Chapter 78

After the massive shock of his first party, Paul had lost all desire to appear in social circles.

Even though he had always mocked his sister for her constant failures to secure an engagement, he found himself thinking—despite knowing it was unacceptable—that he no longer cared about his own engagement.

Seeing her son in such a pathetic state, his mother, dressed in a heavy gown and thick makeup, spoke up.

“Oh, Paul. Don’t dwell on past failures forever. It’s a shame about Lady Celine, but you were just nervous because it was your first party. You’re talented, unlike Agnes, so you’ll be fine.”

He was not fine!

But he couldn’t say that to his mother. Because Paul was the “talented heir.”

His pride wouldn’t allow him to honestly admit that he had been mocked relentlessly and had returned without any results.

And the fact that this would likely continue in the future… was something he could even less bring himself to say.

Why did he have to suffer such a miserable experience?

Paul bit his lip and ran toward his room.

On the way, he passed the door to the drawing room. It seemed they had a guest; his father’s voice and the voice of an unfamiliar man echoed from within.

It was rare for anyone other than relatives to visit the Eventail house.

His father used to say that back in his great-grandfather’s day, nobles visited the territory constantly, but nowadays, out of deference to the great House Eventail, they had adopted a policy of not intruding on the mansion unless for urgent business.

His disrespectful sister hadn’t believed his father’s stories, and Paul, having attended that party, was also beginning to feel a sense of resistance toward accepting his parents’ words at face value like he used to.

Curious about the conversation inside, he strained his ears and overheard a startling exchange.

“Honestly, to marginalize House Eventail like this… His Highness the Second Prince is a lost cause.”

“Precisely, Marquis Eventail. Why not consider switching to our camp?”

“I suppose so. After the death of my grandfather, who served as Assistant Prime Minister, my father was stripped of his power by the Queen’s kin and driven to the frontier. Since then, the national work handled by our house has been nothing but minor chores. That is why I joined the Second Prince’s faction instead of the Princess’s. However, I cannot remain silent regarding the Second Prince’s insolent behavior. He is, after all, a prince born from a woman of low status.”

“Then, are we to understand that you will cooperate with us?”

“Yes, let us lend our strength to Lord Robin. However, I cannot show my face in public.”

“You shouldn’t worry about that. Even if it is a royal order, it comes from the powerless Second Prince. As long as it isn’t an event he attends, there should be no problem.”

“In that case, whenever the Second Prince is present, I shall send Paul…”

His heart hammered against his ribs at the unexpected mention of his own name.

“Ugh, uuh…”

Paul cringed, stifling the urge to scream, “There’s absolutely no way!”

He was already sick and tired of crowded places; if a member of House Eventail showed up at an event attended by the Second Prince, they would be in a completely hostile environment without a single ally.

It was obvious he would suffer even more than he had at the previous party.

Unable to sit still, Paul rushed out of the house. However, he had no idea where to go and could only wander aimlessly around the neighborhood.

The territory ruled by the Eventails was rural, but a small town spread out around the mansion. Sparse residents moved to and fro along streets lined with a hodgepodge of old eateries, inns, general stores, and houses.

Suddenly, someone called out to Paul as he wandered among the people.

It was a suspicious-looking man with blond hair who looked like a traveling merchant.

“Oh? Judging by those clothes, would you happen to be from House Eventail?”

“Who are you? You look incredibly shady.”

“I’m not shady, not shady at all. I’m just a wandering merchant. By the way, are you in some sort of trouble? You’ve been circling the same spot for a while now.”

“That’s…”

Realizing he had been watched this whole time, Paul’s eyes darted around in awkwardness.

Just then, a new person arrived. She was a tall beauty with reddish-blonde hair hanging down her back, dressed in flashy clothes not usually seen in this territory. She looked to be about the same age as the merchant.

“Bell, we’re leaving for the frontier soon. We’ve figured out their movements; we can leave the rest to the subordinates… wait, who’s the kid?”

“Latrice, apparently he’s the son of House Eventail.”

“Why is someone like that wandering around? What should we do?”

Hearing their conversation, Paul was intrigued by the word “frontier” that Latrice had mentioned.

In this country, the only place referred to as “the frontier” was Sutrena, where his sister lived.

“Are you two going to the frontier? Do you mean Sutrena?”

“…We are, but what of it?”

“Take me with you! To the frontier!”

Faced with Paul’s desperate plea, Bell and Latrice exchanged surprised looks.

“I have money.”

Paul had few acquaintances; excluding his parents, his sister was the only one who came to mind.

It wasn’t that he intended to ask for her help, but he wouldn’t be satisfied until he had given her a piece of his mind.

The fact that he was suffering like this was entirely his sister’s fault. She ought to do something about it.

“Hoh, how interesting. Bell, let’s take him.”

At Latrice’s words, a ray of hope shone in Paul’s heart.

“Don’t blame me if Lord Nazelbert holds a grudge, Latrice,” Bell muttered.

“I hear Lady Agnes is a refined woman. I’m sure it won’t turn out badly.”

“…Well, he’s just a kid, so it probably won’t cause any trouble. Fine by me.”

It was then that Paul was formally told that the duo consisted of a merchant named Bell and a noble lady named Latrice.

Apparently, Bell had been asked by Latrice’s parents to escort her to the frontier.

“What is a noble lady going to do in a place like Sutrena?”

Faced with Paul’s tilted head, Latrice declared, “I’m going to buy up that Viola Berry jam that’s trending in Sutrena.”

It wasn’t exactly the behavior of a proper noble lady, but she didn’t seem to care, humming a tune to herself.

For a young lady of age to head to the frontier alone was unthinkable in the Eventail family.

Paul decided to leave the Eventail house without telling his parents. If he said anything, they would absolutely stop him.

With a sharp whistle, a carrier pigeon named Poppo flew over from the direction of the mansion.

Poppo was the precious pet of the friendless Paul and his companion for strolls through the sky.

After that, the two kindly agreed to transport Paul all the way to the Sutrena frontier.

Bell’s magic was a very rare type called “Storage,” and it seemed he could manage all his luggage with it. He even claimed he could put himself inside “Storage.” He said it was useful when he needed to hide. And then…

To Paul’s disbelief, Bell pulled two riding beasts out of the storage and told Paul to get on.

“Isn’t it illegal to ride beasts anywhere except near the frontier!?”

“If we go by carriage, it’ll take a ridiculous amount of time. These guys are properly trained, so they’ll be fine.”

Latrice was already straddling a beast and pulling the reins.

The magnificent pegasus, with its beautiful wavy blue-gray mane, looked at Paul and let out a “Pffft” neigh as if mocking him.

“Why you…!”

“Master Paul, you’ll ride with me. Latrice’s driving is dangerous.”

Bell pulled Paul’s arm as he moved to scold the beast and placed him on another black pegasus.

“Alright, let’s head out!”

At Bell’s signal, the pegasi took off into the sky all at once.

Riding a pegasus flapping its wings at high speed was nothing but a terrifying experience for Paul.

However, Bell’s pegasus was far better than Latrice’s, which was wild and erratic.

In this manner, Paul arrived at the central district of the Sutrena frontier much faster than usual. Bell and the other girl dropped Paul off in front of the Lord’s mansion and flew off somewhere.

After floating there for a while, Agnes appeared.

As Paul climbed out of bed, a maid arrived and told him she would call for Agnes.

“That muscle-brain interrupted us earlier, so I couldn’t speak properly. This time for sure…!”

Paul clenched his fists tightly, trying to steel his resolve.