This guy really has no clue.
I barely managed to swallow my anger and turned my gaze from the clueless First Prince to Karina. Karina met the First Prince’s gaze and, looking somewhat troubled, opened her mouth to speak.
“Your Highness, the First Prince. I have a partner, you see.”
“I know you volunteered to have a partner out of consideration for your knight.”
What kind of nonsense is this?
How many delusions has this guy been having to say something like that? I stared at him, baffled. He seemed lost in his own words, unconcerned by the gazes pouring down on him, and opened his mouth with a ridiculously sappy expression.
“You can’t possibly like someone as beastly as him.”
“Johann is not a beast.”
At Karina’s reply, I could hear a collective gasp from the crowd that was watching with interest. It must have been shocking for them to see Karina’s sharp retort.
I decided to hold back from interrupting the conversation for now.
After all, it was the First Prince who should be sweating.
Due to his lack of skills, he couldn’t even reach the position of Crown Prince, and his narcissistic behavior had him hearing nothing good on a regular basis. I was curious how he would react under everyone’s curious eyes when he was caught off guard.
Peering like a statue, the First Prince looked at Karina with confused eyes and asked, “Saint, what do you mean…”
“Your Highness, the First Prince.”
I was surprised to see that Karina could speak in such a cold tone. I couldn’t help but feel amazed by this new side of her, and I was surprised again by my own feelings that found it delightful.
“I believe it is rude to ask someone with a partner to dance at the debutante ball.”
Soft and gentle. Wrapped in it was a chilling coldness.
Her icy voice was so chilling it could cool off the summer heat, causing everyone, myself included, to remain transfixed, staring at Karina. Without changing her complexion, Karina turned away from the hand being extended towards her and continued speaking.
“There are many young ladies waiting for His Highness the First Prince. Since I have a partner, how about dancing with them instead?”
“…M-miss Saint, it seems there’s some misunderstanding…”
“I have expressed no statements that could be misunderstood.”
How much longer will he cling? I quietly moved closer to Karina. Standing quietly between the First Prince and Karina, I looked down at him.
Then I spoke politely to him.
“Your Highness, if you keep kneeling like that, you will hurt yourself. Please stand.”
“…You seem to be overstepping your boundaries.”
What?
What on earth is he talking about?
I stared blankly at the First Prince, who was making a fool of himself in real-time.
It seemed that some kind of incomprehensible logic passed through his mind.
Having lost his cool from being rejected by Karina, he began to point a finger at me, trembling in anger.
“How dare you act so arrogantly, you mere knight? Do you think you can stand confidently before me?”
Ah, so he plans to pressure me with status since he’s scared?
Ah, of course, the Emperor’s son does hold a much higher status over nobles. But when using power, one must pick the time and place. To throw a tantrum here, trying to steal someone else’s partner while all the nobles are watching?
And even after being rejected?
Is he out of his mind?
Don’t they teach things like imperial etiquette?
At this point, I thought I might burst out laughing from disbelief. I forced a hollow chuckle down my throat and spoke in a calm voice.
“Your Highness, this is the banquet hall.”
This is the banquet hall, you fool.
No matter how much of a prince you are, you should uphold decorum. Do you honestly think that an emperor with a rather shaky reputation can cause chaos here and expect nothing to happen afterward?
The atmosphere among the nobles is already turning cold.
“I should have recognized you were ungrateful the moment you didn’t accept my invitation!”
“At that time, I had no choice but to carry out my mission to escort the Saint.”
“You insolent brat! You’re just making excuses!”
“There are demons actively seeking the Saint in this world. Given that situation, how could I casually leave her side?”
I had a valid reason.
The demon Harpas. Plus the incident from the fake magic book that blew up in spring.
The fact that demons were targeting Karina was already common knowledge across the continent.
Besides, I had suitable evidence to back that claim.
If you’re displeased, go deal with the demon heads yourself!
Once the First Prince reached this point, realizing he couldn’t win on grounds of reason, he started to tremble, like a phone on vibrate, grinding his teeth.
How many times does he want to show me the dark future of the Empire? As if he couldn’t bear to watch the situation unfold quietly, a new voice interrupted from the side.
“Brother, how about we stop this?”
Seizing the moment to interject was Prince Killian, who shifted into the standoff between the First Prince and me. With a kind smile, Prince Killian approached the First Prince and placed a hand on his shoulder.
