Although the church wedding was the most important ceremony of the day for the couple getting married, for the invited guests, the wedding banquet—which was likely to last until the early hours of tomorrow morning—was the most important event of the day.
A wedding banquet differed from an ordinary banquet; its sole purpose was pleasure and celebration, so overly formal attire was not even required.
On the way back to St. Delan Square from the church, "Dorothy" explained the dress code to Shade, which surprised him, as he had intended to simply rest at home before departing.
"A gala of such high standing doesn't require formal wear?"
"Weddings are never particularly solemn occasions, and at this kind of wedding banquet, there are many fun little games. If you dress too formally, it will be inconvenient to move around," Lacia said. Shade didn't know why she hadn't swapped back with Dorothy, but he certainly wasn't foolish enough to ask.
"Then what should I wear? Are my usual clothes fine?"
Shade asked again, and Lacia replied with a smile
"Of course not. You still need a bit of taste, otherwise, people will laugh at you. The clothes I prepared for you—did you really just stuff them in the wardrobe without even looking? I know you wouldn't like the currently trendy retro robe style, so I prepared clothes similar to the black formal wear you like most."
Thinking of the venue for the ball, Shade asked with some concern
"Will Doctor Schneider and Priest Augustus be at the manor tonight?"
"Why on earth would the doctor be there?" Lacia asked suspiciously, then added
"As for the priest, I heard from Mother that the Eisberg family sent invitations to all five churches of the Five Gods. However, since the wedding was held at the Peace Church, the other four churches declined the banquet. Some might accept the invitation in a private capacity, but Priest Augustus likely won't come. Yesterday, Dorothy went to see the doctor to contact the academy and ask when the parchment she ordered would arrive, and she happened to run into Priest Augustus there. The priest is currently busy auditing the church's year-end financial statements and has no time to attend a banquet that lasts until midnight."
"That's a relief." Shade nodded, holding the cat.
"A relief? Oh, I see." Lacia naturally thought of what had happened at Lakeview Manor: "How could Tobesk always be so unlucky? I don't think you need to worry so much."
The two returned to Shade's home by carriage. Upon arriving, Lacia swapped back with Dorothy, returning Dorothy to her own body. Shade didn't know how the two girls had divided their time today, but he heard Dorothy complain that Lacia hadn't even changed her clothes before letting her return
"Getting dressed and groomed again is such a hassle."
Despite saying this, she hummed a song as she changed into a dress for the Lakeview Manor banquet. It was a pale purple gown, relatively simple in style and indeed convenient for movement. Naturally, she swapped her high heels for a relatively lower pair. Her hairstyle didn't change much, though her hair accessory was replaced by a diamond-encrusted butterfly.
It was already three in the afternoon by the time they returned home. By the time Dorothy finished grooming herself, Mia's afternoon nap had already ended. Without further delay, they took a carriage from the corner of St. Delan Square and headed toward Lakeview Manor, located by Lake Schluch.
Shade had not returned here since that kick in the midsummer night. After half a year, seeing the manor by the lake once more under a sky where the moon and sun appeared simultaneously, he was momentarily filled with emotion.
The scale of Princess Mona's wedding dinner was no smaller than the open-air gala at Lakeview Manor during the summer. Although it was early winter, the first snow had not yet fallen, so the nighttime temperature was barely tolerable; thus, the banquet was held both indoors and outdoors.
As Shade stepped off the carriage and saw the manor under the setting sun, large tents had already been erected in the front courtyard, connected by ropes draped with colorful flags. The banquet promised to be very lively, with various activities hosted in each tent.
According to information Dorothy had heard from Lacia, the royal family had even inquired with the Seers' Association in advance about tonight's weather, confirming that tonight was one of the best nights recently.
"Then does the Seers' Association know when it will snow?" Shade asked his companion with a smile, greeting the gentlemen passing by. Although Shade didn't know most of them, simple greetings were a matter of politeness.
"Prophecy isn't omnipotent; the Seers' Association doesn't frequently predict the weather," Dorothy said, walking with Shade toward the fence gate and stepping onto the red carpet laid across the walkway. There were petals on these carpets; judging by the decorations and adornments of Lakeview Manor seen so far, the cost of this banquet would certainly not be less than 5,000 pounds.
