For me, banquets were places only accessible to the privileged, like Miracles or Banshees.
'Even if it was hastily organized.'
In any case, it was as good as my first banquet in my life.
Thump, thump.
Grasping my sweaty fists tightly, I stepped inside the wide-open doors.
Thud.
The moment I entered the room filled with brilliant light, all the bustling noise vanished.
Even the orchestra, sensing the atmosphere, softened its sound, and I walked through them with steady steps.
As I passed, the voices that had stopped began to flow again.
"That black hair is definitely a bastard..."
"How did that child get here..."
"The rumor that Duke Rodbel acknowledged a bastard as his child is true..."
They seemed to be whispering secretly, but the surroundings were so quiet that the voices came clearly to my ears.
At that moment, Aiden approached me.
The figures of the people gossiping about me were hidden by Aiden.
"……?"
I looked up at him with a questioning expression.
"Ahem."
Aiden, covering his mouth with his fist and clearing his throat briefly, glanced down at me.
Then, he muttered cautiously.
"…Please don't mind them."
"Pardon?"
Aiden lowered his posture deeply and whispered quietly into my ear.
"Don't be hurt by what they say. It's just ignorant babble..."
"Ah..."
Only then did I understand what he was saying.
He seemed worried that I might be hurt by the whispering people.
He was the first person to say such things to me, so I didn't understand it right away.
I stared blankly at Aiden, then smiled brightly.
Aiden's eyes trembled slightly.
Watching him, I thought.
This person is really…
"Kind."
"……."
"But it's okay. I'm used to it. It doesn't bother me at all."
"What does that even…."
I said it to reassure him, but Aiden was even more shaken.
It was the moment he parted his lips.
"Lucia."
Startled by the voice that suddenly rang out, I turned my head.
"…Duke."
There was Duke Ego Rodbel.
He was even more radiant, beautiful, and imposing today.
As he appeared, the murmuring voices completely disappeared.
Everyone looked at the Duke with eyes gleaming with awe, admiration, and desire.
However, the Duke's gaze was fixed solely on me.
He scanned me up and down once and said.
"Come this way."
I didn't understand what he meant, but when I saw Banshee and Miracle standing behind him, I understood.
"Yes."
I approached him.
The Duke glanced at me and then moved forward.
People who saw me mixed among the Rodbel family began to stir again.
I felt like laughing for no reason, but then Banshee, who had slipped beside me, spoke to me.
"Hey, you..."
I glanced at Banshee.
Banshee stared blankly at me.
I wondered why he was doing that, then soon gave a faint sneer.
'Is he going to make a fuss again?'
Telling me to know my place, that such a place wasn't fit for me.
But Banshee only looked at me and didn't argue or get angry.
Well, he probably couldn't cause a ruckus with the Duke in front of him.
More than that, right now.
'How can I get out of here?'
I scanned the surroundings, rolling my eyes.
Since it was originally a remodeled restaurant, the structure was slightly different from a normal banquet hall.
There didn't seem to be any other entrances or exits besides the main one.
At that moment, I remembered one more special entrance unique to this place, which was remodeled from a restaurant.
'The passage connected to the kitchen.'
If it's a restaurant, there's usually a passage that leads directly to the kitchen.
'Where is it?'
I rolled my eyes, looking for the passage.
But I couldn't see it well.
It was probably hidden with something so that it wouldn't be noticeable...
'They wouldn't have blocked it off.'
Because they have to keep bringing out drinks and food. It must be disguised so that it's not easily seen.
If I go through there, I can get out without being seen by others.
Of course…….
'It's only possible if I get Aiden away from me.'
I'll put that off for now, and for now, it was a priority to confirm the location of the passage.
As I was just rolling my eyes,
"You."
I heard a voice from beside me.
Did he still have something to say?
I turned to Banshee with an indifferent expression.
"...Well, not bad."
But for some reason, his face was slightly flushed.
'What.'
His expression was strange.
