episode_0167

Take a carriage and head to the Arc de Triomphe with members of the imperial family.

The Arc de Triomphe is an early Roman city building.

Clearly, the Arc de Triomphe is a custom on Earth. Why is it here too?

Although the Triumphal Ceremony is a festival to commemorate victory in war, the Arc de Triomphe is a building that has existed on Earth since ancient times…

In any case, it continues in a straight line through the old Roman gate and all the way to the triumphal ceremony site.

And there is a gorgeous banquet hall there.

Was the first emperor from Earth like me?

Or something… did they overlap by chance?

“Haaam…”

As I think about boring things, I yawn without realizing it.

“What time did you go to bed last night?”

In response to Theodora’s words, I hold up three fingers and say.

“Three o’clock.”

Theodora looks tired of my words.

Theodora, me, Joey, my mother-in-law, as well as all the members of the Imperial Council, led by Chairman Charles, and the Ministers of the 5th Department all gathered together to wait for the victorious Imperial Army.

“Ugh… It’s hot.”

Joey waves his hands as if he is hot.

Summer is almost over now, so the heat is slowly going away, but it still feels hot.

-Wow!

I stare straight ahead at the loud shout.

A gorgeously decorated carriage.

Four white horses pulling the carriage and a human figure on top of the carriage can be seen from a distance.

At first glance, it must be Agrippa.

-Commander Agrippa is so handsome.

-Does he look like a prince from a fairy tale?

-I’ve heard a lot that you’re handsome… but I didn’t know you were that handsome.

Women’s murmurs.

Babylon’s mercenary prisoners and Ioannes’ family are following Agrippa with their hands tied.

Soldiers placed to the left and right of the prisoner.

Behind them, a cart full of armor and weapons follows, and behind them is a seemingly endless procession.

So Agrippa circles the Arc de Triomphe in his chariot and stops the chariot in front of us.

Brilliant blonde hair and a handsome face.

Why did a girl like that marry Mary because she liked her so much?

Honestly, I don’t know.

“Your Majesty the Emperor.”

When Agrippa greets Theodora, Theodora opens her mouth with a gentle smile.

“Commander Agrippa. I heard about your brilliant record here.”

“It’s all thanks to the grace of His Majesty the Emperor.”

Theodora gently shakes her head at Agrippa’s words.

“Thank you for saying that.”

At that time, Minister of Justice Anthony steps forward, holds a golden laurel wreath, and speaks.

“The owner of the triumphal ceremony should kneel.”

Agrippa kneels down on one knee at the sound of a solemn voice, and Theodora accepts the golden laurel wreath.

And let’s put it on Agrippa’s head…

-Clap clap!

-Wow!

Thunderous applause and cheers erupt.

***

Ellis was hired by the Emperor faction.

She is currently working on decorating the banquet hall.

Display beautiful white ceramics and place a purple tablecloth or dishes on the table.

Keep your mind calm while doing chores.

Ellis is worried as she looks at the guards spread out here and there.

‘It’s stricter than I thought?’

When entering the imperial palace, people were checked to see if they had any blades on their bodies, and even inside the ceremony hall, they were checked to see if they had any magic scrolls or artifacts.

A thorough search was conducted, but the poison in Ellis’ earring was never found.

‘It’s definitely hard to think of something this small as poison.’

“Mr. Ellis! Please help me with this.”

A maid who appears to be in her early 30s calls out to her as she sets the dishes on the cart on the table…

“Yes, let’s go now!”

Ellis heads there.

A banquet attended by hundreds of people.

As a result, there is a lot of work to do.

As I decorate and set the table, I look around.

I think about this while looking at heavily armed soldiers and men in plain clothes who are presumed to be intelligence agents.

‘It won’t be easy.’

Even though all you have to do is put a tiny bit of poison in a drinking glass, I don’t think it would be easy to access.

‘There will definitely be a gap once the banquet begins.’

A long dining table set on the high stairs in the banquet hall.

Ellis guessed that that was probably where the emperor, the imperial family, and Agrippa and his wife, the main characters of the triumphal ceremony, would sit.

But I expect it will be difficult to get to that place.

***

The head maid who received a secret order from the Empress Dowager.

Normally, she would have to be searched, but she is exempt from the search due to her status as a baroness and the Empress Dowager’s favor.

After looking around the banquet hall, the maid heads to the kitchen.

The aroma of the many foods being prepared in the kitchen whet her appetite, but she is not a regular person and has no excuse to taste the food.

“The VIPs will be arriving now. How long does it take?”

