The banquet hall was filled with champagne waterfalls, exuding a honey fragrance throughout.

Expensive mother-of-pearl tiles adorned the luxurious aqueducts that wound around the banquet hall, allowing guests to stand and scoop up drinks at a comfortable height.

Above these aqueducts, ripe grapevines added a touch of nature, and below the waterfalls, appetizing apples and peaches floated, adding visual delight.

But that wasn’t all.

Art pieces made of fruit were placed around the room, excluding the dance floor, with round white tables nearby for guests to lean on.

Moreover, about ten chandeliers were added, all lit up, making the inside of the banquet hall sparkle brilliantly.

It was truly a paradise on earth.

The extravagant banquet hall seemed to scream its immense wealth, leaving the attending nobles speechless.

“Was the Empress’s ability to host a banquet always this impressive?”

“Wow. There was no need to worry about her competence.”

“Indeed, her background makes a difference.”

The ladies were already overwhelmed by the light from the crystal chandeliers.

The Empress’s banquet had a flamboyance absent in the Saintess’s banquets.

And this wasn’t just an expensive display.

The combination of capital with the talent of top artists, architects, and skilled palace maids turned the entire space into a work of art.

Moreover, the fact that everything was edible seemed amusing to the Nick’s nobles.

“This is… extravagant.”

“Right. All that food, and it won’t even all be eaten. It’s wasteful.”

There were certainly those trying to belittle the Empress in this way, but their voices were only a minor part of the conversation.

After all, a waste-free banquet doesn’t exist.

Leftover food from the banquet was first taken by servants, and any remaining was distributed to the poor.

Thus, even if it cost more, it was arguably better than decorating with inedible flowers.

“Look there, the Saintess can’t say anything. She’s turned pale.”

“Maybe she’s finally realized that there’s no overcoming her background.”

Some ladies gossiped with wide-open fans, delighting in the situation.

Those with strong aristocratic pride disliked the current situation where the Saintess, a Quide descendant, received favor. Now that the Empress stepped up, they naturally wanted to support her.

“They’re looking this way.”

“So what if they heard, what can they do about it?”

Helene heard all these malicious comments, engraving them in her heart.

She felt indignant but couldn’t say anything.

‘I… I can’t host a banquet with so much money spent.’

It was infuriating.

The moment Helene stepped into the banquet hall, she realized it was incomparable to any she had hosted before.

‘But is that my fault? If I had as much money, I could have done this too. If I had a family like the Duke of Ahillo behind me, I could have outdone the Empress!’

Resentful about her situation, Helene struggled to hold back tears. Despite her efforts, the sense of injustice was overwhelming.

Today, Helene couldn’t enter with the Emperor.

The Empress, who hosted the banquet, took that privilege.

What made her feel worse was that Enrique had agreed to it.

‘I could have entered with him. Why did he go ahead and leave me here to hear all this?’

Until yesterday, Helene thought the Empress, who had never hosted a banquet before, wouldn’t manage much. She’ll make mistakes, maybe even fail to decorate the hall properly.

Helene had gone to bed comfortably with those thoughts, but now, she was proven wrong.
As I entered, the situation was entirely different from what I expected.

“Guests from the desert nation are entering!”

Before I could even gather my thoughts, the announcement of the guests’ arrival echoed.

The desert dwellers, those heretics believing in a false god, uncivilized and barely clothed.

That’s how Helene thought of the people from the desert empire.

Considering them inferior even to the Quide provided her some petty satisfaction.

“But…?”

However, in the next moment, Helene’s jaw dropped slightly in shock.

As the doors opened, the delegation from the desert nation was… stunningly impressive.

Every individual, regardless of gender, was tall and well-built like knights.

Their confident posture, chests puffed out, exuded arrogance with their disdainful gaze.

The white ceremonial dress, intricately embroidered with gold thread, appeared to be their traditional attire. It was so elegant that it shattered Helene’s preconceptions of their primitiveness.

Among them, one particularly stood out.

‘Wow.’

Helene couldn’t take her eyes off a boy leading the group.

His face still showed youthful features, not yet a fully-grown man, but he was captivating.

‘He possesses a charm entirely different from Enrique.’

Enrique was solid, calm, a complete man.

But the boy seemed unstable, yet explosively charismatic and vibrant.

Unwittingly, Helene swallowed dryly, feeling a surge of desire to possess him.