The Male Slave of House Sianella - Chapter 60

Chapter 60: Adelheit Aisilia (2)

Adelheit and I locked eyes.

My image reflected in her beautiful, jewel-like amethyst eyes.

For a brief moment, she seemed to take in my entire appearance, as if trying to discern something.

‘What could she possibly be looking at?’

It wasn’t just that my face was presentable. I wasn't someone to be ashamed of, but I wasn't so handsome as to capture a princess's attention.

At least, that was my gut feeling.

Adelheit seemed to be searching for something more fundamental, something beyond outward appearances.

The princess's intense interest.

Minor nobles from the kingdom's outskirts or central nobles eager to curry favor would have been overjoyed and honored.

‘But I’m suffocating.’

At least for me, this kind of intense gaze was nothing but radiation shortening my lifespan.

‘Isn't she staring for too long?’

What might be a fleeting moment to others felt like an eternity to me.

Meeting the gaze of the head of a Marquis house, no, even a Count house like Ainel was burdensome enough.

But this was the interest of a princess, someone beyond even a Duke, focused entirely on me.

What commoner could ever experience such a chilling encounter?

Moreover...

‘…Why is she making that face?’

The princess was frowning at me.

Having accompanied Sione to her coming-of-age ceremony, I’d heard whispers about Adelheit’s reputation.

A woman like a sage who had seen through the world.

Someone whose face held not just tranquility, but a deep-seated weariness with everything.

A princess who maintained an unmoved expression even when her mother, the Queen, tested her in countless perplexing ways.

That Adelheit, whose reputation preceded her, was frowning at me.

‘My life is truly cursed.’

Feira Feiosha had already been glaring at me and Sione as if regretting she couldn't devour us.

Even that Marquis's daughter's intense interest felt like a giant boulder weighing on my mind and body.

Now even the princess seemed to be becoming an ardent fan.

‘I feel sick…’

I forced the corners of my mouth, threatening to turn downward, back up.

No matter how awful the situation, openly showing my discomfort before a princess would be insane.

Perhaps the one fortunate thing was…

"Whew..."

After that brief, intense moment, her amethyst eyes finally shifted from me to someone else.

Though I thought I detected a hint of reluctance in her gaze as she looked away…

What mattered was that the princess's interest had moved from me to another noble.

I breathed a sigh of relief at that thought.

Then, Sione, who had subtly approached, cautiously spoke.

"Ray, don't you think we're attracting a bit too much attention?"

Attracting attention?

"What do you mean?"

"Exactly what I said. Some nobles seem to be watching us. Like…that lady over there, for instance."

I looked at the noblewoman Sione indicated.

Indeed, as she’d said, the woman was glancing at us repeatedly.

And she wasn't the only one.

Those perceptive enough to catch the princess’s momentary change in expression were all subtly observing me, pretending not to.

“…You’re right. We should be more careful with our words and actions.”

“Indeed…we should.”

Sione cautiously surveyed those showing interest.

She looked like a lioness guarding her prey.

“Is it alright if you don’t talk with Lord Noah any further?”

“Noah said he would speak with his mother for a bit. He probably wants to somehow make contact with Her Highness now that she’s here.”

“I see…Then shall we move as well?”

“Move? What do you mean?”

“Lady Ainel gave me a list of people she thinks it would be beneficial for you to connect with. They’re people it wouldn’t hurt to build relationships with, both for the family and personally, so it would be good for you to talk with them.”

“Hmm…if Mother said so…”

Sione pondered for a moment, then nodded.

“Alright, can you tell me who they are?”

“Of course.”

At Sione’s words, I looked around.

Among those present, the people Sione needed to meet were…

Ah, there they are.

“Lady Aria Alenar, second daughter of the Alenar Marquis house in the kingdom’s north.”

A beauty with a lithe figure, ash-gray hair reaching her shoulders, and a cold, sharp, impassive impression.

The Cold Lancer of the North, Aria Alenar.

“Lady Leona Refilia, eldest daughter of the Refilia Duke house, a central noble.”

A noblewoman whose every movement exuded elegance.

With beautifully shining blonde hair and a benevolent aura.

The mage who pledged loyalty to the radiant royal family, Leona Refilia.

