Andrea Tagore
Madame Annabella Terra gave Augustus a flirtatious look and walked gracefully toward her eldest daughter, while her youngest daughter Nova, who was not yet five years old, followed closely behind, holding her mother's hand and glancing at Augustus every now and then.
Compared to other children her age, Nova Terra was remarkably calm and well-behaved.
Aside from the Terra Family, no one knew that Nova possessed latent Psionics; she could always hear the inner voices of others, such as the obscene sexual fantasies her mother and sister had about Augustus just now.
Even Annabella knew very little about her daughter Nova's Psionics, only that Nova could read some superficial thoughts in human minds.
Influenced by her Psionics abilities, Nova understood many things at a very young age and was much more mature than children her age. But perhaps today's events are not a pleasant memory for Nova.
Augustus silently noted down the surnames of the girls, boys, and ladies from the various Old Families who had previously invited him, then returned to his seat. During his two weeks in Tarsonis, he planned to visit them one by one to ascertain their attitudes towards Korhal IV and Mengsk.
After sitting with Raynor for a while, Augustus quietly savored the Onsa red wine on the table, waiting for the arrival of Mrs. Andrea Tagore, the main guest of the birthday party.
But Andrea arrived a full five minutes late. She walked toward the guests from the magnificent corridor in a wheelchair that seemed to float in mid-air, accompanied by several members of the Tagore Family.
Andrea's long, gray hair was so thick that Augustus could even find some blue strands in it. Her once beautiful face was now full of deep wrinkles, but her azure eyes still seemed to radiate a certain light, and she was in good spirits.
"Hehe. Children, I'm so glad you could come." Andrea Tagore's hovering wheelchair sped past the guests after a burst of speed, and the Tagore Family members behind him had to jog to keep up. This comical sight made some of the children laugh.
Everyone present was a child in front of Andrea, who was already 140 years old, so only she had the right to say such things.
Many of the Old Families have some degree of kinship with the Tagore Family. While the leaders of these families are still ignorant and unaware, Andrea Tagore is already overlooking the entire Tarsonis from the Tagore Sky Tower, standing atop the giant dragon that Terran Confederacy.
"Sivan, you should get a hair transplant," Andrea said as she passed the head of the Skelter Family.
"Oh, little Annabella, my dear, you are as beautiful as your mother."
"." Whenever she encountered a familiar member of the Old Families, she would either exchange pleasantries or make a sarcastic remark.
"Ero, has that boy Yaco not been found yet? He has disgraced the Bennett Family, or perhaps those damned rebels captured him? You are his father, why are you so indifferent to this?" He maneuvered his hover wheelchair to the Bennett Family leader.
"We did everything we could – offered a reward, hired detectives, search and rescue teams, even the Marines – but to no avail. The final evidence all pointed to the same conclusion – he ran away on his own." Eero Bennett's voice was flat; he was simply defending himself as if he had lost a cat or dog.
"I spent a lot of money and effort on this, but in the end I had to give up. I think that since he doesn't want to live as a member of the Bennett Family and cause his mother and sister so many tears for nothing, there's nothing I can do," he said coldly.
"Yaco is an adult now; he should take responsibility for the stupid things he's done."
"Tara's talent in finance and business management is undeniable; she doesn't need a replacement. But Tara's marriage will give you all a headache," Andrea said to Eero before heading to her seat.
"If you ask me, you should execute those negligent guards and useless servants, otherwise your prestige will decline, and those who are only fit to be servants will one day ride roughshod over you, and the ancient order will be trampled on." She said coldly, her voice amplified throughout the banquet hall with the help of a loudspeaker.
"The noble are born to enjoy such rights; it is our inherent privilege. You must constantly remind the lowly, or they will forget the humble origins of their ancestors, forget their role in this world, and forget that they should tremble and prostrate themselves at the feet of the Old Families."
"Just like over a hundred years ago. Now, the Antiga people have forgotten their duties, and Korhal IV has become even more ruthless. Have we been too lenient?"
"What is that old hag talking about? Does the Old Families have the right to decide the fate of other people? She should be glad I don't have a P220 Electromagnetic Pistol on hand." Raynor Augustus as Andrea's hovering wheelchair came to a leisurely stop in front of the round table in the center of the banquet hall.
Augustus was afraid that Raynor would blurt out, "Are kings and nobles born with a special destiny?"
"If only we could bring our recording equipment in," Augustus said regretfully.
"Oh, don't look so surprised. I'm just speaking from the heart. I believe the unrest on Korhal IV has more or less affected some of your family's businesses, especially those with factories on that planet." Andrea's tone quickly softened, as if she were just a fragile old lady. "This has been making me feel quite uneasy lately."
"Today is a good day, my 140th birthday, but my increasingly malfunctioning elbows often remind me that I've lived too long. My children always tell me I'll live past 200, and I don't want to one day be stuck in a 'coffin' filled with nutrient solution, barely surviving on cutting-edge technology."
"Every birthday, that damned AI butler tells me, right on cue, that death is drawing ever closer. It makes me very uncomfortable," she said. "I don't know what this great Confederacy belonging to the Old Families will become after I die. Hopefully, by then, Antiga and the rebel leaders of Korhal will all be hanged."
"I don't like celebrating birthdays, but I still invited you to this banquet because it may have been ten years since the various Old Families have gathered together—except for meetings in the Confederate Congress."
"I simply want you to understand that Old Families Old Families stand together, and nobles should firmly grasp power. We must use our swords to defend the honor and authority of the Old Families, for only order endures forever."
"If anyone dares to defile it, then let the defiler be melted in flames."
There were no news media or UNN producers present, so Augustus believed Andrea was speaking to him directly as a warning.