Once they had the attention of the crowd, Dimia shifted her gaze expectantly onto Penelope, who was a bit froze by the feeling of her heart racing in her chest. This was it. There was no more almost time or soon to bes for the speech. Now was the time and the knight was afraid her mind was about to go blank with panic despite all of the preparation she had done for this very moment. She felt a subtle nudge from her right and glanced over to see Naida shoot her an encouraging grin. It also reminded her that she had Crow in the crowd as well. Feeling a little better by having her friend near her and a place for her eyes to go if she got too anxious, she took a deep breath and took a step forward to address the crowd.

"G-Good evening." she tried not to cringe outwardly as she stumbled slightly over the first word. "We'd like to take a moment to thank you all for being here tonight. I'd also like to take a moment to thank the people besides me for making this magnificent party possible." She gestured to the Lenz's and Naida, casting them a small smile before her gaze focused back out on the crowd. Reminding herself of the tips that Oliver had given her, she fixed her postured, standing with more confidence than she actually felt, and focused her gaze out into the crowd.

"However, there is a more serious reason for why this celebration came about. Because, while we may be able to enjoy a grand event here in the safety of the castle, there are many more on the warfront that are unable to." Now that she was going into the true topic she wished to discuss, she felt herself trying to avoid the looks of many of the nobles. For a moment, her gaze darted around, lost until she was able to catch a glimpse of Crow towards the back. To ease her nerves, she focus on him for a short time as she began to continue her speech.

"The war between us and Younis has gone on for a year. Countless numbers of our people, both peasant and noble alike, have been lost to a war that has shown no signs of ending. Brothers, sisters, friends all gone now with nothing to show for their brave sacrifice aside from the tears their loved ones have cried over a grave. My time on the warfront showed me more of that than I ever cared to see. Winning a means nothing out there." Gaining passion as she spoke, she swept her gaze over the crowd. "This war needs to end. It is draining our kingdom. It takes away good people and dries us of our resources. Of wealth."

She took a small breath, unable to gauge what the audience was thinking of her words yet. There was no immediate protest or disagreement. They just seemed to be listening and she hoped that was good thing. It at least gave her the confidence to continue with her argument. "Now I'm sure most of you already know of the king's plan to seek an alliance with the kingdom of Gorm. While the plan may be decent, I don't believe it'll be worth while. Seeking an alliance with Gorm means the war will continue for even longer and continue to hurt our great kingdom. There is no guarantee Gorm will take up the king on his offer and even if they do, it could be months before they're fully prepared to send out aid to our warfronts.

"And what is to stop Younis from doing something similar? Pulling in another kingdom may just make for a bigger war rather than an end to this one." The thought of Toreus' warning crossed her mind. "What we need is to settle this brutal war in a peaceful manner. Since I left the warfront, I have been working to make this happen. I have received multiple letters from knights, lieutenants, and barons who have been fighting this war for much longer than myself, all voicing their agreement. If we try to end things peacefully, the war may end in only a couple months, rather than continuing for longer just to acquire help from another kingdom."

The knight flashed a hopeful smile, trying to hide as much of the nervousness as she could, at the crowd. "So tonight, I ask all of you to lend your voice in helping end this war in a peaceful manner."

On cue, Oliver took a step forward to join Penelope, gesture to a couple servants with a flick of his wrist. The servants, with well rehearsed elegance, hurried out with a table. They quickly set it up with a scroll, quills and ink jars. "For the rest of the evening, this petition will be out for those of you who wish to join our cause." he said, in a voice that was louder and more authoritative than Penelope thought possible of the usually quiet nobleman.

"I urge you all to consider it." Penelope said, giving a small curtsy to the crowd. "Regardless of whether you decide to join us or not, we thank you for your time and hope you continue to enjoy the rest of the party."