Normally, most people hurriedly lowered their gaze, but a young lady suddenly walked slowly towards me.
‘Ugh. … Why, why are you coming?’
Did Deborah do something to this lady in the past?
I was anxious about the unexpected situation, so I drank the glass of champagne in one shot again.
“Greetings. Princess Deborah.”
Fortunately, she didn’t have resentful eyes.
‘But what kind of conversations do the ordinary ladies have in this place?’
We’re not going to have conversations like analyzing the current state and research trends of mana energy density changes
.
As I was only used to talking to the 5th Princess, I swallowed dry and looked at her.
She introduced herself as Leah Horens. Perhaps that’s why there was a slight favorable impression in her nervous eyes.
‘It’s the lady who had trouble with her presentation last year because of Princess Emmanuelle.’
I think I heard it briefly from the 5th Princess.
‘The enemy of my enemy is my friend.’
“It’s an honor to meet you, Princess Deborah.”
“Nice to meet you.”
“Ah! And congratulations on the successful completion of your first presentation.”
‘Success? I only caused a ruckus.’
That’s why I asked Isidor to put me at the very end in the order of presentations.
‘I heard that social clubs often bite and tear each other apart during academic conferences, so if you win, does it mean you succeeded?’
I kept silent, carefully picking out what to say to be moderately dignified.
“Hm. Right.”
In the end, I gave an awkward answer and picked up another glass of champagne.
Lady Leah responded with an awkward smile.
While she and I were facing each other while having a drink, a gentleman, who was standing nearby, approached and greeted me.
“Princess. I am Max Purnier. I presented a thesis at this conference about the relationship between the strength of spirits and the environment. Do you remember? I was the second presenter.”
“I was impressed with that thesis.”
I remembered his announcement that photosynthesis would be good for the spirit of light, so I carried the holy beast on my arm in the form of a tattoo on sunny days.
‘And the weather was nice today.’
As I inadvertently touched my arm, Max picked up a glass of champagne that was in the corner with a complex face.
Was it just me or did it feel like they were borrowing the power of alcohol to be able to talk to me?
“I was also very impressed with the Princess’ magic tool.”
“That’s right. I really thought it was revolutionary. Sir Max and I were very impressed.”
Apparently, the two of them seemed to know each other, and Max stepped in to help Leah?
While the three of us stood awkwardly and had a formal conversation, the interior was suddenly noisy, and our eyes naturally turned to the entrance of the frat house.
Even though he was surrounded by countless people, I could immediately discover Isidor.
He was very tall, and he had an intense presence that changed the mood around him at once.
He entered the hall with his vassal, naturally revealing his position in the crowd.
“You’re early.”
I thought he would talk to the nobles gathered around him, but instead, he smiled brightly and walked to where I was standing. My hands trembled without me realizing it.
Countless gazes, that weren’t even comparable to before, looked at me.
‘I am a bit afraid of attention.’
I quickly picked up a glass of red liquor.
The somewhat sweet cherry flavor eased my tension momentarily.
“Princess Deborah, this is your first group gathering since joining us, right? You seem to have become acquainted with Lady Leah and Sir Max already.”
“This is the first time I’ve met Princess Deborah.”
“We were just talking about our theses.”
“It’s nice to see you being friendly. This is late, but shall we toast to celebrate the Princess joining our club?”
As he naturally said a congratulatory speech and raised his champagne glass, the people in the hall gathered and toasted.
In an instant, I found myself surrounded by people, and someone popped a bottle of expensive champagne.
Clink-!
The loud clashing of glasses containing golden liquid disturbed my ears.
The gaze of the Epsilon members who looked at me was not so harsh.
‘It feels weird.’
I was used to being hated here.
“From the formulas to the magic tools. I would like to welcome Princess Deborah, who has been the most active this year.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
The sight of the white champagne bubbles rising with welcoming greetings pouring from all over the place felt immeasurably unreal.
I felt like I was mixed into a glamorous party like what you would see in the movies.
While I was blinking slowly, like Alice who had entered Wonderland, Isidor spoke in a calm voice.
“Have you eaten?”
“Ah, yeah.”
“I’m glad to hear that. Don’t drink too much on an empty stomach. This thing is quite strong.”
Isidor said, holding a glass of the same red liquor as me.
It just seemed like a delicious cherry drink.
