Chapter_28: Individual Choices

After a long, tiring day for the workers preparing for the promotion ceremony, the orders finally came to a halt so all the available people could experience the beautiful promotion ceremony for the knights.

…

Before the ceremony began, a stylish gentleman with reading glasses entered the office room "1-4."

As the spectacle wearer entered, he saw the lone, elegant mayor signing paperwork as he read each paper.

"Mayor, the ceremony will start in ten minutes.

"Also, here's the assigned schedule for the whole ceremony."

Adjusting his glasses, he carefully placed the paper on the desk and stood, waiting for a response from the mayor.

"Sir Albie, can you tell them that I will be late?

Mr. Albie is one of Mr. Smith's public information officers, a high-ranking role with the job of disseminating accurate, timely, and relevant information. His current job at the ceremony is to narrate proven information to all the visitors.

…

"I have paperwork that is due tomorrow. These damn grant managers sent these an hour ago!" He angrily exclaimed, slamming his desk.

"A faster grant manager would be better!"

Mr. Smith hasn't really paid that much attention to the paper yet. As he observed the mayor's angry gestures, he decided to explain the schedule instead.

"Sir, listen carefully; I will just narrate it to you instead.

"The Knight Promotion of 143 AR is held in Citadel City.

Here are the schedules for the promotion:

6:00 HU–6:10 HU: Arrival of all the visitors.

6:10 HU–6:20 HU: City Mayor Speech."

Before even continuing, Mr. Smith interrupted the narration with an angry gesture.

"Who planned this ceremony? Sir Albie, tell me!" Mr. Smith's voice began resonating inside the room.

"Maam Seraphine is always the one planning things; she is one of the project managers, sir," the four-eyed answered kindly.

"Tsk. I have no choice."

While angered, Mr. Smith stood up, his expression still visible in his appearance.

"Mr. Smith, did you make the speech?"

But before leaving the door, the mayor was interrupted.

"Not at all! That makes my speech impromptu; I have to think of the words on the spot!"

Without even saying goodbye to one of his public information officers, he swiftly left the office room.

…

After a tiring and long day of work, Mr. Khaveh, a city manager who is a high-ranking official, decided to take a rest, entirely missing the ceremony.

Standing up, he took all of his personal belongings and left the room.

My health is more important than these events; I should take a rest today and just experience them next year. Locking his room "3-5," he continued to leave the office area of the property.

Based on what he observed, only a handful of guards were seen carrying out their duties, while the rest were making their way to the ceremony.

"Where's Miss Danya?" he asked the guards on duty.

A guard smoking his pipe answered, "I think she was heading to the main castle for the ceremony."

Even she is attending that useless ceremony. He peeled off the cover of the chocolate bar and continued walking as he ate.

"Where do you think you're going?" A spectacle-wearing lady unexpectedly asked him.

"Miss Seraphine, where did you come from?"

Miss Seraphine was behind him all this time when he asked the guards. Of course, she was curious, so she followed him. But she later noticed that he was not attending the ceremony, so why not surprise him?

How did she even get behind me?

Before he could even speak, Miss Seraphine handed him a paper with the schedule and said, "You should try to attend; it will be fun; don't miss the opportunity."

Without hesitation, Mr. Khaveh swiftly read the whole page.

"The Knight Promotion of 143 AR is held in Citadel City.

Here are the schedules for the promotion:

6:00 HU–6:10 HU: Arrival of all the visitors.

6:10 HU–6:20 HU: City Mayor's Speech.

6:20 HU–6:35 HU: City Manager's Speech."

"I'm included!" he exclaimed with a hint of surprise.

With no words, Miss Seraphine nodded with a sly smile.

"Why did you even make me do a speech?"

"You're a linguist, a genius at words," Seraphine explained pleasantly.

"But, continue reading it; there will be more than just speeches."

Without hesitation, he continued reading the page.

"6:35 HU–6:45 HU: Mr. Loid's Speech."

There are sure to be a lot of speeches.

"6:45 HU–7:00 HU: New building projects.

7:00 HU–7:30 HU: Lowille's Speech.

7:30 HU–7:40 HU: Dinner.

7:40 HU–8:30 HU: Knight Promotion.

8:30 HU–8:35 HU: Lady Ana's Speech."

As he finished reading, Mr. Khaveh couldn't help but ask, "You said that there will be more than speeches? So, why are half of these speeches? "

"Truth be told, only the first two events will involve speeches, but the subsequent segments are much more than mere speeches; they are actually plans for the future, despite being labeled as speeches."

So, these 'speeches' are actually plans. I'm quite intrigued to learn about Mr. Lowille's plan.

"And what about the new building projects? Why aren't they considered speeches?" he continued to inquire.

"Ah, that segment won't be labeled as a speech to generate more interest and excitement. Essentially, we aim to use it to captivate the audience and make it the secondary focal point of the ceremony.

