Chapter 50
Chapter 50
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 50
Chapter Title: The Empire's Envoy
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Among the many buildings of the royal castle, the grand banquet hall naturally boasted a massive and ornate exterior that stood out.
If saying its grandeur was second only to the throne room, which decided the kingdom's fate, and the Sun Palace where the king resided, would that explain it?
Perhaps because a banquet was underway, or maybe it was always like this, but a long red carpet stretched from the entrance, and nearby stood rows of splendidly decorated carriages.
Amid them, Elric spotted people dressed in mismatched attire.
'Journalists.'
There were those busily snapping photos, fiddling with heavy cameras this way and that.
The nobles, aware of them, put on even more contrived and flashy gaits.
Everything seemed like a farce.
Though it stemmed from the worries weighing on his heart, he didn't let it drag on.
"Family Head, since the journalists are visible, could you straighten your back?"
It was because Tiria was at his side.
He had come to this banquet precisely because he couldn't bear to send her alone.
Getting lost in other thoughts and forgetting his duty—that was unacceptable.
"Understood."
Answering so, Elric corrected his posture.
Of course, leaning on a cane, it might look a bit unseemly, but it was the best gait he could manage.
He shook off the stray thoughts.
'Whether their words are true or not, I'll know once I attend the banquet.'
There was no need to groan over it already.
Pababam~
Entering the banquet hall, an orchestra was playing gentle melodies.
Nobles who had arrived early gathered in small groups here and there, chatting, while royal attendants hurried about from place to place.
It was a familiar yet uncomfortable position.
Especially the sidelong glances from the nobles the moment he entered.
His sharp hearing caught every one of their voices.
-Oh my, that man over there must be the rumored Portman Baron.
-Heard he left home for ten years and comes back right at this moment...
-What can you do? Born low, his thinking must be shallow too. Probably thinks the world is his once he gets a noble title.
It was the expected reaction, but still.
For those who loved gossip, there was no way they'd let such a juicy tidbit pass.
With no reason or qualification to get angry anew, Elric calmly brushed it off.
At that moment, Tiria led Elric toward a seat in a quiet corner of the banquet hall.
"Please sit for now. You must be tired from climbing the stairs."
"What stairs? I climb them all the time at the estate."
"These are unfamiliar stairs."
Whether she knew of such evaluations or not, she showed not a flicker of expression.
Surely she felt the glances too.
-The lady is so pitiful. If that man hadn't returned, the whole family would have been hers.
Elric's hand trembled on the cane.
Unable to hold back, his gaze turned toward those whispering.
Middle-aged women with faces full of wrinkles.
The moment he looked, they all averted their eyes, just like cockroaches.
And,
'That one...'
In the gap, Elric found a familiar face.
-Ah, speaking of which, this time in our territory...
The one hastily changing the subject, sweating profusely, was the wife of Baron Weibin.
Tiria’s mother, and one of those Elric had personally visited and warned before.
He had thought she had given up on Portman since she'd been quiet, but had she been scheming behind the scenes like this?
'What should I do...'
For the sake of the future, should he tidy things up once more?
No, acting rashly would be a mistake.
As such worries began to creep in, Tiria spoke.
"Family Head, is there something troubling you?"
"...Ah, hm?"
"Your complexion isn't good."
It was a seat near the terrace.
The setting sun beginning to fade cast its glow on Tiria’s face, and for some reason, atop her impassive expression, he felt he glimpsed some emotion.
Concern, perhaps.
Elric forced a smile in reply.
"No. I'm just awkward in places like this."
"You've never attended a noble banquet, so that's natural. We won't stay long, so please bear with it a little."
"Understood."
"Once His Majesty enters, the ball will properly begin. By then, we can slip out without issue."
Tiria seemed intent on leaving soon as well.
Suddenly, a pang of regret hit him.
The sight of her all dressed up would soon come to an end—that strange sentiment arose.
How shocked he had been the first time he saw her like this.
Even amid worries surging over Wollyeong, it had been hard to tear his eyes away, quite the ordeal.
He thought he had grown used to it now.
