Chapter 61

After that, Eric and I left the venue for a moment.

I was scolded by Father Nord and Mother Elna, while Eric received a punch from his stern father.

When asked why I did such a thing, it was because the Slowlett territory was insulted! However, the reason wasn't entirely out of concern for the territory; my body just acted on its own.

That feels more natural. Of course, I was angry because Coirat Village in the Slowlett territory is the best and shouldn't be insulted.

However, it's not good to let us return after a fight, so we were sternly told to make up and spend the rest of the time quietly.

I don't know what will happen if we cause any more trouble.

Father Nord even mentioned something ominous, like bringing Elinora along if he came.

This might really be the end of the line.

It seems Eric felt the same way, as I could hear his cries and desperate explanations.

The Silford family, being a line of knights, apparently has strict education...

I want to ask for an hour why such a guy was born from such a knightly family.

And there we were, sitting at the edge, getting glares from the other nobles but still getting along.

We have to be careful, or it could be dangerous.

Just now, Eric's father asked me, "Aren't you going to be a knight?"

When I strongly denied it, he looked disappointed and said something about coming to the Silford territory if I was interested.

Eric's expression at that moment was smirking, so it must be something bad.

Probably an invitation to practice or something.

Absolutely not.

"Ah, my eyes are still twinkling."

Eric rubbed his eyes with his arm and groaned.

"There are a lot of chandeliers in this venue, aren't there?"

"It's definitely your fault."

"Come on, don't say that. Let's eat together and be friendly. Of course, no fighting."

"Of course. I'm going to be forced to fight ten people in a row when I get home because of you. I don't know what will happen if I cause any more trouble."

Ten people in a row means fighting one-on-one continuously until you've faced ten opponents. Eric complained that you get beaten up badly by the last few.

What a Spartan training. If you're interested, maybe you could bring one of my sisters along.

Sighing, I reached for the food.

Meat, meat, meat. This guy never learns.

"Eric, eat some vegetables too."

"Shut up. Don't talk like my mother. I hate vegetables. They're green and smelly."

Are you a kid? Or rather, we are kids.

"Then try this. This should work, right?"

"Huh? What's that yellow sauce? Is there such a sauce?"

"There is, there is. Here, try this lettuce. I haven't used this plate either."

Eric took the plate of lettuce with mayonnaise suspiciously. He doesn't like vegetables, but he seems interested in the mayonnaise.

He was poking the mayonnaise with his fork.

Then, he cautiously put the lettuce in his mouth and took a bite.

Eric's eyes widened.

"What is this delicious sauce... I could eat vegetables all day with this. Actually, I don't need vegetables at all. This sauce is enough!"

Eric said, his shoulders shaking.

A mayonnaise lover was born right here.

He kept eating and then asked me for more.

"It should be on one of the tables. Go look for it."

"You don't even remember where it was! What a pain. I'll go look for it! That sauce must be a versatile sauce that goes with any dish!"

And so, Eric set off on a quest to find the mayonnaise, which shouldn't be there.

× × ×

"Hey, Alf, it's been a while. Good job coming to the party!"

While I was spacing out on a terrace with a view of the garden, I heard a familiar, loud voice.

"Ah, it's been a while. Duke Melna."

Duke Melna, holding a wine glass and wearing a red suit. His pants were also red, making him look entirely red, but it surprisingly suited him.

The occasional black accents emphasized the red.

We played together during the harvest festival, but I still had to be polite.

I bowed politely.

"Cut it out. You don't need to be so formal here in the corner. I heard you got into trouble with the Silford guy right away, didn't you?"

"Well, who knows who's watching. What do you mean by 'right away'..."

Rude. It sounds like you're assuming I'll definitely cause trouble.

"Every year, it's common for proud nobles to get into fights. What were you doing, fighting over meat with tongs... hahaha."

He couldn't hold back his laughter at the end.

If it were Thor, I'd slap him and push him off this terrace, but I can't do that to a duke.

Besides, it's clear I made a fool of myself this time, so I can't deny it.

"Did you just say something about pushing me off the terrace..."

"Anyway, Duke Melna, is there something you need?"

"You're trying to dodge it... never mind, I have someone I want to introduce you to today."

Duke Melna glared at me with half-closed eyes and called over a man.

The man was wearing a well-tailored tuxedo-like outfit that matched his calm demeanor.

His mustache added a certain warmth to his appearance.

