Chapter 96
Chapter 96
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 96
Chapter Title: Banquet Reunions
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I pulled out some ointment laced with antiseptic ingredients and slathered it thickly over Florian's finger.
I could feel his finger twitching from the stinging sensation of the astringent.
I looked up to tell him to hold still, only for our eyes to meet—his staring intently right in front of my face—and my mouth snapped shut.
'Wow, this pretty face is seriously intimidating...'
It was a beauty that made my intelligence evaporate in an instant.
Even as a child, I'd thought his face was doll-like, but now just locking eyes was enough to make me forget my words entirely.
"Baby, have you been well?"
Florian spoke first, saving me from my speechlessness.
"I've been good. What about you? I heard Grandpa was away from the main house for a whole month handling the Tree Sea restoration?"
With Grandpa gone, the main house had surely fallen under Uncle's thumb.
I furrowed my brow again, worried that Uncle and Aunt might have picked on him, and Florian offered a small smile.
"I've been fine too. Nothing happened, so don't worry."
That was a relief, at least.
"After Erich's coming-of-age banquet ends, you're heading straight back to your territory?"
"No. Dad's staying at the main house a bit longer for work, and Dietrich and I are tagging along with Erich to Debayer County."
"Debayer County?"
"Yeah. Erich's got Audit Bureau business, and Dietrich and I are just sightseeing."
A flicker of regret passed through Florian's eyes as he quietly pressed his lips together.
Then he suddenly switched expressions, flashing a lovely smile.
"Can I come too?"
"You too?"
I'd just reunited with Dad after so long—shouldn't we at least spar a little?
As I hesitated over the thought, Florian smiled with his eyes crinkling at the corners.
"My finger's like this anyway... It hurts pretty bad."
Anyone would think he'd read my mind.
But it didn't look that badly injured.
Still, I couldn't push for a spar when the owner himself said it hurt.
"Okay. I'll ask Erich."
"You and Erich alone won't be able to keep Dietrich in check. I'll tag along and help."
"That... I'll ask seriously. Erich'll agree the second he hears it."
Florian really was perfect for handling a wild colt like Dietrich.
We plopped down right there on the carpet and chatted away amiably.
Even though we exchanged letters often, face-to-face meant so much more to talk about.
As dawn broke and I let out a yawn, Florian shot to his feet like a knife and headed back to his room.
"Sleep well, baby."
Just before leaving, his fingertips lightly brushed the stray hairs scattered across my forehead.
He looked almost fully grown since I'd last seen him, but his gentle nature hadn't changed a bit.
Erich's coming-of-age banquet was held in the massive hall where Dad's ennoblement ceremony had taken place before.
Erich cut a striking figure in formal attire with sky-blue accents matching my dress, draped in sapphires—the epitome of nobility among nobles.
Dad and Dietrich were just as splendid.
The unmarried women gathered in the banquet hall tracked our family's every move with their eyes.
A few quick ones swiftly latched onto me.
"Hello, Lady Rommel. I hope your father, Count Rommel, is doing well?"
"Your dress today is just adorable. We met briefly during the tournament last time, remember? Lord Dietrich picked up my handkerchief for me then."
"Try this cookie. What flavor does Lord Erich like best?"
Of course, some approached me with genuine fondness too.
"Lady Rommel, may I call you Miss Mariella? I'd love to be friends."
That was hardly surprising.
In just a few years, Rommel County had seen remarkable growth.
Centered on the loyal knights Dad had trained, we'd subjugated monsters in neighboring areas every year, winning over the local lords.
'Plus, our territory has the North's only ice-free port.'
Even in the dead of winter, our house shipped monster byproducts and processed goods out via sea routes nonstop.
It had taken exactly seven years to build a force strong enough to stand toe-to-toe with Uncle at any time.
So nobles attuned to power shifts had no choice but to cozy up to our family.
"Look at those squirrel cheeks—so cute!"
"I have a cute cat I raise, and it looks just like Lady Rommel. Want to come feed it treats together sometime?"
...Though it didn't seem that was the only reason.
Either way, as I munched diligently on cookies amid the swarm of kind, friendly nobles, someone suddenly hugged me from behind.
"Mariella!"
This blonde, who appeared in a prettily fitted green dress, was Lavinia Palenberg.
Daughter of Dad's cousin—my third cousin, and the relative one year my senior whom I'd studied with at the main house.
"I missed you!"
"Really? Was it me you missed, or the Gramostola taxidermy I brought?"
"That one's obviously...!"
"Obviously?"
"O-obviously... I, I missed you!"
I burst out laughing at Lavinia, who stammered while staring into space.
What a monster maniac.
Some of the better-preserved monsters Dad caught were taxidermied and sold to collectors—and Lavinia was the most fervent buyer.
Gramostola was the name of a knee-high spider-type monster.
The name alone gave me chills, but Lavinia's eyes sparkled brighter than ever.
"You brought it, right? The one perfect down to the fuzz?"
"Yeah. Removed all the venom, though."
"You're the best cousin ever!"
The world really is wide, full of all sorts of people.
As I chatted happily with Lavinia, her brother Lucas sidled over and sat at our table.
But his arm...
"What's wrong with your arm? Hurt?"
"Ah, this? Just an accident."
"Accident, my foot. You were poking around Merica's workshop and knocked over one of the machines, that's how. It's broken."
"Lavinia, shut your trap."
"Lucky your teeth didn't break too, so you can grit them like that."
I barely stifled a laugh watching the siblings bicker.
They pretend otherwise, but they're identical.
If little sister Lavinia was a monster otaku, Lucas was a machine otaku.
He spent tons of time in workshops because his eyes lit up at any machine, no matter the type.
I'd heard that mania came from their great-aunt, Marchioness Palenberg.
'Great-aunt's a legal code otaku, right?'
She'd finalized the fourth Imperial Code revision and now worked at the Northern Judicial Bureau.
Though from our brief meeting before, she struck me as more of a family otaku.
Recalling how the marchioness constantly bragged about her fox-like Lucas and Lavinia and her rabbit-like husband, I stared at Lucas, who took so after her.
"Must hurt bad. Of all things, your arm."
"It hurts, sure, but Mother's orders to stick at the main house are suffocating me. Heard you're heading to Debayer County with Erich?"
"The rumor spread already?"
"It's a public audit. I have ears."
As expected of a marquess house heir.
Not just a machine nut after all.
Meanwhile, Lavinia beside him gaped like she'd never heard her brother's words before.
"Debayer County?"
"Please take some interest in public affairs..."
Ignoring Lucas's sigh, Lavinia fixed her gaze solely on me.
Her eyes began to sparkle.
Why that look again?
As an ominous feeling stirred and I started to frown, Lavinia grabbed my hand tight.
"Third cousin!"
It's burdensome—let go of my hand, please.
"Take me too!"
"What?"
"Please take me too midterms are right around the corner and I haven't studied a single subject properly if I stay here and come last again Mom will kill me please!"
Lavinia, who'd rattled it all off without so much as a breath, gazed at me with desperate eyes.