Chapter 21
Translator: penny
Chapter: 20
Chapter Title: Banquet Attire
Speaking honestly, leaving out a banquet scene in a romance fantasy parenting novel—or romance fantasy in general—is practically a crime.
"Young Master, please stay still just a bit longer."
"That's right. You're moving around so much that the measurements keep changing."
But even so, did they really need to make such a fuss about fitting the protagonist for a dress before the banquet?
...At least the good news is that I really won't have to wear a dress.
If I'd been reincarnated as the female lead, I'd probably be stuck wearing some frilly, fluttering gown by now without a choice.
But thankfully, nothing that horrific was happening. The reason the maids were so diligently measuring my body with tape was to make a formal suit for men.
'Mom, I could just wear anything from the ducal house wardrobe...'
'...Nonsense that could cause a disaster. It wouldn't befit the dignity of Belverk.'
For the record, I'd said it was no big deal and any old thing would do to avoid the hassle, but Mom had insisted on hiring the empire's top salon tailor to create custom-made attire.
"Schwarz sis."
"Yes?"
"...You don't need to touch there."
The problem was that Schwarz and the other maids measuring me kept letting their hands wander to strange places.
"Young Master, the waist and hips are the most important parts of a suit."
"...Then call a male servant."
To be honest, the chances of these kind-hearted maid sisters groping my sensitive areas with ulterior motives were practically zero.
It was just that, as a proper young boy, their touches made me flinch, which was a bit uncomfortable.
"Oh my, Young Master. There are no male servants in Belverk."
"It's a long-standing tradition from our founding ancestors. The maids end up handling the butlers' duties too."
But the maids measuring me on either side reminded me of that fact with faint smiles.
I'd learned about Belverk's history from Schwarz, but with everything going on lately, I'd forgotten for a moment.
"That's why forbidden romances have always bloomed in Belverk since ancient times."
"...But the heirs who eloped with maids all met unhappy ends."
"That's right, Young Master. You need to be careful too? Especially with your personal maid..."
I hadn't really wanted to know that much detail. And was it my imagination, or were the maids glaring at Schwarz instead of me while saying it?
"Hmph, keep needling me and see what happens."
And sure enough, Schwarz—who'd been obsessively remeasuring my waist—suddenly turned a cold glare on the other maids.
"Hey, we weren't talking about you."
"...Even half-respectful speech. Should I instill some discipline for old times' sake?"
As far as I knew, a personal maid held the same rank as the head maid. So Schwarz's attitude made sense, but was she really going to crack down here?
- Roooar...
I'd doubted it, but black smoke was already rising from Schwarz's hand.
And the two maids on either side were doing the same.
'As expected, kind but scary sisters.'
From studying Belverk's history and rules, I'd learned that all the maids in Belverk were 'black mages.'
They specialized in different skills, but every Belverk maid was required to master black magic as a basic qualification.
For reference, black magic was the ultimate taboo forbidden by both the empire and the Holy Church. Even for the Monster Ducal House, wasn't this too dangerous?
"Don't worry though, Young Master. It's not like there are no men at all."
"There are male knights in the mansion and territory."
Seeing my concerned expression, the maids waiting in the back naturally switched places and whispered that in my ear.
'Maids fighting with black magic is just daily life, huh...'
Yeah, this was Belverk. I needed to get used to this insane, common-sense-shattering family soon.
"Hey, have you all lost your minds?"
"...!"
"Fucking bastards. Get lost?"
I was lost in those thoughts, blankly watching the brawl about to erupt in front of me.
"What if the kid gets hurt?"
"...S-Sorry, miss."
"F-Forgive..."
That's when Lilien suddenly burst into my room, emanating chilling aura that halted the fight.
"Tch, honestly..."
Ever since her confinement ended alongside mine a few days ago, Lilien had been barging into my room daily with her personal maid in tow.
She claimed it was to monitor me, but honestly, she just seemed bored out of her mind.
"They fear me too much. I need to start recruiting maids myself soon."
"...Wouldn't things be better if you hadn't half-killed one in front of everyone last time?"
Despite that, she waved cheerfully with a forced smile when her personal maid offered blunt advice.
"But that bitch was trying to steal my earring."
"...?"
"I can't let that happen. It's my one and only treasure..."
Hearing Lilien's response to her maid raised some questions.
An earring? Wasn't that just made-up?
"Oh, kid. Getting measured?"
But before I could dwell on it, Lilien turned to me, frowning as she approached.
"I could just wear anything..."
"Idiot. You trying to embarrass yourself? This is the imperial debutante, not some backwater event."
Seeing her nitpick just like Mom—blood-related or not, she really was her daughter.
"By the way, about that earring story earlier..."
"...K-Kid. Anyway, are you recruiting maids well?"
And whenever I tried to bring up something important, she'd deflect like this too.
"No, wait. You've barely been here, so internal politics talk is too soon, huh."
Thanks to that, with my slightly sulky expression, she jumped to conclusions and grinned, starting her explanation.
"Listen up. Big sis will explain kindly."
"...Okay."
"Belverk's three major internal factions are the maids, retainers, and knights. Maids are the easiest to recruit and control."
I already knew that much, so it wasn't particularly exciting.
"So Belverk's power structure is roughly judged by how many maids one can command."
"Ah..."
"For reference, Mom, the eldest, and second daughter's maid ratios are..."
But the info that followed seemed useful, so I perked up my ears.
"Uh..."
What was that reaction? She was holding up two fingers and stuttering—was she calculating right now?
"45 to 30 to 25."
