Chapter 58
Is Etan-sama a halfling...?
When I muttered that, my lady, who had heard me, said,
"That's right. House Ebene has a strong strain of halfling blood in it."
Etan-sama came over to our table and smiled warmly at everyone. He seemed like a kind boy... His blue eyes reminded me of someone.
(I wonder how Mimino-san is doing.)
As I was suddenly lost in nostalgia, I noticed that Etan-sama's guard was watching me warily. Her eyes were amber-colored.
I wanted to assure her that I was harmless, but the fact that I was so much younger and completely unarmed probably looked suspicious instead.
Judging by appearances alone, that guard looked just as young as me, but considering Mimino-san, she was probably older than me.
Speaking of which... Ever since Etan-sama arrived, there had been a wonderfully floral scent in the air. It was some kind of flower-based perfume.
"Louis-sama, son of Duke Rosier, has arrived!"
I turned toward the entrance—and couldn't believe my eyes.
The boy standing there had blond hair and red eyes, the same combination as my lady's.
Unfortunately, according to 【All Creation】, his eyes were not Magic Eyes. They were simply red. It also seemed that he had bleached his brown hair blond.
(Oh, so that's all it was...)
I was surprised by the guard standing behind Louis-sama.
I had seen him before. He was Arthur-sama, Captain of the Second Squad of the Holy King Knights. I had heard that he had risen to become a squad captain in his mid-twenties, and that he was some nobleman's pampered son, but...
He swept his tawny hair smoothly to one side, revealing gray eyes beneath his deeply set brows. He cast a cold gaze around him, as though appraising the quality of the guards.
But Louis-sama, the person he was guarding, strode over to our table without permission and, for some reason, came to stand beside my lady instead of going to his own seat.
"Hey, you, daughter of House Slyries."
He pointed at her with his index finger and said,
"I'll make you my fiancée. Come to my house tomorrow and say hello. I'll introduce you to my father."
His heart rate was elevated, his ears were red, and his voice was trembling. Ah, I see. This boy had seen my lady somewhere before, deliberately matched his hair color to hers, and chosen this banquet as the place to propose.
"I see, I see. This is the earnest love of an innocent young boy..."
"Owwww!?"
From the information 【All Creation】 gave me, I knew that this boy was merely a cheeky child who couldn't be honest with his feelings, but for the moment, I twisted his arm behind his back.
"Y-you!? What are you doing! You won't get away with doing this to me—"
"I'm my lady's guard, and I've been instructed to eliminate any danger threatening her."
"What!?"
This boy was dangerous. The count would surely reach the same conclusion.
If this so-called engagement became an established fact, it could affect my lady's entire life.
The head maid and head butler would probably faint if they found out what I was doing, but if I left him alone here, her doting father—sorry, the count—would probably fly into a rage. He'd say something like, "Aren't you supposed to be her guard?"
If all I'd done was make a mess, then at worst I could disappear and somehow manage. After putting my body on the line this much, the count would surely continue searching for the five-star-plus Talent Lark and Lulusha-san for my sake.
...Probably.
You'd go that far for me, wouldn't you, Count?
"What are you doing!"
Arthur-sama, Captain of the Second Squad of the Holy King Knights, came running over, but he was moving slowly. The Talent-nullification in effect here may have made his movements less nimble. Not good... A Holy King Knight of all people shouldn't be moving like that.
"Arthur! Kill this guy quickly!"
"...We don't have any weapons on hand. Hmm, you are...?"
Arthur-sama suddenly stopped when he noticed me and said,
"You're the Knights' janitor. What are you doing here?"
"I've become a guard for House Slyries."
"A guard!? Do you know who that person is? Let him go at once!"
When Arthur-sama approached, I used the boy as a shield to ward him off. A knight in metal armor with no Talents was far too sluggish for me to have any trouble evading him like this.
If it came down to a contest of strength without Talents, though, I might lose. It would be different if I used magic.
"Arthur!"
"Y-yes, sir. But you—don't move!"
No thanks. As I circled around the boy, using him as the center and evading Arthur-sama's approach,
"...Reiji, stop this already."
"Yes."
At my lady's voice, I promptly released him.
Apparently dizzy, the boy staggered and fell against Arthur-sama.
"You... don't think you'll get away with this..."
"—Louis-sama."
My lady got down from her chair and came over to stand in front of the boy.
With the attention of the entire hall focused on her, my lady twisted her lips into a bewitching smile.
"As of today, we are becoming full-fledged nobles. I believe you are being rather too hasty if your aim is to attract a lady's interest."
Then she approached the boy and wiped the corner of his mouth with her handkerchief—he had drooled a little.
"Now, please take your seat. The Holy Prince-sama is here."
Louis watched my lady return elegantly to her seat, starry-eyed. Mira-sama was still dazed as usual, too.
Oh, she did it. She really did it. She'd struck another blow straight through that innocent boy's heart. His faint crush had become full-blown love, my lady.
"...Reiji, I'll lecture you later."
My lady said that under her breath, but I pretended not to hear her.
It wasn't my fault.
"...Holy Prince Kurvshrat-sama has arrived! ...!?"
Perhaps because the commotion had died down, I heard the final announcement. Did I just hear some strange noise?
Then the entire hall grew restless, and cheers almost like screams rose up.
"?"
I looked toward the entrance as well, but many of the nobles' sons and daughters had risen to their feet. What was going on? Hadn't everyone known that the prince was coming?
The boy who entered had short, light-blue hair. Despite his lively hairstyle, his eyes looked gentle. His large, beautiful eyes seemed to have aquamarines set into them, making me think, "If you dressed him as a girl, he'd drive men mad..."—a completely irrelevant thought.
His clothing was interesting. It was some sort of religious garment—a robe, or perhaps a kimono or haori—with a light-blue sash. Was that the royal family's style? And on his forehead was a golden circlet like the one Sun Wukong wears—a "Golden Headband," though of course no one in this world would know the term.
...Yeah.
So wearing that was proof that he was royalty, right?
Maybe I was imagining it, but there was a large man behind Kurvshrat-sama wearing the same clothes.
"C-c-could it be...?"
My lady also rose with a clatter, while Louis, who had been in a daze, and Mira-sama now gazed at the entrance with astonishment written across their faces.
His hairstyle and clothes were identical to Kurvshrat-sama's, but unlike the girlish Kurvshrat-sama, his entire body was solidly built—to put it mildly, he was a gorilla; to exaggerate, he was a moving stone statue. His playful eyes were thickly fringed with lashes, his brows looked strong-willed, and his beard connected to his sideburns—the exact opposite of Kurvshrat-sama.
If they hadn't been dressed alike, I never would have guessed they were members of the same royal family.
"That person is..."
My lady said, dumbfounded,
"His Majesty the Holy King"
she finished.