In short, after meeting the groom and the bride, this banquet officially began for Shard and Dorothy.
Dorothy temporarily separated from Shard to meet her friends in the literary world. Lecia was probably with Princess Margaret entertaining the guest from the Southern Nation.
So, Shard decided to meet the Grand Witch first. Witches generally dislike lively banquets because there are too many men there. Even though they must attend this banquet, it's the only way for the two to reasonably get to know each other, gradually deepening their relationship.
Mr. Esberg had prepared a separate lounge for the distinguished guests attending the banquet, especially the guests from his wife's family, on one side of the third-floor hallway of the Lakeside Manor. When Shard, carrying Mia, stepped onto the third floor, memories of a midsummer night flooded his mind again. He paused at the last step of the stairs, looking at the banquet hall door directly opposite the staircase.
