There were some phrases that came out a bit weird, but I hope the general meaning was conveyed. Also, parts of the RAW do oddly switch between third and first person, but I converted everything to first person because that just makes more sense….anyhow, hope you enjoy the chapter!

"Please, Mellice."

"Thanks, Rui."

After Mellice took my outstretched hand and boarded the carriage, the carriage soon started to move.

Perhaps because she had been released from the mental tension or because she was genuinely tired, Mellice leaned against me as I sat next to her.

"……you"ve worked hard."

I softly called out to Mellice.

"Thanks. Thanks to you, I was able to make a lot of acquaintances."

"No, I only introduced them……everything after that was your own ability."

That was the unexaggerated truth.

At today"s evening party, she expressed an astonishing ability to create a positive impression on a large number of n.o.bles.

Other than the people that I personally introduced, she had become close to the ladies that their wives introduced to her, one after the other.

……just from today alone, I wonder how many people she"s made acquaintances of?

On top of that, looking from an outsider"s perspective, it didn"t even appear as though she had approached them a.s.sertively.

It as though the people who got to know her felt pride at having become acquainted with her first, so they continued to helped introduce her to one person after the next. Alternatively, it was as if they wanted to be helpful to her and were a.s.sisting her in order to expand her network.

There was nothing more surprising than seeing her grab the hearts of others in such a short amount of time.

……this probably was not a talent she originally had.

I am sure that her earnest daily efforts ever since she became my fiancée played a large role in developing it.

Not only did she complete the things that Mother imposed upon her, but she proactively sought to read books on further topics to broaden her knowledge and also went to the region in practice to fully experience it.

And on top of that, she has built up experience in chatting together with Mother every day.

All of that acc.u.mulated day by day, and it was here today that it blossomed……is likely what happened.

As I immersed myself in my thoughts, I felt the weight from her grow a little heavier.

When I quietly turned my head to check on her, it appeared that she had fully entered the world of dreams.

……even though we"ll be arriving soon, I thought while making a slightly troubled smile and decided to leave her be.

Not long after that, we arrived at the Anderson Marquis House.

"……Melly."

When I gently shook her body, she immediately woke up.

"Good morning, Melly."

"Rui…….huh? Why is Rui……"

As she blinked rather sleepily, she tilted her head.

However, perhaps because her mind woke up not long after, she promptly moved her body.

"I-I"m sorry……even though you took the trouble to send me home, I fell asleep."

"It"s fine. I"m sure that just means you were that tired. Today you should head to bed early."

"Eh. Yes……I"ll do that. Thanks, Rui."

After that, I escorted her back into the house and then once again boarded the carriage.

And then, I returned to my own home, the Armelia Ducal House.

"Ohh~ welcome back, Rui."

Father who had apparently returned home before me was relaxing on the sofa in the living room as he called out to me.

"How unusual. Lately, I haven"t seen you anywhere except in your study?"

Hearing my words, Father made a wry smile.

"May I sit with you?"

As I asked that, I sat across from Father.

"For you to ask to sit with me of your own accord is also quite unusual, is it not?"

"Yes, well."

I personally poured alcohol into a gla.s.s that was brought over.

"…….Melly was quite beautiful. I heard that you were speaking fondly of her everywhere you went, ya know?"

In contrast to Father whose grin was filled with teasing intent, I diligently remained expressionless as I drank the alcohol I poured.

"You"re quite the guy, to even be able to speak fondly about her right in front of her Majesty the Queen"

Seeing Father nod to himself in an amused manner, I involuntarily sent him a cold glare.

"You have quite the large ears."

"……isn"t it a little late to say that?"

"That"s true……however, you made me want to say that."

Fuu, I let out a short, exasperated sigh.

"I was simply putting my own feelings into words, so it wasn"t like I was doing it with the intention of boasting…….except for the time in front of her Majesty."

"You seem quite troubled."

"Well of course…….while I don"t have any basis for it, her Majesty seems to have some sort of obsession with Melly. At least, that"s what I sensed during the audience with her. That is honestly why I instead purposely boasted about Melly in front of her."

"Obsession, huh…….I don"t know what it is, but I"m sure she must"ve really touched Ailesama"s heartstrings. At least to the point where she forced her son to ask Melly for a dance despite her already having you as a fiancé."

Prince Edgar still does not have an fiancée up until now.

A ball is a place for him to meet n.o.ble girls……while there was absolutely no need for Prince Edgar to proactively search for a partner as the next king, it was a good opportunity for him to share conversations and dances with his candidates for fiancée.

As such, normally rather than requesting a dance from someone like Mellice who has a fiancé, it would be recommended for him to do so with his fiancée candidates.

Especially because the number of songs was predetermined, the number of chances for him to dance was limited.

"Yes. That"s why my intuition from that time was correct. I believe that if we show that I, the heir to the Armelia Ducal House, is already tied to my fiancée, then it will act as a restraint. On top of that, I was able to display our degree of intimacy."

"Well, it is indeed a necessary action to take. If you don"t want to let go of your girl"s hand."

"Yes, of course. Even if that is what she desired, I am no longer capable of letting her go."

"……persistent guys will be hated, you know?"