When the head maid asks, the head chef answers.

“About thirty minutes?”

I feel that the timing is somewhat appropriate since the VIPs do not eat right away as soon as they arrive.

“Really? okay. Oh! Where are the cutlery exclusively for His Majesty the Emperor and the Grand Duke?”

Tableware made using aluminum, gold, and silver, which are more expensive than silver of the same weight.

It is an expensive tableware that looks so flashy at first glance that you wonder if you can actually put food on it.

Of course, Debian does not prefer aluminum tableware, but in the aristocratic culture here, aluminum tableware is considered the most luxurious.

“Over there! It will be there if you look on the shelf.”

At the chef’s words, the head maid opens the shelf and checks the dishes.

A silver-white, wide bowl.

Gold patterns embroidered here and there.

The fork and knife that make up the set.

and…

Knowing that Theodora mainly drinks wine and Devian mainly drinks whiskey, the head maid takes out a wine glass and a whiskey glass from the shelf where the drinking glasses are stored.

Perhaps because it was intended exclusively for the emperor, it was made of transparent glass, but the thin handle is rolled up like a twist, and the wide part that holds the cup is embossed in the shape of a dragon.

It is presumed that it would have been made by a fairly skilled craftsman using the technology here.

The head maid took the dishes, placed them on the cart, and headed to the banquet hall.

While she was on her way, the maid took a quick look to see if anyone was in the corridor, and when she saw that there was no one there, she took out a small box from her pocket and opened the lid.

Inside, you can see a brush and a glass bottle that resembles something transparent.

Open the glass bottle, soak the brush, and paint the whiskey glass that Devian will drink.

The head maid anxiously paints something transparent on the whiskey glass, puts the brush and glass bottle back in the box, and hides them in her pocket.

And then he leisurely pushes the cart and heads to the banquet hall.

***

And so the banquet began.

An invited band plays music to spice up the banquet.

“Defeating the enemy~”

A bard sings to exciting music to liven up the mood.

To be honest, it’s boring.

Honestly, should I say that the song here feels somewhat awkward because it feels quite different from classical music?

He barely listens and glances at the assassin who was bribed by the imperial faction.

According to intelligence agents, poison has not yet been added.

Well… I said I would put it in a drinking glass.

The alcohol hasn’t even been served yet.

As soon as we arrived, the orchestra was playing.

Probably because the drinks are served after the performance ends and before the actual meal begins.

You said it was a small poison that looked like a jewel, right?

When the performance ended like that.

The maids start putting bottles of alcohol on all the tables.

There are two main types of alcohol.

One is the wine that women mainly drink.

The other is distilled alcohol, such as whiskey or rum, which men mainly drink.

Of course, there are two main types of wine, and there are many different types of wine, such as red wine, white wine, and rose wine.

I know that alcohol is usually prepared according to the taste of the invited guests, but…

To be honest, I have never prepared a banquet before, so I don’t know the details.

Within…

Something caught my eye as the maids approached and poured drinks for Theodora and me.

There was clearly something small sparkling in Theodora’s glass.

uh? what? That shiny little thing?

As soon as the wine glass is full, I say to Theodora.

“Your Majesty, could you please give me a drink for a moment?”

Theodora said to me, handing me a glass with a puzzled look on her face.

“What’s going on? Archduke?”

Did they fool the intelligence department and add poison?

A little gem that clearly caught my eye.

I shake the glass around and look for the jewel, but I can’t find it.

Just in case, I need to arrest that assassin first and get rid of the alcohol first.

With that thought in mind, I glance at the assassin and his eyes meet mine.

And then the assassin steps back and leaves the banquet hall.

As I was lost in thought for a moment, I saw Theodora poking my arm with her finger and I spoke hastily.

“There is dust in His Majesty’s cup. Go and change the drinking glass.”

As I said that, Mary’s maid Rachel, who had been waiting behind me in advance, took the glass.

“Yes, I will exchange the glasses for you.”

at that time.

-Now there will be a toast from His Majesty the Emperor.

When the host announces the next turn, I hand my glass to Theodora.

“Your Majesty. Make a toast with this glass.”

Theodora raises the glass of wine I hand her.

Theodora stands up and speaks, raising her glass high.

“Listen to me, today is a good day as all the rebels have been wiped out. I will raise a toast to Commander Agrippa, who made the greatest contribution in defeating the rebels.”

When Theodora finished speaking…

-For Commander Agrippa and His Majesty the Emperor! Cheers!

-Cheers!

And then Theodora empties my glass and the banquet begins in earnest.