Because I’d turned down so many of them, Hakuya had told me, “Please, at least attend the year end banquets.” Because of that, for the past few days in a row, I had been forced to attend the powerful nobles’ banquets.
While getting even more dressed up than usual for the banquet (It was a very noble-y outfit. Even my sleeves had frills.), I would groan, “Ugh, what a pain,” or, “I don’t wanna go,” or, “This is such a hassle,” and Liscia, who was helping me get changed, would reproach me for it.
“This is your duty as king,” she would say. “As your fiancées, we’ll be there, too, so shape up, would you?”
Like she’d said, Liscia and my other partners were in attendance, too. Even so, they didn’t have it as bad as I did. My fiancées, Juna excluded, were taking turns and each accompanying me one at a time. I, on the other hand, was being forced to attend every single time.
“As you can see, my domain is in excellent shape…” Moltov was droning.
“…”
If you asked what I didn’t like about banquets, it was having to play along with my host’s “hospitality” which consisted of them going on at length about this or that. Even if the food looked luxurious, I didn’t have any time for eating or drinking. What was more, the nobles all tended to talk about the same things.
First was boasting about how they managed their domain. That was no doubt largely because I had added the management of their domains into their performance evaluations. Most nobles tried to show there were no issues in their governance, and the more capable ones took the chance to express exactly how wonderful their managerial skills were.
The evaluations were done by inspectors dispatched for that express purpose, and they would get proper input from the people living in the domain. That made trying to convince me at a banquet all but meaningless, but it was human nature to want to take every chance they could get. If they thought the king was keeping a close eye on them, and it led to an improvement in their people’s lives, that was a good thing. Still, I got sick of having to hear similar accounts at every banquet.
“Sire, allow me to go get a drink for you,” Aisha, my partner for the day, offered in a small voice. The silver dress she’d also worn for the music program she’d helped me host in Amidonia looked good on her now. She must have sensed my exhaustion and was trying to be considerate.
I had just been feeling a bit parched, so I asked her to please do so, and Aisha silently left.
The moment Aisha departed, there was a sudden change in the talkative Moltov’s demeanor.
“…By the way, sire.”
His eyes were sharp, like a snake that had found its prey.
In that instant, I realized I had just screwed up. I’d been through this pattern a number of times already. When the king’s partner left his side, they saw that as their moment of opportunity.
“Would you mind if we talked somewhere else for a little while?”
“…Aisha isn’t back yet, you realize,” I said.
“It won’t take long. I’m sure the two of you will be able to meet back up in no time.”
Having said that, Moltov took my hand and half-dragged me away from there.
Yeah… This was definitely that pattern.
I don’t like this… Moltov may think this is his big chance, but I feel like I’m on pins and needles here…
While I was thinking that, as I had anticipated, there was a single young lady waiting for me when we arrived at our destination. She was somewhere around sixteen years old. She was clearly a lovely young lady of good upbringing.
“Allow me to introduce you, sire. This is my daughter, Siena.”
“Greetings, Your Majesty. I am Siena Juniro,” she said, curtsying.
…I knew it. They saw this as their opportunity to introduce me to young ladies they were related to.
In every era, blood ties to the royal house had been a source of pride for the nobility. If she became my queen, their house would be secure, and she might even give birth to an heir. On top of that, because my betrothal to Juna hadn’t been announced yet, as far as they were concerned, I only had three fiancées. That number was, with the exception of special cases like my predecessor, King Albert (he’d married into the queen’s family), considered low. Because of that, every noble was desperate to sell me on their daughters.
In the mere half year since I had been entrusted with the throne, I had annexed Amidionia and had a lot of other big, showy achievements, so people had big hopes for me. There were always a large number of marriage offers coming in to the castle, and my chamberlain, Marx, was always busy dealing with them.
“It pains me to always refuse them, so could you at least meet some of them?” Marx had asked me with pleading eyes, but it’d sounded like a pain, so I had taken a pass on that.
Even so, I still ended up having to deal with nobles who approached me like this, intent on not missing their chance.
Of course, the nobles weren’t brazen enough to bring these sort of talks up when one of my fiancées was right there, but whether it was Liscia or Roroa or Aisha, they were always guaranteed to create an opening to do it. My opinion of the nobles’ skill in that went right past exasperation and entered into the realm of admiration instead.
Not having much other choice, I greeted the girl. “It’s nice to meet you, Madam Siena. I am Souma Kazuya.”
“I have heard your great name before, sire,” she said. “I had heard you were a great sovereign, blessed with both bravery and wisdom, but I am relieved to see, meeting you like this, that you also seem like a kind person.”
“The rumors about me haven’t just been exaggerated, they’ve sprouted limbs and taken on a life of their own.”
“My, you make them sound adorable.” Siena wore a quiet smile. She seemed like a simple girl. These types were always the hardest to deal with.
It was easy to brush off someone who was blatantly just trying to marry into money and status, but I couldn’t be so cruel to a pure, innocent girl. I mean, it was hard to tell if she was even aware this was an attempt at matchmaking. Well, regardless of how she herself felt about it, her father was definitely trying to marry her into money and status.
Moltov took me a short distance from Siena and spoke. “What do you think of my Siena?”
“…She seems like a very pure and simple young lady,” I said. “Very cute.”
“Oh, I see! If she pleases you, would you consider taking her as your wife?”
“No, I already have three (four, actually) fiancées…”
“Whatever are you saying? You’re still young, sire. You should increase the number of wives you have. For the royal house’s sake. If you’re reluctant out of a sense of duty to Princess Liscia, then I wouldn’t mind her being a secondary queen…”
Talking as fast as a machine gun, Moltov tried to push things along. Just when I was thinking, Ugh, seriously, what a pain. Aisha, can you hurry up and get back already? it happened.
“Hahh, ha, ha, ha! Hahh, ha, ha, ha!”
That passionate laughter suddenly echoed through the hall.
“Ivan?! That idiot!” Moltov, who only a moment before had the face of a pleasant old man offering his daughter to me, now had a sour look on his face as he glared up through the open ceiling at the second floor of the banquet hall.
I followed his gaze to find someone standing on the balcony’s railing.
He was a man in his mid-twenties, tall and muscular. With his thick eyebrows, sharp eyes, and shining white teeth, he had a strangely distinctive face. He was a passionate young man, one who would not soon leave the memories of anyone who saw him.