In midsummer, under the moon, Shade had delivered a kick in a state of "divine overflow," leaving a lunar mark on the walkway of the front courtyard. After half a year, this mark had disappeared. It was said that Mr. Lyndor, the Thirteenth-Ring Wizard known as the "Sun Greatsword" who had decided to reside permanently in Tobesk, had used the power of sunlight to neutralize the power of the moonlight.
As Shade followed the crowd and arrived once more at the place where "Madam Lasora" had perished, he couldn't help but feel a surge of melancholy.
"What are you sighing about, Shade? Hurry up and keep up with me," Dorothy urged from ahead.
They first had to head to the manor's main house, present their gifts at the door, and exchange a few pleasantries with the groom and bride before they could enjoy the banquet.
"Shade, in a moment I need to meet up with my writer friends, and then accept the invitation of the two princesses to discuss literary topics. You can wander around the manor first, and then..."
The blonde girl's face flushed slightly. The sun had not yet set, and the tents in the courtyard seemed to be preparing for a dart game. Dorothy tried her best to suppress the tremor in her voice, speaking in a normal volume
"Her Highness Lacia has a handwritten copy of *Summer Night Collection*. Around eight o'clock, she might invite you to view it together."
"Alright," Shade said with a straight face, nodding slightly to make the conversation sound flawless.
"Before that, you can tour the banquet. Besides the Rhode card tournament at ten, there are horse racing, fencing, darts, riddles, manor treasure hunts, and other interesting games. Her Highness also asked me to tell you that if Princess Angelina invites you to play, please agree."
Holding the cat, Shade nodded slightly, curiously observing the courtyard which was already filled with many guests. In the tent to their front-left, a band was preparing. This wasn't the kind of band that performed at formal occasions or opera houses, but a band wearing strange clothes, likely to play some folk songs.
"Yes, I will participate in all those games. I want to prove my strength, wisdom, and charm here."
"Prove yourself? Are you preparing a ritual?" Dorothy asked curiously in a lowered voice. Shade nodded slightly
"Something like that. Speaking of which, since I need to prove my charm, I must dance with the most beautiful girl tonight. Dorothy, we agreed to dance together, didn't we?"
"No, no, I am certainly not the most beautiful girl tonight."
Despite her words, it was clear that the blonde writer was very pleased with Shade's question
"The most beautiful girl tonight is, of course, the protagonist of this banquet, Lacia's sister, Mona Cavendish. Are you going to invite her to dance?" she asked with a smile, then curiously observed Shade's expression, seeing him look troubled as expected.
According to Delarion tradition, if a young gentleman other than the groom invited the bride to dance at the wedding dinner, it could be viewed directly as a provocation to the groom. In the era of cold weapons before the arrival of the Steam Age, this was a malicious provocation sufficient for the groom to initiate a duel to the death.
Even though the current era was more enlightened, no one still did such a thing. Especially since the bride was a princess of the royal family; if Shade dared to do this, even if he were an ace agent of MI6, Lalluce III would not let him off easily.
*I'll have to think of another way,* Shade thought. But for that drop of divinity from the "Goddess of the Lake," he had to complete this task tonight no matter what.
As they spoke, the two finally arrived at the entrance of the Lakeview Manor main house. After presenting their gifts, they formally entered the building.
The interior of the manor had also been renovated; there was no trace left of the previous owners, the Crown family.
Due to their collusion with the cultists of [Mercury Blood] and the [Lord of the Blood Feast], the Crown family had been stripped of their title and completely vanished from the history of the Kingdom of Delarion. But that was a summer affair; most people had likely forgotten it, as more interesting things happened every day in Tobesk.
Stepping into the magnificently decorated hall, the groom and bride standing in the center with wine glasses in hand recognized Shade immediately. However, both sides only exchanged a few simple pleasantries; there were many guests arriving tonight, and it was impossible for the hosts to speak at length with everyone.
Shade didn't say much, simply expressing his blessings and introducing his companion to the Eisberg couple.
Mona Eisberg certainly knew the rumors between Shade and Miss Galina—no noble in Tobesk could be unaware of them—but she still smiled and praised the beauty of the blue-eyed, blonde writer, jokingly saying
"Miss Louisa, perhaps you could use this banquet as a prototype for a story in the *Hamilton Detective Story Collection*."
Considering the themes of Dorothy's detective stories, Shade felt this was not a very good suggestion.
(End of Chapter)