35.
“I doubt there is much point in confirming this, but… I shall ask. Mr. Isaac, you are indeed the youngest son of the Sinclair family, are you not?”
I had been worrying internally about when I should bring it up.
Helen spoke as if she had known all along.
Well, she was Chloe’s maid, after all.
“…That is correct.”
“I thought as much.”
Helen answered with a serious demeanor.
Then she nodded and brought out her next question.
“May I ask… to what extent are you acquainted with the noble ladies?”
It was an uncomfortable question.
Is it even okay to answer this?
I wondered if Chloe might barge in, saying, “You have other close noble ladies besides me!?” after hearing what I was about to say.
But it was not as if she could be unaware.
There were always noble ladies among the lines stretched out in front of the shop.
Even so, feeling overwhelmed, I snuck a glance, and Helen was staring right at me.
As if asking what I was hiding.
Then there was nothing I could not say.
“If you mean whether we are close enough to be called acquaintances, I am not sure… First, there is Young Lady Chloe… Ah, Lady Levantia.”
Helen smiled faintly and said,
“Please speak comfortably. Given our relationship.”
Awkward.
I did not know what kind of relationship she thought we had, but.
“Then, starting with Young Lady Chloe, my sister Veronica, and Lady Fluer…”
“Hmm, hmm.”
Helen nodded as she listened.
I recalled the people who had come and gone at the counseling office.
Not short-term visitors, but those who had become regulars.
“Lady Sylvia… Lady Maria… Ah, these ladies also came for their fifth visit last time…”
As I continued listing them, Helen seemed somewhat taken aback.
“…There are more than I expected.”
“No, it is because I mainly received them as customers… Ah, though the term ‘acquaintance’ might just be my own thought. I was also referring to frequent customers.”
“If there were no acquaintance, they would not come back to such a back alley.”
A fact I learned once again.
This neighborhood sure was looked down upon.
Then what did that make me, who was in this neighborhood?
“Ah, Serena… No. Would the Saint also be treated as a noble lady—”
“She would not. Please do not say such things elsewhere.”
“Yes.”
I shrank under her gaze, which looked as if I had uttered something blasphemous.
“Then naturally, Lady Agnes as well…”
“You mean Lady Agnes Valentina.”
“Yes.”
“As the eldest daughter of Baron Valentina’s house in the Holy Kingdom, she naturally possesses blue blood.”
Ah, so she was fine with this one.
Well, she did not have divine protection, either.
Anyway, now that I thought about it, there were quite a lot.
No wonder the silver coins had piled up to over a hundred.
Though most had been given by Chloe.
When I stopped, Helen summarized.
“So starting with our young lady, plus Lady Sinclair…”
Counting them one by one, she spoke.
“Lady Fluer… Lady Sylvia… Lady Maria… and Lady Agnes… plus additionally…”
She rattled off the list and then glared at me.
A single short word.
“Playboy.”
“What?!”
“I am joking.”
Do not say that with such a serious expression.
Because it hit far too close to home.
Helen set down her teacup.
As if she had put away the earlier joke, her face turned businesslike again.
“Mr. Isaac.”
“Yes.”
“Forgive my rudeness, but may I offer a suggestion?”
What kind of suggestion?
But wait.
Helen seemed to be planning something.
From my perspective, I had no idea what she was planning, but.
She had only asked about the noble ladies. Was there something she was going to gather them for?
“Please go ahead.”
“The connections you have built up until now are far wider than I had realized.”
Right.
I had been surprised myself at how many there were as I listed them just now.
“Therefore, I believe it would not be a bad idea for you to have an occasion, at least once, where you gather all of them together in one place.”
Hmm. A gathering for customers.
Listening to her, it did not sound so bad.
Like a business tea party for regular customer management, perhaps.
Now I understood why she had only asked about the noble ladies.
But…
‘If it is a tea party, the image is pretty bad.’
Because Chloe had whined so much about them, in my mind a tea party was a horrific occasion.
A place where you could not speak your true feelings and were forced to drink tasteless tea.
“I have never done something like that before.”
So I tried to gently refuse, but.
“Our young lady would gladly take charge of it.”
“If Chloe is handling it…”
“Yes. I shall take it that you have given your consent… is that alright?”
“Of course.”
Helen slightly lowered her eyes.
She looked somewhat satisfied.
But perhaps because the uncomfortable expression had not completely left my face, she spoke as if to reassure me.
“If it is after that gathering, the matter of moving will become much easier.”
At those words, I nodded.
Helen smiled strangely, as if she had succeeded.
The matter of moving.
Since I had been planning to move anyway, it would not hurt to look into it through this opportunity.
Even if I could not move to a good neighborhood, I felt I could move to a moderately quiet and better one.
As Lady Fluer had mentioned before, nobles owned much land.
Once my thoughts were organized, I expressed my gratitude to her.
“Thank you. For looking into all these things for me.”
“Not at all.”
With an elegant gesture, Helen added her final words.
“The details will be conveyed directly by our young lady through a letter. You need only be present at ‘that day’s gathering.’”
Helen put particular emphasis on “that day’s gathering.”
Common sense dictated, how could I not go when it was a gathering meant for me?
So what I would say was obvious.
“Understood.”
“Then I shall take my leave.”
She left a deep bow and quietly departed.
Compared to what I had been worrying about today, things seemed to have suddenly resolved smoothly.
Something felt strange, though…
‘Anyway, it is welcome news as far as I am concerned.’
I could not keep worrying forever.
If I did, my head would grow too muddled and I would end up doing something strange.
Someone else taking care of all the bothersome details while I simply showed my face.
‘It could not get more convenient than this.’
***
And two days passed.
Days of consultations as usual.
