Thrown Into A New World: Let The Punishment Begin!

"I hope everybody enjoyed their day in the Palace." King Ophire's firm voice was clear in the large banquet hall.

'Not one bit.' Yvonne had a pleasant smile on her face as she sat with her family but the thoughts in her mind did not correlate with her expressions.

_____

Many minutes ago, the maids and male servants had arrived at the garden of the Main Palace to escort them to the place where they would be dining with the King and Queen.

They all walked in groups they were comfortable with and reached the banquet hall that the King used for his birthday celebrations and other formal events each year.

Since their personal dining hall could not accommodate so many families at once, the banquet hall had been converted into a makeshift dining hall.

Large circular tables with numerous seats were placed at regular intervals and this time, people were allowed to sit as they pleased.

Since this wasn't a formal event and the King wished for them to mingle and be at ease, he let them sit according to their preferences.

As expected, children chose to stay with their parents instead of sitting with other children their age.

At the main table sat the King with his Queen and on either of their sides were their children.

Many had not seen Prince Fritzen before today so they were pleasantly surprised to see him making an appearance here.

The boys, however, were used to meeting and greeting the boy of Royal lineage during their classes at the Royal Academy but the rest were seeing him for the first time.

Yvonne lowered her head to minimize her presence lest he looked her way and did or said something to invoke the others' suspicions.

Thankfully, Prince Fritzen sat next to his father as though he had not noticed her at all.

The two Ducal couples and their children were set to sit at the same table.

However, Taylor decided that he would rather spend time with his Vonny than sit next to his scary elder brother and the others there.

Therefore, while everyone watched, he strode over to the table where the St. Claires were seated and sat next to his sworn sister.

The other nobles blinked their widened eyes at this boy who was willing to forgo his chance at mingling with the Royal siblings just to stick close to the St. Claire siblings.

However, Taylor turned a blind eye to their attentive and borderline gawking eyes as he took his seat next to Yvonne.

At this table, Earl St. Claire and his wife were seated next to the Valente couple.

The twins were also present and with Yvonne, Howard, and now Taylor, their table still had one empty seat.

To fill the empty spot next to Taylor, Marquess Sullivan Samed came forward and smiled as he occupied this seat.

Yvonne glanced at him for just a second before deciding to ignore his very existence until she could speak to him in private and settle the scores between them.

Thus, this table was also filled with no space left for anyone else.

Another table had the Kiron couple with their three children and as expected, the Yona family was right there with them.

How could Cecily miss a chance to dine with the young man she wished to marry?

Therefore, she urged her father to sit with the Kirons rather than joining the Leopolds at the other table.

Thus, with the Kiron family sat the entire Yona family, and in the empty seat between Marquesses Kiron and Yona sat an old man who had been absent until now.

However, everyone knew who this aged man was and was polite with him.

Old man Syrac Carter had been resting in his assigned room while everyone enjoyed their time in the Palace and had only made an appearance for lunch.

While he no longer was the Marquess of the Carter family as he had passed the title down to his son, he still held an important place in society.

After all, he was a member of the King's Council of Ministers which was a highly prestigious position to hold.

Thus, with his arrival, this table was also at its capacity.

Then came the final table which was where Marquess Leopold sat with his wife and daughter.

Next to him was his distant cousin, Cosmet Leopold who was also a member of the King's Council of ministers.

Then came Earl Mikren who had been pondering if he should take a seat with the St. Claire family but the glares he received from the other Earl made him shake that thought away and move to this table instead.

Here, on his one side sat the Minister of Finance, Cosmet Leopold, and on his other side sat Earl Blaise who was dreading every minute of it.

As much as Earl Blaise wished to stay away from this intimidating man, he was left with no choices when Earl Mikren came to sit next to him.

With Earl Blaise was his entire family and next to them were the ones with the lowest social standing in this entire hall.

Baron MacIntyre and his wife were also involved in donating for the good cause during the plague and were invited just like the rest to visit the Palace.

Therefore, even if Marquess Leopold and Earl Blaise looked down on this couple, they were left with no other option but to share the table with them.

Unlike these two families, Earl Mikren nodded at the obese Baron who displayed an appeasing smile in return.

Cosmet Leopold too did not display his aversion to their presence as he did not care who the other person was as long as they were good with finances which Baron MacIntyre was in the last few years.

His bakery was a huge success before the plague and he was looking forward to seeing how much it would rise in the future.

Thus, only Marquess Leopold and Earl Blaise had sour faces while the rest seemed pleased with the seating arrangement they had adopted.

Once everyone was settled, King Ophire clinked his glass to gain their attention.

"I hope everybody enjoyed their day in the Palace." His words brought a lot of nods from the nobles but one child wasn't included in that category.

Yvonne blinked her wide eyes as she stared at the King but her pleasant smile was only used to conceal the true thoughts in her head.

As everyone's attention was on their King, no one was looking her way but she refrained from rolling her eyes in the off chance that someone saw her disrespectful behavior.

'Considering everything that has taken place today… I might just be that unlucky.' She sneered at her fortune which seemed to be running low these days.

"My Queen has overseen the preparation of this meal so I hope everyone enjoys it." King Ophire's words made them glance at the Queen who shot a bashful smile at her husband.

Everyone knew of the good relationship between the husband and wife.

Therefore, seeing him being considerate towards her and pointing out the efforts she had put in, made them smile.

Yvonne felt nothing weird this time as she watched the man who looked like her father, being affectionate with another woman.

She had understood that though King Ophire resembled her father from her past, they were not the same people.

Harold St. Claire, the man who loved and cherished her, was not the man who was the King of this Kingdom.

The constant reminder that she was giving herself worked quite well to help her calm her mind.

Once King Ophire completed what he had to say, he clapped his hands and a long line of servants entered the banquet hall.

Tableware had already been placed before them so all that was left was for the servants to bring out the dishes meant for their meal with the Royal family.

The servants were swift and made no noise as they entered and exited the hall after completing their duty here.

The moment they were gone, only people of noble and royal lineage were left inside this huge hall.

However, no one made a move to commence their meal as it was rude to begin before the host.

Therefore, they all had their eyes set on the King, who also made no movement to pick up his cutlery.

"We shall begin our meal after a prayer to our God Asmodeus." He announced with a loud voice which resulted in everyone lowering their heads.

'Asmodeus…' Yvonne clenched her jaw at the name being uttered as she had a lot to say to him.