I went to the party hall.
“Oh!”
Ooh, so this is a noble’s party?
The party was larger in scale than I had imagined.
Starting with an orchestra of musicians that looked to number at least a dozen,
to the size of the hall, as if they had rented out an entire decent wedding venue.
And more than anything, there was a lot of food, and a lot of people.
“Hoho, even the marquis has come.”
“Of course. Since the Minister of Finance is here, how could I not come?”
From what I picked up by ear, the nobles in attendance were no ordinary people either.
Was this the class of House Lugner?
Or was this party a more important occasion than I had thought?
“They say it’s just Lady Lugner’s birthday celebration.”
“This is just a birthday party?”
Maybe I was simply too ignorant of fantasy worlds.
In any case, it wasn’t bad.
A grand and splendid party.
In this atmosphere, I’d be able to have fun!
…Or so I thought for a moment.
But reality was different from ideals.
“I knew things were going too well.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“Nothing. It’s just one of those things.”
An hour after the party began.
I was still alone.
Occasionally, a few nobles would see me standing by myself and come over to speak to me, but,
“Hoho. A young man, are you? Might I ask your name?”
“Good evening! Allow me to introduce myself. I am Leon Silberg!!”
“Silberg…? Ah. I see. You are… Hoho. A pleasure. Then enjoy yourself. I have an acquaintance to meet…”
“…Ah, I see.”
Even if I greeted them politely,
that was as far as it went.
The nobles would leave as soon as the greeting ended, as if they each had business to attend to.
Well, thinking about it, it was only natural.
I had briefly gotten the wrong idea because of Count Lugner’s hospitality, but I was, at best, a viscount.
Starting from duke,
then marquis, count, and after that, viscount.
…In other words, I was a low-ranking noble.
“There certainly are not many people approaching you.”
“…Yeah.”
So this situation was only natural.
For some nobody attending a count’s party,
maybe I should be grateful they were even greeting me like this.
“Huh?”
“Hm…? What is it?”
But then, in that instant,
another thought crossed my mind.
Strictly speaking, this wasn’t the real Middle Ages, but a world inside a romance fantasy.
Most things had modern culture applied to them, and it was a world where ideas and development ran wild in ways that didn’t fit the era.
In other words, this was a world where I shouldn’t treat others with the medieval mindset I had fixed in my head as a prejudice.
And on top of that, I was a viscount.
I wasn’t someone who could act like an aloof northern grand duke.
“Hm? Where are you going?”
I rose from my seat.
Surprised by my sudden action, Cecil called out to me, but I told her I had something to take care of for a moment and would walk around on my own.
“Well, with my senses, I can monitor the entire party hall, so take a comfortable look around.”
“Uh… sure.”
I was clearly the employer,
so why did it feel like I was receiving permission?
Anyway,
after receiving permission that wasn’t really permission from Cecil, I set out.
“…”
As soon as I moved, the gazes of the nobles lingering nearby focused on me.
As expected.
They weren’t avoiding me.
They had merely hesitated because we weren’t close.
Then I should be the one to approach them first.
“Good evening! I am Viscount Silberg. I look forward to your favor!”
“Ah… yes.”
First, the noble around my age standing nearby.
Now, take this.
The interview greeting technique of a former K-professional job seeker!
***
My name is Theo Lugner.
I am the head of House Lugner.
Today is my daughter’s birthday.
Normally, it would have been a day spent simply with a meal among family, but my daughter had just turned twenty, and I felt sorry that she had never had a proper birthday until now, so I decided to hold a party for her.
But then, news struck like a bolt from the blue.
That “Viscount Silberg” was coming.
At first, I did not believe it.
I even denied reality, telling myself it must be mistaken information.
But unlike what I hoped, the news was true, and I hurriedly informed the imperial family of this fact.
Silberg was far too great a name for me to deal with alone.
For that reason, the party grew larger.
Though my daughter’s birthday party had changed into a party for responding to Viscount Silberg,
thanks to all sorts of support sent by the imperial family and the attendance of many nobles, it became a great success.