"That would be the pot calling the kettle black…….should I speak of Mother"s thoughts that I heard regarding Father"s courting methods in the past?"

"W-Wait wait! Please, spare me!!"

""That was…….right. It was before I had enrolled in the Academy. I was……""

Without paying any heed to Father"s pleas, I spoke the exact words that I had heard from Mother.

"I"m really sorry! That"s why, please spare me of that……!!"

Seeing him desperately apologizing, I reluctantly closed my mouth.

I got to see the rare sight of Father"s exhausted face, so I"m satisfied.

"Why…would Aurelia tell Rui of all people……"

He grumbled while hanging his head, as though his soul had burned away after an intense battle.

"……I figured that it would come into handy one day, so when I had Mother tell me about your foolishness when I was younger, I made sure to memorize it. It"s good that I did."

"You really were a brat that wasn"t like a brat……."

"Yes. Thanks to a certain person."

"Just who the h.e.l.l was it!? I"m gonna go complain to them!"

Following those words, I stared fixedly at Father, but…….it seems that he sensed that it was time to put an end to the horseplay from that gaze.

Father coughed as he changed the atmosphere.

"On another note but……regarding the visit to the Rinmel Princ.i.p.ality, it seems that it will be starting tomorrow."

"Ahh……so you were finally able to adjust your plans? Even so, that"s rather sudden."

"Yeah. Originally it should"ve been the week after the next but……it was a bit inconvenient for both sides. The second-best option was next week."

"This time Father will be visiting the two houses of the moderate faction, right?"

"Yeah. The results of the previous investigation drove a wedge in. Also……the ones who know about this matter, other than her Majesty the Queen, are the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the few working on this case, as well as you. Well, in other words it isn"t a large-scale operation, so as long as we manage to secure some guards and you take over my duties properly, it"ll be fine. You"ve been helping out with my duties for a long time now so that if a time like this came you"d be able to take care of the minute affairs, so you"ll be fine, right?"

"Yes, well. What will be doing for your guards?"
"I"ve secured a few people from Gazelle"s recommendation…….although it"d be best if I were able to take Gazelle, or even Melly themselves."

"Because the stronger they are, the fewer guards you"d be able to bring while still having a peace of mind after all. For covert operations, that becomes even more important too."

"Indeed. Well, impossible things are impossible so it can"t be helped…….leaving that aside, I"m leaving things to you starting tomorrow."

"Alright."

After that I emptied my gla.s.s and rejected Father"s offered refill before returning to my room.

When I returned to my room, I loosened my tie and sat down.

The date had already changed, so quite a bit of time had pa.s.sed.

While this was a time that I was typically awake at on a daily basis, as expected, the sense of fatigue on days with b.a.l.l.s was special.

"……Rui-sama."

As I sank into my chair and gazed upwards absentmindedly while thinking, Bern appeared behind me without a single sound.

"Bern, is it? What"s wrong?"

"I will be accompanying Romel-sama to the Rinmel Princ.i.p.ality and have plans to go around the area for a while after arriving there, so I thought to give my greetings."

"……I see. How long are you intending to stay there this time?"

"It will depend on the situation, but I believe it shall take around 6 months to a year."

"I see……lately you"ve been coming and going, but this time you"ll be settling down over there."

"Yes. That only became possible because I was selected to be one of the personnel to sound out both the Rinmel Princ.i.p.ality and Tasmeria Kingdom, but I ended up standing out a bit too much, so now I am reflecting on that."

"Even though you were finally able to partic.i.p.ate in the Anderson Marquis House"s training."

"Thanks to that, I was favoured over there as well. While it was for a limited period of time, I was affiliated with the First Division, and was allowed to partic.i.p.ate in the training of the Anderson Marquis House."

"The influence of General Gazelle"s name is just that great, I suppose."

"Truly…….I was thinking this when partic.i.p.ating in the training, but the influence of his name is not just superficial at all. The General"s true ability……if you include his direct subordinates as well, it is understandable why other countries are cautious of his strength."

"That is precisely why we must protect his House……..because that is connected to the defence of our country itself."

"Indeed."

As Bern nodded, I let out a light sigh.

"Though he was punished with permanent house arrest, I don"t believe that Wiels will remain docile just like that. In the future we will need to be even more cautious about his movements and the movements of those around him……that being said, it would be much easier if you were around."

"My apologies. Neither of those jobs are things I can complete in my spare time after all."

"That"s true. I"ll have to ask someone else to take care of it."

"……now that I think of it, there was one person that I wanted to train."

"What? Who was that?"

I unconsciously leaned forward and asked.

"Mellice-sama"s maid, Enaline. As she has already received a baptism from Mellice-sama, while she is female, she possesses quite the fighting ability. In addition to that, her desire to protect her country is strong, and moreover, she possesses a calm personality…….there are some places that are difficult to infiltrate unless you are a woman, so in the future I believe we should put more resources into raising female spies. I believe she would be suitable for such a role."

"I see, hm……I"ll try sounding her out before the next time you come back."

"Alright. Things should go faster if Rui-sama is the one to propose it, so that would be much appreciated."

"Got it…….I"ll do something on my end. I"ll pray for your good fortune."

"Thank you."

Bern gave a respectful bow, and then departed from the room.