Chapter 12.4

Unprecedented Debut Party (Part 1) (from Cermiane’s perspective)

Gradually, I created a strong framework for myself as a single knight, and made a conscious effort to live within that framework. Every time something happened, I became more obsessed with my status than necessary, saying, “I’m just a knight,” and I began to avoid things that were unsuitable for my status. I left the mansion left behind by my mother and moved to a knight’s dormitory, dressed according to the average knightly class, and deliberately lost early in some kind of knightly competition so as not to stand out. Nor did I volunteer to go to war.

As I think back now, by clinging to the status of a knight, I had been narrowing my perspective more and more. I thought I was a knight, so I should just stay as a knight and not do anything special or think too much. Living like that was, in a way, easy.

For someone like me, Ralphine, who did not fit into the frame of a marquise at all, was a being I could not understand at all. My irrational indignation at the way a marquise should be, was blown away without a trace by Ralphine’s behaviour.

The Emperor came, Ralphine was the first to be called, she ran up the stairs with a bouncing gait. I was so used to her impertinence by now that I just chased after her with a wry smile. The role of escort has lost its meaning.

However, when she reached the top of the stairs, she lifted her skirt and performed a ladylike greeting. Then, she recited a long oath without a hitch. She kissed the hands of His Imperial Majesty and the Empress and returned to my side, looking up at me with a proud smile. All that was left was to receive the ring from the Minister of the Interior, who was waiting beside us, but…

“Is she the sixth daughter of Marquis Caliente? I don’t think I’ve ever seen her before, but wasn’t she in the imperial capital?”

Suddenly, His Majesty the Emperor addressed Ralphine. Everyone present froze. Later I heard that it was because the highest-ranking young lady I was escorting seemed to be having a lot of fun, so he couldn’t help but call out to her.

“Yes, yes.”

I was astonished at Ralphine’s answer. too disrespectful.

“Ral!”

I reprimanded her, but it seemed that this rather caught the attention of Their Majesties.

“Did that person over there just call you by a nickname? Are you an acquaintance from before?”

“Huh? Mal? I just met him earlier,” Ralphine answered.

His Majesty the Emperor couldn’t hold back his laughter at Ralphine’s response. It was unheard of for the Emperor to laugh at a formal ceremony. I was dumbfounded. However, Ralphine seemed to feel a sense of closeness with the Emperor and his party because they laughed, and she answered His Majesty’s questions with a cute smile.

“Did you become close enough to call each other by nicknames just after meeting?”

“Huh? Isn’t that normal? If we meet and get along well around my home, we teach each other nicknames right away.”

“So, you got along well?”

“Yes. We became friends talking about hunting.”

Both Their Majesties spoke in a tone filled with affection for me, something they would never do in public.

“Is that so? ‘Mia’?”

“It’s the first time I’ve heard that you have such a cute nickname.”

I pretended not to hear him and did not reply, but I was surprised inside.

They prioritize being the Emperor and Empress over being private individuals in public. They would never have any private interactions with even His Highness the Crown Prince in public.

Yet they showed me affection in such a setting. It was impossible, and it shouldn’t have happened. Moreover, publicly, I am just a knight. I couldn’t let anyone know that I am a bastard.

Ralphine’s innocence must have caused them to inadvertently overstep the restrictions that Their Majesties had imposed on themselves. As I followed her as she ran down the floor, I was beginning to be overwhelmed by her sheer size. Well, His Excellency the Marquis almost fainted at the behavior of his daughter in front of His Majesty the Emperor.

After moving to the large hall, the debutante ball began. But for our Marquise, Ralphine, it seemed extremely boring. She was fine as long as she ignored the compliments from those who came to greet her with a bored face. She whispered to me.

“Please do something. If not, I’ll escape alone.”

It was quite an unusual thing for a lady to say. But I had become accustomed to Ralphine and told Duke Caliente that she wanted to have fresh air. Although it was not the job of an escort knight to take a lady to the bathroom.

I restrained her joy and explained that socializing was important, especially since she had come of age and needed to prepare for marriage. She replied nonchalantly.

‘It’s all right, it’s all right. I’m going to get married in the Caliente territory.’

“Are there nobles in your territory?”

“No, so I’ll marry a commoner, I guess. I don’t really know.”

I was stunned.

“A marquise marrying into the commoner?”

“Maybe. I’d be more comfortable that way too. I wouldn’t want to be the wife of a weak man.”

I later heard that the marquis, who did not have the budget to educate Ralphine as a marquise, had intended to send her to live as a commoner in their territory and marry her off to an influential commoner.

My shock was profound. Ralphine seemed to have no sense of being a noble. She knew that she is a marquise since she is here to debut in this way. However, she had no qualms about her status. She said she would prefer to be a commoner.

Her position is similar to mine. I am the Emperor’s bastard son, but my mother told me to become a knight. Ralphine is the daughter of a marquise, but she grew up as a commoner at the behest of her parents. We are similar, but something was different. I am almost forced into the status of a knight because of my knighthood, while Ralphine seems to be trying to transcend her status because she was brought up as a commoner.

Looking at her, I felt like I could realise something important. What do her beautiful golden eyes see?

This became clear to me shortly afterwards, when Ralphine showed her true colours (a little bit, according to her).

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