To be honest, I donât want to stand out more than necessary.
Even if itâs not a usual evening party, the hurdle suddenly sprang on me is too high.
âWe only need to finishing greetings and the dance, and itâll be over. I also donât feel like staying long, so do your bestâ
âYeesâ
As I was briefly taught the schedule from now on, I put my feelings of acknowledgement into a nod.
With Freed whoâs todayâs leading actor coming, the atmosphere in the venue instantly turned brilliant.
As I calmed down and surveyed the venue, Brother and Will were already inside.
âAh, Will is hereâ
Will, whoâs dressed in a similar evening wear to Freed, seems to be talking to Brother and Glenn.
Seeing the figure of my childhood friend for the first time in a while reminded me that he also came back. I feel truly guilty about forgetting about it until now.
Although he came back from fighting same as Freed, I did a bad thing like forgetting him. I must apologize later.
âLidi, donât call another manâs name when youâre with meâ
âEhâ
Although I meant to just talk to myself, Freed next to me seems to have overheard.
I couldnât conceal my confusion as he complained with a sullen face.
âNo, I havenât called⊠Itâs not that big deal. I was just talking to myselfâ
âI still disliked it. You must already know, but when it comes to Lidi I become narrow-minded. I beg you, donât make me worryâ
ââŠâ
âIf possible, I wish youâd also stop looking. Itâs okay if only I monopolize Lidiâs gazeâ
That is to say he wants me to not take my eyes off him, I see.
With reproachful eyes I looked at Freed who made a nonsensical request.
âNo, thatâs impossibleâ
âI get it. Still, I want you to understand that I feel like thisâ
I felt instinctive fear from his dark smile that felt like heâd punish me if I overdid it. Just what punishment is he planning. Yup, scary.
â⊠I understand, Iâll be as careful as possible. But I think itâs not the time to be talking about thatâ
We conversed in whispers, but everybody could tell weâre having a secret talk by how our faces drew near. I noticed I attracted even more attention from the venue.
As I tried to get away in panic, Freed flashed a smile.
At that moment, a high-patched kyaa arose across the venue.
Itâs unmistakably young ladiesâ reaction to seeing Freedâs smile.
Perhaps accustomed to such voices, Freed didnât appear to care.
âI thought of flaunting my relationship with Lidi in front of everyone. So, I welcome thisâ
As I was drawing away, he said so and deliberately kissed my forehead.
The commotion inside the venue this time made me feel like crying.
Ah, I stand outâŠ
Even though whenever I attended an evening party, I was always a wallflower who avoided standing out as much as possible, with this itâs all ruined.
With a gentle smile and an unbroken posture I awaited the end of this penance.
âââ
With His Majestyâs entrance, the opening of the victory celebration party was announced.
Then Freed issued a speech from the Royal Family to everyone.
While looking at Freed whoâs speaking as the key figure of the victory and commander of the army I thought.
Yup. Heâs really a prince.
Seeing him monopolize everyoneâs eyes, I could strongly agree that heâs indeed the âFlawless Crown Princeâ. Itâs natural as Iâd avoided him, but Iâd hardly seen Freedâs appearance as royalty. So I was observing him with fresh feeling.
âLidi, a danceâ
As Freed finished talking, he presented me a hand, and I obediently placed mine on it.
Because Iâve heard I have to dance to the first piece, I obediently followed Freed, and we began dancing in the center of the dance floor.
As soon as we began dancing, Freedâs eyes opened wide as if he was impressed.
âIâm surprised. Youâre good at dancingâ
âRight?â
I laughed fufun at Freed who was surprised that I could dance better than he expected.
Actually, in my previous life I longed for such aristocratic world, I truly loved stuff typical to nobles such as ballroom dancing or etiquette.
Due to my tastes, when I was given a private tutor for the first time, I was delighted that I could finally learn etiquette. While at it, I recalled that my private tutor was astonished that it was his first time a girl would study etiquette with such enthusiasm.
Because of such circumstances and Fatherâs expectations, at present my court manners are perfect.
