We disembarked. Lord Valgas walked proudly into the manor, and I followed cautiously. The interior was about the size of a gymnasium, and it could easily fit two or three hundred people. So this is where the aristocrats are going to eat, drink, and be merry, huh? To be fair, according to Lord Valgas, not everyone here was upper-class. The blue bloods had also invited some personal guests.
Waitstaff were serving small, stylish glasses of booze that guests could take at their leisure. I grabbed one and took a sip. If someone asked me whether it was a smooth drink or not… Well, it wasn’t particularly. It didn’t really suit the palate of a Japanese guy like me.
“Enjoy your evening,” Lord Valgas told me. He then left to join a group of noblewomen chatting amongst themselves.
I wasn’t nearly the social butterfly Valgas was, so I found an out-of-the-way corner and did some people watching. Guests ate and socialized at buffet tables along the walls. Once again, I was feeling like I had snuck into another world.
“Oh my. Are you alone?” a noblewoman asked me.
“Uh, yes. For now, anyway. This is my first ball, and I’m not really used to these things,” I said, plastering a smile onto my face.
“Gosh, is that so? You come off as awfully cute and innocent! Could I have a song?” She offered a hand in a white glove.
She wants to dance, right? As I struggled to respond, the music began. The guests in the middle of the hall retreated to the sides, and couples began dancing in their stead.
“Come, come,” the woman urged. Eventually, I took her hand and attempted to dance. She giggled. “For someone who looks so frank, you’re quite the dancer.”
“R-really?” I was just trying to copy the people around us, and apparently it was working. Honestly, I was happy that I wasn’t being laughed at.
Lord Valgas was also dancing, by the way. Now I understood why he invited me—he wanted us guys to let loose a bit. If I joined him at the “cabaret” he mentioned yesterday, he could’ve kicked back there instead, but that wasn’t a place you could bring Elaine or Lady Flam.
When the song ended, the noblewomen gracefully curtsied to the men. “Thank you. You’re quite graceful.”
“The pleasure was all mine.” Finally, I had a moment to breathe.
As I took a glass of juice from a waiter to quench my thirst, a second woman approached. “Where might you have come from?”
“Um, a village called Kalta, quite a ways from h—”
Before I could finish, another noblewoman inserted herself into the conversation. “Hold on! Let us toast to new encounters!”
We all clinked glasses. Then, the ladies peppered me with questions—and as time passed, even more joined in. What was happening? Was it me, or were there way too many women surrounding me? Questions were coming from every direction, and I couldn’t keep up anymore.
The musicians then began to play again, prompting the women to offer their hands.
“I’d like this dance.”
“No, I’m first!”
“Care to enjoy a moment with me instead?”
They were all noblewomen through and through—not a single normal girl. Wherever I looked, I faced endless “drills,” as if I were at a hardware store clearance sale.
I heard a voice call out from behind me. “This way!”
A mystery woman—presumably a noblewoman who hadn’t been in that circle—gripped my arm and pulled me outside. The other women’s voices came from behind me, complaining.
“Ah, no fair!” one called.
The woman who’d pulled me away paid them no heed. Outside, she turned once to glance at the villa. From where we were, we could just barely hear the music from inside it.
“You were backed into a corner, huh?” she asked.
“Definitely. You really saved me back there,” I replied. “Why did so many women mob me?”
She giggled. “I’m sure it was because of your hair.”
“What?” Is there something strange about it?
“Mm-hmm. Few gentlemen have such eye-catching black hair as yours.”
“I had no idea…” The whole time I had been in this world, I really hadn’t seen anyone else with black hair. No one ever pointed that out to me though, so I hadn’t thought about it at all.
The noblewoman stared straight at me. “That’s why I wondered whether you might be him.”
“Wait… Who?” I cocked my head, not following what she was saying.
“I know this breaks the ball’s rules, but…” She pulled her mask off.
“Ah!” I exclaimed. “From yesterday!”
My savior was the tavern dancer. Her makeup today gave her a completely different aura, both from her bewitching demeanor while performing, as well as her nondescript appearance when she sat next to Noela and me during dinner. At the moment, nobody would doubt she was a beautiful noblewoman.
“Wait,” I said. “Why’re you here?”
“Tee hee! Should I not be?”
“Aren’t you a dancer? Are you also an aristocrat…?” I was totally lost.
“That could be, couldn’t it? Weren’t you also at a cheap tavern last night?”
“Heh. Touché,” I replied. I wondered whether she was also invited by someone else, just like I was.
“My name’s Stella Stateen. And you are?” She extended her gloved hand.
I took it. “I’m Reiji. I really didn’t see you rescuing me two days in a row.”
“Me neither!” Stella giggled, covering her mouth.
I told her that Noela and I resolved yesterday’s incident smoothly after we parted. “You have my sincerest thanks, Miss Stateen.”
“You’re quite welcome. I’m simply glad things ended well. And please, Reiji, you needn’t be so formal with me.”
Far be it from me not to oblige. “I was mulling over doing something to thank you, Stella. This ball’s a great opportunity.”
“Wow. You’re offering to do something for little old me? Oh my!” She looked me over, flashing a teasing glance.
“Well, yes. If you’re struggling with anything, I’d be happy to help, if I can.”
Like I did yesterday, I wondered how old Stella was. She looked about my age, or maybe a little younger. However, given her attitude and calmness, it was possible she was older…
“Well, I’d like to leave this ball,” Stella replied. “I’ve accomplished my goal in coming here, so I’m done.”
Her goal? Maybe meeting someone and talking to them…?
“My carriage won’t pick me up till it ends though,” she continued. “So…I hope you’ll take a stroll with me in the garden.”
“That’s all?”
“It’s more than adequate. Come,” she urged.
I was fine with leaving—I’d gotten enough of the ball’s atmosphere. “Sure. I’ll gladly accompany you.”
“Let’s be on our way, then.” Stella said. She flashed an innocent smile beneath the pale moonlight.
Together, we walked into a labyrinthine garden. Stella knew the names of various flowers and taught me about each one as we passed them. My medicine-making skill actually identified them immediately, but I figured Stella must really love flowers to know them inside out.
“What do you do day-to-day, Reiji?” she asked.
“I make medicines and treatments. I run a pharmacy in a small town, and I just happen to be acquainted with the local lord there. He had to attend a banquet and invited me to come along to the capital, so here I am.”
“Oh, this is your first time here?”
“Uh-huh.”
“I bet you were surprised at how crowded it is.” She smiled teasingly.