101 – A place where everyone gathers
Ariel let out a short sigh as she looked at her friend and ill-wisher approaching with a smile on her face from a distance.
Since it was a coming-of-age ceremony, she dressed up quite elegantly, and although her behavior was a bit off, she was Sylvia, who belonged to the axis of pretty appearance, so she immediately drew the attention of the men around her.
‘Is that man a lover?’
Ariel, who snorted without much inspiration while watching Sylvia in a completely different atmosphere than usual, fixed her eyes on the man standing next to her.
Even if they were not familiar with each other, Ariel could easily guess the other person’s identity through the fact that Sylvia was a person with her arms crossed and her blonde hair and blue eyes.
I had been hearing about his appearance through Sylvia until I was sick and tired of it.
‘It’s pretty.’
Just because Ariel says Ed is single-minded, he doesn’t deliberately try to discredit another man’s appearance.
Even if you have someone you love, your aesthetic sense of things like statues and art doesn’t change.
Besides, no matter what you do, you don’t have to look at her badly as she’s the lover of a few friends.
In that respect, there was no doubt that Hagel was a man of outstanding appearance.
“It’s been a while, Ariel. Edgar too.”
“Long time no see. I went there a while ago.”
“Because I always miss Ariel. Even if it was just one day, would you have said it’s been a long time?”
Sylvia continued to express her one-sided courtship toward Ariel today, without fail.
Of course, not even the seeds were eaten by Ariel.
“But those people… … ?”
Sylvia, who deftly passed Ariel’s cold reaction without any damage, immediately tilted her head as she checked the two women standing behind her friend.
She had been constantly in and out of Loveheim Castle, but it must have been a face she had never seen before.
That would also be the case, because Sylvia prided herself on being second to none when it came to remembering people’s faces and personalities, if nothing else.
Ariel, realizing that he had alienated the two friends belatedly, stepped aside and introduced himself to Sylvia.
“They are my friends. I’ve never met you.”
“what? friend? When did you meet?”
“At the first ball.”
“You hid that fact from me… !? Too much, Ariel!”
This time, Sylvia was also sincerely a little disappointed.
A friend of a friend is also a friend to you, so it would have been okay to introduce you.
Even if it’s hard to let them meet in person, wouldn’t it be okay to tell them about how they made friends like that?
When Sylvia pouted her lips with a sullen expression uncharacteristic of her, Ariel put on an annoyed expression and added an explanation.
“In the first place, I only talked through letters after that, right? I wasn’t trying to hide it from you, I just didn’t think to tell you.”
“Hee hee, is that so? Well, there’s no way Ariel will forget me!”
Sylvia’s expression immediately brightened when Ariel informed her that it was not intentional.
Then, he turned his gaze to the two women standing in the back and began to introduce himself first.
“Nice to meet you. This is Ariel’s friend Sylvia Lorenz. A friend of a friend is a friend of the same person, so please treat me comfortably.”
“You were the princess of the Lorentz family… ah! My name is Sally DeWalrose. It’s an honor to meet you, Princess Lorenz.”
“My name is Gria Gernin. Please take good care of me.”
Since the Lorenz family was one of the counts with a fairly high prestige, Sally showed a very surprised reaction and added a self-introduction in a hurry.
In contrast to that, Gria smiles lightly after the introduction calmly.
Even though they are friends, seeing the two very contrasting figures, Sylvia smiled lightly without realizing it.
“Sylvia, why don’t you introduce yourself to your lover?”
On the other hand, Edgar, who was looking at Hagel, who was standing beside Sylvia in a rather awkward manner and unable to say anything, said something insinuatingly.
It would have been a bit awkward to say hello to Sally or Gria, who were new to each other, but I had to introduce them now so that they could start talking to Hagel too.
“ah… ! I’m sorry, Hagel. I just kept it too high.”
“It’s okay, Sylvia. Since this happened, let me introduce myself.”
When Sylvia, who belatedly realized that she had left her lover alone, apologized, stunned, Hagel, smiling softly, took a step forward and greeted her politely.
“My name is Hagel Lukeville. It’s my first time meeting so many people in one place, so I’m a little nervous. I wish you all the best.”
“i look forward to. Prince Lukeville. My name is Edgar Bilhark.”
Edgar wondered if it would be appropriate for her to step forward since Ariel is the connecting point for this position, but she took a sneak peek and accepted the greeting.
