Some of the staff inside the Tower of Conclave’s kitchen had been busy running around completing every dish Smith had came up with for tonight’s banquet. Usually, the rest of the staff would be out decorating the banquet hall. For tonight, however, as Stella ordered that this would be an open banquet, the rest of the staff were at the open-air pavilion located at the north-central plaza and were busy completing the last decorations.
The open-air pavilion had been decorated with white and gold curtain walls and green vines with white daisies covered all its round columns.
There were several long tables, covered with gold and white tablecloth alternately, lined on each side. At the head of the pavilion, there was one long marbled table. It was covered with long red silk with gold accents tablecloth, and fourteen high chairs were neatly arranged on one side facing the whole congregation. Each table was also decorated with Bonzai-themed centerpieces.
Floating gold and white lamps shaped like lotuses were scattered all over the place and illuminated the whole venue. At the same time, the pavilion ceiling was enchanted to reflect the beautiful starry night sky.
The center of the pavilion was left bare because there would be performances and open dance later on.
By the time Malek told Smith, the Head Cook, that the banquet would start within half an hour, the pavilion and most of the employees and staff of the Tower were already ready.
At fifteen minutes before the start of the banquet, most of the employees had arrived and taken their seats. There were still some kitchen staff who would serve the whole congregation but afterwards, they would join the banquet. Only a selected few would remain at the head table to serve the council members and the Lord of the Tower.
Five minutes before the time was up, the Conclave High Council members arrived one after another.
Everyone inside would greet each council member as they entered the pavilion.
However, when Chairman Noir and President Sigma entered, they noticed a man probably in his early twenties entered with them.
The man had auburn hair, and his eyes had the rare aquamarine color. He was dressed in an all-white coat and pants, a stark contrast with Noir and Sigma’s black ones.
However, most of them noticed how the man’s clothes fit him so well and added to his handsome looks.
Most females among the congregation could not help but whisper to one another, trying to guess the man’s identity.
“Could he be…?”
“No, right? I heard the man who attacked a few days ago had dark hair…”
“Really? I heard he was wearing a hood so they can’t really see what he looked like?”
“Yes, yes. I heard that too. He was wearing a black hooded coat that covered his face.”
“Then this man is…?”
They whispered among themselves.
Noir, Sigma and the mysterious man went to the head table.
Along the way, Noir and Sigma made small talks with the rest of the council members. They also greeted Malek, who was already seated at the right side of the high chair at the center, before they headed to their seats at the far right side.
Noir’s seat was at the right side of Callan’s seat, while Sigma’s seat was on Noir’s right. The mysterious man went to the seat beside Sigma, also the one at the farthest right.
Before the three of them took their seats, an array appeared above the high chair at the center of the head table, and the Lord of the Tower descended from it.
Everyone immediately stood straight and bowed their heads in respect.
Stella gracefully landed beside the high chair.
For tonight’s banquet, Stella had dressed up in an all-white gauze long gown with gold and silver accents. Her long wavy blonde hair flowed behind her back, and small pieces of emerald glistened in her hair with her every movement. With her appearance and temperament, she looked like a forest fairy.
“Greetings Lord of the Tower,” they all greeted.
They straightened their backs and looked at her. Admiration filled the hearts of the Tower’s people as soon as they saw her.
However, some immediately noticed how the Lord of the Tower’s dress almost matched the mysterious man’s attire. And the imagination of most of the people in the congregation started to go off track once again.
Stella raised her hand and gestured for everyone to sit. When everyone was seated and silence filled the pavilion, she finally spoke.
“Thank you for attending tonight’s open banquet. I know this is short notice and I appreciate all of you taking your time off to join us.”
She turned her attention to the left side of the pavilion, where the kitchen staff waited to serve the whole congregation. With a gentle smile, she added, “Thank you for your hard work. As soon as the food is served, please join us too. After all, this banquet is for everyone.”
The kitchen staff felt overwhelmed and hastily bowed their heads, “Thank you, Milord.”
Stella looked at the whole congregation once more and said, “Before we begin. Let me address an event that happened a few days ago that had put everyone in a state of unrest.”
The moment she said this, some people of the congregation felt uneasy while the others were excited. They knew which event the Lord of the Tower had meant. And while it was true that they were all restless the first day after it happened, they mainly had recovered, and even their focus was diverted because of the rumors that had circulated.
A new rumor even surfaced that this banquet was arranged to officially announce the Lord’s decision to accept her young lover’s proposal.
Most females stole glances in the mysterious man’s direction. Although he did not look anything like the perpetrator who was rumored to be the Lord’s love, he was the only new face among the primary attendees, and his age was close to the Lord’s. So they automatically assumed he was the ‘lover’.
To their great disappointment, although the man was looking in the Lord’s direction, his expression remained indifferent.
Was that the expression of a man looking at his lover?
“It was our mistake. We were too at ease believing that the Tower of Conclave’s defensive array is the best in the whole empire, and no one would dare attack. However, we were proven wrong,” Stella said.
