Chapter 245 Dangerous Ball
After the dinner party, a ball is held in the grand hall. This is the last event of the closing ceremony, and the hall is open until near dawn.
Since it's tough for Sophia to leave immediately due to her position, she has received permission from Rebecca to stay a bit longer. By the way, she plans to leave the venue by 11 PM when Rebecca and the others are leaving.
When the music starts, her guard and partner, Daniel, invites her to dance.
"Daniel, you're not just good at swordsmanship, but also at dancing!"
"I learned a bit in the knight's order. I'm not bad at moving my body."
Of course, Sophia is also good at moving her body, so she has decent dancing skills.
"You're good too, Lady Sophia."
"Thank you. I bet even Golem Sophia would be good at it."
"If Golem can handle some of the duties well, wouldn't it be better to let her take care of some things?"
"Are you tired of my protection?"
"Not at all, but Milady Sara should cherish her childhood more."
"That sounds like something an adult would say."
"Well, even at this age, I don't feel like an adult at all. I've never even been a parent."
"That's not very convincing. But I understand what you want to say. Thank you."
'Aside from the business talks, maybe Golem could handle things. I want to show her in the merchant guild's office every day. But I want to be able to contact her right away if something happens. But fairies are so unpredictable, so I feel like they lack reliability...'
"Lady Sophia, I know it was a weird suggestion, but could you at least look at me while we're dancing?"
"I'm sorry. I was lost in thought."
"I should probably compliment you for not messing up the steps, but..."
"Daniel, you're really a good person for putting up with someone like me."
"Haha. That's the last thing I want to hear as a guy."
"I hear that a lot, but women really mean it, you know?"
"That just makes it worse."
Daniel pulled Sophia's slim waist closer and grinned as he locked eyes with her.
"I don't need words, so just look at me for now."
'Gah, give up! Daniel, don't close the distance so suddenly! Who got this guy drunk?!'
It was Sophia who brought the drinks to dinner, but Daniel wasn't the type to get drunk on just a little wine. He was the kind of guy who could handle a lot.
But Daniel was clearly drunk. He was completely submerged from head to toe in the mysterious depths of Sophia.
Her dress, the color of the night sky, was more revealing than usual, and her hair, woven with moonlight, was simply tied up. The scent of flowers wafted from her delicate, exposed neck, and she wore a ribbon with small magic stones sewn into it like a choker.
Sophia, confused by Daniel's unusual vibe, accidentally stepped on his foot while dancing.
"Oh, I'm sorry!"
"No, I'm actually happy to see that I could make you so flustered."
"You're being mean today, Daniel."
"Just let me dream while you're in my arms."
Daniel didn't let go of Sophia and continued to dance for 3 songs in a row. Just as the third song ended, Jeffrey approached Daniel and spoke to him.
"Sorry to interrupt, but Rob is glaring at you with a really intense look. He just got engaged, and it's not good to be staring at another girl's partner, but let's wrap up the dance for now."
"Oh, is the dream time over? That was short."
"But Sophia, what kind of face are you making? Did Daniel do something to you?"
"Do I look weird?"
"Hmm. You look like a guy who's about to leave the room all hunched over? By the way, didn't Daniel bump into you while dancing?"
"Well, a little bit."
"You noticed that?!"
"Well, I thought it was normal to bump into each other while dancing."
"Why are you so used to it?!"
"Because I have dance lessons with Scott."
Jeffrey looked genuinely amused by his son's growth (gender characteristics?), but Daniel wasn't staying quiet.
"How come you're weak with words but used to physical contact? By the way, Commander, what's going on with your son's education?"
"Hey, Daniel. Remember when you were 13?"
"...I was a monkey."
"See?"
Sophia, who was next to them, let out a deep sigh.
"Um, could you keep that kind of talk to just the guys? We learn that it's polite to pretend not to notice even if we do."
"Huh, you learn that?"
"Of course. Didn't you know?"
"Lady education is scary. And isn't it too early to learn that at 8?"
"Since I have to act as Sophia, I can't just pretend not to know, right? Thanks to that, I've been crammed with the queen's special education curriculum. But when I think about it, isn't that really meant for concubines?
Just then, Robert and Rebecca came over together.
"No, I was taught that you never know when something might happen, so I should be able to manage as the main wife too. So I think it's more like main wife education."
"I feel like I'm getting a pretty crazy education. Like I'm getting some pretty intense training."
"Isn't it good since you're getting excellent grades? You should be able to graduate soon."
"Revi, how much have you crammed in there for her!"
"I just packed in the basics of manners and common sense. She's much better at diplomacy than I am, and she can speak about 3 foreign languages more fluently than I can."
"So, what does Sophia lack?"
"Knowledge of noble families and basic education in history and literature. You can't just brush up on these things."
"I lack basic knowledge. But Recently, I've been getting away with a lot of thanks to the fairies. Especially with the history involving noble families."
"Ah, that's definitely convenient."
From the dance hall, they saw a man who had just finished dancing walking towards Sophia.
