Shad had intended to visit Margaret in the study before she officially appeared, but Miss Sylvia stopped him and gave him some confidence in Margaret.
So, Shad continued chatting on the sofa with the two great witches and Miss Lathers. During the conversation, Miss Sylvia was very curious whether the badge on Shad's chest would directly burn his skin when the four great witches appeared together.
And Shade responded based on what was written in Feliana's notes:
"The main function of this badge is to detect whether there are witches around. For the witches of the Fifth Era, this is a supplementary means to enhance their own perception. Maybe the presence of one witch and three witches around will cause a difference in heat, but when the number exceeds three, there will not be much difference."
In other words, even if Shad wore this badge and entered the parliament one day to watch the witches' meeting, his badge would not turn into flint.
The chat did not last long. When Margaret's personal maid appeared at the top of the golden staircase that spiraled upward at the end of the banquet hall, the noise in the banquet hall gradually subsided.
The band stopped playing, and all the people who were sitting, including Shad and his friends, stood up.
The maid and the attendant cleared the way, and Margaret soon came down from upstairs with Prince William. Shade was very familiar with the princess of the southern kingdom, so he could see a little annoyance in her expression. Her brother, the prince of the kingdom, had a smug expression on his face, and he even went downstairs before Margaret.
There were three representatives from the Masons Guild, but Shade only knew President Pigman. Behind the representatives were lawyers in black suits. Margaret's lawyer was the Marquis of Berkeley, who was in the entourage, and the lawyers for the Masons Guild were hired from the Randall Valley.
Although no one called them to the meeting, people spontaneously walked towards the stairs. The respected old nobles with gray hair, the middle-aged nobles with sharp eyes and meticulously groomed hair, the gorgeous ladies with jewels and high heels, all looked up at the descendants of this generation of the Anjou family.
The group of people who walked down the stairs finally stopped at the large corner platform of the banquet hall in front of the stairs. The stairs that continued to go down were located on the left and right sides of the platform.
"It is an honor to invite you all to this banquet today."
Margaret's voice was loud and calm, and Prince William stood beside her with a formal smile on his face. The cameras of the local newspapers had begun flashing, and Margaret looked at everyone below, but only stayed beside Shad for a moment:
"There will be an even grander banquet next week when the shipyard cuts the ribbon. To celebrate the expansion of the kingdom's naval power, I hope you all will be there. As for today..."
She looked at Pigman, the president of the Stonemasons Guild, who walked up to the princess with a document under his left arm:
“It is an honour to accept the invitation of Her Royal Highnesses Margaret and William to attend this great event.”
"Perhaps everyone has heard about the minor conflicts between the royal family and the Randall Valley Stonemasons Association. As the local nobles and celebrities are all here today, I want to make an announcement."
She paused, her sharp eyes making it difficult for most people to look at her. Shade was not very familiar with Margaret in this state, but he had to admit that she was still very beautiful even when she was so serious on this occasion:
"After long negotiations and mutual understanding, the safety accident of the royal mausoleum caused by the storm more than ten years ago has been officially settled today. The royal family will compensate the overdue construction funds, as well as the interest calculated according to the bank and other losses caused by it, and the Stonemason Association will continue the unfinished project that year and extend the contract with the royal family."
Prince William smiled and added that he seemed much more relaxed than the serious Margaret, which was in stark contrast to his sister:
"In addition, Margaret and I will fund the construction of a stonemason statue in Santa Maria Square in the center of Randall Valley to commemorate this reconciliation. A stone tablet will be erected next to the statue to record the friendship between the royal family and the Randall Valley Stonemason Association. Subsequent maintenance will be funded by the local city hall."
“That’s a great idea.”
Xia De whispered to Miss Benannis beside him, and the latter added in a low voice:
"This was inspired by the statue of the little princess you gave to the North Kingdom as a birthday gift."
The broken-armed statue was photographed by reporters after the birthday party and published in the Tobesk newspaper. Because of the relationship between Shade and Miss Carina, the gossip about the statue, the knight and the princess quickly spread to Carsenrick, so even the nobles of the Randall Valley knew about it.
After all, talking about gossip about princesses and grand duchesses from neighboring countries is one of the ways for nobles to show off their status and improve their social taste.
"At the same time, as a testimony of our friendship, I will donate this contract to the Stonemasons Association today. May our friendship last forever."
