Lingering Embers (3)
When a prominent family hosts a ball, the lights in the mansion do not go out for at least a week.
The Monbern Marquisate was no exception.
Even as the night deepened, the chandeliers showed no sign of dimming. Music, laughter, and the clinking of glasses flowed without pause.
This was true even though a dog named Lihen had just bitten Roselyn, who was practically his master.
To Lihen, it was an event that should have brought the world crashing down.
The pathetic bastard was one of those many people who believed that defying their parents or the person pulling their strings would end the world.
In reality, the only thing that would crumble was himself.
I wandered aimlessly through the ballroom.
I wasn't looking for a dance partner, nor was I... wandering around because I enjoyed the atmosphere.
I just felt, for some inexplicable reason, that I had to keep walking through this place...
As I wandered, a few people noticed the Grian family crest and tried to strike up a conversation.
I didn't answer. I simply kept drifting, lost in a daze.
Then, a man grabbed my shoulder.
"Are you Lihen?"
I turned around to see a face that looked somewhat familiar.
Searching my memory, I realized he was a classmate from my Academy days.
Behind him stood two others, scanning me from head to toe with sneers plastered across their faces.
Every single one of them looked familiar.
Though, to the current me, this was the first time meeting them.
"The guy who couldn't even get into the knights... I was shocked to hear you became a war hero in the North. You've certainly changed a lot!"
He patted my shoulder with mock friendliness, a subtle mockery laced in his touch.
"How have you been getting along lately?"
Another one standing beside him chimed in with a smirk.
"Well, you still won't be able to join the knights, but your family is doing great, so I'm sure you're getting by."
"Ah, but didn't they say Lord Lione is inheriting the family anyway?"
"Lihen might be a nice guy, but... he's hardly fit to lead the family."
The three of them began to snicker together.
Back in the Academy, whenever I heard things like this, I probably just kept my mouth shut and forced a smile.
After all, being pointed at behind my back was a daily occurrence.
He must have thought it was better to stay quiet and smile rather than ruin the mood.
It wasn't a matter of wondering how someone could be so pathetic... Lihen really was pathetic.
On top of that, the me of those days seemed to have felt a strange sense of inferiority even toward bastards like these.
"Hey, what was your name again?"
"...Lihen. Are you talking to me?"
"Don't answer a question with a question."
I kicked the shin of the man standing in front of me.
As he stumbled, I grabbed him by the hair.
Then, I slapped him across the face.
By the third strike, three of his teeth were rolling on the floor.
Without paying them any mind, I kept striking his face.
The snickers vanished in an instant.
His cheeks swelled red before the flesh tore, spraying blood with every blow.
"This isn't the Academy. It's not a place where swinging a sword well is all that matters."
I tightened my grip on his hair, forcing his head up. The man let out a choked groan.
The moment the name Grian was uttered, the other two, who had been about to intervene, froze. They didn't dare step in.
I let go of his hair, and the man collapsed to the floor, gasping for breath.
Murmurs rose from the crowd around us, but I couldn't care less.
I held out my hand slightly, looked at the remaining two, and spoke.
"Lean in."
They took a step back, their expressions bruised with wounded pride... but it was meaningless.
"I'll let it slide with this, so lean in. Or you can challenge me to a duel. I'll accept."
They were just children of minor noble families anyway; there was no way they would fight back.
The family head or Lione wouldn't care whether I won or lost... but these guys' superiors and seniors would.
After all, a subordinate had just bitten a superior.
No matter how useless of a piece of trash that superior might be.
Eventually, one of them grit his teeth and brought his face to my outstretched hand.
I patted his cheek lightly. He looked at me, utterly baffled.
Then, he glared up at me with a look of wounded pride—or perhaps lingering contempt. So, I smashed my knee into his face.
The last one... I just beat him.
Simply because I didn't like his face.
Naturally, the ball was ruined.
My reputation would hit rock bottom, but I doubted it mattered when I barely had one to begin with.
At the very least, I was certain no real trouble would come of it.
Since I had lived a pretty shitty life just because the name Grian was attached to me, I might as well use it at times like this.
Whether the family head liked it or not, if I could use the name, I would.
Whether that man ended up in a tight spot or not.
Whether Marquis Monbern or the head of the Grian family was inconvenienced was none of my business.
