Chapter 30

“Hmm… I wonder who I should introduce you to… I’m a bit conflicted.”

“You don’t really need to…”

Kyle, what are you saying?

Coming to a party and saying you don’t want any introductions, what does that mean…

“Then I’ll just introduce you to people as we meet them.”

Fortunately, Catherine had a different mindset.

At a debut and social party, it made no sense not to meet people.

I and Kyle followed Catherine around the party hall.

Many people approached Catherine in between, but she neither introduced them to us nor introduced us to them.

“Hmm… I still don’t have many people to introduce you to.”

“Haven’t many people greeted you so far…?”

We saw so many people while walking around, yet she says there aren’t any people.

It was hard to understand.

It would have been nice if she introduced just a few of those people.

“Well, with Lord Kyle’s status, I can’t introduce you to those pigs. Even though your title might be lower, I should introduce you to good people.”

“Ah…”

So that’s what she meant.

She had a very good intention for not making introductions.

Having a high title doesn’t make someone a good person, and in fact, among nobles, the higher the title, the higher the proportion of strange people.

In that sense, Catherine’s approach was somewhat understandable.

“Ah, there’s one. Lady Belpf!”

Belpf, Catherine called to a woman in front of us with that name.

There was only one family I remembered with the name Belpf.

The Belpf Ducal Family.

A family that owned a large domain in the west and also a large island in the western sea.

Perhaps because their ancestor was virile, they had many connections with other families in various ways.

“Lady Oldenburg?”

“It’s been a while. This is the first time since last year, right?”

“Of course. You haven’t visited our domain since then.”

The two seemed to have a somewhat friendly relationship.

They definitely appeared closer than Kyle and Catherine.

That’s natural for friends of the same gender.

It’s more common to be closer to those of the same gender than the opposite.

As friends, that is.

“Hmm… And the person beside you…?”

“Ah, let me introduce you. This is Lord Kyle of the Eristirol family. You’ve heard of him, right?”

“What…? This person is Lord Kyle?”

“Yes.”

“Ah… uh… umm…”

Belpf suddenly started to stammer.

As soon as she learned it was Kyle, she couldn’t speak properly.

“Is… is this really Lord Kyle? The handsome one from the Eristirol Duke’s family… you’re truly as handsome as the rumors say….”

“….”

It seemed the young lady Belpf in front of me was a fan of Kyle.

Well, it’s true that Kyle is handsome, so I can understand.

“Now, Lord Kyle? This is Karin Belpf. You can just comfortably call her Lady Belpf.”

“Lady Belpf, pleased to meet you. I am Kyle of the Eristirol family.”

Kyle introduced himself to Belpf, addressing her formally as “Lady.”

Even though Catherine had suggested a somewhat lighter form of address, he still called her by her family title.

“H-Hello… It’s really nice to meet you for the first time. I’m K-Karin of the Belpf family…”

Karin introduced herself, stammering less than before.

For someone from a ducal family, she was quite cute.

It felt somewhat like seeing the old Kyle.

“And… who might this person be…?”

“…?”

“It’s my first time seeing you. Nice to meet you.”

“…Pardon?”

“Pardon?”

Suddenly Karin greeted me.

To think she would greet a mere servant.

I’m very grateful, but… it was sudden.

Why would she greet me…?

“Pffft… hehe….”

Catherine was suddenly laughing in front of me.

“This person… is the Young Master’s servant… snicker…”

“What…? A person like this is a servant…?”

There seems to have been a misunderstanding.

Since I was walking with Kyle and Catherine, she mistook me for a noble lady.

For her to mistake me for a lady when I wasn’t even wearing a dress was a bit flattering.

“I am Sofia, the Young Master’s personal servant.”

I greeted Karin.

Karin seemed a bit surprised at my introduction.

I thought it wasn’t something so surprising, but I let it go.

She was still a young lady who hadn’t fully matured.

After walking around together, we returned to the table.

This time with Karin beside us.

“L-Lord Kyle?”

“Yes.”

“Hello a…”

“Hello.”

Karin greeting Kyle again, even though they had already exchanged greetings.

What can I say…

She had that exact feeling.

A girl in love.

She looked like a fan meeting her idol.

“May I ask how long you’ll be staying in Borussia…?”

“Hmm… Probably about a week.”

You were planning to stay for a week, Kyle?

This was the first I’d heard of it.

We hadn’t decided how long to stay in the first place.

Now that Adela was in the domain, there was no need for Kyle to return immediately, so it was fine.

But it might not be good to be away for too long.

“Then… would you like to stay at our villa for a few days? It should definitely be better than a hotel..”

