Chapter 15
Chapter 15
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 15
Chapter Title: The Salon
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“A salon?”
Enri, who had been resting in the territory, widened his eyes at the single word he heard from Eve.
“Yes, a salon.”
“So suddenly?”
“It always happens around this time. What's so sudden about it?”
To Enri, who had planned to slack off peacefully today as usual, this was like a bolt from the blue. And rightly so—there was only one reason the Lady would summon him specifically to bring this up.
“Get ready. I'm taking you and Luca.”
“......Yes, ma'am.”
“Got a problem? What's with that tone?”
“No, nothing.”
“If you've got complaints, speak up. I'll tell you how to skip the salon.”
At those words, Enri's ears perked up. A way to avoid the bothersome salon? Of course he'd want to hear it.
“Storm the palace and declare war. Then smash everything. No salon after that.”
“Eek...... That would start a war.”
“Exactly. If you hate the salon that much, start a war. That's what I mean.”
Of course, no sane person would start a war just to avoid a salon. A salon might be annoying, but war was a nightmare.
No proper meals, baths or rest a luxury, and even for Enri, it meant staking his life on a grand endeavor.
Unless it was an order, it wasn't something to choose just because it was a hassle.
“More importantly, Lady. Didn't you say networking was useless and you weren't going to bother with it? You even skipped the academy because connections weren't needed.”
“Is casually skipping the socializing the same as holing up completely? The former is a aloof wolf; the latter is a total outcast. Get shunned by the group, and duke or not, you're done for.”
“Oh—Lady. An aloof wolf, are you?”
“......You wanna die for real?”
Only after Eve finally revealed her villainess-like violent side did Enri leave the office and begin preparing outfits suitable for the salon party.
He wondered if it was okay for both the knight order captain and vice-captain to leave the territory at the same time, but that wasn't for him to decide.
Eve had said the salon was a battlefield.
No idiot goes to a battlefield empty-handed.
Packing as much armament as possible was the dress code for war.
“Still, this damn country throws a party for every little thing...... Aren't they gonna collapse like this?”
Enri scratched the back of his head, recalling the unstable elements from history in his past life. He didn't think it would actually happen, but...
Seeing guns and mana trains, it was inevitable that the industrial revolution and the world's most famous revolution came to mind.
He could only hope that red sickle and hammer wouldn't rise in this world.
* * *
The salon.
A gathering where the elite assemble to laugh and chat, plain and simple.
A venue created for the simplest purpose. But humans complicate even the simple, turning it into something else. On the surface, a noble camaraderie event—but in truth, a silent battlefield.
Spies on each other, gauge alliances, extract key territory intel, forge bonds through children...... A cold war where only blades don't clash.
Anyone hearing this might think, who would want to join such a battlefield? But it was the opposite. Just as you sharpen your blade because you fear it, not participating in the salon war was the shortcut to actual war.
“—One of the kingdom's five pillars! Duke Claudia and the Duke's Lady enter!”
Eve stepped into the salon hall alongside the duke. Flanking them as escorts were her guard knights, Luca and Enri.
Those seeing Eve, who never appeared publicly, rolled their eyes sharply, as if delighted. If she were mere low nobility riffraff, they wouldn't care—but she was the Duke's Lady?
One of the five pillars upholding the nation. Rumored to have effectively ousted the duke at a young age and seized his power.
No harm in getting friendly. No—failing to do so could be fatal.
“—Well, if it isn't her.”
No sooner had the duke's group entered than a long-haired blond man approached without hesitation. Only one class in the kingdom could approach the duke so boldly.
“It's been a while, Your Highness Aurelia.”
“How hard can it be to see my fiancée's face?”
“Circumstances were unfavorable.”
The Lady Eve donned a mask of laughter on her face. How many nobles had fallen for that beautiful smile? Aurelia let out a wry smile and snorted.
“Duke, it's been ages. As your son-in-law, I should visit more often.”
“......No need, Your Highness. We apologize for not greeting you first.”
“No, no, if anything—”
Seeing the tedious noble pleasantries begin, Enri stiffened slightly and nudged Luca's side. Luca reacted instantly, glancing at him with just her eyes, and Enri whispered carefully so others wouldn't hear.
