Chapter 44
Chapter 44
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 44
Chapter Title: The Spring Festival
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After completing identity verification, our group headed to the royal palace.
In front of the royal palace entrance.
Beskin, Saladin, and the others moved with the Blizzard Knight Order to the place prepared for the attendants.
And I...
"The Third Young Master of the Carviot Count House, Young Lord Jerome von Carviot has arrived!"
I entered the palace interior and stepped into the grand hall amid the herald's booming announcement.
At the herald's voice, the eyes of the nobles—who had arrived early and were exchanging greetings—turned to me all at once.
Some with hostility.
Some with curiosity.
Some with goodwill.
And others with contempt.
Those gazes varied wildly depending on how much they'd heard of the rumors about me and their families' political ties.
But they all shared one thing in common.
No one dared approach me carelessly.
The Spring Festival.
For all its flowery talk of a gathering for the next generation of nobles to build friendships and such.
In the end, this festival was a stage for forming factions that would stand with them in the future.
Words linger in people's minds, and actions are etched in their eyes.
Everything done here would be relayed back to the families through each other's gazes.
In a place like this, no one could afford to act rashly.
The nobles in my view had already split into three groups.
The largest bloc, encompassing the west and south—the Sword Family nobles.
Then the northern nobles, led by our Shield Family.
And the eastern nobles who served the royal family.
The western and southern nobles were avoiding even meeting my eyes.
As for the northern nobles, most had sided with my eldest brother or sister, so they offered only perfunctory greetings.
'As it should be.'
Better this way. I had no interest in them anyway.
Father's 'true intentions' weren't invested in this group regardless.
'The key is Prince Julius. Once this gathering ends, I'll approach him and...'
My top priority was figuring out why the prince had credited me, not our family.
"Um... Are you Young Lord Jerome, by chance?"
Three nobles approached me cautiously to strike up a conversation.
They looked a bit young to be full heirs, and they were the ones who'd watched me earlier with goodwill in their eyes.
I'd been wondering when someone friendly might show up.
"Haha, that's right. And you three are...?"
When I asked in return, the man in the center straightened his back and introduced himself.
"Oh! My apologies for the late introduction. I'm Edwin de Charlo, second son of Viscount Edwin of Mano territory."
I was startled by the man who called himself de Charlo.
'Saladin's younger brother?'
That explained it.
No wonder Saladin had slipped away with the Blizzard Knight Order to the attendants' area the moment we entered the palace.
He must've found meeting his brother awkward.
"Ah, Young Lord de Charlo. Nice to meet you. My knowledge is limited, so I didn't recognize the rest of you—sorry about that."
At my words, the two nobles flanking de Charlo waved their hands dismissively.
"Not at all, Young Lord! Thanks to your help, our Sapan, Mano, and Jackson territories were spared from the orcs' grasp."
So these two were heirs from Sapan and Jackson territories.
The three young nobles bowed their heads to me once more, expressing their gratitude.
"On behalf of our family elders, we greet you. Thank you, Young Lord."
That incident, huh. I'd heard that even when the Sword Family lord, Braum van Dmitri, issued his grain conscription order, these three territories had defied it to aid our family.
And now, they'd sent their heirs to the Spring Festival just to greet me.
Too much for mere goodwill.
Sure enough, once the formalities ended, the three exchanged glances and spoke up hesitantly.
"Young Lord, it's not anything major, but..."
"Doing well, Jerome?"
The one who cut off de Charlo as he opened his mouth was a familiar face.
Someone I'd known since we were very young.
"Long time no see, Brother Victor."
Victor, the undisputed top heir of the Sword Family.
"Yeah, it's been a while. But when you run into an older brother after so long, shouldn't you greet him first, as etiquette demands?"
With those words, Victor shot a chilling glance at the three southern territory nobles.
"Instead of schmoozing with another faction's nobles, that is. What are you, rats? Haha, isn't that right?"
It was a warning.
Packed with the message to keep their hands off the Sword Family's western and southern domains.
"Haha, is that so? I was just receiving overly gracious thanks for chasing off some orcs."
But I wasn't one to flinch at a warning like that.
"As you know, this is the Spring Festival. A place for all noble heirs to mingle, right? Not some sleazy spot where we divide into 'your side' and 'my side' like cowardly lizards."
"...!!"
Victor's face hardened icily at my retort.
"...You've gotten quite the silver tongue in the time we haven't seen each other. And your head's gotten bigger too."
I just shrugged.
"Well, thanks to all your brotherly concern growing up, as you can see, I've shot up like a weed."
One corner of Victor's mouth twisted upward at my words.
"Stealing a bit of grain and getting all high and mighty."
"Funny thing is, thanks to that bit of grain, I even got to come to the Spring Festival."
Victor's face grew even colder, like a sheet of ice.
As he opened his mouth to add something, the herald's booming voice rang out.
"His Majesty King Horn van Ikenia, bearer of Ikenia's most noble blood, takes his seat!"
"...We'll talk later. Looks like I need to reteach you respect for your elders."
Victor ground his teeth in a threat.
But...
"Who knows. Now that I'm here, I'd rather mingle with others besides you, Brother."
