CHAPTER 186: CHAPTER 157: IMPERIAL CAPITAL 1 DEEP AFFECTION

Seeing that Ethan couldn’t answer for a while, Lindong told him some small anecdotes about Saint Mary, "Ever since she met you, she has developed a panic disorder. Sometimes, when she’s too busy and falls asleep on a chair, she suddenly wakes up shouting that the chair has turned into a bug. Many priests in the church have witnessed this scene."

She felt that compared to the old artist Old Ba, Ethan had an even greater talent in the art style of Bazatous. The Scarlet Dynasty had lasted for nearly a century, and Old Ba had created countless twisted flesh creations, yet none compared to the psychological shadow Ethan left on Mary in just one night.

"I’ll be more careful in the future."

Ethan conducted a deep self-examination, thinking that perhaps what he, as someone who once lived in the information age, knew was too advanced for the people of this world. He was merely trying to replicate some cutscenes from games or movies.

"By the way, have you attended any royal banquets before?"

Seeing Ethan’s uneasy expression, Lindong was satisfied and changed the topic. Attending banquets was an activity every person in the capital’s high society had to get used to.

Ethan shook his head, "Never had the chance to attend such events."

"Tonight, the Second Prince is hosting a banquet, and many VIPs will be present. Do you want to go and see the world?"

From Lindong’s increasingly excited tone, one could infer that she was plotting some mischief again.

Lindong used to despise such social events. At banquets, everyone seemed to be talking behind masks, and a single sentence could carry three or four layers of meaning. As a member of the Council of Seven, she had no choice but to attend these social activities, and coupled with her Northern Clan identity, she always received strange looks.

It feels a bit like being treated as an abnormal creature.

But attending with Ethan would be different, especially using an invisibility potion to sneak into the venue. Just thinking about sneaking into the banquet hall made her feel uncontrollably excited.

Ethan noticed Lindong curling her toes tightly.

"I heard the Pope and the Chief Judge will be present. Using invisibility potion to sneak in might get us caught, right?"

He thought it seemed a bit unreliable, as if drinking an invisibility potion could allow one to sneak into the venue freely, then the royal security level would indeed be quite worrying.

"It will."

Lindong immediately said, "That’s precisely because you might get caught if you’re not careful, making it much more thrilling than sneaking into the restricted section! But don’t worry, if we’re discovered, we’ll use magic to escape."

Lindong couldn’t remember how many banquets she’d attended, but she had always used an invitation to walk through the front door, never having snuck in using an invisibility potion.

Ethan was helpless, as a teacher, Lindong always led him astray.

"Before sneaking into the library, I specially brewed several extra bottles of invisibility potion."

Lindong even resorted to using her coquettish skills, "Come with me, just think of it as a date."

Indeed, she was a witch. Even her dates were so hardcore, with the slight risk of losing one’s head.

"Let’s set some ground rules first, make sure not to cause a commotion when we get there."

The thought of possibly having the top three on the capital’s most wanted list attending the banquet made Ethan feel a bit of a headache, while Lindong immediately assured him, "I promise to behave~"

.........

At night.

Ave wore a gilded gown prepared by the manor’s maids, adorned with heavy jewelry, walking down the red-carpeted royal hallway in slightly tight high heels. The gown’s skirt dragged on the ground, making her feel weighed down, and her hair, which the maids spent half an afternoon styling, was compressed to the point that only a small tuft stuck out.

She hadn’t worn such troublesome clothes in over two years, and she felt uncomfortable all over.

Not only that, as one of the protagonists of this banquet, she had to maintain a smile under the gaze of all the guests. As the eldest daughter of the Margaret Clan, her every move was tied to the family’s reputation.

Less than half an hour remained before the official start of the banquet, and the capital’s VIPs were arriving one after another.

Before entering the venue, Ave sighed quietly.

This was why she wasn’t in a hurry to return home.

As the host of the banquet, Damian felt right at home. Seeing Ave stepping through the door, he wore that charming smile, and under the crowd’s gaze, walked quickly towards Ave. Before this, he had been whispering something to the Pope.

"Ave, I have prepared a surprise for you tonight."

"Thank you, Second Prince."

Ave lifted her dress and curtsied to Damian.

Perhaps this charming smile and deep voice worked on most girls, but Ave was clearly not among them. She only felt her time being wasted. Ever since discovering the changing historical line in a book at the library, her head was full of questions, desperately wanting to dive into solving them, but now she had to keep her nerves on edge, appearing at this noisy banquet hall, facing the false smiles on people’s faces.

The crowd, seeing this, let out a burst of admiring laughter.

There were many "stumbling blocks" along the way. Almost every two steps she took, nobles she had never interacted with before would step forward for a brief exchange, just to get familiarized.

The eldest daughter of the Margaret Clan had returned from the Empire’s border, even the Pope and Chief Judge personally attended this banquet. Everyone knew what this meant.