What was Aresh thinking? There weren’t too many people in this country with purple eyes. This rendered the whole “don’t approach Seiichirou in front of the foreigners” thing moot. Weren’t they supposed to be keeping their relationship on the down low?
“Aww, he loves you, Sei!” Norbert said with a snicker.
Seiichirou decided to ignore that. “Anyway, why are you here?” he asked, turning back to Norbert.
“Didn’t I tell you before? I’m technically royalty and I was raised to be a retainer. I get called to these kinds of public events pretty often so that I can learn what my role is as a retainer.”
“Ah, yes, you did mention that…”
“Plus, my adoptive father’s away on an inspection in the boonies, so I’m here in his place.”
“You? What about Count Blanc’s biological children?”
“There’s a limit on guests. They wanted to keep this party low-key, apparently.”
Indeed, there were about twenty people at the event. Countless nobles wanted to participate, seeing as it was an inaugural cultural exchange with a powerful nation, but the envoys preferred something less conspicuous.
Norbert’s inclusion here probably isn’t just about “learning his role” as a retainer, but a precautionary measure in case the duties of royalty ever called him, thought Seiichirou. From what he had seen after over half a year of living there, the crown prince Yurius was all but guaranteed to become the next king. As for Norbert, Count Blanc’s family raised him as if he were their real child, and he adored his adoptive parents. There was no need to stir the pot.
Talking with Norbert eased a lot of his tension. Seiichirou met up with Orjef and Zoltan next.
“Whoa.”
Orjef’s face scrunched up when he caught sight of Seiichirou. Seiichirou didn’t want to ask why. Keeping his expression deliberately blank, he greeted Zoltan. The man normally arranged the sleeves and color of his work uniform to accentuate his noble standing, so his formal clothes were predictably even flashier and frillier than ever. Although Seiichirou knew that frills were a common fixture on formal clothing, an overweight, fifty-something-year-old bearded guy in frills was a strange sight to behold.
“What? I didn’t know you had a betrothed. Some people have unusual tastes.”
Hearing Zoltan of all people point this out made Seiichirou want to crawl into a hole, but it was Qusta, who was standing next to Zoltan in much humbler clothes, who delivered the crippling blow.
“Oh, so you finally got engaged. Congratulations.”
“…?!”
He dispensed well wishes without a second thought.
How on earth did he know? Well, it wasn’t as if Seiichirou was hiding it…
It was an open secret within the palace that Aresh was passionately devoted to Seiichirou’s care. People also knew that they were living together because he’d told Seiichirou to move into his new house when they were standing right in front of his previous lodgings.
From how Aresh’s servants had reacted, Seiichirou had gotten the vague impression that this country was tolerant of same-sex relationships. The nobility allowed for common-law marriages. Although the large houses demanded an opposite-sex marriage to secure an heir, everyone else in the same family was allowed to adopt children.
The “finally” in Qusta’s statement piqued Seiichirou’s interest. Did the entire Sorcery Department happen to know…?
“Huh? Well, Mr. Kondo, you’re always cloaked in that man’s magic, you know?”
Apparently, someone with high sensitivity and a decent knowledge of magic could see that it went beyond mere healing and barrier spells. Combine that with the rumors of Aresh’s overprotective behavior, and even the research-obsessed nerds of the Sorcery Department could tell that Aresh was more than just “the otherworlder’s guardian.”
Hearing this spelled out to his face, Seiichirou felt just about ready to collapse on the spot. He made a mental note never to approach the Sorcery Department the day after “acclimatizing” to magic.
The next moment, the waiting room door opened, and firstborn prince Yurius Romany Kaslová strode in. All eyes in the room turned to him, but Yurius showed no sign of diffidence. His attendants and bodyguards filed in behind him, including Radim Makovska, commander of the Second Royal Order.
It was exactly the sort of majestic display one would expect from a future king, but just as Seiichirou got sucked into the moment, he sensed Yurius’s gaze on him. For a second, the other man’s eyes glimmered.
Seiichirou got a vague, slightly bad feeling about this, but the prince’s entourage merely passed him.
“As you may already know, Lars Eric Egorova, third prince of Egorova, has come to our nation for a cultural exchange.” The crown prince’s voice boomed throughout the waiting room. Nobody dared interrupt him. “Their tour will have a great impact on Romany’s future culture and trade. Tonight’s dinner party holds great significance. As representatives of the Romany Kingdom, I ask all of you to conduct yourselves in a manner that upholds the dignity of our nation.”
The nobles’ eyes brimmed with their sense of duty.
The door to the hall opened, revealing an even more extravagant and refined vista than the waiting room. The beautiful, perfectly cut chandeliers shone just the right amount of light, and pure white tablecloths stretched out across a cavernous table. A pale yellow cloth was spread directly in the middle, not drawing too much attention to itself, with a magnificent candle stand and array of flowers as centerpiece.
The napkins and cutlery were already lined up across the table. The servants began ushering the guests to their seats—Seiichirou’s was the furthest from the guest of honor, and he was also quite some distance away from Orjef and Zoltan. Qusta sat across from him diagonally.
He was surprised when Norbert got the seat next to him, though Norbert was even more surprised.
“Huh?! But you’re my boss, Sei! And wait, aren’t you supposed to be the guide? How come you’re so far from the important people?!”
“I’m guessing they’re prioritizing nobility over the work hierarchy?” Seiichirou figured that today was simply about getting people familiar with each other, hence why the nobles got dibs. The real work would begin tomorrow.
“Gee, sounds unfair.”
“Why are you complaining?” Seiichirou thought that the bigger issue was putting a member of royalty next to the least important seat, but Norbert himself didn’t seem to mind. Perhaps it was the prudent thing to do in terms of instilling his place as a retainer. It was the furthest one could get from life as a salaryman in a democratic country.
Anyway, with everyone in their correct spots, Yurius looked over the crowd from the head of the table. After exchanging a look with his attendant, his voice boomed out once more:
“Now then, we extend our welcome to the diplomats of Egorova, who have come to our kingdom from afar to share their culture with us.”
Yurius turned his palm toward a different door than the one Seiichirou and the others had used. All eyes watched as two Romany soldiers slowly opened the door.
A tall, silver-haired man stood at the fore. Compared to the Romany nobility, there was a slightly different look about him. He had green, almond-shaped eyes, pale skin, and a perfectly composed, doll-like face. In addition, a dignified aura exuded from his person. This was without a doubt the third prince.
Two men who looked like knights came in behind him, followed by two other men who appeared to be civil officials. Their ages appeared to range from mid-thirties to about fifty or so.
And they were all tall, which made it rather difficult to see the short person who came in last. He was a head—no, three heads shorter than the other men. Even from a distance, his youth was plain to see.
Judging by the order of seating, the young boy ranked higher than the civil officials. He sat directly next to the prince of Egorova.
Lars and Yurius shook hands.
“As you may know, this is Prince Lars, the leader of this diplomatic mission.” Yurius introduced him.
Lars accepted this with a greeting of his own.