Chapter 14
I hadn’t drunk much after that, but I knew I could handle alcohol well. Besides, the drinks served here could hardly even be called alcohol. They were closer to carbonated water with a fruity flavor.
Since young ladies also attended events like this, real alcoholic drinks were served separately for adults. In other words, what I was holding was just a decorative beverage in name only.
I handed my empty glass to Ian and waited for him to set it down. But just then, someone else approached me.
It was one of the young ladies who had been sneaking glances at me earlier while whispering with others. She smiled brightly as she came over, and I didn’t avoid her gaze.
She greeted me warmly.
“Hello.”
“Hello.”
“You don’t seem to be enjoying the banquet very much. Your family is…?”
“Blake Ariandel. My father runs a shipping business in Shioke, along with a few smaller ventures. And…”
Speaking in the slightly excited tone and with the deep smiling eyes that were said to be characteristic of Blake Ariandel, she pointed the tip of her fan forward.
At the end of the fan was her family emblem—a sword embedded vertically among lily-shaped motifs.
I quickly turned my thoughts over. I immediately recalled the family from one of the documents I had seen.
The Marquisate of Chartreux.
Given her green hair, she had to be Julie del Chartreux, the eldest daughter of the Marquis of Chartreux.
The Chartreux family was a prestigious house that had produced many skilled swordsmen for the Empire over a long period of time. They also owned vast wine vineyards and even supplied the imperial family.
Among their children, the twenty-four-year-old Julie was the marquis’s greatest treasure and pride. I had heard she possessed an upright character, keen insight into both finances and people, excellent personality and social skills—and beauty to top it all off.
“…It’s an honor to receive your greeting first, Lady Chartreux.”
“Oh my, am I really that famous?”
She looked pleased that I had recognized her immediately. A family’s fame was, in essence, a symbol of power—and among nobles, that was a major point of pride.
I smiled even more deeply.
“How could anyone not know such a distinguished house? It’s an honor that you would greet me personally.”
“The honor is mine. Ah—but Shioke, you say? Then don’t tell me…”
Julie del Chartreux’s eyes sparkled with anticipation.
I kindly helped jog her memory.
“My father would be deeply honored that you attached a Shioke mermaid pearl to your brooch.”
At that, surprise spread across her face, blooming like a flower.
Shioke mermaid pearls were currently selling like wildfire among central nobles, rumored to look as if they were stolen mermaid scales. It was said that obtaining even a single pearl—the very measure of fashion—was as difficult as plucking a star from the sky, so her delight was only natural.
On top of that, she seemed quite pleased with my words. She gestured toward where she had been standing and stepped a little closer to me.
“There are people over there you’d get along with. Would you like to come?”
Several young ladies were looking in my direction.
I made a slightly troubled expression.
“I’m not very good with conversation.”
“That’s fine. If you were invited here, you must have something in common. Come on.”
Julie del Chartreux took hold of me and pulled me along.
I glanced toward Ian approaching us, signaling him with my eyes, then had no choice but to follow her.
The young ladies were mostly younger than me or around my age.
Those my age talked about the coming coming-of-age ceremony, while the younger girls listened quietly or asked questions.
There were no stories of survival or the countless wicked deeds I shared with my mother. Listening to their dreamy conversations, I felt like a lump of mud splashing into clear water.
As we talked, I felt a familiar gaze.
I stopped mid-conversation and turned my head toward where the feeling came from.
As expected, Valeri was staring straight at me, as if trying to bore a hole through me. I’d been planning to approach him when there was an opening, but he was faster.
“Blake. What are you looking at so intently?”
“Oh, there’s someone quite remarkable over there.”
I pointed to where I had been looking.
The young ladies followed my gaze, then widened their eyes and covered their mouths with their fans.
“That’s His Highness the Second Prince.”
“Oh, is it?”
I tilted my head as if unaware, listening intently. Several young ladies who harbored feelings for the Second Prince began talking all at once.
