Chapter 81
* * *
“Is this banquet really okay?”
lody thought to herself, glancing at Ronny. However, he seed to be worry-free, teaching Loretta how to fold a napkin again.
A few minutes passed.
Soon, Butler Higgins entered and conveyed to Ronny and the Duke, “He has arrived.”
The first to rise from his seat was Claude, with a hopeful look on his face, perhaps wondering if it ant Jeremiah had arrived.
The Duke led the way out of the front door, with the children following him.
“Jeremiah brother has co.”
Loretta held lody’s hand and said so, as if she was certain of it.
“How do you know?”
“Yes, Loretta knows everything.”
The child spoke confidently and laughed brightly.
Upon reaching the entrance, they saw that the arriving carriage indeed belonged to the tower.
It had the sa emblem as the one Jeremiah had arrived in recently.
However, the person visible inside the carriage was not Jeremiah but an elderly man, unknown to lody, prompting her to step back.
Shortly after, the carriage ca to a complete stop.
While a servant quickly placed a footstep, the butler politely opened the door.
A plain wooden cane was the first to erge, followed by an elderly man with a bent back slowly stepping out.
The Duke moved forward to assist him, but the man declined with a shake of his head.
“Jeremiah has completely fooled , Ronny.”
Claude murmured this in front of lody, his voice mixed with admiration. What exactly had happened?
Unable to contain her curiosity, lody slightly lifted her head to see.
“Welco.”
The Duke was seen extending a courteous greeting to the elderly man.
“The master of all magicians, Magician Owen.”
lody then realized why Claude had expressed admiration.
Ronny had invited a very distinguished guest to the banquet. The most excellent magician, the Tower Master!
Following the Tower Master, a small boy with a sulky expression stepped down from the carriage.
“My goodness, to use the Tower Master just to summon Jeremiah!”
This was as bold, no, as dangerous a move as summoning the emperor himself to call upon a lowly servant.
* * *
The night Ronny returned from the academy after eting Claude.
He sought out the Duke to ask if it was okay to invite a new guest to the banquet.
“Who is this new guest?”
The Duke inwardly thought it might be Isaiah, lody’s friend. After all, Ronny and that child got along quite well in their own way.
However, Ronny’s answer was soone the Duke hadn’t anticipated.
“Magician Owen, sir.”
“…?”
The Duke looked at Ronny, who calmly ntioned the na of the esteed person.
“I know.”
Ronny quickly reassured the Duke, sensing his concern.
“He’s not just the Tower Master, but also soone who completely renounced the royal family’s na to pursue the path of magic.”
The Duke nodded slightly. Ronny continued.
“However, it’s true that noble blood runs through his veins, and he extrely avoids having private etings with nobles.”
“Indeed.”
Being a Tower Master was impressive enough, but his background made many people desire his acquaintance.
Thus, he secluded himself in the old tower, allowing only knowledge and truth as his companions.
“He has no direct heirs either.”
Ronny sowhat understood why the Tower Master chose not to have a blood successor. It was thanks to his recent diligent studies in history.
“It’s probably because he dislikes conflicts.”
“You’re well-inford.”
“He’s Jeremiah’s teacher, after all. I naturally ca to know these things.”
“That’s one of your strengths, Ronny Baldwin.”
The Duke, fading his faint smile, advised his son with a worried heart.
“He doesn’t like getting involved in the affairs of nobles. I’m concerned that our invitation might be seen as rude.”
“But.”
Ronny pulled out several letters from his pocket, all exchanged directly with the Tower Master.
“He always responds to my letters. Whenever it’s about Jeremiah, he always takes care first.”
Even though Ronny was young, he understood how significant it was to receive handwritten letters from the ‘Tower Master’ so easily.
“He must truly wish for the Baldwin ducal family and Jeremiah to be on good terms.”
It was clear from the effort he put into writing letters filled with things Jeremiah liked.
“Please let
invite him.”
Even though the Duke intended to respect Ronny’s decision, he couldn’t nod so easily. Despite having a magician son, the Duke had his fears about entangling with the tower.
Eventually, after a night of thorough contemplation, the Duke finally told Ronny it was okay to send the invitation.
