Chapter 104

TLS : Shenks

"Perfect, Lady Lombardy. It's perfect."

Madam Impigra nodded very satisfactorily and praised me.

Clap clap clap

Then, the ladies of the Royal Palace who were standing behind the podium clapped their hands in silence.

"Hmph!"

Maive Kaporia killing gaze stares at me.

"Wow, Ms. Florentia! You're amazing!"

Tilliana praises me with her sparkling eyes.

She’s like Craney.

This has been repeated every debutant practice day.

I'm tired of compliments.

Hoot.

But of course, I won’t lose my humility.

"I'm flattered. It's because Madam Impigra taught me well."

She really did.

I was surprisingly cut out for society.

I was nervous because I heard a lot of terrible rumors about society, such as 'The Battleground Without a Knife.' and 'Where Today's Winner Is Tomorrow's Loser.'.

My sword was sharper than I thought, and I was not a man falling off a cliff, but a man who overcame it.2

I don't know if I can be this happy after winning against young girls who are only 10 years old. (It's okay tia, you're 12 y/o too, not to mention your souls, wkwkwk)

Anyway, I had my eyes firmly stamped on Impigra.

All right, it's going according to plan.

"Can you teach me the secret?"

Tiliana asked me.

"I thought you'd be good at anything… How can you speak so perfectly?"

Debutante practice is divided into morning and afternoon, and this morning's lesson was about 'speech'.

Since they were all born and raised in noble families, they could use basic aristocratic conversation methods, but they took more reinforcement classes for their debutante and future social life.

However, Tiliana was particularly having difficulties.

"Nobody in the East uses this phrase. It's so frustrating to beat around the bush like this.” [1]

It was far from the center of the Empire, and the seaside people had a strong Eastern culture.

"If you don't want to dance anymore, why don't you just say it's hard? I don't know why I have to make an excuse about shoes or makeup."

Tilliana shook her head as if she couldn't understand.

"This will make you the rudest young girl in the history of the Imperial Debutante..."

Tiliana murmured gloomily.

"That will be considered disrespectful. The most important thing is to ‘keep smiling’."

"Is that so…”

It was when Tilliana laughs vaguely.

"I envy Lady Gitterwell for not having to go through the trouble of learning how to speak."

It was Lady Campadell, the leader of Miss Kaporia’s lackeys, who walked toward us and talked.

"You don't have to say no to flowers on the wall. Whoo-hoo!"

Kaporia and her lackeys often teased and ignored Tiliana, saying she was from an Eastern rural family that she had never heard of.

Tilliana was very intimidated because they laughed at the way she spoke and her culture is a little different from the Central Empire, saying it was because she was a 'town idiot.'.

Even now, Tilliana's big frightened eyes turned to me.

Try it out.

I winked at her. 'keep smiling' I taught you a while ago.

Tiliana, who nodded while swallowing her saliva, rolled up the corners of her mouth and smiled, and looked at Lady Campadell.

"What, why, why are you smiling?"

Lady Campadell was stunned when Tiliana, who was timidly intimidated every day suddenly smiled.

"There's no point in putting on a brave face! Who would want to dance with a low-ranking Eastern aristocrat that no one knows?”

Despite the repeated verbal bombardment, Tilliana clenched her teeth and held on smiling.

Lady Campadell's eyes shook and soon mumbled, frowning.

"…Gee, I'm really offended.”

You feel worse.

I stared at Campadel's young girl from behind, but Tiliana was delighted.

"Lady Campadell picked a fight, and it's the first time I've done it without crying! As expected of Florentia! You've taught me a great secret!"

Tiliana, who is delighted by the small things, reminds me of Perez, whose eyes always sparkle after having a chocolate cookie.

If we finish practice early today, shall I go see Perez since I’m in the Palace?

Soon the break was over, and the afternoon class began.

Both tables and chairs in the banquet hall were emptied and large spaces were prepared.

"I'd like to talk about the procedure for the Imperial Debutante ball."

Mrs. Impigra said, looking back at the young children standing.

"When the ball starts, the young ladies will be called in one by one.”

“The ladies's brief personal information is introduced. Of course, your Cavalier will escort you."

The ladies, who were quietly listening to the words Cavalier and partner, stirred.

"After that, it's the most important step in the debutante ball. The group dance that the participants do with Cavalier is the highlight of the debutante."

Impigra explained in a calm voice.

"But not all eight couples start dancing at once. A pair selected by my organizers, including myself, will begin the dance first. Of course, you'll get everyone's attention at the banquet, so you'll be chosen as the best and most beautiful pair.”

Only one pair, with everyone's attention.

How nice it would be to make a social debut like that!

The ladies’s eyes glistened with ambition.