'Used to it, my foot.'
The image of her nibbling daintily on the refreshments on the table etched into his retinas.
Gazing at her like that seemed to push worries away, and Elric let out a low chuckle.
Hearing the laugh, Tiria looked at him curiously and asked.
"...Why are you looking at me like that?"
"No. It's just the first time I've seen you eat a little something."
"The caterers at royal parties are famous even across the entire east for their skill. Family Head, you should try some too."
"Hm, then I will..."
He took a bite of a biscuit sized perfectly for one mouthful, and indeed, it carried that distinctive luxurious flavor one might taste at an imperial banquet someday.
"Delicious."
"Isn't it?"
So this was to her taste.
Learning one more thing about her made his insides tickle for some reason.
Staring at her endlessly felt like the most important task in the world.
With his mind eased, his words finally flowed a bit.
Elric sat in the corner of the banquet hall with Tiria, sharing quiet chatter.
It was while passing the time like that.
Before he knew it, people increased one by one, and a gentle buzz began to spread in places.
-Duke Bourne has arrived, it seems.
-Heard he's not well...
-He's wary of Marquis Yaran. And not just that? Count Nimrud too...
Just sitting there, information on various figures came drifting from all around.
Among them were unpleasant names.
Nimrud Count.
The moment it came up, his thoughts immediately stretched to the Wollyeong he had set aside.
-Th-that's because a special order came down from headquarters. They said there's a target moving toward the east... Th-that was a month ago! Yes! We haven't even been in the east for a full month! It's true!
The one Wollyeong had contacted for some mission was none other than Count Nimrud.
With his support, they had stably established here, and he had connected them to headquarters as well.
Count Nimrud had ties to Wollyeong's headquarters—that is, 'that man.'
-You'll know when you go to the banquet! We were just passing time here while moving on info that the target would attend that banquet... Ah! N-no, of course! It's not just passing time for you, elder! Yes! Of course!
-Enough of that. Just tell me who the target is.
-W-we don't know. Only that it's a foreign figure with assassination difficulty rated D...
-You're saying you'll assassinate without even knowing who the target is?
-It's an order from headquarters...
The more he thought, the less it made sense.
What was Wollyeong, which should operate in the west, doing here? What was that Count Nimrud plotting in league with that man?
Such thoughts branched out and swelled enormously.
-Ah, have you heard that news?
-News?
-A noble from the Empire is attending today's banquet. Apparently a very important one...
Indeed.
At that moment, Elric sharply expanded his senses, focusing on their voices.
-M-Madam! The Empire noble has arrived. They're coming here right now...
-Really? Where's my husband? We need to go nearby and at least show our faces...
Entrance.
At that word, Elric’s gaze turned to the banquet hall entrance.
It was then.
Pabababam!
The orchestra changed tunes.
This only happened when heads of influential families entered.
The influential families had all already arrived.
Some showed puzzlement, but soon the reason revealed itself, and shock bloomed on their faces.
"The Empire's envoy is entering!"
With that voice, the doors opened.
Elric’s breath stopped at the figure visible in the gap.
'...Ah.'
Only then did everything make sense.
Why Wollyeong was here, what the man behind them aimed for, what Count Nimrud was after—all the causal links centered on the man entering through the doors and clicked perfectly into place.
Wheelchair, platinum hair, and that mischievous rogue's smile.
Everything matched the silhouette of one man in Elric’s memories.
"The third son of the Graham Ducal Family, Young Master Elbus Graham, is entering!"
Pabababam!
Elbus Graham.
Elric’s longtime friend and the freak known as the Roving Blade of the Empire.
The man who absolutely should not be here stepped into the silent banquet hall.
Some gasped in shock, others in admiration, still others in awe.
His innate beauty alone flipped the atmosphere.
All the air comprising the space began rearranging thoroughly around him.
A man emitting an aura impossible to hide no matter how he tried.
Thus, the Roving Blade.
Having dominated the space with his entrance, he leisurely scanned the crowd, then,
"Oh."
Spotting Elric, he grinned.
A roguish smile.