This chapter is from another PoV from usual. n.o.ble speech is such a pain to translate~ so please bear with me if it sounds weird. Feel free to point out any mistakes in the comments below. Enjoy!

The evening party that night was one that people frequently gossiped about. It was a party with such a high degree of attention given to it.

That was because that evening party was the high society debut of [that] Anderson Marquis House"s eldest daughter.

The Anderson Marquis House……the man lauded as a hero, Gazelle Daz Anderson, was the head of that house.

Despite being of his direct descent, this young lady had never stood on stage up until now.

That was Mellice Reese Anderson.

Normally, even if it was prior to one"s high society debut, it was impossible for one to have never been seen before.

If it was between intimate houses, then normally they"d bring their children together and hold a small scale tea party just for kids.

However, the young girl in question had never partic.i.p.ated in such parties at all.

Thanks to General Gazelle"s influence, it had never become much of a topic, but for a short period of time it was rumoured that she was so ugly that she could not appear in front of others. That is how unusual it was for this to happen.

……that being said, people"s interest is something that thins with time, so the accompanying rumours also dried up after a while.

Her existence gradually faded from discussion, and eventually from people"s memories……is what should have happened.

It should have happened but……as that girl surrounded by mysteries became the fiancée of the son from that Armelia Ducal House, once again……no, she became an even bigger topic than before.

The Armelia Ducal House……being one of the foremost n.o.ble houses, it is a house that has produced generation after generation of Prime Ministers.

Being the son of such a house, he is the target of any house that has a daughter, so that they may deepen their relations through marriage.

Though he was approached pa.s.sionately, he smoothly continued to dodge his admirers, and time continued to pa.s.s with him having no engagement to any n.o.ble daughter.

To think that……that he would become engaged to the daughter of the Anderson Marquis House!

The effect of that was by no means small.

Because it meant that the top houses of this country in the literary and military arts had joined together after all.

Right now, everyone was paying attention to her, be it in a good or bad way.

Those who wanted to get into her good graces and share in the Armelia Ducal House"s power.

Those who were proud of their their powerful influence, and as such, wanted to obstruct their betrothal.

Those who wanted to obstruct it, and furthermore, were watching vigilantly for the opportunity to s.n.a.t.c.h the seat of fiancé(e).

As such, today"s evening party was enveloped in a sort of enthusiasm.

"……oh, Count Dorambald. You"re making quite the happy expression."

As I observed the a.s.sembly hall that had become enjoyable for the first time in a while, I was greeted by an acquaintance and temporarily ceased my observations.

"Yes. I am looking forward to seeing the young boy and girl that have become the topic of discussion…….as my son already has a fiancée, I am genuinely able to enjoy watching the events as an outsider after all."

"Indeed…….now that I think of it, where is your son?"

"He is over there, going around giving his greetings together with his fiancée."

"Ahh, I see…….how envious. Your son is of the same generation as those that have become the topic of discussion. I am sure that they will have plenty of opportunities to interact in the future. My child is far too young after all."

"Ahh……it is true that we are blessed in that aspect."

When we were having such a conversation, an unnatural silence suddenly descended upon the entrance.

Up until earlier, the venue was enveloped in an enthusiastic air that set it apart from a normal party, and everyone had been making merry talking about the two of them in a way that wouldn"t damage their dignity.

"……I wonder what happened?"

I asked my conversation partner while looking around at the surroundings questioningly.

However, he did not give me any response.

Finding that strange, I turned my gaze towards where he was staring at.

And then……I also froze.

The person that everyone"s gazes were fixed upon……that was the lady being escorted by one of the parties that was being discussed, Rui De Armelia.

…….Mellice Reese Anderson.

White skin that seemed almost transparent, and silky platinum blonde hair that swayed like silver threads.

That face that boasted of a near perfect beauty, as though she were a doll that was carefully crafted by an artisan.

Only her beautifully sparkling light blue eyes exposed the fact that she was truly human.

Her almost abnormal level of beauty……fascinated everyone, leaving them at a loss for words.

Dumbfounded, we only became capable of staring at her.

In fact, those who had been waiting eagerly by the entrance in hopes to greet the two had all become fascinated by her, rendering them in a daze. As such, they could only watch as the two walked right past them.

They walked slowly inside the venue that had fallen completely silent.

Just the action of her walking was like a picture, and everyone felt as though they had fallen into a dream seeing her elegant appearance.

After walking a little past the middle of the venue and reaching an area just off from the rear of it, the two of them stopped and began to converse.

