057. The Imperial Banquet (6)

“Owen.”

A voice overlapped the scene in the novel.

Owen’s gaze naturally followed the voice.

“Was that not the young Marquis of Ceres? What did he say to you?”

She approached, dressed in a gown that wasn’t red but a deep wine color, almost black.

Lucia’s hand naturally rested on his arm.

“…It wasn’t anything special, just.”

“Just?”

“He was asking about you, Lucia.”

“…About me?”

Her delicate brow furrowed.

Owen reached out and lightly tapped her forehead, a gesture he had learned from Lucia.

“Weren’t you engaged once?”

“Yes, but that was three years ago.”

“Indeed. That’s what he was asking about.”

Owen nodded lightly as he added more.

“He was wondering if I was using you out of necessity. It seems he was curious since it’s been three years.”

“Ah.”

Lucia made a sound of realization, as if she understood.

“I almost wish that were the case.”

Then she let out a laugh.

Her words seemed entirely sincere.

“It seems he wanted to imply that your marriageable age is almost up, and that you accepted me just in time.”

“That might have been it.”

“Hmm, so he was speaking indirectly.”

“He was using that kind of roundabout speech. Unlike Louis of Edelte.”

Lucia couldn’t help but laugh at Owen’s remark.

“Are you comparing him to Louis? Well, they are both young. But comparing Louis to the young Marquis of Ceres is a bit unfair.”

“…Is that so?”

His brow furrowed.

Just like Owen had done earlier, Lucia placed her hand on his forehead.

“Yes. Louis is still somewhat childish and naive, so his thoughts are pretty transparent.”

“People call that being simple.”

“Well, that’s true. Or they might call him stupid.”

Lucia didn’t bother to refute Owen’s words.

Instead, she seemed to agree, even adding more to the conversation.

“Still, Louis wouldn’t do something like getting his hands dirty, at least not usually.”

“….”

Knowing the future, Owen remained silent at that statement.

That was true only in the past.

Of course, it was a future that no longer existed now…

But in some timeline, Louis would have killed Lucia.

‘No, that’s not right.’

It wasn’t Louis who killed Lucia.

He merely led her to her death, but the one who actually killed her was Owen.

He directly—

‘…No, it wasn’t me.’

The presence of the original Owen from the novel reared its head again.

The increasingly frequent confusion was disorienting.

Lately, Owen had come to realize that even in his thoughts, he wasn’t distinguishing clearly.

It had been a long time since he had referred to himself strictly as the male protagonist.

Now, both the original and himself were just Owen, without any clear distinction.

“But the young Marquis of Ceres isn’t like that. He doesn’t even treat his subordinates as human. He holds human life in such low regard.”

While he was lost in his thoughts, Lucia’s voice continued.

Owen snapped out of his confusion as her words reached him.

“That’s why I decided to break off the engagement. He poured hot tea on the head of a maid who made a minor mistake.”

“That would leave a burn, wouldn’t it? If the maid were injured, that would be a serious matter.”

“Exactly. But the young Marquis of Ceres didn’t care at all. He even said she deserved the punishment. He didn’t even seem to be concerned about the consequences, or the fact that it was morally wrong.”

Owen finally understood why Lucia had categorized the young Marquis of Ceres as worse than Louis.

The young Marquis of Ceres was even more of a scumbag than expected.

“So, I dug a little deeper. Originally, I only requested an investigation from the information guild, but then I went to the assassins’ guild and paid for some traces. And it came out right away.”

Lucia was also a VIP who frequently used the assassins’ guild.

However, she didn’t use the guild for assassination purposes.

She used it to quietly follow someone and gather information or to monitor and counter the assassins sent by others.

“He’s made dozens of requests already. And all of them involved confidential matters. It’s obvious what counts as confidential in the assassins’ guild.”

He was a man with a history of ordering dozens of killings.

As soon as Lucia discovered this, she informed the Duke of Edelte, who granted the annulment without hesitation.

Even though he didn’t care much for his daughter, he wasn’t the kind of man to force her into marriage with a murderer.

It wouldn’t have benefited the family either.

In fact, it would have caused more harm.

“…It seems we need to be cautious.”

Owen had underestimated the situation and brushed it off lightly.

It didn’t make him fearful, though.

The young Marquis of Ceres was neither a knight nor a mage.

He was just a noble with a cruel disposition.

However…

“He’s the kind of person who could do anything.”

With his personality, who knows what foolishness he might resort to?

If things didn’t go his way, he might resort to threats or even kidnapping.

Of course, he wouldn’t dare target the two great ducal families, but he might go after their servants.

Unfortunately, both Lucia and Owen were very protective of their people, so if the young marquis attempted something, they might react as he hoped.

“But he’s been quiet for the past three years. Could he really have been delusional enough to think I’d change my mind?”

“It seems so.”

“The nerve. Isn’t that an overinflated sense of self-worth?”

Lucia was appalled when Owen confirmed it.

“He must have thought I couldn’t possibly love you.”

“No matter how much he thought that, it wouldn’t have changed anything. Besides, I already love you.”

