The Power of the Saint is All Around (LN) - Volume 6 - Chapter 2.5

Behind the Scenes

THE ROYAL COUNCIL convened once a month. The participants were the king, the prime minister, the ministers of every other branch of government affairs, and the other leaders of the Kingdom of Salutania. No one else was permitted to join.

During a certain month’s council, the king reported that the ceremony for the Saint’s debut into high society and the accompanying ball would soon be held. No one was surprised, as the members of the council had been the ones to discuss how they would conduct these events. 

The prime minister also reminded everyone to take care with their behavior toward the Saint, as well as other precautions. He did this not only out of consideration for her but to prevent future gestures that the nobles had no doubt already been planning to make—gestures that risked offending the Saint.

For example, he told them that the palace would be collecting all tea and evening party invitations addressed to the Saint. Unfortunately, he said, the Saint was socially inexperienced, and she had chosen to decline in advance. Those who had been planning to make her acquaintance through such means were forced to change their plans.

The sort of noble who had been put in charge of a ministry had the emotional control to conceal their innermost thoughts, but there were others among the nobility who were less able—or less willing—to hide their displeasure. The prime minister had made further arrangements because he expected to have to deal with their frustration.

“That concludes today’s council.” The prime minister brought that month’s meeting to a close.

After the council, Josef, the minister of military services, sent a sidelong glance at the ministers of internal affairs and finance, who were talking to one another as he left the chamber.

While making his way to his office in the palace, Josef noticed Marquis Ashley walking toward him. Marquis Ashley’s slightly wavy blond hair and azure eyes, which slanted down at the outer corners, gave him a gentle look and made him appear younger than he actually was. However, despite his friendly appearance, he was quite cunning, and Josef found him untrustworthy.

Marquis Ashley was also the father of the crown prince’s fiancée, Elizabeth. Despite Josef’s occupation, the marquis was of higher rank than him. Not only was he older, but they were acquaintances as well.

As Josef was considering at least giving a greeting to Marquis Ashley, the other man smiled and raised a hand. Josef stopped and bowed slightly.

“Good day, Lord Hawke,” said the marquis. “Has today’s council concluded?”

“A good day to you as well, Your Excellency. Indeed, the council just adjourned. Were you on your way to see His Majesty?”

“Yes, I was. He summoned me, most likely to discuss the Lady Saint’s debut ceremony.”

The two talked cheerfully enough, but they were both high-ranking nobles with a long history of navigating the social world. Marquis Ashley had casually mentioned why he was summoned while they were at the end of a corridor where not many people passed, but they were still in the palace, and you never knew who might be listening. In fact, at that very moment, an escort of knights and a handful of lady’s maids were in the same corridor. 

The minister of internal affairs was about to inform the noble families of each house about the Saint’s upcoming debut. While it wouldn’t necessarily be problematic if this information were made public now, the marquis surely had some ulterior motive in talking about this topic at this moment.

Josef made sure his expression didn’t change to one of suspicion as he said, “Is that so?”

“He didn’t mention it during the council?”

“In fact, we just learned about it from His Majesty. The minister of internal affairs should be in contact with each house shortly.”

“Excellent. And there will be a ball right after the ceremony?”

“So I heard.”

“Wonderful. I just know how much everyone is looking forward to making the Saint’s acquaintance. Speaking of which, this will be her first formal ball, won’t it? I bet there will be plenty of people who hope to be her escort.”

“I am sure you’re right.”

The minister of internal affairs was also supposed to tell everyone about the ball. His discussions weren’t secret or anything. However, something about what the marquis said about the Saint’s escort nagged at Josef. He was sure this was what the marquis really wanted to discuss.

Josef must have been right, because the marquis began to press him, though his expression remained unchanged. “How about the third lordling of your family?” he asked.

“What about him?”

“Is he hoping to be her escort? I’m sure he is.”

“That’s a good question. I haven’t heard anything either way from my little brother.”

By third lordling, the marquis was referring to Knight Commander Albert of the Knights of the Third Order, the third son of Marquis Hawke. Josef was the oldest in his family, making Albert his little brother.