“And…Lady Feira Feiosha of the Feiosha Marquis house.”

Even now, she was still glaring at us with obvious displeasure. Feira Feiosha.

There were three noblewomen in total.

“The Alenar and Feiosha Marquis houses, and even the Refilia Duke house…Isn't it too much that there isn’t a single Count house among them?”

“Though House Sianella holds the rank of Count, its influence rivals that of Marquis houses. Moreover, as you wish, Lady Sione, we can speak with members of Count houses later, so don't worry about that.”

“Hmm…”

Sione already seemed exhausted.

Indeed, Sione’s social circle consisted only of me, Siabel, and Noah who seemed to have some enormous misunderstanding about her.

For Sione, who had lost her social skills after being cooped up, this wouldn't be easy or welcome.

But what could we do? Ainel had ordered it.

And we had a bet riding on this.

Sione had no escape.

“Then who would you like to meet first?”

“Wouldn’t it be best to meet the lady from House Feiosha first?”

“Really?”

“Yes. Besides, though my relationship with Feiosha might be uncertain…the relationship between Sianella and Feiosha is quite good.”

“Hmm…”

Though Feira Feiosha’s reaction seemed far from amicable.

From the moment we entered, Feira hadn't shown any positive emotions, only displeasure. I wanted to suggest postponing our conversation with her, but…

Looking at Sione, she seemed to have made up her mind. I just nodded quietly.

Well, it wasn’t me who would suffer.

It was Sione. I just had to watch from behind.

If Sione seemed about to make a mistake, I could subtly nudge or pinch her.

“As you wish, Lady Sione.”

Sione nodded at my words.

Just as she was trying to decide when to approach Feira…

Feira approached us first.

I discreetly stepped back to observe their conversation.

“You…are the second daughter of House Sianella, Sione Sianella, correct?”

“…Yes. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Lady Feira Feiosha.”

Feira, who looked exactly like Julia, frowned and took a sip of wine.

Gulp.

Meeting Sione’s gaze directly, she continued in a flat voice.

“…I’ve heard much about you from my only brother, Evan.”

Though Feira’s expression remained calm, her words and the surrounding atmosphere were heavy.

“Even though it was a political engagement, for years…every time the seasons changed, he sent letters, but you never replied even once.”

Feira swirled her wine glass, watching the ripples of violet liquid.

“And then, with remarkable audacity, you came to our Feiosha Marquisate and grandly declared you wanted to break off the engagement, in the garden no less.”

Feira, seemingly exasperated, drained the remaining wine in her glass.

“Moreover, while showing complete indifference to Evan, you were chatting and laughing with other men here.”

Feira’s gaze shifted toward me, standing quietly behind Sione.

I bowed my head to Feira, finally understanding why she’d been glaring at Sione, me, and even Noah.

The despicable fiancée who’d kicked her brother to the curb after leaving him with nothing but scars.

And the utterly despicable woman who, as if she’d completely forgotten her fiancé, was happily chatting and laughing with Noah and me.

That must be Feira’s impression of Sione.

“Sione Sianella. We have things to discuss, don’t we?”

The situation was turning into a soap opera.

Sione, hearing Feira’s words, seemed to realize things were going south, and she began to sweat.

As I watched their confrontation…

Noah, having finished his conversation with the head of House Beleia…

“Sione, who is this…?”

…wandered into the middle of Sione and Feira, and Feira’s smile deepened.

‘This is going to be difficult.’

Things were too tangled.

At this rate…

It would be better to give up on building a close relationship with Feira Feiosha and focus on the other noblewomen.

With that in mind, I decided to just watch and see what happened.

“…Good luck.”

“Indeed. Feira Feiosha, whom I saw at the social gathering, never smiled so readily. This is quite an interesting situation.”

“Isn’t it?”

There’s a saying that tragedy is comedy at a distance.

It perfectly fit this situation.

It seemed the woman who had responded to my comment also thought…

Wait, responded?

I quickly hid my surprise and turned toward the voice.

And standing there…

“I’d also like to talk with you. Could you spare me a moment?”

“Your Highness…?”

The First Princess, Adelheit Aisilia, was looking at me, her purple eyes shining.

Next Chapter

Index

Previous Chapter