Chapter 40: The noble banquet

After the meeting with the king, a grand banquet was held according to tradition, where nobles of the appropriate rank were invited to announce that Christine, the new Baron Stewart, had officially entered the noble circle.

Although the local nobles spent most of their time in their own territories, except when they had business in the capital, there were still a very large number of hereditary and non-hereditary honorary nobles in Frank City, and Christine's hall in the mansion in the capital could not accommodate so many nobles.

Actually, she didn't have to worry about that. After all, she still had a mansion in Frank City. Didn't other nobles who only had mansions or didn't even own a mansion throw parties? As long as she paid the money, the Noble Council of Frank Kingdom would take care of everything.

After all, there were strict etiquette requirements for the entire process, starting from making the guest list to delivering the invitations. Most of the etiquette officers in the field nobles' families could not handle such a cumbersome process, let alone the newly minted nobles who knew nothing.

The cost of 2,000 gold coins not only shows the wealth of Baron Stewart's domain, but also that it is not too excessive. After all, there are relatively strict rules for this kind of banquet, and there are regulations for what kind of banquet a noble of a certain rank should hold.

Otherwise, a newly promoted field baron might grit his teeth and find 5,000 gold coins to hold a banquet, but what about a newly promoted hereditary honorary count? If you take less, you lose face, and if you take more, you really can't afford it.

The banquet invitations were sent out three days in advance. In fact, the aristocratic circles were very well informed, and after learning the time when the King summoned Baron Stewart, they deduced the time of the banquet, so that all the nobles who were qualified on that day were free to attend.

During these three days of free time, Christine went to the main temple of the Dragon God Church in the city of France to pray and make donations.

As the largest city on the continent, the Church of the Gods has built a grand temple here, large enough to show the majesty of the true God, second in size only to the headquarters of the Church.

The headquarters of the Church of the Dragon God is located on an island, which is convenient for communication with Dragon Island. In fact, there are always dragons living in the church. However, compared to human priests, it is not very convenient for them to travel back and forth, so the Grand Temple of the Frank Kingdom has taken over some of the functions of the headquarters, with three cardinals above the rank of 15 permanently stationed there.

The Church of the Dragon God gave a grand welcome to Christine's arrival. After all, she had doubled the family's territory after taking over the family's affairs. Even if the people in the new territory now believe in other true gods, it is not impossible for their descendants to convert to the Dragon God over time. Not to mention that Port Dominaria has built a new temple for the great Dragon God, which shows the god's honor.

These are all solid achievements for the Church, so Christine, who brought them about, was treated with great enthusiasm. The Cardinal himself presided over a prayer service for her.

The Council of Nobles of the Kingdom of France had a special place for banquets, and the nobles of the royal capital were familiar with it.

Christine stood on the steps outside the hall in her ceremonial robes to greet the guests. Where the guests were greeted depended on their rank. If they were viscounts, they were greeted in the foyer of the hall; earls were greeted at the door of the main hall; and marquises did not have to greet anyone except a few dukes and nobles of the same rank as themselves.

Christine was accompanied by a protocol officer who was responsible for introducing her to the guests and guiding her in what to say. As long as she followed the rules, she would not make a faux pas. The emphasis was on attentive service.

Several of the king's princes and princesses were also present. After all, Christine's reputation as the most beautiful woman in Brittany was well known. After this banquet, however, she was expected to be ranked among the most beautiful women in the Kingdom of France.

It can be said that all the eligible young nobles at the banquet hoped to marry Christine, not only because of her beauty, but also because of her unique and attractive temperament. Unfortunately, they were unable to do so for several reasons.

First of all, she was a field baroness with a territory equal to that of two barons, so the honorary nobles present could forget about it. There were some heirs of field nobles who happened to be invited to the banquet in the royal capital, but they didn't have the heart to go.

When two field nobles marry, their territories are merged into one when passed down to their heirs, and the heirs also inherit both family names at the same time. But the problem is that Christine is a dragon vein descendant with a life expectancy of nearly 500 years. As a result of holding the family's power for hundreds of years, everyone only knows the family name Stewart, and the family that marries her will eventually give her the entire family business.

Even princes only dare to come and see the beauty, and princes without hereditary rights can only get respect from the field baron.

There is not much to say about the actual course of the banquet. After all, the purpose of a banquet is to allow Christine and the nobles of the capital to get to know each other, and no one really comes here to eat. As for Christine, who has made elegance a habit since childhood, her performance throughout the event was perfect, and she left a deep impression on the guests.

It can be said that Christine's entry into the aristocratic circle was a great success. At least for the next week, she would be the main topic of conversation at various noble ladies' and gentlemen's banquets and salons.

Of course, this was not the end, there were still several banquets to be held.

Although the nobles of the kingdom are one, there are still small circles of their own. The Stewart family is naturally part of this small circle of field nobles, and they need to entertain the heirs or other children of these field nobles in the royal capital.

This requires a banquet of a high standard at their own manor. Fortunately, there are not more than ten people in total, and since she brings along a cook and a maid, and Frank City is the capital, there is no shortage of precious ingredients, so this is not a big problem.

In fact, by the end of the banquet, these guests were already impressed by Christine's knowledge. But on second thought, it is normal for someone to have such a wealth of knowledge if they are a third-level magician.

The next banquet was to entertain some honorary nobles who were on good terms with the Stewart family.

These honorary nobles are the ones the field nobles rely on to get the latest news from Frank City. Although these honorary nobles do not hold high titles, they are well informed and regularly send news from the capital via merchant caravans. In return, the Field Nobles provide them with practical benefits, such as representation rights for the area's specialty products and regular gifts in kind.

Every local noble has an honorary noble who provides him with information. Some well-informed people even serve several parties and earn a good income throughout the year. Nobles always find a way to make money.