Ch#50
The Banquet (4)
Among the many buildings of the Royal Castle, the Grand Ballroom boasted a vast and magnificent exterior that naturally stood out.
Its grandeur was such that it could be ranked right after the Great Hall, where the kingdom’s destiny was decided, and the Sun Palace, where the King resided.
Whether it was specifically for the banquet or simply its permanent state, a long red carpet stretched from the entrance of the Grand Ballroom, and carriages adorned with all sorts of lavish decorations were lined up nearby.
Within that scene, Elric spotted individuals dressed in a way that felt out of place.
‘Journalists.’
There were those busily manipulating heavy cameras to snap photographs.
Conscious of them, the nobles adopted even more artificial and flamboyant strides.
The whole thing looked like a farce to him.
He harbored deep concerns within, but he did not let them linger for long.
“Head of the family, the journalists are watching. Could you please straighten your back?”
It was because Tiria was by his side.
Had he not attended today’s banquet out of a desire not to send her alone?
To fall into other thoughts and forget his duty—that was truly unacceptable.
“I understand,” Elric replied, adjusting his posture.
Of course, leaning on a cane might look a bit unsightly, but it was the best gait Elric could manage.
He shook off his idle thoughts.
‘I’ll find out if what they said is true once I enter the banquet.’
There was no need to agonize over it already.
Pa-pa-pah~
As they entered the ballroom, an orchestra was playing a gentle melody.
In various spots, nobles who had arrived earlier were gathered in small groups chatting, while royal servants moved busily to and fro.
It was a familiar yet uncomfortable setting.
Particularly the glances the nobles cast his way the moment he entered.
His sensitive hearing picked up every single one of their voices.
“Oh my, that man must be the rumored Baron Portman.”
“To think he returned at this exact timing after being away for ten years…”
“What can you expect? With such humble origins, he’s bound to be short-sighted. He probably thinks the whole world is his just because he obtained a noble title.”
It was the reaction he expected, but it was still something else.
There was no way those who loved gossiping about others would let such a juicy piece of scandal slide.
Elric ignored the reaction stoically, knowing he had neither the reason nor the right to be angry anew.
In that moment, Tiria led Elric toward a seat in a corner of the ballroom.
“Please sit for now. You’ve worked hard climbing the stairs.”
“It was just a few stairs. I climb them all the time at the mansion.”
“These are unfamiliar stairs.”
Whether she was aware of the comments or not, she showed no change in expression.
She must have felt the eyes on them.
“The wife is truly pitiable. If only that man hadn’t returned, that family would have been all hers.”
A flinch—the tips of his fingers gripping the cane trembled.
Unable to hold back, Elric’s gaze turned toward those whispering.
They were middle-aged women with faces etched with wrinkles.
The moment he looked, they all turned their heads away like cockroaches.
And then,
‘That person is…’
Elric found a familiar face among the crowd.
“Ah, speaking of which, recently in our territory…”
The one hurriedly changing the subject while breaking into a cold sweat was Baroness Wibin.
Tiria’s mother, and one of the people Elric had personally visited to threaten before.
He thought she had given up on the Portmans since she had been quiet, but was she working behind the scenes like this?
‘What should I do…’
Should he settle things one more time for the sake of the future?
No, moving rashly would be a mistake.
While his worries were beginning to surface, Tiria spoke.
“Head of the family, is something troubling you?”
“…Ah, hmm?”
“Your complexion doesn’t look good.”
They were seated near the terrace.
The slowly setting sun cast its glow over Tiria’s face, and perhaps because of that, he felt as if he could see some trace of emotion over her expressionless mask.
Was it concern?
Elric forced a smile and replied.
“No. It’s just that I find these settings awkward.”
“It’s only natural, as you’ve never attended a noble’s banquet before. We won’t stay long, so please bear with it a little longer.”
“I will.”
“The ball will begin in earnest after His Majesty enters. It shouldn’t be a problem to leave around then.”
Tiria seemed to have the intention of leaving soon as well.
Suddenly, a sense of regret washed over him.
The strange sentiment that seeing her dressed up like this would soon come to an end crossed his mind.
How surprised had he been when he first saw her today?
Even while worries about Wolyeong were springing up, he had struggled painfully to keep his eyes off her.
He thought he had grown somewhat used to it by now.
‘Used to it? Hardly.’
The image of her nibbling on the refreshments on the table was etched into his retinas.
As he watched her quietly, his worries seemed to drift away, and Elric let out a low chuckle.
