Chapter 108
Chapter 108
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 108
Chapter Title: Society Debut
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As I brought my partner along, the doorman nodded and directed us to enter.
Then he cleared his throat and shouted.
“House Ilrain, Als Ilrain! House Felland, Lady Lynette Felland enters!”
We entered through the main gate and walked along the carpet stretched all the way to where the king sat.
Curious gazes poured in from all around.
Those gazes were mostly directed at Lynette.
“Ooh! The youngest daughter of House Felland has finally shown her face in society.”
“Her partner is a cadet from the Golden Generation, huh. Their interests must align perfectly.”
People were jumping to the conclusion that House Felland had slipped our family some backroom money to buy a party invitation for Lynette’s society debut.
In truth, there were other ways to get into the party, but I was one of the main attractions tonight. Partner privileges for a main act came at quite a steep price.
‘Nice.’
Thanks to that, the attention on me was dialed down.
I could feel glances from a few young ladies, but with a partner by my side, they wouldn’t dare approach rashly.
Flutter, snap! Flutter, snap!
Meanwhile, Erina seemed lost in thought as she stared at my partner, fiddling innocently with her fan.
I shot her a wink to say not to worry, but it only seemed to worry her more as she bit her lower lip.
Standing before the king, I dropped to one knee and offered my greeting.
“It is an honor to be granted an audience so close to Your Majesty. I am Als Ilrain, fourth son of the House Ilrain, Baron.”
“La, Lady Lynette Felland, third daughter of House Felland, Viscount.”
King Gares was a man well past his eightieth year.
His eyes dim with age, he furrowed his brow as he peered at me and, for some reason, fell silent.
I thought it might be part of the protocol, but Duke Helian and Gilbert at his side looked equally baffled, so apparently not.
“Your Majesty. Is something the matter?”
At Helian’s question, the king snapped back to attention.
“Ho ho, I lost myself for a moment there. I suppose I’m getting on in years.”
Helian’s face filled with genuine concern at those words.
“If Your Majesty is unwell, you should rest. Leave the proceedings of the party to me.”
“It’s nothing like that. Right, the fourth son of House Ilrain, was it? Come closer.”
This unusual occurrence set the surroundings abuzz.
I rose from my kneeling position and stepped forward about two meters.
“You can come even closer. No, I’ll come to you.”
The king gripped his throne and rose, approaching me.
‘What the hell?’
By this point, even I couldn’t help but be flustered.
“Raise your head.”
I looked up at the king. Aged eyes, but deep ones.
Gares was renowned as a good king.
He didn’t enact brilliant policies, but neither did he rule with tyranny.
An ordinary king, and yet that very ordinariness earned him praise. That was the king of Caliper.
“...”
He stared straight through my face. Then, suddenly, his expression turned to one of shock.
“No way…!? It can’t be…!”
Stagger! The king reeled.
“Your Majesty!”
“Are you all right?!”
The Royal Guard rushed over in a panic.
“I’m fine. I’m all right….”
Duke Helian hurried forward and spoke.
“Your Majesty, I truly think you should take some rest. I’ll handle the event, so please don’t worry and recover.”
“Yes, I suppose you’re right….”
Supported by attendants, King Gares left the party hall.
I was left utterly dumbfounded.
*
*
*
Having finished my audience with the king as planned, I took a seat in the corner and called for a servant to bring food.
Parties like this inevitably led to overeating, so I’d come on an empty stomach and was feeling a bit hungry.
Lynette seemed the same, her eyes lighting up as the food arrived.
For a while, we chatted over our meal.
“I see. So after taking losses in the war with Albad, you went to Reinpol….”
“Well, a blessing in disguise, you could say. Reinpol’s a bigger territory than Libel, after all. And where is Viscount Felland located?”
“In the south. It used to be at the very southern tip of the territory, but now that Madon’s lands have been annexed, it’s no longer the southernmost.”
“Hmm?”
Her mention of the south piqued my interest.
The territory I’d requested from Duke Helian was in the south.
I’d asked for the southernmost lands. In other words, right above the area controlled by Crossing.
This was for the tripartite division of the realm that Juras had mentioned.
‘Though we haven’t officially decided to follow that plan yet.’
Still, I figured I’d prepare for it.
“Any recent military activity in the south?”
“M-Military activity?”
Lynette tilted her head, thinking it an odd question, but racked her brain desperately to answer.
“Hmm… Lately, it seems like there are more private soldiers in the territories. Not just ours, but others too. I heard Father mention it.”
From that, I could get a rough idea of Caliper Kingdom’s plans.
‘They’ve ordered the southern territories to bolster their private forces… Caliper doesn’t fully trust Crossing after all.’
It was preparation for if the alliance fell apart.
If the alliance broke, Caliper would concentrate troops in the north, where Crossing’s homeland lay.
For the south, they planned to rely mainly on territorial private forces for defense, hence the order to increase them.
“I see. In that case, what about local agriculture? What crops grow well? What have you been cultivating lately?”
“Um…”
Lynette adorably protested.
“Aren’t you curious about anything about me?”
I’d unwittingly been rude without realizing it. Well, no one asks their partner about military movements or farming practices, I suppose.
“Sorry. Then… do you have any hobbies?”
Finally getting to a topic she liked, Lynette smiled and replied.
“I enjoy tending to flower beds or painting. Lately, I’ve been reading a lot to build some culture. You know about it too, right, Lord Ilrain? Their Circumstances. It’s the hot topic these days.”
