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For a moment, the venue stirred, but soon they all returned to their tasks as if nothing had happened. No, it seemed they started to act that way on purpose. Just as it takes time for the rippling waves to calm down, they occasionally cast glances my way, pretending not to show any emotion.

Naturally, this led to quite a few of them making eye contact with me.

However, each time, we merely exchanged polite nods and no one approached me directly. It seemed that the older nobility, given the ambiguous situation, had no intention of coming near me.

Although I am engaged to the House of Kraus, I am still quite young.

At sixteen, one is somewhat recognized as an adult, but with both Damian and Sir Arthur not by my side now, if I were to step forward openly, I could easily be seen as a naive young girl attempting to butter up those around her. For now, exchanging smiles was more than enough.

However, there were those who seemed unaffected by such constraints. They were the younger children of similar age to me.

It felt like the spark of interest was slowly dimming, but in one corner of the banquet hall, I still felt persistent gazes upon me. Most of them were likely young girls, making it easy to identify them as the children of southern nobility, excluding those participating in the tournament.

In their eyes, I sensed they were eagerly awaiting my arrival.

With the composition of the attendees so distinctly divided, I couldn’t remain awkwardly stuck in the middle. Aware that not all glances were friendly, I decided to move towards them in accordance with their expectations.

“Go for it, Young Lady!”

Hailey quietly cheered me on from behind as she found her own place and left.

Once Hailey’s presence faded, the realization struck me—I was truly alone. Entering a strange place surrounded by unfamiliar faces is not particularly comforting. Yet, it doesn’t make me anxious. I’ve experienced this sort of thing enough in the past to be thoroughly bored with it.

“Lady Edelweiss, over here.”

As I approached, someone naturally initiated conversation.

It was a face I had never seen before, someone who didn’t seem to have any connection from my past. It was one of those who had been sending me glances earlier, but now she greeted me with a friendly smile instead. Even if it was just a superficial kindness, I had no intention of trampling it, so I nodded and took a seat as she guided me.

With a quick scan of the surroundings, I acknowledged those present with a light nod.

“I am Elena Edelweiss. Thank you for your consideration.”

“Oh, right. How forgetful of me. We haven’t introduced ourselves yet, have we? I’m Michelle from Count Frank House. Nice to meet you?”

“Yes, Lady Frank.”

With that, the introduction kicked off, led by Michelle, who had brought me here.

It seemed this woman was the leader of the faction standing before me…

As I sat next to Michelle, I noticed that a small group of people was gathered together, distinct from the others nearby. I locked eyes with a lady among them, who silently greeted me with a smile, and I responded with a nod, matching her expression. Given the similar gaze I had felt from Hailey before, it seemed I had picked the wrong spot.

No matter; I could always move.

Not many people were asking me questions. Most of the inquiries came from Michelle, while the others waited expectantly for her to give them permission to speak. While the atmosphere was not particularly pleasant, it was easier to think than when voices were clamoring from all directions. As I answered Michelle’s questions, I rifled through my memory for information about the Frank name.

Fortunately, it didn’t take long to recall the details.

I wasn’t particularly interested in commerce, so I didn’t remember much, just that they managed one of the more prominent trading houses in the south. I seemed to have heard somewhere that the owner was a woman, so it would fit the circumstances that this woman would eventually be the one people were gossiping about in the future.

The most crucial point of contact that I had with her…

At least to my recollection, there were none.

During my time at the Academy, I had seen the trading house under Count Frank’s control a few times, but that was typical behavior for students from the south. I couldn’t recall having seen Michelle around when it was not Damian, so I began to wonder if her animosity towards me stemmed from a reason I had not considered.

“You’re from the north, Lady Edelweiss. I’ve heard that the northern snows can be relentless with blizzards all year round. Are you perhaps too warm in the south?”

“Not at all! I quite like the warmth. Above all, it’s delightful to see so many different flowers outside.”

Though she spoke as if she were concerned, the real meaning behind her words seemed to belittle the north as a place consisting only of snow. It might be true that outside the city, it’s barren and covered in snow, but that won’t change in the future, so I wasn’t particularly angry about it.

I felt bad for my father, who worked hard for the north, but it was a fact that the south suited me better.

I smiled, defending her disparaging remarks about my hometown.

I could see her lips trembling slightly at my reaction.

Was she astonished?

As if this couldn’t come to a close, Michelle composed herself and continued to ask me questions. Surprisingly, they weren’t as aggressively probing as I had anticipated. While Count Frank may have some standing in the south, it was nothing compared to the name Edelweiss.

“Speaking of which, I’ve heard that Damian entered the tournament. Unlike others, he has previous experience. Do you think he’ll perform well, Lady Edelweiss?”

“Well, I haven’t thought much about the results… I suppose just returning safely is enough for me.”

“You really do seem to have a sweet tooth. It feels like you can’t keep the pastries away from your hands. However, if you eat too much…”

“Huh? Why do you say that?”

“Oh, it’s nothing.”

Michelle glanced down at my waist and, with a slightly sullen face, quickly redirected her question.

