Episode 11: Dance in the Darkness

“I’m terribly sorry!!”

When we moved Razer, who had caused the commotion, to a separate room, the first person to arrive there was his older brother, Caesar Kilmond.

The other one of the boys who had caught my eye earlier.

And if Razer was a capture target, then without exception, he was also a capture target.

Caesar’s personality was the complete opposite of Razer’s.

With bright golden hair and eyes, a gentle demeanor, and what you’d call princely charm, he was a character who boasted quite high popularity in Celestia Kingdom.

While this game had a diverse variety of characters, I remember that in popularity polls, only Caesar and two others competed for the top spots.

That same Caesar was now prostrating himself before me with tremendous force.

Or rather, it was practically a dogeza. I thought, so that concept exists in this world too, though it might just be a coincidence.

“No, um, please raise your head… Caesar-sama.”

Even I couldn’t help but be overwhelmed by that force. I truly thought so, not just as a social courtesy.

A noble doing dogeza to a servant alone had quite an impact.

Besides, he was 2 years older than Razer, meaning 2 years older than me, so he was 12.

Being bowed to by someone older was unsettling, and since he was still practically a boy in age, I felt like I’d be the bad guy if I didn’t stop him.

“Just what was all that about?”

“You mean… Razer?”

I’d let slip and called him “that,” but Caesar didn’t get angry or point it out. Rather, he seemed to understand.

What I heard from his mouth was quite the story about Razer’s daily life.

While the parents were strict with Caesar as the eldest son and leading candidate for the next head of the family, they apparently spoiled Razer quite a bit.

They gave him whatever he wanted, which caused his desires and attitude to inflate more and more.

As a result, he developed a distorted perception that if he asked for something, he would get it, and apparently this incident occurred because of that.

“So Razer-sama really wanted to dance with Eleanore-sama, then.”

“…Most likely. Eleanore-sama is an extremely beautiful person. I had just told him that if there was a woman he was interested in, he should try inviting her.”

When I casually asked, Caesar said this with a pained expression.

What’s that, a tsundere? No, there’s no demand for that. If anything, it’s more like an elementary schooler picking on the girl he likes.

If he’d asked straightforwardly, there might still have been hope. Well, that probably would have been impossible for him.

“What will happen to Razer-sama, I wonder?”

The silence was unbearable, so I brought up a random topic, though the moment I said it, I thought it was a rather harsh topic for his actual brother.

And when I heard the response, I felt even more sorry.

“…Well, I don’t know. It’s up to Adalbert-kyou’s discretion. But at the very least… for bringing shame to the family and losing their trust, he probably won’t escape banishment.”

“Banishment!? Banishment… you mean that kind of banishment…?”

“Y-yes.”

A word I’d only heard in light novels came up, and I ended up repeating it over and over.

Looking at him sleeping soundly beside us, I started to think it might be happier for him to just keep sleeping like that forever.

***

I think I was questioned in that room for an hour.

When I finally felt relieved and returned to the venue with a deep sigh, everyone was dancing to elegant music.

Perhaps because they were nobles and accustomed to it, their movements showed no hesitation.

Since this had the meaning of socializing, there must be pairs among them dancing who had no relationship with each other. Yet their movements were so perfectly synchronized that you couldn’t tell at all.

As I was thinking how nobles really are different while looking around, I spotted her figure to the front right.

“Eleanore-sama.”

“Arcs!”

Her face, which had been looking down, suddenly looked up, and she stood and rushed over to me.

“Are you… alright? Um, you seemed to be talking for quite a while.”

“Yes, I have absolutely no problems. The injury wasn’t serious, there were witnesses, and I didn’t harm anyone, so there’s nothing to be blamed for.”

“I see… I’m truly… glad…”

After hearing my story, she let out a relieved sigh.

I’d made her worry unnecessarily.

Well, of course she’d be worried after I was suddenly grabbed by the collar, pushed down, mounted, and punched.

Really, Razer really messed things up.

“Well, it seems Razer-sama is going to have a hard time from now on though.”

“That’s only natural. He was as tyrannical as a bandit, and should receive whatever punishment comes.”

