The Ball Came to an End
There were various troubles, but it concluded without issue.
Even after the dance ended, Lady Alyssa remained glued to Lord Doyle.
Perhaps because they’re the same age and had such a fateful meeting, they hit it off completely.
Watching that scene from a distance were the adults of the Abbott region—Elina, Marietta, Brough, and me.
All of us were smiling warmly.
But it wasn’t like, “Now the Abbott region is safe!” or anything like that.
It was simply joy at seeing someone appear who was close in age to Lord Doyle and could become a dear companion.
Especially for Marietta and Brough, it must have been deeply moving.
Elina and I haven’t been in Abbott long, but those two have taken care of Lord Doyle since he was a small child.
Having lost his father early and endured hardship, seeing him now being accepted by those around him must make the moment shine even more brightly.
“To think it would turn out like this...”
“I had heard rumors that Duke McCreed’s daughter was difficult, but to think she’d get along so well with Lord Doyle…”
Even as people gradually left the venue and the crowd thinned out, the two of them showed no sign of ending their conversation.
If possible, we would have liked to let them stay like that, but time-wise, it was starting to get difficult.
We had to move to the inn.
I was about to call out to them, but someone beat me to it and came over to us.
And that someone was an unexpectedly prominent figure.
“Are you all associated with the Tryon family?”
When the four of us turned around, we saw none other than Lord Donald, head of House McCreed and Lady Alyssa’s father.
“L-Lord Donald!?”
As we hurried to kneel, Lord Donald’s simple statement, “No need to stand on ceremony,” stopped us all in our tracks.
Well, of course.
He’s the head of a ducal house.
We commoners aren’t exactly in a position to speak casually to someone like that—he’s quite literally someone from above the clouds.
But Lord Donald didn’t put on any airs. He spoke to us in a calm, gentle tone.
“It’s rare for that girl to open up to someone like that. Could it be that he’s the one who helped her when she slipped away from Gracela?”
“Y-Yes.”
“I thought so. Alyssa didn’t tell me his name, but she spoke so happily about how brave he was. I’ve been looking forward to finding out what kind of young man he might be.”
So Lady Alyssa said something like that… Could it be…?
Well, whatever happens is up to the two of them, so it's not our place to interfere.
Still, it was a big deal that Lord Donald, the family head, viewed Lord Doyle so favorably.
To be honest, I had expected the Duke to act much more high-handed or cold, but Lord Donald was nothing like that.
Judging someone without ever meeting them clearly isn’t right. I guess I picked up some strange bias from past experiences.
Anyway, thanks to Lord Donald’s gentle approach, the tense atmosphere around us melted away in an instant, and we were soon relaxed enough to share some light-hearted conversation.
And then—
“I’d like to hear more from all of you. It’s getting late, and those two still seem far from finished talking—so, how about staying the night?”
An unexpected invitation was suddenly offered.
What do you think about this chapter?
