Al-niisama!
At the castle party venue
I was standing there waiting at its entrance.
There, Christa ca toward with small steps.
Christa.
I let Christa hug for a while.
She must have been quite anxious while I was away.
When I stroke her head, Christa hugged even tighter.
Were you scared?
Un..but..Elna protected ..
I see..
Nee, Al-niisama.Elna was..
Its okay, I heard about it. Dont worry, I will do sothing about it. You dont have to worry about her. Just enjoy the party tonight alright.
Hearing so, Christas expression got a little brighter.
Seeing that, I started talking to Christa about sothing else.
Have you t Leo and Lize-aneue yet?
Un! Lize-neesama chose this dress for !
Christa spins around to show off her new purple dress.
It seems she is very happy that Lize-aneue chose it for her.
Even though we are of the sa imperial family, the stars of todays party are Leo and Lize-aneue so I will be heading to the party venue together with Christa first.
I see. Then you should show it off to everyone. Rita should already be inside as well.
Un!
Saying so, I walked into the party venue with Christa.
When the knight at the gate announced mine and Christas arrival, applause and gazes were directed toward us. However, it was Christa who was the center of their attention.
The kidnapped princess, and the younger sister of Lize-aneue.
Unlike the other princesses who have various problems attached to them, there are many nobles who want to marry their son to Christa in the future.
While keeping those nobles at bay, I head over to Rita with Christa.
Ah, Al-nii! Kuu-chan!
Rita waving her hand cheerfully at us but it seems that she hasnt noticed that her instructor was tiredly staring at her.
Thats so like Rita.
Rita..those clothes look good on you.
Rita was wearing ceremonial clothes for a knight apprentice with a sword hanging at her waist.
Her clothes are so neat that it doesnt seem like it was Rita at first but it seems that she likes it very much.
It does!? Really!?
Un.
Thank you! Kuu-chan! Kuu-chans dress is nice as well!
Lize-neesama chose it for .
That Princess General!? Will I be able to et her!?
Un, you will.
YEAHH!
While watching the two happily chatting, the crowd was making noise at the entrance of the venue.
At that ti, the nas of Leo and Lize-aneue were announced.
The venue was filled with applause that was incomparable to mine and Christa.
Prince Leonard! Congratulations on your big success!
Marshal Lizelotte! Your battle was astounding as always! It seems that you never lose your touch!
The two were imdiately surrounded.
There might have been those that were told by their parents that now is a good ti to approach them too.
There are children around the sa age as Christa around her as well but with Rita here, they cant recklessly approach her.
Its a good relationship they have between them.
While thinking about that, I silently left the place and leaned back against the wall.
In the opposite direction, Leo, Lize-aniue, and Finne are once again surrounded by nobles.
It might have sothing to do with the blue seagull ornant but she does look very good in her blue dress today, it seems I wont be able to call her out for now.
I could see Jurgen from here as well but due to his social connection, he is being surrounded by his acquaintances in the imperial capital.
If I go to him now, the people around him will surely disperse.
This is really a problem
A party with no one to talk to is so boring.
Of course, I can enjoy just watching people like this too.
After a while, my father arrived and the party finally started in earnest.
Many people start dancing to the music with happy laughter echoing the whole venue.
Every ti soone tried to invite Lize-aneue for a dance she would sway the sword hanging at the waist of her military uniform. If soone actually invited her she would probably say [If you want to dance with then win against in a duel first].
On the other hand, Finne and Leo are smiling while dealing with many nobles. Its their job after all. Right now is a good ti for us to increase our allies.
Surprisingly, Jurgen politely declined all the invitation from the ladies as well. As always, he is such a polite person.
Christa and Rita are still surrounded by the children.
There is no place for here.
With such feelings, I make fun of myself.
The one who wished for this kind of position was none other than . Still, I want to have fun spending ti with soone too. However, envying them for that would be too much of a luxury.
There was also a way that I can walk the sa path as Leo but I didnt choose it.
If Leos was a path filled with light then mine was one in the shadow.
Theres no need for to be praised by anyone. Theres no need for anyone to notice .
I chose my path with that kind of feeling that.
I thought that it was for the best.
Yo, Arnold.
A noisy guy appeared disrupting my thought process.
Its none other than Gied and his entourages.
Even though he is wearing a tailcoat, it doesnt look like formal attire because he seems to arrange it according to his own fashion sense.
He sure likes wearing sothing like this huh. As I thought, this guys sense is really off.
Gied huh.
Hmmn? What? I went out of my way to talk to a Dull Prince like you and thats what you say to ? Shouldnt you be crying tear of joy right now?
Haa..yeah, yeah, thank you very much.
I dont like your tone. You, have you been getting cocky lately? Leonards achievent is not even yours alright. The more Leonard is growing, the more incompetent you will look. Theres even a rumor going around that soday you will be the downfall of Leonards faction too you know?
Right..
I dont need a guy like him who can only think that far.
I want soone who feels like he or she can make a difference to join the faction.
Leo needs allies like that.
The succession war isnt just a fight between the candidates but also their factions. No matter how much Leo can compete with the other three, if his faction is inferior he will never be able to beco the emperor.