Even so, the pounding in my chest still hadn't subsided.
It wasn't because I had beaten up classmates I once felt inferior to.
A dog feels anxious when its master drops the leash.
Having just bitten Roselyn, whom I had served as my master for years, how could I not feel anxious?
In the end, why had I remained in the ballroom, wandering around?
I should have just climbed up to the balcony like when I first arrived, killed time, spent the night, met Marquis Monbern's daughter tomorrow, and then slipped away.
Perhaps I had been waiting for her to come and put the leash back on me.
Because nothing would be as comfortable as Roselyn's leash.
At least, to Lihen's senses.
Or perhaps, to mine.
Avoiding the commotion, I grabbed a few snacks and two bottles of wine from a table in the corner of the ballroom, then locked myself in an empty room to hide.
Perhaps because of the scene I had just caused, thankfully no one tried to stop me or strike up a conversation.
I considered just heading straight up to the Capital, but while I didn't care if the high-and-mighty nobles' reputations were dragged through the mud, I wanted to avoid making things unnecessarily complicated.
The family head might use the excuse of me breaking my promise to attend the ball to try and control me again.
He never said I couldn't cause trouble, so I hadn't technically broken the promise yet.
It was absurd, but that was just the kind of place the Grian family was.
This would be the last time I ever attended a place like this anyway.
I fumbled in my pockets to pull out a cigar... but the one Roselyn had taken earlier must have been my last.
Which meant... Roselyn hadn't even returned to the ballroom after that commotion.
I poured the cheap wine into a glass and downed it in one gulp.
After finishing one bottle and emptying about half of the second, my body went limp.
The music from the ball started up again... a muffled blend of laughter and conversation drifted through the walls.
As if the commotion from earlier had been nothing but a passing breeze.
How could everyone live like that, wearing smiles and acting happy in a place like this?
When there was no love to be found, and not even a trace of humanity.
I only opened my eyes when the sun was high in the sky.
My head throbbed as if it were splitting open, but compared to dying and coming back to life, a hangover was child's play.
Beside my head, the half-empty wine bottle from yesterday rolled around.
As I sat blankly on the bed, clutching my aching head, a knock sounded at the door.
I wondered if Lione had come to scold me for yesterday's incident... but fortunately, it wasn't him.
I threw on some clothes and went out to find a servant standing there.
The servant guided me to the drawing room.
Inside, Marquis Monbern was sitting with a young woman who looked somewhat disgruntled.
I didn't need to strain my brain to figure out why I had been summoned to such a meeting first thing in the morning.
Marquis Monbern made no mention of yesterday's incident. He merely offered a brief greeting, expressing his pleasure at meeting the hero, before awkwardly excusing himself, saying it was better for an old man to leave them to it.
She looked to be at an age where she was better described as a girl rather than a lady.
Especially with the mischief written all over her face.
"You don't look as greasy as you did in the weekly magazine. And since they called you a war hero, I thought you'd be a bit flashier."
She spoke casually, tossing a newspaper that had been beside her onto the table.
I didn't know when it had been published, but my name was printed in massive letters, accompanied by a drawing of someone I didn't even recognize.
It was a hero conjured up by some artist who had never even seen my face.
Staring at the face, which looked far more handsome than the real thing, I let out a dry laugh.
"My lady!"
The servant behind her looked ready to throw a fit, so I raised my hand to signal that it was fine.
The servant glanced at me and stepped back.
"If you're disappointed, my apologies."
"No, well, I'm not that disappointed. You're not too bad as you are now."
The Marquis's daughter grinned and continued.
"Well, I'm sure you've heard, but we should still introduce ourselves. I'm Adelaide Monbern."
"Lihen Grian."
"Lihen, do you know why this meeting was arranged?"
"I'm not entirely sure."
"I begged my father to make it happen. I was curious to see what kind of man the great Roselyn Avenberg kept by her side all the time, never introducing him to anyone!"
The reason she never introduced me... was because she didn't want to show someone like me to the world.
To her, I was a shameful secret that had to be kept hidden away.
She had never wanted to expose me to those around her.
Except for the absolute necessary occasions.
Come to think of it, I recalled Roselyn complaining about it in the past.
She had grumbled about a cheeky brat who was always trying to copy her and keep her in check.
I just hadn't expected to meet her like this.