"Good evening. I apologize for interrupting your conversation. May I invite Lady Sophia to dance?"
"Oh, It's Sir Julio from the Medis merchant guild. How is your grandfather doing?"
The one who spoke was Julio, the grandson of Kojimo. Of course, Sedrick quietly whispered to let me know his name.
"You know me, huh? My grandfather is taking it easy because of his age, but he's not that bad. Thank you for your concern."
'It's not surprising that he wouldn't talk about his gout. Well, it's not strange for a merchant to hide their health condition.'
"Well, there can't be a woman who doesn't know 'the beautiful Sir Julio.' If it's alright with me, I'd be happy to."
Julio was a very beautiful man. Thomas had the vibe of a capable elite bureaucrat, but Julio looked like a decadent artist. He was tall but slender, with long curly black hair tied back.
'Honestly, I'm not really into this type of handsome guy.'
However, he was enthusiastically supported by some women, and there were even secret illustrations of him circulating.
The people related to Grandchester noticed that Sophia's atmosphere had changed to that of the merchant guild master and kept an appropriate distance.
'It's helpful that my family members are so perceptive.'
"Hmm. So you are Mr. Kojimo's grandson. Does that mean you are the next head of the Medis merchant guild?"
"I'm the second son. My older brother Lauren is supposed to take over the Medis merchant guild."
Knowing he was Kojimo's grandson, Robert, who was investigating the wheat cartel, became more cautious. Of course, Robert was also a noble, so he didn't lose his smile, but he couldn't help but ask questions like an interrogation.
Sophia took Julio's hand and slowly headed to the dance hall.
"To be able to dance with such a beautiful person, how lucky I am."
"Well, Sir Julio, you are quite good at flattery."
"In front of a lady as lovely as the moon goddess, I couldn't possibly be insincere. I must thank the god for Lady Sophia coming to the Grandchester territory."
'This guy is acting all grand to the goddess or the god. He should just become a priest or something.'
Sara didn't feel the same excitement she had when she danced with Daniel; instead, she was worried that her partner looked really unhealthy.
"I want to be friends with you."
"Since we're dancing like this, can't we say we're already friends?"
"Beautiful lady, I want to be your special friend."
'Yikes. That's kind of creepy. Is this guy a bit of a narcissist?'
"What do you mean by special friend?"
"Well, I want to watch the sky change colors together at dawn."
"I do wake up early, but I can't go outside at that time just to look at the sky. You must be an early riser, Sir Julio."
"Oh, no. That's not what I meant..."
"I try to go to bed early for my beauty, but it looks like I'll be staying up late tonight. By the way, I run in the garden before breakfast, so since we're special friends now, would you like to join me, Sir Julio? A good sweat will help with work!"
"Uh, I'm not really into that..."
"Well, that's too bad."
Honestly, Sophia was tired of Julio, but when his hand started to move around her waist, she subtly shifted her body away to change her position.
'Hmm. Is this a honey trap set by Kojimo? If so, it's pretty lame. I guess with a face like that, inexperienced young ladies might just fall for it.'
Sophia was dancing while calmly thinking. In her past life, she had been single, but that didn't mean she had never dated a guy. If a woman is working in society, she builds up some resistance to s*xual harassment and power harassment. Besides, if you travel around wine regions, you meet plenty of guys who think it's polite to hit on women.
However, she was fed up with Julio, who kept getting too close, so as soon as the dance was over, she quickly returned to Daniel.
"Daniel, that guy is seriously creepy. He keeps touching my waist and back, and he said he wants to watch the dawn sky together!"
"Should we take care of him?"
Daniel suddenly had a serious look on his face.
"No, no, we can't do that. He's the son of a merchant guild member and the grandson of the Commerce Guild's Guild Manager!"
"Then should we make it look like a thief in the night?"
"I'm not giving orders for assassination! I just don't want to be alone with him."
"Understood. Also, another troublesome person is approaching. What do you want to do?"
Following Daniel's sharp gaze, Sophia saw Baron Jilbafuchs walking toward her.
"Daniel, that guy is a business partner."
"He clearly has ulterior motives for Lady Sophia, doesn't he?"
"If you take care of everyone like that, you'll end up as a murderer."
"You do understand your own charm, don't you?"
"There are big mirrors in both Sara's room and my office."
"Lady Sophia, the real danger is not the man who is fooled by appearances, but the one who wishes to stay by your side even after knowing your true self."
"Then Daniel is the most dangerous one, isn't he?"
"It seems you understand. However, I'm your sword. I will never force you. Even if you choose another man, I won't ask for my sword back."
"Aren't you being a bit complicated?"
"I am aware of that."
While they were talking, Baron Jilbafuchs called out from behind Sophia.
"Sophia, will you dance a song with me? But first, I want you to meet my master."
"Your master, you say..."
"That's right. It's Roisen's His Highness the Crown Prince Gerhart."
Please bookmark this series and rate ☆☆☆☆☆ on here!
Donate me
Support Me with USDC
(ERC20)
Support Me with XLM
(Stellar Lumens)