“Um… Who should I introduce you to… I’m a little hesitant here?”
“You really don’t have to, but…”
Kyle, what on earth are you talking about? Not introducing anyone at a party makes no sense…
“Then I’ll just introduce the people we meet as we walk around.”
I’m glad Catherine thinks differently. It’s absurd to not meet anyone at a debut social party.
Kyle and I followed Catherine around the party venue. Although there were many people stopping to chat with her, Catherine neither introduced us to them nor introduced them to us.
“Eh, we haven’t met many people yet.”
“Haven’t many people greeted us until now?”
We saw so many people on the way here; how can there be no one? I found it hard to understand. It would have been nice if she could introduce just a few of them.
“Well, no matter how much of a Young Master you are, I can’t introduce you to those common folk. Even if their titles are low, they should be decent people.”
“Oh, I see…”
That’s what she meant. She was trying to be considerate in her own fancy way.
Just because someone has a high title doesn’t guarantee they’re a good person; in fact, the higher the title, the more likely they are to be weirdos among the nobles. In that sense, I could somewhat understand Catherine’s approach.
“Oh, there’s one! Lady Belph!”
Catherine called out to the woman ahead, referring to her as Belph. The only Belph family I could think of was the Belph Duke’s Household.
They own a vast territory in the west and have a large island in the western sea. Perhaps their ancestors were quite…active, as they are connected to many other families.
“Lady Oldenburg?”
“It’s been a while. I think we last met last year?”
“Of course. You haven’t visited our estate since then.”
They seemed quite familiar with each other. They definitely looked closer than Kyle and Catherine.
Naturally, it’s common for same-gender friends to be closer than cross-gender ones.
“Um… the person next to you…?”
“Oh, let me introduce you. This is Kyle, the Duke’s Son of the Eristirol Family. You’ve heard of him, right?”
“What? This is Duke’s Son Kyle?”
“Yes.”
“Ah… um… uh…”
Belph suddenly started stuttering. Upon realizing who Kyle was, she couldn’t speak properly.
“R-really? Duke’s Son Kyle? The handsome one from the Eristirol family… You really are as good-looking as the rumors say…”
“…”
It seems like this young lady named Belph is quite the fan of Kyle. Well, I can understand that since Kyle is indeed handsome.
“Alright, Duke’s Son, this is Karin Belph. You can just call her Lady Belph casually.”
“Lady Belph, it’s a pleasure. I’m Kyle of the Eristirol Family.”
Kyle introduced himself stiffly, addressing Belph formally as “Lady,” even though Catherine suggested a more relaxed approach.
“Um… h-hi… It’s so nice to meet you. I’m Karin from the Belph family…”
Karin stuttered less than before while introducing herself. She seemed pretty cute for someone from a Duke’s household.
It kind of felt like I was looking at a younger version of Kyle.
“Uh… who is this?”
“…?”
“I haven’t seen you before. Nice to meet you.”
“… Huh?”
“Yes?”
Karin suddenly looked at me and greeted me. How nice of her, but it was so unexpected.
Why is she greeting someone like a servant…?
“Hehe…”
Catherine suddenly started chuckling in front of me.
“This person is… the Young Master’s direct servant.”
“What? This person is a servant?”
Looks like there was some misunderstanding. Since I was with Kyle and Catherine, they mistook me for a noble lady.
I appreciated the misunderstanding, but it was a bit surprising.
“Introducing myself as Kyle’s direct servant, Sophia.”
I greeted Karin. She seemed slightly surprised by my introduction.
Is it such a shocking thing? I thought, but I let it slide. After all, she’s still quite young and innocent.
We continued wandering and eventually returned to the table, with Karin sitting next to me.
“K-Kyle Duke’s Son?”
“Yes.”
“Hello…”
“Greetings.”
Karin greeted Kyle again, even though she had already greeted him. It felt like…
A girl in love.
Like a fan meeting her idol.
“May I ask how long you’ll be staying in Borusia…?”
“Hmm… maybe around a week.”
You’re staying for a week, Kyle? That was my first time hearing this.
We hadn’t decided how long to stay anyway. Now that Adela is at the estate, Kyle doesn’t have to rush back, which is fine.