“I like the Second Prince more than the First.”
“Why?”
“Have you seen his shoulders? Those broad shoulders! And his face too… Just looking at him is intoxicating.”
The particularly excitable girl was the cherished daughter of the Viscount Saluman family, who were blood relatives of the Chartreux house.
She said she was practically like Julie’s real sister.
“But doesn’t it look like he’s looking this way?”
“Exactly! Who could he be looking at? Don’t tell me… me?”
“No way.”
“Why not?!”
The group grew even noisier.
I edged a little closer to Julie.
“Um… I think I need to get some air.”
“Really? It is a bit loud, isn’t it?”
“No, it’s more that I’m too excited. I need to calm down, or I might cause an accident.”
At my shallow joke, Julie burst out laughing.
“You’re more interesting than I thought. Go ahead. We’ll stay here.”
So she meant I should come back and rejoin them later. It seemed I had earned her approval—if only for the sake of obtaining a pearl someday.
‘This is enough for now.’
After exchanging silent greetings, I cast my gaze back toward Valeri.
He was looking at me as if nothing else in the world existed.
Seeing that expression made guilt rise in my chest.
Even though I knew Valeri was watching, I deliberately avoided meeting his eyes and walked toward the terrace. I arrived at the outer terrace connected to the banquet hall and waited for a moment. Fortunately, since the banquet had only just begun, the terrace was quiet.
As expected, I soon heard footsteps approaching.
Not too heavy, not too light, not too fast, not too slow—perfectly measured.
‘One… two…’
As the steps drew closer, I counted while keeping my back turned. Just as I counted two and imagined three in my mind, I turned around.
“Ah.”
I thought we would meet exactly face to face, but due to a miscalculation, I lightly bumped my nose against his chest. I staggered backward from the impact.
“Ah, I’m sorry.”
Along with his apology, warm hands firmly supported my waist.
“Ugh… my nose hurts…”
Who would have thought I’d ram my nose into such a solid chest? I chalked it up to having stayed too long in the North and losing my sense of distance, rubbing my nose. Then I quickly opened my squinted eyes.
His face was so close I could feel his breath. My reflection was clearly visible in his purple eyes. Without thinking, I leaned back slightly.
This wasn’t part of my calculated distance.
“…Let go.”
“Oh—sorry. Are you all right?”
Valeri Ahivara Kashinev released the arm around my waist and bent forward to check my nose. He looked exactly like a giant puppy.
I deliberately put on a sulky expression.
“You followed me again?”
“…Didn’t you look at me so I would?”
So he wasn’t completely dense.
“I was just looking because I recognized a familiar face.”
When I spoke as if I had no interest at all, disappointment spread across his face. Everything else aside, he really couldn’t hide his emotions.
“You said we’d meet soon.”
I couldn’t tell whether his voice truly sounded wistful or if it was just my imagination.
“I did.”
“I thought you meant this.”
“The banquet, yes.”
At that, Valeri Ahivara Kashinev’s eyes curved beautifully. It looked so striking that I stared blankly for a moment before quickly averting my gaze.
“So you knew who I was.”
“Well…”
Instead of answering immediately, I stared at him for a moment, then reached out my hand. I tugged lightly at his collar. I felt him take a sharp breath.
But soon, he relaxed and let himself be guided. Because he was so tall, it almost looked as if he were being pulled along by me.
I tapped the golden pattern embroidered on his collar.
Then I released my grip.
“Here. This was there last time too.”
He touched his collar and glanced at it once, then fixed his gaze back on me.
“You recognized me because of this?”
“Yes. Only the imperial family can use that emblem.”
In truth, I would have known even without seeing it—but he would easily believe this explanation.
“I see.”
“Exactly.”
“But it doesn’t seem to be visible today.”
“What doesn’t?”
He looked around once, then met my eyes again.
“That ill-tempered guard you had with you.”
