Chapter 603

Debut Party (12)
I’d just about finished chatting with everyone I was close to.
My guards were still nearby, and Marquis Vardmoi remained in the hall, but everyone else had scattered off.

The official reason for this event was to celebrate my promotion, but realistically, you’d almost never get this many powerful figures—both domestic and foreign—all gathered in one place.
Most of them were busy trying to build connections.

His Majesty had gone off somewhere, and Lord Sazaby… maybe he’d gone to talk with Elder Bastaraf?
Even the members of the Eight Seats were nowhere to be seen.

So, what should we do?

“… Hmm, Lily, are you free?”

“Eh? Well, yes. There’s still some time before the final dance, so I suppose I am.”

“Good. Then we’ll go greet the other four of this country’s Five Marquis Houses. They seem curious about us but have no intention of making the first move.”

Ugh, nobles really are troublesome.
Still, since Marquis Vardmoi himself was inviting me, I might as well go along and at least say hello.
Apparently, all of them were gathered right now anyway.

“There they are. Come on.”

“Yes, sir. Still, nobles sure are a hassle.”

“Some houses have nothing left to sell but their lineage… though even then, there aren’t many willing to buy it.”

Marquis Vardmoi sure had a sharp tongue.

He led me toward a section on the second floor, a bit removed from the central area.
The air over there felt… different. Tense, prickly, somehow oppressive.
So that’s where the other marquis families were, huh?

“Enjoying yourselves, everyone?”

Marquis Vardmoi stepped casually into their circle.
Wow… gutsy move, considering the atmosphere.

“… Vardmoi, you’ve got it easy, don’t you? Rising to your station thanks to your patron’s success.”

“True, it’s thanks to my former ward’s rise that I’ve had it easy so far. But from here on, I’ll have to make sure I’m not the one getting eaten, Marquis Wallas.”

So that must be Marquis Wallas—the nervous-looking man with the small mustache.
If I recall, he’s a pro-royalist.

“Q-quite right! To think that a mere merchant could gather all five marquises together!”

“You were the one who came here of your own accord, Marquis Wedoi.”

Ah, so the short, pale man was Marquis Wedoi—one of Wallas’s subordinates.

“And yet Princess Rodenlight seems awfully carefree. To hand over the nation’s entire educational system to a common merchant?”

“You go too far, Marquis Titanus.”

“But think about it, Marquis Regalfa. At this rate, our plans for nurturing human resources will be ruined.”

The tall, muscular one was Marquis Titanus, and the bespectacled, narrow-eyed one was Marquis Regalfa.
Titanus was anti-royalist, and Regalfa neutral, if I remember right.
Ugh, my head was already starting to spin from all this political nonsense.
Troublesome. Just… troublesome.
That word kept looping in my head over and over again.

“So, you dislike the idea of losing control over education that much, Marquis Titanus?”

“Of course I do. If things continue like this, the plans I’ve been preparing will go up in smoke.”

“Oh?”

Plans?
That caught my attention.
Might as well ask while we’re greeting them anyway.

“Um, what sort of plans do you mean?”

“Hm? … Ah, Lady Lily, was it?”

“Yes, Lily. Earlier, we—”

“It’s fine. No matter how you phrase it, that was our country’s failure.”

Huh?
He’s anti-royalist, isn’t he? I expected him to seize the chance to start trashing the royal family—but apparently not?

“The royal family must serve as the foundation for the nation’s future. Yet with their heir turning out the way he has, we’re bound to repeat the same downfall as the old kingdom. His Majesty should have realized that sooner.”

“Forgive me, but I heard you were opposed to the royal house?”

“Hm? Oh, I am. But my opposition lies with how they conduct themselves. I despise the current trend of neglecting education.”

Oh?
Now this was someone I could actually have a proper conversation with.
I needed to listen more carefully to this man.

Also… which faction was it, again, that opposed Marquis Vardmoi’s group and was trying to feed nonsense to Little Bern?

What do you think about this chapter?