Chapter 36

"Finally, we've arrived."

"I'm sorry for being late. Father, Mother."

Sora, who was greeted by the boar lord and the old woman with a pockmarked face, bowed politely.

The boar lord, scrutinizing every detail of Sora's gesture, snorted and turned his back.

"You won't cause any problems at the party. Follow me."

Chasing after the boar lord's back, Sora was led deeper into the mansion and shown to a room.

The spacious room was filled with expensive furnishings, the windows were glass, and the curtains were embroidered unnecessarily. The room, which relied solely on money, lacked harmony and any sense of taste. It was so chaotic that even if Sora stole a couple of pieces of furniture, it wouldn't be noticed.

Despite feeling weary inside, Sora maintained a smile.

"This is your room, Sora. After you receive the viscount title, it will be remodeled into an office."

The viscount title is a rank given to heirs above the rank of count, and can be considered a preliminary stage before inheriting the parent's title. Normally, parents apply to the king for the title when the child turns fifteen and receive approval.

Sora, who is currently approaching seven years old, will become a viscount in eight years if things go smoothly. As a viscount, he will manage a part of the parent's territory.

That is, if there is any territory left...

"When is the party?"

"The party for the crown prince's birth is in a week. However, there is another party hosted by the royal family before that. It is more of a rehearsal."

At that party, only the two ducal families will meet the crown prince.

As a count family, the Kleinzelt family has nothing special to do by just attending the party. It is a rather relaxed event, with even other nobles absent.

However, the boar lord, bringing his face close to Sora as if his nose were about to touch, gave instructions in a biting tone.

"Use this party to network with the nobles of the church faction. Report in detail any conversations you have with their children."

In other words, he was ordering Sora to gather information from the children of other families, who are less guarded. While most families probably do this to some extent, Sora could sense the boar lord's anxiety in his eyes.

Even if he asked about the cause of the anxiety, he wouldn't get an answer. It was easy to imagine that the boar lord was worried about information leaking through Sora to other families.

While keeping this in mind, Sora nodded, feigning childishness.

"Understood. By the way, when is the party?"

"Tonight."

Leaving a short reply, the boar lord left the room as if his business was done.

Sora and Lazzette were left behind.

Lazzette quickly opened the window to dispel the boar lord's smell.

"What about the outfit for today?"

"Let's skip it."

In response to Sora's complaint, Lazzette suggested skipping the party. This maid just wanted to slack off, so Sora ignored her.

"By the way, I did bring an outfit for the party."

"We can't wear the same outfit twice. We'll be looked down upon as a poor lord."

While Sora himself had no particular preference, being seen as a poor lord could have long-term consequences. Since many noble children would be attending this party, a negative impression could linger for a long time.

"However, for the rehearsal party, we have no choice but to wear the outfit we brought. Let's call a tailor today and have a new outfit made by the actual party."

Sora could only nod at Lazzette's suggestion.

He glared at the door the boar lord had left through with a look of disgust.

"Right after we arrive, this happens. The timing is terrible."

Sora muttered, his voice tinged with displeasure.

Later, as the sun set, Sora was at the royal palace's party venue.

No members of the royal family or ducal families were present. They would likely make a brief appearance halfway through the party, but Sora had little interest.

He quietly observed the attendees from the wall and moved around inconspicuously to eavesdrop on conversations.

The nobles were divided into three factions: the church faction, the mage faction, and the neutral faction. However, the children were having friendly conversations without much concern for these divisions.

The children were much more peaceful than the adults.

Moving from group to group, Sora continued to memorize the various pieces of information being discussed by the nearby adults. Unlike the outdated information in the lord's mansion, the current situation was crucial to Sora.

Only a few people, the capable ones, or those known as foxes, noticed Sora's actions. They deliberately made gestures to attract his attention, confirmed his presence, and then deliberately spread false or outdated information to confuse him.

For example, they might say that the crown prince was about to marry into a certain family, creating a new ducal family, or that several nobles from the church faction had defected to the mage faction. If Sora took these seriously, he would be mocked, but if they were true, it would be a significant matter.

When the children, who had been inadvertently caught up in this, started spreading this information to other groups, it would turn into a game of telephone, with the information becoming distorted and taking on new forms. The innocent children would believe it all to be true and embarrass themselves at the actual party.

In this way, they would learn the importance of information. They would realize that the truth must be deduced through careful thought and use it to protect their inherited families.

Sora returned to the wall to sort through the mix of true and false information.

As he refreshed his throat with the provided drinks, a middle-aged man stood next to him.

"Miss, did you hear any interesting stories?"

Caught off guard, Sora glanced at the man.

The middle-aged man stood boldly, as if inviting her to observe, and scanned the room with narrowed eyes.

"I heard some interesting stories, but I saw even more interesting adults. But do you really look so feminine?"

It was understandable that Sora would respond with a question. More than half of the people treated him as a girl. While he knew most of it was playful teasing, he didn't find it particularly amusing.

Thinking about how his efforts to avoid looking like the boar lord had backfired, he felt a complex mix of emotions.

The man let out a muffled laugh.

"Interesting adults, you say. They are troublesome nobles with many enemies. A big catch, indeed."

Sora, caught up in the middle-aged man's amusement, flashed a mischievous smile. The man, in turn, narrowed his eyes in delight.

"Which family are you from—"

"Marquis Bartz, do you have something for my son?"

The middle-aged man, called Marquis Bartz, frowned and confirmed the source of the voice.

"My, my, Count Kleinzelt, I'm surprised it's your son."

Marquis Bartz looked back and forth between the boar lord and Sora, genuinely surprised.

"What are you talking about? He looks just like me."

"Huh?"

Caught off guard by the boar lord's words, Sora let out a small gasp of surprise and then sighed with a pained expression.

"There's no need to worry, Count Kleinzelt. I was just making small talk. You can ask him yourself."

Marquis Bartz said this and gently pushed Sora's back.

Sora, pushed forward, was led away by the boar lord.

Once they were sufficiently far away, the boar lord spat out his words.

"That madman Bartz...!"