Chapter 178
Since Alexcent wasn’t paying any attention to her, Athyst turned to study the knights as well. Her eyes t with Barden, who was sitting at the table in front of her. She smiled at him and Barden nodded, greeting her back. She felt Alexcent stiffen beside her.
Even though it was a welcoming ceremony, it was not overly grand. The banquet began with a brief introduction, words of blessing, and a word of determination by the new knights, ending with a speech by Lord Hill. Alexcent remained silent throughout the proceedings. It was awkward and tense.
Finishing his speech, Lord Hill ca over to the table and addressed Athyst directly. “Thank you, Lady Skad, for this grand banquet. We are deeply touched. The flowers in the hall are very beautiful.”
Lunia, who had been listening to Leyrian whisper to her, spit out the wine she was drinking. Leyrian glared at Lunia, who realized everyone had turned to look at her. Lunia bowed her head apologetically.
“Precisely, Leyrian.” Buer said, “I never knew I needed three forks and three spoons to have one al.” The rest of the knights erupted in laughter.
In the past, the welcoming ceremony was really just a raucous party. Food would be brought out in heaps on platters, and everyone would drink and eat and tell crude jokes. The knights had never attended a formal ceremony before. Athyst could sense the awkwardness in the air but didn’t know where it was coming from.
She turned and tugged at Alexcent’s sleeve, who had yet to acknowledge her. “Did I do sothing wrong?” she asked.
Alexcent glanced briefly at her and simply replied, “No.” Athyst was certain he wasn’t being truthful, but he wouldn’t offer any more.
She had no idea what he was angry at her about. Frustrated, she helped herself to a slice of at that had just been delivered to the tables by servants. Pretending not to care, Athyst grabbed her knife and fork and cut the at into smaller pieces so that it would be easier to eat. The juices were savory and perfectly cooked
Athyst looked up to see how the knights were enjoying the feast and burst out laughing.
Except for Barden, who was raised in a noble household and taught in the ways of etiquette, everyone else used their forks as makeshift spears, skewering hunks of at that they tore pieces off with their teeth. The room fell silent at the sound of Athyst’s laughter. In order to avoid a scene, she stabbed her at as well and dug into it with an eager bite. The knights cheered as their lady loosened up.
Not everyone approved of her getting along with the knights. Alexcent, who was feeling frustrated by Athyst’s constant smiling, wiped sauce from around Athyst’s lips with his thumb. He then licked it off as the knights cheered more.
Athyst flushed red by his sudden act. In an attempt to hide her embarrassnt, she reached for a glass of wine, which Alexcent imdiately took from her and set on the far side of his plate. She turned in shock to him.
“No,” was all he said.
Athyst glared at Alexcent. She couldn’t believe that he was being so domineering to her in front of everyone.
“I would just like one glass,” she asked, politely.
“I said no.”
“Why?”
“What do you an why? Don’t you rember the last ti?” Alexcent had a point.
“That was liqueur. This is wine.” Athyst knew that one glass wouldn’t affect her as the other alcohol had.
“Wine is an alcohol too,” Alexcent inford her.
“Even so, you drink as you please. It’s an not letting drink,” Athyst pouted.
“My Lord, isn’t one glass okay?” Hill called from the table. The knights had overheard the interaction.
“You’re being too strict on a day like this. Since when was wine considered alcohol!” Buer added to the conflict.
“Madam, even one sip is dangerous. I’m sure you already know.” Lunia, surprisingly, decided to agree with Alexcent.
“Lunia whose side are you on?” Athyst jested with Lunia, when out of the blue, soone has decided to join the fun…
“Would you like to have my drink instead? I can’t drink alcohol so this juice should be fine.” Barden offered his glass to Athyst.
Suddenly, Alexcent emptied the glass of wine into his mouth, then grabbed hold of Athyst’s chin and brought his lips to hers. A gush of wine flowed from his mouth to hers, droplets running down her chin from the sudden, forceful move. She quickly swallowed before she choked on the liquid.
Athyst felt her entire body flush, as Alexcent sat back as if nothing out of the ordinary had occurred. Oh my god! He’s crazy! she thought, completely embarrassed. Athyst was unable to look anyone in the eye. So hesitant snickering began amongst the knights and there were a few comnts of ‘get a room’. At Athyst’s expense, the mood in the hall had once again lightened.
After the al was concluded, everyone freely went back and forth amongst the tables, laughing and chatting. The sound of glasses bumping could be heard echoing throughout the chamber. Athyst, Alexcent, and Gen remained at the table, and occasionally knights would approach to greet them, but quickly left when they could sense the tension between the royal couple.
Athyst resided to simply watching the knights have fun. There were tis when it was more enjoyable to watch the crowd, instead of being a part of it. This was how she felt now, being too embarrassed to be a part of it.
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