4. At The Welcome Party

4. At The Welcome Party

Mr. Fisalis must have been busy working—he didn’t show up by the time the party was underway, and I ended up stuck in the usual endless stream of dance requests.

“Duchess Fisalis, please dance with me next!”

“Of course!”

Since I was getting so many invitations, I had to do my best to make sure I didn’t piss Rohtas off—er, I mean, disgrace Rohtas! Mr. Fisalis had been super cranky about me dancing with young (or worse, single) men, but this was my job. I did it as well as I could.

On the other hand, Miss Iris and the other ladies were aggressively dancing with young (and ideally single) men. Miss Verbena was among them. Even today, they were devoted to their search for a husband. That would never change.

Currently, there was a light waltz playing. Tonight’s lineup was super easy, since none of the songs played were difficult to dance to. After I lost track of how many dances I’d been invited to, I got a glimpse of the crown prince dancing. Amazingly, his presence was unique enough that I could tell it was him just from a single glance.

Since he was huge both vertically and horizontally, the lady dancing with him seemed tiny in comparison. Just being with him would make you feel like you’d been on a diet! Or...maybe not.

It looked like he was really bad at dancing. He was messing up his steps so badly that it was incredibly obvious. I really felt for the lady he was dancing with. I’m cheering you on internally, Mystery Miss!

But since I kept seeing him out of the corner of my eye, I started to get curious just because he stood out so much. And one of those times I was looking, our eyes met.

Guh! This is super bad! We made eye contact! He’s gonna think I’m some super rude lady who stares at people! I quickly looked away from him and pretended it never happened.

But unfortunately, that was the start of our eyes meeting even more often. I happened to glance somewhere, he was there. I turned, he was there. This definitely wasn’t me just being self-conscious—literally any time I felt like someone was looking at me, there he was.

Damn, this is scary! Is he targeting me because I was staring before?! I wanna get out of here before I leave some kind of impression!

Quite a bit of time had passed since the party started, but Mr. Fisalis hadn’t shown up yet, and the dance requests were never-ending. I was exhausted. I just wanted to go home. I’d been doing my best today! I’d even been subtly advertising the sapphires! Just as I was ready to stop dancing and sat down for a break...

“May I have this dance, young maiden?”

Someone behind me asked this question. I was pooped, so it should be okay to say no, right? I turned around, completely ready to say that I was done for the night, and...

It was Prince Sore Thumb standing behind me. Yes, the same crown prince of Aurantia that I kept catching with his eyes on me. He was smiling as he held his hand out towards me, but the air around him was kind of intimidating. Hmm. Is his face the problem, because it’s just so chiseled and craggy? No, his smile... Ah, now that I look at it, his eyes aren’t smiling at all. That’s why it’s so scary! The crown prince was looking down at me with a gaze that would have shook the Demon Lord Bellis.

Guh... The crown prince himself is asking me for a dance! Me! There’s loads of beautiful ladies in this hall, and he asks me! ...But this is an invitation I can’t refuse. Even I know that much.

“Is something the matter, young maiden?” he asked again, apparently tired of waiting while I stared at him silently.

Maiden... I’m not a “maiden.” I’m married! I’ve gotten so used to being called Madam. Ah, but I can’t leave a state guest waiting, no matter what is going through my mind.

“If you’re not bothered by dancing with me,” I ended up replying, giving him my best good-wife smile.

The crown prince took my hand and led me to the very middle of the dance floor. From what I saw of his dancing earlier, he definitely wasn’t good enough to be dancing right in the center, but... Whoops, excuse me! Whatever the case, we really had no business dancing somewhere this visible. Ah, but maybe he wanted to stand out no matter how much he sucked (there, I said it☆) because he was the guest of honor. I’d very much prefer not standing out at all, though.

Though since he’s so huge in the first place, it might be impossible for him not to stand out. I’ve got no choice but to try to make sure I don’t mess up my own steps.

As I internally begged the orchestra not to play anything difficult as we waited for the next song, my prayers were answered with an easier tune. Most of the music they’ve played today is easy, huh? Are they doing that on behalf of the crown prince? I’ll definitely be fine dancing to this song, as long as nothing else happens. Despite my relief, I still needed to keep on my toes.

“May I have this dance?”

“Certainly.”

Giving the traditional back-and-forth, we began to dance to the waltz’s melody, but in no time at all he nearly stepped on my feet. That was close... He really does suck at dancing. He looked so confident, but his dancing was awful. The tune currently playing was an easy one that kids learned when they first started. The only turns were the super simple ones, and the individual steps weren’t hard either. I wanted to ask how in the world he was managing to mess this up. That’s how easy it was.