I had zero intention of chatting with Victor.
After glaring at me for a moment, Victor turned and strode toward the western and southern nobles.
And at last, King Horn van Ikenia appeared in the banquet hall and began a brief welcome address.
"Future pillars of the Ikenia Kingdom! You've had a long journey—well done. I hope this festival brings you many connections and gains."
Once the king's speech ended, the banquet resumed.
Vast as the hall was...
'It's crystal clear who's aligned with whom.'
The northern nobles following our Shield Family.
The eastern nobles supporting the royals.
And the western and southern nobles serving the Sword Family.
There, I floated alone.
The eastern nobles seemed eager to greet me but were holding back out of deference to Prince Julius.
The northern nobles weren't hostile since they followed my brother and sister.
The western and southern ones went without saying.
But I wasn't the only one floating alone.
The three young nobles from the southern territories were also huddled together by themselves.
'They've got their own issues too, it seems.'
They kept glancing my way, clearly hung up on not having said their piece, but couldn't find an opening.
How much time passed like that?
"Prince Julius the Crown Prince and Princess Seira enter!"
'Here he comes.'
The prince who'd specifically summoned me to the Spring Festival.
Prince Julius entered the hall, exchanged brief greetings with the eastern nobles first, then spotted me and approached with a grin.
"Hahaha! Who's this? If it isn't Jerome the Third Young Master! Good to see you—truly!"
The prince exaggerated his delight as he drew near and embraced me.
"Your Highness, I hope you've been well."
"Of course! Quite well, thanks to the grain you secured. It got us through the kingdom's crisis! I wanted to thank you personally."
"Just doing my duty as a subject."
The prince laughed even more heartily at my response.
"Hahaha! With loyal young men like you guarding the realm, our kingdom's future is bright indeed!"
The nobles' attention inevitably focused on our exchange.
"Your Highness, don't leave us out. Introduce us to Young Lord Jerome too."
The eastern nobles, who'd been watching, began sidling over.
"Hm, the royal family and Shield Family seem tighter than expected."
The western and southern nobles eyed the scene warily.
"They say the Shield Family's Third Young Master has changed—looks like the rumors are true."
The northern nobles weighed me against the brother and sister they followed.
Of course, the actual conversation between the prince and me was a little different.
I'd planned to seek him out anyway. Prince Julius apparently had business with me too, requesting a private word first.
As we embraced and exchanged those brief words, I felt an intense gaze from behind the prince.
"Brother, that's enough. Mind pulling away? People will gossip you're getting cozy with the Shield Family's third son."
Sapphire-blue locks, lustrous and proclaiming her Ikenian royal blood.
A sharp tongue that could match even Merci.
And a wild, free-spirited personality—all overshadowed by her stunning beauty.
Seira van Ikenia, second daughter of the Ikenian royals and a genius mage destined to be called the Lightning Sorceress.
Princess Seira stared straight at me from behind Prince Julius.
At her words, Julius formally introduced me.
"Y-You! Have some decorum with your words. I'm just catching up with an old friend—I'll introduce you properly."
"Waiting around is my least favorite thing."
Ignoring Julius's sigh, I lightly kissed Princess Seira's hand in greeting.
"It's an honor, Your Highness. Jerome von Carviot, third son of the Shield Family."
"Hm, likewise."
Despite her words, her eyes scanned me from head to toe.
Hm. Considering my years from my past life, I'd experienced just about everything at my age.
"Y-Your Highness. Did I do something improper, by chance?"
But this was the first time someone had sized me up so blatantly.
Seira ignored my question entirely as she inspected me up and down, then blurted out:
"Not a bug."
The one who gasped in shock wasn't me—it was Prince Julius.
"Seira! What kind of vulgar mouth is that!"
He immediately apologized to me. "Sorry about that. She's still young and immature."
"But he's giving off the same vibe as that doll pervert from a few years ago..."
The princess kept tilting her head at me.
Was it just my imagination that her 'doll pervert' sounded like someone I knew?
"With that much power, why pretend to be a bug?"
For a different reason than Julius, I was floored.
'She noticed my Heterogenous Power? How?'
For someone who hadn't even trained in Heterogenous Powers to detect it. What was this woman's deal?
'Not just a magically gifted genius?'
"Hahaha, Your Highness is quite the character."
I could investigate the reason later. For now, I needed to shut her up.
I'd shifted the topic because it felt like she was seeing right through me.
But it must've sounded different to Julius.
"Hm, apologies. My sister's just immature. I hope you'll understand, Third Young Master Jerome."
Of course.
I could understand perfectly.
'Beyond the rumors.'
Even with genius magical talent, to sense Heterogenous Powers too.
A talent like this had to be claimed.
I'd thought the royals sought tighter ties with our family.
But they seemed to have other motives.
It was up to me to decide how to respond.
The Sword Family would obviously try to block any union between the royals and our Shield Family.
And the nobles of their factions.
The three isolated southern nobles who seemed to have something to say.
And Princess Seira, the genius beyond expectations.
The Spring Festival, where everyone moved with their own agendas.
Had only just begun.