11. A Plain Party

11. A Plain Party

Though he wasn’t smiling brightly, the crown prince of Aurantia gave us a perfectly polite greeting with no sharp looks. His gaze today was mild. After we finished that anticlimactic greeting, Mr. Fisalis and I continued to hold hands as we walked through the hall.

Tonight was a bit more casual than a state function—more like a social gathering.

...Although I wonder if there’s anyone who actually wanted to get closer to those siblings... Whoops, that was rude of me.

Since the event was also intended for the Aurantian siblings to meet with their officially chosen marriage candidates, I’d heard only young men and ladies had been invited, but something seemed off.

“...Hm? Isn’t it a bit...plain in here today?”

“...You think so too, Vi? I’d just been thinking the same thing.”

Ooh, what a coincidence! Mr. Fisalis and I were actually of the same mind for once!

None of the ladies or gentlemen here were sparkling like they usually would! Every girl who would usually have been decked out in the latest fashion and fighting to show it off were all plain for some reason. The colors were plain, and the designs were all fairly old-fashioned. Normally, a party would be filled with bright and bold hues, like a colorful flower garden. Tonight, though, everyone was in something muted, like an olive brown or maroon.

They’re all so young, but their choices are so subdued! I was glad I ended up wearing a burgundy dress. I would’ve stuck out like a sore thumb if I’d come in blue or orange or something. Thank you, Mr. Fisalis’s uniform!

And most shockingly, although normally everyone would be in the center of the room waiting for dance invitations, most of them were standing along the walls today. Hey, wait! That’s my sanctuary! A few people were dancing, but once they were done they immediately retreated back to the walls. Wow! Wallflowers sure are popular—they’re in full bloom today! All the blossoms are so boring-looking, though... Isn’t that weird?

It wasn’t just the ladies who were plain tonight either. Usually I’d be seeing the men confidently inviting the ladies to dance, but tonight they were clumped up in little groups, chatting or whispering to each other.

Seeing the men all lined up, Mr. Fisalis kept muttering things like, “Huh? Did that guy always have glasses? And ones that are so unflattering, at that... I thought he put a lot of care into keeping himself stylish...” or “His beautiful blond hair was his pride and joy, but now it’s a dull brown!”

What? So some people even came in disguise! And disguised as unfashionable, at that!

“...They’re probably all trying their best not to stand out.”

“Ah, that makes sense~”

Mr. Fisalis and I kept whispering to each other as we looked all around the hall. Even though some candidates had been picked out especially for him, nobody would have minded if someone else caught the crown prince’s eye. That meant all of the ladies were doing their best to keep themselves hidden, in case he took a liking to any of them! The young men were probably thinking the same thing—what a nuisance it would be if someone like that Princess Orangé fell in love with them.

The both of us wandered the hall for a while as we observed, but...

“Duchess, may I have this dance?”

Though there were fewer than usual, people still approached us. This was my job as Duchess Fisalis. I was used to it now, since it happened so often. Resigning myself to my fate, I answered immediately. “Of co—”

Or at least, I tried to reply with my usual “Of course~”, but I was cut off halfway through.

“I’ll be keeping my wife all to myself tonight. Please excuse us,” Mr. Fisalis turned down the offer for me, stepping in front of me as though to block me from view.

What?! I did a double take. Ah, but he had been acting jealous before we came! I completely forgot I had decided to be careful tonight.

Though I expected the noble that Mr. Fisalis shot down on my behalf would be upset, he responded, “Oh, I see! Please excuse me, then,” and gave me a tepid smile before walking away.

I was thankful that Mr. Fisalis had turned down the dancing, since I always get so exhausted prancing around all night, but what did he mean by “all to himself”? While Mr. Fisalis said that so boldly with nary a shred of embarrassment, I was there behind him shrinking in embarrassment. I’m happy you turned the guy down, but couldn’t you let him down gently?!

“Mr. Fisalis! It’s fine that you declined his invitation for me, but what do you mean by ‘all to yourself?’”

“Huh? You are all for me, aren’t you, Vi?”

“Wrong!” You could’ve said it in another way!