But Mr. Crown Prince here was missing his steps constantly, so it was incredibly hard to keep up with him. I’d become so used to practicing with Rohtas and Mr. Fisalis that I’d started taking their dancing as the standard level—wrong of me, I know. Even the average partygoer in Flür was good enough that I never noticed. I’d be okay, though. Thanks to Professor Rohtas’s teachings, I could still dance properly, even with a partner as terrible (I said it again☆) as him!

“Ah, yes—I haven’t asked for your name yet, lovely maiden.” While I was doing my best to keep his terrible dancing from messing up my own, the crown prince kept talking without a care in the world. If you’re gonna act so calm, at least get your dance steps right!

Dancing like this isn’t just dancing, you know? Basic dancing abilities are important for this. That way, you can take the time to chat while you dance, and that brings up a lot of opportunities. For me, I advertise our “Viola Sapphires.” I can’t just come out and ask people if they want some sapphires without them thinking I was nuts, but when they say my sapphire accessories are pretty, it gives me a smooth opening to tell them all about them. And for people who want to meet that special someone, it gives them a chance to get to know each other and see if there might be sparks.

Professor Rohtas taught me all about the true purpose of dancing. I had barely been passable as a dancer before Rohtas had drilled the skill into me, but I was never as bad as this. Stepping on your partner’s feet was unthinkable. Rohtas would go mad if he saw how bad the crown prince was at this.

I’m spending so much time concentrating on my steps that I can’t even socialize properly!

...Whoops, I guess I might have been a little too frank there. Socializing was my job, so I swallowed down my true thoughts and kept smiling as I did my best not to let him drag me down.

Oh, but he’d asked my name.

“Viola Mangelica Fi—”

“Viola, huh? What a cute name. It suits you perfectly!”

“...Thank you very much...”

He cut me off without listening to the whole bit. Don’t talk over me! He was the one who asked, and he didn’t let me finish! I was nearly about to start glaring, but I rushed to slap a smile on my face instead.

“And how old are you, Viola?” The crown prince must’ve been encouraged by my smile, because he asked another question with nary a hint of remorse for interrupting me.

“I’m eighteen—”

“Oh, how young! Ten years younger than me! I see, I see...”

Hey! I was answering your question and you cut me off in the middle again! I don’t want to deal with this guy anymore...

He was having a grand time chatting at me, but was still missing most of his steps. You’re terrible at best, so concentrate on dancing rather than talking! Do you realize how hard it is to dance while dodging your feet?! Jeez, I just want to stomp on his now.

I resisted the urge to glare again and looked up at him; he looked happy, but his eyes were still pretty intimidating. Was the “smile doesn’t reach his eyes” thing a habit? It’s so different than Mr. Fisalis’s sparkling smile. Rather than sparkling, the crown prince’s eyes were glinting...

“Your hands are so delicate. It looks as if you’d be helpless if I held them,” he said with a smile.

Don’t squeeze my hands with those gnarled paws of yours—I’m terrified you’re gonna squash them, the way you’re looking at me! And you don’t need to hold them so tightly while we dance. It hurts! Ah, jeez, I miss Mr. Fisalis’s elegant but masculine hands...

“O-Oh my, oho ho ho ho...!” I couldn’t keep my smile from twitching at this point!

Our conversation—which really consisted of me being asked something and him not listening to my answer—continued, and I was already getting groggy by the end of a single song. Someone save me! Oh no, I’ll have to run away myself!

In the end, I wasn’t able to get away and I was forced to dance with him for a second song. Taking care not to get my feet stomped on while also matching his horrible dancing used up much more of my concentration than usual. Even my own steps were starting to get iffy, and I was pretty sure I’d end up stomping on his feet in turn before long. Just as I was preparing myself to run...

“Viola—I’ve been looking for you. Marquis Pastoris is waiting for you over there. It’s been a long time, hasn’t it? Your Highness, would you allow me to borrow my daughter for a moment?”

Just before a third song started, Father Fisalis came to the rescue. My hero! I have no idea who Marquis Pastoris is, but I don’t care. I’ll take any out I can get!

“Oh my! It’s been so long since I’ve seen Marquis Pastoris. I’d love to go have a chat. Thank you ever so much for the dance, Your Highness.”

“Huh?! You’re leaving already?” the crown prince grumbled begrudgingly, but...

“How many years has it been?”

“Hmm... So long that I can’t even remember!”

Father Fisalis and I just kept up the act as we walked away, acting as if we couldn’t hear him.

