SWNOVELXO chapter 289
289.Baron Johan Quartz Is Entering! (4)
“Are you nervous?”
“No. It’s just a little awkward…”
“I guess you’re not used to the tailcoat.”
That’s because I’ve never worn clothes like this before. It’s also uncomfortable to move. I want to undo one button of my rather tight tailcoat, but even that is not polite in the noble manner of an aristocrat.
I lowered my hand to the button again, recalling the noble etiquette I had heard so much that it made my ears bleed.
Even though I wasn’t in the carriage yet, it was a bit hard to touch her because the maid who dressed me was making noises that would tear my eardrums apart, such as saying that she would be laughed at if her clothes were dishonored.
“You will gradually get used to it. When I was young, I also felt uncomfortable wearing a tailcoat.”
“But since it is a three-day banquet, I think it will end before I get used to it.”
Three days.
Just three days.
In this short time, matters in the capital will be decided.
“You’ll get used to it in a day. Well, if it were you, you wouldn’t have anything to complain about.”
“That’s right. “No one would be brave enough to find fault with John.”
Carina, who was sitting next to her, echoed Duke Ryan’s words. Dressed in her attire like mine, she was so beautiful that it blinded her, so I nodded at her without making eye contact.
“Hehe, Johan…Are you embarrassed?”
“Because it’s so beautiful.”
“Hehe, when I was young.”
The duke, barely over 30 years old, muttered like an old man. As he seemed to be recalling his memories, I took my eyes off him and looked out his window. The road leading to the imperial palace was bustling and crowded.
Countless people passing by on the streets, impressive stores with flashy signs decorated with jewels, and even the occasional driver wandering around. It was a scenery that made it immediately clear why this place was the capital of the empire.
The biggest difference from Kalon is that there are no students.
Still, Kalon was the best in terms of comfort. If you’re fond of it, it’s your hometown. After living there for a year and a half, it’s a place you’re used to now. If Karina graduates safely, she will have to leave…
Because the saint had a really busy job.
“John.”
“Hmm?”
“Can’t I just look away?”
“I don’t know if there’s a big guy coming up with you next to me.”
I wonder if there is a woman next to her who has the kind of looks that would turn even a fairly beautiful woman into an ugly woman, so she would want to approach her. The moment they stand side by side, no matter how beautiful the flowers are, they will be no different from withered flowers.
“No way.”
“I can assure you that even the High Elf Queen was not more beautiful than you.”
“John…”
“… Huh.”
“Oh, sorry.”
“No. It’s basically like that at that age. I was like that once too…”
Duke Ryan’s eyes sank into memories. He must be thinking about his wife, who died in a carriage accident a few years ago. I quietly touched the back of Karina’s hand and whispered.
“It would be best to be quiet…”
———————–
The summer ball hosted by the imperial family was filled with numerous nobles.
Yeong-sik and Yeong-ae come to Seoul from the outskirts and aim to turn their lives around. High-ranking nobles who are the rulers of the capital and those in power, as well as nobles who assist them.
In the imperial banquet hall, where the desires of countless nobles were swirling, all the nobles were talking about one issue.
“Today was the day that the famous ‘Crow Hunter’ Sir Quartz debuted, right?”
“Oh my, I’m looking forward to it. I heard he’s a tall handsome man…”
“No. From what I heard, he has a face so scary that even demons would be startled.”
In particular, the ladies talked eagerly about the appearance of Baron Johan Quartz, whom they had not yet met. For ladies of marriageable age, the fact that a new groom candidate appeared was a big topic of discussion.
The ladies who had to find a good marriage partner constantly spread rumors about Baron Quartz, who was making his debut this time.
That he was a monster that even orcs would be afraid of, that was just a rumor, and that he was actually a handsome man, or that he was actually a half-orc, etc. Unfounded rumors were spread throughout the ballroom through the mouths of the ladies.
“By the way. Will he bring a partner?”
“If we brought a partner, we wouldn’t have a chance…”
“I never heard that he had a spouse or lover. You’re a Holy Knight to begin with, right? So maybe you’re not good with women?”
Everyone nodded at what one young lady said. Children of nobles who received knighthood at a young age tended to have relatively little experience with women.
