A Dazzling Distraction and Social Conundrums

“Rhine.”

Lost in a daze of hesitation and bewilderment, Rhine’s consciousness was gently recalled by a warm, familiar voice.

Philip, a radiant smile gracing his face, stepped up behind him and lightly patted his shoulder.

Philip, whose inherent temperament was one of refined elegance, possessed a strikingly handsome and gentle countenance.

Now, having donned a blue and white formal suit, he appeared not at all like the father of a sixteen-year-old daughter, but rather a young man in his early twenties—a veritable heartthrob.

“Where is Audrey?” he whispered into Rhine’s ear.

“She was pulled away by Julia to change clothes,” Rhine explained.

With Philip’s presence, a significant sense of relief washed over Rhine, for a certain unspoken camaraderie existed between them, a ‘fellow bourgeois’ understanding, as it were.

“You know, it’s a bit inconvenient for me to be here.”

“The past is the past, and the present is now. While servants were once barred from such gatherings, that was merely an unspoken rule among lesser nobility. Before the God of the Covenant, however, all are equal; there is no doctrine preventing servants from attending Mass.”

“My Lord, I believe you’ve misinterpreted my words. I am not devout, nor do I wish to involve myself in a banquet teeming with nobles.”

Philip nodded, a look of understanding dawning on his face.

“To be honest, I’d rather not either, but since we’ve already arrived, perhaps we can simply endure this together.”

‘Who wants to ‘endure’ with you, exactly?!’ Rhine thought, a flush of exasperation rising to his face.

“Did the Duke and Lord Marin not attend?”

“They have more pressing matters to attend to. At least one representative from the Cavendish family was required, which is why I am here.”

‘More important matters…’

‘What could possibly take precedence over the Consecration Festival Mass?’

‘Given the stale, antiquated customs of the nobility, wasn’t ‘face’ considered paramount?’

‘For the Duke himself to be absent from such a significant gathering… could it be related to the dragon calamity?’

Devoid of any specific clues, Rhine could only indulge in wild speculation; among the recent major events, only the dragon calamity offered a plausible explanation.

“Alright, but My Lord, please keep your distance from me.”

“Why?” Philip asked, perplexed.

“You are far too conspicuous, My Lord. You are, quite frankly, the most dazzling beacon in the center of this gathering. Dignitaries and ladies alike, every gaze in the room is fixed upon you. Standing by your side would only subject me to unwelcome attention.”

“…You and I are hardly different. The incident with Daniel has created a city-wide scandal, and your name is now common knowledge within Auetland’s aristocratic circles.”

“Is that so?”

“It is so.”

Yet, while the two men believed themselves to be engaged in a discreet private conversation, the surrounding clamor had, in fact, considerably subsided, and even Daniel and his mother had concluded their pleasantries.

When they finally registered the change and looked up, they found no one within a two-meter radius of them.

A circle of nobles had uniformly retreated, maintaining a respectful distance, yet just as uniformly, they directed expectant gazes, awaiting the address from the Cavendish representative.

“Oh, this is truly dreadful,” Philip lamented. “I yearn to feign ignorance, turn gracefully, and depart. All I desired was a slice of cream cake.”

“My Lord speaks the absolute truth,” Rhine concurred. “I, too, wish I could slip away using an invisibility spell, or perhaps simply bury all these mortals beneath the earth with an Earth-Splitting Curse.”

Previously, Philip had never been tasked with presiding over such occasions.

Typically, he merely needed to make his appearance, sign in, and then retreat to the balcony to enjoy a moment of solitary beauty, for socializing had never been his forte.

As for Rhine, his current predicament was, in no small part, attributable to his utterly deficient social acumen.

“Ahem, ladies and gentlemen—” Philip began, rather theatrically reciting a clumsy opening blessing. “Welcome to Lanburg County; may you all enjoy a blessed Consecration Festival, and may the Lord’s glory illuminate your path, Amen—”

“Amen—” The other nobles echoed the chant.

Philip exhaled a long breath, then turned to Rhine, who was clearly struggling to suppress his laughter, and declared:

“Alright, it’s done, let’s make a quick escape…”

No sooner had the words left his lips than Julia, holding the hand of a beaming Audrey—whose face practically radiated ‘I’m very happy’—approached Philip with a knowing smile, adopting an air akin to ‘holding the emperor to command the feudal lords.’

