Chapter 263

Chapter Fifty Sophia’s Rambling Thoughts

Light and shadow, clinking glasses, kept shifting and crossing in Sophia’s eyes.

In the grand banquet hall with its golden and emerald decorations, applause and shouts reached unprecedented heights. Everyone’s attention was focused on the two graceful figures, one dressed in black and the other in white. Their arrival was like a huge rock smashing into the sea, instantly pushing the atmosphere of the entire venue to its peak.

“Look, Sophia!”

Her father’s slightly agitated shout echoed in her ears, his voice particularly loud.

But even so, the sound seemed distant to Sophia, as if it were a soft whisper from far away or lingering in a dream.

“Look at that little girl walking beside Her Majesty. She is Miss Peylo, the daughter of Duke Scargrid of the Valen Empire and Lady of Zantelburg!”

Peylo…

The daughter of Duke Scargrid…

Sophia didn’t know how to respond. Her mind couldn’t process these pieces of information; she couldn’t reconcile the image of that girl who seemed to care only about eating with the imposing castle standing by the mountainside in her memories.

She just stared blankly. Watching the petite figure walk hand in hand with the noble queen up onto the platform, becoming the center of the evening.

“Please, everyone, be quiet!”

A veteran knight in splendid armor called out to the crowd. Sophia recognized him, though she wasn’t sure who he was. When she saw her father shaking hands with him earlier, she instinctively bowed deeply.

“Haha, it’s such an honor to host tonight’s celebration! Queen’s 23rd birthday, such an important moment, I’m really happy to be back in time! Honestly, if it weren’t for Her Majesty’s explicit instruction not to make a big fuss, I would have organized a parade…”

Unlike the nobles Sophia imagined, this old knight did not speak cautiously and formally in public. It was clear that he had prepared his speech carefully, fearing any slip of the tongue. Even before the queen, he spoke freely, with a demeanor more like a common elder in the city than a high-ranking aristocrat.

If you ignore the armor…

She understood that the old knight must be of extremely high status, otherwise he wouldn’t dare speak so freely at the queen’s birthday banquet. Even with this understanding, after asking her father, the knight’s position still left Sophia stunned.

“That’s Lord Reckmont, old Lord Reckmont.”

With just these few words, it became clear how significant the old knight was in Ethenbel.

Even someone of such stature still lowered himself before the shortest girl in the room.

“…Tonight’s banquet, Her Majesty has invited a distinguished young guest, Miss Peylo of Zantelburg… Alright, alright! I know some young hotheads can’t take their eyes off her! Don’t even think about it, my grandson isn’t even in the running! Haha! Miss Peylo is a very good friend of Her Majesty…”

Sophia stopped listening after that. The only thing she could think about was that Miss Peylo was a very good friend of the queen.

That silly girl…

Actually friends with the queen…

If she hadn’t seen it with her own eyes, Sophia would never have believed such a thing, which sounded like a joke.

No wonder…

No wonder Peylo treated Alex and those arrogant nobles in the academy with indifference. Sophia always thought it was because she was young and inexperienced, not knowing the depths of human nature and thinking it wasn’t a big deal.

She always thought Peylo’s carefree attitude was due to being spoiled at home. She had seen many people living under the protection of their elders, mostly behaving like that. But now, Sophia finally understood that Peylo’s indifference wasn’t because she didn’t care about her own affairs, but rather because she simply didn’t care.

A friend of the queen.

Sophia, well-versed in the hidden rules of the nobility, knew that such words couldn’t be casually spoken in such a setting.

Even among the most powerful families in Ethenbel—Clive, Reckmont, Christrodny…

It was only because of the family’s prestige that someone like Alex could perhaps get away with bullying commoners, merchants, and daughters from lesser noble families outside the academy, but nothing more.

People like them could never be officially recognized as friends of Her Majesty before they were capable of taking on the responsibilities of their family. Even if someone had grown up playing with Her Majesty, without a special status or reason, they would still have to stand in an inconspicuous corner of the venue, clapping silently for those on stage.

Therefore, by rights, Peylo should not have been able to stand alongside Her Majesty and become the focus of the nobles.

Even if she truly was the renowned King of Trick Soldiers, the Pope’s Knight who had fought in the Abyss, and the daughter of Duke Scalliger, she should not have stood in such a position.

The person who should have been standing there would be her father… or the head of one of these families, such as old Lord Rekmon.

This would make much more sense.

But strangely, none of the heads of these families, these many important figures, seemed to think this was unreasonable. Old Lord Rekmon even deliberately stood further back, leaving plenty of space for the young girl. Through subtle, almost imperceptible details, he created an illusion for Sophia’s senses that made it seem as though Peylo and Her Majesty were equals.

Was this an illusion?

Sophia couldn’t be sure. The facts she witnessed tonight had left a great impact on her, and her mind was in a jumble.

The only thing she was certain of was that there was a reason for Peylo to be standing there.

That was also the reason why Peylo didn’t put people like Alex in her eyes at all; they simply weren’t in the same class. The people Peylo interacted with… were at least of her father’s generation.

Sophia vaguely understood that aside from being the daughter of the Scalliger family, Peylo must have some other… identity? Or resources? In any case, it was something that could make a major figure like Old Lord Rekmon treat a sixteen-year-old girl with such deference. It was the reason that allowed her to openly walk hand in hand with Her Majesty and attend formal occasions together.

Perhaps it was beyond Sophia’s imagination.

Suddenly, elegant music echoed through the venue, snapping Sophia out of her reverie.

She looked over and saw the butler, dressed in a tailcoat, stride forward with four maids, pushing a five-tier cake onto the stage and stopping the cart in front of Her Majesty before bowing and stepping back.

The old knight leaned in to whisper something to Her Majesty, but whatever he said made Her Majesty shake her head slightly.

Then she handed the knife for cutting the cake to Peylo.

The venue erupted in thunderous applause once again.

Sophia watched as the small girl held the knife and cut a cake larger than herself, then secretly dug out a huge chunk of cream and stuffed it into her mouth when no one was looking, her dark eyes gleaming with surprising brightness.

Sophia covered her face.

But somehow, she suddenly felt a bit relieved.

Peylo…

was ultimately still the little fool she knew.

Soon after, the banquet moved on to its next segment. Her Majesty descended from the high table and sat down at the lower long table with the old knight and several other high-ranking nobles, starting a conversation with everyone. This was likely the highlight of the evening, as many people who rarely had the chance to see Her Majesty wanted to express their thoughts directly to her.

Her father was no different.

He had only taken a symbolic bite of the cake brought by the servant before going over with the birthday gift he had prepared earlier.

Before leaving, he told her, “Sophia, Miss Peylo is your age. Take this opportunity to get to know her. There’s only benefit and no harm.”

“Father…”

Sophia sighed softly.

She looked at the girl who had long hidden on the side, eating a cake big enough to cover her entire face, and couldn’t help but smile wryly.

“Although it sounds incredible, Peylo… is my roommate at the academy.”