After that, the camps of the four Royal Selection candidates truly did nothing more than gather together and chat.
As everyone enjoyed the food, they conversed with one another. The topics covered a great deal—some concerned political affairs, while others were about daily life—but overall, there was no longer any particularly uncomfortable atmosphere.
Just as Anastasia had said, this was merely an opportunity for talks.
As for how much useful information and benefit they could gain from those talks, that depended on their respective methods.
"Don't just stand around either. Catch up if you want, talk about whatever you like. There's no need to mind us."
That was what Anastasia said to Fang Li's group of knights and guards who had accompanied their masters.
Under such circumstances, Reinhard, Julius, and Felix all sought Fang Li out and exchanged pleasantries as fellow Royal Guard Knights. Julius also occasionally approached Wilhelm to converse with the former captain of the Royal Guard Knights.
As a result, the entire meeting felt more like a banquet, relaxed and casual.
However, that was merely on the surface.
The royal candidates did their best to obtain the information they wanted through conversation. Even though Emilia and Felt were not good at such matters, one was pure and innocent while the other was straightforward. Neither had many schemes, which made them somewhat troublesome in Crusch's and Anastasia's eyes.
Fang Li's group was catching up in their own ways, but there were also some discordant elements.
There were mainly two sources of that discord.
One was the relationship between Reinhard and Wilhelm.
From the very beginning, the grandfather and grandson had not exchanged a single word. They had not even met each other's eyes. Rather than stiff, the atmosphere between them was downright hostile.
The reason was simple.
Fifteen