“Ah, I heard a lot about the story from Sylvia. He said he was very good at martial arts.”
“Did you say that? It’s embarrassing.”
Edgar, who did not know that Sylvia would also tell Hagel about himself, gave a somewhat surprised expression.
Ariel, on the other hand, wanted to congratulate Sylvia for complimenting Edgar even out of sight, glancing at her and nodding as if she did well.
“I also heard a lot of compliments about Confucius from Sylvia. He’s so arrogant, but as a friend, I’ll take good care of him.”
If something comes, there must be something going.
Ariel also stepped forward to shake hands and said that although there are times when she hates her, she would like to take care of a friend who is close to her.
Hagel, who had not expected such words to come out of the mouth of anyone else but the Lady of the Loveheim family, opened his eyes wide for a moment, then nodded and asked a somewhat mischievous question.
“It is an honour. By the way, aside from compliments, didn’t you gossip about me?”
“Ha, Hagel… ! What are you talking about!”
After meeting Edgar, he wondered if Edgar had been dyed that new color.
At the sudden lover’s question, Sylvia intervened between the two, clearly revealing her embarrassment.
It’s not to the point of being gossip, but there were a few things that could be caught if you exposed your shame.
At that time, even if it was nothing more than a playful grumble, it was something Hagel would react to when he heard it.
It was important to keep it out of his ears as much as possible.
“Huh, that’s right… How was it? Sylvia.”
“!?”
It was Ariel who asked as if she couldn’t remember, but Sylvia, who recognized the meaning behind that short sentence, felt a chill run down her spine.
That’s actually ‘Shall I tell you? Will you tell me?’ There was no difference in meaning.
Considering the pranks she played on Ariel, it would be a foregone conclusion.
So there was nothing Sylvia could do except wait for the death sentence in fear.
“Then I will cry.”
Seeing Ariel looking at Sylvia with delightful eyes, Edgar laughed and tapped her on the shoulder.
But today, Ariel didn’t have any intention of letting go, so she looked up at him with a nonsensical expression and raised one corner of her mouth.
“It’s fun, but why? Leave it alone.”
“You are you too.”
“What did that fool do to me? Isn’t this kind of revenge natural?”
“Ugh.”
Ariel didn’t really intend to tell exactly what Sylvia had said about Hagel.
From her point of view, saying this didn’t make Hagel feel offended, but there was no need to bring up the conversation between the two of them.
It was just a minor revenge.
Ariel knew that Hagel also jokingly said such a thing, but from Sylvia’s point of view, it would be difficult to accept it as a joke, so she took advantage of the difference in opinion.
Hagel doesn’t care if Ariel tells the truth or not, but Sylvia won’t.
By any chance, when Ariel brought up the conversation we had at the time, it was clear that he was worried that he would be genuinely offended.
All Ariel had to do was use this gap to stay still and not take any action.
It wouldn’t be appropriate to use the phrase “silence is golden” at a time like this, but there was no word that could describe the current situation better than this.
“Ha, Hagel… ! It’s not like this, why don’t we go over there and say hello to the others?”
In the end, Sylvia, who could not stand this atmosphere, chose to avoid the seat.
As a result, Hagel also decided to jump on the bandwagon and move because her soft-hearted personality made her feel like she would burst into tears if she teased her more.
“Um, okay. Come to think of it, I couldn’t introduce my acquaintances to Sylvia.”
“Yes… !? Come on! You can talk to Ariel later… … !”
Sylvia, who is no one else, avoids meeting Ariel and moves to another place.
Edgar assured me that he would never see a scene so foreign as he had ever seen in his life.
At this level, I should not worry about whether the sun will rise in the west tomorrow, but whether it will rise or not.
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Like that, Sylvia really disappeared like a bolt of lightning, as if she was entrained with Hagel’s arms crossed.
Ariel, looking at the place where she disappeared, smiled and turned around as if she would forgive her this time.
The story will have to stop at this point, even if it means thinking about the person who will arrive soon anyway.
“His Highness the Grand Duke is entering!”
The moment Ariel remembered that thought, the voice of a man guarding the entrance rang out.
Not with a frivolous loud voice, but with a low yet dignified voice considering the position of the person who will soon enter.
The moment the voice was heard, the attention of everyone in the hall was focused.
After that, a huge door opened, and a man with a scarred face like a lion appeared with an emotionless face.
It finally appeared.
The existence that everyone here wanted to meet face to face at least once.