However, there was one slightly different thing: Chloe had visited the counseling office two days in a row.
She stayed a little longer than usual.
With an even bigger smile.
“Mr. Isaac.”
Cradling her teacup in both hands, Chloe stared at me intently.
“Yes.”
“Black suits you very well.”
“…All of a sudden?”
“No. Simply, I happened to notice.”
She set down her teacup and reached out.
Her hand crossed over the table.
As she gently straightened my collar, she said,
“And do you not think black and white go very well together?”
Her hand lingered longer than one would expect from simply adjusting my clothes.
At the same time, she subtly gestured with her eyes toward the ribbon tied in my hair.
If she did this, then I could not simply stay still.
“You always wear it well. Always.”
“Hm-hm.”
A smiling face beyond the teacup.
Her turquoise eyes sparkled once.
Meanwhile, more items had appeared in the shop.
On the desk, a white bouquet with a vase.
Another heart-patterned cushion with deeper colors.
These were things Chloe had brought, saying I should think about the shop’s image.
I could understand everything else, but.
What kind of image did a shop with heart-patterned cushions even have?
***
The other guests were also subtly different from usual.
Lady Fluer had visited wearing a slightly more glamorous green dress.
With her characteristic innocent expression, she looked at me and fanned herself.
“…Did you not say you had no interest in high society?”
“It simply turned out that way.”
It seemed Chloe had organized something presumed to be a tea party.
Since he had said he was not interested when she invited him, she might be somewhat sulky.
But I had been thoroughly trained by Chloe sulking countless times.
Lifting this kind of person’s mood was easy now.
“By the way, your dress looks lovely today.”
“…Does it?”
She answered haughtily, but the speed of her fanning slowed, as if satisfied.
A moment later, Lady Fluer cautiously asked,
“Do you think it would be alright to wear this then?”
If she meant “then,” it was surely for the tea party.
“Yes. Wherever you are, you will be the most eye-catching.”
I swallowed the follow-up, “Because it is quite revealing.”
It was a dress showing cleavage, unlike her usual style.
“R-really?”
Her fanning suddenly sped up.
Each time the fan went back and forth, her bright red face was visible.
“Then… I shall wear this on that day.”
“An excellent choice.”
Seeming satisfied, Lady Fluer left with her fist clenched tightly.
Watching her, I put on my business smile.
***
Next was Lady Sylvia.
To be honest, I could not remember what kind of person she was.
She was just a guest who came in quietly, received counseling quietly, paid quietly, and left quietly.
Her presence was so faint that she was someone whose name I had only barely remembered when speaking to Helen earlier.
…Now I felt bad.
But today, this person was somewhat different.
Normally someone who rarely even raised her head, today she was looking straight at me across the table.
The consultation itself was the same, but…
“I shall leave this behind.”
When Lady Sylvia finished the consultation and stood up, she placed a small pouch alongside the silver coins.
A pouch embroidered with a family crest in silver thread.
It was heavy when I held it.
“Um… what is this?”
“I would appreciate it if you accepted it.”
“Yes. Thank you.”
Anyway, it meant she was giving more money.
I had no reason to refuse.
Judging by the weight, it was several times the usual amount.
However…
“Please do not worry. I will give it to you properly then.”
“…Huh?”
She said something cryptic.
Swaying her hips seductively, she left the counseling office.
I did not know what “then” meant, or why she said she would give more then.
‘If she is giving more, it is not a loss.’
I could barely let it go with that thought.
***
Lady Maria was similar.
Normally someone who kept her eyes closed for half the consultation, today her eyes sparkled unusually brightly.
As she left, she even secretly placed a single small flower on top of the bouquet.
When I tried to ask about it, she ran out with her cheeks burning red.
And Agnes.
No, should I call her Lady Agnes now?
This person had a somewhat amusing reaction.
After the consultation had finished, she came to the counseling office and paced in front of the window.
Quick footsteps.
Three steps to the right, three steps to the left.
Occasionally stopping to smooth her habit or brush back her brown hair to check her reflection in the window.
I could see everything from inside, which was awkward.
She surely had business here.
Thinking so, I opened the door.
“Lady Agnes? What brings you—”
“—!”
The moment our eyes met, her face flushed pink instantly.
Then she whirled around without even greeting me.
Her habit fluttered as she ran straight away.
At a speed befitting her position as Knight Commander, unlike the other ladies.
But…
‘Seriously, what is going on.’
Why was everyone acting like this these days?
For now, earning more money was not bad.
I was not so oblivious that I could not tell some event was progressing without my knowledge.
Did knowing change anything?
Not really.
Which was the problem, but.
***
Not long after.
The counseling office door opened more roughly than usual.
Without a knock, the door burst wide open.
I raised my head to see familiar red hair striding right in.
It was Veronica.
Normally she would enter slowly and arrogantly, but today her steps were quick from the threshold.
She came in without caring that her skirt tangled around her legs.
She held something out to me.
It was a crumpled piece of paper.
“What is it.”
It felt like… an invitation, maybe.
What was I supposed to do with it.
As I simply stared, she approached at once and slammed the paper down in front of me.
Then she puffed up her cheeks and spoke.
“Isaac. The Levantia family is hosting a coming-out party. Is it true?”
A what!?
Hosting a coming-out party…!
Good heavens…!
How was I the only one who did not know…!
…
What even is that.
If it was something like a tea party, I had a rough idea.
Seeing my blank stare, Veronica spoke, frustrated, clutching her chest.
“A ball, I tell you! Your ball!”
…My ball?
But once again, my eyes went blank.
The fact that it was a ball and not a tea party did not seem like such a big difference.
Seeing my reaction, Veronica froze.
Then she added in a small voice.
“…At this rate, vulgar people might take you away.”
“…Hmm?”