Chapter 127: making Greeting rounds

　The opening ceremony was declared over, and the magic of sound and light shot up into the sky to announce that the horse race was about to begin. They do this every year, they seem to practice on their own on a regular basis, and the skill of the mage corps seems to have improved a lot. The lights and sounds, timed to coincide with each other, colored the blue sky.

“First of all, everything is fine.”

“Excellent opening declaration, Julius-sama.”

“Thank you, Giles.”

　Giles and Christopher come closer. At a time when available personnel are scarce, the two are valuable bodyguards. At a time when available personnel are scarce, the two are valuable escorts. I took the two of them and immediately started making the rounds to greet the visitors. When we met up with mother, we followed the “visitor list” that she had prepared beforehand to find the nobles who were currently visiting the territory.

“Mistress, over there.”

“Thank you.”

　The tallest of the servants that mother has with her looks for someone to greet. As a child, I am too short to see, of course, and mother is not exactly tall either. Therefore,  we were very grateful to have someone like her who could see everything around her.

　And so we went around greeting people for a while. The first day was the most crowded and many important people came. If we could get through today, tomorrow would be a lot easier. With this in mind, I did my best to carry out my assigned duties.

“Julius, you look very tired. You should get used to greeting people more often too. Oh yes, we should go to the royal capital together for this year’s social season.”

“I don’t think it’s necessary…”

　Not good, I don’t want to go to the royal capital where there is nothing to do. Moreover, I definitely don’t want to go to the royal capital just to go to a social gathering.

“You’ll need it sooner or later. If you don’t want to go, we should have more tea parties. Let’s do that.”

　Mother nods her head. It seems that something had been decided in her mind. As expected of the Countess of the Heine Frontier. She may look calm on the outside, but she seems to be strong on the inside.

　It was much better than going to the royal capital, so I decided not to say anything more.

　After lunch, I went on a further round of greetings and found Marquise Mulan and his family. Of course, I immediately headed over to greet them.

“Marquis Mulan, it’s been a while. It is a great pleasure to see you here again this year.”

“Hello, Margravine Heine. Good to see you again. …… What is the Margrave of the Heine Territory up to?”

“He is very busy, so Julius and I are here to greet you today.”

　Mother smiled at him. Perhaps sensing something in that smile, the Marquis Mulan said nothing more. Caro came out from Marquis Mulan’s shadow.

“Julius-sama!　I’ve been looking forward to meeting you.”

“Miss Carolina.  It’s been a while. I am glad to see you are well.”

“I haven’t seen you since we met at the royal castle. Lady Chloe has also been wanting to see you.”

　It is not surprising that Chloe is nowhere to be seen. An assassination attempt on His Majesty the King had just taken place. The royal family could not be seen outside of the royal castle so carelessly.

　At least, they can’t go out until they have the right number of panaceas. I may be feeling a bit formal about it, but I think it’s a natural step to take. Maybe it’s a pattern that I have to go to the royal castle to show my face?　But it’s a good distance to the royal capital, and it’s not that easy to get there. I guess I’ll just have to ask her to put up with my letters for now.

“It seems like Chloe-sama is also busy. I am very sorry to hear this. I don’t mean to say that you are  taking her place, but I do hope you enjoy yourself, Miss Carolina.”

“I will do so.”

　After that, we exchanged greetings with Marquise Mulan and resumed our greeting rounds. Caro’s sister, Miss Hilda, had not arrived. It seems that Miss Hilda is also working hard for her graduation exams.

　The greeting rounds also served as a patrol. So far, there were no problems. It appears that the first day will be uneventful. The day ended with greeting the adventurers we knew.

A few days passed without incident.

　When I had finished my round of greetings and had some time to spare, I received a call from Caro saying “I want to visit Margrave Heine’s house.” She must be coming to see Mira.

　Since there was no particular reason to refuse, I decided to invite Caro. I left the preparations to the servants and caught Mira, who was looking bored by being unable to go for a walk.

“Kyu”

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry, it’s just that there are a lot of people around right now. If you go out now, you will cause a big commotion. So you just have to be patient a little longer.”

　If I take Mira outside and someone sees her, there will be a big commotion. Even so, it seems that there are rumors in some circles.

　Since she is being kept by the Margrave, there are no stupid aristocrats who have come up with strange ideas so far, but that won’t necessarily be the case in the future. We should probably keep quiet for now.

　As I was getting ready, I received word that Caro had arrived. I immediately went to greet her at the entrance.

“Welcome, Miss Carolina.”

“Thank you for inviting me today.”

“Kyu!”

“Mira-chan! 　You’ve grown up!”

　What?　Grown up?　I didn’t notice it at all, but does Mira look bigger to Caro?　With a question mark in my head, I took her to the salon. The tea is already prepared.

　I lead her to a table and let Caro sit down. I put Mira on her lap and sat down on the opposite side of the table. Soon a servant brought the tea. Caro stroked Mira’s fur as if to check her.

“After all, the real thing is different, isn’t it? Oh, I am not dissatisfied with the stuffed animal that Julius-sama made for me, you know.　That one is fine, too. There is also the doll that looks like Julius-sama……”

“Oh, I see.”

　I don’t know what it was, but I was horrified. What the hell is Caro doing with my doll? It’s child’s play, right?　Like make-believe. If he was using it in a strange way, Marquis Mulan would be furious with me when he finds out.

“Chloe-sama also wanted to come here, but she just couldn’t seem to leave. Did something happen?　I’m worried.”

“I see that was the case. I’m worried too.”

　It seems that Chloe has not even told Caro. The royal family is also that nervous. If only we knew if the neighboring kingdom of Lund Al was a enemy or an ally. If that were the case, we would be able to unite as one on this continent.

　

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