And since, in practical terms, it still presented itself as my daughter’s birthday party,
“Oh my! Annie! Thank you for coming. It must have been hard traveling from the capital.”
“It’s been a while, Sonia. I thought I wouldn’t be able to see you, but Father said he was attending, so I came with him. Happy birthday!”
My daughter’s friends, whom I had thought would be difficult to invite due to the distance between the capital and the south, were also able to attend the party by following their parents, so my daughter seemed to be in good spirits as well.
And most decisively,
“Good evening! I am Leon Silberg! Thank you for inviting me!”
contrary to my concerns,
Viscount Silberg appeared ordinary.
Long ago,
when many had died in the power struggles of House Silberg,
there was none of the Leon Silberg who had laughed grotesquely at the funeral hall.
“Haha. My apologies. I do not recall meeting you before. But what does that matter? What matters is what comes from now on. I look forward to your favor, Count Gaus!”
“Ah… well, yes, indeed. I look forward to it, Viscount Silberg. Ha. Haha.”
That strange smiling look in his eyes was still bothersome, but at least the man I saw today was a young man his age, nothing more.
From Leon Silberg, who went around greeting other nobles first with an easy smile on his face, I did not sense his characteristic scheming or sinister air.
“…”
The guard knight of House Silberg, still watching the party hall.
The one and only Lance Master on the continent,
Cecil’s presence still sent warning signals telling me not to let my guard down, but at least today, it did not seem as though anything serious would happen.
“Oh! Is that poker? I’m fairly good at it myself. Would it be all right if I joined?”
Look.
Even now, he was trying to mingle with the other nobles.
“Haha. Of course.”
So I relaxed.
For today at least, I thought Viscount Silberg had approached with goodwill.
And I sat down across from him at the table.
***
Ah, this is fun.
As expected, this was the right choice.
“Haha. Is that so? How very Silberg-like.”
“I’m not sure what you mean by Silberg-like, but yes. I asked the maid to cut the meat, and she split the whole table instead.”
People laughing in a warm atmosphere.
It was the result of my efforts to fit in at the party.
Even the people who had kept their distance at first because we were awkward strangers
gradually accepted me as I approached first, struck up conversations, and told stories about things I had done to fight boredom or anecdotes involving Cecil.
“Good evening! I am Leon Silberg!”
“Uh… yes. Have a good… time? I’ll be going now…”
“Ah… yes! Have a good time!”
Of course, some nobles kept their distance until the end.
I understood.
Most of them were people with quite an age gap from me.
“Si, Silberg? Hm, hmmm!”
“Ah… I did not mean to make you uncomfortable. Then please have a good time!”
And since they seemed to be people whose families had had some kind of issue with mine in the past,
I left first for people like that.
Everyone has things they find hard to accept, after all.
Anyway, like that, I somehow managed to break the ice with some people and chatted about this and that.
“Haha. You say you are quite good at poker?”
“Yes, that’s right. Then how about…? Shall we play a light game?”
I even ended up playing a card game with them.
It was fun.
Poker among nobles was certainly different from playing in my territory.
“Straight.”
“Ah! No wonder that one ace wasn’t coming!”
Unlike commoners, who bet mindlessly while trusting only in a good hand,
nobles were definitely skilled at mind games and had a variety of strategies, so it was enjoyable.
And more than anything,
“Oh dear, I think this will be my final bet. I’ll wager 100 kilograms of silver.”
“Oh!”
the stakes were big.
Since the amount of money going back and forth in a single game surpassed my common sense, it was enough to make my liver shrivel.
Still, well.
“An amount that paltry would not even cover the cost of a single door in the Silberg mansion.”
“Really?”
“Just how low do you think the family’s wealth is?”
Since even the picky Cecil said that much,
I didn’t feel burdened while playing.
Well, the northern grand duke and the heroine had come all that way to borrow money, so we must indeed be quite wealthy.
Then, well.
It should be fine to enjoy myself a little more, right?
“Oh! Count, you’ve come?”
“I am not sure whether I may join. Hoho.”
“Come now~ The host should play at least one game. I just finished, so please sit here.”
At that moment, perhaps to entertain the guests, Count Lugner joined the card game.