His cheeks were slightly red, like a shy child.
What's wrong with him?
"It's not that it looks good on you, I'm just saying it's not bad!"
"Ah."
Only then did I realize what Banshee was talking about.
He was commenting on my appearance, which had been dressed up for the banquet.
'What's with him.'
The guy who would normally be displeased and ridicule me for wearing unsuitable clothes, saying that no matter how much I struggled, a worm was still a worm.
Then, I suddenly remembered what happened yesterday.
Ah, right.
Me and him.
'Sorry......'
We had something like a reconciliation.
To be exact, I had accepted his apology because I needed Banshee.
'I had forgotten.'
I was reminded of it when I saw Banshee's attitude change.
'What should I do.'
I don't need Banshee anymore, should I just ignore him?
After a brief moment of consideration, I smiled brightly at Banshee.
Banshee's eyes widened.
"Thank you."
"Uh..."
"You look good too."
"Uhh..."
Banshee couldn't even give a proper reply to my words and just stared blankly at me, making sounds like 'Uhh...'.
Could it be that he didn't expect me to react like this?
'I'm surprised too.'
I never thought the day would come when I would say such things to you.
But…….
'There might be times when I need Banshee like yesterday.'
It wouldn't be bad to maintain a decent relationship.
So I said it in a friendly way, but Banshee's face turned red.
Then, he made sounds like "Hmph!" and turned his head away.
'Was I too much?'
My suddenly changed attitude might be burdensome.
'I should be less kind next time.'
It was then.
Tap tap.
Something suddenly wedged itself between me and Banshee.
Startled, I stepped back.
"What are you two talking about?"
It was Miracle who had suddenly jumped in.
"Miracle! You startled me."
When Banshee chided him, Miracle pouted his lips.
"But you two seem to be getting along. That's not fair, leaving me out."
"W-What are you talking about!"
Banshee shouted with a bright red face.
His voice was so loud that it echoed throughout the quiet banquet hall.
When the Duke, who had been walking ahead, stopped, Banshee quickly covered his mouth.
"……."
The Duke swept over us with a nonchalant gaze and then resumed walking.
Only then did Banshee lower his hand, sigh lightly, and glare at Miracle with resentful eyes.
Miracle slipped his arm into mine and stuck his tongue out at Banshee.
"I'm closer to Lucia than Little Brother. Aren't you jealous?"
"That's not it...!"
Banshee retorted in a much smaller voice than before.
But the look in his eyes as he glanced at me seemed to be asking if it was true.
'What's wrong with them.'
I don't know why the two of them are suddenly having a battle of nerves over me.
More than anything, Miracle's arm around mine was too constricting.
I took my arm away, and I felt Miracle looking at me, but I pretended not to notice.
Soon, we went up onto the platform.
The Duke stepped forward.
We stood side by side behind him.
Now that I think about it, I just realized.
'Where did Estio go?'
It was a place where the leading figures of the Empire were gathered, not just any ordinary gathering.
It was a place to showcase the future of Rodbel, and it didn't make sense that Estio, the heir, was not present.
I reflexively looked at Duke Rodbel.
Ego Rodbel was the only person in power who could remove Estio from this place.
However, the Duke was staring straight ahead with an indifferent expression. He slowly parted his lips.
"First of all, thank you for attending this banquet, which was held without prior notice."
His calm, even voice spread throughout the banquet hall. Even though it wasn't a loud voice, it was clearly heard in my ears.
'Magic, huh.'
It must be something like voice amplification magic.
'It's amazing.'
I heard that the banquet was held in a hurry, but I didn't expect them to have even prepared magic.
What would normally take an average family at least a week to accomplish, Rodbel had done perfectly in just one day.
These were things that were only possible because it was Rodbel.
Beneath the platform, there were many people in extravagant attire.
The powerful figures who controlled the Empire were all looking up at the Duke.
I scanned them with my eyes.
But.
'Why can't I see him?'
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