“Whew, thank you so much, Father Fisalis!”

“You did your best, didn’t you, Viola?”

“Yes, I did! I tried, but it was impossible!”

“I saw. It’s okay. Don’t worry—you aren’t at fault here!” He comforted me with a pained smile.

I did the best I could, but the steps just weren’t working out (the crown prince’s dancing was so tedious) and our conversation didn’t click (the crown prince kept cutting me off.) Our time socializing left me with more questions—like, is all of that okay to do?

Just as I was headed back to my safe place by the wall, determined to spend the rest of my time there inconspicuously, I noticed Miss Iris and the girls frozen and whispering to each other. The usual four were all looking in the same direction. What were they looking at?

“Miss Iris? Is something the matter?” I asked, closing in on them.

“A-Ah, Miss Viola. No, we were just looking at Aurantia’s princess.”

“Their princess?”

Looking at where she was subtly indicating, I saw Princess Orangé of Aurantia. It seemed she was chatting with the Queen of Flür and the princesses.

“Oho ho ho ho! This frills-on-frills dress I’m wearing is the very peak of Flüran fashion! I had it made especially for this occasion. I wonder if that’s why I can feel all of the men’s gazes on me?”

“...”

There was a lot of ambient noise and there was music playing too, but we heard Princess Orangé’s voice loud and clear. Actually, she’s just way too loud.

“The men are looking at you for a completely different reason than you think,” Miss Iris quipped, looking disgusted. Ouch! Her vicious tongue is still in full force! I was in complete agreement, though.

“She’s way behind if she thinks frills are still in here in Flür.”

“Is she even looking at the people around her? If things like that were still in style, wouldn’t everyone be wearing one? Does she really not notice that not a single person here is dressed like that?”

“Should someone tell her?”

“This all happened because there was no one who could tell her.”

“That’s true...”

Everyone was stunned, overhearing the princess. Even I couldn’t stop listening. I see, so the reason she is in that dress was because she thought it was the top of fashion in Flür, not because it was popular back in Aurantia. What do I do? I can’t exactly back her up. Looking around, I saw other people forcing smiles with their shoulders shaking after hearing Princess Orangé.

But the princess herself didn’t seem to notice that everyone was staring. “He only saw glimpses of me before, but when Duke Fisalis sees how dolled up I am tonight, he’ll definitely rethink his decision! Can you imagine if he throws his wife aside and runs straight into my arms? Ahh, how romantic!” Or so she thinks, anyway.

That’s kinda... Um.

Completely off in her own world, Princess Orangé twisted her round... I mean, full body this way and that as she got herself all worked up.

Aah, I can see the first princess trying so hard not to laugh. She quickly turned and hid her face behind her fan pretending to cough. You’re doing good, girl! The second and third princesses were also doing their best not to laugh, the edges of their lips twitching with the strain. The Aurantian princess didn’t notice, but the queen sure did, and she was glaring at them.

Seemingly a bit irritated at Princess Orangé babbling, the queen spoke—gently, but very clearly, denying the foreign princess’s nonsensical daydreaming. “I don’t believe that will happen, Princess. Duke Fisalis loves his wife very, very much. I would even go as far as to say that he positively dotes on her.” Oh, looking a bit more closely, the queen’s eyes aren’t smiling either!

“Oh, really? I thought for sure he’d choose me. What a pity.”

“Oh yes, what a pity! Oho ho ho!” the Queen laughed, hiding her mouth behind her fan while her temples visibly twitched. Princess Orangé really was something, nearly shattering the perfect masks of pro socializers like the royal family! Do your best, Your Majesty!

While my heart was racing as I watched over our royals, I heard someone holding back a laugh next to me.

“Pfft... Where the heck is she getting that confidence from? Has she looked in a mirror lately?” It was Miss Iris, trembling from the strain of keeping her laughter under control. Keep holding it back, Miss Iris! You absolutely cannot laugh now!

“I understand completely why Consul Argenteia was trying so hard to avoid having to marry her,” Miss Columbine said, having repressed her laughter so much she actually looked kind of serious.

“But someone has to be sacrificed for the sake of normalizing diplomatic relations after the war and showing that our countries are now friends.”

“Don’t say sacrificed, Miss Nastersham!” I nearly shrieked, trying to stem the tide of savage burns coming out of my friend’s mouths. Everyone is being too honest here! What happened to your social masks, girls?!

“Wouldn’t it be a better show of friendship to give up on making someone marry her?” The girls all harmonized, very quietly.

Damn, both of the Aurantian royals are just full of points to dig at. The two of them really are dense.