"When that pair’s dance is over, the rest of you will naturally join in and dance together."

"Well, then...”

As soon as Impigra was finished, Lady Campadell raised her hand and asked.

"How do I get my Cavalier? Am I supposed to ask a man to be a cavalier himself...”

At the moment, I could hear people breathing in a small 'hmph!' as they were nervous.

I was worried again as I always was.

I'm sure the twins are going to be my cavalier, but what if they fight?.

No, they'll fight no matter what.

As worries deepened, Madam Impigra said something unexpectedly.

"No, the Cavaliers were chosen by our organizers as the right people for young ladies, considering their age, orientation, and family."

"Sigh, that's a relief..."

"I was surprised if I had to ask them myself..."

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief and swept their hearts.

By the way, hold on.

You've already chosen the Cavaliers?

Sure enough, Mrs. Impigra signaled to the closed door.

"Come on in."

Eight men lined up as it opened wide.

They were all young faces, who had not come of age.

And in front of it, Perez was there.

Perez, whose eyes met me immediately, smiled almost invisible and stood side by side with other cavaliers behind Impigra.

"Why is he..."

Why are you coming out of there?

I wasn't the only one who was surprised.

The young ladies, who stood gracefully while keeping etiquette, were all in frenzy.

"Honestly, Your Highness the Second Prince?"

"Oh my God!"

Like the surprised Maive Kaporia, the same was true for the Empress's people.

"Wow... What do I do?"

There was also a child who covered her red face.

The reaction is stronger than I thought.

I asked Tilliana, who was staring blankly at Perez from the side.

"Excuse me, Tiliana, is the Second Prince very popular among the young women?"

I was really asking because I don't know.

"Yes... Wow, it's my first time seeing him in person today, the rumors were not giving him justice..."

Tilliana said, still keeping her eyes on Perez.

"I recently came to the Capital for my debut, and the first thing I heard was about His Highness, the Second Prince."

"What are they talking about?"

"Well, I mean. They say he is beautiful as a sculpture."

Right.

"He has a mysterious, yet enticing atmosphere."

That's right too.

"He's cold and aloof, but he's also attractive..."

I think all the rumors come down to one thing, but it's true.

Perez's appearance was blooming more and more spectacular, enough to make anyone fall for it.2

The face, which did not change much, was not a flaw, but rather a 'cold charm.'.

A well-developed body through constant swordsmanship training is an advancement that can't even be compared to peers.

Contrary to his tall height, his delicate, smooth, and chiseled face had strange magic that made the people stare blankly.

When we were young, his eyes, which reminded me of rabbits, were now close to the color of deep rubies.

Right, Ruby that shines when it's in the light...

Rubies looking at me.

"His Highness keeps looking at you, Lady Florentia!"

Tiliana whispered to me in surprise.

My gaze, which was staring blankly in surprise at his beauty, and Perez's gaze were intertwined properly.

And it didn't fall off.

Perez was staring at me without moving so that the distance standing apart from the banquet hall was overshadowed.

I think Impigra was explaining something.

The voice sounded as distant as it was.1

It was a strange feeling.

Why does Perez feel so alluring today?2

It was then when I tried to take my eyes off from Perez because I thought I should still listen to Impigra's explanation.

Perez's face which was like a work of art carved by a craftsman began to change.

The stiff eyes relaxed and gave a gentle glow as if they were about to laugh.

The same was true of his tight-lipped mouth.1

His young, luscious lips secretly drew a smile.

"Woah, wow..."

From the side, there was a sound of admiration from Tilliana, who was probably looking at the same work of art as me.

And my other senses that had been pushed away have also started working again.

"...So respecting each other and maintaining a mutually desirable relationship is the first step to this ball."

Well, uhh, that was a good speech.

Come to think of it, the other cavaliers were all good-looking too.

As the head maid Impigra said, all the boys seemed to have a good demeanor and were quite impressive.

In particular, the brown-haired man standing at the end of the line reminded me of Craney.

Is it because of his curly brown hair or white skin?.

Or is it because of the big almond eyes and the smiley face?.

When Craney grows up, will he look like that boy...

"Who are you looking at Tia?"1

"Oh my God!"

Surprised by the sudden voice, Perez came right next to me.

"Hi, Tia."

He greeted me with a slight smile.

Then he took my left hand with a natural gesture.

"Yeah."

There was no time to pull out my hand.

Perez said politely, kissing the back of my hand.

"I am honored to be your Cavalier, Miss Florentia Lombardy."8

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Glossary

[1] '돌려 말하는 건 (Beat around the bush)' - English idiomatic of To speak vaguely or euphemistically so as to avoid talking directly about an unpleasant or sensitive topic. Primarily heard in US.