Chapter 89
Chapter 89
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 89
Chapter Title: An Unlikely Dance
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“I heard she had an accident when she was young. Her mental age is around ten. They say she's not even allowed out of her room, so how did she end up at the party?”
Alpheas looked back at Erina with a complicated expression. But she paid no mind to the stares of others, smiling innocently as she greeted the young men.
As was common at such balls, it seemed she was also looking for a partner. But not a single person offered her a kind smile. Instead, they would offer a single, awkward greeting and hurry to get away. Even that was only possible because of the Bastard family's influence.
Alpheas glanced at the head of the family across the table. As expected, his face was flushed as he suppressed his anger. Unable to hold back any longer, he snapped at his wife.
“I told you not to bring Erina, didn't I? Get her out of here, now!”
“Dear, please calm down. Erina loves parties. It would be a disaster if she caused a scene while being dragged out. If you just leave her be, I'll take her away quietly when no one is looking.”
“Tsk! It's so embarrassing. She's a disgrace to our family, a disgrace!”
Alpheas pouted. He could understand the sentiment, but to call his own daughter a disgrace... Of course, he was well aware of the social standing of a First-Class noble. After all, Alpheas himself was born into a First-Class family and had even earned the cringeworthy moniker, “The Light of Milch.”
‘Just like the old man at home. Nobles, I swear.’
Alpheas didn't take his eyes off Erina as the music changed three times. He came to realize that she was purely and simply enjoying the party. She seemed content just with the act of greeting people.
But what kind of people were mages? They were an arrogant lot who equated ignorance with evil. He could see them smiling to her face, only to turn around and mock the simple-minded Erina.
“Klumpf. Hold this for a second. No, you drink it.”
As Alpheas handed over his glass and turned toward the ballroom, Klumpf hurriedly stopped him.
“What are you planning to do now? Please, don't cause trouble at a place like this.”
“Those simpletons are rejecting the lady's goodwill just because they've learned a few letters. As Bashuka's most popular man, I must step in and raise her status.”
Klumpf's bear-like strength spun Alpheas around.
“Alpheas. What you're doing is cruel. To Lady Erina, pity could be taken as mockery. Those people are enough. Don't make her any more miserable.”
Klumpf was serious. His usual dazed eyes were gone, replaced by a gaze burning with righteousness. Alpheas smiled and patted Klumpf's shoulder.
“You're so simple-minded. You think I don't know that? I've never treated any woman with falsehood. ‘All sins are born from discrimination.’ Haven't you heard that? The moment you start treating her with special consideration, her life becomes that of a caged bird. I have a plan, so just leave it to me.”
“Are you serious? Are you really going to do it? Hey, wait!”
Crossing the ballroom, Alpheas looked back at Klumpf and flashed his universally acclaimed killer smile.
“Don't worry. I'm everyone's sweetheart.”
When Alpheas arrived, no one was left around Erina. Everyone had subtly drifted away. But it seemed to be a daily occurrence for her, as she showed no sign of sadness and was happily eating an apple.
“Hello. It's a delightful ball, isn't it?”
Erina, mid-chew on her apple, turned to Alpheas and blinked. Even before they spoke, he could tell from her eyes that her intellect was diminished.
But she was pure.
So pure it felt as if she were a mirror, reflecting the emotions of others. He wondered if perhaps that was the real reason people avoided her.
“Oh! Hello! I'm Erina!”
Erina greeted him with a bright smile, as if she'd just realized something. But her reaction was clearly different from when he had watched her from afar. There was a hint of fear about her.
‘Then again, this is probably the first time someone has approached her first.’
Alpheas bowed politely.
“My name is Milch Alpheas, a mage. I was so captivated by your beauty that I've only just now managed to greet you. If it isn't too bold, would you do me the honor of being my partner for the ball tonight?”
Erina's jaw fell open in a daze. A piece of apple tumbled from her mouth. Her expression clearly read, ‘What in the world is happening?’
Suddenly, Erina ducked her head. Then, without a word, she turned and walked past Alpheas.
Alpheas was stunned. To use the slang, he'd just been ‘shot down.’ Had he approached her too much by a normal person's standards? Coming to his senses, he quickly moved to block Erina's path.
“W-wait a moment. Was I too forward? I'm sorry. I just wanted to get to know you, Lady Erina.”
Erina still didn't answer. She just stared at the ground, shuffling her feet as she looked for an escape route.
But this time, Alpheas didn't give up. He blocked her path at every turn, speaking to her relentlessly.
“Alright. If you don't want to dance, let's talk. Let's have a conversation. I can tell you a very interesting story. Are you perhaps interested in constellations?”
“I want to go. I want to go to my room. Mommy will scold me.”
“Why would your mother scold you? No one is going to scold you. You came to a party, and here I am, asking you to be my partner.”
“She told me not to talk. She said anyone who talks to me is a bad person. I want to go to my room.”
Alpheas was frustrated. No, he was anxious. The skills that had won the hearts of countless women had vanished; all he could think about was wanting to meet Erina's eyes just one more time.