After that, every time someone came to invite me to dance, Mr. Fisalis shot them all down. Was he actually jealous earlier? All of this meant that I didn’t dance with anyone at all tonight, which was really unusual. If I end up going all night without dancing, it’ll be a new record! Not sure of what, though.

Just as I was thinking of sitting and having a cup of tea, I heard something surprising.

“Well then—may we dance for the first time in ages, Madam?” Mr. Fisalis asked me jokingly.

Ooh, a dance with Mr. Fisalis, huh? “Of course! Come to think of it, we don’t dance often in places like this.”

“You’re right.”

Our most recent party dance would have been at...the Argenteia’s evening event. Not actually very far in the past, I guess.

Giggling between ourselves, we joined the group of dancers.

“You usually don’t say anything when I dance, so why can’t I dance with anyone else—today of all days?” I asked him a silly question as we slowly waltzed.

“I’m always watching you dance with other men, consumed with envy. That’s why I’m monopolizing you today: to make everyone else jealous.”

“Oh, you joker!”

“Hahaha!”

How does Mr. Fisalis always say things like that so easily, and without even looking the least bit sheepish?

He lifted me up gently and made a graceful turn that made the hem of my dress swirl out. That really put us in the spotlight, huh? Mr. Fisalis seemed to like doing that.

“I’m already always getting jealous stares from enamored ladies, you know!”

“No, they’ve just got their eyes glued on you—because you’re so wonderful.”

“Absolutely not!”

While Mr. Fisalis (who was being extremely sweet today) and I chatted and danced away, we suddenly heard the room start to buzz with conversation. While I wondered what was up, it turned out that the crown prince had come to the dance floor with a partner.

“His Royal Highness is gonna attempt dancing again today, huh? He’s incredibly awful at it. It was horrible trying to keep up with him.”

“Ohh~ You said it, Viola,” Mr. Fisalis said, laughing. I was serious, though! “His partner is... Lady Sanguinneah, apparently?”

“What?! Miss Iris?!” I couldn’t see them from my position, but it seemed Mr. Fisalis had a good view. He stealthily turned us a bit so that I could take a peek, and I did indeed see Miss Iris hidden behind the crown prince’s huge frame.

“Must be time for him to chat with the candidates.”

“Wow... Miss Iris looks so unhappy! Her smile is way different from usual.”

Normally, she’d narrow her almond eyes a bit and smile as if she was genuinely having fun, but today you could see how forced it was. The smile wasn’t reaching her eyes at all!

And what was with her dress tonight? It was dull pink and frilly, the kind of thing that might have been in fashion a while ago. She’d worn something like it when I first met her, but that style had been relegated to the closet lately. Color-wise, that dress had been a lot cuter too, instead of being so muted.

Ah, she must be trying to match Princess Orangé! Or not.

It was unthinkable for Miss Iris to cut corners like this when she used these parties to hunt for a husband. Like, she really wasn’t putting any effort into this. You could just feel how much she absolutely did not want to be his queen. But where did she get that dress? She’s usually so gorgeous and beautiful, but today she’s doing her best to act plain.

“Ah, they just stepped on each other’s feet.” Mr. Fisalis nearly burst out laughing.

“She’s usually great at dancing.” Miss Iris was always a wonderful dancer, but she was stomping on the prince’s foot and missing steps. She seemed to be quite upset, actually. No—she was probably doing it on purpose. Looking closer, she seemed to be stomping on his feet in response to him stepping on hers.

Speaking of the crown prince, he was still as awful as ever. I know, it’s really hard to keep up with him! I speak from experience.

I couldn’t really say it out loud, but when someone doesn’t like their dance partner but can’t turn them down (if they’re higher rank, for instance), they sometimes fake being terrible at dancing or making conversation, to try forcing their partner to reject them instead. Miss Iris was doing just that.

No matter how you looked at it, their dancing was mismatched. Miss Iris didn’t look happy, but the crown prince seemed to have lost what little interest he had in the beginning.

“Looks like he doesn’t like her very much at all.”

“You’re right. Good job, Miss Iris!”

If this kept on, she’d never be chosen as Aurantia’s next queen. I was relieved.