The Otherworld Conquest Method of a Reincarnated Porter Chapter 22 Part 1
Marquis Daughter, Celtina Galfeet
「Aylina, Alana. You came today, too, huh.」
I am attending the court ball again after refraining from doing so for a couple of days. That is because the venue is located just about 10 minutes away from the mansion by carriage, and I have also found out that it would not be particularly stressful if I just casually showed up and left right away. It would be more enjoyable if Alma and Mion could attend, though.
「Yes, Kars-sama. We are here to accompany Miss Celtina.」
「Celtina-sama seems to be particularly popular, no? The queue for invitations to dance has not died down at all. Is she not engaged?」
「Yes, it seems that all men of the royal family as well as the other marquis families who have come of age have already had their betrothal partners decided. Though, it seems that if the young lady waits for two or three more years, the men who are her candidates will also come of age. Kars-sama, you are the eldest son of a count family, right? What do you think about inviting young lady to dance?」
「Nah, I hate standing in line. More importantly, young lady. Care to join me for a song?」
「Yes, with pleasure.」
I invite Aylina and Alana to dance with me. After that, while things are heating up as we talk about labyrinths, the sons of the baron and viscount families that have connections to Amberlius come up to greet me. I introduce Aylina and Alana to them.
「What do you say about inviting the ladies to dance?」
「Yes, Aylina-sama, if you would like to join me for a song.」
「Alana-sama, would you like to dance with me?」
「「Yes, with pleasure.」」
The two make merry as they dance, and every time they come back after the song is over, they are asked to dance by other men. Not only are they daughters of a low class noble, they are by no means that strikingly beautiful, but they are cute when they laugh, and for men who are nervous about their high society debut, they are sometimes the perfect partners to invite to dance.
A chill suddenly runs down my spine. I have sensed it since a while ago, but I sense a cold stare being directed at me again. When I take a look at the other side of the gaze… Geh, as expected, it is Celtina. Both Aylina and Alana are dancing near the center of the hall, so she is definitely looking at me. Somehow, she seems to be angry. No, our respective territory is far away from each other, and there should be no connection between our houses, either. Hmm, once the song is over, let’s try asking Aylina about it. She said they are the same age and have known each other since childhood, so she might have some idea what’s going on.
「S, say, Celtina-sama seems to have been directing gazes toward this direction from time to time, but do you two have any idea what’s it all about?」
「Huh? Who knows? Maybe it is just your imagination. The young lady seems to be busy dealing with greetings and dance invitations from the men, after all.」
「U, umm, I’m sorry, but you know… Could you go and see if the young lady is in a good mood for a bit? Indirectly, alright? It’s fine if there’s nothing wrong, besides, maybe she has something she wants to talk to you about, you know, Aylina? It’s fine even if it’s just for a moment, okay?」
「Hmm. Understood. I am a little tired of dancing anyway, so I am going.」
I hope there is nothing wrong, but if there is nothing wrong, she should not have given me that cold stare. First of all, let’s cut off all fears about the future.
「Alana. What kind of person is Miss Celtina?」
「Yes, the young lady is the third daughter of the Galfeet Marquis house and her job is Magic Knight. The young lady and elder sister have known each other since childhood and often practice together. The young lady is intelligent and, well, is pretty prideful.」
Prideful, huh, I guess I need to be careful. Be careful not to offend her, that is it. A little while later, Aylina comes back, her face a little pale.
「Aylina, are you okay? You look a little pale.」
「E, elder sister?」
「N, no, um, I am fine. Err, Kars-sama, umm, what do you say? About going and saying hello to Miss Celtina for once, I mean. Umm, by all means.」
I see. The gall you have to dance with my childhood friend without even saying hello to me; something like that, huh. At any rate, she seems to be pretty prideful, so let’s behave modestly even if she says something unreasonable. I bet I will go through tons of such situations once I become a Porter, after all.
Hyping myself up, I line up in the queue in front of Celtina. Wow, like, everyone is buttering up and currying favor with her. They are all saying corny lines such as: you are very beautiful, young lady; or it would be a great honor if you could accompany me in a dance, young lady. Well, if they succeed in their gold-digging endeavors, it would propel up their lives, and even just being able to make her acquaintance would probably be fortunate for them.
Finally, my turn comes. I don’t want to dance, and if there are any strange misunderstandings, I will clear them up. So once I say hello, I will immediately take my leave, alright?
「Nice to meet you, my name is Kars Amberlius, the eldest son of Count Marnus Amberlius. It would be a great pleasure to make your acquaintance.」
「… I am Celtina Galfeet.」
That’s it? Well, whatever. I have said hello, so there should be no problem now. At least, there should be no flaw in my attitude.
「Now then, if you would excuse me.」
「Wait a minute. Who said you could leave?」
Wow, she’s got one awful attitude. What is with this woman? To begin with, I don’t understand her goal at all. I wonder what she has in mind for me.
「My apologies… Err, could I get you something to drink?」
「No, thank you.」
「…..」
「…..」
「What about something to eat?」
「I’m not hungry.」
「Celtina-sama, you truly are beautiful and….」
「I’m tired of hearing flattery.」
「…..」
「…..」
Just what the hell does this woman want? Even when I saw her the other day, she seemed to be bored. Just for what purpose does she attend the court ball? Wait a sec, this is a ball, so… I see.
「Celtina-sama, if you do not mind, would you like to join me for a song?」
「I see. So you want to dance with me, huh.」
I guess this is the right answer, huh. Rather, why does she want to dance with me? I mean, she should have tons of partners she could dance with. Could she be checking me as a potential marriage partner? I don’t know.
「Very well. I will test you to see if you are a good match for me. Tomorrow morning at ten o’clock, do come to my mansion. If you can triumph over me in the way of the sword, I will give you the right to invite me to dance. I will not forgive you if you are late. Now then, if you’ll excuse me. Aylina, Alana, we are going home.」
In a daze, as I am unable to comprehend what is happening, I see off the two. Aylina and Alana are also bewildered. What in the world is going on here? If it is a sword fight, I could not ask for anything better, but I don’t want to have even the slightest connections with a marquis daughter. But it looks like I have no choice but to go to the Galfeet family’s mansion tomorrow at ten o’clock.
◇ ◇ ◇
At ten o’clock in the morning, I arrive at the Galfeet family’s mansion by carriage. It is only a few minutes’ walk from our mansion, but it seems that as a member of the Count’s family, going there on foot would be a bad idea. This one, too, is a ridiculously spacious mansion.
We enter the grounds under the prompt of the gatekeepers. As I get off the carriage, I am greeted by a number of maids and knights. Aylina is also there. She has a kind of apologetic look on her face, but the air doesn’t seem to be one where she can talk to me. We are going to have a sword fight, so I thought I would be taken to the training hall, but I am taken to a guest room in the mansion. After a while, Aylina enters the room.
NEXT CHAPTER
RELEASE RATE
Otherworld Conquest Method of a Reincarnated Porter
Speed up schedule by 10 hours
Current schedule: Every 90 hours
Tftc