While I was looking around at the red glass, the 5th Princess approached Isidor from behind.
“Sir Isidor. I can’t believe you already popped the champagne without me. I’m really disappointed. I wanted to introduce Princess Deborah to everyone.”
“You should have waited a little bit.”
After that, other executives such as Thierry and Guillaume entered one after the other, and the atmosphere became more bustling.
It turned out that Max Prunier, whom I had spoken with earlier, was also an executive.
Of the six executives, only one seemed unable to attend due to work.
The 5th Princess hinted that it was not common for the leader to be present and five executives to gather.
“The seniors sent us a lot of gifts because we finished the conference well.”
Soon, a large three-story cake and expensive wine appeared, and the after-party gradually became more boisterous. If they didn’t speak loudly, you couldn’t hear the other person well.
And I was introduced to all the members of Epsilon who attended today.
As a place where competence was valued, there were some talented people who had already been promised employment as Summoners, Chiefs of Faculty, Sword Experts, and even employment at the Wizardry Association.
‘Now it feels like I have joined a social club.’
However, as time went on, I couldn’t concentrate well on the conversation, so I narrowed my eyes slightly.
‘Am I getting drunk?’
Thinking about it, whenever I was nervous, I drank champagne and liquor little by little.
‘But I’m still okay. Still.’
I thought this much was okay because I was fine even after drinking a lot of the strong wine that I had received as a gift.
Strangely, Isidor’s white-gloved hand kept catching my eye, but I brushed it off as if it was nothing.
‘I’m not drunk yet!’
I wasn’t drunk.
***
‘Princess Deborah really seems to be sober.’
As Miguel looked around the party, which was at its peak, he found Princess Deborah standing upright.
He felt it every time he looked at her, but she was a person who looked very glamorous and cold at the same time.
“I can’t believe she’s giving off that atmosphere from the beginning of the party to the end. As expected of Princess Deborah.”
“… I think she’s drunk.”
At that moment, his master, who was standing next to him, frowned and muttered.
“How do you know that?”
Princess Deborah had an expression that was cold enough to make drunken people get themselves together, and she looked the most sober in this place.
He felt like he had to bow down and express how grateful he was for her being here.
‘She’s definitely different from usual.’
Isidor narrowed his keen eyes like a veteran informant.
First of all, her complexion.
Her face was paler than usual, and only her earlobes were red.
Above all, she was stepping only on the golden parts of the marble floor decorations with the heel of her shoes.
‘And… I feel like she’s keeping an eye on me for some reason.’
A chill, which he did not know the meaning of, arose from his gloved hand.
“Huh? I think she’s looking this way.”
While Miguel was guessing where Princess Deborah’s gaze was, Thierry, who approached her with a gentle face and a nice smile, covered her.
“Though I’m surprised that those two are close, they are quite a good match… my Lord?”
At the same time, Isidor, who was next to him, disappeared.
On the other hand, Thierry was talking to Princess Deborah in a hurtful mood.
“Why haven’t you come to the music room lately? I’ve been practicing a difficult song lately.”
“… I was busy.”
If she was going to give such a cold and brief answer, why did she pause for three seconds?
‘I’m quite popular.’
Thierry swallowed his tears and spoke again.
“Then are you a little more free now? No matter how busy you are, can’t you give me five, or ten minutes? There’s loyalty between us.”
“… Ten minutes?”
She moved her red lips slightly.
“Can you come?”
As he held his breath and waited for an answer, there was suddenly a strange sound and the back of Thierry’s pants got wet.
Guillaume had spilled the champagne behind him. The veins stood on Thierry’s forehead.
“What the hell are you doing? I’m all wet! And you spilled it right on a spot where people can misunderstand.”
“S-Someone just tripped me! Was it a ghost?”
Guillaume muttered with a pale, frightened face.
“You must have tripped yourself.”
“It must be like that, right?”
“More importantly, how are you going to take responsibility for my pants? I was going to stay here until dawn.”
While the two of them were having a fight, Princess Deborah suddenly went outside.
Then, she looked up at the back of the townhouse, and standing under a big tree, she saw the stars in between the leaves.
“Drink this.”
Isidor, who had at some point approached her, gave her a glass of water.
Deborah’s red eyes were once again fixed on his hand holding the glass of water, and Isidor tilted his head.
“What, do I have something on me?”