At times they would gaze at each other and smile in a happy manner.

……they seem quite intimate.

Eventually the flowing music stopped, and everyone turned towards the front.

And then not long after, her Majesty the Queen appeared.

Behind her was the First Prince, Edgar Le Tasmeria.

Within his dark blue eyes inherited from her Majesty dwelled a strong-willed glint, while his body was trained to the point that you could tell even from underneath his clothes.

Seeing him appear with an imposing air about him, the n.o.ble daughters clearly appeared excited, despite not exposing so on their faces.

This was because while he was a prince, Edgar did not in fact have a fiancée.

Normally, that would be an impossible situation. However, just around the time when his fiancée selection had begun, his father who had been in a comatose state at the time pa.s.sed away. As he had to observe the mourning period, time pa.s.sed without a fiancée being selected……which brings us to the current state of affairs.

"It is great to see that everyone is in good health. Time has pa.s.sed since we managed to achieve an armistice with the Country of Towair, and I am greatly delighted to see this country"s children growing up carefree and healthy in this peaceful age……..it gives me a strong feeling that a new age will soon be upon us. There are people from various generations attending today"s party………I hope that it will be a meaningful and fun party for everyone."

Once the Queen"s greeting finished, the orchestra began to play a song.

The rumoured Mellice-sama and Rui-dono danced together.

It could be said that their dancing figures were to be as expected of the daughter of the Anderson Marquis House and the son of the Armelia Ducal House, as they caused everyone who saw them to sigh with appreciation.

Eventually, the first song ended and each of them went to dance with another partner.

The ident.i.ty of that other partner caused a faint stir in the venue.

…… because Mellice-sama"s partner was the Prince Edgar!

It can"t be helped even if I show some surprise at the fact that that Prince Edgar was proactively requesting a dance of his own accord……up until now, there haven"t been any rumours of Prince Edgar"s amorous side, and if I had to say, rather than enjoying the affections of women, he is someone who prioritizes his friendships with men. He was such a youthful and innocent young man.

That being said, Mellice-sama has Rui-dono as a fiancé…….and once the song ended, it seems that they had fun exchanging one or two words of conversation before parting.

And then once again, Mellice-sama started to dance with another partner.

Before long after dancing several songs, Mellice-sama was led around by Rui-dono and started to extend her greetings to n.o.bles around the venue.

"……it has been a while, Count Dorambald."

Eventually, the two of them came before us.

"Oh, Rui-dono. It has indeed been a while. Seeing you together with your beautiful fiancée today makes me quite jealous."

"You flatter me………please allow me to introduce her. This is my fiancée, Mellice."

"It is nice to meet you, Count Dorambald. Please take care of me in the future."

"How polite of you. It is I who should be saying that, please take care of me as well. Today my son has also come to this venue. Unfortunately he isn"t here right now but……."

I looked around restlessly at the surroundings, but unfortunately I couldn"t find my son.

Even though this was the perfect chance to make a connection with them, just what in the world was that son of mine doing……

"Dan-dono, is it? He"s always taking care of me greatly at the Academy."

"No no, it is my son who is being taken care of…….now that I think of it, will Mellice-dono be enrolling in the Academy during the next admissions period?"

"Yes, that"s right. If I recall correctly, the one who Dan-dono is engaged to, Fuural-sama, will be enrolling this year, correct? I"m looking forward to it."

I"m surprised she knows about that, I thought admiringly.

"……come to think of it, Count Dorambald. I heard that you visited the Rubel region the other day with your wife."

"Yes, where did you hear about that? The truth is, my wife has completely fallen in love with the seafood cuisine and porcelain from that region."

"My……I understand that. The seafood cuisine over there is quite unique. In addition, the porcelain from the Rubel region have a beautiful crimson colour, so I can see why she"s taken a liking to it."

"Hou……I see, I see! Is Mellice-sama knowledgeable about porcelain?"

"While it is embarra.s.sing to admit, I cannot say I am an expert in it……it is just that when I visited the region previously, I saw them and thought that they were very beautiful, so I was thinking about collecting ceramics in the future."

"I see, so it was like that…….if that"s the case, then would you like to come visit my house once? My wife has a great number of pieces that she"s collected."

"My, my……! I"m looking forward to that! If it is not a bother, then by all means."

"That is great. Then I will send out a written invitation, so please come by."

"Thank you very much."

"On that note, we should excuse ourselves."

The two of them bowed their heads and separated from us, going off to greet yet another person.