Chapter 11: 11. The Engagement Banquet (3)
The engagement banquet had officially begun once everyone was seated at their assigned tables and the food was brought out.
Everyone was in fairly high spirits including Lord Taron who was pleased that Francis did not cause any unnecessary trouble for him. Once again, he thought back to his second son and continued to think how much better it would have been if Vincent had Francis's personality and poise.
Speaking of…
"Where the bloody hell are they?" Lord Taron muttered to himself.
His two oldest sons, both of whom were supposed to attend today's celebration, were nowhere in sight.
Looking over to the side, Lord Taron waved his hand and the butler of the mansion hastily made his way over to him.
"My lord?"
In a low voice, Lord Taron said, "Find out where my two other sons are."
"Yes, my lord," the butler bowed and went away.
On the other side of the table, Francis and Penelope were eating their meals in silence.
Chewing on a piece of steak, Francis thought, 'As I expected. John's steak is so much better.'
Perhaps his father didn't know the full skills of John, otherwise, why would he send such an experienced chef to Francis. Wouldn't it make more sense to keep him?
Swallowing the last bit of his meal, Francis placed his utensils down and dabbed his lips with a napkin.
'And now, time for dessert,' he thought eyeing the dessert table. 'The customs here are strange. Why would you place the desserts out before the main meal?'
There were several young kids that attended today's banquet and many of them were seen stuffing their faces with sweets before the meal arrived. Now they all had a full plate of steak lying in front of them.
"What a waste of meat," mumbled Francis glancing around.
"Pardon?"
Francis looked to his left to see Penelope looking at him with confusion.
"Ah, sorry. I was just mumbling to myself," Francis chuckled awkwardly.
"O-Oh," Penelope glanced down at her plate. For a minute, she said nothing but working up the courage to speak, she said, "T-The food is delicious."
"Hm? Oh uh yes. I'm glad you enjoy it," Francis replied. He pursed his lips and shifted his eyes around the room before saying, "Do you…have a favorite dish?"
Not expecting that question, Penelope paused for a second then said, "I…don't."
"Really? I'm sure there must be some sort of food that you enjoy eating more than others," Francis said.
Penelope scratched her cheek and said, "Well…I suppose I like cream stew."
Cream stew was a popular dish amongst both nobles and commoners made up of chunky pieces of chicken, carrots, potatoes, and a creamy broth. Francis had eaten it a couple of times but he wasn't the biggest fan of it since he didn't really like cream.
"I see. My favorite dish has to be steak," Francis said with a smile.
Penelope giggled and said, "Like the one you just ate?"
"Yup. Although, I'll tell you a secret…" he leaned closer to her and whispered into her reddening ear, "My personal chef makes way better steak than this."
Francis pulled away to look at her and nearly burst out laughing seeing her bright red face. Just when she had finally recovered from her earlier blushing mess, he went and lit up her face once more.
This time, it almost looked like she would explode any minute.
"Penelope? Are you okay?" Francis bit back a chuckle.
"Yesh - ah!"
She bit her tongue.
'Ahhh! I'm so stupid!'
Penelope wanted to crawl in a hole and die.
'I messed up and bit my tongue! So embarrassing…'
When Francis had leaned in closer to her, her brain had shut down and within seconds, she was overwhelmed with a mixture of anxiousness, shyness, and embarrassment. Completely flustered, she stumbled over her response and ended up biting her tongue.
If her face could get any more red, it would.
She didn't dare make eye contact with Francis next to her far too embarrassed.
"Penelope?" Francis tapped her shoulder. He glanced around the table and saw that no one was really paying attention to them. "Say, would you like to take a walk with me?"
"Huh- I mean, pardon?"
Francis stood up from his seat and offered a hand, "A walk. Just the two of us. Around the garden."
'J-J-Just the two of us?!'
Her brain barely processed his words while her body moved on autopilot and accepted his gesture. Then, she found herself dragged out of the hall and out of the mansion.
By the time she came to, she was standing in front a rose garden.
'Huh? What just happened?'
She blinked and glanced around, 'Wow. This is beautiful.'
Suddenly, she noticed how warm her right hand was and looked down to see her hand being held by Francis's.
'...'
Her brain shut off once more.
****
Minutes after the couple's disappearance…
The doors to the banquet hall burst open and a tall handsome teenager with raven hair and blue eyes entered confidently. Instantly, he garnered the attention of everyone in the room as they turned to stare at him in awe and surprise.
"It's him!"
"The eldest Taron child!"
"He's so handsome!"
"The genius…"
Arthur Taron ignored the piercing gazes and immediately looked around the room for his baby brother.
'Where is he?'
"Arthur."
Arthur froze up before his eye twitched. Reluctantly turning around, he came face to face with a very displeased Lord Taron.
"Father."
Lord Taron frowned, "Why are you late? The banquet began ages ago."
Wearing a tight smile, Arthur replied, "My apologies. I was late because I was busy finding a present for Francis - considering this is his engagement banquet."
Lord Taron's frown deepened.
"Why do something so unnecessary? Don't waste your time with such things. You are the heir to the House of Taron. The next line for Prime Minister. There are more important things to worry about than a measly gift."
'And this is why I can't stand my father,' thought Arthur bitterly.
Lord Taron tapped his shoulder and said, "Come. This is the time to expand your connections with nobility. Introduce yourself only to those I tell you to."
"But I've come for Francis father," Arthur said firmly. "Let me speak to my brother first."
Glancing at Arthur's serious eyes, Lord Taron clicked his tongue in annoyance.
"Fine. But make it quick."
'I don't understand why he cares so much about that child who doesn't even have a mana core,' thought Lord Taron. 'He never cared that much about Vincent.'
As Arthur quickly disappeared, Duke Norton appeared in front of Lord Taron with a smug face.
"Something the matter, Oswald?"
"It's nothing," muttered Lord Taron.
****
A/N: Down with the flu so wasn't able to write much.
Conversations in this chapter were pretty stiff - I know. I was trying to make it so that their interactions are awkward but I think I messed it up.
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