Brilliant Coming-of-Age Ceremony - 2
Many nobles had already arrived, and it was finally time to begin. As for the late ones—well, nothing could be done about that.
Tap, tap.
I walked carefully down the corridor where maids and attendants were rushing about. As a noble, I had no choice but to avoid getting in their way. This area led to the waiting room where Irina Boran, the star of the coming-of-age ceremony, was preparing. I couldn't disturb the girls working to make everything perfect. Besides, under normal circumstances, no man would be allowed near this place until the ceremony ended. That was why every servant carrying supplies and every guard on duty was female.
Even now, the attendants who should have stopped me simply glanced at my face and let me pass.
"No one is permitted beyond this point…… L-Lord Leoric!"
"Yeah."
Someone actually tried to block me. When I looked up, I saw a girl who appeared to be a lady-in-waiting. She possessed a fair amount of magic power. I felt like I'd seen her somewhere before.
"Ah, you're one of Irina's attendants."
"My name is Eleonora."
She introduced herself and immediately bowed at the waist. Wasn't that a bit too deferential?
"It's fine. You don't have to be so formal. Where's Irina?"
"She's inside preparing. ……Would you like to see her?"
"Mm. Please."
At my words, she bowed again and disappeared through the door. After a short wait, I heard a voice calling me in.
"Huh?"
I'd expected to see her right away, but a large folding screen stood in the way.
"You can't come in. A lady at her coming-of-age ceremony should only be seen on the true stage."
"Haha. Is that so?"
Irina's mischievous voice drifted from behind the screen. She clearly didn't want me seeing her while she was still getting ready. It was a busy time, after all. Maids and attendants continued to move about, carrying cosmetics, jewelry boxes, accessories, and dresses.
"Sorry for bothering you while you're busy."
"Not at all. It's fine. We've already decided on the concept, so we were just doing the final checks. What brings you here?"
"Mm. Nothing important. I just wanted to confirm we're proceeding as discussed earlier. Make sure you're prepared."
"Ah, yes. That matter. Don't worry. I already know everything."
"Good."
She attended banquets regularly and even hosted her own gatherings, so I figured she'd be fine. Still, I'd come to check just in case.
"Then I'll be going."
"Yes. ……Thank you, Leo."
She must have noticed my consideration, because her thanks made me scratch my head. How embarrassing.
I closed the door and headed toward the banquet hall.
* * *
Huuu. Irina took a deep breath.
"Are you all right, my lady?"
"Yeah. I'm fine."
Irina smiled at Eleonora's worried gaze. She really did feel fine now. As expected of Lord Leo. Her heart fluttered at the sight of him taking time out of his busy schedule just to visit her.
"My, my. You truly have become a lady now."
"What? So I wasn't a lady until today?"
"You always skipped your etiquette lessons and went out to play, calling it adventuring."
Irina shot her a glare at the teasing remark. Eleonora simply laughed, finding it cute, then opened the jewelry box she'd brought.
"We're not finished yet. Now, don't move."
"Got it."
Normally, Irina wouldn't have tolerated being dressed up so tightly, but today was different. This was a once-in-a-lifetime coming-of-age ceremony…… and a stage Lord Leo had prepared just for her. So she had to endure it.
"You let your guard down, my lady! Hup!"
"Kyaaaaaaaah!"
The sudden pain around her waist made her scream.
"E-Eleonora……! Aren't you tightening it too much?!"
"It has to be at least this tight! You can't just throw something together like before! At the very least, not today! Do you have any idea how many times the Countess told me to make sure of it?!"
"Agh! I-I'm going to die!"
"If you'd worn it regularly, this much wouldn't even bother you!"
She could proudly claim her figure was perfect even without a corset……! When she glanced back, she saw two people now pulling the strings from either side!
"Die! Die! You, you! You're Charlotte, right? When did you even show up?!"
"It's been a while, my lady! That aside, one more pull!"
"Kyaaah! No! I'm dying! Eleonora! You're really going along with this?!"
"My lady! Don't reinforce your body with magic! Shall I do the same?"
"Kyaaaaah!"
She felt like she was going to throw up!
* * *
"……I thought I heard a scream."
Was it just her imagination? No, she was certain she'd heard something…… but it wouldn't do to show any more interest in how the young lady was getting dressed. Leoric also hurried back to his room to finish his own preparations for the ceremony.