Josef wasn’t lying either. He hadn’t heard anything; he was merely voicing that he did anticipate his brother asking Sei to the ball.

“Really now? From what I’ve heard, your brother is quite infatuated with the Lady Saint.”

This was common knowledge among the nobility. Denying it would have made Josef sound the fool, so he confirmed it with a wry smile. “He does indeed seem to be.”

This made the marquis’s smile even wider. “And the Lady Saint places a great deal of trust in him, from what I’ve heard. If he were to ask her to the ball, surely she would accept then and there.”

“I cannot say one way or the other. The Lady Saint has many acquaintances aside from Albert.”

“This is true. However, not including those from the Research Institute of Medicinal Flora, they’re all from the knight orders or the Royal Magi Assembly… In other words, all part of the military.” Though the marquis maintained his smile, there was a cold glint in his eye.

The mood instantly turned heavy, but not so much as to make Josef hold back his words. He smiled similarly. “Surely that is only natural, as they’ve traveled together often to slay monsters. What’s more, from what I hear, the Lady Saint rarely leaves the research institute, so she hardly has any chance to meet new people.”

“I’ve heard much the same. I’ve also heard that the farthest she ever travels is the palace library.”

“I have moreover heard that she has come to the palace more often of late for lessons, and that she has made the acquaintance of a number of individuals outside of the military.”

“Well now, I haven’t heard anything about that.”

“In any case, the Lady Saint will be the one who picks her escort. It is out of our control either way.”

“Is that what they said during the council?”

“That’s right. They are leaving it up to the Lady Saint to choose. Although, who’s to say whether His Majesty won’t change his mind and decide to be her escort instead?”

Balls were in essence events that allowed unmarried men and women to meet. The Kingdom of Salutania practiced monogamy, so one might have assumed that the king would be unfit to act as Sei’s escort, given that he already had two children. However, Josef had reason to mention him: the queen had passed away due to illness over ten years ago, and the king had yet to remarry. On paper, there would be no problem if the widower king asked to be Sei’s escort.

Not to mention, even if Sei and Albert loved one another, the king had the power to forcibly step between them. Sei’s position in society aside, Albert was the son of a noble and therefore of a lower rank than the king.

The marquis immediately dismissed this notion, however. “Ha ha ha. As if that would ever happen. The king’s heart has only ever belonged to one woman, and it will always be hers alone.”

“Yes, you’re right.”

Just like everyone knew of Sei and Albert’s relationship, they also knew of the deep love the king still held for his dearly departed queen. The fact that the king had yet to choose another queen, despite all the efforts that had been poured into coaxing him to make another match, was proof enough of that. 

Josef brought up the king more because he couldn’t completely deny the fact that Sei had few acquaintances outside of military circles, much less any close ones.

“Well, I should be going. I mustn’t keep His Majesty waiting. Sorry for keeping you overlong,” the marquis said.

“Not at all. I apologize for detaining you.”

This was not a matter for them to decide. It was all up to Sei. Once the marquis had extracted that information from Josef, he ended the conversation. 

Since Marquis Ashley was on his way to meet with the king, Josef didn’t try to stop him from leaving.

“I don’t think Knight Commander Hawke would be a bad choice,” Marquis Ashley murmured in Josef’s ear as he passed.

Josef raised one corner of his lips.

Houses Hawke and Ashley belonged to different factions—military and civilian respectively—but several generations back, members from both houses had been married into the royal family. Consequently, they were united in the sense that they were both loyal to the royal line. The fact that Marquis Ashley, who was so close to the king, vocally expressed that Albert wouldn’t be a bad choice very possibly meant that the king felt the same.

The marquis had discussed such matters with Josef in public so that everyone would hear it. He made it out to be small talk, but in the end, he was putting on a show for any people unhappy with the fact that they had been unable to make Sei’s acquaintance since they weren’t part of the military. The marquis’s remark was likely meant to serve as a vicarious vent for their feelings. Either that, or he wanted to put Josef off guard.

Josef expected that everyone would be talking about this conversation within a day or two.

There were also those among the nobles who would hear only what they wanted to hear. Some others would read into Josef’s words and assume that House Hawke would be unable to actively affect any decision made about Sei’s escort. Even though Josef hadn’t said as much, such people were no doubt about to let their guards down.

