It took quite a bit of courage to tread on the magnificent carpets, with their red and gold embroidery set against a white background. Why on earth did they pick white, the easiest of colors to stain? Maybe it was a flex of wealth to keep the white pristine.
Though Seiichirou knew very little about art or interior design, just treading through the opulent waiting room was giving him the jitters.
He was at the welcome party for the Egorovan delegation.
The last party Seiichirou had attended was meant to show off the Holy Maiden before she went on her purifying expedition, and it was an opportunity for the distant nobles to make connections. In that sense, it was a relatively simple affair. Not that a former middle manager salaryman like Seiichirou was in a position to make accurate comparisons, but at that party, at least, he’d been able to move around freely and help himself to the buffet. It also felt like an extension of work because he’d worn his work cloak over his formal clothes.
This time, with a foreign member of royalty as the guest of honor, everything felt completely different. For one thing, the attendees waited in a fancy room. After enough time had passed, they would move to a hall where the function would begin. It was a classic dinner party in the sense that everyone had designated seats.
As a side note, neither the hosts—the Romany royalty—nor the Egorovan guests of honor were present in the waiting room. The main characters had a separate waiting area and were scheduled to appear later, but even Seiichirou’s current waiting room was filled with people in flashier clothes than at the last party. Although there weren’t many people in total, most of them were strangers.
“Hi there, Seiichirou.”
Seiichirou turned around in response to the husky, melodic voice. He would never admit that he felt slightly relieved to see a familiar face.
Camile was wearing a somewhat gaudier outfit than his usual neat and prim uniform. Although the blue cloak that identified him as the director of the Legal Department was made of noticeably high-quality fabric, the sleeves on this outfit had finely embroidered green parts and tasteful accessories hung from his arms. What really stood out was his rose-gold blond hair—normally, he kept it slicked back, but today some of it hung onto his forehead. It was impressive how much a change in hairstyle could affect a person’s entire appearance.
“What’s with that look? It’s rich coming from you.” Camile sighed as his gaze swept over Seiichirou.
Although Seiichirou wasn’t ugly, fatigue typically exuded from his features. He looked “wiped,” to use common parlance. Even his neat civil official uniform did nothing to dispel that impression.
For the previous party, Norbert got expert beauticians to cover up the bags under Seiichirou’s eyes, but this time Milan the maid went the extra mile to bathe and massage him, so his skin glowed more than usual. Moreover, Aresh had spent two days diligently applying barrier and healing spells. The lovemaking had rendered Seiichirou mentally exhausted but physically pristine. He was amazed that, at the ripe old age of thirty, he could inspire such passion from a romantic partner.
Finally, the outfit Aresh had arranged for him was more of a simple suit than an extravagant display, but the feel of the fabric was on a different level. Though the cuffs weren’t large, they were studded with quality gems. The flap of his collar featured a silver flower lapel pin with a purple gem casually embedded in the middle.
Camile’s eyes took all this in. For a moment, a grimace came over his face.
“Geez,” he sighed.
“Is something the matter?” Seiichirou asked, not understanding the meaning behind the sigh. He knew very little about the formal dress code in Japan, let alone this world, so he figured he’d better check before the dinner party began.
Camile shook his head, smiling sheepishly. “If I didn’t give him this much leeway, he would have demanded he show up to the party, too.”
In other words, there was some trace of Aresh in Seiichirou’s appearance. The collar was completely done up, hiding the marks on his neck, so maybe it was something about the outfit? He knew he shouldn’t have left everything to others out of his own ignorance.
Just as Seiichirou was contemplating going home to check, Norbert showed up and snorted in laughter. Understanding soon dawned on Seiichirou, accompanied by horrible embarrassment.
“In Romany, wearing an accessory on your chest means you’ve got a partner,” Norbert explained. “And that there’s a mias flower, which symbolizes eternity. You use it to signify that you’re married or betrothed. Oh, and the silver ones are super expensive, and the gem in the middle usually represents your partner.”
Norbert’s gaze drifted to Seiichirou’s cuffs.
“And the cuffs are purple, too,” he said with a carefree smile. “He sure was thorough!”
Basically, Seiichirou’s outfit screamed: “I have a rich and possessive spouse/betrothed whose signature color is purple.”
……Damn it! It’s my fault for leaving the whole thing to Aresh!!
As he trembled with a flood of different emotions, embarrassment chief among them, Seiichirou vowed to confront his partner as soon as he got home.