But it wouldn’t be great to be away for too long…
“Then… would you like to stay at our villa for a few days? It would definitely be better than a hotel…”
“Mmm…”
Kyle hesitated for a moment. Inviting someone to a villa right from the first meeting is a bit strange…
“….”
It feels odd. Inviting someone you just met to your villa…
“Sophia? What’s wrong?”
“It’s nothing.”
Right, this could be interpreted as a decent offer. Since there was no mention of Eristirol having a villa or a building elsewhere, it makes sense to ask casually.
“I’ll think about it a bit more.”
“Haah…”
Kyle thankfully deferred his answer. Good, I taught him well not to accept things too easily.
“Wow… It’s nice drinking like this after so long. Sophia, aren’t you having any?”
Catherine, stuck to my side while drinking, didn’t tell this to Kyle, so I felt somewhat relieved.
I don’t know if Kyle can handle this.
Right now, Kyle is looking at me intensely.
…Is he jealous or something?
“Since the Young Master isn’t drinking, I’m not either.”
“Wow… That’s too stiff. You mean to tell me you’re not drinking at a party?”
That’s what I’d want to say, but since Kyle was at the same table, I kept quiet.
Of course, even if he wasn’t there, I wouldn’t have said it anyway.
“Hmm… Duke’s Son, can’t we let Sophia drink?”
While I was pondering whether to drink or not, Kyle suddenly asked if I wanted to drink.
Do I want to drink?
“Yes.”
Of course, I wanted to drink.
I didn’t care whether it was beer or champagne.
With such a fun party atmosphere and delicious food, how could I possibly hold back?
I had been holding back till now.
“Then let Sophia drink alone. I’m fine with just water.”
“Yes! Sophia, you need to taste this first. It’s super refreshing!”
“Thank you so much!”
As soon as Kyle gave his permission, Catherine handed me a glass and poured me some alcohol.
I graciously accepted it and drank.
*Gulps… Gulp…*
This drink is incredibly delicious!
It was on another level compared to the beer sold at my guild during my adventurer days.
It felt so good that I almost felt bad comparing them.
“Delicious, right? When you come to our estate, you’ll probably be able to enjoy drinks like this almost every day.”
“Lady Oldenburg.”
“Alright, alright. I was just joking?”
“Hehe…”
So tasty…
Alcohol is the best…
“By the way, I haven’t seen the White Young Lady around today.”
“She likely met with the King and left right after because she has a lover, doesn’t she?”
“Hmm… That’s a shame. I wanted to introduce you to the White Young Lady because she’s also a good person.”
As I sipped my drink, I heard the name “White” mentioned.
Now that I think about it, the White family is known for their white hair.
“Eh…?”
A woman with white hair.
I definitely remember seeing someone today.
I passed by her briefly, but I have a clear memory of seeing her at the party.
I thought, “Oh, she has white hair, just like Kyle…”
“If it’s the White Young Lady… she’s probably still around…”
“Really?”
“Yes… she should still be here.”
“Um… Lady Belph? I’m going to look for the White Young Lady. Can you keep Kyle Duke’s Son entertained for a moment?”
“N-Nani?!”
“It won’t take more than five minutes, so it’s fine. Right, Duke’s Son?”
“Yes.”
Catherine said that and slipped into the noisy party venue.
The White Lady…
I was quite surprised to learn that there are families who enjoy same-sex relationships in this medieval-like world.
I just brushed it off, thinking that since there are families with incest, it’s not too shocking.
Same-sex relationships are not as shocking compared to incest.
“Hehe…”
But more than that, the drink was just too good.
I think I’ve had about five glasses by now, and it was just fantastic…
“Hmm…”
“Y-Young Master…? Would you like to try this too?”
“Could you please place it on the plate?”
“Y-Yes!”
Next to me, Kyle and Karin were exchanging words.
By the way, Karin was also quite beautiful.
If I had to say, she looked like an ultra-pretty version of a regular countryside girl.
With soft brown hair and a bigger bust than Catherine.
And an innocent-looking face.
She definitely looked prettier than me.
“Hmm…”
But seeing her so easily act towards someone she just met like Kyle made her seem a bit too easy.
That kind of overly easy demeanor was somewhat of a minus in my book.
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