LIGHTNOVELONLINE EP. 6
The banquet was bustling with noble offspring from the capital, so crowded that even the butler’s announcement of our entrance was drowned out by the noise.
“Is it because it’s hosted by the Marquis Family? There are so many people,” I remarked.
“Well, the Duke’s Family rarely hosts such events. Besides those organized by the Empire, it’s one of the most prestigious banquets, so there aren’t many who would skip it,” Maria explained.
Seemingly accustomed to such situations, Maria led me deeper into the hall while sipping a drink she had snagged from a passing attendant. I wasn’t particularly fond of alcohol or beverages, so I just followed her inside, and gradually, more people began to recognize her and approach.
“Your Majesty, I hope you’ve been well,” one young lady greeted.
“Your Majesty, I was wondering if you received the gift I sent last time—”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you for the first time. I come from East Loisgera—”
A bevy of young ladies and princes appeared, all eager to make a good impression on Maria. I wasn’t particularly fond of gatherings like this. If I had to choose the word furthest from romance in the world, it would be reality and rationality, with politics being one of the concepts representing reality.
Thus, I attempted to slip away from the scene.
Creak.
“…Your Majesty?”
Before I could make a proper escape, Maria grabbed my arm and linked it with hers.
All eyes turned towards me.
Ah, crap.
“…Who is that?”
“I’ve never seen that coat of arms before.”
“Is that face new as well? Does anyone know this prince’s face?”
People’s gazes were now solely on me.
“What on earth are you doing?!”
I whispered in mild exasperation. Maria feigned innocence and replied in a similarly quiet voice.
“What’s surprising about that? You came as my partner to the banquet, after all.”
“What…?”
I had totally forgotten. Thinking back, we entered the mansion in the same carriage. During the journey, except for in the bathroom, I had stuck with her, so our distance had blurred.
Already not being accustomed to social culture before my coming-of-age ceremony, I had lost track of what this situation meant as I moved alongside someone who had broken that distance.
“Wait, so you mean I’m officially your partner now?”
“That’s right.”
“What about my opinion?!”
At my reaction, Maria shot me a side-eye.
“It’s obvious you’d try to run away again if I tried to hold onto you, so why would I ask for your opinion?”
“…Well, yeah, I have a history.”
But wait, this isn’t just a matter of whether I’m running away or not—it’s a significant issue tied to my life!
Thinking about it, this was a critical situation where even a slight misstep could lead me straight to a doomed prince ending.
My romantic fantasy life was in jeopardy!
I was just about to press her further when Maria poked my side and said, “Bill, I’d stake my life on holding your ankle if it meant stopping you from running away again.”
“…”
With words that heavy, I had nothing more to say.
…Wait a minute?
“You’d stake your life on it? What do you mean—”
“Well then, I’m off to chat with the young ladies.”
“Uh? Wait—”
“You should spend some time catching up with acquaintances. I’ll be back soon.”
Before I could pry further, Maria quickly loosened her arm from mine, waved, and moved through the crowd. Her beautifully crafted smile and the curved edges of her eyes were just the cherry on top.
“Ahhh!”
“Did you hear? That’s the prince!”
“Wait, is that really His Majesty’s…?”
A sudden buzz erupted among the young ladies as they followed Maria into the crowd. I was left standing there, suddenly attracting the attention of several princes. Most looked astonished, but a few had piercing glares aimed right at me.
‘Wow, I’ve really become a lot more charming, haven’t I?’
A sigh rose up my throat but went unuttered. With her so openly flaunting our connection, there was no way she wasn’t aware of how I felt. She likely planned to keep me around through the social perception of having some kind of relationship with her.
While she seemed to want me by her side, even at the risk of her own reputation and future, I couldn’t allow myself to just disappear without any word. Of course, I didn’t genuinely plan to settle down like this, but I at least needed to show some good will—either try to persuade her or wait for her feelings to change.
There’s no way she’s genuinely hoping to exchange our futures like this.
“Ahem.”
But right now, the pressing issue was figuring out how to shake off these stares. I rolled my eyes around, searching for an escape route, and at that moment, I spotted someone on my radar.
“Oh, who do we have here!”
My eyes fell on the son of a viscount I had met during my time-travel adventures. While I couldn’t quite recall the name of his territory, I remembered his family name—Valdeck, maybe?
“Malik! It’s been a while!”
I casually draped my arm over his shoulder and maneuvered through the crowd of people. Although there were still gazes lingering on me, once I moved aside, most returned to their own gatherings.