"...Ah, right. Yeah."
Lilien, who'd nearly embarrassed herself, barely escaped thanks to her personal maid's help.
The ratios were surprisingly close.
The eldest and second combined even outranked Mom's faction.
"Sadly, I only have one personal maid. Same for you."
"But I heard maids can't interfere in the family head competition..."
"Fool, it's not that simple."
Despite still believing Belverk's unwritten rules, I quietly shut my mouth at Lilien's low-voiced advice.
"...Even if you don't aim for family head, you need to prepare to survive."
"......"
"Especially you, with that idiotic ability that only helps others."
Yeah, it was time to start building my own faction.
A few days later. The imperial debutante was right around the corner.
"So, what do you think?"
"......"
"This is Young Master's banquet attire, crafted by all our salon staff pulling all-nighters for a week."
The exhausted salon owner—dark circles under his eyes—had trembling staff deliver my suit personally. Mom and Lilien's reactions were:
"...Not bad at all."
"Eh, it's decent."
Hearing that, the salon owner gaped and glanced nervously at me.
'He must really want to live.'
His gaze was desperately pitiful for just looking at a kid.
'The suit itself is fantastic. I almost feel unworthy wearing it.'
Fortunately for him, the banquet attire suited my taste perfectly.
A neat design that didn't scream flashy. Yet it exuded an inexplicable charisma. It perfectly captured the image I wanted for this debutante.
"It could be a bit flashier, though."
"...Making him look like a prince wouldn't be bad either."
But as I smiled in satisfaction, Mom and Lilien started nitpicking from the side.
'This won't do.'
If I wasn't careful, it'd end up overloaded with gaudy ornaments and brooches, drawing every eye at the debutante.
I had to prevent that at all costs. I'd rather wear the ragged sack from the Opstein Marquisate a hundred times over.
"Ugh..."
"...!?"
"K-Kid. What's wrong?"
So I quickly bowed my head and rubbed my eyes hard to make them bloodshot.
"...Sniff."
I sniffled dramatically, putting on a teary face that looked like I was about to burst into real sobs.
"So even this suit doesn't please you."
"...Knew it. I didn't like it either. Clothes have to be flashy."
Mom and Lilien misunderstood, glaring murderously at the tailor, but my scheme was different.
'In times like this, overreact as much as possible.'
The abused protagonist tearing up at receiving cool clothes from parents for the first time is a timeless cliché and highlight in parenting stories!
Maternal love points aside, as a romance fantasy parenting novel fan, I had zero intention of skimping on this highlight.
"Mom, sis. Right now, I..."
Lifting my head with that thought, I gazed at Mom and Lilien—who were still glaring at the tailor—and spoke in a trembling voice.
"...feel so happy."
Hearing that, Mom and Lilien turned with blank expressions.
"I've never seen or worn such a cool outfit in my life."
"......"
"C-Can I really accept... such an amazing gift...?"
I stared at them with the most teary-eyed look possible, clasping my hands and finishing with a helpless expression.
"D-Damn, now that I look again, it has this appealing charm."
Breaking the brief silence was Lilien, sweating profusely and changing her tune.
"...We'll sign an exclusive contract with your salon."
"Pardon?"
"Good work, tailor."
Right after, Mom praised the tailor in a serious tone.
"R-Really...!?"
The tailor, revived from the dead, clasped his hands, knelt, then beamed innocently at me.
'...I've saved another pitiful soul.'
Blushing late from secondhand embarrassment, I took small comfort in the tailor's savior-like gaze.
"Also, we'll buy 50 more in a similar design."
But then came the thunderbolt command.
"B-But... we have backed-up reservations..."
"We'll pay 30 times the price."
The tailor's face drained of color, but he didn't know yet.
"Th-That..."
"Plus 500 gold labor fee per suit."
Belverk had few rivals in lavish spending across the empire—no, the entire continent.
"Of course, Belverk will cover all cancellation fees for other orders. Use the Belverk name if anyone complains."
Hearing that, the tailor jumped up with sparkling eyes and saluted.
"Leave it to me!"
But while the beaming tailor was thrilled, now I was the burdened one.
"M-Mom, we don't need that many..."
"I know."
I tried to dissuade her sweating, but her response made me shut up quietly.
"...It's just something I've dreamed of since forever."
"...?"
"Gifting clothes to my son."
It'd been acting earlier, but why did my heart swell for real now?
"...Thank you, Mom."
I murmured, bowing my head, and she stroked my hair silently for a long time.
'This might become a habit.'
Regaining composure, I secretly smiled, feeling like I'd unlocked an isekai cheat.
Meanwhile, at the Opstein Marquisate.
"...Dorsia, keep that in mind."
The noticeably gaunter marquis than a month ago whispered lowly in his daughter's room, where she'd finally recovered a few days prior.
"That invitation was incredibly hard to obtain. Even a marquisate can't attend the imperial debutante casually."
"......"
"So this time, swallow your pride and stick to the plan."
He handed her an invitation.
"Yes, Father."
"...Sigh."
Dorsia accepted obediently, prompting the marquis to sigh and quietly exit.
"Poor Kairen."
The moment his presence faded, Dorsia's expression turned chilling as she clutched the invitation dearly and muttered.
"He must be dragged to that monster ducal house, unable to adapt, getting beaten again."
Her hand reached for her attachment doll sprawled before her.
"So I'll save you."
Moments later, the doll's arm slowly tore off.
"Because in this world, I'm the only one who likes a fool like you."
Behind her loomed a mountain of identically shredded dolls.
"...You're mine forever, Kairen."