C156
The debutante was the official debut stage for young noblewomen coming of age, and it was also an event that opened the door to Thanksgiving Day.
During Thanksgiving Day, a large-scale hunting competition and dance were held at the Imperial Palace, attended by people from all walks of life, starting with local lords.
The debutantes, one by one, were presented, and the connections they built at that moment would continue to exert their influence in the future.
There was no better stage than this for young women who wanted to successfully integrate into aristocratic society, but in my case, there were so many surnames to remember that my head was about to explode.
Ugh.
That's not all.
What kind of bastard has so much pretentiousness.
I trembled as I looked at the label detailing the angle of flexion and the movement of lifting the skirt.
"Being of nobility is not always good."
While memorizing the complicated imperial family tree with my hands on my head, I jumped when I heard that the dance teacher had arrived.
Since I was about to have my debutante, my father invited a lady who was said to master social etiquette and a famous dance teacher.
The young aristocrats had already learned to dance, but the problem was that, during the debutante, there were many eyes watching.
"There are many nobles looking for partners for their children."
Before their debutante, young women perfect their dancing skills by checking for bad habits in their movements.
"Still, dancing is fun compared to memorizing names with four or five syllables."
With astonishing talent for body language, I mimicked the teacher's movements like a photocopier.
"In — was a perfect move. Princess."
While the dance teacher spat out compliments from her mouth, she clapped until her hands dried and wore out.
"One of the best people I've taught... Ah!"
Duke Seymour suddenly appeared while I was learning to dance in the practice room of the annex.
"Don't worry, continue the class."
He stood to the side of the wall, crossed his arms, and the teacher continued the class while sweating as if she were in the rain.
"In — saying this because she's my daughter, but she is very good at dancing."
"The princess dances nobly and beautifully like a swan. If she even practices preparing with her partner, she will get the most attention on the dance floor."
"If she practices with her partner?"
"It's a social dance, so having a partner to practice with will help her improve her skills."
"She already dances well enough, what more practice does she need?"
"No, of course not, Du —."
"...Ah, God, I can't learn to dance again."
The Du —, who was standing there with an unsatisfied face while muttering something under his breath, approached me as soon as the lesson ended.
"Let's take a walk for some fresh air."
"Yes."
I went out with him to the garden outside the annex.
"Deborah, did you get what you wanted at the Marquisate of Baslein?"
"Yes. Father."
"The Marquise of Baslein is a lady of great character, who has no shortcomings as a chaperone, and... she is also the aunt of Du — Visconti."
"Y-yes, that's true."
"The moment of being invited to the castle overlapped. What a really..."
There were many implications, but I tried to speak calmly.
"Since Lord Baslein was about to depart, there were many guests in the castle besides me and Lord Isidor."
"I see."
"By the way, as it's cold, the flowers are almost gone."
I quickly changed the subject.
"Time moves as fast as an arrow. Your debutante is approaching. If you ever need anything, just tell me."
"Yes."
I thought the conversation had ended on such a friendly note.
That night, they suddenly called Isidor to the house, and I had no choice but to spit out the juice I was drinking.
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Du — Seymour slowly swept the platinum snake-shaped seal with the highest-grade magic stone with a gloomy expression.
"How have you been?"
Isidor smiled gently and greeted him. At that age, most young people wagged their tails in front of him, but this one was unusual.
"Sit there."
Du — Seymour, who couldn't control his temper, coughed once and ordered the servant to bring tea.
Isidor, sitting across from him, pulled out a document from his bag.
"This is a report from Mia Binoche."
She passed by the estate today to deliver this material.
"And to look at the face of the beautiful princess, both at the same time."
Du — Seymour squinted his eyes.
"This child, tch. Does he think I've never been in a relationship?"
"He did a good job. I'll pass on the data to my daughter. He must be busy, but thank you for visiting, Duke."
Although he was grumpy, Isidor smiled with a kind expression.
"The tea smells good. Unfortunately, I've only been treated every time, so I brought snacks that are good for a late-night snack."
Since overtime is the fate of family heads, a strange sympathy formed between the two in an instant.
Duke Seymour looked at Isidor, who was witty, and then took out the documents about Mia and scanned them.
"Mmm. A young lady from a fallen family. It would be difficult to provide coverage, but she serves the people. She has a strong philanthropic spirit."
Although her gait was unusual, there was no reason to suspect her if she hadn't pretended to take credit for Deborah's power.
Duke Seymour pursed his lips.
"... her guardian is Marquess François."
The François family belonged to the Senate, and although it had a short history, it was a wealthy family.
"Like the princess, Mia Binoche is about to debut this year, but according to the news, Marquess François even invited a private tutor to actively support her."
Isidor left the tea and spoke slowly.
"Although he has a plausible reason to support the miss, who is dedicated to serving, the Marquess François I know is far from a person who moves with pure good intentions. He's not the type of person who cares for people."
Moreover, it was after the incense ceremony that Mia began to float in the temple, and it was only then that Marquess François supported her.
It wasn't clear what Marquess François could achieve by supporting Mia Binoche, and the more he thought about it, the more he tilted his head.
Isidor had already assigned a new informant alongside Marquess François.
"Let's investigate further."
"Okay. But you..."
Duke Seymour blinked like a snake for a moment, and Isidor was startled.
"... yes?"
"What class are you? Just tell me a little about that."
Now that he thought about it, Duke Seymour was giving him a warm look he had never seen before. Isidor regretted not saying earlier that he was a mage.
"Actually... I don't know."
"Don't know?"
"Mana circles and aura are spirally connected, making it difficult to measure the class in general terms."
"As a magical swordsman, you have a unique constitution. How many classes of magic have you tried?"
"In the field of spatial magic, which I have been studying for a long time, it is possible to use class 7 magic. However, to learn first-class magic from other classes, a longer competition period is required than ordinary mages. So I have to make modifications that suit my constitution."
"Magic dealing with space is famous for being deceptive. Does that mean you improved it?"
"Yes."
Since he was a child, Isidor wanted to have his own space where he could accumulate gold indefinitely.
So, the first thing he learned was spatial magic and movement magic.
Duke Seymour's eyes widened as he looked at Isidor.
"Oh, I see, it's late. Let's have dinner."
"Yes. Du— I mean, Duke Seymour."
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Marquess François secretly hid in a carriage entering the mansion, and he was startled when he saw Albert, who appeared like a ghost in the middle of the night.
"What happened suddenly?"
"It seems like someone is stepping on your tail."
"Someone is stepping on my tail?"
"All the young ladies who were about to enter returned to their places, and Ravi, who was asking about a baby with divine power, vanished."
Marquess François asked indignantly in a low voice about the situation that was not easily resolved.
"Who did that?"
"If you do your best to find out who is doing it, it may make things worse. It should be left as a personal deviation of a dark wizard."
"Anyway, Ravi is a loyal minion who gave his soul to the demon, so he probably wouldn't be behind this."
"Damn it! Ravi was one of the smartest. Mia uses a lot of Holy Blood, but it will be difficult if the number of people decreases."
"I told Mia to stop serving for the time being. Now I'm teaching her the etiquette of aristocratic society."
"How is it going?"
"She's doing well. It seems that Princess Deborah was the stimulant. We have to work hard to compensate for the loss of this year's flower."
"Is there any news about the Saint that the devil revealed?"
"So much power was used during the celebration that it will be difficult to receive revelations from the devil for a while."
"Ah."
Albert let out a long sigh with a worried expression.
"For now, Albert-nim, as you ordered, put more effort into creating rumors and public opinion discrediting the Crown Prince."
"Understood."