Chapter 10

Chapter 10 \nVol 2: Chapter 10\n

「Reiji, do I look weird? I am new to wearing makeup.」

「Not at all. But please don’t give me seductive glances during the banquet. You will be receiving mountains of engagement letters after tonight, after all.」

「Mou… Even you are saying that now, Reiji!」the young lady said, blushingly.

Her usual confidence was nowhere to be seen, and she was kind of flushed. The maids must have showered her with compliments thoroughly.

The maid, who was in charge of makeup and dressing, stood there proudly, with her arms folded. She is a true professional.

(No, really… I don’t even want you to look straight at me, please…)

The “eyes” of the Sillys family are too special. ”Magic” dwells in their scarlet eyes. I found that out from 【World Ruler】 before I heard it from the Earl. This information is well-known to high-ranking nobles, but there are also some lower-ranking nobles who do not know.

The Earl’s own eyes are “Magic Eye of Inquiry,” which allows him to determine whether the other person is lying or not when mana is flowing through.

The young lady’s eyes are “Magic Eyes of Inspire”, which enhances the opponent’s willingness to fight for her when mana is flowing through.

Since anyone can use magic with skill orbs, it does not get too much attention, but special scarlet “Magic Eyes” always appear in the bloodline of the Sillys family.

There is no doubt that one of the reasons why His Majesty the Holy King appointed Earl Sillys as his “dagger” is because of the “Magic Eye of Inquiry”. To put it the other way around, something like a “lie detector” can’t be reproduced with skill orb… or it’s extremely difficult or rare.

I heard that these magic eyes are extremely small in the population as a whole, but it is a fact that they can be extremely useful depending on how they are used.\n

That is why I do not lie to the Earl.

Then, I picked up noise from the entrance with my ears trained by 【Hearing Enhancement】.

The Earl, who always leaves at sunrise and never comes back home before sunset, came back home early today, right when the young lady finished dressing up.

The maids and butlers bowed simultaneously, and I also bowed accordingly. The Earl walked over to the young lady.

「Eva. I hope you enjoy today.」

「…Yes.」

Is that all? Aren’t you supposed to compliment her a little bit more. However, “indirect” is not good, and “too direct” is also not good, okay?

「…Reiji-san, please come here.」

The Earl couldn’t have seen my expression, as my head was bowed down, but I was called over for some reason. As I lifted my head up, I saw the Earl beckoning me over to the corner of the room, away from the young lady. As I walked to the corner of the room, I felt everyone’s stares focused on my back.

「…Is there something?」

「…My daughter seems to be in a bad mood. What did you do wrong?」

M-My fault?

「…No, I don’t think I behaved wrongly.」\n「…Unfortunately, that seems to be true.」

Don’t use the “Magic Eye of Inquiry” for that!

「So, what’s wrong with my daughter?」

「Who knows. It’s not included in the work of an escort.」

「It is the job of an escort to protect the mental health of my daughter, right?」

I am hearing that for the first time. The work coverage of an escort is too wide.

…Well, since the young lady looks troubled, let’s give him the answer.

「Please give compliments.」

「Compliments?」

「The young lady looks beautiful all dressed-up today, doesn’t she?」

When I said that, the Earl looked over at the lady’s beautiful white face.

「…Is it really necessary to say something so obvious?」

It is difficult to tell whether this person is over-doting, or being serious, or just joking.\n\nAs for his ultimate true nature, it is definitely “over-doting parent” so far.

The carriage of the Earl family carried the young lady to the venue of the banquet. Such carriages are prepared by every noble to be used on special occasions such as today, it seems. Sillys’ carriage was covered with scarlet cloth, which symbolized “Magic Eye”. The huge wheels, made of iron, were polished and given a shiny finish. A gold crescent moon with two swords stood on the roof — the Sillys family crest.

Magic lamps were hung in four corners, emitting a warm orange light.

「Get on, Reiji.」

「Okay.」

Simple yet splendor ― I was a little daunted by the impact of the horse-drawn carriage, but the young lady’s words encouraged me to get in.

Maxim-san handed me the list of attendees at today’s banquet, and said, “Go through it”. Some nobles do not confirm if they would participate in the event until the very last day, so the distribution of the list was done on the day itself. How annoying. I am a commoner escort who is unrelated to the upper class, you know!

10 knights on horseback, including Maxim-san, surrounded the carriage. I opened a small window and peered outside. The road, which is usually busy with noble purveyor’s merchant carriages and load transportation, was quiet today. The general public knew that today was an important day for nobles. As such, access to the road was restricted.

It seems that citizens also receive charity during such events. Instead of giving money, it is a charity structure that allows money to be distributed through purchases, such as ordering large-scale construction work and procuring a large amount of goods. Leaving aside construction works, the supplies and goods purchased are always in surplus. They said those will be distributed to orphanages and the poor through the church.

(The Holy King’s rule is surprisingly proper, isn’t it? Still, there are people who fall into poverty, so the need to sell themselves as slave-like has not diminished.)

I think there are several causes. There is a big gap between the rich and the poor in this country. It is not the kind of thing that can be bridged by conducting some charity.

First, the privileged class of nobles hold all the desirable positions, and then the merchants who conduct business under those nobles become richer. Since it’s almost impossible for others who are under the nobles to rise through the ranks in a “fair” manner, they take away money from the poor.

(What the young lady said… “structural problems” is exactly true. But what we’re doing as slave business crushers is completely meaningless. Well, it’s not the job of an escort to worry about that, so I’ll just keep silent.)