Chapter 75
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Chapter 75
It had all happened far too quickly.
After a brief moment had passed, Chesa slowly closed and opened her eyes.
'...What the hell is this bastard doing?'
He had clearly come here on purpose to spill that drink.
She had anticipated well enough that there would be those who came to the Ballroom looking for trouble.
House of Basilian, having emerged so suddenly, was a sharp stone in their eyes.
We were positioned perfectly to be attacked.
Just as Count Rudin had done before, I had expected at least one fool to rear his head.
But this....
I had never even imagined Ishuel's clothes being ruined.
'The child had prepared so hard!'
Chesa glared at the man she would have gladly cleaved in two with an axe.
The silver-haired boy wearing the hat Hata had made appeared to be around Belzeon's age.
At first glance, he wore expensive clothing, and it was easy enough to deduce that he was the young master of a high-ranking noble house.
The boy frowned as he looked at Ishuel.
"I'll compensate you for your clothes. Why are you glaring like that?"
"...."
Ishuel did not answer.
He simply let out a short, hollow laugh and flicked his fingers.
Golden mana swirled and bloomed from his elegant hand.
"Kyaaah!"
A sharp scream erupted.
The table laden with fruit juice glasses was swept up in golden mana and sent flying through the air.
The table stopped precisely above the boy's head.
"Wh-what, ugh...!"
Before the boy could even react, it flipped over.
The glasses came crashing down over his head in a cascade.
Drenched in sticky fruit juice, the boy burst into tears.
"Y-you, how rude...!"
Unable to speak properly and blubbering, the boy, now covered head to toe in juice, fled crying.
Ishuel let the fleeing boy go.
He simply watched his retreating figure for a moment, then turned around to check on Chesa's condition.
"...Sister, are you alright?"
Of course I was.
But Ishuel, who had shielded me, was not.
Ishuel's clothes were stained with red fruit juice.
The other men of House of Basilian had made their clothes primarily from black fabric, but Ishuel's outfit happened to incorporate a great deal of light-colored material, making the stains far more conspicuous.
Chesa did not know what to say.
Ishuel glanced briefly around before speaking.
"Let's go somewhere else for now."
So many people were staring at us because of the commotion.
Ishuel set me down carefully, ensuring my wet clothes didn't touch him, and we walked side by side.
Finding a secluded spot, he seated me on a new chair.
Ishuel sighed as he meticulously checked me for any traces of juice.
Then suddenly, he bit his lower lip.
His small shoulders trembled.
He seemed to be fighting it, but tears eventually fell.
"I'm sorry...."
Ishuel quickly turned away.
He didn't want me to see him crying.
After staring at the sky for a long while, the boy turned back after some time had passed.
Ishuel wiped away the tear stains with a handkerchief and smiled faintly.
"I'll have Karha take you back. I need to leave first."
Ishuel took a deep breath and exhaled.
"I always want to show only a perfect image in front of others."
His fingers, gripping the handkerchief, trembled faintly.
Ishuel murmured, looking down at his ruined clothes.
"Especially not like this...."
The boy laughed bitterly.
Like that distant day long ago, when he hid in the shrubbery and realized how pathetic he looked.
"I'm genuinely relieved your dress didn't get ruined. I wanted you to be the most beautiful one today."
"Don't go."
Chesa quickly grabbed the hem of Ishuel's clothes.
This was our first debut in High Society together, and he was leaving to go home alone.
Knowing how much Ishuel had anticipated this day and prepared so carefully, my heart sank.
"It's worth it."
"But with my clothes like this... I'd be embarrassed even escorting you back into the Ballroom."
He looked like he wanted to disappear right then and there.
Watching him like that, my heart ached.
Suddenly, something caught my anxious eye.
"Wait right there!"
I let go of Ishuel and ran off with quick steps.
"Sister? Where are you going?"
Where I ran to was a sculpture decorated with flowers.
Thanks to the generous spending, fresh flowers were abundant everywhere.
The sculpture was surrounded by flowers to make it look like a fairy.
I stood on my tiptoes and picked up flowers placed at the sculpture's base.
Gathering a few stems, I held them out to Ishuel.
"We can cover it with these!"
"Huh...?"
"Make more flowers!"
While Ishuel stood bewildered, holding the flower, I quickly leaped into the shrubbery and hid myself.
Then I scurried along on my short legs toward a place where no one could see me.
The moment I reached a spot where I sensed no one nearby, I drew upon my power.
With a shimmer of light, butterflies and flowers bloomed into existence.
I crafted the flowers with utmost care.
I had no idea how much gold Duchess Ibroyel had spent on those expensive flowers.
But no flower, no matter how costly, could compare to those a fairy had cultivated.
Brimming with vibrant life force, the blossoms were lush and radiant, releasing a fragrance so startlingly lovely it was almost overwhelming.
I created abundance after abundance of flowers befitting Ishuel's attire, cradling them all in my arms.
"Perfect!"
I was thoroughly satisfied with this.
Pleased with myself, I returned with the flowers cradled against me.
When I came back, the boy stood motionless, still holding the first flower I had given him.
With my arms full of blossoms, I hurried toward Ishuel with quick, eager steps.
But my greed had gotten the better of me—the flowers blocked my view entirely.
My foot caught on a stone.
"Oh no!"
I thought I would fall flat on my face, but I stopped suspended in midair.
A golden thread of magic, conjured from nowhere, had caught me.
Ishuel, reacting swiftly with his power, exhaled a short breath.
"...Sigh."
He lifted my body upright completely and scolded me.
"You could have been hurt."
There was no time for a lecture.
I hastily thrust the flowers from my arms toward him.
"A gift for you."
At a glance, these were extraordinary flowers.
Ishuel's eyes widened in surprise as he accepted them.
He fingered the blooms gently, then used magic to affix the flowers one by one to his garment, concealing the stains.
Since his clothing was more ornate than typical menswear, the living flowers adorned him beautifully.
Rather, the red stains, the fresh flowers, and Ishuel's beauty harmonized together, creating an almost artistic atmosphere.
I beamed and clapped my hands in delight.
I wanted to deliver some magnificent declaration, but—
considering my current physical age, I kept it simple.
"Now you're worth as much as the furniture in the house, right?"
"..."
Ishuel remained silent for a long moment.
'What is he doing?'
Chesa tilted her head to the side in confusion.
Ishuel, who had been silent for a long time with his lips pressed together, suddenly blurted out something completely unexpected.
"You're really strange."
After all the effort I went through to create flowers for him, this was the response I received!
Chesa stared at Ishuel, feeling utterly betrayed.
Yet his expression was peculiar.
"Because of you, I've become strange too. I've even started learning magic...."
He was gazing at Chesa intently without blinking once.
As if observing a being from a realm he could not comprehend.
The black pupils embedded in those distinctive crimson eyes of House Basilian had narrowed considerably.
Ishuel, who had been murmuring, fell silent for a moment.
Then, slowly, he opened his mouth to speak again.
"...This is serious."
The boy, fully aware of his own heart, smiled.
With a smile as lovely as a freshly bloomed flower, Ishuel made his declaration.
"Now I really think I can't live without my little sister."
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