74: The banquet begins

Olivia's personality was calmer, and her appearance also seemed more serene, so she mostly just nodded in agreement.

Truth be told, even with their fathers' influence, it was quite a marvel that two people with such different personalities could become best friends.

Furthermore, among nobles, it was actually impolite for the younger generation to whisper and giggle while their elders conversed.

However, since the two families were about to become in-laws, and the elders had a close relationship, this behavior instead made their relationship appear even more harmonious.

Therefore, The Count and Countess and The Marquis and Marchioness did not stop them.

Arthur would also occasionally glance curiously at Olivia during this time; after all, she would be his woman in the future, but he didn't know much about Olivia.

The Marquiss Mansion's steward had already informed The Marquis and Marchioness about what he witnessed outside the city, and they thereby confirmed the news that Arthur had acquired a Dragon mount, becoming even more satisfied with Arthur.

So, shortly after this, as The Count and Countess and The Marquis and Marchioness chatted, they brought the topic around to Arthur.

Marquis of Roses spoke first:

"Arthur has truly achieved something great! The number of powerful individuals under his command must be more than both of us combined! My son, Omid, truly can't compare to him. I truly envy you for having such a child!"

"My son, Omid, truly can't compare to him. I truly envy you for having such a child!"

Just like that, Omid, who had been sitting quietly to the side, suddenly became an unintended target.

However, speaking of it, Marquis of Roses's Fief, including the Marquis, had a total of three Earth Knights.

The Earl of Mad Lion's Fief only had Earl Abergh as an Earth Knight, and with Arthur's mother Charlotte being a Magister, there were a total of five Earth Knight-level powerhouses.

Arthur's three hundred golden sharp lion cavalry regiment alone had three Earth Knights, not to mention that Mountain Giant and Two-Headed Wyvern could single-handedly take on several human powerhouses of the same Rank.

Even if these three were counted as ordinary Earth Knights, Arthur ostensibly had six Earth Knights under his command, which was more than the combined powerhouses of the Marquis's and Counts Fiefs.

As Marquis of Roses's words came out, everyone present couldn't help but carefully calculate, only to find that it was indeed true.

No one had pointed it out before, so they hadn't really noticed.

This caused everyone's gaze towards Arthur to instantly change, as if he had suddenly transformed from a child into an adult, or even a superior.

Arthur felt a little uneasy under everyone's surprised gazes and quickly waved his hand, saying:

"It's all luck, just luck!"

...Since Arthur and his group arrived in Rose City at nine in the evening, everyone didn't talk much more afterward, separating after less than an hour of conversation!

It's worth mentioning that Arina did not return to her guest room but went to sleep with Olivia.

They were probably going to chat until deep into the night again!

Time quickly came to the next day; today was the day Olivia's birthday banquet was to be held.

So, starting from around nine in the morning, noble carriages continuously arrived at the Marquis's Castle to attend the birthday banquet.

By around eleven o'clock, several hundred people had already gathered in the castle's grand hall.

Arina was with Olivia. Arthur wasn't sure what she was doing all morning, but The Count and Countess and Art had gone to the grand hall quite early.

After all, while it was called a birthday banquet, it was actually an opportunity for various nobles to socialize and get acquainted. For Art's sake, The Count and Countess certainly wouldn't miss this opportunity.

But Arthur was different; the official start of the birthday banquet was at twelve, and he only went to the grand hall around half past eleven.

His lateness was because Arthur was confident that he didn't need to bother with useless noble interactions or try to build connections.

He could still allow his forces to advance by leaps and bounds.

The Count and Countess knew only the tip of the iceberg of Arthur's strength and understood that the people at this banquet truly held no value for Arthur to socialize with.

Even if he met people, it would only be others seeking Arthur, so they didn't insist that Arthur go to the grand hall with them beforehand.

When Arthur arrived at the grand hall, which covered several thousand square meters, he looked at the nearly twenty-meter-high dome and exquisite carvings, and couldn't help but marvel at the ingenious craftsmanship of the Kate Kingdom's architecture.

Even compared to the architecture of his previous life, it was in no way inferior, and perhaps even surpassed it.

Of course, Arthur's Initial City was larger than Rose City, and the grand hall in his castle was even more magnificent than this one, but he still felt a sense of awe.

Looking around, the hundreds of nobles in the grand hall had already formed their own small circles, gathering in groups of a few or even more than a dozen, chatting with each other.

Arthur quickly spotted The Count and Countess; from their appearance, it seemed they were introducing Art to other nobles.

That is, introducing their friends to Art to become his connections.

The three also noticed Arthur's arrival, but Arthur didn't want any trouble, so he subtly hinted to them that he wouldn't be joining them.

Just as Arthur was about to find a corner to sit in, he suddenly noticed a figure walking towards him. Looking closely, it was actually David, an acquaintance of Arthur's from the Barren Plains, a Duke's son.

Logically speaking, as a Duke's son, even if he was an illegitimate child, David shouldn't be attending a Marquis's daughter's birthday banquet!

And he hadn't heard of him having any dealings with Marquis of Roses before!

Thinking these thoughts, Arthur was a little puzzled.

And David walked up to him while Arthur was thinking, smiling:

"Arthur, why are you only just arriving now? I've been looking for you here for most of the day!"

Hearing this, Arthur was surprised and asked curiously:

"David, why are you attending Olivia's birthday banquet, and why have you been looking for me for so long? Could it be that you specifically came for me?"

Facing Arthur's question, David looked a little embarrassed, then replied:

"You could say that. My brother, Dean Cruke, is Olivia's classmate, and he came to the birthday banquet.

My brother, Dean Cruke, is Olivia's classmate, and he came to the birthday banquet.

I figured you'd definitely come, so I followed along. While catching up with you, I also wanted to see what your future wife looks like."

Listening to David's words, Arthur also remembered who Dean Cruke was.

He was the legitimate eldest son of Duke Cruke of Ailan Province, one of the three great Dukes of the Kate Kingdom, and also the Duke's first heir apparent.

Although David was older than Dean, he was an illegitimate son, so inheriting the Duke title had nothing to do with him.

Arthur and David had jointly experienced two wars against the orcs, and their friendship was quite good. Now seeing that David had specifically come to the banquet for him, Arthur felt a warmth in his heart.

Regardless of whether David's closeness to Arthur was to curry favor, the main thing was that Arthur didn't dislike this feeling.

Of course, this was assuming they were already acquainted; if a stranger kept chasing you, you would probably only dislike them.

So Arthur returned David a brilliant smile, and the two walked and chatted.

They only stopped when they reached a secluded corner.

But David and Arthur didn't notice that after David left Dean's small group to find Arthur, Dean's brows were tightly furrowed when he saw Arthur.

It was clear that Dean was not friendly towards Arthur, even showing aversion.

And his expression was also noticed by others in that small group, with someone asking about it.