Now what should his next move be? Josef thought this over as he headed to his office.

***

House Hawke of the Hawke marquisdom had been a military family for generations and led the military powers of the Kingdom of Salutania. The head of the family had three sons, all of whom held important military offices. Josef, the oldest, was the minister of military services; Erhart was magus of the Royal Magi Assembly; and Albert was the knight commander of the Knights of the Third Order. Due to their positions, each was very busy. Furthermore, while Josef lived at their estate in the capital, the other two lived at their affiliated barracks, so the three rarely saw one another.

The three brothers were now gathered in the living room of their family’s estate. It was the day after every noble house had received word about the Saint’s debut ceremony. Josef was the one who had summoned them there. He had invited them all to have a long overdue family dinner, to which Erhart and Albert had agreed.

The dinner was just an excuse, however. Both brothers assumed Josef had some other motive for inviting them, one that he couldn’t say publicly, likely related to military affairs. In the end, the real reason took them by surprise.

They didn’t find out until after dinner, when Josef took them from the dining room to the living room.

“You want to introduce us to potential matches?” Erhart’s whole face contorted into a grimace.

Albert’s expression matched his brother’s. It wasn’t as bad as Erhart’s, but it was contorted all the same.

Neither Albert nor Erhart were keen on the idea of marriage. Their reluctance was rooted in what they had witnessed their elder brother endure. All the way up to the day of Josef’s marriage, countless women had been at each other’s throats as they vied to become his wife. 

Josef had been seen as an ideal match, in that he came from a good family, was handsome, and had bountiful future prospects. Everyone knew he had been swarmed by young ladies hoping to become his fiancée ever since his childhood. While these women had never fought in front of him, fierce quarrels had broken out whenever he was out of sight.

However, Josef was the heir of the house that controlled the military circles, and he had many people to act as his eyes and ears. All sorts of information had reached Josef from these people, including information about the clashes between the women. Hearing about these disputes had shattered any feelings he might have had about them.

But he was the heir to a noble house. He was obligated to marry and produce an heir. This understanding had been ingrained in Josef throughout his education, so he’d quickly decided that a marriage for political gain would be best. When he reached his final year at the Royal Academy, he agreed to an engagement with a woman his parents introduced him to and married her upon graduation.

Fortunately, his parents had taken care to consider Josef’s personality and interests when picking a potential fiancée. As it turned out, he’d liked her, and he later learned that she felt the same way. As a result, though it had been an arranged marriage of convenience, Josef and his wife were on good terms with one another even after all these years.

While Josef’s marriage was going well, his brothers were a different matter.

After seeing all those women fighting over Josef, both Erhart and Albert had kept their distances from women altogether. Having been at an impressionable age while he witnessed Josef’s experiences, Erhart had taken his avoidance to such an extent that high society now considered it common knowledge that he hated women.

Even when the brothers reached the eligible age to hunt for a potential wife, they gave the women who followed them the cold shoulder and avoided social opportunities as much as possible. Around the time of Erhart’s graduation, their parents couldn’t even force the two to attend evening parties and the like. After all, the brothers said, Josef’s wife had just given birth. The Hawke heir was secured. As a result, even though people married at earlier ages in the Kingdom of Salutania than in Japan, the two brothers were still bachelors.

With age, both Erhart and Albert had eased up on their avoidance of women. However, they still limited their interactions to work-related matters and never smiled or behaved amiably toward them—to say nothing of how they still avoided social scenes.

Considering all that, there was no way they could happily receive the prospect of being introduced to potential marriage matches—especially Albert, who now had someone whom he held close in his heart.

“This is unnecessary.” Albert curtly shot his brother down.

“At least hear me out. It’s the lady everyone’s talking about these days.” Josef grinned at his youngest brother.

“And just who might that be?” Albert raised an eyebrow.

“A lady you’re both acquainted with: Lady Sei Takanashi. You know her, don’t you?” Josef said Sei’s name with a devious chuckle, making Erhart sigh and Albert’s eyes widen with surprise.

Josef was quite satisfied with their responses, so he continued.

