Raid (2)

During a slightly late evening, unusually bright lights flickered at the Rishae mansion.

The gentle sound of music and laughter of people blended just right, seeping out to the exterior of the mansion.

"……Sigh."

Elodie secretly let out a sigh.

Social gatherings like this often take place in the Rishae family.

Considering the prestige of the family, one might think such events would be common even in Roach, but the head of the family is notably frugal.

Elodie fiddled with the frills meticulously tucked inside her collar.

Despite wearing this dress quite frequently, she still hasn't gotten used to it.

"Have I gained weight……."

Though she thought no one would hear, men approached as if by magic, each adding their comment.

"How could that be possible. Miss Elodie, you are as beautiful as ever today."

"Of course. Even if you had gained a bit of weight, it wouldn't put a single flaw in your beauty—"

Is that what they call a compliment?

Elodie forced a smile on her lips.

……Truthfully, dealing with such men is alright.

How must they feel, having to offer such embarrassingly flattering compliments to her, now 17?

Even if they truly held affection for Elodie, in settings like social gatherings, they are bound to repeat clichéd and stereotypical lines.

Elodie is the supreme jewel born into the Rishae family.

Were anyone to genuinely reach out to her, the other families would not stand idly by.

Therefore, everyone around Elodie naturally maintains a distance from her.

Ironically, the men here also know that offering clichéd compliments to express their liking is the best way to maintain that distance.

──Hence, at such events, Elodie feels a profound loneliness.

The women are either filled with jealousy and envy, or conversely, overwhelmed by a sense of inferiority, they grovel in a way Elodie does not wish for.

The men, wary of those around them, neither approach nor distance themselves from her.

Gossip, flattery, pretense, those don't matter.

It's not that she's hurt by such things.

It's just the 'fact' that no one speaks the truth to her that constantly weighs on her.

It leaves her infinitely lonely and infinitely bored.

‘……Did he not come this time either?’

While pretending to listen to the men's conversation, Elodie scanned the surroundings.

She was looking for Frondier.

If there was someone at this gathering who could give her a breath of fresh air, it would undoubtedly be Frondier.

She does have noble friends in Constel, but it's not easy for them to attend a social gathering hosted by the Rishae family, and even if they do come, they're busy interacting with the children of other families.

But Frondier, he has never shown his face in the social circles.

His unique laziness and lack of initiative are the first reasons, and the second is that the Roach family has never involved Frondier in the social circles.

'...No. It's wrong to call it laziness. Elodie, you shouldn't think that way.'

Elodie corrected her thoughts.

Until now, she had thought it was merely laziness, but the recent mana depletion incident had opened up other possibilities.

Frondier wasn't lazy; on the contrary, he was working insanely hard behind the scenes.

...It's still just a possibility, though.

Anyway, that's why Frondier showing up this time is also unlikely.

Even though Constel's image has been changing slightly recently, that's a completely different issue from the social circles.

Moreover, Frondier has a very bad relationship with Elodie's brother.

Just looking at that, the chances of Frondier coming to the Rishae mansion are practically zero.

But then.

Creak-

"…Ah."

Elodie's voice leaked out.

The man who quietly opened the door and entered. Even if it weren't Elodie, he would have attracted everyone's gaze.

Elegant and dignified black suit. Sophisticatedly groomed black hair.

The eyes that always seemed sleepy transformed into a mysterious charm when made up.

Frondier approached the head of the Rishae family and greeted him politely.

"Oh, Frondier. I'm truly happy you've come. It would be nice to see you more often in the future."

"Don't we often see each other at my house."

"Ha-ha, are you saying that just to see me? We should introduce you to everyone here as well."

Head Ortel de Rishae genuinely welcomed Frondier.

More than Frondier himself, it was his political influence that was welcome.

The Roach family, unimpressive on its own but significant in the background.

If Frondier could establish good relations with other families here, Ortel could also get a piece of the action.

Indeed, there were already nobles whispering upon seeing Frondier.

Most here were seeing Frondier in person for the first time.

At least in appearance, Frondier was the epitome of nobility, so it was noticeable that some ladies were whispering with a somewhat excited tone.

"Then, if you'll excuse me."

"Sure, take a look around."

Just like when he arrived, Frondier politely greeted,

Turned around, and walked straight towards Elodie.

"…!"

Elodie was startled for no reason.

It was the same Frondier she always saw in Constel.

Moreover, a face that became even more familiar after the October incident.

When Frondier stood in front of Elodie, she briefly chewed her lip.

She was torn between treating him as a friend or with deference due to nobility.

Frondier opened his mouth to say something, but at that moment the music changed.

Couples matched up, took each other’s hands, and started to walk.

It was time for a slow dance.

Frondier forced a smile when he realized this.

“Shall we dance, milady?”

Frondier asked, as if it had just occurred to him.

Caught off guard by his unexpectedly gentle tone, Elodie forgot what to say in response and simply nodded her head.

Frondier took Elodie's hand and joined the dance.

Frondier was not a particularly good or bad dancer.

To put it positively, he wasn’t awkward. To put it negatively, his partner was in danger of getting bored.

However, Elodie had no time to get bored, for many reasons. Elodie licked her lips as she glanced around.

“This is awkward.”

“What is?”

“You and me, here, like this, um, doing this?”

It was a statement with almost no content, but Frondier nodded as if he understood.

“My collar’s bothering me.”

Frondier said, reaching up to adjust his collar with one hand.

It was rude to touch one’s own clothes with one hand while dancing.

Watching Frondier do something so similar to what she had done earlier, Elodie found herself smiling.

“So? Why are you here? You don’t fit in. Did you suddenly develop an interest in high society?”

Elodie asked, feeling a little less tense.

“Of course not. I came to see you.”

Frondier replied matter-of-factly.

So matter-of-factly that it was almost misleading.

Elodie gave Frondier a sidelong glance.

“Would you care to be more specific?”

“I came to ask for your help. You’re the only one I can trust.”

Again, his words were misleading, but they were better than before.

Plus, Elodie much preferred them this way.

“What kind of help… Huh?!”

Frondier pulled Elodie close.

To others, it looked like a perfectly natural dance move, but Elodie, who hadn’t been expecting it, yelped.

“What, what? What’s the big idea?”

“Constel is under attack.”

“……!”

Frondier whispered in Elodie’s ear.

He told her everything he had learned.

He told her what Alex had confessed, about the Disciplinary Committee, and about what the teachers might do next.

At first, Elodie’s face was full of emotion, but as the story went on, it gradually became expressionless.

She had realized that now was not the time to let her emotions show.

When Frondier was finished, Elodie asked,

“So why are you telling me this?”

“When the attack starts, I need you to do your best to hold off the monsters as ostentatiously as possible. So the students and teachers will realize right away that something’s wrong.”

"When will it start? The teachers are devising countermeasures because they don't know when."

"I know."

Frondier states this cleanly, without any emphasis.

There's no tone of persuasion in his voice, as if to convince that his words are true, which ironically makes him more credible.

"If you know when, you could just tell the teachers."

"They won't believe me. There's no evidence. No way to prove it."

"No evidence, no way to prove it, and yet you think I'll believe you?"

"You don't need to believe me."

"…What does that mean?"

At this, Frondier stepped back again.

It was another natural course of the dance.

"Because I believe in you, it's okay."

"…You've picked up some strange ideas again."

Elodie scoffed, but Frondier just smiled.

"When the time comes, you'll see these aren't strange words."