“I also spent time in the Baron Ambassador Bureau in the Foreign Affairs Agency before. I was only an office worker, but if I’d been promoted, I would’ve had to accompany His Excellency the ambassador and dance at other imperial courts. I frantically learned how to dance as my sister kicked me around. In the end, instead of getting a promotion, I was transferred in half a year.” He explained the same thing he had to Elysia once before.
“You’ll quickly improve with practice,” he assured Mina and started leading her in a way that more proactively guided her. He slowed down their tempo, bringing the triple-time melody the orchestra played down to a half-time duple meter.
Thanks to their slow stepping, Mina’s footwork was starting to shape up. She really did have good coordination. She picked up the basics fast.
At this point, the number of participants in the waltz had doubled, and there were many pairs who weren’t very skilled at dancing (it seemed Mina’s bravery really had encouraged them to join). And Mina immediately improved more than those girls.
There was no need to slow down anymore. Mina herself looked like she couldn’t believe how much better she was already doing. “I-I feel like I’ve become a princess, although that doesn’t suit me...”
“Ha ha, what’s wrong with that? Let’s say you’re a princess just for today.”
“Th-Then just for now, you’re my prin—a knight, I mean.”
“Nah, I could never pretend that in front of a real knight,” he joked. Meanwhile, he thought of how Mina always claimed she wasn’t girlish, but deep down, she actually did have the heart of a maiden. He pretended he didn’t hear Mina almost call him “her prince.”
They were supposed to switch with Elysia every song, but they continued dancing for another three. Zen caught a fleeting glimpse of Elysia outside the ring of waltzers, gesturing for them to continue. She’d probably seen Mina finally get the hang of dancing and didn’t want to ruin that for her.
Elysia has grown up to be so kind! he thought to himself like a proud father.
In the end, they danced continuously through five of those fairly long waltzes. It was a breeze since Zen and Mina were both physically fit. By the time the fifth song was winding down, Mina seemed like she was having more fun instead of feeling nervous. Even after the orchestra stopped playing, she gazed up at Zen’s face.
“Shall we go for one more?” Zen suggested.
Mina came to her senses and replied, panicked, “Oh, no! We’ve made Miss Elysia wait long enough.”
Zen wanted to let her soak in the afterglow for a bit longer, but he could see the orchestra getting ready to play their next song. The two hurriedly left the floor.
“I’ll go dance for five songs with Elysia too.”
“I-I’m sorry for keeping you to myself...”
“Don’t worry. Just laugh it off and say, ‘Oh, how hard it must be to be a father.’” Zen cracked jokes as they headed back to where Elysia was waiting. Mina still hadn’t let go of his hand.
“You danced pretty well at the end, Lord Mina,” a voice called out to them from the side. The two of them paused and looked in that direction.
“Your Excellency Stoga! I apologize that we’re offering our greetings so late.” Mina realized who had spoken to her and responded reflexively with a soldierlike bow instead of that of a lady.
“I don’t mind. The waves of people who’ve come to greet me have finally died down. Oh, it’s just not easy to be so popular.”
It seemed that the man who’d said this—without a hint of irony—was the Alona prefectural governor. He’d just turned twenty-nine today and had a face that was appropriate for his age. On the other hand, he wore conspicuous, excessively showy clothes more suited to a noble’s preferences, as if to hide his lanky, unimpressive body.
Now that Zen thought about it, the fact that he’d gone out of his way to call Mina “lord” might not have been to excessively flatter her like Chief Tomon did, but was rather part of his aristocratic affectation.
“I’ve come as His Excellency Cummel’s representative today. I offer you a heartfelt congratulations on the anniversary of your day of birth.”
“I’m greatly obliged. Please pass my thanks to His Excellency Cummel. Incidentally, is he in good health as always?”
“As usual, those around him, including myself, are worried he’ll one day collapse from overwork.”
“Oh my, that won’t do. He should take a leaf out of my book and focus on enjoying life more.”
Mina and Stoga exchanged the customary pleasantries. During that time, Stoga didn’t spare Zen a glance, let alone a bow. Since Zen had come in uniform, Stoga had probably concluded that he was a minor bureaucrat who wasn’t worth talking to.
Hmm, he’s really thorough about playing the part of an aristocrat. This behavior was very typical of a noble who truly didn’t see commoners as fellow humans, which was a mentality not uncommon among the nobility of other countries. Was Stoga imitating that too?
Mina was also clearly at a loss, unsure of when she should introduce Zen.
If he were a true noble, then it’d be acceptable for him to arrogantly disregard people, but is he really fit for the role of a prefectural governor like this?
Zen didn’t know who all had been invited to this party, but with Mina having come as Cummel’s representative, she must be a particularly privileged guest. That was why Stoga had called out to her.
Yet although Stoga understood that Mina had brought Zen along as a partner, Stoga blatantly ignored him.
Did he not give his subordinates a proper audience either? For a position of high responsibility like a prefectural governor, knowing your subordinates all the way from the top to the bottom rungs and assigning them to the right places determined how capable you were.
In a war, a general who led ten thousand soldiers didn’t need to know every one of them, but it was unfathomable for a centurion to not know the names of each one of their hundred soldiers.
“Now then, Your Excellency Stoga, we shall excuse ourselves.” Sensing that there were once again others waiting their turn to greet the prefectural general, Mina bowed in a more ladylike way this time, awkwardly lifting the hem of her skirt.
“Understood. Enjoy yourself tonight.” Stoga moved on to attend to his other guests, and Zen and Mina hurriedly left. In the end, Stoga hadn’t acknowledged Zen at all.
“I apologize. I couldn’t find the right timing to introduce you,” Mina said glumly.
“No, it’s not your fault.”
As they talked, they finally returned to Elysia.
She’d probably been watching them from afar. “Did that guy completely ignore you, father?” She was totally offended.
“I don’t think you should refer to His Excellency the Prefectural Governor as ‘that guy.’” Zen smiled wryly. His daughter was unexpectedly feisty.
Well, I had a bad impression of him to begin with, and he did a great job of not proving me wrong.
Of course, he was Alona’s prefectural governor, not Nazalf’s. While Stoga irritated him, it was unlikely that he would directly affect Zen and the others.
While Zen had a renewed appreciation for the rare gem that was Cummel standing at the top of Nazalf, he wanted to just move on from the subject.
However, Elysia was still ruffled. “Let’s dance, father! We must forget our troubles!”
“I think she’s only going to vent her anger on me...” Zen’s smile grew even more troubled as Elysia pulled him by the hand. He felt like she was really going to swing him around.