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I looked lovingly at Daphne and Marianne, who had rescued me. Daphne smiled brightly at me. Her violet eyes shone in the amber light of the sunset. The corners of my mouth turned up at the sight.

“…I believe you two are in the Hero’s Party, right?”

Coraline, the young lady who had spoken to me earlier, asked cautiously. It would have been better if she had walked away, but she asked instead. Daphne gave her a stern look.

“Yes. Now that you’ve said hello to Elroy, will you excuse us? The Hero is not here to meet the young ladies and masters today.”

Coraline’s face contorted at Daphne’s words, but she quickly regained her composure. She might be rotten, but she was a high-ranking noblewoman with well-controlled facial expressions. Coraline cleared her throat and made eye contact with me. I let out a small chuckle and put my hand on Daphne’s waist, pulling her closer.

“I’m sorry, but my priority tonight is to greet the patrons of our party, so I’ll have to excuse myself.”

Daphne let me pull her without resistance, but her face was bright red. I looked in Marianne’s direction, but she only sulked behind me. Coraline looked back and forth between Daphne and Marianne in disbelief, then backed away.

“You came at a good time, Daphne.”

I said and looked down at Daphne. It was odd that she’d come to me so aggressively, but now she was blushing bright red and not speaking. At times like this, the calm Marianne could be more assertive.

“….”

Thinking so, I turned to Marianne, who also looked beautiful. A simple light blue dress with little decoration and no noticeable ornaments. Her long hair was in a braid bun.

“Are you okay, Marianne?”

“….”

It seemed necessary to let her adjust to the atmosphere. I walked without hesitation to the table where nobles were gathered in conversation. The stares of the young masters and ladies remained the same, but as I moved with purpose, none dared to touch me. As I approached the table, the nobles turned their eyes to me.

“Greetings, Hero”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Hero. I’m….”

They put down their drinks and greeted me with open arms. I shook each of their hands, learning their names and faces. Was it because they had seen Bactins and Evernode and felt a real threat? The nobles near the border sponsored me for a surprisingly pure purpose as they exchanged a brief greeting with me before disappearing to attend to their own business. Daphne narrowed her eyes in surprise as she watched them walk away.

“…I wonder if they want to help our party, but they don’t say anything.”

They weren’t the problem. I was still conscious of the arrogant gazes looking down at me like they were looking at a piece of steak. Mostly high nobles, or at least nobles who wanted to be in the royal family. They wanted me to start a conversation with them. I also saw many whose faces were distorted with anger. I made much more enemies than I thought in the hearing.

(Funny People.)

‘Well, I’ll leave them alone.’ They can come to talk to me if they want to. If they have nothing to say to me, I have nothing to say to them. I glanced at them and started walking away.

“Sorry, Hero, I’m late in greeting you.”

Some butt-heavy nobles waddled over to greet me. I greeted them with a deliberately fake smile on my face.

“I meant to greet you first, so I apologize for my rudeness.”

“Anyway, I’m glad to see you. I’m sure you’ve been asked to attend many social gatherings, but you’ve never attended one until now.”

The nobles around us looked embarrassed, thinking of greeting me before him. I was relieved to see them clinging to their useless pride in this situation.

“Yes, sir. I’m usually busy with other things, so I won’t attend any other social gatherings soon, though I appreciate the invitation.

“Don’t be too hard on yourself. Social gatherings are a way to meet and greet people; maybe you’ll make some valuable connections.

I smiled without replying. After a few seconds of awkward silence, the distraught nobleman picked up his glass and downed it. I sneakily pick up my glass from the table.

“Oh, by the way. My daughter is here with me, and I thought you might like to say hello to her. I’m embarrassed, but she is gorgeous, taking after her mother.”

“I’ll tell you one thing for sure.”

I downed my drink in one gulp. The nobles took a step back as they watched me. I put my empty glass on the table.

“I don’t plan to.”

I said and left, taking Daphne and Marianne with me. If they were worried about the Disasters, they wouldn’t be thinking of entrapping me and using me for political purposes. If Archduke Quenor were here, he would have smashed the table before leaving.

(How ironic. The people who shouldn’t be worried about the end of the world are. Meanwhile, the people who should be worried about it have other things on their minds.)

The Holy Sword said in a cold voice. I shook my head slightly and turned to look for Georg, who was somewhere in the ballroom. The band began to play a waltz, and one by one, people began to hold hands and dance in the hall’s center.

