The Banquet Begins (3)
Shino Charlotte. The moment my conversation with her ended, I stepped right back into the room.
It wasn't that I had anything else to do — that spot had simply made me uncomfortable.
Granted, it was commendable of her to dig up news of Aria that quickly, but I could have done without hearing it until after the title succession ceremony that was to be held a little later. Because that is hardly the thing to tell a man whose little sister has been kidnapped.
In any case, muttering those grievances under my breath, I opened the door — still firmly shut as ever — and stepped inside, only to be met with...
"...."
"Good day, my lord."
"Good day, my lord."
"...What is this?"
The person greeting me inside was not Ella. It was a crowd of women with faces I had never once seen before — and not just any women, but maids in uniform, every one of them with her arms loaded down with bundles.
Caught off guard by the sudden invasion, I stood there half-stumbling for a moment — until a bespectacled maid at the very front, her hair neatly arranged, approached me, and slowly, deliberately, lowered her head.
"Good day, Lord Jenison."
"...And who might you be?"
"We have come to find you, my lord, at His Majesty's command."
"...."
"The matter was rather urgent, so I beg your forgiveness for the discourtesy of entering your room uninvited."
With that, she bowed deeper still — and while the sight might have been nothing to another noble, to me it was nothing short of awkward.
To someone who had lived even once in the twenty-first century, the class system was nothing more than a relic of the past.
"...It's fine. Rise."
"Thank you for your forgiveness, my lord."
The instant my words ended, the woman straightened up as though she had been waiting for exactly that — and her expression made it plain that she had fully expected me to react this way.
"Do you happen to know where my attendant, who was in this room, has gone?"
"Ah — you mean the girl with the silver hair."
"Yes. Where is she now?"
"You will be able to see her again soon enough, if you will only wait a little."
Wait a little, and I would see her again. For a moment I tried to puzzle out what those words were supposed to mean — but the thought was cut short as the women crept up behind me before I knew it.
"My lord, that is not what matters now."
"...?"
"I shall now explain why His Majesty has sent us to you."
The moment she finished speaking, she drew a single sheet of paper from her breast. She ran her eyes once over its densely written lines, pushed her glasses up her nose, and began to walk me through, item by item, everything I was to do.
No — to be precise, everything I was to endure.
"First, we must decide your attire, my lord."
"...?"
"The imperial tailors and designers are waiting in the corridor at this very moment, along with a wide variety of garments—"
"...Hold on. What are you—"
"A bath has been prepared as well, and considering the young lord's age, we will apply only modest makeup—"
"Wait. Just—wait a moment."
"My lord, there is very little time. I ask your understanding, even if this seems somewhat rude."
"No, as I was saying—I already have my own attire set aside—"
My words never rang through the room again. Before I could even finish, the women who had crept up behind me began ushering me off somewhere.
"My lord, pardon us."
"No, I'm telling you, I have my own clothes already picked out—"
"Judging by your air and features, my lord, we believe this garment would suit you best."
"As for accessories and jewels, should anything catch your eye, we will prepare it separately—"
Not even pretending to listen, they busied themselves recommending dresses and jewels — and as I watched them, a single sentence kept flashing through my mind.
"My lord, how does this one strike you? It may be a touch gaudy, but—"
"Perhaps you might try these earrings, set with this gemstone—"
This is bad.
They don't listen to a single word I say. I have no chance of winning this.
"Thank you for your hard work, my lord."
"...."
"With this, all of our tasks are complete... We shall take our leave."
I didn't even have the strength to answer, so I simply nodded them out the door. The moment they were finally gone, I was able to collapse onto the bed.
...I never imagined they would spend all that time primping me without a single moment's rest...
Lying flat on the bed, I turned my head, and the clock hands — crept forward considerably — caught my eye. Which meant a great deal of time had passed. And it also meant that I had spent every last minute of it being fussed over.
"Well... it clearly had some effect. But there was no need to go this far..."
"Young master, I'm coming in."
