Chapter 8: 8

Volume 1 Chapter 8: The Fated Encounter That Never Happened

At Count Reginbars’s office in the royal capital not too long ago, a discussion was happening.

“…You want me to attend the upcoming ball? I do not think anyone would care if a low-ranking knight such as myself did not attend.”

“Like hell, they would. Every time you don’t attend, I’m forced to handle complaints from the ladies. And since this will be the year His Highness the Crown Prince begins attending the academy, you are obligated to go. You understand, Lect?”

“…Understood.”

Lectias, Lect for short, returned a stare with his sharp purple eyes but nonetheless acknowledged his master’s order.

Of course, there was no way Lect, bodyguard and assistant of the thirty-three-year-old Count Cloud Reginbars, would disobey an order.

And though his title marked him the assistant to the Prime Minister, Cloud Reginbars had a physique not inferior to most knights, and the shape of his well-trained body was clearly visible from under his clothes; his face, too wild to be called beautiful, had the look of well-defined masculinity, and his close-cropped silver hair followed his sideburns down to a flourishing beard.

His rugged figure makes him appear more soldier than civil servant, but he is nonetheless an extremely popular noble; as an unmarried thirty-three-year-old sporting a handsome face, fit body, and high status, Cloud Reginbars was by far the most popular and eligible bachelor in the kingdom.

But for Count Reginbars, the advances of unmarried women are nothing but trouble for he had no intention of marrying any other than his beloved Celena.

He was a man devoted to his long lost love, this father of Melody Wave — no, of Celesti McMurden.

Although his facial expression had not changed, Count Reginbars mentally sighed with relief when Lect grudgingly relents to attending the ball.

(Phew, that should reduce the number of women trying to flirt with me. All the ones of marriage age should be aiming for Lect)

…The master, disguising his true intent behind honeyed words, intended to sell out his subordinate in an act of self-preservation.

While he wasn’t as popular as Count Reginbars, Lect still attracted much attention; despite hailing from a first-generation knight family, Lect had a bright future waiting for him, including a formal title after having served as the trusted bodyguard and attendant of the Prime Minister’s assistant.

Not to mention, Lect was also handsome; his sharp face matched his tall figure, and his slender body disguised a well-trained physique.

The red of his short hair reflected the passions of fire, and the sharp glint in his sleepy eyes evoked primal desires in blossoming young women; “I want those eyes to lay bare my heart!” they were often saying.

There were no issues with Lect’s personality either, so overall he would have been an amazing catch for any unmarried woman.

(If I knew this was how it would turn out, I should have been the one going to the neighboring country, not Sevre)

Having reported the death of Celena and the existence of a daughter Celesti, Lect believed Count Reginbars would follow-up by having Lect join up with Sevre at the neighboring country. However, in contrast with the expectation, Count Reginbars actually had Lect stay in the capital.

Count Reginbars had, after all, decided the one going to search for his daughter ought to be someone familiar with the area’s geography.

The search for Celesti needed to remain a secret because she was an illegitimate child between the Count and his servant; should any news leak occur, the Reginbars family would generate much unwanted attention.

Count Reginbars planned to take custody of his daughter and keep her from the public eye; he would hold her social debut only after thorough preparations were finalized.

However, up to this moment there have been no reports as to her whereabouts.

After all, Celesti McMurden never actually went to the neighboring country in the first place.

…Cloud Reginbars would never suspect his daughter was actually working diligently as a maid in the royal capital.

The Count lets out a deep sigh; Lect, taking notice, turned and met his master’s eyes.

“Had my daughter been found by now, I would ask that you escort her to the ball; it seems that will not be possible this time.

“I was to be the escort, you say?”

“Yes. If it were you, I would be reassured knowing she had a suitable escort, but… you weren’t thinking about laying your lands on my daughter, were you?”

Count Reginbars glared daggers at Lect; this father, who has yet to even meet his daughter, is seriously staring him down…. Cloud Reginbars’s love was too overprotective.

“Of course,” Lect could only answer, as he struggled to keep his expression from cramping.

For Lect, interacting with noblewomen was, quite frankly, an exhausting hassle, so he would rather not involve himself. However —

“Oh, and Lect? You should consider bringing a female companion to the ball.”

“Huh?! Why?! For what purpose?!”

“As I mentioned earlier, the reason I am ordering you to attend is because I have tired of the ladies complaining of your absence. Lect, if you were to go alone, an avalanche of enthusiastic women will bury you under, you know?”

A choked croak came involuntarily out of Lect as he processed the Count’s warning.

“It is why I always ask my elder sister to accompany me to these events ever since I inherited the title. Were I to attend by myself, the unmarried ladies would swarm over. Its times like these that I am thankful to my late brother-in-law.”