Margaret took the share contract belonging to Mr. Johnson Fleming, the founder of the Stonemasons Association, from the maid behind her.
She showed it to the people below and explained the contents of this ancient contract. No one except Shade and the witches knew about this in advance, so it really surprised the guests below.
"Finally, the royal family will also work further with the Randall Valley Masons Association."
Prince William smiled and said:
"We will work with the Stonemasons Association to develop a large mineral deposit. As for what that mineral deposit is, please allow me to keep it secret for the time being, but you will probably get the news in more than a month."
Because in recent months, there has been news of gold mines in the Randall Valley, so most of the guests who were talking about it speculated that it was gold mines. And the more informed guests, such as Earl Granger, knew that Prince William was cooperating with Stone Oxenfurt to develop silver mines offshore, so they speculated that the mines were silver mines.
And Shade whispered to Miss Sylvia, who had just arrived at Randall Valley:
"The silver mines in the outer sea are a conspiracy of the devil. The Sukses Higher Medical School has even investigated it. This is a gold mine. The legend of the local gold mine is true."
Miss Sylvia clapped her hands and asked:
"I heard Vanessa talking about your first trip to the Temple of Night. Although the mineral vein is near the Temple of Night, hasn't it been found yet?"
"But the high probability does exist, so it can be considered as a bargaining chip."
At this time, the applause had already filled the banquet hall. Margaret stretched out her gloved hand and shook hands with President Pigman of the Stonemasons Association. The smoke from the magnesium powder flash lamp even made the banquet hall look foggy.
"Margaret decided to cooperate with the local church to look for gold mines after the matter in the Randall River Valley is over. At that time, the royal family, the local church and the Stonemasons Association will each hold a share."
Miss Benannis looked at Shade with some concern:
"I know that we found the gold mine, and the cube in your hand played a decisive role. The gold mine should belong to you. So, Margaret will take out 15% of the shares, giving you 8% and me 7%... She just said she wanted to apologize to you. This decision was made only yesterday, and she didn't have time to tell you."
"It doesn't matter. I won't invest or provide any manpower. It's good enough to get 8% of the shares for free."
Shade said, and Miss Sylvia continued:
"From what I know about Margaret, she will compensate you with something else."
When she said this, Miss Lathers and Miss Benanis looked over. Miss Sylvia thought for a moment and blushed slightly:
"What are you thinking? She has some businesses of her own. It's not difficult to get some fixed assets that can make money for Shade. As for Vanessa, if a gold mine is really discovered, you will only have 7%."
"It doesn't matter. I didn't do anything. This money just fell from the sky... Can you pay me directly in gold? I prefer gold."
The witch joked amid the applause.
"But speaking of it, in addition to Princess Margaret's own efforts and mediation, Shade also played a significant role in these matters."
The four of them looked up at Margaret who was signing the agreement. Miss Lathers said softly:
"The statue, the ancient document, and the gold mine. All three things are related to Shade, but for Shade, they are things that he can do but also things that he can choose not to do. The three things helped Her Royal Highness the Princess in different ways, leading to a nearly perfect ending for this matter."
"All optional tasks need to be done."
The strangers were all mumbling in their hearts words that only they could understand. They watched Margaret, who was dressed in her best clothes, put down her pen. Under the crystal chandelier on the ceiling, she looked determined, high-spirited, and even a little arrogant:
"She is so beautiful."
Shade exclaimed softly, but the sound was drowned out by the loud conversations and applause of the people.
“It’s not just about beauty.”
Miss Sylvia heard the exclamation:
"In court politics, what happened tonight is of great significance. Margaret took the initiative to represent the royal family and resolved a major issue related to the dignity of the royal family without the king's decision. Since King Lion did not object and even provided support, this will be interpreted differently in the eyes of many people."
"My apprentice seems to be quite ambitious indeed."
The blonde witch also said, raising her head slightly to look at the princess high up, with a hint of arrogance in her tone:
“But it’s also more fun this way.”
Miss Lathers chuckled:
"Vanessa, have you finally found new fun?"
The three gorgeous ladies stood together, the spotlights seemed to shine directly on them. Shade held the wine glass and looked at Margaret beside them. Tonight might be a very important day in the life of Her Royal Highness the Princess, but for the witches, it might just be a little different.