While Sei had yet to make her debut into high society, some nobles knew of her, now that she had helped with slaying monsters. She took her job seriously and the lords of the domains she went to spoke well of her. According to what Josef had heard, even though her boss, Johan, told her to restrain herself, she was always getting herself into trouble everywhere she went. But that only served to make people like her even more.

While there were those who merely saw value in her status as the Saint, there were some people who were trying to sort out how they could use her for their own ends. They were paying close attention to the words of the aforementioned lords whose domains she had visited. For that reason, many houses were trying to offer their sons as potential matches in an effort to lay claim to Sei.

The two Hawke brothers, who actually knew Sei, listened to Josef’s explanation quietly, but when the mention of marriage matches for Sei arose, Albert’s expression turned grim.

Josef had remained relatively expressionless during this conversation, but now he smiled again. “So, I was thinking of naming someone from our family as her potential husband-to-be. Lucky for me, we’ve got two eligible bachelors. And both of you already know her too.”

The brothers had been wearing bored looks, but now they turned serious.

“Only one of you can be her potential fiancé. We’d face some difficulties if I put both of your names into the ring, even with our family being as powerful as it is. So, which of you would like to court her?”

House Hawke was indeed one of the most powerful houses in Salutania, both in terms of social position and political power. However, if they were to abuse that power and put forth both brothers as potential matches for the Saint, other houses would be sure to emulate them and do the same. Josef had no desire to encourage pointless mayhem. Therefore, he wanted to pick just one of them.

Of course, Josef had heard about Albert’s relationship with the Saint, so in actuality, he intended to back Albert.

But Erhart took both of them by surprise when he said, “It can be either of us. I don’t mind either way.”

Josef and Albert gazed at Erhart with wide eyes.

Erhart seemed to take no notice though, and he continued. “I have worked with her on several occasions. She is diligent and well educated. She is not prideful or flirtatious. I wouldn’t mind being her potential match.”

While Erhart was no longer so cold toward women, it was still quite rare for him to speak about a woman in such a positive way, let alone to actually praise her. One might say that this kind of event only happened once in a blue moon. Moreover, this time he had even explicitly stated that he was open to marrying Sei.

Josef and Albert could only gape at Erhart.

Erhart then glanced at Albert from the corner of his eye. “However, I have heard about Albert’s relationship with her. Albert would be the better pick between us, wouldn’t he?”

For a moment, Josef was at a loss for words. “Very well, then,” he said when he recovered. “I’m asking just in case, but you’re all right with this, aren’t you, Albert?”

“Yes, I am.”

Erhart’s first statement had come out of nowhere for his brothers, but it seemed he was half-joking, judging from the way the corner of his lips now curved up. Josef leaned wearily back on the sofa. For a moment, Albert looked relieved as well, but then he shot a bitter look at Erhart. Erhart rarely joked about anything, so Albert had thought his brother was serious. He really didn’t want to have to wage war against his own blood.

“Based on what I’ve heard, Albert has the advantage. However, we won’t know for sure until Sei decides.” Josef didn’t move from his position, but his expression turned serious, leading Albert to straighten his posture.

“I understand.” Albert grimaced with a nod.

He knew quite well what his oldest brother was getting at: he foresaw a fierce competition for the Saint’s hand. They themselves had once been the objects of such competitions. It was easy to imagine what was about to occur.

Josef then shifted his attention to Erhart. “By the by, will Grand Magus Drewes be in attendance at the ball?”

“His family has told him to do as much, but he seems unenthusiastic about the prospect.”

House Drewes had a history of producing grand magi of the Royal Magi Assembly, but they surprisingly lacked a lust for power compared to other houses. However, the current head of the family was quite ambitious. The second he’d realized his own son didn’t possess the abilities required to be grand magus, he had adopted a commoner who did have the potential. In so doing, he had clung to what power he possessed and used his adopted son as a pawn to once more secure the position of grand magus for House Drewes.

There was no way that same man wouldn’t want to leverage Yuri to seize yet more power, especially since Yuri already knew the Saint.

“I see. Well, I personally would like to see him in attendance,” Josef continued.

