Reunion with Lady Daphne

Translated by: ME

Treat me to a Ko-Fi to give me more motivation!!!

*****

「Everyone seems as lively as ever. Would you mind if I joined you?」

A calm, composed voice called out, laced with a hint of a wry smile.

「Countess Daphne. How rare to see you here」 Victor remarked.

「Marchioness Iris, it is wonderful to see you looking so well. And Baroness Colette, I see you are as active as ever.」

A complete set of women who were addressed by their first names had gathered. It was quite the assembly of formidable ladies.

(…Whoa, terrifying!)

Magnolia thought to herself that she was glad to be just a normal girl—aside from the whole "reincarnated" thing.

Though if you asked the three of them, they would undoubtedly say, "No, no, not as much as you," so from an outside perspective, they were likely cut from the same cloth.

While Countess Daphne didn't hold a title in her own right, she was famous as a "wise lady" and was one of the few women addressed by her own name rather than just her house name.

Usually, she taught while wearing simple dresses, but today she wore a sophisticated gown of deep forest green. Her tightly styled hair and the cool, hard quality of her pale eyes seemed to suit the dress perfectly.

As Magnolia was considering this, Daphne glanced at Victor and let out a small sigh.

「Lord Victor… you’ve certainly grown quite a bit since I last saw you, haven't you?」

「Well, yes. I was in my growing phase, after all. I shot right up,」 Victor replied jokingly.

Daphne let out another long sigh.

She then turned her body toward Magnolia, having saved her greeting for last to ensure they could speak properly.

「Countess Daphne, thank you for coming such a long way to be here.」

Looking at Magnolia as she gave a polite bow, Daphne’s light blue eyes softened at the sight of how much the girl had grown.

「It is I who should thank you for the invitation. And for the very polite letter. Most of all, I am glad to see you in such good health.」

With that, Daphne did something rare: she knelt down and took Magnolia’s hand.

「I intended to ask how you were faring in the Margraviate, but it seems you have been quite active. The numerous new products, and your participation in territorial administration at such an age… I was shocked to hear of it, but… you have worked very hard, haven't you?」

*You have worked very hard*—Magnolia felt those were the words of a true teacher. It was praise and labor acknowledged not just for the results, but for the process itself. She likely meant it to encompass Magnolia’s difficult days at the main estate as well.

Chewing over the words in her mind, Magnolia nodded.

「Yes. Me, and everyone else. We all worked vewy hard!」

「That is wonderful.」

The usual strictness had vanished; Daphne nodded and smiled gently. Feeling a bit off-balance by the warmth, Magnolia tilted her head.

「Did you know about the business?」

Daphne nodded with a slightly troubled expression.

「Yes. When you stopped coming to your lessons, I feared it was because I had overstepped by offering my opinions on your education… After a while, I received your letter saying you had moved to the territory… and occasionally, I received letters from Sebastian informing me of how you were doing.」

(Oh, I see.)

「Thank you for wondewing about me.」

Daphne shook her head. 「No. It pained me that I could do nothing for you.」

Sensing an endless loop of polite "no, not at alls" coming, Victor raised both hands.

「More importantly, you should really try the snacks. They're worth a taste.」

「I believe they use food items created by Lady Magnolia, do they not?」

「Among other things—bones and guts too.」

Colette, Iris, and Daphne looked back and forth between Victor and Magnolia with dubious expressions. The two subjects of their gaze looked at each other and burst into a fit of giggles.

Of course, it goes without saying that after this, Magnolia was relentlessly interrogated for details—especially by Colette.

***

The conversation continued while everyone stayed reasonably well-fed.

The formal greetings of the debutante party had ended, and the hall had turned into a social lounge where everyone mingled as they pleased. A line of nobles had formed around Servas, eager to pitch themselves to him. Since Claude was absent, Servas was being forced to handle them alone…

Since no one approached Magnolia, she was effectively free. She checked with Gai if she should return to Servas’s side, but he told her to "please enjoy yourself," so she decided to take him up on the offer.

Countess Daphne likely knew about the earlier commotion, but having confirmed there were no injuries, she chose not to ask about Brian and instead moved on to life updates.

The four of them, who seemed to be well-acquainted in the small yet vast world of high society, peppered in details about their own lives while showing a keen interest in the star of the day, Magnolia. As for Iris and Colette, they seemed to be trying to "measure" Magnolia for some reason, forcing her to use extra brainpower to come up with appropriately evasive answers.

「Speaking of which, I was sure I had memorized most of the Peerage Register, but I didn't remember Lord Victor at all.」

Trying to steer the conversation away from herself, Magnolia mentioned how shocked she was to learn Victor’s true identity. Iris and Colette looked at Victor with cold eyes.

「Well, of course you didn't.」

「If a young lord looking like *this* were in the register, he’d be the first one anyone remembered.」

It was true. Even if you wanted to forget him, you probably couldn't.

「…I submit a request to have my entry deleted every year, you know?」

「And every time, the Prime Minister crushes the request,」 Iris added.

Magnolia didn't know the full story, but Victor clearly had his reasons for becoming an adventurer. As she was feeling pensive, Colette whipped open a Peerage Register with great vigor.

「This is… just too much」 Countess Daphne said, shaking her head with a sigh.

The House of Bristol had two sons and one daughter; the daughter had married into a ducal house of the same faction long ago. Magnolia remembered looking at the portraits and thinking there was a significant age gap between the eldest and second sons.

