Chapter 62
Kurvshrat-sama's smile grew even broader as he asked Mira-sama a question.
"Is this your first time in the Holy Capital?"
"It is!!"
Her voice was so loud that the conversations at the other tables came to an abrupt stop. When Mira-sama noticed, she turned bright red and fidgeted.
"S-sorry..."
"You did receive a proper education, didn't you? You wrote to me several times saying, 'Etiquette lessons are boring.' If you haven't learned any of it, then all that boredom was even more pointless."
"Ugh, yeah, I guess."
Oh? Were Charlotte-sama and Mira-sama closer than I'd expected? That would make my lady the only one left alone.
"..."
She was trembling, her eyes like those of an abandoned puppy. Despite appearances, my lady was quite the "attention seeker"...
Kurvshrat-sama spoke with an amused smile.
"Haha, was the Holy Capital really that impressive, Miss Mira?"
"Very much so... It's my first time at such a lavish party, too, and I never imagined I'd meet the Holy Prince-sama, His Majesty the Holy King, and such a beautiful young lady..."
Mira-sama gazed at my lady with dreamy eyes. Unable to tell what that look meant, my lady blinked at her.
"Mira. Why don't you invite Lady Eva to visit our territory sometime?"
"B-but, Papa, there's nothing interesting at our place..."
Papa?
Does the margrave wearing a gray bear pelt have his daughter call him Papa?
"If you've lived in the Holy Capital all your life, you might want to get out."
"Y-you think so...? Ah, Lady Eva!"
As if steeling herself, Mira-sama looked at my lady.
"If you don't mind, w-would you like to come visit the Margrave of Mule's territory sometime!?"
She sounded just like a middle schooler asking someone out on her first date.
The sudden invitation left my lady frozen. I assumed it was because no one had ever invited her anywhere like this before. My lady looked up at me uncertainly, so I gave a small nod. Her expression brightened, and she said,
"I'd be delighted to visit!"
She answered without even remembering the act she'd been putting on until now.
Mira-sama looked taken aback, but when she saw how happy my lady was, she became excited too and began chattering about her territory. Yes, yes, good for you, my lady. It looks like you've finally found a friend. Please don't take your friend along to "smash slave traders" or anything.
(Hm?)
At that moment, I saw the Holy King and the Margrave exchange a glance.
(...What was that about?)
The two who had been at each other's throats until moments ago had exchanged a glance at this particular moment?
Come to think of it, hadn't the Margrave stopped the Holy King just as he was about to say something earlier...?
"Oh..."
"Looks delicious."
"This looks rather good."
My thoughts were interrupted by the words of the men seated at the table and an aroma of almost violent intensity.
Four servants carried in a whole roasted bird as though bearing a portable shrine. It was shaped like a chicken, but its size really was about that of one.
The surface had been roasted until it glistened and was covered in colorful spices. The spicy aroma drifting over was... oh no... my stomach was about to growl...
The roast was carried in on long poles, though it did not actually pass over the guests' heads. A heavily muscled servant had been waiting beside the table, and after driving two long knives into it, he lifted it by himself and transferred it onto the table.
Kurvshrat-sama and the sons of the ducal houses looked as though they were used to this sort of thing, wearing expressions that said, "Nothing unusual here." My lady, however, was startled, and even small applause broke out at the other tables. Those muscles without a Talent were seriously impressive.
A server came to carve the meat, skillfully using a long-handled knife and fork like a pair of grabber tools. The bird's belly was stuffed full of vegetables and grains, from which the vivid aroma of herbs rose.
Five kinds of sauce had already been prepared on the guests' plates, presumably for them to choose from. Seriously, was there none for me? No? I see...
This meal seemed to be the main course, and it looked as though Duke Rosier would give a speech once everyone had finished eating. After that, there should be dancing in the wide-open space at the center. Etan-sama was calm as ever, but Louis kept sneaking glances at my lady. He probably wanted to ask her to dance.
As for Kurvshrat-sama...
"Wow..."
He gave a small cry when he saw the sauces. Maybe he had a favorite.
(—Huh?)
I used 【All Creation】 to examine the sauce in the direction of his gaze. It looked exactly like the sauce on my lady's plate—but—
Bang! A dry popping sound rang out.
It sounded just like a handgun firing in a foreign TV drama. It was a small sound, but enough to make people jump. When I looked toward it, the huge chandelier hanging in the center went out all at once.
Bang, bang, bang!
The successive sounds signaled that the flames in the chandeliers hanging above each table were going out as well.
"—What?"
"—What the hell is this?"
"—This is scary."
The young men could hardly be blamed for their frightened voices. The hall had been suddenly plunged into darkness. Only two people, Holy Prince Kurvshrat and the Holy King, were glowing faintly—that was the magic power of "Holy Water Blue."
Was this some kind of event? Or had the chandeliers malfunctioned? —No, a malfunction was impossible. The chandeliers used candles, so they were neither magical devices nor machines. For them all to go out at once meant there had been "interference from outside."
I used 【Night Vision】 to quickly check the servants in the hall. They were panicking.
In other words, this wasn't an event.
Trouble.
No—
A sharp crash was the sound of the hall's window glass shattering. Six black shadows entered the hall. I immediately deployed five 【Fire Magic】 spells, creating light around us. If only I had 【Light Magic】, it would be much easier to illuminate the place... but I had never seen 【Light Magic】 before.
My body suddenly grew heavy. I had spent mana. Here, where I couldn't use my 【Mana Capacity Increase】 Talent, the magic available to me was limited.
"Intruders!!"
Before I could shout, the halfling guard had already cried out in a sharp voice. She was already standing in front of Etan-sama, protecting him.
The intruders seemed untroubled by the darkness as they slipped between the tables and approached us. Normally, an attack like this would target the highest-ranking person present.
In other words, this was an assassination attempt.
Was the Holy King their target? No, his coming had not been scheduled.
Then the Holy Prince—
"My lady. Permission to fight."
"Granted. Reiji, protect everyone!"
Honestly, my lady was awfully demanding of her servants.