He sat in the seat of another count who had just been cleaned out, then asked me,
“How is it, Viscount Silberg? Have you been enjoying yourself?”
“Ah, yes. It’s fun. Hahaha.”
Kh. As expected of Brother Lugner.
He must have been busy welcoming guests, yet he even took care of a mere viscount like me. It was truly moving.
So I made up my mind.
This game.
I would desperately lose on purpose.
“Two pair.”
“Wow~! How did you know I was bluffing…! I lost.”
“Viscount Silberg, you are poor at keeping a poker face.”
“Ah~ Is that so? I thought I was fairly good at it, but I suppose not. Hahaha.”
But there was no need for that.
This brother
was far better at poker than I expected…
Since I hadn’t prepared a proper birthday gift either,
I had gone into the game ready to be cleaned out,
but I hadn’t expected to be cleaned out this miserably.
Already eight losses in a row.
It was one-sided.
“I have won this round as well.”
Not only me, but everyone at the table was getting cleaned out, though I was getting hit especially hard.
But I didn’t feel particularly bad.
I had intended to lose from the beginning, and besides,
“As expected of one called the Card Master, Count Lugner.”
“It was merely a nickname from a certain time.”
“Come now~ If you say that, what does that make those of us who got cleaned out?”
“Hahahaha.”
Perhaps because he had always been good at cards,
the people who rose from their seats first also ended things in a warm atmosphere, so it wasn’t really the kind of mood to feel bad in.
And before I knew it,
“I think it is about time we end this.”
only Count Lugner and I remained at the table.
As he said, it was about time to end.
It wasn’t that I didn’t want to enjoy myself more, but there was nothing I could do.
Because
I had almost run out of the money I’d brought.
“Good luck.”
Like that, I received my final hand.
But soon, the wind went out of my sails.
My hand was far too bad.
“Hm.”
I hesitated a little.
If I folded here, I would be able to play about one more round.
But it wasn’t as though I wanted to continue for one more game that badly.
Judging from the hand I had just received,
it seemed luck was no longer on my side either.
At times like this, getting up was the right choice.
“Three gold.”
So I calmly continued betting.
Rather than get up with a few ambiguous coins in my hand, I felt like it would be more comfortable to cleanly lose everything and stand up.
“So, as long as my wallet allowed,
I divided up my money and kept betting just enough to be able to receive the final card.
“I call. Five gold.”
Perhaps he noticed this.
Count Lugner also quietly smiled and matched the bet.
And so I received the last card.
However, the god of gambling did not smile upon me.
It was a ruined hand no matter how you looked at it.
“One gold.”
I threw out the last of the money in my pocket and declared defeat.
But it seemed Count Lugner did not read that meaning.
“Raise, 100 gold. Call it if you can!”
“Huh?”
With great spirit, Count Lugner bet 100 gold.
A whopping 100 million won.
Perhaps he had received a good hand, because his expression was more flushed than ever before.
If I could, I wanted to go along with him.
But I really,
really had no money left now…
So I rummaged through my empty pocket, then quietly placed a single coin on the table.
It was one of the coins rolling around in my office, something I used for coin-stacking games when I was bored.
According to Cecil, it was a commemorative coin of House Silberg, wasn’t it?
In any case.
The meaning behind my placing this coin down was simple.
‘I have no money.’
But,
“…”
“?”
Did they take this as a joke?
Silence settled over the surroundings.
Some seemed to think it was a nasty prank, their complexions even turning pale.
So I explained.
“Haha. It isn’t a joke. This is really all I have left.”
When I did,
everyone looked at Count Lugner with serious expressions.
Perhaps it was a silent gaze asking whether he had truly cleaned out a poor viscount to this extent?
Well, it was fine.
I had enjoyed myself in my own way, too.
But what was this?
The count was putting down his cards.
From the looks of it, he seemed to intend to let this round go and play another game.
I had no intention of doing that, though…
So, thinking we should stop now, I opened my mouth once more.
“You’d do well to just end it here.”
Don’t half-heartedly go easy on me.
I meant for him to end it now.