AT times like this, it’s handy not having my face known, Felix thought. Because of his illness and everything, he’d been kept away from public appearances, a choice he was starting to appreciate.
“It’s quite the turnout, isn’t it?” Felix muttered to himself, peering at the crowd.
There were a couple of familiar faces in the center, around which gathered a bunch of young men dressed in military uniforms.
The army commander, MacDonnell, and the lieutenant colonel, Rankin.
Last night Felix had come to a decision while writing his letter to Mia. He was going to do everything he could, to the best of his ability.
Now that a powerful rival had emerged in the form of Henrik, Felix felt a huge sense of pressure.
If he couldn’t help out with Mia in the clinic, then he would just proceed with things while staying within his own, familiar territory.
And so here he was, having infiltrated one of the royal family’s parties. He’d been planning to make an appearance at an evening party at some point, but never would he have expected it would be for this reason.
Mathias had bowed out of serving as Felix’s bodyguard for the night, insisting he had to take care of the rabbit. Felix probably didn’t need guarding at one of his family’s events, so it wasn’t a big deal, but he suspected Mathias was just using the rabbit as an excuse to avoid a social gathering. Mathias really hated social gatherings.
“Whatever is Prince Emil to amount to though, eh?”
“How many times have I told you not to use that name?”
“Why not? It’s not like I’m talking about you, now is it?”
Standing beside him was his coconspirator and the party’s organizer, Randolph Meyer Lohenstein. Felix’s uncle and his father the king’s youngest brother. The current chairman of the board of the Royal Academy, he held jurisdiction over this Grantz residence.
He usually stayed in the capital, but he spent every school break here.
Grantz was under royal jurisdiction now, but with its culture steeped in Radius history and tradition, the king’s other brothers had long since grown tired of it. Meyer, however, loved Radius culture.
He always said that it was the prevailing folklore of the region that he liked the most. He was clearly a big sucker for a romantic story.
It was said that the enduring Radius culture had survived because the last queen of Radius had made that one of her conditions for surrendering, along with freedom of faith. All of the lords who had sworn loyalty to the queen followed suit and surrendered to Isea.
The Radius faith was discarded by the invaders, but the culture of the country endured along with its people. So, too, did pockets of resistance. Only the ownership and power over the country changed hands. There had been several rebellions after that, and the land still retained a strong military force.
And yesterday, that military had held a special meeting with…
Felix looked around the room, searching for his target. Locating it, he frowned nonetheless.
“Hmm?”
The man standing next to Lord Lipsett…he looked familiar. Thick eyebrows and sharp eyes like an eagle, and a strong jaw. Felix didn’t know his name, but he’d seen him at a parade and thought he must have been military.
But Commander MacDonnell and Lieutenant Colonel Rankin were standing some distance away, which struck Felix as strange.
“Lord Renfield. Mage Army Cabinet Minister.”
“Mage Army Cabinet Minister…”
The men in this room were bound to know the answers to all the questions Felix had. Including…how to turn someone into a mage.
And what, exactly, Magira-Aera really was.
No sense asking outright. They’d never tell me. They’ll be on high alert, of course…
But the name Renfield stuck out to him. The Renfields were an old dynasty who held a large amount of territory in the south.
Felix racked his brains to try to remember where he’d heard of him before. But nothing came to mind. Maybe he was looking in the wrong place. He just needed a hint. If only the man’s title had him on even footing with Felix’s fake identity as a member of the Keyserling family, that could have helped, but…
“Uncle, what political party does Lord Renfield belong to, again?”
Meyer shook his head.
“Don’t get involved in politics if you want an easy life. My brother knows about the situation. He’ll handle it,” Meyer whispered to Felix in hushed tones. His unconcerned way of speaking made it obvious he’d made his way through life without any real turmoil on the way.
Fine, if his uncle wouldn’t tell him, then Felix would have to figure things out for himself.
If the man was a cabinet minister, then that must mean he was affiliated with the same government as the prime minister.
Uh, the current PM belongs to the Schild Party…so it follows that he does too. But then why is he buddying up to that man Lipsett?
Felix lacked education about all this. But he did know the prime minister and the governing party.
The Schild party was a group of conservatives dedicated to upholding the status quo and preserving the monarchy. The Prime Minister, Galber, was a fan of Felix’s father and had doted on Felix as a young child as well.
As Felix mulled it all over, Meyer rolled his eyes at him.
“Are you sure this is where you want to be right now? If your face is seen here, it could be quite troublesome for you.”
“…Why?”
Felix looked quizzically at his uncle, not following. Just then…
“Ah! If it isn’t Felix…Young Master Felix?”
Felix froze, the voice familiar to him.
Slowly, he turned around to see a female student he recognized from the Academy, wearing a bright purple gown.
“…You?”
Even Felix, who paid little attention to girls, knew this one’s name, such was the impact of her general personality. His face immediately stiffened.
Darn it!
The gathering was being held under the sponsorship of the school, so of course, it made sense. Especially with the law department having so many children of the nobility enrolled.
It’s Angelica!
Last year, Angelica had suspected Felix of being the secret prince and had set her sights on him. But thanks to Zeke, Felix had been able to remove himself from suspicion. He felt so safe, he’d almost forgotten about the ruse.
But his presence here posed a risk that Angelica might start suspecting him again. After all, wasn’t it a bit odd for the third son of a baron with no peerage to be at a party like this one?
Young Master Felix, did she say?
She’d started calling him that again. That wasn’t good. Felix hesitated, wondering how best to shrug this off. But then he noticed the man standing beside Angelica, and his breath caught in his throat.
It was Lord Renfield, the Mage Army Cabinet Minister Felix had been so preoccupied with mere moments before.
Standing behind him was the young man who had been with Lieutenant Rankin. He was a slender, handsome young man whose features resembled Angelica somewhat.
That’s when Felix really thought about Angelica’s name for the first time.
Angelica Heidfeld…the Heidfeld Family…
The peerage held by his household came to Felix just then, and he jumped a little. The Renfield peerage was linked directly to the house of Heidfeld.
Angelica cast a shrewd glance at Felix before turning and proudly introducing the two men behind her.
“Chairman Meyer, may I introduce my father and brother.”
Angelica’s father, Lord Renfield, bowed politely and fixed his gaze on Felix.
“And who do we have here?”
“My name is Felix Keyserling, sir.”
“Ah, the Keyserling family. How do you know Chairman Meyer…?”
As the older man narrowed his eyes at Felix, Felix gave him a big smile.
“This is embarrassing, sir, but my grades at the Academy have slipped, so I’m actually here for some extra tuition.”
The situation handled, Felix was about to turn to leave when he locked eyes with Angelica and hesitated.
Hmm, getting to the man himself might be too difficult, but if I go down this route…I risk losing a lot…
Even so, Felix hesitated for only a second.
“Since we’ve had the pleasure of running into each other here, I wonder if you might accompany me for a stroll, Lady Heidfeld? We’ve barely had the chance to really talk at the Academy.”
Felix fixed her with the gentlemanly smile he’d been practicing in the mirror for Mia. It hadn’t worked on Mia at all, but Angelica blinked a few times before blushing and nodding demurely.