"Furthermore, the building projects will encompass the entire southwest region. This was all planned out last month, along with the involvement of high-ranking officials from different cities in the region."

Khaveh nodded at her and began rereading the whole paper

After the second read, he noticed something.

Wait! Is she trying to make me attend the ceremony? How manipulative!

"That's great, but I don't find anything interesting at all."

Well, I find everything interesting, but my urges do not want me to waste time!

"Are you sure?" Miss Seraphine inquired pleasantly.

Without receiving any response, he chose to ignore her question and simply depart from the royal property.

"He's truly selfish." Disappointed by the failure of her plan, she quickly left the area and made her way to the ceremony.

He even took the paper with him.

"Well, that paper is irrelevant now, as it didn't contain the true schedule. I'm certain he saw through my plan; he's truly self-centered."

…

In a shed that is a few kilometers away from the main castle, two men engaged in a conversation regarding the ceremony.

Bane, who has changed to his formal attire, said, "What do we do now?"

"Our dinner is also after the ceremony, so we can't even sleep early since they are creating strict rules for us."

The two men had no choice but to stay outside since the whole main castle and the structure around it seemed to be full of nobles. Moreover, staying inside their room is also boring. So, their only choice is to stay outside, where it's more peaceful but also boring.

Even all the things they could do outside would be fun, but they would still be boring from their perspective. To top it all off, they could hear the sounds from the ceremony, and that could only make them envious to attend.

"Listening to the sounds at night would be the only choice," Ragnar said with a hint of peacefulness in his tone.

But after gazing at all the stars in the night sky, they could see someone in the distance—someone familiar.

There's someone coming. Ragnar noticed the unidentified person, but Bane hasn't, since he's facing the other direction. So, Ragnar made the choice to keep it himself.

Even if it was weird that someone would be coming in their direction, Ragnar did not pay much attention to it. In addition, he kept it over his head that the person would only be a random noble.

Seven hundred thirty-three, seven hundred thirty-four, white five. Wait, why did I think white five? What's wrong with me? Wait, is that person white-haired? She has a silver gown. Wait! Is that Lady Ana?

The previously laying Ragnar swiftly stood up and called, "Lady Ana! Bane, Lady Ana is here."

Bane also stood up and glanced at Lady Ana and asked, "Why is she here? Isn't the ceremony about to start?"

"I don't know, but I think the reason for her arrival here will be important."

For about ten seconds, she arrived at the shed. Her face has makeup, and her lips have turned velvety. Everything in her face was certainly improved for the ceremony, and she was definitely more beautiful than before.

In addition, she also has a silver gown that suits her alabaster appearance and a lot of accessories, such as an amulet, crown, bracelet, and necklaces, that make her look like a true princess.

"Ragnar, how has it been? Do I look good?" Lady Ana asked Ragnar so intently.

Ragnar took a second to examine her from head to toe and said, "You're certainly a lot different. But that silver gown of yours, is that true silver coated all around you?"

"Well, it is true silver. So, do I look good in this gown?" Lady Ana couldn't help but ask.

"It's quite expensive to create that kind of dress; how much did it cost to create that?"

As Ragnar responded, he totally missed the princess' question and added another question for her. Lady Ana noticed this and couldn't help but ask again while answering his question.

Don't miss my question this time, please!

"It cost around 30 gold coins. To be honest, the cost of the whole ceremony is more expensive than my gown, so don't think of it as expensive as other things.

Lady Ana cleared her throat and asked, "This gown is still beautiful and worth it. But do I look so good in it that the price doesn't matter, Ragnar?"

"Lady Ana, 30 gold coins is a lot, more than an average person's monthly income. But isn't it easier and cheaper to cover yourself with silver coins instead?"

Lady Ana was in absolute bewilderment at Ragnar's answer.

Did he miss my question, or did he avoid it entirely?

"No, Ragnar. Life doesn't work that way." Lady Ana answered the question intently.

"Even if it's easier and cheaper, the quality of the gown will be worse. So the time you spent on that single task will be wasted on low-quality work."

Ragnar nodded in approval of her answers.

He proceeded to ask, "Why did you come here anyway?"

"To be honest, I've lied to you."

She lied to me. When did she lie to me? Ragnar thought of it with surprise.

"This morning, I told Garnette that you are not invited to the ceremony. But Ragnar, you are invited; you too, Bane."

Ragnar felt surprised and checked the time; it was 5:56 HU. So they need to hurry, or else they'll be late.

"Should we come?" Ragnar asked in a hurry.

"It's your choice."

"Bane, we should attend! It's better than this boredom."

Bane nodded in approval.

"Wait, do we need to change clothes?" Ragnar asked intently.

"Yes, you do. Wear more formal clothes, like suits or vested tuxedos."

"The time is now 5:57 HU. Both of you should hurry or else you'll be late. Missing a single second of the ceremony will be like missing an enjoyable moment in life."

So as the men heard Lady Ana's request, they both hurried to their rooms to change clothes.

I should head to the ceremony first.