Chapter 170 – The Other Marquis

“We’re ready.”

“Then let’s head out soon.”

On the day of the banquet, I called out to everyone who had dressed up and we boarded the carriage that had come to pick us up from the castle.

As usual, Grace and the others were wearing matching flower hair ornaments to show they had established partners.

Sheila and Irmhild were also wearing hair ornaments to avoid troublesome situations.

Apparently, it’s relatively common in social circles to wear hair ornaments even when you don’t have a partner, depending on the circumstances. I learned this information from Ophelia through Ashley.

Sheila belongs to the Thieves Guild, so she apparently doesn’t want to get too involved with people from the Royal Castle, and Irmhild seems to be doing it because her face has become well-known at the theater.

As for Seraphina—her reason was that she didn’t want to feel left out by being the only one not wearing one.

“Unlike last year, we’ve gotten to know more people in the Knight Order this year, so it feels much more relaxed.”

“Indeed.”

Ashley smiled at me, so I returned a wry smile.

Last year, we were wary because the Knight Order seemed to have ulterior motives. This year, that’s not the case, and we’ve grown accustomed to visiting the Royal Castle itself.

That said, I still keep anti-poison magic tools and the Amulet of Evil Repulsion on hand, though.

“What’s the schedule supposed to be like?”

Claudia asked.

“They’ve reserved a room in the guesthouse for us, so they want us to enjoy the events first. After everything’s finished, we should be invited to the King’s Tower.”

“Understood.”

People we’re acquainted with might come to our room to greet us, but in any case, we won’t be going around advertising Claudia’s background. On the contrary, being too obvious about avoiding attention would make people suspicious, and anyone who tries to probe us while we’re acting normally should be considered someone to watch out for.

Eventually, the carriage arrived at the Royal Castle.

After getting off the carriage and heading toward the square in front of the guesthouse, it seemed the Knight Order’s preparations were mostly complete. Knights in full equipment were waiting with their partners—horses fitted with saddles and stirrups, Earth Dragons, and Wyverns.

Somehow… we were drawing attention. The dressed-up girls were attracting people’s eyes. Even setting Claudia aside, I was grateful they had assigned us private seating.

When I scanned the area, I saw Chester was there too… but he seemed to be happily talking with a well-dressed woman. Now that I think about it, I recall he was receiving cheers from noble daughters last year too.

The fact that she was wearing a flower hair ornament was somewhat concerning.

“Theodore-sama, is it?”

Just then, Mercedes happened to pass by.

“Ah. Dame Mercedes.”

“You all seem to be here together. I’ll be participating in the demonstration today as well, so I’d be honored if you could watch.”

“We’ll be watching from the guesthouse,” I replied, and Mercedes broke into a smile.

“By the way, Sir Chester—”

When I brought up Chester, Mercedes glanced in his direction for a moment, seemed to understand what I wanted to say, and gave a wry smile.

“Ah. That person. I heard he rescued a merchant’s daughter from a Half-Demon during the battle with the Duoveris Cult the other day. It seems Sir Chester invited her.”

“I see…”

So Chester has found spring too, though in a different way than Talcott.

I’d gotten the information I wanted, and Mercedes seemed to have a busy schedule, so after some small talk, we headed toward the guesthouse. Last year we watched the Knight Order’s demonstration from the guesthouse balcony, but this year we’ll be watching comfortably from a private room.

While being guided to our room, I spotted Malcolm, the eldest son of House Broderick, walking down the hallway toward the balcony.

It seemed he had returned from the marquis territory. That likely meant his work there had reached a temporary conclusion, and he had returned to give an official report. I should go greet him alone later.

I wanted to ask about his stomach condition and how the aromatherapy candles were working.

“Theodore-sama. It’s been too long.”

“It’s been a while, Sir Malcolm. How have you been feeling since then?”

When I stopped by the balcony seating to ask, Malcolm broke into a broad smile.

“Ah! That works wonderfully! It still hurts sometimes, but it’s been a great help! The scented candles have also been invaluable—I can sleep soundly at night!”

“That’s good to hear.”

Still, it’s heartbreaking that he can’t be completely free from stress.

In any case, Malcolm still has to deal with the aftermath of Marquis Broderick and Norman. I hope those two items continue to be useful for him.

“What happened with the marquis territory?”

“I just returned recently and have reported everything that needs reporting. Now it’s just waiting for His Majesty’s decision.”

I see. Since the schedule is tight, it’ll probably be after the banquet ends. It wouldn’t be appropriate to summon Marquis Broderick during a celebration to announce his punishment.

In the balcony seating, Oswald, the Vice-Commander of the Adventurer Guild, was seated again this year, just like last year. It seemed Auria had come too.

“Oh! There’s an empty seat over here!”

As soon as Auria saw me, she smiled at me.

“I appreciate the invitation, but I’m sorry. I’ll be watching from a room in the guesthouse.”

“I was hoping to talk with the creator since it seems we might see something unusual this year,” said Oswald with a somewhat disappointed expression. This person’s interests really are in that direction.

“Hmm. Indeed, with that lineup, it might be wiser to watch from there. You’d inevitably attract attention regardless,” Auria said, as if convinced.

“That’s about right. Lady Auria, Lord Oswald, this is Sir Malcolm. Sir Malcolm, this is Lady Auria, the Adventurer Guild Master, and Lord Oswald, the Vice-Commander.”

With a wry smile, I completed the introductions between Auria’s group and Malcolm. As Malcolm manages his territory in the future, there will likely be areas where he needs to coordinate with the Adventurer Guild. It shouldn’t be bad for him to make their acquaintance.

“Pleased to meet you. I’m Malcolm Broderick. I’ve long heard of both of your esteemed names.”

Malcolm bowed politely.

“Hmm. This must be fate as well. Why don’t you watch from these seats?”

When they heard “Broderick,” Auria and Oswald reacted slightly, but perhaps realizing that I had deliberately introduced them, they invited Malcolm to the adjacent seat.

It seemed they would judge his character with their own eyes rather than just by the Broderick name.

“Then I’ll take you up on your kind offer. Theodore-sama, thank you.”

“Not at all.”

Well, I don’t need to worry about that with Malcolm. As executives of the Adventurer Guild who interact with various people, I think both of them have good judgment.

After that, I just needed to return to the room and wait for the banquet to start.

“Father, this is the Otherworld Ambassador.”

—Just as I was thinking that, I heard such a voice.

That was—Ophelia’s voice. When I looked around, she had apparently just arrived at the balcony. She was approaching from the other side with a well-dressed man who had similar hair color.

Ophelia’s father… meaning he must be Marquis Fobrester.

“Pleased to meet you, Theodore-sama. I am Radiego Fobrester.”

“That’s very kind of you. I am Theodore Gartner.”

While Marquis Fobrester stepped back slightly, Ophelia also picked up the hem of her skirt and gave a proper young lady’s greeting.

When King Melvin decided to have Marlene marry, he arranged for her to be adopted first… by House Fobrester. In the future, Marquis Fobrester would become my father-in-law, I suppose.

“I’ve heard from His Majesty. Congratulations on your engagement to Marlene-sama. Please forgive my delayed greeting—I don’t often have opportunities to come to the capital.”

“Thank you. If you say that, I’m the one who should be embarrassed. I look forward to our continued association.”

I smiled and we shook hands. Hmm. He’s as pleasant a person as I’d heard. Even among marquis houses, he’s completely different—I’d heard Marquis Fobrester is a truly admirable person of character.

Still… the head of House Fobrester, the future head of House Broderick, plus the Guild Master and Vice-Commander. Even for simple greeting rounds, it feels like there are more important figures around…