Chapter 9 : Chapter 9
Volume 1
Chapter 9 : Step Onto the Battlefield, Young Man!
“She hated that too?”
Muen scratched his head in confusion, feeling rather baffled.
He felt that he had already expressed the utmost sincerity and goodwill.
There had been nothing wrong with either his words or his conduct, and there should not have been the slightest trace of offense.
And yet Ariel, as the protagonist, clearly did not appreciate any of it.
“Hah. It seems the conflict between me and the protagonist really cannot be reconciled.”
Muttering that to himself, Muen quickly tossed that little unpleasantness to the back of his mind.
Because no matter how deep the conflict between him and Ariel might be, after tonight, their fates would become two completely separate parallel lines that would never meet again.
“From now on, you can go be your savior, and I’ll go be a working man. We both have a bright future ahead of us!”
After pumping a fist toward Ariel’s departing figure, Muen refocused his attention on the matter at hand.
There were still many guests waiting for him to receive them.
...
“Princess Selicia…”
“The protagonist, Ariel…”
“And Lia, the future saintess of the Life Church…”
“Those seem to be the only people I really need to watch today.”
As the lights came on one by one, Muen finally watched the last distinguished guest on the list enter the banquet hall after standing at its entrance for a full two hours, thus completing the task of receiving guests.
“Hah, I’m exhausted.”
Muen rubbed his aching lower back with some fatigue.
If the original owner had not at least possessed a bit of training, he would probably have collapsed today under the weight of that twenty-kilogram formal suit.
“You’ve worked hard.”
The Duke, whose beard was as thick and full as a lion’s mane—in other words, Muen’s bargain father—had appeared at his side at some point, carrying a plate of pastries, which he held out to Muen.
“You’re hungry, aren’t you? Have something to eat.”
“I am a little hungry.”
Muen grabbed a pastry and stuffed it into his mouth.
Only at times like this could he stop caring so much about noble etiquette.
“How does it feel?”
“It’s all right.”
“Did you remember all those noble lords?”
“How could I possibly?”
Muen gave a wry smile.
“There were so many of them. Just figuring out who was who had already taken everything I had.”
“Haha, no need to rush. Take it slowly.”
Duke Campbell spoke with satisfaction.
“You’ve already done far better than I expected.”
“Hah, thank you.”
Muen smiled in response.
“It was only what I ought to do.”
“But after this, you won’t need to work so hard.”
Duke Campbell patted Muen on the shoulder.
“Rest for a while before you go in.”
With that, the Empire’s lion—still in the prime of his life—straightened his back and slowly walked into the banquet hall like an old general heading onto the battlefield.
Muen watched that tall and stalwart figure from behind and could not help sighing softly.
“He’s a good father.”
In truth, as the central figure of this coming-of-age ceremony, Muen had not needed to stand here receiving guests at all.
But the reason he had done so was because Duke Campbell had specifically arranged it that way.
As the Duke’s son, with Muen’s status, he would inevitably be “besieged” by those hyena-like nobles during the banquet to come.
They would all be trying to snatch a piece of meat from his hands—or simply carve one directly from his body.
And since this coming-of-age ceremony was itself a banquet meant to present Muen to the world, he would have no choice but to face their “assault.”
It was easy to imagine how difficult that would be.
So Duke Campbell had arranged for him to receive guests here instead.
Only after formally exchanging greetings with those hyenas in advance would the banquet’s scavengers have no excuse to bypass the lion and turn their fangs upon this not-yet-fully-grown “young lion.”
Though it was called a coming-of-age ceremony, in Duke Campbell’s eyes, Muen still seemed very far from truly being grown up.
“What a pity. Tonight, I’m going to disappoint your expectations.”
The original novel had never described Duke Campbell’s eventual ending.
But judging from how deeply he doted on Muen, once the future Muen Campbell turned into that sort of person and he found himself powerless to change anything, he surely would have been heartbroken beyond measure.
“But this time, things will be a little different.”
“I’ll live well.”
“Even if it’s as an ordinary person.”
Muen swallowed down the last pastry.
The satisfaction brought by a full stomach lifted his spirits once more.
Even that twenty-kilogram formal suit no longer seemed quite so unbearable.
“And next… comes the battle that belongs to me.”
...
Night deepened.
Inside the banquet hall, glasses clinked constantly, and the place was as lively as could be.
Yet Selicia stood alone by the balcony, quietly admiring the nighttime view of the ducal estate.
In truth, in an age without electric lights, no matter how beautiful the scenery was, at night it would still be little more than darkness, with almost nothing to see.
And yet Selicia continued gazing out at the night without the slightest trace of impatience.
It was as though, in her eyes, that empty and pure darkness was far more beautiful than the noisy banquet behind her.
“To leave Your Highness standing here without company seems to make me a rather discourteous host.”
Selicia lifted her cool eyes and met that gentle smile.
Muen Campbell was still graceful, still impeccably courteous.
Standing at a distance that was neither intrusive nor too distant, he placed a hand over his chest and elegantly offered Selicia an invitation.
“Then, may I have the honor of inviting this beautiful princess to dance?”
“You’re inviting me to dance?”
“Of course.”
Muen smiled faintly.
“Was my invitation not clear enough?”
“...”
A trace of doubt flickered through Selicia’s eyes.
But after a moment of silence, she still placed her small hand, encased in a white silk glove, lightly into Muen’s palm.
“Tonight is your coming-of-age ceremony. Naturally, I have no reason to refuse.”
“...Thank you.”
For some reason, Muen’s expression suddenly stiffened for an instant, but he quickly returned to normal.
Taking Selicia’s hand, he led her into the very center of the banquet hall, the focal point of every gaze.
The music began, gentle and unhurried.
Muen held Selicia’s hand, one arm lightly supporting her slender waist.
As their steps moved with the rhythm, the two of them seemed like a pair of butterflies fluttering together through the air.
“Your dancing is not bad.”
“Thank you for the praise. Though in truth, it is merely passable.”
Muen smiled with restrained modesty, like some great master concealing his brilliance.
But in reality…
He simply had no confidence at all.
Even Muen himself had never expected that the original owner—that ignorant, useless, foppish fool—had actually learned noble dancing rather well.
No wonder he had felt uneasy for quite a while after Selicia agreed to dance with him.
What puzzled Muen slightly, however, was that according to the original novel, Selicia was supposed to refuse his invitation to dance.
So why had she accepted it this time?
“You really have changed a little, Muen Campbell.”
Selicia spoke suddenly.
Muen’s heart instantly skipped a beat.
Could it be that the secret of him being a transmigrator—a secret even Duke Campbell and his wife had not discovered—had actually been noticed by Selicia?
“In Your Highness’s eyes, do my manners no longer resemble those of a noble?”
“No. That is not the change I meant.”
“Then what was it…?”
“The way you invited me.”