The banquet was held as usual, and the self-possessed and elegant nobles began to eat, waving knives and forks lightly on the tablecloth made of expensive silk fabrics, and wiping their lips with handkerchiefs embroidered with gold thread.
Beside Augustus, Jim Raynor was holding a knife and fork against a perfectly cooked steak, stabbing and cutting it as fiercely as if he were holding a sword, as if he was fighting an enemy that did not actually exist.
Fighting.
Renault is furious now.
Augustus felt that Raynor must have been greatly stimulated. The farmer's son was changing his mind and he became even more disgusted with the ruler of Tarsonis than before.
Not far away from them, Edmund Duke did not seem to notice Augustus and Renault, who were also invited as noble officers. Instead, he clinked glasses with several officers next to him. They all wore
Shining medal.
This boring banquet did not last long. Most of the nobles had no appetite. Edmund and his friends were in high spirits and did not abide by any etiquette. Instead, they enjoyed the food and honor "like soldiers."
By about ten o'clock in the evening, even the most proficient drinker put down his glass and left his seat. At this time, the servants moved the tables and chairs away, and music played from the jewel-encrusted gramophone.
The ladies and ladies danced with their partners.
"Should we dance?" Reno thought for a long time and said to Augustus.
"The two of us?" Augustus said.
"This is not good." Renault didn't say whether he agreed or refused.
But the swarming ladies quickly snatched Reno's partner away. Next, amidst Reno's lamentations, Augustus danced with one young lady after another.
Augustus had received training in court etiquette and dance since he was a child. After a few days of practice, he was able to dance correspondingly to each piece of music, with light steps and no mistakes.
During the third dance, Augustus was forced to take Annabella Terra's hand, and the other girl's daughter seemed to want to dance with him very much, which made him very confused.
Annabella's little daughter Novaterra was sitting in her little chair, looking at Augustus with an indescribable look, her mouth slightly open, her amber eyes wide open, and Augustus.
Gus would love to call this a dead fish eye.
This kid doesn't look very smart.
Augustus didn't know that this was Nova, the future famous ghost agent of the Tyranids.
"Your hands are very strong, and your eyes remind me of a ferocious wolf... Oh, you are so beautiful." Annabella's thin lips are very attractive, she is well-maintained, and she wears a low-cut dress
It was difficult to hold up her overly plump breasts, and Augustus was always worried that they would be overwhelmed.
"How many push-ups can you do, how many pounds of barbell can you lift, and have you ever run the ancient Earth sport called a marathon?"
"Are you durable?"
"Didn't Mr. Terra come to the banquet?" Augustus looked around, as if warning himself that he was not having an affair.
At the same time, he also felt that Annabelle's unabashed sexual interest in him might bring unexpected trouble.
"Are you talking about Constantine? Oh, he is still stuck in Palobogu, where a new maglev car factory is being built, and the latest production lines for maglev bicycles and cars are ready." Annabelle said nonchalantly,
By the way, he also teased Augustus: "You are very shy."
"Don't worry, although Constantine and I are married, we still have different opinions." Annabella said: "This is a political marriage. We don't have any feelings for each other. As long as it's not too outrageous,
Constantine will forgive you..."
"Madam..." This was the first time for Augustus to run into this situation, and he admitted that he had little experience with it. Augustus was able to talk happily with a girl who was about the same age as him.
, but he is really not good at dealing with women two or three times his age.
"My daughter also likes you very much." Annabelle was dancing with Augustus while complaining that the other person's hands were not in the right position: "The hands above the waist can be lowered."
"..." Augustus didn't want to complain, so he wisely chose to shut up, and did not foolishly ask which daughter it was.
This is so weird.
"You are a member of the Khamensk family. Many people believe that you should be the heir to Angus Mengsk, the future star of Korkha's political circles, and the future owner of a business empire that spans several planets.
"Annabella stopped teasing Augustus.
"I also have a twenty-eight-year-old brother, who is much better than me." Augustus could tell that the Terra family, at least Annabella Terra—perhaps only she, was interested in Mengsk.
The family's attitude is not so tit-for-tat. They regard Mengsk as an equal noble.
Although in the eyes of the nobles of Tarsonis, the founding families on other main star worlds are just upstarts who have only become prosperous in the past hundred years, when the founding families of Tarsonis already controlled the Tyranid Federation, the ancestors of the Mengsk family were just
The captain of the colonial fleet or an ordinary crew member. But being able to control the economic lifeline of a planet, especially a wealthy place like Korhal, the Mengsk family could still receive superficial equal treatment in the past.
Augustus could see that when the riots broke out on Korhal and the senators called for the entire planet to secede from Federation rule, the more prominent nobles in Tarsonis became more distant from him or harbored deep hatred for him.
.
This was especially obvious for the Tagore family. Augustus believed that someone from the Tagore family would come to his door after the banquet.
Maybe Augustus can win over the support of the Terra family, but he himself has no expectations for this. After all, the power of such an ancient creation family has long been deeply rooted in Tarsonis. In order to safeguard the rights and interests he already enjoys,
Interests, their natural position is to be opposed to revolutionaries like Angus.
But Augustus hoped that House Terra would remain neutral, at least on the issue of using an Apocalypse-class nuclear bomb to destroy Korhal.
"The Coha people have not seen your brother for eight years." Annabelle said to Augustus: "He disappeared after he retired from the army, and no one can find him."
"Yes, I don't know where he is." Augustus knew that this "Kehal man" could probably be understood as a federal agent who was performing a mission in Korhal, and "everyone" probably meant all the agents.
Annabelle was silent for a while. Her interest in Augustus seemed to come not only from his handsome appearance and elegant conversation.
"So, do you think your father is right?" After a while, Annabelle suddenly asked.
"Of course it's extremely stupid... That stubborn old man's spirit has almost collapsed." Augustus raised his voice a little: "I joined the Marine Corps precisely because I was too disappointed with him.
."
"It was the Creation Family and the aristocratic system that gave the Mengsk family their current status. Why should we give up our rights and hand over the right to rule Korhal to ignorant commoners who have neither knowledge nor talent?"
"Believe me, Augustus Mengsk, I love the Terran Federation more than myself."