“Why’s that?” Erhart asked.

“All manner of houses are even now planning to make Lady Sei’s acquaintance during the ball. I think it would be best to place as many of our allies near her as possible.”

“You consider him, of all people, an ally?”

“From a military standpoint, yes. Besides, we shouldn’t have any problems, so long as you keep a tight rein on him.”

“It’ll be troublesome, but if it’s unavoidable, I’ll do it.” Erhart sighed, not bothering to hide his displeasure.

If Albert was to be Sei’s potential escort, then there was no reason for Erhart to attend the ball as well. However, Josef was clearly hoping that both he and Yuri would go anyway.

“We could ask some of my knights to help out instead?” Albert suggested with an unhappy look, but Josef shook his head with a grim chuckle.

“That could prove a bit problematic. While I want us to surround her with as many allies as possible, we can’t completely shut out everyone else.”

In other words, it was important to involve members of other houses in their plan, ones who weren’t subject to the influence of House Hawke. If the Saint danced only with knights from the Third Order, it would look like House Hawke was trying to block all other candidates from engaging with her, and they would surely be resented for it. So, if they had Yuri dance with her to make it look like House Drewes was in the running, there would be nothing to complain about.

“House Drewes is quite influential in their own right. That should make it seem like we have a rival,” Josef said.

“Yes, but—”

“Don’t make that face. It’s true that Grand Magus Drewes does seem to have some interest in Lady Sei, but only in as much as he’s intrigued by her magic, yes?”

Most people just assumed that Yuri was interested in Sei’s magical power as well as her powers as the Saint. Albert thought the same. However, watching Yuri’s behavior toward her always bothered him, just a tiny bit. Was it mere jealousy, or was it an omen of something else?

Albert couldn’t figure it out, so he tentatively nodded in agreement with his brother’s words.

“So it’ll be us, House Drewes, and…perhaps Johan will be going as well. So with House Valdec, that’ll make three houses. Ideally, I’d want people from two or three more houses among our allies,” Josef continued.

“I suppose. However, it’s hard to think of any other houses that we could potentially control,” Albert agreed.

“Especially if it has to be someone you don’t dislike.”

“Please, Brother, you don’t have to worry about that.”

“Ha ha, sorry. Don’t get so mad. Oh, how about the commander of the Knights of the Second Order?”

“I don’t believe Sei cares for him.”

“Then wouldn’t that make him perfect for the job?”

“Wait, do you mean that fellow?” Erhart frowned. “Isn’t he married already?” 

“Is he?” Josef asked.

Everyone in the military knew how the commander of the Knights of the Second Order worshiped Sei. Even Josef had heard about it.

In terms of his social status and house, the man certainly fit their conditions for a potential ally whom they could control. However, Erhart’s point meant that he couldn’t be included in their circle. As balls were fundamentally places for potential marriage matches to meet, it would be most advantageous to surround Sei with bachelors.

However, Erhart was wrong; the commander was actually single. Mind you, Erhart wasn’t trying to upset the man’s chances, he said this because he genuinely thought the man was already spoken for. Josef had only brought the man up at random, so he wasn’t attached to the idea of bringing the commander into their circle of allies either.

Thus, unfortunately for the commander, he was easily cast out of their plan.

The Hawke brothers continued talking through the evening, though they did so in such a manner that it couldn’t quite be called strategizing.

***

Several days after all the noble houses had been informed of the Saint’s debut ceremony, Johan was in a small hall at his family’s estate in the capital, practicing how to dance by himself.

Way back when, during his instruction, he’d had both music to listen to and someone to show him how it was done. Now he had neither. However, his body seemed to remember the steps well enough. Johan was relieved by this, since simple as the steps were, it had been so long since his last turn on the dance floor.

He danced over and over, and just as he decided it was a good time to stop, he heard someone clapping.

Johan stopped and looked toward the door to find a man who looked quite similar to himself, smiling as he clapped. It was Lorant, Johan’s brother, who was five years his senior.

“I haven’t seen you dance in a long time.”

“Yes, well, I haven’t seen you here at this hour in a long time.” Johan looked at his brother quizzically.