âFufu. Iâm especially good at dancingâ
âLooks like it. Everybody is captivated by Lidi?â
âWhy yes, thank youâ
But, Freed is also skilled at this. When I pointed that out, he returned that itâs the etiquette of royalty, but he truly is extremely skilled at leading and easy to dance with.
As we easily finished our assigned piece, a thunderous applause resounded.
The dignified dance like never before felt fresh. Despite feeling a little bashful, I left the dance floor escorted by Freed.
With that as a cue, other people began dancing one after another.
â⊠Tiredâ
Seeing the victory celebration party safely commence, I breathed in relief.
Itâs my first time on the event organizers side, but I never would have thought it required consideration like this. I felt fatigue wash over me.
âGood job. But, endure for a while longer, okay. Thereâs a person I want to introduceâ
âPerson you want to introduce? Who?â
âI think it wonât be long⊠Ah, before thatâ
âLidiâ
Before Freed could continue, I heard Brother call out as he came here.
Heâs together with Will and Glenn.
âOlder Brotherâ
âYo, weâre all matchingâ
Exactly as Freed said, everybody gathered here has a promising future.
The Crown Prince, the heir to a ducal house and the Magic Division Commander, similarly the heir to a ducal house and the Crown Princeâs close aide. Although the second son of a ducal house, a commander of a chivalric order.
Because every single one of them is a different type of beauty, I could only bitterly smile as Iâve heard sighs from all around.
Even my Brother, although itâs only for appearances sake, is playing the role flawlessly, but I could only laugh knowing whatâs inside.
Everybody wants to become acquainted with them, but now that all those popular men gathered together, they seem proportionally as hard to approach.
Just by seeing the unexpected situation from distance nobody was trying to approach.
Taking advantage of that, I spoke in a usual tone.
âWill, itâs been a while. Sorry, I havenât noticed you at all before. Will also fought, didnât you. Thank youâ
â⊠Yeahâ
â!! Bufu!! You⊠suddenly dealing a finishing blow⊠Youâre in perfect form as alwaysâ
I said it to Will, but for some reason Brother who had nothing to do with it burst into laughter and tapped my shoulder. Glenn next to him also had a sour expression.
âDonât touch me. And I donât get what youâre saying⊠More importantly Will, were you injured anywhere? Are you okay?â
â⊠No problemâ
I shook off Brotherâs hand that did the usual thing and spoke to Will.
Seeing me and Will like this, with I see , Glenn agreed with something.
âSo itâs like this, huh⊠I understandâ
âRight?â
When Glenn deeply nodded, for some reason Brother answered with a self-satisfied look.
Despite finding that expression irritating, I tried talking to Will again, but unfortunately, I didnât manage to. My arm was pulled from behind.
âEepâ
â⊠Lidi, too close. Get awayâ
I was hugged from behind and whispered to by Freed. Feeling his breath tickle my neck, I ducked my head.
âHya?â
âJeez, donât make such a voice⊠Have you forgotten what I said before?â
⊠Punishment⊠As I was reminded of that word, I shook my head in panic.
Still hugging me tightly Freed didnât let me go. I could feel the eyes of the surroundings focus on Freedâs abrupt action. Despite feeling unable to bear it, I reluctantly spoke to Will like this.
âIâm glad you werenât injured. Thatâs right, I made a new product, make sure to visit soon⊠Hold on⊠Freed?â
âAh, thatâs right. My uncle and his wife seem to be coming from far away, Iâll come soonâ
I was forcibly pulled away from Will.
I thought thereâs no point going against it and called out to Will one last time.
âBye, Will. Until the next time!â
âLidi?â
âHiiâŠâ
Freed glared at me with a smiling face. I solidified from being too afraid.
Taking the advantage of the unmoving me, Freed quickly led me away.
Brother and Glenn who watched this sequence spoke in whispers.
âSee? Itâs beyond expectations, right?â
âIsnât that right. Or rather, Princess is like that, isnât sheâ
âThatâs why I said it. Sheâs obtuseâ
âOlder Brother too, a little more⊠No, at this point no matter what you say itâs pointlessâ
It seemed they were talking secretly, but I could hear some parts of it.
You idiot brother! Who are you calling obtuse!?
Although I wanted to say few words, since Freed who was dragging me away was frightening, I had to abandon that thought.