Chapter 104
The banquet held on the night Princess Tsetsilia arrived was an extremely grand affair.
It was more than merely grand, too. This banquet was a more formal occasion than usual, and many of the guests were older people, including the country's leading figures.
Since there were not many guests around Monica's age, her presence stood out considerably.
Even without that, one of the Seven Sages, 〈Silent Witch〉, was famous for rarely appearing in high society. She was not attracting quite as much attention as the guest of honor, Princess Tsetsilia, but Monica was drawing her fair share of notice as well.
(Ugh, I'm so, so nervous...!)
Monica stood a short distance from Princess Tsetsilia, watching over her.
Today, Monica was wearing the navy-blue dress robe Lana had made for her.
The Seven Sages could attend in the ceremonial robes provided by the country without it being considered rude.
However, since she was attending strictly as Princess Tsetsilia's guard this time, Monica had decided it would be better to wear something that blended into the crowd.
The glossy navy-blue dress robe had been designed for evening parties, and showed more of her décolletage than a dress intended for daytime.
However, the exposed areas were trimmed with lace, so the result was tasteful rather than vulgar.
Bearing her previous failure in mind, she had also chosen comfortable shoes that were easy to walk in, with heels that were not too high.
Large gatherings were still difficult for her, but wearing clothes Lana had made gave her courage all by itself.
It made her want to be worthy of the lovely clothes made by her proud friend.
(Posture, posture...)
Repeating that to herself, Monica continued watching over Princess Tsetsilia.
Important figures from the Kingdom of Riddle had been visiting Princess Tsetsilia in turn. She wore a pale purple dress with a lace stole draped over her shoulders.
As she dealt with major nobles roughly her grandfather's age, Princess Tsetsilia behaved elegantly and flawlessly.
She had been the same at the king's audience before the banquet.
Princess Tsetsilia remained calm throughout, never stumbling or fumbling her greetings as Monica was prone to.
(We're only a year apart, but she's amazing.)
As Monica watched Princess Tsetsilia in quiet admiration, someone called out to her, "Good evening, 〈Silent Witch〉-dono!"
When she turned her gaze that way, a large, middle-aged man approached Monica.
Monica remembered his face. He was the man who had spoken to her at the reception for the unveiling of the new magical tools. He was Viscount Daryl, one of the country's leading mine owners.
Monica consciously straightened her back, silently recited the words she was about to say, and opened her mouth.
"Good evening, Viscount Daryl."
"Oh, you remembered me! I am honored! Ha ha ha!"
Viscount Daryl cheerfully toyed with his mustache, a smile spreading across his broad face.
"Your outfit the last time I saw you was lovely as well, but your dress robe this evening is marvelous. Is it from the Flux Trading Company?"
"Yes. President Collette helped me choose it."
"It suits you very well."
"Thank you."
Monica could not speak as fluently or come up with as clever a response as Louis, and even her smile was awkward.
Even so, Monica mustered all she could, kept her back straight, and conversed with him as politely as possible.
Seeing this, Viscount Daryl lowered his voice slightly.
"By the way, 〈Silent Witch〉-dono, if you don't mind, would you care to join my family for dinner sometime?"
Monica blinked at the unexpected invitation, and Viscount Daryl's smile deepened.
"My third son is close to you in age, you see, and I think you would make an excellent match. He graduated from Minerva with excellent marks, is well versed in magic, and manages several magical-tool workshops, but..."
Monica's expression stiffened at this unexpected turn in the conversation.
Monica was not very aware of it, but a Mage Count was one of the country's leading figures. If a family could marry into such a household, it would certainly gain prestige—especially one prospering in the magical-tool industry.
As she listened to Viscount Daryl boast about his son, Monica broke out in a cold sweat.
(W-what am I supposed to do in a situation like this...? Um, um, uhhhh...?)
"My son also says he'd very much like to speak with Mage Count Everette at least once..."
Just as Monica froze, a woman crept up behind Viscount Daryl.
The woman wore a flamboyant rose-patterned dress. She opened her bright-red lips, a sinister grin spreading across her freckled white face.
"Oh my, if it isn't Viscount Daryl. Good evening."
The woman grinning—no, leering—behind Viscount Daryl was Melissa Roseberg, the fourth-generation 〈Thorn Witch〉.
Viscount Daryl spun around, his healthy complexion turning pale as he took a step back.
