to get bored with long, boring speeches or to have trouble reacting to a subtle banquet performance.

　Although not speeches, the civil officials read out loud the names of the high-ranking nobles present, from the rank of count and above, and the gifts given. Jewelry and paintings were the most common items, but a famous horse from the central prairie region was also among the celebratory gifts.

　Some of the celebratory gifts were given to the Roswell family, so not all of them would belong to my brother. But the famous horse was a gift to my brother personally, who is making a name for himself as a knight.