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LOS 41
The banquet was said to begin at exactly seven in the evening. It was a matter of simply showing my face, but dressing up in a beautiful gown made me feel as though I were attending a grand ball. I put on the finest shoes I owned and stepped outside.
A black sedan was waiting for me. I saw Giles leaning against the car, dressed in his uniform. He looked as he always did, yet on this day, something seemed different. I wanted to figure out what it was. Had he put more effort into his hair?
Giles locked eyes with me and straightened his posture.
“Anna.”
“Let’s go quickly. I feel like I’m dying of awkwardness just standing here in a dress.”
Without a word, he opened the rear door of the sedan for me. We drove along the quiet road in the beetle-like car. I don't know how Giles felt, but I was someone who had virtually zero experience attending such banquets.
Once there, I would have to meet people I didn't know at all. I had boldly agreed to attend, but now that the day had arrived, I felt nervous.
“Giles.”
“What is it?”
“What am I supposed to do once we get there? I mean, there must be some kind of etiquette for banquets.”
“You don’t need to worry about that. It’s different from the parties the nobles used to throw. If you run into people, just exchange simple pleasantries. Above all, I’ll be right by your side, so there's no need to worry too much.”
“Maybe I shouldn't have said I'd go.”
“Are you nervous?”
He asked over his shoulder. I skipped the answer and only sighed. However, I couldn't back down now. We were already heading to the venue, and I had to make the dress worth it.
“Will there be many soldiers?”
“Most likely.”
“Come to think of it, I must have been out of my mind. Attending a party swarming with the Revolutionary Army when I'm of noble birth.”
“You are Anna Keating. A pianist.”
Giles spoke calmly, as if that had been the truth from the very beginning.
“The Bismar family no longer exists within Ipswin. Erase the traces of the past. Deceive everyone, and even deceive yourself. Then, eventually, that will become the truth. If no one remembers, no matter how true it was, it will have no power.”
The car came to a stop during our brief conversation. Giles parked skillfully and opened the door for me.
Only after stepping out of the car did I realize the identity of the venue. Surprisingly, it was a mansion where a noble might have lived. Judging by its considerable size, it had clearly belonged to a high-ranking noble.
As I looked up at the grand mansion, he held out his hand to me. It was then that I recalled an obvious fact. Ah, right. I was Giles's partner. I had to be one of those common couples entering the banquet hall arm-in-arm.
Perhaps he couldn't bring himself to ask me to link arms, so he chose a much more modest method. I also quite liked his judgment. I took Giles's hand and walked toward the mansion.
A soldier in uniform stood at the entrance holding a guest list. He recognized Giles instantly and snapped a salute.
“Captain. Please state your name. It is a formal procedure.”
“Giles Hessen. And my partner, Miss Anna Keating.”
The soldier crossed a line through the list and stepped aside.
“Have a pleasant evening.”
He led me inside the mansion. The moment I entered the large lobby, I felt an inescapable sense of déjà vu. The lavish interior of the mansion and the crowds of people gathered for the party... I felt as if I had returned to my days as a count's daughter, when I knew nothing of the world.
However, those who now occupied the mansion were not nobles dressed in fine clothes and extravagant gowns, but soldiers and ordinary women.
We stepped into the hall where the main banquet was being held. As soon as Giles appeared, several people acknowledged him as if they had been waiting. Perhaps mindful that I might be uncomfortable, Giles brushed them off with a moderate smile.
Still, many people were showing interest in us. I could tell. Though they didn't speak to us directly, I could feel countless gazes converging on us. Through the noise, I heard someone's voice. Hessen brought a woman?
Giles led me to an area where the crowd was thinner. There, there were various alcohols and appetizers, including punch.
He poured champagne into a tall glass and handed it to me. Holding the glass in one hand, I watched him drink and realized that Giles was also not one to enjoy banquets.
I could feel that he was already exhausted. The chatter of people, the occasional laughter, the clinking of glasses, and the music... the commotion seemed to set his nerves on edge.
Just as I was about to say something to him, a large silhouette approached us. It was General Harrington.
“Giles! You've finally arrived. I circled the hall once just looking for you.”
“General.”
Harrington, who greeted him with a pat on the shoulder, shifted his gaze to me. His face brightened instantly.