Their father was the current head of the family, and Lorant was his right-hand man. It was still light outside, and Lorant was usually terribly busy, so it was unusual to see him home at this time of day.

“I heard you were practicing, and I had to come and see with my own eyes.” Lorant’s answer, which wasn’t really an answer, made Johan furrow his brows.

House Valdec was high-ranking even among other counts, and they had an influential voice at the palace. As a result, Lorant had been given an even stricter education than Johan, as Lorant was the heir to the family. As luck would have it, Lorant was brilliant, and he’d grown to fulfill everyone’s expectations as the heir of the family.

Lorant had soft features, like Johan, as well as a gentle demeanor. At a glance, he appeared sociable and amiable. However, those who knew him understood that this was not actually true. It went without saying that his younger brother was aware that his brother’s personality was appropriate for the sort of person who would become the next head of a noble family. In short, no matter how unusual the occasion, Lorant hadn’t come just to see his little brother practice dancing.

He must be here for some other reason, Johan thought as he waited to hear what his brother would say next.

“I assume you’re practicing because you’re planning on attending the upcoming ball?” Lorant asked.

“That’s right.”

“Is it because the Lady Saint will be there?”

“I am her boss, in a way.”

The fact that Lorant brought up the Saint meant that he wanted to ask Johan about Sei. She and her upcoming debut had been the topic on every noble’s lips since the moment they were notified of the event.

Sei hardly ever left the palace and research institute, so she hadn’t made that many friends outside the related social circles. She was more or less only familiar with the researchers, knights from the Second and Third Orders, and a few palace officials. That was it. She knew hardly anyone who attended evening parties and the like. As a result, it was now common knowledge that at social gatherings, people flocked to those who did know the Saint in order to eke out whatever information they could.

Johan himself never attended such gatherings, but Lorant did. Lorant had never met Sei, but his little brother was the head researcher at the Research Institute of Medicinal Flora. It was entirely likely that Lorant was being swarmed with people asking him what he had heard about the Saint. Therefore, Johan assumed that Lorant had come to hear what he had to say about Sei. 

But would his older brother really spend the time to come all the way to the estate dance hall just to ask him about that?

“You must have to look after her all the time,” Lorant said.

“Somewhat… She is in a unique position, after all.”

“Indeed. I bet she’ll have all manner of people asking her to dance at the ball.”

Johan chuckled humorlessly in response. There it was. Sei was indeed the reason that Johan was choosing to venture out into high society after all these years to actually attend a ball.

As Josef had explained to his brothers, Sei’s value had greatly increased, along with her reputation. As a result, Johan predicted that many people would try to make her acquaintance at the first ball that she would formally attend.

As yet, she had been surrounded only by those who already knew her. It wasn’t that hard to imagine; a social opportunity such as this one would be the ideal first step for someone who wanted to make her acquaintance. After all, they would first have to talk to her.

That was fine and everything, but the real problem was dancing. Sei was taking dance lessons at the palace, so it wasn’t the act itself that was the problem. Rather, certain etiquette had to be followed in regard to dancing, and it could be a bit problematic, so they had to be cautious.

Most saliently, the person of the opposite sex with whom you danced most frequently was considered to be your first choice in a marriage partner. Some people used this to their advantage, hoping to make it seem that their intended partner was in love with them and thereby compelling them to accept a proposal. Because of this, people generally didn’t dance with the same partner more than twice, unless it was someone to whom they were already engaged or married.

Considering Sei’s social position and reputation, it was highly possible that people would try to use this etiquette to their advantage.

The palace anticipated this happening as well, so they had warned people to refrain from this sort of behavior when notifying them about the ball. Thus, the chances were that it was less likely to happen, but that didn’t mean everyone was going to behave.

Considering Sei’s personality, if someone asked her to dance, she would probably find herself unable to decline. She was taking classes on etiquette, though, so if someone were to ask her in a gentlemanly way, she might have it in her to turn down a second dance. However, Johan was worried that if someone was pushy about it, she would be unable to adeptly avoid dancing with them multiple times.

Sei was an adult; Johan knew this. He probably didn’t need to be so worried about her. Not to mention, most everyone knew that Sei and Albert were quite close. Even if someone managed to dance with her more than twice, he doubted they could manage to unseat Albert.

