Ch.8Tea Party (3)

Feeling quite accustomed to being the center of attention, Irene swept her emotionless gaze around the room before smoothly taking her seat with a single fluid motion. Rofena, being merely a maid who had accompanied her, disappeared with the other maids to prepare tea, leaving me suddenly alone. I stood awkwardly, looking around at my surroundings.

What are the other escort knights doing?

Only then did I notice the other knights and hurriedly took my position at a distance from Irene. One of the noble ladies who had been staring at Irene spoke up.

“Is he a new escort knight?”

“I haven’t seen his face before. He looks much younger than the previous one.”

“Oh my, isn’t he that prodigy from the Fried family?”

The countless stares that had been directed at Irene suddenly shifted to me so abruptly that I couldn’t say anything and just silently looked ahead. How long had it been since I’d received this much attention from others? Despite my age, I felt my face growing hot and let out a heavy breath as I received these stares from women with rather mature appearances.

I really don’t like this kind of attention. I’m not a monkey in a zoo.

Tap-

However, the commotion dispersed like fog in an instant. The chattering mouths closed simultaneously at the sound of Irene casually setting down her teacup.

“……”

Though no sound escaped her lips, when she looked up after putting down her teacup, the noble ladies’ expressions turned pale as they hurriedly returned to their seats. Their complexions turned as white as if they’d seen a ghost, which I found amusing. I touched the corner of my trembling lips with my hand and turned my gaze back to Irene.

I wonder if I’m supposed to just stand here. I don’t know how long this tea party will last, but it seems like they could chat until sunset. Looking at the table that had become noisy again after that chilly atmosphere had disappeared, I let out a slight sigh.

It seemed impossible for Irene to join their circle. Although those noble ladies appeared to fear Irene, they didn’t seem likely to stop their conversations just because she was present. Besides, Irene didn’t seem to like them either.

“…How frustrating.”

After watching Irene look at those noble ladies with disgust, I lowered my gaze. The phrase “hopeless” seemed to fit perfectly. Even though this social gathering had been arranged, the future head of the Yuris family showed little interest in it. My frustration only grew as I wanted to somehow prevent the miserable fate that awaited her.

“Evan.”

“Yes.”

I looked up at the sudden voice and saw Irene looking at me.

“Do I seem pathetic?”

“…I’m not sure what you mean suddenly.”

When I frowned at her use of the word “pathetic,” Irene casually spoke in a dull voice. Her twisted lips seemed to be criticizing herself, and I couldn’t meet her gaze, lowering my head again.

Why would she suddenly say such a thing to me? Was she self-deprecating about being left alone like this?

As I pondered her reasons for speaking, she continued in a cold voice.

“I asked if I seem pathetic to you, unable to join them and left alone like this.”

“No. I don’t think that at all.”

My answer was surprisingly firm, and perhaps finding my response curious, she gave me a questioning look as I offered her a slight smile. Pathetic? How could I think that? I had known since reading the novel that Irene disliked these social gatherings.

I had thought about it from the moment we arrived at this place. The possibility of her being isolated at this social gathering was overwhelming. Since I had anticipated this, I neither pitied her situation nor considered it pathetic.

Besides, it didn’t seem like she would gain anything by becoming friendly with these ladies. They clearly loved to gossip.

The loyalty she needed to gain wasn’t from these noisy sparrows, but from faithful eagles devoted only to their master.

“You didn’t come here because you wanted to, did you, Young Mistress?”

“…You understand well. You’re not oblivious, I see.”

After looking at me briefly, Irene turned her gaze to the noisy scene ahead and spoke again.

“Doesn’t it bother you? They seem to be talking about you quite a bit.”

At her words, I barely managed to swallow the laugh that threatened to escape. Though I had been pretending not to notice, had she been aware of these stares as well?

With a body through which mana flowed, my senses were keen enough that I had felt the stares directed at me from the moment we entered this place. Not just the stares, but also the conversations that happily used me as their subject. And how could I not notice the heated emotions contained in those gazes? Embarrassingly, my appearance was quite handsome, apparently matching the tastes of these young ladies who dreamed of romantic love.

Was it love at first sight? Despite seeing my face for the first time today, those sticky gazes made me flinch occasionally. And when multiple such gazes converged, it became quite uncomfortable.

“I’m fine.”

Perhaps my expression didn’t look so good because of this, as the chill in Irene’s blue eyes intensified as she looked at me.

“Thank you for your concern.”