She paused for a moment before she continued, “Fortunately, it was thanks to this event that we finally realize the flaw of the defensive array and we are in the midst of improving it. Thanks to the efforts of all the council members, especially Chairman Noir and President Sigma of the Blacksmith Order, they had made great progress in the new array this past few days. And today, with the addition of Chairman Noir’s very gifted disciple-.”
She turned to her left and smiled. As soon as she saw that the seat to her left was empty, she froze.
Malia, seated on the chair at the left side of the empty seat, looked at Stella when she suddenly stopped talking. She saw her frozen expression and immediately understood what happened.
Before she could say something, Malek cleared his throat.
Stella snapped out of her thoughts and turned to Malek; her expression was unreadable.
The whole congregation noticed this and wondered what just happened. Then they all saw the Head of Conclave say something to the Lord, which made her frown slightly.
Before the congregation fell into an awkward silence, the mysterious man stood up and addressed the whole congregation.
“It is my pleasure to be of service to the Tower of Conclave. I am Tyr and I am the disciple of Master Noir,” he introduced himself and glanced over at the Lord of the Tower and bowed slightly. “Thank you for having me tonight, Lord of the Tower.”
The whole congregation saw how the Lord’s expression brightened, then turned slightly dark, and then became worried all in a matter of a second.
That was the first time they had seen the Lord with so many expressions, and they were pretty amazed.
Murmurs befell the whole congregation.
The mysterious man was that elusive disciple of Chairman Noir? And he was actually a handsome man? But if he was Chairman Noir’s disciple, did this mean he was not the rumored ‘lover’ of the Lord? But what was with the strange action and expression of the Lord just now?
Stella cleared her throat, and immediately the noise died down.
She bowed her head toward ‘Tyr’ and said, “I should be thanking you-.”
Malek cleared his throat again.
As if realizing something, Stella straightened at once and repeated, “Thank you disciple Tyr.”
Tyr bowed once again before he returned to his seat.
Stella addressed the congregation again and said, “As I was saying, disciple Tyr has arrived today and will assist Chairman Noir and President Sigma in improving the defensive array. With his addition, the new array will likely be completed ahead of time.”
A sigh of relief washed over the whole congregation. Now they knew that the defensive array of the Tower would be completed soon; it had taken all their remaining doubts off their chest.
“Still I do have a confession to make,” Stella continued.
Her words instantly got the attention of the whole congregation.
Confession?
Was she finally going to announce the real reason for this banquet?
That’s right, the seat to the Lord’s left was still empty, so maybe her lover would only appear once she announced it to the whole congregation!
These thoughts appeared on most of them.
“The intruder that time, unfortunately, had escaped. So we cannot enact any punishment.”
Finally! The Lord mentioned the intruder. That’s right, the intruder that time was the Lord’s-.
Wait.
What? Escaped?
“What?”
Almost most of those who believed the rumor about the Lord’s lover exclaimed in disbelief.
Seeing most of the congregation’s reaction, Stella misunderstood and hastily said, “Rest assured that this will never happen again.”
Hearing the troubled tone in the Lord’s voice, the whole congregation fell silent.
“I can also promise that although the intruder escaped, we will still do our best to seek justice.” She looked at Hugh who was seated at Malek’s right.
“Chairman Hugh and the whole Mercenary Hall, will handle the rest.”
Hugh nodded in response and replied, “Leave it to us.”
Sensing the sudden change in the atmosphere, Stella addressed the congregation and clapped her hand once. Then she smiled at them and said, “With that, I hope we can all leave our worries in the past few days for tonight, and enjoy the banquet. This banquet, is for all of your efforts and your understanding. Thank you for staying and still believing in us.”
Hearing the heartfelt gratitude from the Lord of the Tower, the whole congregation was overwhelmed.
They were all thinking that the banquet was about their Lord’s possible marriage announcement when it was actually prepared for all of them.
While they still feel a little disappointed. After hearing the Lord’s words, the whole congregation felt the Lord’s appreciation. They all stood and clapped their hands in acknowledgment of her words.
====================
Dark clouds filled the night sky and hid the stars.
An abandoned old warehouse located in the outskirts of the northern suburbs of Meliora stood eerily in the dark.
A shadow stood at the second-floor veranda of the warehouse.
When the clouds drifted a little and let some of the star’s light shine below the warehouse, the shadow’s face was slightly illuminated and revealed a middle-aged man.
It was Gael.
“I have a secret mission for the three of you,” he spoke.
If anyone heard him, they might have thought he was talking to himself.
However, if they looked closely at the darkness behind him, they would soon find three hooded figures kneeling on the floor.
“No one else apart from the four of us, must know about this, do I make myself clear?” Gael said.
“Of course, Grand Marshal. When did we ever fail you?” The hooded figure in the middle spoke with a hint of a sneer in his voice.
“Take this.”
A black disc appeared in front of Gael and flew toward the hooded figure.
“The information of the target is in there, but the location has not been updated. However, it will be updated automatically once I have it,” Gael explained.
“Alright,” the man replied and took the disc.