Chapter 64

“You don’t have to attend the banquet.”

I repeated the same thing for the fifth time to Knoxus, who followed me to the banquet hall.

It was obvious that if Cardan failed to catch the prince at the banquet, he was most likely to turn to Knoxus.

“If not me, the master’s official assistant, who else will take care of the master at the banquet?”

“It’s Duke, not Master.”

I gave up with a sigh.

Therefore, I decided to talk to the Prince of the East as soon as possible so that Cardan and Knoxus would no longer have to face each other.

The banquet hall was already crowded when Knoxus and I arrived. Between the music and the sound of laughter, I searched for the prince.

“That’s strange… he’s the star of today’s banquet, but I can’t see him.”

After looking through the banquet hall for a long time, I finally found the prince.

The prince of the East continent was with Cardan on the second floor of the banquet hall where it was dark.

If they had been in the upper seats, they would have been the center of attention as soon as they entered the banquet hall. However, they did not appear as if they were hiding in the corner.

Because of Cardan, who was standing behind the prince with a grim expression, no one approached them hastily.

Because of that, it was quiet around where the main character of the party stood, which was supposed to be lively.

“Knoxus, you stay here for a while. I have a place to be soon.”

Cardan or whatever, I’ll just talk to the prince first.

I rolled up my sleeves and tried to rush towards the top seat, but Knoxus gently pulled me back.

“Where are you going?”

“Just somewhere.”

I can’t drag Knoxus to where Cardan is.

I pushed Knoxus into the wall of the banquet hall and took a glass of champagne from the waiter passing by and held it in Knoxus’ hand.

“Here, drink this and wait here.”

I glanced at Cardan, who had been staring at me for some time, and tapped Knoxus on the shoulder.

“Don’t drink too much.”

“Master, have a drink, too.”

Knoxus, who stole champagne from another waiter, handed me a glass and hit my glass with a brim sound.

“Cheers.”

“I’m a bit busy right now.”

I took a sip of champagne and threw the rest into a decorative plant.

“Uh, Count Linoa is coming towards us.”

I tried to hide behind the decorative plant before I was captured by Count Linoa. But Knoxus grabbed my arm, smiled brightly, and gestured to the count.

“Count, the Duke wants to speak with you.”

***

Cardan glanced at Erina and Knoxus.

As promised, he could see that Knoxus was eagerly distracting Erina’s eyes.

However, he did not want to see them touching each other without hesitation like before.

Fortunately, when Count Linoa joined the party, Knoxus went far back like an aide.

Cardan turned to the prince again, contentedly.

“I don’t think it’s polite of the nobles of the empire to not greet the emperor first.”

The prince smiled politely as he looked around the quiet area.

“They became disrespectful after my accession.”

To be exact, they couldn’t approach him because they were afraid of being executed after making eye contact once.

Cardan has decided to skip the details.

“Is there any lady that caught your eyes in this banquet hall? I’ll introduce her to you personally.”

Before the prince could answer, Cardan hurried on.

“The flower of the current imperial society is definitely Young Lady Count Linoa over there.”

In the middle of the banquet hall, he pointed to the young lady, who showed off the spirit and dazzling dance moves of a noble family.

Around the ballroom, there was a long line of young men waiting for their turn.

“There’s a rumor that the way she dances is like the wings of an angel.”

When the prince did not respond, Cardan pointed to another lady.

“Or what about Lady Treve?”

Around the lady, whom he pointed to, there were many elderly family members with all kinds of documents.

“She is well versed in her studies, including management, economics, politics, philosophy, and history. Especially, her ability to organize accounting books is unrivaled.”

“That’s amazing.”

In the prince’s short review, Cardan began to praise Lady Treve even harder.

“All the people who flocked around here were those who came to ask for the opinion of Lady Treve. Whenever they hear that Lady Treve is attending a social event, even the Lords from faraway provinces attend. This is even if the trip takes several weeks.”

“It’s a strange view.”

“I’m sure there are many places on the East continent that will be able to make use of Lady Treve’s ability, so what do you think, prince?”

“Well.”