Clearly, my lack of interest in them had been communicated effectively.
“Bill, Sir Wilhelm.”
Malik was shivering, treated like my friend even though we had only met face-to-face once and had no real relationship. It seemed odd to see him like this, especially since he had shut himself away in his room after a simple greeting when we first met, revealing his introverted nature.
Given that he had suddenly been thrust into the spotlight among people, it was understandable for him to feel overwhelmed. I felt a pang of guilt for dragging him into this.
“Um, thanks. You’ve helped me dodge an awkward situation,” I said.
“Oh, no, it was nothing…” he stammered.
It seemed wrong to keep him here any longer. Just look at him, his arms and legs were quaking.
“I’ll send you a little something from my family’s estate later.”
“Y-Yes? Th-Thank you!”
Waving goodbye to him, I wandered around the banquet hall to explore. It was quite a fascinating sight. The food was similar to what I was accustomed to back on Earth, so it didn’t captivate me much, but the mansion adorned with magic and various devices, along with the lively people around, piqued my interest significantly.
I did spot a few familiar faces here and there, yet most were strangers mingling within their groups, making it awkward to intrude.
I felt puzzled at the lack of peers my age, but then I remembered they were all gathered here for the coming-of-age ceremony. Naturally, there wouldn’t be anyone else from my year; those friends had likely undergone their own ceremonies years ago.
I pondered if there was anyone I had met who was also participating in this year’s coming-of-age ceremony. The only person that came to mind, apart from Maria, was indeed Maria herself.
‘…So that’s why Maria is here?’
All my contemporaries were likely taking up roles in their territories or preparing for independence. Sure, I would eventually have to return to inherit the position of Knights Order Captain, but still.
Anyway, the important thing was where I would spend my time.
Even though Maria urged me to mingle, to be honest, I had little interest in the world of nobility. More accurately, our family generally had no real interest in the Empire’s upper-class society. It bore no significance to us.
While I held the title of Margrave, it merely symbolized the connection between the Empire and our family. Although I was a Margrave of the Empire, the enemies we faced were not the neighboring countries across the border but rather the nomadic tribes beyond them.
And it wasn’t as if the Empire provided us with substantial support. In essence, there was no merit in having to keep up appearances in the capital.
Even my father told me to show respect to the Emperor, but he never mentioned impressing anyone else. He himself had no significant connections with the Empire’s nobles except for those in nearby territories.
“Well, if I stay tucked away in a corner, nobody will notice.”
I strolled around the banquet hall, tasting a few delicious-looking foods, and slipped out toward the garden to mull over my next move. In my sight were perhaps the knights who had come to assist me, gathering around the outskirts of the garden, seemingly passing the time.
Seeing fellow knights gathered together, I couldn’t resist.
With a grin, I approached them to strike up a conversation.
“What are you all doing here?”
“Ah! S-Sorry, Sir!”
The knights, adorned with brooches showcasing their family emblems, sprang to their feet, standing at attention. I wondered why they were apologizing, then I noticed they had a small campfire and were grilling jerky and other snacks amongst themselves.
Their actions raised an eyebrow.
“Why are you eating this? Didn’t they provide you with proper meals?”
“Yes, we’re not among the invited guests…”
Could you believe such nonsense?
It didn’t matter that they weren’t official invitees; if there were guests in one’s home, would you really not offer them food?
That was when I understood the level of hospitality at the Wurttemberg Marquis’s residence. They had dropped to the level of Swedish hospitality, or perhaps worse.
“Wait here a moment.”
While it depended on the situation, most of these knights were minor nobles themselves, each holding their own territories. In this era, unless they were in a full-support role like my family in the Knights Order, knights primarily provided for their own equipment.
In a world where knights could wield magic, only those who came from noble families or hefty merchants could afford the gear required.
And normally, merchants would spend their funds hiring mercenary bands, which meant that most knights had to come from noble lineages. Given that, it indicated that they were at least of a higher rank than the common servants working here.
If they weren’t being properly fed, then that suggested a very high authority was issuing orders concerning their treatment.
In such cases, the culprit was obvious.
“Yom, your bad habits are showing up again.”
The host of this banquet, Yom von Wurttemberg, was the only suspect.
“Hey, can you come here for a second?”
I went back into the banquet hall and signaled for one of the attendants.
“Do you see those people over there?”
“Yes, you’re referring to the escort knights, correct?”
