Ch#56
“The House Criserus carriage has arrived. They will enter the banquet hall soon.”
“Is that so? Then go tell Viscount Benito that the guest he's been waiting for has arrived.”
Aeneok, who had sent the servant to Viscount Benito, approached Camille and Angela.
“Ladies, it seems today's entertainment is about to begin.”
“Oh! Linia Criserus has arrived?”
“Isn't it perfect timing for finding some fun at the party?”
Since Linia knew no one there, she would head to Angela—who had given her the invitation—upon arriving at the party where no one welcomed her.
Then Aeneok would bring Viscount Benito, and with words she couldn't refuse, make her Viscount Benito's partner.
Like Viscount Benito, the three were also swelling with anticipation.
Just then, the entrance doors opened, and Linia's figure came into view.
*Spoils of war*
“Uh......?”
*Duchess*
In that instant, the three unwittingly let out foolish sounds.
Linia Criserus wasn't alone.
She was linking arms with a tall, handsome man no one had ever seen, beaming a radiant smile.
Truly written by Lemon Frog
“Wh-who is that....?”
“No idea! Never seen that face before.”
“No. He looks familiar somehow......”
They narrowed their eyes, trying to recall the man's identity.
But there was no way they wouldn't remember such a handsome man if they'd seen him in society.
In the end, Camille scoffed and declared definitively.
“Ha! Looks like that's it. ‘Escort service’.”
.
“Escort service?”
“A vulgar job for fallen nobles. Pretty-faced men attend parties with women who lack partners.”
“Something like that.”
Aeneok snapped to attention at the voice of Viscount Benito, laced with anger.
“What? You mean a male prostitute?”
“N-no, of course not! This is, well, a mistake by the servant! That lady isn't the guest I mentioned.”
“Is that so? But earlier these ladies made it sound exactly like the Criserus miss was that guest.....”
Angela shook her head with a look of disgust. But Aeneok, at a loss for words to Viscount Benito right away, eyed Linia's partner with more desperate scrutiny.
“These people have misunderstood as well. That gentleman seems to be running late, so please wait just a bit longer!”
“Hmm….... Don't disappoint me, young heir. I'll wait another 30 minutes.”
“Weird…... His face looks so familiar......”
Viscount Benito left with an expression not fully buying Aeneok's explanation.
As they had that exchange, Viscount Benito—who had been hovering near Linia—approached Aeneok with an irritated look.
Aeneok felt like his feet were on fire.
“Bliss heir. Is the ‘guest you've been waiting for’ that I heard about truly the Criserus miss?”
“Angela! Camille! What the hell is this? This isn't what we talked about!”
“Ah, yes, well......”
“This isn't what we talked about, is it? You said she'd come alone?”
To be precise, he hadn't done anything wrong. It was Angela and Camille who had asked him to find her a partner since Linia would come alone.
But those two were just as flustered.
As Aeneok found himself in a bind, Camille and Angela chimed in from the side.
“Why is Count Criserus here? And what's with that look? Why show up transformed on this day of all days!”
“Please calm down, Viscount. He must have felt awkward always coming alone. Looks like he used an escort service…..….”
“Escort service? What nonsense is that? That man is Count Criserus!”
“Pardon?”
Camille glared resentfully at Linia—who had humiliated her—now linking arms with the party's most handsome man and receiving greetings left and right.
But Angela's reaction was somewhat different.
“Everyone's eyesight is terrible. Even with the hair and beard trimmed, how is that not Laslo Criserus?”
‘To think Laslo Criserus was that kind of man…....
Camille and Angela were shocked to the point of hiccups, while Aeneok realized why the man's face had seemed familiar.
Count's title, striking looks, and the buzz capturing all of society's attention at once.
‘It's the real Laslo Criserus!’
He was surely about to become society's hottest topic soon, and as an unmarried man, proposals would flood in.
Now that he thought about it, it was definitely Laslo.
In times like these, striking first wins.
But it was natural not to recognize him—he had changed completely.
The shaggy bandit-leader hair and the usual scruffy attire were nowhere to be seen. Sleekly combed black hair, thick eyebrows and distinct features, broad shoulders with a solid waist free of flab, luxurious yet understated clothing that had everything it needed.......
Angela smirked behind her fan.
There was no reason to hesitate now that the answer to the problem tormenting her for years was right before her eyes.
The once merely intimidating Laslo had become dangerous in a slightly different way. One could tell from the women fluttering their fans to cool their faces.
Angela first soothed Aeneok, who was in a tough spot.
“Bliss heir! Were you toying with me? Did you plan to make sport of me getting rejected after asking that man's partner to be my partner?”
- 3 -
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