What? Getting depressed now? Right. Even you would want to be in the lilight too right? But you see, its impossible for an incompetent like you!
Saying so, Gied and his entourages laughed.
Seriously, these guys sure are free. I wonder if Father will get back to his quarter soon. I cant leave this place before him after all. I have sowhere else to go after this too.
As my expression is getting tired, Gied grins.
I have good news for you Arnold. Get into Leonards faction. I will personally join your side.
.What?
Didnt you hear ? Well, thats understandable. I am the eldest son of the prestigious Duke Horsvath after all. There would be no one else you would want to have as your ally right.
Gied playfully brushes his bangs.
But I dont care about that.
A guy like Gied running headfirst into a power struggle? This is undoubtedly the order of his father, Duke Horsvath.
Certainly, Duke Horsvath himself is approaching Gordon while his second son was sent to Erics side. And if Gied can get closer to Leonard here then he will be able to sell his favor no matter who wins in the end.
The reason Duke Horsvath didnt approach Zandra was that he has been on bad terms with the Southern nobles for a long ti.
Judging from this, it seems that the Duke has already recognized Leo.
It will be painful to miss this opportunity but honestly, I dont need Gied. Gied is certainly the eldest son of Duke Horsvath but his second son is actually the one who is well-respected and excellent. A good evidence of that would be the fact that the Duke had sent him to join Eric, the candidate with the best chance to win.
If we pull Gied in as our ally now, our faction might collapse.
Oh, you can give yourself credit for recruiting too, you know. How about it? Arnold.
Sorry, but I will be refraining myself. If you want to join him then go ask Leo himself.
wHaT?
I guess he never thought that I would refuse. His cheeks are cramping up.
Gied cant ask Leo himself. Up until now, Gied had been acting good in front of Leo on the surface but when Finne and I went out together, Gied beat up and I pretended to be Leo back then.
In other words, from Gieds point of view, he thinks that Leo is already aware of his wrongdoing. Well, sothing like this, Leo should already have noticed long ago.
That must be why he chose to approach .
What an idiot.
Dont get cocky with now. This is not a request, you know that right.
No matter what you say, I will not introduce you to Leos faction.
You shit! What are you getting conceited about! Since she was already under house arrest a failure like Elna wont be able to protect you anymore alright! No one is going to help you, you know!
He just said sothing he shouldnt have.
I know that I should just let it slide. There was another who kept telling to calm down.
However, I shook off that self-control.
Just now..what did you say?
What? No one is going to help you.
Before that.did you said a failure?
Hm? Yeah, I said it! Elna was such a fai!!!????
I glared at Gied.
I wanted to blast him away with Silvery Ray right this mont. How refreshing it would be if I can remove a guy like him from this world.
Being glared at with such intent, Gied was overco with fear and unable to breathe. He took a few steps and fell on his butt.
A, ah.
Take it backGied.
With only a quiet voice I convey my feelings.
However, Gied doesnt show any sign that he would answer that at all.
His entourages also solidified and no one tried to step between Gied and . What a cheap bond they have.
Elna saved Christas life. Thats a fact that no one can change. Insulting Elna in front of while knowing full well of that, Gied von Horsvath, do you want to die?
A, it, its, Im not
Just say it.
I, I, I take it back
Anything else?
So, Sorr
Sorry?
I, Im, IM SORRY.!
After I got Gied to take his insult back and apologize, I imdiately left the venue.
Father still hasnt left the venue yet but I feel nauseous just by breathing the sa air as Gied and since we had already gathered a few attention to us, I decided to leave the place.
It will be troubleso to get involved in trouble now.
Right now I am far from composed.
While thinking so, I grabbed a bottle of alcohol on the table and left the venue.
Haa.
If it was enough for you to sigh about, isnt it better for you to just endure it?
Thinking about my own stupidity, I sighed once I left the venue. Even though I just decided to remain an incompetent, I ended up doing sothing that betrayed all that right afterward. Theres nothing more pathetic than this.
While I was drowning in all that, Sebas called out to from behind as if to pick a fight with .
Argghhh. I dont want to get preached on right now.
The one who understands best that what I did was stupid is after all.
I did it because I couldnt alright. I am calm right now so I do think that what I did was stupid okay. I just revealed my hand even though I have nothing to gain at all.
Silencing him with only your glare, that was quite a thing you did there. From the point of view of the people around you, they must have thought that he stepped on quite a landmine you know.
Yeah, yeah. I said I already understand right?
Then thats fine. Elna-sama is soone special to Arnold-sama after all, it couldnt be helped. Considering what happened, it could be said that he was just surprised because you who normally wouldnt get angry was glaring at him so they probably wouldnt think too much about it.
Saying so, Sebas followed after .
I got angry because she is soone special. Because of that, its easy to say that it couldnt be helped but if I got angry because of that, do I have to get angry more often from now on?
Today I felt the most miserable than I ever felt.
Days like this do co by. Nobody is perfect after all. There is no one who can always push down their emotions. Ah, leaving that aside, I have already prepared a carriage for you.
..you really are always perfect. I didnt even say anything yet though?
I am a butler after all.
Is that so..shall we go then.
Saying so, I climbed into the carriage.
TLN: So yeah, I made it. praise !!
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