Lucia took Owen’s hand and asked, seeking reassurance that she was still loved.

“Yes.”

Owen thought her behavior was like that of a newborn chick seeing its mother bird for the first time.

Just as a chick imprints on its mother at first sight, Lucia, who had received loving affection for the first time, constantly craved it.

“I do love you, Lucia.”

“You said so earlier too.”

“Earlier?”

“When you said nothing I worried about would happen, and that you wouldn’t look at anyone else but me.”

“Ah.”

That was what he had murmured before facing the young Marquis of Ceres.

“I didn’t think you’d hear it.”

“I didn’t. The distance was too far. But I could see your lips moving.”

“Even so…”

It’s not easy to accurately guess what someone is saying just by reading their lips.

Unless you’re a mind reader, it’s hard to understand the full conversation from lip movements alone.

“It was probably what I wanted to hear. They say thoughts reflect what you perceive.”

Lucia kindly explained, her smile full of sincerity.

“Is that so?”

“Yes, something like that.”

There were still many nobles around them.

It seemed Lucia had deliberately moved away, as the group she had been with was now observing them from a short distance.

Other eyes were also on them, not just from their own country but from foreign nobles attending the banquet as envoys.

Both Owen and Lucia were, after all, quite famous.

In many ways, life was exhausting and troublesome.

“Lucia.”

Owen suddenly thought about slipping away from all the stares.

Perhaps they could be alone for a while if they went to the terrace.

Ever since stepping into the central palace, Owen had been using his energy to keenly sense every movement and presence around him.

While this made him more fatigued, it was something he had to endure for the next five days.

Kyle was in the same situation.

It wasn’t physical fatigue but more of a mental strain, so it wasn’t a significant problem.

Except for the fact that it was more tiring and uncomfortable than usual.

“Shall we go to the terrace?”

“Oh, are you feeling tired?”

Lucia’s hand touched Owen’s cheek.

“You seem to get tired quickly in crowded places, Owen.”

“I don’t particularly like crowds.”

“Well, you did mention that before.”

Lucia brought up a conversation from the last garden meeting.

“You said you only looked forward to the banquet, not the banquet itself.”

“That’s because of you, always.”

Owen repeated the words he had said back then.

Though the form of the words was different, the meaning was the same.

“The noise and the presence of people are exhausting. It’s even more so when I can’t block out my senses.”

Though Owen’s body was excessively healthy and his physical abilities were exceptional, it had its downsides.

The body of a Sword Master was overly sensitive to all stimuli.

Having overly sharp vision and taste was one thing, but having heightened senses of smell, hearing, touch, and the ability to detect presences was exhausting in many ways.

When killing monsters, the sensation of flesh being sliced by his sword, the stench of blood, the voices he didn’t want to hear but couldn’t block out, the sound of footsteps approaching from afar…

All these things clung to him as if they were natural.

When he was less skilled with his body, it wasn’t as bad, and in daily life, he kept his senses half-closed, so it was manageable.

Even during hunting competitions, he didn’t need to heighten all his senses.

Monsters didn’t have enough intelligence to require such abilities.

But a royal banquet was different.

To keep track of everyone in the hall, he had to keep all his senses open.

“That’s why I’m happy when I’m with you.”

“…Yes.”

Lucia answered slowly, hearing Owen’s sincere words.

For some reason, she seemed troubled by such words.

Not in a negative way, but as if she were facing a storm and overwhelmed by the weight of his words.

Owen found this curious.

It seemed to have more of an impact on her than simply saying “I love you.”

“Kyaa!”

Just as the two were quietly gazing at each other, a scream erupted from one side of the banquet hall.

“…It’s her debutante ball, what a sad incident.”

The voice of the person who screamed was unfamiliar, but the following words were all too familiar.

“Even Her Highness the Crown Princess and the Marchioness of Ceres were quite shocked. I hope there’s a reason for this.”

Bella Taylor.

The saintess and the heroine of *The Flower of the Empire*.

“Are you going to pretend you don’t know? Envoys from the Kingdom of Yuria?”

“What do you mean, Your Holiness?”

At Bella’s pointed remark, the envoys from the Kingdom of Yuria stepped forward.

“It’s unfortunate that Your Holiness was nearly harmed, but this has nothing to do with us. Who would be foolish enough to commit such an offense while here as an envoy?”

You.

Owen wanted to answer but held back.

It was better to observe how the situation unfolded before making any judgments.

“The Tower Lord has been watching your actions closely. I’m sure Duke Verdun has as well.”

Suddenly, his name was called.

While Owen flinched, Bella stepped into the center of the banquet hall.

“Your Imperial Majesty.”

It seemed the incident from the original novel was about to begin.

The chapter where ‘the empire is engaged in a delicate balance of power, constantly vigilant against other nations’ ambitions’ was resolved solely through the heroine’s brilliance.

“I request the suspension of the imperial banquet.”

In other words…

It was a chapter meant to showcase that the heroine was strong, incredibly intelligent, and even kind and charming.