Being ordained as a knight at the age of one’s debut meant that a lot of time was devoted to becoming a knight. This was especially true for children from lower-class nobles.
“We said he was from a commoner, so he would be happy if we approached him.”
“But… He’s the saint’s bodyguard, right? Will we be noticed? “She had seen the saint from afar, and she was truly a very beautiful woman.”
“Do you need to worry about apples you can’t pick?”
Count Jenny Her daughters surrounding her quietly agreed to her daughter’s words her her her. A saint and a guard knight. It’s literally a combination that could only come out of a romance novel.
For generations, saints had relationships with people of high status, and it was customary to implicitly connect with people from the imperial family.
Therefore, the noble ladies did not even put the saint among her competition.
“Now that I think about it, didn’t the 1st Prince adore the saintess?”
“I heard it too. I heard that she sends letters filled with love to the saint every day…”
“The saintess was concentrating on her studies, so she did not react, so my friend saw the 1st prince sitting there with a sullen look on her face.”
“Friend?”
“My friend, the Alpaca Baroness, is the 1st Prince’s maid.”
“Ah…”
Information mixed in small talk. The young ladies accumulated that information in their heads.
Any piece of information will be helpful someday if you remember it.
It was a time when everyone was excited about the appearance of a new face.
And then, a sound rang out announcing that the person they had been waiting for had finally arrived at the banquet hall.
“His Excellency Duke Ryan, Baron Johann Quartz, and Karina Kalon are entering!”
“Yes?”
“Saint?”
“Together in the debutante?”
All the nobles looked at each other as if they had heard correctly, then immediately turned to look at the banquet hall door.
Their gaze caught the sight of the Duke, the highest-ranking noble in the empire, entering the banquet hall, and a pair of men and women following him.
“That person…”
“He’s not handsome…”
“I think I know why the oak sound came out…”
“In the first place, a good knight must look inward rather than outward.”
“More than that, with the saint… “
“The saint appears as a debutante…”
“Isn’t he here to save the face of his bodyguard?”
“Wouldn’t you know it from the way I look at Sir Quartz right now?”
The ladies all looked at the woman at the sudden voice
Martina Raymond.
The daughter of Marquis Raymond covered her mouth with a fan and smiled. At her remark her her her, the ladies’ eyes returned to the pink-haired saint.
The saint, Carina Kalon, was smiling and nodding her head as if she was talking about something with Baron Quartz.
“…No way.”
“Miss Martina, perhaps…” ” “
“That’s right. Lady Susan. Rumors are already spreading among those attending the academy. “I didn’t dare to talk about the saint, so it didn’t leak out.”
“Oh my, this is really interesting news~?”
“Is that so?”
“Then…”
“It’s not someone we can touch.”
While the ladies were in an uproar over Martina’s explosive remarks her her, the Duke of Ryan and Baron Quartz walked the red carpet and headed toward the emperor sitting on the throne.
At the moment when everyone’s attention was focused, Duke Ryan and Baron Quartz knelt down at the same time and shouted.
“I come to see His Majesty the Emperor!”
“I come to see His Majesty the Emperor.”
The Emperor looked down at Baron Quartz and Carina Kalon, who were kneeling behind Duke Ryan, with an expression of interest. He had never heard that Karina Kalon would come to the banquet hall, so he asked Karina Kalon.
“Saint, I didn’t know you would come to this small banquet.”
“How could I miss this happy day? “I came here to at least recite a congratulatory message.”
“Haha. Those are words worthy of a saint. Yes, bless the sprouts of this country here.”
At the emperor’s shout, Karina quietly stood up and walked to the middle of the banquet hall. All eyes were on her. However, the modern saint smiled leisurely and quietly folded her hands and began to recite her prayer.
“O Almighty Kalon…”
As her prayers began, she closed her eyes one by one and began to listen to her prayers.
As everyone put their hands together, a soft golden light began to leak out from Karina’s body and spread throughout the banquet hall.
“This is…”
“…Soseo.”
The end of prayer.
And blessings.
The nobles in the banquet hall felt her lighter body and looked at Karina with eyes filled with emotion.
“I hope you all have a nice banquet.”
It was the beginning of a true banquet.