Charlotte thought she might be invited soon, but she didn't expect the invitation to come so soon.
Not only that, the one who invited her was Duke Gaston, the representative of the kingdom's neutral nobles.
The so-called neutral nobles, as the name suggests, are those nobles who remain neutral in the struggle for the throne.
They neither supported the second prince nor the third prince, and at the same time, they did not actively support the king's strengthening of central power like the royalist nobles.
This made Charlotte very curious.
She represented Castel and the power to overthrow the Third Prince. She thought that the nobles who supported the Second Prince would take the initiative to invite her, but she did not expect it to be a neutral party.
"Sebastian, why do you think the neutral nobles would invite me to the banquet? Aren't these neutral nobles never involved in the fight for the throne?"
Looking at the invitation in her hand, Charlotte asked thoughtfully.
Sebastian thought about it, frowned and shook his head:
"Master, I don't understand..."
"Perhaps... the Third Prince's actions also violated their bottom line? So they also chose to stand up?"
Charlotte's heart was moved after hearing Sebastian's words.
It's not impossible.
But then again, even if the neutral nobles chose to support the Central Council's trial of the Third Prince, it should be the Second Prince's party that would be at the forefront, right
Thinking of this, Charlotte became even more confused.
"Master, the banquet is tonight. Do you want to attend?"
Sebastian asked.
Charlotte glanced at the invitation and nodded slightly:
"Go, why not? No matter what the situation is, go and take a look."
One of the purposes of attending the central meeting is to make friends with the nobles. Now that I have been invited, I might as well go.
As for taking sides, Charlotte has no idea for now.
Her original intention was to remain as neutral as possible on the basis of successfully striking the third prince, but after declining the church's invitation, her intention changed slightly.
Now, she wants to see the specific situation before making a decision.
…
Duke Gaston's banquet will be held in the evening at the Gaston family's manor in the royal capital.
As a great noble family in the kingdom, the Gaston family's manor is also located in the inner city, which is a little far from the manor rented by Charlotte, on the other side of the palace.
In the evening, seeing that it was almost time, Charlotte changed into a black dress and got on the carriage.
Since she was attending a banquet, she did not bring too many followers. Instead, she followed the custom of the nobles and only brought her butler Sebastian and her personal maid.
Including the blood descendant Rena, and the black dragon Eudocia.
When Charlotte arrived at the Gaston family's estate, many nobles had already arrived one after another.
The Gaston family's manor was quite large. Charlotte estimated that it was four or five times the size of the manor she rented. In front of the manor gate, carriages came and went. They were luxuriously decorated, with all kinds of emblems inlaid on the sides. They were all noble families who came to attend the banquet.
Although night had fallen, the manor was brightly lit and the waiters were busy receiving the nobles who came to the banquet.
Charlotte was a little surprised.
The number of nobles attending the banquet... was much greater than she had imagined.
Not only that, she also saw many badges that she recognized. They were all from great nobles of the Crescent Kingdom, and even included several other ducal families.
When Charlotte looked at the noble families attending the banquet, the nobles also noticed the carriage of the Castel family.
A similar scene happened again. When the Castel family's carriage passed by, many noble family's carriages consciously made way.
In a sense, this is also a reflection of status.
Although Charlotte is only an earl, I am afraid that no noble below the duke can look down on her.
Charlotte could feel many eyes on her carriage.
When she got off the carriage accompanied by Sebastian, she became the focus of the entire manor, and the number of people looking at her almost doubled...
Most of them were curious and amazed, but there was also some inquiry and even hostility.
Um
hostility
Charlotte's heart moved slightly.
The vampires' senses are still very sharp.
Although the hostility was very faint and might just represent vigilance and dislike, she still sensed it.
She followed her line of sight and saw a middle-aged nobleman, about forty or fifty years old, getting off the carriage in the distance.
The manor steward and waiters surrounding the noble were quite respectful.
When Charlotte looked at the nobleman, the nobleman was looking at her.
However, when Charlotte cast her gaze, the other party quickly withdrew his gaze and entered the manor house under the guidance of the waiter.
Charlotte raised an eyebrow.
It was because she recognized the other person's identity.
Or to be more precise, he recognized the other person's identity through the family emblem on the other person's carriage.
The emblem of the other family is a sword and a griffin. In the Crescent Kingdom, there is only one family with such an emblem, and that is the Prutz family, one of the nine ducal families.
Although they were far apart, Charlotte could still feel the powerful and extraordinary aura from the middle-aged nobleman.
This is a blazing sun.
"Hmm? Duke Prutz? He's here too? Isn't he a staunch supporter of the Third Prince? He's here to attend the banquet too?"
Sebastian's surprised voice came from the side, attracting Charlotte's attention.
"Duke Prutz?"
Charlotte raised an eyebrow.
Interesting, really interesting.
The banquet hosted by the neutral nobles was actually attended by representative nobles who supported the Third Prince, and the Duke himself was in attendance.
Not only that, the number of nobles who came to the banquet was a bit outrageous.
Looking at the endless stream of carriages and the family emblems that could only be seen in books, Charlotte believed that all the famous families in the entire Crescent had come to attend the banquet.
It seems... tonight's banquet is not that simple.
"Lord Castel, welcome to tonight's banquet. Please follow me."
After Charlotte got off the carriage, the manor's steward and waiter quickly came over and spoke respectfully.
Charlotte withdrew her gaze, nodded slightly, and then followed the waiter into the manor house.
The Gaston family's manor house was also quite grand and luxurious even more than Charlotte's earl's mansion. When Charlotte entered the banquet hall, it was already quite lively inside.
Inside the hall, tall stone pillars surrounded the entire banquet hall. The huge long table was covered with a gorgeous tablecloth and filled with gold and silver tableware, exquisite porcelain and rare glass cups. A blazing fire was burning in the fireplace, emitting warm light and a faint fragrance.
The nobles dressed in gorgeous clothes were talking and laughing, gathering in groups of three or five based on family units.
The waiters shuttled among the crowd, holding wine glasses and trays, carefully pouring wine for the guests, and the musicians played pleasant music, pleasant and melodious.
The entire banquet hall was filled with a cheerful and joyful atmosphere.
However, the moment Charlotte entered the banquet hall, her figure paused slightly.
She smelled a familiar scent.
The breath of vampires.
And, there is more than one.