“Third Master, no sneaking off now,” Julia chided. “You are, after all, the face of the Cavendish family.”

“My sister-in-law speaks truly,” Philip conceded.

Philip responded with a touch of guilt, whereupon Julia snorted softly and ‘handed over’ the magnificently attired Audrey to her father.

“Your daughter is returned to you,” she announced. “Now, go and make a splendid impression, our ‘social butterfly’ father and daughter duo.”

Next, her gaze, imbued with a subtle yet potent authority, shifted to Rhine, causing an involuntary shiver to run down his spine.

“Rhine, this applies to you as well. Many guests are eager to make your acquaintance; this is a rare and valuable opportunity, so do not squander it.”

‘A good opportunity?’ Rhine mused. ‘She means a good opportunity to gain notoriety within aristocratic circles, doesn’t she? That’s hardly something I desire… But what is it with this woman? Did she employ some form of mind magic? The sheer oppressive force in her gaze rivals that of the ancient, undying beings I’ve encountered… It’s utterly uncanny!’

“Madam speaks truly.”

Having delivered her instructions, Julia gracefully folded her butterfly fan and, with elegant steps, returned to rejoin her circle of intimate friends, leaving one adult and two younger figures to exchange bewildered glances.

“What the hell,” Rhine muttered under his breath. “So, do we have a plan?”

“What else can we do? We’re stuck,” Audrey replied with a sigh of helplessness. “Auntie is simply like that; none of us can defy her when it comes to such matters.”

‘Truly, she lives up to her title as the First Lady… Even the typically wild and defiant young miss could only meekly feign the demeanor of a well-behaved child in her presence.’

Upon hearing this, Rhine cast a fleeting glance at Audrey, who wore a practiced, artificial smile.

It would have been better if he hadn’t looked at all, for a single gaze was enough to steal his very soul, as if by the most wicked of enchantment—

The young lady, adorned in a blue gown, resembled the most resplendent night rose, emanating an aura of mysterious, luminous splendor that defied even the most delicate of words.

Her lustrous, pearl-gray hair was elegantly swept into an elaborate coiffure, revealing a fair, captivating neck.

Her large eyes held the shimmering ebb and flow of starlight; one wondered if her long lashes, too, whispered secrets from beyond the constellations.

Her full, smiling lips were undeniably sensuous.

Luxurious jewels adorned both her hair and ears.

Despite her slender frame, which seemed almost fragile enough to snap, the inadvertent fullness she exuded left one utterly unsure where to direct their gaze.

The gown she wore boasted a hue of cerulean blue so profoundly ineffable.

It was a shade greener than mere blue, evoking the sky just after the sun’s descent, when the first stars began to shimmer—a deep, rich indigo, as if capturing the most exquisite instant of transition from twilight to full night.

Lighter variations shimmered as well, like the gentle blue of a spring sky, or the utterly translucent, cosmic zenith hue of a summer day—each a breathtakingly beautiful shade of blue.

Ah! How he yearned to see blue irises bloom in precisely such a shade.

Any admirer of irises would, in their deepest dreams, pursue her color, for it simply had to be this stunning.

The young lady, the undeniable focal point of the gathering, was akin to a celestial maiden descended from a nocturnal garden, her entire being seemingly imbued with scattered starlight magic, rendering it even more impossible for Rhine, already utterly defenseless against such beauty, to avert his gaze.

“Rhine? Rhine?” The figure before him called out twice in succession, yet failed to rouse his mind, which remained deeply immersed in profound reverie.

Snap! It was Philip who delivered a sharp rap to his head, jolting him awake from his hazy reverie, before possessively linking his arm through Audrey’s slender one.

“Ah, while my daughter’s boundless charm cannot be easily contained, you, young man, must learn to rein in your gaze, understand?” Philip declared. “The path ahead is still long, and I assure you, I will not easily yield my daughter to another.”

Philip, with an air of triumphant superiority, delivered his pronouncement and then, arm in arm with Audrey, strolled away to the side.

As her father led her off, the young woman did not forget to cast a playful wink back at Rhine, like the most mischievous of stars.

Everyone was looking at her—that girl.

And that girl, she was looking at you.