B-bandit. That’s quite the harsh criticism…

Following those words, she muttered something quietly, but I couldn’t quite make it out.

However, seeing her state, I didn’t ask her to repeat it.

Though her facial expressions were still limited, she was quite furious.

It was a perfectly normal emotion, since a problem had occurred at her own birthday party.

“…I’m sorry for ruining today…”

“Why is Arcs apologizing? The one who should apologize is that ape-like person, certainly not you.”

“But…”

I might have been able to prevent it.

If I had investigated his temperament at the invitation stage, we could have excluded him there, and this situation wouldn’t have happened.

That was nothing but my own lack of ability.

Well, given that schedule, it would have been difficult to investigate each person individually, so there is an element of hindsight to it.

“Besides, it’s not ruined… we don’t know that yet.”

Her gaze lowered slightly.

At times like this, she was usually hesitating about something.

After we shared plenty of silence, she opened her mouth.

“…Shall we go outside for a bit?”

***

Outside it was completely night, and it was a dark world where even the moon wasn’t showing its face.

Though it was a familiar garden, I needed to let my eyes adjust and step carefully or I’d trip.

Eleanore and I had come quite far from the mansion, to the edge of a pond formed in a curved shape.

Though there was no moonlight, the surface of the water sparkled, receiving the faint light emitted by stars as small as dust.

For a while after arriving here, we stood side by side, gazing vacantly at that water surface.

“…Come to think of it, did you dance, Eleanore-sama?”

The thought suddenly occurred to me, and I broke the flowing silence.

It had been a while since the dance time began, but I hadn’t seen her dance since I’d been away.

“…No, I didn’t dance.”

“Eh?”

It wasn’t quite enough to make me doubt my ears, but I couldn’t help but let out a sound at her answer.

Dancing was common knowledge for nobles and could be said to be the heart of this party.

Finding someone who seemed good and building a relationship was basically the underlying theme of a birthday party.

To ignore that, and moreover when she was the star of tonight’s party, to still not have danced yet, was a bit surprising.

“Really? Weren’t you invited by other nobles or anything?”

“I was. But I declined them all…”

Declined?

With her status as a count’s daughter and being the star, she must have been in high demand, yet she declined them all?

Why… would she do such a thing?

Before I could ask that, she continued speaking.

“For my first… I wanted to dance with Arcs.”

Even in the dark, her expression was clearly visible.

“…With me?”

She wanted to dance with me?

I understood the words, but my comprehension hadn’t caught up yet.

Why, or rather, why with me. And why with such a bright red expression.

“Actually… I wanted to invite you yesterday, but… I couldn’t find the courage. And then I ended up saying it at the last minute like this.”

As if to cover it up, she showed a smile. The tips of her ears were red beyond concealing.

All her hesitant behavior up until now was because of this… is that it?

No, that’s, how should I say it. It’s quite… embarrassing.

“I-is it okay? With someone like me… I mean, I’ve never danced before.”

“I’m not very good at it either. …That’s why I came here.”

Eleanore slowly stood up while looking up at the sky above.

“Here, no one is watching. Right now, even the moon is hiding.”

The sky was a little lonely.

Only small stars twinkled faintly, and there was nothing else.

Just like a dance floor with no people.

“I see, certainly, here we won’t be embarrassed even if we dance poorly.”

Understanding her intention well, I also slowly stood up.

“Yes. Even if Arcs falls, I’ll keep that blunder all to myself.”

“…I’d appreciate it if you would…”

I smiled wryly at her mischievous way of speaking.

Well, I certainly don’t want to show such an unseemly sight in front of her… but if I do fall, I’ll be grateful for her spirit then.

“Well then, Arcs Leefort-sama. If you would be so kind, would you take this hand?”

The etiquette and manners she must have learned from Nanai-san.

Stating a formal invitation, she held out that small hand toward me.

“Yes, it would be a great honor. Eleanore Anciness-sama.”

I wasn’t very familiar with how to respond at times like this, but I showed what courtesy I could in my unfamiliarity and took her hand.

The music was echoing far away in the mansion, but we danced quietly and awkwardly under the dark sky.