“I'm absolutely not a bad person. Here, look at my face. How could this be the face of a bad person?”
Alpheas took her by the shoulders. At the same time, Erina had a fit and let out a scream.
“Aaaah! No!”
Every noble in the hall turned to look at Erina. To any observer, it looked as if Alpheas was doing something terrible.
“Mommy! Help me! Mommy!”
“Erina! Look at me! I'm not trying to hurt you!”
“Mommy! Mommy!”
Among the invited mages was Alpheas's rival, Sarope. Watching Alpheas's absurd antics, he was dumbfounded. He knew the guy was crazy, but he'd never imagined he was this much of a lunatic.
“Isn't it enough that he's wrapped all the women in Bashuka around his finger, now he's hitting on a half-wit? He must be desperate to get ahead.”
Most of the nobles thought the same. Even if her intelligence was lacking, she was still the eldest daughter of the Bastard family. If he could win her over, his future would be set.
The only one who knew Alpheas's true intentions was Klumpf, but with things having come to this, even he washed his hands of the matter.
‘Ah, that psychopath. You made this mess, you clean it up.’
Erina was thrashing about, close to having a seizure. Anyone in their right mind would have let go in front of her family, but Alpheas held onto her shoulders tenaciously.
“Erina, just a moment. Look at me. I said, look at me.”
“Mommy! I'm scared, Mommy!”
“Erina!”
When Alpheas shouted, Erina's movements flinched to a halt. But a trembling far more fearful than before radiated from her.
“Please, just look at my face once. I'm begging you.”
With a look of terror, Erina slowly turned her head. She saw Alpheas's burning eyes. It felt as if their heat was being drawn into her, searing her very heart.
“See? Nothing happened. I'm not a bad person. I won't do anything you don't want me to. But this is a party. Don't you want to dance?”
An undeniable flutter of excitement appeared on Erina's face. The particles of light shattering against the crystal, the sound of the musicians' music, the chatter of countless people mingling. She had only wanted to laugh like everyone else.
“Lady Erina. I want to be with you. Please be my partner tonight.”
There was no answer, but he wasn't expecting one. Taking Erina's hand, Alpheas walked to the center of the hall. She followed with the wobbly steps of a toddler who had just learned to walk. And for the first time in her life, she was held in the arms of someone other than family.
The quick-witted musicians resumed playing, and Alpheas began to lead Erina in a dance. The nobles wore dumbfounded expressions. Even Erina's parents watched, at a loss for words.
Alpheas didn't care. Because Erina didn't care. They surrendered themselves to the music, as if they were the only two people in existence. Their dance was far from graceful. But it was instinctive and passionate. They spun like tops, often losing their balance and bumping into people. The more it happened, the louder Erina's laughter grew. And so, after ten minutes had passed, Erina became the star of the party for the first time.
***
Playful laughter echoed through the garden. Having all but wrecked the party, Alpheas and Erina had fled and were now running breathlessly through the woods.
Reaching the top of a small hill, Alpheas stuck out his tongue, panting for breath. Humiliatingly, Erina didn't seem very tired at all. Weaker stamina than a girl. Thinking he needed to cut back on drinking, he looked up at the sky.
It was a night where the stars seemed ready to pour down from the heavens.
Erina, surprisingly, was a person of few words. But wasn't Alpheas famous throughout Bashuka for being a chatterbox? He kept the conversation going without pause, never letting the atmosphere cool.
As time went on, he had the strange feeling that it was Erina drawing the stories out of him. No matter the topic, she listened in silence. When she occasionally smiled as if in understanding, Alpheas would get even more excited, his words pouring out like a waterfall.
Eventually, the conversation turned to a problem that had been troubling him recently: the identity of the photon.
Is light a wave or a particle?
Sarope had defined it as a wave, but Alpheas was certain he was wrong. But that didn't mean he advocated for its particle nature either.
Honestly, he didn't know. All he thought was that he had to start by admitting he didn't know what he didn't know.
“It's so strange, isn't it? Light has such peculiar properties. In interference experiments, it shows wave-like properties, but on the other hand…”
Alpheas realized he had gotten too caught up in his own story and stopped talking. He'd been chattering away so much he'd forgotten that Erina was his audience. She was crouched on the grass, looking down from the hill. But the smile on her lips was still beautiful.
“Hahaha! Was I talking too much? I don't think I've ever talked this long before. People usually get bored.”
“You are a good person.”
It was the first thing Erina had said. And Alpheas blinked, as if he were hearing such words for the very first time. He couldn't understand why his heart was suddenly beating so fast.
His mind was in turmoil.
Why am I here? What in the world am I expecting from this woman?
It was an unknown world. A world where the desire to enter and the fear of doing so coexisted, making any judgment impossible.
Alpheas looked away. He continued what he had been saying, as if he hadn't heard her.
“Haha! It's embarrassing to say, but as a mage, I have to write a thesis, and honestly, I don't know a thing. I have no idea which direction to take. What do you think, Lady Erina? Is light a wave, or a particle?”
Erina didn't seem hurt by Alpheas's attitude. She stood up, looked at the stars in the sky, and spoke.