“...”
“Lord Ilrain?”
“Ah, yeah. Their Circumstances, huh.”
It was the ripple effect of Erina spreading the book. It had become a trend among Caliper’s young ladies.
“I know of it.”
“Really!?”
Lynette excitedly launched into the book’s plot. I planned to just nod along appropriately, but then an unexpected guest arrived.
“Lord Ilrain. Might I have a word?”
A woman who’d come alone, without a partner, for some reason.
Lynette openly scowled. This was a breach of etiquette.
Contrary to her timid appearance, she firmly drew a line.
“I was talking with Lord Ilrain. I’m his partner.”
The woman waved her hands dismissively.
“Oh, no, it’s not like that. I’m just a fan who needs an autograph.”
“A fan…?”
The woman held out Their Circumstances and a quill pen.
“Would you sign it for me? It’s not the original, so it doesn’t have Lady Platina’s signature.”
She wanted me to sign the copy so it’d be treated the same as the original. I had no qualms about signing duplicates, so I did.
“And, and. I heard there’s a sequel. Is that true?”
“Y-Yeah… I’m planning one, at least.”
“Oh my! Please make sure it’s sold in Alpenserd too. I’ll definitely buy it.”
“Thank you.”
“Keep up the good work!”
The woman hugged the book dearly and trotted away. The moment she took her first step, other young ladies who’d been watching sidled over.
“Could you sign mine too?”
“Me as well!”
Even in this out-of-the-way spot, a crowd suddenly gathered.
‘This is getting out of hand…’
Fortunately, a mediator appeared.
“Everyone, please calm down.”
“Lady Erina!”
Erina smiled warmly, then shot me a sharp glare! She’d apparently been keeping an eye on me the whole time.
“This is no good, everyone. Please don’t burden Lord Ilrain. This would tarnish my reputation as the one who introduced his book, too.”
“Ah, our apologies…”
“But I understand your feelings. How about we all sit together and chat instead? …Is that all right, Miss Felland? And… Lord Ilrain.”
Erina subtly exuded a black aura like Estelle’s. Was it that people start resembling those they’re close to?
I gestured for her to do as she pleased. Lynette, well aware of Erina’s prestige, nodded hesitantly.
And so, five women including Erina joined us at the table.
As expected, their main topic was the book’s content.
“I still can’t stand that Irina Paléon.”
“Exactly. The protagonist should’ve ended up with Ertel…”
“I thought the ending with Hereesa wasn’t bad. Elnia Pentabel… What a noble knight she was.”
“But even Elnia suffered humiliation because of Irina!”
“Right? Unforgivable!”
Grip! Erina clutched her fan tightly. The veins standing out on her hand suggested she was pretty angry.
“Everyone? Irina must have had her reasons. I hear the sequel will address that part.”
“Really? A story about that villainess? I don’t want it!”
“A-Actually, she might not be the villainess after all. Apparently, someone was manipulating Irina from behind the scenes.”
“What? How do you know that much, Lady Erina?”
“Well… I heard it in passing from Lord Ilrain.”
All eyes turned to me.
I shook my head.
“No, Irina is definitely the villainess.”
I said it to prevent spoilers.
At my response, they all nodded as if to say, “Of course.”
Erina pouted, looking wronged.
As we discussed the book, one young lady cautiously brought up the topic.
“But… do you all know? There’s apparently a work imitating Their Circumstances lately.”
“Ah!”
“That’s…”
Everyone visibly panicked.
“I heard… I-I heard it too!? They added scenes of the heroines in steamy romances. And pretty intense ones at that…”
She was referring to the erotic novel version.
Titled Their Private Circumstances. Olaf had named it. Something about the double entendre.
The pen name was Onyx, a black gem to contrast Platinum.
“It’s infidelity!”
Such a cry echoed out.
“I can’t accept it. To sully such a beautiful story with vulgarity…!”
“Same here. That author must be a total lightweight! A cowardly wretch!”
Cough! My throat suddenly clogged up.
The young ladies were railing against it: “Subhuman!” “Disgrace to literature!” “Trash!”
“What do you think, Lady Erina? Did you know about this?”
“I did.”
Erina continued with eyes blazing.
“If I find that author, I’ll go confront them myself. No? Asking the guards to arrest them wouldn’t be bad either. That Onyx disrupted public morals, after all. I won’t push for severe punishment, but I’ll give them a scolding so they never do it again.”
“As expected of Lady Erina!”
“Please do!”
Since Erina had been involved in producing the book, her anger ran deep.
‘Or maybe because the bootleg version omitted Irina entirely.’
I had nothing to say. I planned to quietly play dumb, but Erina turned the arrow on me.
“What do you think, Lord Ilrain?”
“Huh? Well… freedom of creation?”
“Freedom?! Your work’s been defiled! The death penalty wouldn’t be too much!”
“Even so, the death penalty is…”
I decided to change the subject somehow.
“B-By the way, ladies, aren’t you worried about your partners? The event’s about to start.”
They finally realized they’d gotten too carried away.
“Oh dear, my partner must be waiting. I’ll take my leave first. It was fun today.”
“I should go too. Well then.”
The young ladies filed out one by one. Erina glanced between me and Lynette, then nodded as if to say she trusted us.
“Phew! They’re finally gone.”
It felt like a storm had just passed.
Lynette, who’d been reduced to a folding screen under the pressure, still wore a dazed expression.