‘I'll grab some food, so hold the fort.’
‘Pardon? No, Captain, wait......’
‘I'll switch with you soon.’
Smoothly.
Enri slipped away unnoticed by the conversing group and headed to the food table. He grabbed a plate and tongs, loaded it with food, and picked up a fork to eat.
The presence of such a dangerous item as a fork showed the salon's security was rock-bottom. Plenty deadly enough...... Did they think the knights on the walls would stop it?
As he savored the food with such unhelpful thoughts—
“—Is the food to your liking, Knight?”
“......?”
Enri tilted his head slightly at his concealment being pierced. Not that surprising—his stealth wasn't magic or superpowers. Just suppressing presence and using blind spots.
So if someone was obsessively targeting him from the start, finding him wasn't impossible. The problem was that this person had no need to watch him so intently.
“Greetings to the kingdom's rising star.”
“No need for such formality between us, right?”
“Shall I, then?”
Elenoa Gracia.
The 2nd Princess of Gracia Kingdom.
The kingdom's sole princess.
As she addressed him, the gazes fixed on her shifted to him. No relaxed eating now. Thinking that, Enri carefully set down his plate, wiped his mouth.
“I've heard the news. They say Sir Enri achieved great feats again.”
“Pardon? No, not at all.”
“Wasn't it? I heard it from Sir Roengram......”
“That's completely false info. That guy's dangerous, filling Your Highness with nonsense. Discipline him?”
“Ahaha! You're probably the only one who talks about Sir Roengram like that, Sir Enri.”
Damn it.
Enri inwardly cursed Roengram.
He'd yielded all the credit from the operation since he'd gotten everything he wanted. Yet the guy had ratted it all out.
“Anyway, tell me more next time? I'll be looking forward to it.”
“......Sure, if there's a chance.”
“I'll take my leave.”
Enri watched Elenoa slip away after drawing every bit of aggro onto him, then cautiously lifted his plate again. But nobles wouldn't leave alone someone friendly with royalty.
As they swarmed for greetings, Enri figured dealing with them one by one would never end. He cut conversations short and escaped.
“Quite the celebrity, aren't you, Sir Enri?”
“Who now...... Ah.”
But soon caught again, Enri swallowed a curse and looked at his pursuer. If this world truly was a romance fantasy novel, this was surely its protagonist.
Cordelia Piesita and 3rd Prince Cassius stood there. Enri greeted them properly as he had Elenoa, then faced them.
“It's been a while, Lady Cordelia.”
“Yes! It has!”
Cordelia greeted him with a bright smile. Unlike before, Cassius felt no jealousy at her smile. He'd grown accustomed to what kind of woman Cordelia was—and vaguely realized what Enri was.
At least, Enri showed no interest in her, which helped.
“You two are practically glued together now. Should I call you princess already?”
“Yes!? N-No! His Highness and I aren't......”
As he teased them playfully about their relationship—
-Kyaaack!
A monster's cry echoed with shattering glass. Nobles enjoying the party screamed and fled every which way. The beasts lunged at those near the windows—including them.
A slime. The monster that melts human flesh, impervious to strikes or slashes. Only destroying the core hidden in its body mass kills it. One leaped at Cordelia.
“Kyaaah—!?”
“Cordelia!”
As Cassius shielded her like a blanket over the monster-attacked Cordelia, the expected pain never came. Puzzled, they cautiously opened their eyes.
There stood Enri, neutralizing the slime by precisely stabbing its core with a single fork.
“Are you alright?”
“Y-Yes. Y-Yeah......”
“I'll go check what this is about.”
Handing his plate and fork to them, Enri hurried off to fetch a weapon. Cordelia stared at his back, then blinked in shock.
“Cordelia? What happened? Are you hurt?”
“N-No, Your Highness. I'm fine......”
Belatedly.
Cordelia realized this was an event.
Sudden monster attack, the prince saving her—getting injured.
And awakening light magic to heal that injury...
However.
‘......W-What do I do.’
No matter how she looked at her hands.
No sign of even a flicker of light emerged.