“Hmm..”

Kyle was thinking for a moment.

By the way, to invite someone to a villa at their first meeting…

“….”

Something feels strange.

A villa from the first meeting…

“Sofia? What’s wrong?”

“It’s nothing.”

Yes, this could be taken as a certain level of goodwill.

Since there’s never been any mention of Eristirol having a villa or building elsewhere, it’s something one might ask in a situation like this.

“I will think about it a bit more.”

“Phew..”

Fortunately, Kyle postponed his answer.

Yes, as I’ve always cautioned during our journey, one shouldn’t accept such things too easily.

He’s learned well from what I’ve taught so far.

“Hehe… It’s fun to drink like this after so long. Sofia, aren’t you drinking?”

Catherine was clinging to me while drinking.

I was somewhat relieved that she wasn’t doing this to Kyle.

I don’t know if Kyle could handle it.

Kyle was staring at me intensely right now.

..Is he envious?

“Since the Young Master isn’t drinking, I wasn’t drinking either.”

“What… You’re too rigid. Not having even one drink at a party like this?”

I want to say “exactly,” but since Kyle was sitting at the same table, I didn’t.

Of course, I wouldn’t have said it even if he wasn’t nearby.

“Hmm… Lord Kyle, can’t you let Sofia drink by herself?”

Setting aside whether I drink or not, one thought occurred to me.

It looked so natural seeing Catherine and Karin drinking that I had forgotten—aren’t they minors…?

“…..”

Well… they’re nobles, and alcohol is part of their education, so it could be understandable.

But seeing minors—high school students in terms of my past life—drinking alcohol so casually felt a bit strange.

If I said this to Louise, she would say, “You drank when you were an adventurer too,” but I am me, and kids are kids.

“Sofia, would you like to drink?”

In the middle of these thoughts, Kyle asked me if I wanted to drink.

If I wanted to drink?

“Yes.”

Of course I wanted to drink.

Whether beer or champagne, it didn’t matter.

How could I resist with such a pleasant party atmosphere and delicious food?

I’ve been holding back diligently until now.

“Then just Sofia can drink. Water is enough for me.”

“Yes~! Sofia, hurry and try this first. It’s super refreshing.”

“Thank you..!”

As soon as Kyle gave permission, Catherine held out a glass and poured me a drink.

I accepted and drank it with immense gratitude.

Gulp.. gulp….

This alcohol is incredibly delicious!

It couldn’t be compared to the beer sold at the guild during my adventurer days.

It was so delicious that comparing them would be unfair..

“Hehe… Isn’t it delicious? If you come to our domain, you could drink this kind of alcohol almost every day.”

“Lady Oldenburg.”

“Alright, alright. I’m just joking?”

“Hehe…”

Delicious…

Alcohol is the best…

“By the way, Lady White isn’t visible at all today.”

“She has a lover, so perhaps she left right after meeting His Majesty?”

“Hmm. That’s a shame. Lady White is a good person, so I wanted to introduce her to you.”

As I was drinking, I heard the name White.

Come to think of it, white hair was also one of the characteristics of the White family.

“Huh…?”

A woman with white hair.

I had seen one today.

It was just a passing glimpse, but I clearly remembered seeing her at the party.

I just thought in passing, “She has white hair like Kyle…”

“If it’s the lady of the White family… she should still be here..”

“Really?”

“Yes.. she should still be here.”

“Hmm.. Lady Belpf? I’ll go look for Lady White. Could you entertain Lord Kyle for a moment?”

“W-What?!”

“It won’t even take five minutes, so it’s fine. Right, Lord Kyle?”

“Yes.”

With those words, Catherine went into the noisy party hall.

She probably went to look for that Lady White.

White…

I was quite surprised when I learned about a family that enjoyed same-sex relationships in this medieval-feeling world.

In my past life, there were families that practiced incest, so I just accepted it.

Homosexuality is nothing compared to incest.

“Hehe…”

More importantly, the alcohol was delicious.

I think I’ve had about five glasses now, and it was extremely delicious..

“Hehe…”

“L-Lord Kyle…? Would you like to try this as well…?”

“Please put it on the plate.”

“Y-Yes!”

Kyle and Karin were exchanging some words beside me.

By the way, Lady Karin was also pretty.

How should I put it… she looked like what an ordinary countryside girl would look like if made extremely beautiful.

Soft brown hair and breasts larger than Catherine’s.

And a face that looked innocent.

She definitely looked prettier than someone like me.

“Hmm…”

But seeing how she behaved toward Kyle whom she just met, she seemed like an easy woman.

Such an overly easy demeanor was a bit of a minus point.