Nevertheless, his two friends were not yet engaged. There were surely some who still nurtured a sliver of hope of making the Saint their own. Obviously, those people would pose their own kinds of problems.

But if Johan’s worries turned out to be right, then he had some planning to do. It would be best if nothing troublesome happened. So, he had come up with the plan to limit Sei’s dance partners. If he, Albert, and one other person danced with her, then she could claim she was tired or some such when declining other invitations to dance. So long as she danced a few times, then Johan or Albert could probably get away with turning them down in her stead.

It was for that reason that Johan had decided to attend a ball for the first time in such a long while.

As if having anticipated this, Lorant put a hand to his chin in thought for a moment before a wide smile spread across his face. “So, then you’re planning to dance with the Lady Saint?”

“That’s right. It would be best if she danced with people she knows first.”

“This is true. Are you planning to dance two or three times with her?”

“Huh?” Johan looked at his brother, for a moment baffled in a very un-noble manner.

“People have been discussing who the Lady Saint might take for a husband.”

“A husband?”

“Yes, every house is picking their potential suitor for her. And the top prospect from our family is you, Johan.”

From this, Johan realized the real reason his brother was here was to discuss potential suitors for Sei. He had been so busy thinking about the ball that he hadn’t noticed that everyone was more focused on the future beyond that single event.

Johan could understand what his brother was saying. He was the one who was closest to Sei among all House Valdec, including their branch families. They didn’t have a bad relationship either. It wouldn’t be odd at all if House Valdec elevated him as the top prospective suitor.

“And what are you planning to do by naming me as her potential fiancé?” Johan asked with some annoyance, even though he already knew what Lorant would say.

“Why, send a letter detailing your background, along with your portrait, to the palace, of course. Although, I suppose in your case the portrait is unnecessary.”

In other words, he planned to try to get their marriage arranged. Unlike usual, though, they would be submitting his information to the palace instead of to the woman’s family.

Johan pressed his right hand to his forehead, feeling a bit of a headache come on. “Pass. Please reject the notion on my behalf.”

“You know how it is. The branch families just won’t give up on the idea.”

“But still.”

“I’ve done so much to accommodate you already, yet you’re being so cold about it all.”

“Ah. I am sorry for that, however—”

“Perhaps you could see it as repaying your older brother a bit for all he’s done for you.”

“That’s neither here nor there. Besides, if it’s the business about the company you’re referring to, I’m pretty sure we benefited both monetarily and in other ways as well.” Johan glared narrowly at Lorant, who chuckled with a shrug.

Johan was well aware that both his father and Lorant had benefited from the sale of Sei’s cosmetics. He also knew that nobles from other houses had been giving them trouble just before Sei decided to establish her own company.

Nevertheless, the fact was that House Valdec had profited in some way or another by acting as the intermediary for that company. As a result, Johan didn’t feel like he owed his brother a debt great enough to warrant entertaining this idea.

Of course, Lorant knew this, so he had meant it jokingly.

“Besides, do you really want to oppose House Hawke?” Johan asked.

“Absolutely not.”

“Then just give up on the idea. Not to mention, I would loathe to be an obstacle in my good friend’s love life.”

“Are you sure? I thought it was a pretty good idea.”

Even if Johan was theoretically an ideal match for Sei, he understood that this was something talked about only among their faction.

At any rate, the real best match for Sei was Johan’s best friend. Although if Johan’s family did try to name him as a suitor, he doubted Albert would be angered. Even so, he brought up House Hawke on purpose, and in so doing managed to get Lorant to give up easily enough.

Lorant was also long-time friends with the Hawke brothers, and he had heard of Albert and Sei’s relationship. As such, Lorant had thrown the idea out there more for the sake of doing so. If Johan had said yes, then he would have pursued the idea in earnest.

All the same, Johan was internally screaming that it was the wrong thing to do. He settled for just glaring at his brother.

Lorant didn’t seem fazed at all. He just clapped his younger brother on the shoulder and left.

As he watched Lorant walk away, Johan sighed and returned to practicing his dance steps.