At the sound of his laughter, Tiria looked at Elric inquisitively.
“…Why are you looking at me like that?”
“No reason. It’s just that I think this is the first time I’ve seen you eating sweets.”
“The royal patissier is famous for being the best in the entire East. You should try some as well, Head of the family.”
“Hmm, then I shall…”
He ate a bite-sized biscuit, and indeed, he tasted that uniquely high-class flavor he had only ever experienced at imperial banquets.
“It’s delicious.”
“Isn’t it?”
So she liked this kind of taste.
Thinking that he had learned another thing about her made his heart feel ticklish for some reason.
It even felt as if gazing at her endlessly was a very important task.
Now that his mind was at ease, conversation flowed a bit more easily.
Elric sat in the corner of the ballroom with Tiria, sharing trivial small talk.
Time passed in that manner.
Before long, the number of people increased one by one, and a gentle stir began to settle throughout the room.
The heads of influential families had arrived.
“It looks like Duke Born has arrived.”
“I heard he wasn’t feeling well…”
“He must be wary of Marquis Yaran. Is that all? Count Nimrud is also…”
As he sat still, information about various figures began to reach his ears from all directions.
Among them was an unpleasant name.
Count Nimrud.
The moment he recalled it, his thoughts immediately extended to the matter of Wolyeong, which he had set aside.
Elric’s brow furrowed.
「T-That is, a special order came down from the main sect. That there was someone in the East to target… T-That was a month ago! Yes! It hasn’t even been a month since we came to the East! It’s true!」
The person the Wolyeong members, who had come for a certain mission, had contacted was none other than Count Nimrud.
They had settled here stably with his support, and he was the one who had maintained the connection with the main sect.
This meant Count Nimrud had a point of contact with the main sect of Wolyeong—in other words, with ‘that person.’
「You’ll find out if you go to the banquet! We were just doing some odd jobs here while moving after receiving information that the target would attend that banquet… Ah! O-Of course! You aren’t an ’odd job,’ sir! Yes! Certainly not!」
「Enough of that, just tell me who that target is.」
「I-I don’t know. Only that it’s a foreign figure and the assassination difficulty is set at D…」
「You’re carrying out an assassination without even knowing who the target is?」
「It was an order from the main sect…」
The more he thought about it, the less it made sense.
Why was Wolyeong, which should be active in the West, here? And what was that man, Count Nimrud, trying to achieve by collaborating with that person?
As those thoughts expanded and swelled further,
“Ah, have you heard the news?”
“What news?”
“A noble from the Empire is attending today’s banquet. I heard they are a very important person…”
Information.
In that instant, Elric expanded his senses greatly and listened to their voices.
“M-Madam! The Imperial noble has arrived. They are coming this way now…”
“Really? Where is my husband? I need to go nearby quickly to make an impression…”
Entrance.
At those words, Elric’s gaze turned toward the entrance of the ballroom.
It was at that moment.
Pa-pa-ba-bam!
The orchestra changed its tune.
This was a phenomenon that occurred when the heads of influential families entered.
The influential figures had already arrived.
Some expressed confusion, but soon the reason was revealed, and astonishment appeared on their faces.
“The Envoy of the Empire is entering!”
Simultaneously with that voice, the doors swung open.
Elric’s breath hitched at the silhouette visible through the gap.
‘…Ah.’
Only then did everything make sense.
The reason Wolyeong was here, the goal of the man behind them, and what Count Nimrud was aiming for—all the causal links clicked into place around the man entering through the door.
A wheelchair, platinum blonde hair, and a suspicious, mischievous smile.
Everything was exactly like the silhouette of a certain man in Elric’s memory.
“The third son of the Graham Ducal House, Young Lord Elbus Graham, is entering!”
Pa-pa-ba-bam!
Elbus Graham.
Elric’s old friend and the eccentric known as the ‘Talent that cannot be hidden’ of the Empire.
The man who absolutely should not be here stepped into the silenced ballroom.
Some felt shock, some admiration, and others awe.
The atmosphere shifted solely by his innate beauty.
All the air in the space began to reorganize itself thoroughly around him.
A man who radiated an aura that could not be concealed no matter how hard one tried.
That was why he was the ‘Talent that cannot be hidden.’
Appearing and overwhelming the space, he casually scanned the crowd, and then,
“Oh.”
Upon discovering Elric, he grinned.
It was a mischievous smile.
The Wife Waited in the Wheat Field (Serial)