"W-why, if it isn't the fourth-generation 〈Thorn Witch〉-dono..."
"Oh ho ho ho ho, it has been a while. By the way, how did you like the medicine I gave you the other day?"
Melissa looked around the room, then fixed her gaze on a certain noblewoman and narrowed her eyes meaningfully.
"Did things heat up?"
"Ah, er—yes, well, let's discuss that another time..."
Viscount Daryl glanced awkwardly back and forth between Melissa and Monica, then said, "If you'll excuse me," and hurried away.
"Um, miss, what was that about...?"
"That old geezer is having an affair with the baroness chatting over there. He asked me to make him a potion to spice things up with that baroness at night."
Melissa's face as she grinned was thoroughly wicked.
Though she felt sorry for Viscount Daryl, Monica had in fact been saved, so she gave a quick bow.
"Um, thank you. You really helped me."
"Huh? Helped you? With what? More importantly..."
Brushing off the unfortunate Viscount Daryl as "such a thing," Melissa fixed Monica with a sharp gaze.
Apparently, Melissa had some urgent business she wanted to discuss badly enough to drive Viscount Daryl away.
Leaning in to peer at Monica's face, Melissa spoke with a serious expression.
"Moni-Moni, you..."
"Y-yes!"
"That dress robe is adorable. Tell me which workshop made it."
While Monica stared blankly, Melissa pinched the sleeve of her dress robe and began studying its details, nodding repeatedly.
"This lace is Randor lace, isn't it? It's all the rage right now. Look, the embroidery on the lace is so fine and cute."
"Y-yes..."
"There aren't many artisans who'll add lace to robes, so I had no choice but to sew the lace on myself."
Come to think of it, robes using lace really were probably rare.
Women's robes with a little lace trim around the edges could occasionally be seen, but garments using wide lace over a broad area were unusual.
Melissa's eyes lit up even more, and she pointed to Monica's waist.
"Look here. It's unusual to put so much gathering around the waist too. Mage robes are usually just straight down, you know."
"G-gathering?"
"The cinching, the cinching. You wore it without knowing what it was?"
Melissa gave Monica a sour look, folded her arms, and let out a breath.
"Most dress robes out there are just robes covered in gaudy decorations, right? But this one actually has a dress-like silhouette. I love it—it's so cute!"
Monica was honestly happy whenever someone complimented the dress Lana had designed.
More than anything, Monica knew little about clothing and could usually only tell Lana, "It's cute" or "It's lovely," but Melissa praised the robe while pointing out even finer details.
(I want to tell Lana that she complimented it. Um, gathering, gathering...)
As Monica repeated the unfamiliar word to herself, Melissa lifted one corner of her mouth into a broad grin, looking as though she had just thought of something wicked.
Then Melissa opened her fan with an affected gesture and spoke in a syrupy voice, sweet as thick honey.
"After that business with those silly weasels the other day, Cyril-sama gave me some lovely silk as a thank-you. As expected of Cyril-sama—it's truly wonderful fabric. So I want to have a beautiful dress robe made with it."
When Monica nodded as if to say she understood, Melissa's expression inexplicably turned serious.
"Hey. You're supposed to say, 'Eeeek, I'm so jealous! I need to ask Cyril-sama for something too!'"
"...Huh?"
Not understanding what Melissa was exasperated about, Monica tilted her head.
Melissa had been the greatest contributor during the commotion surrounding the White Dragon, so there was nothing strange about Cyril giving her a gift as thanks.
Besides, Monica had already received a wonderful jacket. What more could she possibly ask for?
However, Melissa furrowed her brow and shook her head wearily.
"Oh dear, this won't do at all."
"I-I'm sorry..."
"So, where did you have that dress robe made?"
Monica's face lit up at Melissa's question.
She leaned forward slightly as she answered.
"Um, this... I had it made at a friend's trading company!"
"A friend? From Southdoll?"
"Yes! It's called the Flux Trading Company, and..."
When Monica told her the name and location of Lana's trading company, Melissa nodded in satisfaction.
"All right, got it. I'll come place an order soon, so tell your friend to expect me."
"Yes!"
Lana would surely be surprised to learn that the fourth-generation 〈Thorn Witch〉 was coming to her shop.
Monica's cheeks relaxed into a delighted grin. She was happy that Lana's work was being recognized.