“…Where did they all learn to do that?”

Daphne muttered in wonder. The road to survival as a noble in a royal court was long. Dancing seemed more like a ritual than a pleasure. No romanticized couples, just people navigating each other and taking steps as they were taught.

“Their pride is frightening.”

“I agree, Hero Elroy.”

I turn around, startled. I wasn’t the only one startled, as Daphne and Marianne were too. There was Agnes, the Queen. She watched the dancing nobles with eyes as red as rubies.

“I’m late because I was debriefing key officials and saw you dealing with the nobles.”

Agnes looked at me, then turned to Daphne and Marianne.

“With a flower in each hand, I doubt the other nobles will try. If I were you, I would ignore them.”

“…Your Majesty.”

“Hehe. Look, aren’t their reactions cute?”

She laughed as she looked at Daphne, who was as red as a tomato. I scratched my head awkwardly.

“I see the nobles are giving you a hard time. I’ll be more explicit at our next meeting.”

The Queen narrowed her eyes at the nobles.

“I apologize. I have drawn too much attention to myself, which was the cause of this situation. I fear that I have caused Your Majesty some distress.”

“How can I say I am worthy of being king if I cannot control even one of my subjects.”

She smirked and replied.

“I saw what you did with your settlements. Aside from the cost of your new sword, most of it went to Bactin’s.”

I nodded grimly, and Daphne’s eyes widened.

“It was necessary. It was something I had to do.”

“…All I can say is thank you, Elroy. I am ashamed I am the Queen of the Kingdom.”

Agnes shook her head in disdain.

“I will be more attentive to the recovery. Also, thank you for taking care of the doomsday cult in Bactins. I apologize for not being more helpful.”

“Please don’t say that. There is no reason for Her Majesty to have that look on her face.”

I looked into Agnes’ downcast eyes. She narrowed them, then smiled weakly.

“…Yes. Thank you for saying so.”

She took a step closer to me. I froze, staring at her as she approached. I’d dealt with many people since I’d been possessed, but none as challenging as the Queen.

“By the way, if these people keep sending you such letters, why don’t you just accept a few?”

“Excuse me?”

I reflexively made a dumbfounded sound.

“I suppose there’s Daphne, but….”

The Queen laughed, amused by my reaction, and nudged my hand.

“If you don’t mind, no laws say it is forbidden.”

(That tyrant!)

Suddenly, the Holy Sword erupted in frustration inside my head. Daphne was staring at Agnes in horror, disrespect forgotten, and Marianne was staring at me with wide eyes. The Queen seemed to enjoy our reactions. She let go of my hand and turned away.

“Hehe~”

She turned back to face me.

“Have a good time, Elroy, Daphne, and Marianne.”

The Queen strode briskly toward her waiting subjects. Somehow, talking to her for even a moment made me feel drained. I picked up my glass and took another sip. Just then, a sweaty Georg approached us, looking exhausted.

“I’ve been looking for you, Elroy. Where the hell have you been?”

“That’s for me to say. Where the hell did you go after you abandoned me?”

“…I went to see my fiancée’s father, er, prospective father-in-law. I’m beginning to feel bad about leaving you behind.”

“Insider.”

I muttered and sipped my drink again. I heard him ask Marianne what an insider was, but I ignored him and downed the rest of my drink in one gulp. I didn’t feel drunk. I stared at my empty glass, wishing I was.

Then, someone grabbed my hand. It was Daphne, her face already slack with drunkenness. ‘When did she drink?’

“Dance.”

Daphne stood up and tugged on my hand. I half-heartedly let her drag me into the hall where people were dancing.

“Dance.”

Daphne began to fumble with my arm, not knowing what to do with her hands when she danced. I sighed and grabbed both of her arms, pulling her upright.

A hiccup came out of Daphne’s mouth. I took her right hand to my left and forced her to place her left hand between my arm and shoulder. The music changed from an upbeat waltz to a slower one, and I slowly stepped alongside Daphne, mimicking the movements of the nobles, albeit clumsily.

“….”

And then, over Daphne’s shoulder, I saw Marianne’s golden gaze piercing me as she sat at the table.

(…I’m at a loss for words, Elroy.)

I closed my eyes and sighed at the icy coldness of the Holy Sword’s voice.

But Marianne’s eyes weren’t simply looking at me. They looked desperate to ask me something.