“Ah, Miss Keating. I am simply grateful that you accepted my invitation. Please, enjoy the banquet.”
A slight flush of alcohol was already visible on his face. Harrington looked around with a satisfied expression and spoke.
“It's a wonderful place, isn't it? This is one of the many mansions owned by a certain count. He actually owned several houses of this scale. Doesn't it make your skin crawl? All this time, we people of Ipswin had to share even the smallest of spaces with many others. Well, that's all a story of the past now. This luxurious mansion is now ours. Please make yourself at home, as if it were your own house.”
He let out a hearty laugh and soon left to speak with others. After even Harrington departed, no one else approached us. I asked him softly as he continued to sip his champagne.
“Do you not have to mingle with the people?”
“Showing my face was enough.”
“That's all?”
“If I mix into the crowd, it only becomes uncomfortable for everyone. Anna, as you know, I am from Beldam. No matter how many achievements I've made, that fact doesn't change. Everyone calls me a hero on the surface... but in reality, many do not think so.”
He wasn't simply uncomfortable with social gatherings. Giles had been able to save his life because of his past actions. Medals were pinned to his chest, and people treated him with smiling faces.
But it seemed Ipswin did not consider him a true comrade. In short, most of the people gathered here were Giles's friends and potential enemies at the same time.
If he slipped up even slightly, they would sharpen their blades against him as if they had been waiting for it.
I think I understood why Giles looked fatigued only a few minutes after entering the banquet hall.
“At one time, I thought I could cut off that label.”
He gave a self-deprecating smile.
“Still, I have no complaints. Surviving was enough. That alone is sufficient. Facing the contempt hidden behind smiles is far better than dying blood-soaked like the other nobles.”
“You really didn't want to come here.”
“It couldn't be helped. I'll just stand here drinking and leave when the atmosphere seems right for the end.”
“Is that how you've done it every time there's been a banquet until now?”
Instead of answering, Giles took a sip of his drink. I suddenly felt sorry for him. He was a permanent target of ostracization, someone who would be cast aside the moment a weakness was found.
The music stopped for a moment. Just as the silence was filled only by the murmuring of the crowd, someone played a grand piece of music through the speakers.
It was the national anthem of Beldam. As the anthem echoed, people burst into boisterous laughter. Someone shouted from the crowd.
“Let us sing for the country of our departed fathers!”
Then, everyone began to sing along to the music.
Freedom, glory, and prosperity,
The sun never sets on the skies of Beldam
All men, all women!
Let us hold hands as brothers and sisters and move forward
With a torch in one hand,
And the glorious holy sword in the other
For freedom, glory, and prosperity!
Long live the fatherland, Beldam!
The soldiers gathered in the banquet hall raised their glasses high and laughed loudly. Everyone sang the anthem with one heart, but it was actually to mock Beldam. Giles did not move a single step from his spot, as if he wanted to avoid drawing attention as much as possible.
Even if Giles was no longer a child of Beldam, there was no way he wouldn't feel anxious in a place where everyone hated and mocked Beldam.
When the anthem ended, the same music as before filled the void.
“Anna.”
He suddenly called my name. It was just as I shifted my gaze back to him. Giles wrapped me in a large embrace. Unable to do anything, I quietly accepted his hug.
“Thank you. For being by my side.”
It seemed my presence was a great comfort to him. Indeed, even I wouldn't want to be alone in a place like this. Giles, who had hugged me tightly as if I were his last bastion, soon let me go.
If I had said I wouldn't attend, would he have had to stand silently in a corner like a discarded sack of grain before going home?
I set down my glass. Then, I took his hand and pulled him.
“Let’s go.”
“Where are we going?”
I gestured with my chin toward the direction where several partners were gathered in pairs.
“Look over there, people are dancing.”
“Anna, I...”
“If you brought a partner, you should at least dance one song. Right?”
He couldn't bring himself to argue. I gave a small smirk and said,
“Dance with me, Giles Hessen. You're a proud hero of the revolution. What is there to be intimidated by? Isn't this why you gave me the dress as a gift?”
Tonight, at least, he was not alone. Even if he couldn't mingle with others, he shouldn't leave me standing there blankly as well.
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