“Brother, you can’t do this here. This is a ball to celebrate everyone reaching adulthood, is it not? You need to pick your time and place.”
“Killian, after receiving such an insult, should I just stand by and do nothing…”
“Brother, we’re still at the debutante ball. If you continue like this… our father will be disappointed.”
At Killian’s warning, the First Prince turned pale and looked back as if remembering the Emperor seated on the throne and glaring at him.
I quietly observed the unfolding situation.
The Second Prince was helping, possibly to boost his own image and build rapport with me.
Though I had no intention of siding with the Second Prince, there was no reason to refuse help when it was done without lifting a finger.
“Sir Quartz. My brother tends to act rashly. Please understand.”
“It’s all good. Anyone can make mistakes in the heat of youth.”
In fact, judging by my physical age, I was even younger. But who would think of me as the same age as Karina just by looking at my facade…
“I’m fine, really.”
“Hmm, quite the spectacle you put on.”
The First Prince, attempting a late recovery, cleared his throat, feigning dignity while glaring at me with anger in his eyes.
“I’ll be watching you.”
With that, the First Prince and Prince Killian disappeared into somewhere.
“Johann, are you alright? If it’s because of me…”
“Don’t worry too much… If he’s sensible, he won’t try to harm me.”
Considering how the First Prince was acting, he could very well challenge one of his knights to a proxy duel for insults, but even if the current knight commander of the royal guard came, I’d be confident in winning.
The current knight commander is formidable, but he’s still not stronger than Sir Kalintz.
“You did well.”
“Not me, but Kar— no, the Saint here really suffered.”
It felt really awkward to use formal language in front of others. Karina smiled elegantly as though she found my polite speech amusing.
“Hoho, it feels weird to hear Johann use formal speech.”
“…What can I do when there are so many people around?”
“Seems like you really do sound like a knight.”
“Does that mean I don’t normally?”
“Well… you’re more like a mercenary, I’d say.”
I couldn’t deny that. I never prioritized chivalry, and my fighting style leaned more toward that of a mercenary than a knight.
“You two look so lovely together; many young lords and ladies will be shedding tears.”
Right, there would be those dreaming of a life-changing moment targeting Karina, and as for me, well… Are there any young ladies targeting me?
“I wonder if there’s any young lady interested in me.”
“Oh dear, Johann, don’t you underestimate your worth? A person with your unprecedented achievements is bound to be loved by young ladies.”
“…I’ve only encountered the young lady who looks away every time our eyes meet…”
“Even if you’re practically the main event of this debutante ball, if you look around with such a ferocious face…”
Martina trailed off, as if unsure whether to continue.
But did I really look that way?
Well,
“Honestly, it works out better.”
Having no one cling on was beneficial for me.
I quietly took Karina’s hand that was beside me. Even though I couldn’t openly display affection with so many eyes around, just holding her hand felt like I was slipping into a sweet dream.
“You two make me envious. I wonder when I’ll find a passionate love…”
“Martina, you’ll find someone soon.”
“I hope so. Finding a good match is really difficult…”
Once the nerve battle with the prince had been settled, the crowd’s gazes gradually dispersed.
Some young lords and ladies still seemed to want to converse with us, but it appeared that they were too intimidated by my appearance to approach.
Are they complete cowards?
“Are there any academy students besides us here?”
“Hmm, there are, but you probably don’t know them.”
“Martina, has Lady Trisha been in the banquet hall?”
At my sudden question, Martina turned her gaze to me and answered.
“My friend Lady Clarice said that…”
Just then, like a herald of new arrivals interrupting Martina’s words, the attendant announced with a loud voice the entrance of new guests.
“Prince Patrick and Lady Trisha are entering!”
…Oh ho, so it seems he’s gotten close with the Third Prince here.
I looked over at the Third Prince and Trisha, who appeared as if they were the stars of this banquet.
They looked so cozy, walking arm in arm. While they seemed like a perfect couple at first glance, there was something off…
It gave off a peculiar smell.
“Karina.”
I quietly locked eyes with Karina. She blinked several times at my question, then smiled brightly and nodded.
“Let’s go greet them together.”
My site has received a lot of DMCA notices, lol. From now on, I will update the MTL on https://darkmtl.com/.
The site is fast and lightweight because there are no ads yet. However, the theme is different from Cybor-TL, so take some time to familiarize yourself.
Support me by donating at least $10, and you'll have the right to request any novel from Novelpia (excluding 19+ content) using a newly developed tool.