With this dull back-and-forth, I felt like I might be the one to tire first in this exchange.

It seemed I had filled enough time, and I thought it might be best to move to another area.

While contemplating what excuse to make, the person I had been searching for suddenly called my name.

“Oh, Sister!!”

The young voice drew everyone’s attention to one spot. There stood a little boy with bright brown hair and striking green eyes. It was evident that everyone was startled to see such a young boy in the banquet hall.

“Alphonse.”

It appeared Michelle and the others didn’t know who Alphonse was. The looks on their faces reflected their confusion about why such a young boy would be here. After all, Alphonse resembled Arwen; if his hair weren’t so light, it might have been difficult for anyone unfamiliar to mistake him for a member of the Kraus family.

“Where have you been? We’ve been looking for you.”

“Hehe. I was just looking out at the forest from the terrace. I’m sorry. I should have let you know before moving.”

“Uh, Lady Edelweiss, who is this child…”

As I stood up naturally to engage Alphonse in conversation, a flustered Michelle approached me. However, without needing to answer her, she noticed the sword and dragon emblem on Alphonse’s right arm and promptly fell silent. She likely had no intentions of interrupting my dialogue with him.

With Michelle quiet, I prepared to leave.

Alphonse seemed to notice this and, despite his innocent demeanor, kept trying to lead me elsewhere.

“Sister, the place I was just at has a lovely view. It’s a bit lonely being all by myself… Could you stay with me?”

“Of course. I’m sorry, Lady Frank. It seems I must take my leave. It has been a quite enriching time.”

“Y-yes…”

By aligning with Alphonse’s timing, I was able to exit without much trouble. Once blended into the crowd, where our figures would be hard to spot, Alphonse and I began to explore the hall together, clapping our hands in a leisurely manner.

“By the way, Alphonse. Were you wandering around the banquet hall without a chaperone?”

“No, I was with one of my brother’s acquaintances inside the hall. Ah, you should meet him, Sister. He seems very interested in you.”

An acquaintance?

For a moment, I pondered Alphonse’s words.

Given Alphonse’s talent for reading people’s emotions, it must mean that the person had some goodwill towards me, yet I couldn’t put a finger on who it might be. Though I wasn’t completely privy to his social circle, most of the people I knew were busy participating in the tournament and absent from this gathering.

In the end, my curiosity regarding this mysterious acquaintance remained unresolved until Alphonse brought me to her.

The spot Alphonse led me to was a balcony that overlooked the elegantly arranged forest, slightly removed from the banquet hall. Brothers are brothers, I suppose. Both Alphonse and I seemed to veer towards the same location away from the hall. I quietly chuckled at the realization as I stepped onto the balcony beyond the curtain.

There was someone already occupying the space, and their silhouette seemed quite familiar.

“Sir Louis!”

As soon as I entered the balcony and called out, Alphonse immediately named the person standing there. The reddish-brown hair flared as a very familiar face came into view.

Her dark eyes, devoid of any emotion, met mine.

Like paint dropped on a blank canvas, a minute shift occurred in her expression. Yet it was subtle; the emotions in her eyes were distinctly opposite to the ones Michelle had just shown me. Slowly, she bowed her head, demonstrating her manners like a knight serving her lord.

“I am Louis Graham.”

Louis Graham.

Even without her introduction, I knew who she was.

Louis was one of the few connections I had in the south. I had assumed she’d participate in the tournament, so I’d never expected to encounter her in a place like this.

How could I possibly forget the six knights who were with me until the end, especially Sir Louis, who consistently maintained a stoic expression in every situation?

Perhaps it was the joy of reuniting after so long that made me sincerely greet her, unlike my previous exchange with Michelle.

“I’m Elena Edelweiss. Thank you so much for looking after Alphonse.”

“….”

She merely shook her head and gazed earnestly at Alphonse, her silence serving as her answer.

Ah, so she remained reticent even now.

After the introductions, a brief silence followed.

Alphonse, inching away, rested his arms on the balcony railing and stared into the woods. I wanted to stand beside him and look at the trees too, but for some strange reason, I couldn’t move, locked in mutual stares with Louis, who wouldn’t look away from me.

“….”

“If there’s something you want to ask…”

She seemed like she wanted to say something but maintained her silence, leaving me to break the silence first. Upon hearing my voice, her ears perked up slightly. After blinking a few times, she turned back to me and said:

“You’re beautiful.”

“Huh?”

That was all she said.

Louis made that short comment and then shifted her gaze to the wall, avoiding me.

I had never experienced anything like this before.

Receiving a sudden compliment left me feeling a bit dazed, but it was also not unpleasant. Knowing her character was one who couldn’t lie, perhaps I valued her words over an avalanche of empty flattery from others.

“Thank you for the compliment, Sir Louis.”

In response, Louis nodded appreciatively. The slight hunch in her shoulders as she did so made her appear like an awkward bear shyly curling up, which I found adorable.

Could it be that she was feeling bashful?

I turned my head towards the forest while awaiting her return to gaze in my direction.

 

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