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Chapter : 62
To be honest… if Henry were to speak frankly, the birthday girl today—Alyssa Heiner, whom he was ardently courting—didn’t quite meet his high standards.
As the eldest son of the Viscount Wolf family, he was constantly pressured to marry a quiet, modest, and frugal noblewoman.
And while those types were all fine and good… they inevitably lacked in appearance.
That’s when he discovered Alyssa.
“She’s decent enough. I’ll just have to keep a mistress on the side.”
Compared to the Marquess of Neselrode’s daughter or Count Müller’s daughter, Alyssa was average-looking. (He himself was balding and overweight, but he figured it was fine—he was going to inherit a border viscountcy, after all.)
On top of that, she was twenty-two—considered a bit older among unmarried noble ladies. (He himself was turning thirty next year, but unless you were absolute garbage like Fig, a man was like wine—better with age.)
Also, the idea of a noble lady, who should be quietly doing embroidery at home, studying abroad at an academy didn’t sit well with him. (He himself had failed the entrance exam but prided himself on having spent those years diligently training as the heir.)
Anyway… while there were a few disappointing factors, Henry couldn’t afford to waste any more time searching for the perfect match. He needed a definite answer from Alyssa tonight.
“The carriages are starting to arrive.”
“We’ve got the best spot here, brother. Hehehe. We can see exactly which ladies are coming.”
“Any good ones?”
“The rumors say the second daughter of Duke Ulmer is quite a beauty. Two invitations were sent to their household, so she’ll definitely be here.”
“Ulmer’s second daughter? Hmm… Oh! Isn’t she that villainess?”
“A feisty streak just makes it more fun to tame them. Ehehe!”
Hearing his older and younger brothers chatter, Henry sighed.
“Tsk, pathetic fools.”
He was on a different level than these morons.
“I’ll head in first, brother.”
“Huh? Already?”
“It’s best to make my move before the competition arrives.”
Shaking off his two brothers, Henry entered the banquet hall and headed straight for Alyssa.
“As expected.”
It was still early, so there were no men around her. Even better, her older brothers—who usually stuck to her like glue—were abroad and couldn’t attend.
Tonight was his night.
“Lady Heiner!”
“…Ah.”
Alyssa’s face stiffened strangely when she saw him.
But Henry didn’t notice. Grinning widely, he started showering her with flowery words.
“Happy birthday, from the bottom of my heart. The air is crisp, the breeze is gentle, and it feels like fairies are playing flutes in celebration—such a splendid, lucky day, all because it’s the day Lady Heiner was born! Khaha!”
“Ah…”
Alyssa stared at him blankly, then gave a small nod.
“Yes, thank you.”
But that was all she said.
Henry felt a bit awkward, but chalked it up to the shy modesty of noble ladies.
After all, a girl of Alyssa’s level couldn’t possibly dislike someone who would inherit a whole family estate like him.
“There aren’t too many people around yet, so we should have time for a good chat. Hahaha. Don’t you agree, my lovely flower bud?”
“…Um, Sir.”
“Yes, Lady? Speak freely. Hearing your sweet nightingale voice is an honor and a blessing, hahaha!”
“I’m sorry, but… I’d appreciate it if you stopped sending letters. I’m thankful for your support in my studies, but with so many letters arriving at the academy, it’s becoming hard to receive other important mail.”
“Huh? But don’t the servants handle that anyway?”
“It’s just…”
Henry completely missed the polite, desperate attempt to draw boundaries and instead asked with a faux-serious look:
“Don’t tell me the academy facilities are really that bad… Perhaps it’s time you returned home?”
“What?”
“You know how women who study abroad get talked about—people say they become too free-thinking, loose in behavior, and such…”
As Alyssa’s expression froze, Henry grew concerned that she might be offended and quickly patted his jiggling chest.
“Of course, I’m not the kind of lowlife who judges a lady based on baseless rumors! I only said it out of concern.”
“You don’t need to worry about that. It’s my life, after all…”
Seeing Alyssa draw a clear line, Henry was overcome with frustration.
No one else would consider her from such a practical, realistic standpoint. And yet she treated someone who genuinely cared like this?
She reminded him of all the noble ladies who had rejected him in the past.
But Henry, restraining his rising anger, convinced himself he would accept even her flaws and offered what he thought was sincere advice:
“Ehei! But Lady, surely you realize you’re missing your prime marrying age! Next year you’ll be in your mid-twenties, and as you know, fresh-faced young ladies are on the rise! You must develop a sense of urgency!”
It was at that very moment, when Henry’s thunderous, unsolicited advice echoed through the hall, that the villainess officially recognized by the system as the most notorious in the Empire of Bregenz—Adelheid Ulmer—entered.
*
“What kind of crap is this?”
I’m pretty sure I wasn’t the only one thinking that—probably half the banquet hall was wondering the same thing.
A bald, overweight man, who looked to be middle-aged, was loudly harassing the birthday girl in front of everyone.
And the content was horrendous:
“Ehei! But Lady, surely you realize you’re missing your prime marrying age! Next year you’ll be in your mid-twenties, and as you know, fresh-faced young ladies are on the rise! You must develop a sense of urgency!”
Apparently, I wasn’t the only one interested—most of the crowd had fallen silent, ears perked to listen.
“Is he picking a fight?”
I assumed he was deliberately trying to provoke Lady Heiner.
“…I appreciate your concern, but I’ll handle things myself. And truthfully, I asked you to stop sending letters because they were becoming burdensome.”
“What? What did you just… Ha!”
But then came the next part of their conversation—and I was stunned.
He wasn’t picking a fight.
He was flirting with her.
“…How pitiful.”
To be reduced to a public spectacle on your own birthday…
I genuinely felt sorry for Lady Heiner, who was dealing with this pig of a man, snorting and puffing like a raging bull.
“Well then, I’ll be going…”
Alyssa quickly gathered herself and tried to leave.
She handled it sharply—surely the mood would shift soon, and people would forget this.
That’s what I thought… until I turned and locked eyes with the man, who now had a red face and had spun around angrily.
“Oh?”
I instantly recognized him.
He was the second of the “Three Pig Brothers” who often showed up in Ark Community memes.
“I really thought he was just some middle-aged guy…”
Even in the game’s illustrations, he looked old for his age—but seeing him in person, he really was middle-aged.
Which made his shouting at Lady Heiner seem even more pathetic.
I turned to leave—no, I tried to turn away.
“Lady Ulmer!”
That is, until the second pig came running toward me.
“……?”
“Ah, I was just about to greet you, hahaha!”
Should I be glad?
Turns out, he wasn’t calling for me.
Because of a lack of carriages, I had arrived with Paula—who belonged to a much poorer noble family.
It was her he was calling to.
Her face twisted with awkwardness, but the second pig didn’t care. He bombarded her with empty chatter.
“The weather is lovely today, isn’t it? I’m so delighted to see you again.”
“Um… pardon me, but which house are you from…?”
“Ah! Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten me? Hahaha, I’m Henry Wolf!”
“Ah, Lord Wolf… I see. But I have some business to attend to, so if you’ll excuse me…”
Apparently afraid of being dragged into some entanglement, Paula tried to slip away quickly.
But—
“Oh come now, it’s a party! What business could be more important than enjoying time with friends? Hahaha!”
Her efforts were stopped by his thick hand grabbing her arm.
