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Chapter 47
“Hello, Spirit Master! I’m so glad to see you again. I am from the Kessit Count family…”
“Long time no see, Lady Einra. I am the eldest of the Fioret Marquess family…”
“Oh my, it’s really been a while, Lady Einra! You haven’t forgotten me, have you? I’m the lady of the Nanie Viscount family…”
The elaborately dressed nobles greeted me with warm smiles.
“Ahaha, it’s good to see all of you,” I responded, quickly smiling back at them.
As if to make up for the five years I hadn’t left my mark, the nobles kept coming toward me, one after another.
Even with my stamina already drained from the banquet’s debuff, facing the seemingly endless nobles made me tire even faster.
Maybe it would’ve been easier to just complete five years’ worth of backlog all at once…
I was genuinely thinking that when Harnen, who was assisting me in handling the nobles as my partner, suddenly turned to look at me.
His sky-blue eyes met my increasingly pale face.
“Wait a moment…”
Harnen excused himself to the noble he was speaking with and lowered his head toward me.
He whispered softly into my ear.
“If you’re tired, do you want to rest in the lounge for a bit?”
“Yes…!”
Ah, my angel!
You must have come to this world to save me!
When I looked at him with sparkling eyes, Harnen let out a small laugh.
He gently stroked my head and then gracefully addressed the nobles.
“I’m sorry, but Einra isn’t feeling well right now and needs to rest. It seems she’s been excited and lost sleep over attending the banquet after such a long time.”
The nobles’ eyes showed regret at Harnen’s polite words.
“Oh… in that case, of course, she should rest.”
“Please go to the lounge and get some rest. I wouldn’t want the Spirit Master to be tired either.”
“Above all, isn’t the Spirit Master the priority?”
Even though their eyes lingered on me with lingering disappointment, the nobles willingly stepped aside.
Finally, I breathed a sigh of relief, my face relaxing.
“Thanks, Harnen. You saved me…”
“If you were struggling, you should have signaled sooner. Then you could’ve rested earlier.”
Harnen lightly stroked my cheek with a look of concern.
Feeling a bit choked up by his murmured concern, I awkwardly smiled and rubbed my cheek.
Was my face really that bad?
Harnen and I headed to the second-floor lounge, accessible only to distinguished guests.
I went straight to the largest, most luxurious room and dove onto the brilliantly decorated sofa.
“Wow, a sofa!”
Who cares if the dress the Emperor chose gets wrinkled?
As expected of a palace sofa, it was incredibly soft and fluffy to the touch.
While I was indulging in my sofa therapy, Harnen approached and spoke in a voice tinged with amusement.
“You like it that much?”
“Yes, I love it!”
A soft laugh reached my ears.
I smiled along and looked up as Harnen asked gently,
“Einra, what would you like to drink? I’ll go get some from outside.”
“Hmm, mulled wine! With lots of honey!”
I raised my hand and exclaimed.
Harnen smiled again, patted my head, and went outside saying, “Just a moment.”
The crimson drapes shielding the lounge swayed gracefully.
My mind, exhausted from interacting with so many people, wasn’t functioning.
I lay back on the sofa, staring blankly at the night sky visible beyond the terrace.
“The stars are so beautiful…”
Tiny, twinkling stars… shining beautifully…
I was absentmindedly humming and tapping my feet when suddenly someone fell onto the terrace above.
“…?”
Yes, fell.
Plop.
“…Am I seeing things?”
Why is someone appearing there?
Still dazed, I instinctively—or rather, out of trained instinct—summoned Quiel.
During my time in the capital, the Emperor and Harnen had drilled assassin countermeasures into me until they became second nature.
Quiel immediately stood alert by my side, scanning the terrace carefully.
Cautiously, I got up and tiptoed toward the terrace.
As I silently opened the terrace door, I unexpectedly fell into someone’s arms.
“Huh…?!”
“Shh. Beautiful lady, quiet now.”
I felt a body’s warmth behind me, and beside my head, a voice clearly belonging to an adult man spoke.
“Don’t worry, I’m not an intruder. I just came to borrow this terrace for a moment to escape my father…”
The man tried to continue speaking, but I had no time to listen.
I roughly pulled his hand off my lips and shouted.
“Quiel—Quiel, stop! No! Don’t kill!”
Quiel, who had been rushing toward the man’s neck to strike, immediately froze.
The same Quiel, who had just been ready to cut the man’s throat, blinked adorably and tilted its head.
‘Almost took an ordinary person’s life…’
As I sighed in relief, a blank voice came from behind.
“L-Lady?”
Clearly, he didn’t understand the situation.
A sigh escaped me, different from before.
I freed myself from the man’s arms, turned around, crossed my arms, and stared at him.
Sky-blue hair, golden eyes.
He was quite attractive… though the surroundings had already normalized beauty, so he didn’t stand out particularly.
‘What should I call this person? Illegal intruder?’
But this isn’t my personal residence, so that doesn’t fit.
Hmm… I can’t call him a gentleman either; he’s not quite that.
“Um.”
I chose a suitable title.
Like an animal puffing itself up to intimidate, I lifted my chin.
“This terrace lounge was already claimed by me. Bursting into someone else’s lounge is not polite. If you need a terrace, please go somewhere else.”
“…….”
“Um, can you hear me?”
“……”
“…Hello?”
Was he so shocked he lost all composure?
I waved my hands in front of his dazed face, when suddenly his pale face flushed bright red.
“…?”
Frowning in confusion, I saw him cover his mouth with the back of his hand and quickly avert his eyes, seemingly embarrassed.
…Embarrassed?
He seemed like a strange person.
As he hesitated and stepped back, my chin was suddenly grabbed.
“…May I ask your name?”
Caught off guard, he didn’t even look at me.
I frowned at his awkwardness, pulled my arm back, and answered.
“I’m Einra. I’m a commoner, so no family name.”
Anyone attending a banquet would eventually know about me, so just giving my name was fine.
“Einra…”
The man murmured my name, then suddenly hid his face with both hands, bright red.
“…Even your name is cute…”
“…Excuse me? What did you say?”
I couldn’t hear clearly, but it was odd.
While I made a suspicious expression, the man lifted his head, resolved, and looked at me.
…No, he was looking at the edge of the terrace beside me.
“Um… you probably won’t believe me, but I’m actually a very popular guy.”
“Oh, sure.”
I really don’t believe it.
“I’m not usually the type to grab onto someone and cling like this…”
“Oh, sure.”
Okay, let’s just agree with that.
“And my status is high, so when you introduce me to someone, you won’t lose face…”
“Oh, sure.”
Though there’s no way I’d need an introduction.
I didn’t understand what he was trying to say, but he kept talking earnestly.
I nodded politely, thinking about when to usher him out of the terrace.
At that moment, the sound of a door opening came from inside the lounge.
“Einra?”
Harnen had returned.
