Chapter 11
Chapter 11
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 11
Chapter Title: The Gathering of Handsome Friends
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I nodded, and Doria clicked open both doors of the display case.
The things I discovered inside were enough to thoroughly fluster me.
“Harrigal...? Buruma...? Even Gosu...?”
It was packed full of all the games I'd spread to Mayches up until now.
Who on earth had bothered to put them here?
At that moment, Doria clapped her hands and spoke up.
“Come to think of it, I saw the Count order them moved here so he could play with his friends.”
December 6th, the day before Count Rudelriz's birthday.
Feeling stuffy and restless, a few nobles had gathered early under the pretext of praying for next year's bountiful harvest.
Once assembled, they were bewildered. When they checked, not only themselves but no one else had received an invitation either.
“Tomorrow's the Count's birthday, though...”
“Why hasn't he sent out invitations yet...?”
“No way he's planning to invite us on the day of?”
“Ha! No matter how much it is the Rudelriz family, they'd never be that presumptuous?”
“Exactly. For all his big talk, he's still just a kid who doesn't know better. What'll he do if no one shows up after acting so high and mighty?”
The one saying that, Count Mollion, had been thinking just five minutes earlier that he'd rush over the moment an invitation arrived.
No one could have imagined it.
That Mayches Rudelriz would really only invite his five friends and huddle together to sing a little birthday song.
And then the long-awaited December 7th.
Only those directly invited thought, “That's just how Mayches is,” picked up a small gift, and jingled their way to the Rudelriz estate.
The Rudelriz mansion's entrance, sealed tight by the Count's magic, opened and closed just five times.
“They're all here?”
I glanced at Palima loading the cake onto the trolley, then asked Doria as she entered the kitchen.
But Doria's condition was off.
Her cheeks were strangely flushed, and she was staring blankly into space.
“Doria?”
“Yes? Oh, yes! The Count's friends have all arrived... Hee-hee, I've never seen such a spectacle of nothing but handsome men gathered together. After seeing my husband's ragged... hus... mug every day, laying eyes on the Count's friends feels downright enlightening! Goodness, especially that last one who came in... Is he even human? Oh, not that I'm daring to doubt him or anything...”
“...Doria?”
“So handsome... Handsome man next to handsome man, and another handsome one beside that...”
“Doria...”
“Ah! I'm being silly.”
Doria patted her cheeks, then quickly grabbed the handle of the trolley holding the cake.
Entrusting it to her felt a bit uneasy. But seeing her beaming and fired up with “Let's go, miss!” I couldn't bring myself to stop her.
Well, there were other maids besides Doria, so no major disasters should happen...
I led the way to the parlor.
Behind me trailed Doria pulling the trolley, followed by five other maids.
When we reached the parlor door, faint light leaked through the slightly ajar crack. For some reason, I felt tense and took a deep breath.
Come to think of it, since being born as Aiel Rudelriz, I'd never met anyone outside this household.
My heart pounded.
Whether Mayches' friends had splendid looks as Doria said, or faces like Doria's husband, I was looking forward to meeting them—and a little nervous.
From inside came the murmur of pleasant voices.
“Let's play Buruma.”
“Take off your coat first. And my little sister said she'd bring cake, so wait.”
“Yeah, bro. We gotta cut the cake and sing first. It's tradition here.”
“Then you don't sing.”
“That's hurtful... I wanna play One Card.”
“Oh! We didn't finish that Match-Match on the way here. Does it just end like that?”
“Why doesn't anyone get the elegance of Gosu? I don't get it.”
I'd been listening quietly, but suddenly I forgot my tension, clenched my fists, and trembled with excitement.
I glanced at Doria, who covered one cheek with her hand and smiled warmly.
“You did it, miss.”
Yeah! I did it!
I'd been doubtful when I heard Doria, but Mayches was really playing and hanging out “properly” with his friends.
Well, school life tends to bore students to no end anyway.
How much of a popular guy~ had those games like light and salt made Mayches?
“Huh.”
Now I had nothing to worry about.
Mayches' new hobby, his friendships—they were perfect and exemplary.
Though the Rudelriz family seemed richer than I'd thought...
Eh, compared to villains who'd turn the continent into a bloodbath, this was just normal (rich) extra level.
As the extra (just rich) Mayches quietly chatted amiably with his friends, he slyly slipped in a new topic.
“These cookies? Aiel baked them for me when I got an S grade.”
Uh? A bit embarrassing, but... whatever, it was the kind of brag a normal extra (just rich) would make.
Mayches' friends seemed interested in the cookies.
“So these are the cookies you bragged about endlessly... You finally showed them...”
“I've thought it before, but doesn't your personality change whenever you talk about your sister? Same when you brag about board games.”
“Ooh, they look great! But why keep them in a glass case instead of eating? Such a waste.”
“Bam bro, don't get too close. Mayches bro will definitely...”
“If you touch them, I'll turn you into a Harrigal set.”
...Mayches?!
I froze solid, struggling to tell if what I'd just heard was real or a joke.
Our sweet, innocent extra Mayches had just... said what?
My guts chilled at Mayches' icy voice, but the friends' voices from inside showed no hint of disturbance.
“Haha, don't worry. I know better!”
“You're so consistent whenever your sister's involved. Feels reassuring, actually.”
“Whatever, let's play Gosu, Gosu. The guild kids suck.”
“But Mayches bro.”
“What.”
“Your sister has been standing outside the door for a while. She probably heard that just now.”
Chills ran over me again.
I'd been holding my breath, plastered to the door—how did they know? I-is this that “reading presences” thing from novels?
Even knowing chills doubled and someone was rushing to the door, I couldn't hide in time.
Not that hiding mattered, with six maids lined up behind me ready to sing happy birthday...
Swing!
“...Aiel?”
Mayches flung open the door and looked down at me standing there with a equally surprised face, his eyes wide.
An awkward air drifted between us, but then the people in the parlor started walking over thump thump toward the door.
In Saint Flo Mang, it's said that Jayhan Rohawa, the empire's number one beauty, had looks on a whole other level from your average “handsome” or “beautiful” humans who were just rumored as such.
When he slept, people piled gifts at his feet, animals bowed their heads before him even starving, insects hushed their songs for his rest, and even thorny vines hid their sharpness in his presence.
Even when time passed and he'd become a sinner of “Sloth” angering the gods, unlike other criminals, no one went to witness Jayhan's execution.
Even the executioners sent to kill him knelt one by one before him, pleading his innocence.
Some time later, rumors spread that Jayhan had ultimately been executed, but everyone in the novel believed he survived.
Honestly, when I read that, I figured since Jayhan hadn't done anything particularly evil like the other villains, the author must've felt bad going all the way to execution, so gave him an over-the-top setting...
But today, I finally realized those were objective facts, not exaggerations...
And I became one of the countless people muttering, “Jayhan Rohawa couldn't possibly have been executed... right?”
The reason... ha...