And the Tower Master’s acceptance to the invitation ca back that very afternoon.
* * *
The Duke led the Tower Master to the banquet hall’s place of honor.
“This is strange.”
But the Tower Master tilted his head slightly at the allocation of seats and smiled warmly at Ronny.
“The invitation from the host of this party only ntioned ‘Jeremiah Baldwin’s teacher.’ It’s clear I’m not soone who should sit in a higher position than the duke of a country.”
“Uh….”
Ronny was montarily lost in thought. The Tower Master, accustod to waiting, kept silent until the boy reached a conclusion.
“Then.”
Ronny quickly glanced at the other seats, thinking if the guest felt uncomfortable in the place of honor, he should offer a more comfortable seat.
But at that mont, he locked eyes with Jeremiah, who had a terrifying look.
It seed as if his gaze was saying, ‘If you don’t offer the highest seat to my teacher, I won’t even speak to you.’
“Ah, yes. That’s right.”
Ronny straightened up and smiled properly, adopting the “elegant posture” he had practiced several tis with his etiquette teacher.
“Indeed, this seat would be best. My father would also want to show respect to the teacher of his children.”
Ronny looked up at his father with a ‘Right?’ which led the Duke to also respond, “That’s correct.”
“Then it can’t be helped. I’ll sit in this esteed seat, though it’s quite presumptuous of .”
Once Owen took his seat at the place of honor, Jeremiah finally breathed a sigh of relief. He quickly turned his head away the mont his eyes t Ronny’s.
Now, everyone who had agreed to attend the banquet had gathered.
Ronny looked around the table with a proud expression. Of course, the problems had not yet been resolved. Jeremiah’s sulky face and Claude’s stiff expression were still issues.
This could hardly be called a ‘banquet’ in such a state.
Thus, as the host, Ronny still had work to do to turn this gathering into a real feast.
“Excuse .”
Ronny carefully stood up.
“Thank you for attending the Baldwin family’s banquet.”
As he spoke on behalf of the host, everyone clapped their hands lightly.
“Today’s banquet celebrates three occasions. One is for my respected brother Claude.”
Ronny turned his gaze to Claude, who slightly nodded.
“He achieved top honors at the academy. Receiving praise from the professors. And then.”
His gaze then shifted to Jeremiah on the opposite side.
“My precious younger brother has finally beco ‘Magician Baldwin.’ And lastly.”
Ronny looked at Loretta and lody sitting side by side.
“We’ve finally ford a perfect family. But, you see.”
Despite talking about happy matters, Ronny’s expression was incredibly cautious.
“In fact, I have sothing to apologize for to all of you.”
What could he be talking about? As curious glances poured his way, Ronny lifted a note he had brought beforehand.
“Actually, at today’s banquet, I planned to surprise everyone with dishes reflecting each person’s tastes. I wanted to make it enjoyable for you. No, that’s not it….”
Ronny paused his story, shook his head, and then shared his honest feelings.
“Actually, I wanted to receive praise and be happy. Embarrassingly, I am… the only person at today’s banquet who doesn’t have anything to be celebrated for.”
His voice, lacking confidence, slightly retreated, and he quickly cleared his throat and raised his head.
Now was not the ti to be disheartened.
“Anyway, I’ve given up on the praise. I ended up choosing the nu very selfishly.”
The chef, who had been serving the ducal family for a long ti, was also perplexed by Ronny’s suggestion.
Even though a course al consists of various dishes, it ultimately exists for one harmony. But to give up on that.
“Perhaps a dish with a flavor you’re not used to enjoying might appear in front of you. The degree of cooking might be different from usual, or a completely unexpected dish might co out. But that is….”
Ronny gripped the note he was holding tightly. The moisture that had built up in his palm was fully absorbed by the old paper.
“Sobody here might really like it, or it might contain precious mories. So, please.”
Ronny bowed his head to all the attendees.
“Even if the dish doesn’t suit your taste, I hope you’ll at least try a bite.”
…Maybe you’ll end up liking it.
Ronny wanted to add this, but it seed like too much to hope for, so he whispered it only in his heart.
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