To check where her memory had gone wrong, Magnolia looked at the open page… but it wasn't wrong. It was exactly as she remembered.

On the page was a delicate, girl-like "soft" boy who looked like he had been raised in the lap of luxury. Magnolia looked back and forth between the name and the portrait three times, then looked at the Guildmaster standing before her.

…Not the same.

「Yes! The Victor Casimir Bristol boy I saw was this one!! ...I mean, he's a totally different person! He's faking his age way too much!!」

「Nah-hahaha!」

The muscle-bound Adventurer Guildmaster let out a boisterous laugh.

***

The talk went on. Servas occasionally cast a dark look toward Magnolia, but he remained where he was because the "Trio of Iron Ladies" was present.

While he might have been okay with Countess Daphne—who was modest and lovely as a child—he found the other two quite difficult to deal with.

Eventually, the topic turned to Magnolia’s marriage prospects. In noble society, it’s always marriage first, marriage second.

(I'm only six...)

It was exhausting, but that was the world they lived in. She muttered to herself about how she had been thirty-three and single in her previous life.

「Instead of me, shouldn't we be talking about Lord Victor getting settled?」

At Magnolia’s words, Colette and Iris exchanged looks.

「…Well, realistically, yes. But… right?」

「It’s a tough sell, isn't it? Who’d want a husband like this?」

Colette continued, 「Actually, Iris, if you weren't the heir to your house, you’d probably have had marriage talks with Victor.」

「…Given our ages and family status, probably,」 Iris shrugged with a wry smile. The second son of the premier Ducal house and the daughter of a prestigious Marquis house; it was a plausible match. Especially since they had built a good friendship back at the Academy.

「So that’s why you’re still good friends! Your hairstyles are even somewhat matching, aren't they?」

「Hey, don’t group us together,」 Iris countered, looking genuinely annoyed.

While everyone shared a wry laugh, Countess Daphne said with a sigh, 「It will be quite difficult to decide on a match for Lady Magnolia as well… there are few boys close to her age in the Ducal or Marquis houses.」

Because the Prince was about her age, one might think there was a baby boom—and there was, but for some reason, the birth rate for girls was abnormally high. Furthermore, because girls of that age were candidates for Crown Princess, most eligible boys had already been snatched up and betrothed.

「………… I don't really need to marry if it's too much trouble.」

「Well, Lady Magnolia has her businesses, so her future is secure,」 Iris noted.

Daphne added with a sigh, 「Realistically, she is a candidate for Crown Princess, but…」

「Whoa, no way! I don't feel like I could do that at all!」

「Well, aside from her abilities, she doesn't seem suited for the inner palace…」

The four adults nodded as Magnolia shook her head with a look like she’d bitten a sour grape. Victor then laughed and said something outrageous.

「Well, if you absolutely don't want to get married or betrothed, you can just get betrothed to me.」

「「…………」」

Seeing the looks of pure contempt from Colette and Iris, Victor gave a wry smile.

「In name only, of course. But you need someone with enough status so the arrangement won't be overturned, right? The names that will come up are the 'Prince,' 'Me,' 'Lord Claude'—who isn't blood-related—and 'High-ranking foreign nobles.' But foreign matches aren't exactly encouraged right now.」

「What is this, a 'choice of the ultimate evils' lineup…?」 Iris grimaced in disgust.

「Hey now! It’s the 'Prince,' the 'Second Son of a Premier Duke,' and the 'Next Margrave (Knight)'!」

「Everything except the titles is questionable… Leaving the Prince aside for now, from Lady Magnolia’s perspective, both of you are just old men! Plus, the options are a 'Mountain Bandit Thug' and a 'Crabby Giant'… I’d hope for a different choice.」

Even though the Prince and Claude were supposedly everyone’s idols, the ladies were quite harsh. …Wait, the Guildmaster too?

「Do you have a pwefewence, Lady Magnolia?」

At Iris’s question, Magnolia hummed in thought.

「…Well, the other person has a right to choose too… but if I could choose based on my own wishes among those I've met, it would probably be Sir Ducas of the Western Garrison.」

The four adults blinked at the unexpected choice.

「Hugo Ducas… that’s quite a sophisticated pick.」

「He’s older than me!」

「What do you like about him?」

(Since our mental ages are the same, it seems like it would be easy, and even if we actually did get married by some mistake, he seems like someone who would be kind.)

「Hmm, he looks a bit scawy at fipst glance… but he’s actually soft-spoken and a gentleman. He doesn't get fwustwated; he’s calm and has a lot of poise. He seems like he has a long leash, so even if I mess up a bit, he’d just watch over me with a wye smile.」

「Ah, I see.」

The four listeners nodded deeply.

「He’s from a Count’s house and a Garrison Commander; he does seem like the type to provide flexible support while staying in the background.」

「He is actually quite popular in high society,」 Daphne added.

The "Iron Ladies" all nodded in agreement. 「…The age gap is the main issue, though.」

Magnolia shook her head with a wry smile at their synchronized reaction. She wouldn't actually get betrothed; this was just a hypothetical.

「For now, if anyone asks, I’ll just say, 'Someone stronger than Grandpa and smarter than Brother Claude.'」

She was adopting the "Princess Kaguya" method.

「No… a person who has surpassed humanity like that doesn't exist, you know?」

The Iron Ladies nodded vigorously at Victor’s deadpan retort.

Such idle talk continued for a while, and soon after, the debutante party came to a peaceful close, as if nothing had ever happened.

*****

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