"This is Duke Rau-Ulazee, the father of Lady Linaria, the Countess Yurina."

What? Who's Countess Yurina? Oh, Linaria's mother... Lorraine.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Duke Rau-Ulazee. My daughter Linaria has told me about you."

Duke Rau-Ulazee bowed slightly with a deep voice. I hurriedly bowed in return.

According to Duke Rau-Ulazee, Linaria had talked about the harvest festival and her stay at our mansion with enthusiasm, so he came to greet us.

He had already greeted Father Nord and was now here to see me.

It's quite considerate of him to come all the way to a kid like me.

"I heard that the popular game Reversi was created by you, Alf. I only learned this from my daughter. I've been enjoying it a lot."

"Ah, thank you. I'm glad you enjoy it."

"Hmm, you don't look like someone who would fight over meat with tongs, nor do you seem eccentric."

"Right? He has this absent-minded look but does things without thinking."

Hey, what kind of absent-minded look is this? I think today's Duke Melna is being rude.

If my game pieces sell, I'll stop at Duke Melna's place.

"That's an exaggeration. He's the one who developed such a wonderful game."

"Duke Rau-Ulazee is a good person. I'll send you the next game or tool as soon as it's ready."

"Hey, Alf? You're not giving me any?"

"Really? Thank you. Lately, I've been enjoying playing Reversi and chess with my daughters. It's a pleasure to spend time with them."

Duke Rau-Ulazee smiled, but there was a hint of sadness in his expression. He doesn't seem to be in high spirits.

"Is something troubling you?"

"Hey, Alf? Are you listening?"

"...Actually, I have many daughters. It's not a problem, as it means I can form good connections with other families. It's not a boast, but all my daughters are lovely—"

This is long. He goes on and on when it comes to his daughters.

He talks non-stop. He's a typical doting father.

Duke Melna said he would go get Duke Rau-Ulazee's wife.

This left me alone to listen to him.

According to Duke Rau-Ulazee, he receives an abnormal number of marriage proposals.

For a duke's family, this isn't unusual.

If you can form a connection with a duke's family, everyone will try hard to propose.

In other words, he's troubled by the excessive number of proposals.

Well, that's a duke's problem.

"Why do all the marriage proposals come for my daughters? And why are there so many from middle-aged men? Is age-gap marriage popular now?"

Duke Rau-Ulazee's words gradually turned into a spiral of questions, and he seemed to be getting more and more depressed.

Someone, please stop him.

Just as I was thinking that, a voice came.

"You. Alf is in trouble."

It must be Duke Melna bringing his wife. I turned around to see a cute girl with long brown hair down to her waist.

She was wearing a pink dress with a large flower sewn on the bottom, which accentuated her cuteness.

Is she Duke Rau-Ulazee's daughter?

But if she can stop the duke, it's fine.

I want to be freed quickly.

"Yes, Noel. I'm sorry, Alf. I got carried away talking. Let me introduce you to my wife, Noel."

Huh? Wife? She looks like a daughter to me.

"Nice to meet you, Alf. I'm Noel Rau-Ulazee."

Ignoring my confusion, Noel stepped forward, grabbed the hem of her dress, and bowed politely.

With the same innocent smile as Linaria.

Duke Rau-Ulazee, why do you get so many marriage proposals?

It's because there are many gentlemen in this Missfilite Kingdom.

× × ×

When I returned to the table with the food, Eric came at me with incredible speed.

"Hey, you! There's no sign of that sauce anywhere! What's going on!?"

"Ah, the mayonnaise I brought is the only one here."

I slapped his hand, which was grabbing me, and replied.

"What do you mean! Give me that sauce!"

"It's gone!"

"Then do you have it at your mansion? Give it to me!"

Eric kept pressing me. Damn, what a nuisance!

"It's not there! Even if I had it, I wouldn't give you any mayonnaise!"

"You do have it! I felt it in your pocket when I recommended the mayonnaise to you! It's in there! Give it to me!"

Eric stuck his hand into my pocket. It felt weird. Who would be happy to have a guy grope their pockets?

"It's not there! Besides, have you never thought about buying it? You're trying to strip me, are you a thief?"

This might be a threat to my chastity. Eric tried to take off my jacket, and I tried to stop him, leading to a scuffle.

Just then, someone called out to me in this embarrassing situation.

"Ah, it's Alf!"

"Wait, Lara! You haven't finished greeting important people yet!"

It was Lara, the lost child I met on the first day in the capital.