“Uh-huh, get them some food.”
The attendant shook his head.
“Sir, you instructed us not to provide food to those individuals. We cannot serve banquet meals to the uninvited.”
Sure enough, I knew he would react that way. The logic was obvious. Those who came to provide escort would think that they couldn’t enjoy a banquet with the host. Especially when it came to alcohol, they could use the excuse that it clouds the mind and could lead to accidents on the way back.
But can’t they just refrain from serving alcohol? The mansion’s security would certainly be handled by the knights of the Wurttemberg family and the capital’s garrison.
However, I couldn’t command the attendants. This wasn’t a matter of social class but rather one of hierarchy. These people served the House of Wurttemberg, not me.
Nonetheless, there was always a way to handle such situations.
“If you serve them food, I’ll give you this.”
I pulled out my pocket watch and placed it carefully on the tray one of the attendants was holding. It wasn’t something Maria had gifted me; it was actually something I had owned for quite a while. Though I cherished it, I had been rough with it while traveling, which meant I had plenty of spare watches to give away without a second thought.
But for the attendants, it was different. After all, pocket watches were incredibly expensive in this era. The raw materials alone were pricey, given the gems embedded in them.
The attendant seemed to recognize its value through his years of service in noble households.
“Understood. Please wait a moment.”
Before long, the attendants brought food out to the knights. As they looked at me with expressions of awe, I couldn’t help but smile and give them a thumbs-up.
As one of them, it didn’t feel right to see my comrades being mistreated.
“Th-Thank you!”
“If you’re grateful, work hard and keep your lord safe.”
“Yes, Sir!”
With their hearty response echoing in my ears, I happily wandered around the garden to pass the time.
“What’s going on? Who gave them food?”
A shrill voice pierced the pleasant atmosphere. Turning around, I saw a skinny nobleman, looking shifty like a schemer, scolding the attendants in front of the knights. Those who had brought the food stood in a line, heads bowed low, clearly intimidated.
Everyone was anxiously glancing at the attendant who received my pocket watch. He seemed to be on the verge of confessing under pressure.
“I ordered it.”
So, I stepped in.
“I told them to serve food. Is there a problem?”
The sycophant shrank back at my bold statement. It seemed he must have inferred from my demeanor that I was someone of higher status. A classic case of the strong dominating the weak—exactly the type of person I couldn’t stand.
“M-May I ask who you are?”
“Wilhelm of the Hoenbern family.”
I deliberately mentioned a lesser-known family name since my own name wasn’t too famous either. People often referred to me simply as the Monster Hunter Bill (some even called me Billy, but those were just the oddballs), which meant my full name had never spread far and wide. That was, of course, my intention.
Naturally, in the capital and among the social elite, no one would have heard my name or title, and the schemer puffed up in confidence.
“I see you’re not known. You must be a lowborn noble who has just arrived in the capital, questioning the commands of His Highness Yom, the eldest son of the Wurttemberg Marquis?”
I nodded, acknowledging his words.
“Uh, yeah. It was such a ridiculous order that I had my attendant serve some food.”
“W-What did you just say—”
I interrupted him, pressing on with my own inquiry.
“By the way, it’s only polite for you to introduce yourself since I did so first, isn’t it?”
With a frown on his face, the sycophant straightened up and proudly announced his name.
“I am Daniel Falkenhausen, the eldest son of the House Falkenhausen, serving the Wurttemberg Marquis. I am a close aide to His Highness Yom. Do you now know who I am?”
“So, you’re the son of a viscount?”
“Yes, y-yes, that’s correct…”
But when my demeanor didn’t change despite his introduction, Daniel’s eyes began to waver.
I crossed my arms, nodding toward the mansion with my chin.
“Go fetch your lord. I need to address your rudeness.”
At my words, Daniel realized the situation was turning against him and, with a trembling voice, he asked, “I-If it’s not too much trouble, may I inquire about your family’s title?”
I pointed to the brooch on my chest.
“My father is the Margrave of Brandenburg.”
To be precise, it was a symbol engraved with the golden seal representing our family’s emblem.
That emblem symbolized exactly why our family could maintain power as a Margrave, even without any foothold in the capital.
“An Elector.”
Only the Emperor and kings could rule above an Elector. And the Apellian Empire had no monarchy.
In a society defined by class, status solved most problems. If problems remained unsolved, it only meant your status was low.
Daniel’s complexion went completely pale at the revelation of my status.