Chapter 55

It felt like a dream, or something like that. Maybe it was because I had seen something so wonderful, I was a bit dazed, feeling feverish, almost.

"Hey, are you okay?"

"Yeah..."

But my job today was to be an excuse for Faye. If Faye was in trouble, I would pretend to be unwell to get her out of the party. I had to stay focused.

"I'm fine. I can pretend to be unwell anytime."

"Oh, okay. You seem pretty determined..."

Faye looked at me with a somewhat deflated smile.

"Let's just relax. I'll greet the king or the prince early, and then just stay here without being too rude. That's all we need to do."

"Okay."

Got it. First, the important people. Then, buy as much time as possible, and then leave. If that's the plan, I'll help out.

Laocrates, being treated as a 'servant,' was asked to wait by the wall. Meanwhile, Faye walked casually towards the center of the room, still talking to me.

When someone approached, we would laugh a bit louder, pretending to be deeply engaged in our conversation. By the way, we were talking about 'favorite egg dishes.' Faye liked omelets, and I preferred tamagoyaki.

...As we reached the center of the room.

"Oh, you are from the Redgard family..."

A calm, steady voice suddenly spoke.

Faye immediately stopped talking to me and straightened up.

"Yes, I am Faye Blad Redgard. Thank you for inviting me today, Your Highness."

'Your Highness'... So, this must be the prince.

"Don't be so formal. This isn't a formal gathering."

The person who said this with a faint smile was probably the prince.

The surrounding voices seemed to fade a bit. I guess everyone was paying attention because Faye was talking to the prince. I could sense people trying to eavesdrop on their conversation.

In the center, Faye and the prince faced each other.

...The prince looked older, but Faye was taller. The prince wasn't particularly tall, but he carried himself with a regal air, fitting for a prince.

"By the way, the Redgard family is known for having received a late invitation. I apologize for that. I heard the invitation arrived just two days before the event. It must have been a surprise."

The prince said this with a face that seemed to say, "I'm really sorry," but it was hard to tell if he really meant it.

"Yes, it was a surprise. But it's a pleasant one. It's impossible not to be happy when such good news comes unexpectedly."

Faye smiled and laughed, not too casually. He was good at this.

"That's good to hear. Are you enjoying the party?"

"Yes, of course."

"If there's anything wrong, please let me know. The purpose of this gathering is to make everyone enjoy themselves. My father wishes for that as well."

The prince said this with a confident laugh, his smile free of any shadow.

"That's true. In that case, I'll enjoy myself. ...But, I'm a bit nervous. I'm not sure why someone like me was invited, especially when my father or brother would have been more appropriate."

...But as soon as Faye said this, the prince's face showed a hint of tension.

"Is it really appropriate for someone like me to be here?"

"Of course. This gathering is also an opportunity to meet the nobles we don't usually see. It would be boring if it was always the same faces. That's what I suggested to my father."

Faye's smile remained, but his gaze was sharp, as if saying, "Cut the crap and get to the point."

"And another purpose is to gather promising young people and discover those who are worthy of supporting the kingdom in the future..."

The prince said this hesitantly, then, under Faye's challenging, bright gaze, seemed to make up his mind.

"I hear you have summoned the legendary Red Dragon. I would like to see it."

He got straight to the point.

Faye seemed a bit hesitant but nodded with a smile.

"Yes, of course. But I can't give it to you."

Then, he playfully tapped the stone on the brooch at his chest.

Suddenly, the Red Dragon appeared.

The room buzzed with excitement.

Its eyes shone brighter than chandeliers, its scales redder than fire. Its strong body and spread wings were unmistakably those of a Red Dragon.

...The Red Dragon circled the area gracefully, flying just below the ceiling, then returned to Faye's side. It made a soft sound and rubbed against Faye, as if to say, "I'm very fond of him."

"...Amazing."

The prince, looking half-stunned, took a step closer.

Suddenly, the Red Dragon growled threateningly.

It bared its fangs and glared at the prince. The room buzzed again at this sight.

"Whoa, whoa. Calm down."

Faye, looking a bit amused, stroked the Red Dragon's head.

"No, I'm sorry. He's a bit shy around people."

Faye said this while hugging the Red Dragon, which then rested its head on Faye's neck, pretending to be shy. Clever.

"Ah, I see. Indeed, such a grand party must be unfamiliar to him..."

"Yes. This is the first time I've been invited to such a large party... Here, you can go back now. Thank you."

Faye casually sent the Red Dragon back into the gemstone. The Red Dragon glared at the room one last time before returning to Faye's gemstone.

"Hmm, I see... Yes."

...The prince, after thinking for a moment, said:

"The skill to tame a Red Dragon and the good fortune to obtain a legendary beast. Or perhaps it's your lineage. ...I see, the Red Dragon must have opened its heart to you because you are a kind and passionate person."

"Haha, you flatter me. It was just luck and a good match."

Faye laughed in response, jokingly but honestly. I could sense his sincerity.

The prince nodded slowly and said:

"Interesting. If someone like you were to marry my sister, the third princess, Raje, I would feel reassured."

...Wow. The Giorens would be really upset if they heard this.

But for Faye, it probably wasn't a pleasant thought... or was it?

Does Faye have a secret desire to marry a princess? Or does he dislike the idea of the Red Dragon being used?

What should I do? I haven't really talked to Faye about his feelings.

...But.

"Haha, you're joking. You shouldn't say such things to someone like me. I might take it seriously."

