"Miss, who are you looking at?"
Standing beside Sylvia, the maid Tali noticed the odd look in her mistress' eyes. She asked in a low voice, then followed the direction of Sylvia's gaze.
"Could it be that you're looking at Royal Knight Aisha Carlos? She really is quite cute. With that appearance, it's hard to imagine she's a super powerhouse who defeated that Imperial Marshal."
Tali seemed to have misunderstood something, mistaking Sylvia's fixed stare at Miles for her watching Aisha beside him.
"Still, while the Royal Knight is cute, compared to your sexy, graceful figure, Miss, she's lacking a bit of charm."
As she spoke, Tali, standing behind Sylvia, let her gaze drift over the girl's smooth, fragrant shoulders exposed to the air.
"Today's Miss is especially beautiful too~"
"Stop it already, Tali."
Tali had originally been the personal maid of Sylvia's younger sister, Korys Diane.
However, in recent years, after Korys enrolled at XYZ Academy and began living on campus, she rarely appeared at the family estate. Only then did Tali transfer over to take care of Sylvia.
Though called a personal maid, strictly speaking, Tali should be considered an informant arranged by Mother to stay by Korys' side, supervising her every move.
The reason, of course, was nothing else but Korys' special orientation, which she had shown from a young age.
To prevent her from messing around, Mother assigned Tali as her personal maid and placed her beside Korys.
But the world is unpredictable. After following Korys for several years, Tali seemed to have been talked into submission by Korys. The pure maid was tragically bent the other way.
Sylvia couldn't help but sigh. "Sigh… can't the XP of you people be a little more normal?"
Forcing down the curiosity in her heart, Sylvia really wanted to know why Miles had appeared here; While in such a serious social occasion, it still wasn't her place to speak.
If the head of the family didn't speak, then even as the eldest daughter of the family, she couldn't speak first.
As for the head of the Diane family, her mother, she had kept her eyes half-lidded since just now, maintaining an unhurried, composed demeanor. Compared to the Gate family, she didn't seem to have any intention of making the first move.
That's right. The current head of the Diane family was also a woman, just like how the Carlos family was currently under Alice's acting headship, and the Seth family was controlled by Kaima.
In fact, women serving as noble family heads was not a rare thing across the Spirit Continent. The most famous example being the Flower Baroness.
However, compared to other families that upheld equal inheritance rights between men and women, the special point of the Diane family was that only women could inherit the position of family head.
An extremely female-dominant, male-subordinate family.
Total opposite to this was the Empire's Gate family, a clan ruled entirely by men.
Diane and Gate. Divine authority and royal authority. Women and men. Crosses and cannons.
Everything about them reeked of open confrontation.
Previously, it was only because the Slint family stood between them that the three great families were able to maintain balance, maneuver around each other, and develop steadily.
However, after the Slint family's downfall, leaving only Diane and Gate behind, the gunpowder scent hanging over the Empire's upper echelons had grown increasingly thick.
"Oh, Your Highness Prince Homar Kaiser, I've long heard of your great name. Your willingness to grace us with your presence is the honor of our Gate family."
The one who spoke first was not the head of the Diane family, but the head of the Gate family, Bach Gate, a middle-aged man with a rugged appearance.
What followed was the customary exchange of pleasantries, with the Gate side introducing their family members.
Like Korys, Leon Gate, who was still studying at XYZ Academy, did not attend.
Ryan Gate, a red-haired man who bore a seventy-percent resemblance to Leon, Leon's biological brother and the eldest son of the Gate family.
On the Crown Prince's side, Homar was already a seasoned veteran of the political arena, so he naturally did not neglect proper etiquette. He likewise introduced the people present on his side to the two families in turn.
Only, in Homar Kaiser's introduction, Miles truly became Princess Nova's Royal Guard, while Irena was labeled the Court Grand Archmage.
Miles could practically glimpse the smugness in Irena's eyes.
Of course, Miles also understood why Prince Homar had improvised this move and temporarily slapped the title of Court Grand Archmage onto Irena.
Mutual introductions like this were far more presentable than bringing along an ordinary student.
And Irena's prefix was that of the youngest Court Grand Archmage, which sounded even more impressive.
With the Crown Prince gaining face, the two hosting families naturally gained face as well.
After all, bringing along people of status and prestige to attend the banquet was more than enough to show how much Prince Homar valued this evening.
Truly worthy of a seasoned social operator. Miles couldn't help but call it "brilliant."
At the same time, after hearing Prince Homar's introduction, Sylvia was even more shocked.
Not only because of Miles' identity as a Royal Guard, but also because of the other two who had come to the cathedral today. One was a Court Grand Archmage, and the other was actually the Third Princess of the Kingdom of Livorden.
Her thoughts then turned to the way she had driven them out earlier.
Wasn't that totally neglecting distinguished guests?
She wouldn't be held grudges against, would she?
