bookandnovel Chapter 53 "Justice"
Chapter 53 "Justice"
When everyone had arrived at the banquet hall, Earl Hall, the host of the dinner, went up to his second-floor suite, stood before the railing, and, holding a glass of blood-red Olmir wine, addressed the guests below:
"Thank you all for attending this dinner. Let us drink the first glass of wine and give thanks to the God we believe in, for He has given us everything."
Everyone raised their glasses and took a sip.
"Thanks to the kingdom's prosperity, this is the cornerstone of stability."
Everyone followed Earl Hall and took another sip.
"Finally, thank you all for coming, especially Duke Negan and Prime Minister Agushid for taking time out of their busy schedules to come. Let's finish our drinks!"
Everyone followed Earl Hall in raising their glasses to Duke Negan, and then drank them down in one gulp.
After the opening remarks, Earl Hall announced the official start of the banquet, then took his wife's hand and walked down to the second floor, where they began the opening dance to the accompaniment of a band playing music.
Following closely behind Earl Hall was Backlund's most shining jewel, the founding member of the Tarot Club—Miss Justice, Audrey Hall.
In fact, Audrey Hall was already standing behind her father when Count Hall was giving his opening remarks at the second-floor railing. However, everyone moved away from the railing to give the stage to the Count, so Evan hadn't seen her before.
But when Evan finally saw the renowned Lady Justice, he couldn't help but marvel at how accurate the description of her in the original Lord of Mysteries was.
She had blonde hair and blue eyes, and wore a light white long dress with a high collar, high waist, and mutton sleeves. The dress was tightly fitted at the waist, making it look extremely thin.
Her long, golden hair was elegantly styled in a high bun, making her neck appear even longer and more graceful, like that of a swan.
The subtle glitter on her fingers and ears further accentuated her elegant and pure demeanor.
Even with his deep understanding of the two witches enhanced by magic potions and his knowledge from his previous life on Earth, Evan still had to admit that this girl was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen in his life.
After Count and Countess Hall began their opening dance, the men in the ballroom started looking for their first dance partners. Married men would usually invite their wives to dance, while unmarried men would look for other unmarried women. Since everyone was generally familiar with each other, they quickly found their partners.
This immediately highlighted Robert and Evan, who were both single. Robert usually attended business dinners and rarely attended such events, so the girls in Backlund were unfamiliar with him and dared not approach him. Evan, on the other hand, was attending a Backlund ball for the first time.
However, this situation did not last long. Soon, two noble girls blushed and came forward to talk to them, and Robert and Evan took the opportunity to invite the two girls to dance.
When the song ended, everyone stopped and applauded together, and then it was time for free socializing.
Two girls, their faces flushed, hurriedly ran away, clutching their cake skirts. Just then, a servant in a red vest approached Robert and whispered something to him. Robert then turned to Evan and said:
"Earl Hall wants me to go there to facilitate a reconciliation between me and Duke Negan. I'll also be proposing a government employee hiring reform bill, and you might be called over as well. Be prepared!"
Evan nodded and said, "I understand!"
After Robert left, Evan looked around and found that, apart from the people who had started the second dance, everyone else was chatting in small groups.
Evan wasn't interested in joining these people's circle. He had been kept busy by Mrs. Misha since he woke up in the afternoon and hadn't eaten a single bite. Now his stomach was growling loudly, and filling his stomach was Evan's top priority.
The banquet prepared by Earl Hall was exceptionally lavish. Long tables were laden with pan-fried foie gras, roast beef, roast chicken, fried fish, stewed lamb, and glasses of Ormie red wine and misty champagne. Evan even spotted a bottle of "Tears of the Moon" from Tingen.
Evan took a plate, picked out some of his favorite foods, and went to a second-floor dining table near the balcony to prepare for his meal.
But just as he sat down, Evan noticed out of the corner of his eye a large golden retriever staring intently into the ballroom from the shadows of the balcony outside the French windows.
"Damn, I didn't sense there was a dog nearby before. Did my keen instincts as a hunter and assassin fail me?"
This…right, this is Miss Justice Audrey's house, and this is Miss Audrey's beloved dog, 'Susie,' the future imaginary dog.
Evan was startled by the large golden retriever he hadn't noticed before, and almost jumped off his seat, but he quickly realized that he was in Earl Hall's house.
When Evan saw that Susie was staring at him without blinking, he realized that the 'audience' was watching him. He suddenly felt like he was performing on a school stage in his previous life and being scrutinized by the school leaders below. He felt extremely uncomfortable and inexplicably nervous.
"Why don't you come and have some too?" Evan was a little nervous and didn't know what to say, so he just said it casually. But to his surprise, the golden retriever actually came over and even licked its lips.
Although he didn't expect the dog to actually come over, since he had already said it, Evan couldn't go back on his word. It was also a chance to get to know Audrey.
So Evan raised his hand and summoned a servant wearing a red vest, asking the servant to get him another plate. Then he cut up the grilled steak from his plate and placed it in front of the golden retriever, Susie.
The golden retriever sniffed it and then happily started eating, while Evan, who hadn't eaten all day, also ate voraciously, creating an unusually harmonious scene.
"Why don't you socialize? Why are you staying in the corner? Although your brother offended many nobles by repealing the Grain Act, there are also many people who are very interested in you brothers." Evan was eating happily when he suddenly sensed someone approaching him and spoke up.
Evan looked up and saw a young man in his early twenties, looking somewhat immature, sitting down in front of him. The young man even patted Susie on the head and said:
"This is Earl Hall's most beloved youngest daughter, the jewel of Backlund—Miss Audrey's beloved dog. Oh, I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Grelint, and I have just inherited the title of Viscount."
Evan put down his knife and fork, wiped his mouth with a napkin, and then shook hands with him again, saying:
"Actually, I don't really like these kinds of occasions, and I've never thought about building connections in them. Besides, I'm joining MI9 next week, so we're not the same kind of people anymore, and I'm too lazy to put on a show."
Evan's unspoken message was that they weren't the same kind of people, so there was no need to waste time on him. However, to his surprise, Viscount Grelint's eyes lit up as he asked:
"Have you become an extraordinary being?"