Faye laughed brightly, dismissing it.

"I'm not a suitable match, but I hope a wonderful man, fitting for the princess, will appear. And I hope to be invited to her wedding party. ...Even just a seat at the end of the guest list!"

Faye said this cheerfully.

...In other words, "I'm not interested." Is that okay?

The prince looked a bit shocked, but Faye was carefree and innocent, smiling. Yes, he meant no harm.

"The princess is beautiful. So, someone like Your Highness or a legendary hero would be suitable!"

"Y-Yes... Yes. A legendary hero... But, you are also..."

"Ah, right! Speaking of legendary heroes, the mural downstairs was amazing! He didn't want to leave it..."

...At that moment, Faye nudged me with his elbow.

Ah, right.

"Oh? You are..."

The prince turned his gaze to me.

...The prince pretended to be interested in me while probably trying to figure out who I was.

The prince, who wanted to obtain the Red Dragon and thus Faye, might be considering how to get to me to get to Faye.

...It wasn't a pleasant gaze. I don't like such looks.

"Ah, he's our artist and my close friend. He's quite interesting... I thought it would be good for him to see the castle for his studies."

Faye said this, stepping back a bit to show me to the prince.

...I bowed politely, looking down and tugging at the hem of Faye's clothes.

"Hmm? What's wrong?"

Faye leaned down, putting his ear close to me. So, I whispered, just loud enough for the prince to hear:

"I'm starting to feel unwell..."

While saying this, I kept reminding myself: I'm unwell. I'm unwell. I'm unwell.

"Hey, are you okay?"

"Yeah..."

I nodded, acting unwell. My posture was a bit off, my hands were cold, and I looked pale.

"...You don't look good. Okay, then..."

Faye quickly looked at my face. Of course, I probably didn't look that bad, but the prince couldn't tell from my face hidden by my bangs.

"I'm very sorry, but my companion isn't feeling well..."

Faye bowed gracefully, his intention to apologize clearly conveyed. I followed suit.

...The prince, seemingly realizing he had no reason to keep us, said:

"Hmm, that's not good. You can use the rest room."

"Thank you, Your Highness."

"Yes. Please come back and talk to me again."

The prince smiled at us, a bit reluctantly but politely.

...And so, we successfully left the party.

The next room was the rest room. I sat on a sofa, got some water, and rested for a while with Faye.

...Was this the right thing to do? We managed to escape from the prince, but could I have stayed and helped? Faye is good at talking.

Was it okay to leave like that? I hope it doesn't harm Faye's or the Redgard family's reputation.

"Good job, Togo."

"Really?"

Faye sat next to me, smiling faintly.

"Now, we just need to kill time until the end of the party, then return and chat with someone. Let's relax here."

Faye laughed, but I was a bit worried.

"...Wasn't that a bit rude just now? Will we get in trouble later?"

"Hmm? It's fine. Even if we were a bit rude, they can't complain when we say someone is unwell. Besides, they were pretty rude too, only looking at the Red Dragon."

"Is it okay for the Redgard family?"

When I asked, Faye smiled warmly.

"Yes. We've already discussed this with my father, brother, and the Red Dragon."

"I'm glad the Red Dragon became your summon, but I knew it wouldn't be that simple. My father and brother understood that too."

...Of course. Faye and his family think more about the Redgard family than I do.

When the Red Dragon appeared, they must have known what it would bring.

"A legendary dragon. It's a powerful asset, and some will want to use it as a symbol of authority."

"Right."

Indeed, that's happening.

The prince and the Giorens, probably, and others like them. Such people will always exist.

"...But, if we don't know why they want the power, we don't want to give it. We don't want the Red Dragon, the pride of the Redgard family, to be used as someone else's symbol of authority."

Faye said this, clenching his fist. At the same time, the gemstone on his chest glinted, as if the Red Dragon inside was responding.

"So, we won't give our power to those who don't explain why they need it, and we'll turn away those who want the Red Dragon as a symbol of authority."

"...I see."

"Also, to show that the Red Dragon isn't a symbol of authority, we ride it when shopping and play with it in public!"

Yeah.

...If the Red Dragon is treated like a bicycle, it might not feel appreciated. True.

And if the Red Dragon plays with people, it doesn't seem very authoritative. True.

"...So, my father and brother agree with turning away those who come for the Red Dragon. Even if it harms the Redgard family's position, we don't care. It's too late for that now."

"...Is the Redgard family's reputation bad?"

"Not bad, but not good either. If we collect taxes from our people and send them to the castle, the castle will be pleased. But we don't need to flatter the king that much. Fortunately, our territory is in the middle of the Spirit Forest, so we pay less tax, which is accepted. They can't complain, and we do enough work to avoid complaints."

In other words, the Redgard family doesn't try to please the castle people.

...I shouldn't judge based on limited knowledge, but I felt reassured by Faye's words.

"So, Togo, you don't need to worry. We've made our decision."

"Okay. I understand."

If that's the case, I'll use my fake illness as much as needed. Faye can use me as an excuse whenever he wants.

"Alright, I'll get some drinks."

Faye stood up and got drinks from a drink server in the rest room. He brought one for me too, which I gratefully accepted.

"The rest room has more than just water. Lucky us... Talking to the prince made my throat dry..."

Faye laughed, and at that moment, the door opened.

We immediately fell silent. I pretended to be unwell...

...But it wasn't necessary.

The person who entered wasn't the prince or a castle official, but the woman who looked like a work of art from earlier.