* * *
What I'd prepared this time really wasn't much. There wasn't anything particularly new that came to mind anyway. The banquet hall in Muller was far more splendid than the lord's castle in any meaningful sense. Even in Muller, a place like this had been properly prepared.
Of course……
"S-Still, we've maintained everything so well that it doesn't look old, right?"
"Honestly, I don't really care about these things, so I wouldn't know…… but it does have a classic feel."
Triana tried to cover for it somehow while Chloe spoke in a roundabout way.
"Then what are we supposed to do! All of this is from the previous generation's trends! We should tear it all down and remodel it!"
"Everyone, assemble!"
Charlotte and Neria looked horrified and actually tried to start dismantling the building. Watching them, Triana wore a wounded expression while Chloe tried to console her. It was amusing, but in the end, the newly remodeled banquet hall combined the latest decorative trends from the capital and the Boran family with the concept of the sun and light that symbolized me.
There, I began receiving guests. Some nobles I'd met before, but others had arrived during the day or timed their arrival for the ceremony. Just as Grace had done at my own coming-of-age ceremony, I took on that role this time.
"Welcome to Muller."
"Lord of Muller. Indeed…… I've visited Muller before, but it's completely different from then."
"You flatter me."
"Now I understand why Lady Boran wanted to hold her coming-of-age ceremony here. It's no exaggeration to call this the South's newest landmark!"
"Hahaha! Thank you!"
We'd been introduced, but what was his name again? I chatted with nobles whose names I only vaguely remembered, offered some polite praise, and made small talk.
"I heard rumors, but to actually……"
"Ah, regarding that matter, I plan to arrange another gathering tomorrow."
"Ah, of course. I'll be looking forward to it, Lord of Muller."
"For today, I'd simply appreciate your congratulations on this occasion."
"Hahaha. It seems I was worrying too much. Very well, then."
"Thank you."
That wasn't all. After the usual probing, the real topics came up. Stories about the Red Blood. New weapons. Questions that were practically mandatory. But the topic that came up even more often than I'd expected wasn't any of those.
"That said, Lord of Muller, shouldn't you be thinking about marriage soon as well?"
"Pardon?"
"I know of an excellent young lady. You may already be aware, but have you heard of the Bretain barony in the East?"
"Ah…… I know of the Bretain barony in the East."
"Splendid! Their daughter has just come of age, and her beauty is so renowned that word has reached even the South. Wouldn't she make a perfect match for you, Lord of Muller?"
"Ah, about that……"
"Come now! The rising star of the South marrying someone from the East? That simply won't do. Rather, I have a lovely young cousin who just came of age."
"Mm. I appreciate the offer, but……"
Hahaha. I forced a smile and escaped the crowd of middle-aged men surrounding me. Had someone smeared honey on me or something? In the end, I gave only vague answers before slipping away. Look at them fighting among themselves now that I was gone.
"Seriously, that scared me."
Eventually, I escaped to the terrace. There was still time before Irina's entrance, so I might as well rest here for a while.
"It's Irina's coming-of-age ceremony, yet they're already talking about marriage."
The drink in my glass had gone lukewarm. I cooled it with magic power and downed it in one go.
"It just means you're as tempting as a honeyed apple."
"……"
I slowly turned around at the presence that had appeared behind me without warning. A presence I only noticed now. Even with so many nobles present making it hard to sense magic, she had controlled hers so perfectly that I only detected her at this close range. And the magic I felt was one I'd sensed recently.
"……I heard you'd arrived, but you didn't enter the hall."
"Hmph. I have no desire to attend an event meant to shine a light on someone other than myself."
"Is that so? Still, since you've come all this way…… Welcome to Muller."
Deep orange? Or was it light brown? In the depths of the terrace, where the light from the banquet hall made the color ambiguous, she stood in the shadows. Her voluminous, wavy hair looked roughly tied back. One eye was hidden behind her hair, but the other eye, lined with sharp eyeliner, gazed at me. A woman.
Huuu……
She held a long pipe that reminded me of a smoking pipe, wore a suit that could only be described as men's clothing, and radiated an enormous amount of magic power I'd felt once before.
"Lady Alina Earthrain."
"Good to see you, Lord of Muller."
Through the hazy smoke, she smiled at me.