I was still studying my reflection in the mirror when Ella's voice drifted in from beyond the door. The voice of the girl who had vanished somewhere a short while ago.
"Ella, where have you been all this—"
"Y-Young ma-master..."
I turned toward her voice and finally laid eyes on her — hunched slightly inward, as if embarrassed by something, and looking remarkably different from the last time I had seen her.
"...Ella. Did they get you, too?"
"Yeeees..."
Her hair — always neat, but never particularly lustrous — now gleamed a brilliant snowy white, and in place of the maid's uniform she usually wore, a beautiful dress caught my eye. A silver dress that matched her silver hair perfectly.
"Y-Young master, th-this dress seems far too fine for a servant like me...?"
"...That, too, is probably His Majesty's order."
"Wh-what?!"
She was, after all, the attendant of the Hero of the Great Forest — plainly they had dressed her up so that no one would look down on her. Still, come on. Wasn't this a bit much?
"Uh... uhh, how much do all these clothes even cost..."
"Probably more than three years of your salary, Ella."
"Hiiiiek...!"
Just look at her. Far from admiring her own beautiful reflection, she was racking her brain over how she could possibly return the dress without so much as a scratch. And with the jewels dangling gaudily from her outfit obviously worth a small fortune besides, every last bit of it must have felt like a crushing weight on her shoulders.
"Ella, calm down a little."
"B-but, young master... this really doesn't seem like something I should be wearing—"
"...I'm sorry, Ella, but you are going to wear it."
"Wh-what?!"
"Didn't I tell you just now? That, too, is by command of His Majesty the Emperor."
The ruler of the Empire had bestowed extravagant favor upon a mere servant. And without any bargain attached — as simple goodwill.
"So if a problem arises because you refuse to wear it..."
"...It could be taken as slighting His Majesty's generosity?"
"Precisely."
The moment the words left my mouth, her legs buckled beneath her and she sank to the floor, looking for all the world as though her soul had departed her body. Had the pressure finally grown too much? Was her mind outright refusing reality?
"My lord, it is time for you to depart."
"...Understood. I'll be along shortly."
But even now, I hadn't the time to shake her out of it. A moment ago, I had received word that the final guest of the banquet had arrived.
I flung the door wide open, and the Emperor's back filled my view.
"Mm. It seems you had a pleasant time. Did you enjoy my gift?"
"...I am grateful for Your Majesty's generosity."
"Haha, no need for that. It was merely my sincerity, after all."
His red beard quivered along with his sly chuckle — an infuriating laugh, the kind that said he could see exactly what you'd been put through without even looking.
"Hmm... though your face certainly has changed a great deal."
"...Has it?"
"It has. Quite considerably, in fact."
...That much?
My appearance had certainly changed a great deal, but as far as I could tell, all that had happened was my dark circles fading somewhat and a little color returning to my face.
"Well, don't be too shocked later when you see how the ladies react! Hahahaha!"
"...."
"Come, let us be off. Forward."
Just as before, a corridor stretched out ahead of us, carpeted in unbroken red, and at its far end the exit radiated a beautiful golden light.
"His Imperial Majesty the Emperor has arrived!!!"
With that great proclamation that the Sun of the Empire had appeared in this place, the light spilling from the exit slowly took shape — the glow of the chandeliers overhead, and beneath them, the crowd with heads bowed. The whole scene felt like stepping into another world entirely.
"...."
"...."
That is, until I saw the face of the one man there who had not bowed his head.
A man with a face I knew all too well. He said nothing. He simply kept staring at the Emperor. Or, to be precise — at me.
His conduct was so insolent that those around him began to restrain him, but still he held his head high, as though spellbound by something.
...For now, I could only hope that target wasn't me.
"...Duke Reinhardt. Do you mean to refuse Us your bow?"
Only after the Emperor — who had been watching him in silence all the while — finally spoke did the Duke's head at last come down.
Crack—
Along with the faintest sound of teeth grinding.