Riz opened his eyes the next morning when the annoying sound of birds chirping entered his ears. His head felt heavy. He concurs it may be due to him oversleeping.
Nevertheless, it doesn't explain the reason why his both arms lost their sense of feeling or his chest feeling heavy. In addition to that, two familiar flowery scents tickled his nose.
His head moves downward to look for the causes for his discomfort. What he saw was two figures clinging to both sides of him. To be specific, his fiancée on the right and his personal maid on the left. He is unsure how they end up on this double king-sized with him. They literally have their own bed in this room. Regardless, he is not going to berate them because of this.
"Urgh!" Riz groaned as he struggled to move one finger of his. He shook his body violently to throw them off him while at the sa ti releasing his arm. If he let them be, his arm might be paralyzed forever.
His effort bore no result so he decided to call them out, "Hey, wake up! It's already morning!"
This ti, his loud voice worked. "Urghh...Stop shouting in the morning, Riz. Let sleep a bit more." His fiancee faintly mumbled her words.
He turns his head to Charlotte who is still in her deep sleep, "Wake up, Charlotte. Aren't you supposed to wake up earlier than ? You're my maid, rember?"
Charlotte's body twitched by his remark but she had a perfect answer. "I'm off duty today, milord." His personal maid who is also his intelligence director turned her body, facing away from him.
"No, you're not! We have a banquet to attend this morning. I don't want to ruin my reputation by arriving late." Riz sigh.
After so much trouble, he finally manages to wake them up. They both rub their eyes groggily.
The day had not yet begun but he was already feeling tired.
Riz left his bedroom along with Theodora and Charlotte.
For this occasion, the young king chooses to wear a grey plaid three-piece suit with a black tie. No matter what, he couldn't get rid of the black colour from his clothing. Black colour has beco a part of his identity. As for the ladies, each of them wears a victorian-style dress with collapsed sleeves and not so low neckline. The dresses match their hair colour.
They were escorted by soldiers on both front and back. Occasionally, we ca across other guests from different parts of the continent on their way.
Riz had no idea about their identity unless he had seen them or they had distinctive features. Due to that, he won't unnecessarily initiate a conversation with strangers.
He felt his life a bit unconvenient without the existence of photographs in this world. That common device from the modern era will be able to help him and his kingdom a lot.
In this ti period,
it's a common practice of nobles to send paintings along with letters to get acquainted with their fellow nobles who live too far away.
It was a viable option available but not so cost-effective. Paintings are expensive to be commissioned. Most of the painting is exaggerated and does not always represent the true image of the subject. Plus, the current art style sucks. If he wants a painting, he needs to at least wait until the level of art in this world comparable to the Renaissance era.
Riz, Theodora and Charlotte arrived at the supposed banquet hall of the mansion. From outside, he can hear buzzing noises in the hall which indicated many guests had arrived.
To his relief, they're not the last ones to arrive.
The servant on both sides quick to open the two-ter double-leaf door for them.
There is no fancy announcent about his arrival whatsoever as depicted in the movie. Riz had no intention of standing out but he felt a bit bumd.
Putting his disappointnt aside, they calmly entered the hall. Be it before or after Riz becos a king, he rarely partakes in any banquet. Even if they were held in Ryntum, much less outside of it. Theodora may attend more banquets than him in her life. He never enjoyed it or thought it was worth the ti. There is much more he could spend his ti on.
Once they step inside, Riz analyzes the hall. To begin with, the colour the of the hall is a lemon-colour type of yellow, from curtains to tiles. There are three double-leaf french doors that can be opened, leading to a small balcony on both sides. A candle chandelier with a crystal-like design hanging at the top. At one corner, a group of musicians provide soothing background music to the attendees.
"Hey, Riz. What are you pensive about?" Theodora whispers to his ears.
Her voice brought him back to reality. He senses a lot of gaze from noblen and noblewon in the hall. So still chatter happily, not minding him at all.
Those who recognized him looked at him with curiosity in their eyes. Ladies in the corner whispered while casting a quick glance at him from ti to ti.
Many of them seem nervous. No one is willing to step up and greet him first.
His heart felt nostalgic and familiar at the sa ti. His current situation is no different from the ti when he was isolated at the party alone. Everyone seems to have their own groups. That's when he knew that he was invited out of respect and they never expected him to co. It was a very valuable life lesson for him.
Snapped out, he kept his mind positive. Maybe, this ti they were just being careful around him because of his status as a king.
With no intention of being rude, Riz smiled politely at the nobles in the hall. To be frank, he has no idea who they were or where they ca from.
"I can't believe that they recognize at first glance. Perhaps I am famous among the upper-class circles?" He leaned to the side and whispers to his fiancee.
Theodora shot him a glare, "How could they not recognize you when you're the only one wearing this kind of attire."
Riz shrugged. He looked at himself, then looked at the noblen in the hall and judged their attire.
Fair enough, he has fewer clothes than anyone else here. The design of his suit is simple and minimalistic at most.
It is completely the opposite of the current trend which emphasizes more fabrics to flex their wealth. n in the hall all wear embroidered shirts with baggy sleeves, decorated with jewelry.
For a split second, Riz failed to control his expression. He involuntarily frowned at the fashion that does not fit his preference. And it causes the atmosphere to suddenly beco cold and awkward. They stayed staring at each other as no one said anything.
"Ohh!! Your Majesty, you're finally here!" interrupt the count. The happiest man today ca to save the day.
"Count Naharog, my apologies for arriving late." Riz shifted away his attention to the count and replied with courtesy.
"It's fine, it's fine. Your Majesty must be exhausted from the long journey. Co, I'll show you and your ladies the seat."
"Please, show the way for us." The attendees clear the way for them. Count had made it clear about their status by personally coming here to greet them.
Count Naharog led them to the table at the inner part of the hall where the heads of states and their partners gathered.
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