"Your Grace, Duke Gate, have you forgotten something?"
Unfolding the rose-patterned folding fan in her hand, the female head of the Diane family, Karina Diane, finally spoke at last.
Though already a mother, thanks to meticulous care, no traces of time could be seen on Duchess Karina's face. Instead, the mature charm that radiated from within only added several layers of exquisite allure to her presence.
"As an imperial gentleman, shouldn't you be introducing the ladies on this side to the distinguished guests present?"
The Gate family, who had spoken first, had only gone into detail introducing everyone on their own side, quite ignoring the Diane family waiting in silence, not even mentioning them in passing.
In a formal setting, this was indeed discourteous behavior. It was hard to say it wasn't intentional.
"Or is it that the Gate family, having recently annexed the Slint forces and achieved rapid expansion, no longer considers us ladies worth acknowledging?"
Though her matronly aura carried a different kind of charm, there was not a hint of politeness in Karina's words.
"Hmph. The ones being arrogant are you, Duchess Diane."
His handlebar mustache twitched as Bach Gate shot back immediately.
"Relying on His Majesty the Emperor's preferences to excessively develop that fearmongering faith. And now you even want to interfere with the Empire's military armaments under the banner of divine authority. Isn't that you?"
"Oh? Are you saying that the divine faith respected by His Majesty the Emperor is nothing more than fearmongering?"
"His Majesty is merely too young. I believe that after some time, she will see reality clearly."
They had long heard that these two great families were like fire and water, but they hadn't expected it to be this severe.
Although the exchange was filled mostly with veiled sarcasm, the fact that they could tear into each other directly in front of guests showed just how much these two despised one another.
It even made the Crown Prince feel a bit awkward.
As for Miles and Irena, they were more concerned about whether they'd still get to eat.
On the long banquet table, buffet-style dishes, fruits, and drinks were already laid out to the brim.
Roast beef, honey toast, ice cream cake… even from afar, they looked tempting.
If none of it made it into their mouths, that would truly be a waste.
"Hehe, sorry for letting you all witness such a spectacle."
Gently fanning the rose-patterned folding fan in her hand, Duchess Karina no longer faced off against Bach Gate. Instead, her gaze landed on Miles and Irena, whose eyes were filled with longing.
"As for what just happened, please don't take it too much to heart. Treat it as a bit of pre-meal entertainment. I imagine the children are already hungry. Rather than spending more time on introductions, why don't we eat and talk at the same time? Not enjoying fine cuisine at its best is a disrespect to the ingredients bestowed by the gods."
This was probably the most comforting sentence Miles had heard since entering the hall.
That a dignified duchess would care about juniors going hungry; Miles even felt a sacred maternal glow radiating from Lady Karina.
Noble banquet gatherings were usually held in this kind of buffet format. Whatever you wanted to eat or drink, you could simply take it yourself, with dedicated attendants handling the cleanup.
Compared to fixed seating arrangements that were difficult to move around, this buffet style had the advantage of allowing free movement, making interaction between guests much easier.
After all, in occasions like this, for the nobility, eating was secondary. Conversation was the real focus.
Of course, the difficult task of socializing with nobles was best left to the adults at home.
Judging by the current distribution, it seemed Alice was handling Duchess Karina, while Crown Prince Homar dealt with Bach Gate.
As for Miles, a banquet was a banquet. Focusing on one thing at a time was more important.
Since it was a freely moving buffet, staying as far away from those big shots as possible was the way to go.
I'm sitting at the kids' table!
The Empire's signature roast beef is really delicious.
"Miles!"
Finally seizing the chance to move freely, Sylvia rushed straight toward Miles.
"Y-you… you… why are you here?"
"Hm? Didn't Prince Homar just say it? I'm the Third Princess's guard."
Miles spoke with a straight face, blatantly making things up, leaving Sylvia with no way to refute him.
"But didn't you say you were just a passing ordinary student?"
"Why can't an ordinary student be a Royal Guard? Just like how there's no rule saying a noble lady can't become a nun."
"I became a nun because of my faith!"
"Then I'm guarding the Third Princess because of faith too."
"/(//o/ω/o//)/ Eh, really?" Nova's small face flushed red.
Totally fake. Your brother doesn't even pay me.
In the distance, Aisha, who had finally freed herself from the Gate family's enthusiastic greetings, turned her head to search for Miles within the banquet hall.
And then she saw this scene.
Miles was being chatted up by a beautiful young woman whose figure was far better than his own, by who knows how much.
"┌(.Д.)┐ Mr. Miles, you've gotten tangled up with another weird woman again!"
Was it that she had gotten used to it, or that she had given up resisting? When it came to Miles being surrounded by women, Aisha didn't seem as resistant as she had been at the beginning.
Since it was unavoidable anyway, as his girlfriend (self-proclaimed), once Miles got entangled again, she had to protect him properly.
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