Queen Renaldi's latest arrangement was indeed effective.
Growing up in a small town gave Mia a natural simplicity and kindness that made it easy for her to mingle with ordinary people. For a kingdom's princess, affinity is a valuable talent.
Although her carefree personality led to quite a few jokes during her visits—like accidentally letting chickens and ducks escape at a farm, or insisting on climbing trees to pick fruit in an orchard—her unpretentious image and sincere smile won her a lot of goodwill among the public.
People seemed to gradually accept this "real" and "cute" side of the future princess. After all, how "bad" could a princess be if she was willing to go to the grassroots level to help farmers feed pigs and chickens, or help fruit growers pick fruit?.
By late September, Mia, having passed the test of public opinion, now faced the next hurdle: the "test" of other royal members at the Royal Family Banquet. Only then could she legitimately become Genovia's official heir—the Kingdom's Princess.
"Don't be nervous, Mia. You've done a great job. For the upcoming banquet, you just need to perform normally..."
Backstage, Queen Renaldi, wearing a grand gown and a crown, saw her granddaughter's nervousness and comforted her with a smile: "Let me secretly tell you some good news: everyone attending this banquet is 'one of us'."
Because this banquet was of great importance, the guests arranged at Mia's table were all from the faction friendly to Queen Renaldi. Mia, who hadn't fully adapted to "noble" life yet, was most afraid of dealing with other nobles, which made her very uncomfortable.
Having received her grandmother's tip in advance, she looked much more relaxed.
As noon approached, Queen Renaldi, the "protagonist" of the banquet, gave her granddaughter a few more instructions before entering the banquet hall first.
The luxuriously decorated hall was filled with guests dressed in magnificent attire and exuding noble temperaments. Most were royal family members, while a small portion were kingdom ministers.
Taking the main seat, Queen Renaldi first paid respects to the arriving guests, thanking them for their contributions to the kingdom over the past year. Then, tacitly, she introduced her granddaughter—Mia—to everyone.
"Please welcome Princess Mia~"
With Mr. Joe's announcement, everyone's eyes turned to the rear entrance of the hall.
The main doors opened wide, and Mia, wearing a white princess gown, walked into the banquet hall accompanied by her mother. With her hair pinned back to reveal her slender neck and a charming smile on her face, Mia looked as elegant and noble as a white swan at this moment.
A wave of praise rose in the banquet hall, and many guests were surprised by the girl's image. Since returning to the country, the girl hadn't deliberately contacted royal nobles, so many people present were seeing Mia for the first time.
Under everyone's gaze, Mia walked with her mother to the seat next to Queen Renaldi and sat down.
"Alright, let the banquet begin~"
Queen Renaldi nodded to her granddaughter and signaled that everyone could raise their glasses and dine.
Instantly, the atmosphere in the banquet hall became lively. Exquisite tableware, sumptuous food, and well-behaved guests made the scene appear orderly and organized.
"Finally, we can eat~"
Seeing that everyone's attention was no longer on her, Mia breathed a sigh of relief and lightly tapped the wine glass in front of her. This was to signal the waiter to pour her a drink.
Because she had to wear the beautiful princess gown today, Mia's diet had been controlled since the morning. So, she was genuinely hungry now.
"Mia, mind your dining etiquette."
Seeing her daughter's movements becoming increasingly uninhibited, Ms. Helen quickly whispered a reminder.
The main purpose of this Royal Family Banquet wasn't actually for people to eat. Helen, who had a bit more experience than Mia, knew that there must be many royal nobles and ministers secretly observing her daughter's every move.
"I understand..."
Receiving her mother's hint, Mia slowed down her eating.
For the past three months, the girl's main training had been dining etiquette, just to perform well on this occasion. Mia had just been a bit distracted, and sitting next to her familiar mother and grandmother caused her to accidentally reveal her "true nature".
Reminded by her mother, the girl realized her mistake and was willing to cooperate with her grandmother's arrangement to act like a "lady".
Queen Renaldi, noticing out of the corner of her eye that her granddaughter had settled down, unconsciously revealed a smile at the corner of her mouth.
A formal royal banquet has its own set of procedures, with clear regulations for everything from toasts to dining times.
More than an hour later, as the dining time ended, Queen Renaldi tapped her wine glass to attract everyone's attention, then stood up and announced: "I think everyone should know what is happening today. Genovia will welcome our own princess..."
"Come here to me, Mia~"
At the same time, a waiter brought over a smaller laurel crown.
"From this day forth, my granddaughter Mia shall be the Kingdom's Princess~"
Queen Renaldi seemed to have arranged everything in advance; as she placed the laurel crown symbolizing the Kingdom's Princess on Mia, bursts of applause rang out.
And Mia, wearing the princess crown, inexplicably felt an added sense of belonging and connection in her heart.
"Queen Renaldi!!!"
Just as everyone was immersed in the heartwarming atmosphere, an elderly noble with a short beard and gloomy eyes stood up.
For a moment, the guests' gazes wavered between this middle-aged man and Queen Renaldi. Was he going to cause trouble for the Queen on this important occasion?.
Realizing the old noble's behavior was inappropriate, some guests looked angry and dissatisfied, others looked uncertain, and a small portion looked like they were waiting to watch the drama as if it didn't concern them.
In short, because of that noble's abrupt behavior, the atmosphere became tense.
"Is there something the matter, Prince Mabrey?"
Queen Renaldi maintained her elegant demeanor, her face showing no emotion. However, Princess Mia, who was closest to her, noticed a flash of dissatisfaction in her grandmother's eyes.
"Forgive my presumption~"
Prince Mabrey bowed slightly, his expression very humble: "I just wanted to remind Your Majesty that after the banquet, it is time for the Royal Ball to begin."
Although the Prince was speaking to the Queen, his eyes were looking at all the guests present. It was a bit like using the power of the crowd to pressure the Queen.
"Thank you for the reminder, Prince Mabrey..."
Queen Renaldi stared at Mabrey and said in a calm tone: "Then next, let us meet the young people of the Kingdom."
The Genovian Royal Ball was more like a platform built for royal youth and ordinary youth in the kingdom to interact. Yes, this was a social ball for young people, where young people in the kingdom who considered themselves excellent could issue dance invitations to single royal youth on this day.
Next, a large open space was cleared in the center of the banquet hall to serve as the dance floor. The ceiling lights above also lit up with colorful halos.
"What should I do next?"
Sensing the Prince's malice, Mia cautiously asked her grandmother.
The girl's feeling was not wrong; Prince Mabrey was indeed the representative of the radical faction in the kingdom. His proposition was to vigorously develop Genovia's mineral business at all costs.
And this time, to embarrass Queen Renaldi, he had specifically warned the young men in the kingdom in advance not to invite Princess Mia to dance during the ball.
Just imagine, a girl who just became a princess finding no dance partner at the ball—that scene would definitely be very interesting.
"You don't need to do anything. There might be a surprise waiting for you in a moment."
Queen Renaldi didn't seem to care about Prince Mabrey's petty tricks; instead, she looked confident.
"Surprise?"
Mia obviously didn't understand the hidden meaning in her grandmother's words.
At this time, in the ball hall that had been set up, amidst colorful lights and soothing music, the main outer doors opened.
A group of carefully selected civilian young men walked into the ball venue led by guards.