I was quite touched that she was showing concern for me, so I bowed my head in response. I had thought she was just uncomfortable, but was she actually thinking about how those ladies were talking about me? Perhaps that was why the disgust in her eyes had deepened.

“…No need to thank me. I just heard those conversations and was curious.”

She took her eyes off me and picked up her teacup again with an expressionless face. The chill in her eyes didn’t disappear, so I watched her with an anxious expression.

What on earth is she thinking?

#

What truly pathetic people they were. Every time I saw them, I couldn’t help but sneer at their worthlessness. Like dolls crafted to embody all the world’s wretchedness, the conversations at this gathering were utterly devoid of substance.

I had known this from the beginning, but I should have made some excuse to escape this place. As I regretted this while sipping my tea, what I overheard shattered my thoughts and complicated my feelings.

“By the way, did you see the Young Lady’s new escort knight? He’s quite handsome.”

“Yes, my heart fluttered the moment I saw him.”

“That’s what a knight should be like! My escort knight has good skills but his appearance is quite lacking…”

“Ha.”

A laugh escaped me involuntarily.

The sudden evaluation of Evan made fragments of thoughts creep up, making my chest feel tight again. I quietly watched them as they happily chatted, exhaling heavily.

They were talking as if he were their own knight. Thinking they wouldn’t be heard because they were quite far away, they whispered in what they thought was a quiet manner, but their behavior was truly exasperating. Surely their own escort knights could hear them as well.

When that thought occurred to me, it struck me that he must have been watching me sitting here alone. I wondered what he thought of me. Those green eyes that always wavered when looking at me—what thoughts did they hold now?

“Do I seem pathetic?”

Perhaps that’s why such words escaped my lips. A question I didn’t need to ask, one that seemed to be asking him to understand my position. My hand gripped my dress tightly.

I shouldn’t have asked such a question. He would surely think me strange.

What a ridiculous question—asking if I seemed pathetic.

“No. I don’t think that at all.”

But his answer was firm, which made my eyes widen slightly. More precisely, I was surprised by those green eyes looking at me. Unlike before, they neither wavered nor showed any particular emotion, firmly stating that his answer was the truth.

“You didn’t come here because you wanted to, did you, Young Mistress?”

I had thought he might hate me.

I thought he might truly find me pathetic. I had believed that what he said that night was just pretense, like a momentary illusion. That’s what I thought.

But the emotion in those green eyes remained unchanged—he neither hated me nor resented me, and this suddenly made me feel guilty. I wondered if he still remembered those harsh words I had spoken, if I had unknowingly said something too severe.

It bothered me. More precisely, it weighed on my mind. Like a thorn stuck in my mouth, even though I didn’t want to think about it, it remained in a corner of my mind, forcing me to pay attention. His words, his inexplicable emotions, those forest-green eyes that sometimes became moist when looking at me—they kept coming to mind.

That’s why I wanted to keep my distance, to make him give up his position as my escort knight on his own.

But now it seemed I could no longer do that. Being harsh wouldn’t break him; it only made me uncomfortable.

Perhaps I couldn’t dismiss this escort after all. Evan Fried. As I mulled over his name, I remembered the other noble ladies gossiping about him.

When I turned my gaze at that thought, I saw Evan’s face, somehow lost in thought.

Perhaps the increasingly imaginative behavior of those ladies made him uncomfortable? Looking at Evan’s distorted expression, a faint emotion bloomed in my chest. Probably irritation.

I asked if it bothered him—if he wasn’t uncomfortable with those fools evaluating him like an object. But Evan smiled faintly and shook his head.

“I’m fine.”

“Thank you for your concern.” Those words seemed to strike my heart. His manner of speech, as if drawing a line between us, made me frown involuntarily. But what I glimpsed in his eyes as he bowed his head was clearly gratitude.

“……”

Come to think of it, this was probably the first time I had asked Evan anything. It had always been Evan who asked first, and I had coldly rejected him.

Suddenly, regret welled up, making my chest feel tight. It felt like something was choking me, making me exhale heavily.

In truth, there was no reason for me to feel this way. Why was I reacting like this? That question led to another, and then another. But Evan Fried’s image kept entering my field of vision, breaking my train of thought, making my gaze toward him increasingly bleak.

“…Should I step back?”

After watching Evan speak while reading my mood, I eventually nodded. What I needed was time to think calmly.

As I watched Evan’s retreating back, what rose in me was a slight feeling of regret.