The prince grinned.

“Of course, it’s not that the interests of practicality are not significant, but I want to return to the East continent with a woman I like.”

Cardan wrinkled his eyebrows at a more honest answer than expected.

“A woman you like……. How are you going to find someone like that in a short time?”

“I already have someone who caught my eye…….”

Cardan wrinkled his face even more as he followed the prince’s eyes, whose words vaguely blurred.

“Your Majesty the Emperor.”

The prince suddenly turned his eyes toward Cardan and spoke with a serious expression.

“May I ask you a question?”

“What is it?”

There were a handful of times when he was nervous in his life. His lips felt strangely dry in front of the prince’s straight eyes.

“Do you have Duke Baloa in mind as an empress?”

“…….”

“Forgive me if it’s an impolite question, but if she is, I’d like you to tell me honestly so that I can give up cleanly.”

For a while, he wasn’t able to open his mouth, as if his lips were glued together.

When he barely opened his lips, his mouth was dry enough to sting.

“No way….”

“…….”

“It can’t be.”

As a habit, he tried to twist his lips up, but his cracked lips did not move at will.

Fortunately, the prince smiled broadly as if he had accepted Cardan’s words as they were.

“That’s good news for me.”

The prince bowed to Cardan.

“May I speak with the Duke for a moment?”

“……Yes.”

After that, Cardan couldn’t take his eyes off the prince’s back as he approached Erina.

He smiled and reached out his hand and seemed to be asking for a dance.

Erina, who had just turned around after a conversation with Count Linoa, looked puzzled, but soon smiled and laid her hand on the prince’s hand.

As the prince slowly lowered his head and put his lips on the back of Erina’s hand, his breath seemed to be blocked. Cardan couldn’t stand it anymore and left the banquet hall.

***

“D, Duke……!”

Count Linoa grabbed my hand.

I tried to squeeze my hand out of his grasp, but the Count squeezed my hand as if it were a lifeline.

“Ha ha! Count Linoa. It’s really nice to see you.”

It’s a disaster. The count’s sniffling nose and tearful eyes seemed to have escaped quietly.

“D, Duke……! That person.”

Soon Count Linoa pointed to where the prince was standing.

“Is he the Prince of the East?”

“Yes, but…”

“You’re saying he’s the one who’s about to take Howard, right?”

The count worried about the future of his eldest son, who would live as a slave on the East continent.

“We haven’t talked about the details, but for now, that’s the case.”

“Heok!”

Count Linoa pulled out a handkerchief and blew his nose.

“Oh, my son’s physical strength is weak, so if he suffers even a bit, he will get sick right away.”

I stared at the Count with disdainful eyes.

“If he’s the Count’s son, he’ll definitely adapt well to the East continent. Because the empire was narrow and he envied the wider world.”

“That’s right! I always wanted my son to venture out into a wider world! But no! Slave!”

The count began to stamp tears around his eyes, using my hands like a handkerchief.

I rolled my head furiously, rubbing the tears on my hands against the count’s beard.

At this rate, I will play the role of a counselor for the Count until the banquet ends.

Extreme measures are needed.

“Count. Let me talk to the Prince of the East.”

“Well, are you sure?”

The count blinked.

“Of course.”

In a soft voice, I patted the Count on the shoulder.

“Trust me. I established a strong friendship with the prince during our last tea time, so I’m sure the prince will listen to me.”

The count looked up at me as if holding on to his last ray of hope.

“Is there anyone else here who knows how much the count has suffered?”

“No, no one.”

The count burst into tears again.

Like a kind teacher, my words naturally shortened without realizing it.

“Well, I know the Count’s anguish better than anyone else.”

Before Count Linoa could again use my hand as a handkerchief, I hurriedly pulled it out, pretending to touch his shoulders.

And I added soothingly.

“Harvey, he’s such a clean and clear person.”

“I know that the Count has been troubled by his various incidents since he was young, and that the Linoa family has been worried about him disappearing into the back of history, and that you are more thorough in your health care so that you can hand over your position to your youngest son when he grows up.”

Read more chapters here