Although Count Reginbars’s actions were discourteous to his late brother-in-law, it was true that his own elder sister is the least troublesome companion he could bring. It seemed the first ball he attended after taking the count title had instilled a deep trauma in him.

“I don’t care who you bring, as long as you find someone. If possible, make sure you bring a woman who can behave without embarrassing herself at a ball, for her own sake. But like I said, if you bring a female companion, the unwed ladies will avoid approaching you — I guess it is fine to keep their company if you decided to go alone.”

“…I shall find someone.”

Having to handle this new issue, Lect kept a troubled look on his face as he returned home.

To be perfectly clear, Lect has no such convenient companion; he has neither family member nor acquaintance to call on for these matters.

“…Maybe if I ask Paula… no, that wouldn’t…”

Paula is the all-works maid that Lect has under his employ; having come from a ruined merchant family, she has the courage to remain unintimidated when handling nobles. However, Paula lacks the etiquette appropriate for a ball.

As an aside, Lect tended to become absentminded when contemplating issues, and it was on this occasion that he decided to soak in a hot bath to slowly mull over his newfound problem. So upon returning to his mansion, Lect walked straight to the bathroom – without informing anyone.

The bathroom was already warm when Lect entered; had someone already prepared the hot water?

“…Hmm. Paula is quite proactive for once.”

Had there been women’s clothes in the dressing room, then Lect might have noticed.

However, Paula had become preoccupied with cleaning the maid uniform, and she had not left out a change of clothing.

Surely Lect must have been too tired to realize the situation, but he should have understood if he thought it through: how would a maid know to prepare the bath for her master’s return without first knowing the time of his return?

And so the unthinking Lect, believing the bath was for him, began unbuttoning his clothes, disrobing and displaying his well-trained body in full nudity.

Lect let out a sizeable sigh to express his fatigue and opened the door–

“– Huh?”

“…Wha?”

Lect’s eyes suddenly gazed upon sparkling gems of lapis lazuli, and he realized too late he was looking into a woman’s eyes.

His mind froze in place, and he could not process what he was seeing.

He could not understand why an unknown woman was in the bathroom of his mansion.

Then, perhaps due to a male’s instincts, Lect firmly took in the entirety of the naked woman: shiny thread-like silver hair that clung to unblemished glossy skin; lapis eyes that glimmered mysteriously like stars in the night sky; and a gentle face with an innocent look. Her appearance came together in an overwhelmingly seductive combination.

And so the two stood stark naked in place. Lect noticed droplets of water begining to trickle down the woman’s neck, and he could not help but follow their downward trail with his eyes.

The droplets pool at the collarbone and eventually overflow onto her chest… Lect was unable to look away.

This alluring sight stunned him from thinking, and Lect reflexively whispered in rapt captivation.

“…How beautiful… an angel?”

At that moment, Lect felt a soft touch on his stomach: the girl’s thin fingers had come into contact with him.

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Lect’s heart began pounding like never before, but that kept him from noticing it.

“Nooo! Consign to oblivion, Memory ErasureDimenticato!”

“– Kihi!?”

Lect instantly lost consciousness, falling over like a puppet whose strings had been cut.

As he begins regaining hazy consciousness, Lect raised his heavy eyelids and saw a single girl.

The girl he saw had silver hair and lapis eyes, and she was looking over Lect with a worried expression.

…She had silver hair, the same color as Count Reginbars’s hair. And she had lapis eyes, the same color as his master’s lover’s eyes.

“Ohh… I’ve finally found you, my lady.”

Lect lifted his arm and reached out to try and touch the girl’s cheek —

“My lady?”

Lect refocused and saw the girl tilting her head in confusion; his arm abruptly stopped.

As he regains full consciousness, Lect beholds the girl in front of him: a black-haired, black-eyed maid.

Lect appeared to have been dreaming; with a sigh, he sat himself upright in his seat.

It seems he had been resting on the three-seater couch in the parlor, but why had he been here in the first place?

Furthermore, he wondered, who was this unknown girl? Wait, no, if she was a black-haired and black-eyed, then —

“Aren’t you…”

“Huh?! Do you remember something about me?”

The girl turned bright red, and her eyes widened in surprise… Right, now he remembered.

“…You’re the girl who was looking for the carriage statioin in Trendivars, right?”

“What should I do, should I just have him become asphyxi–… wait, what?”

Just now, the girl seemed to be saying something extremely disturbing, but that was probably just his imagination.

“Am I mistaken?”

“Trendivars… Red hair… Oh! You’re the man who showed me where to go!”

The girl apparently remembered him too. Lect became strangely happy, with a slight smile appearing on his face.

“I cannot seem to remember arriving home or getting here, but could you tell me why you are here in my mansion.”

The girl looked relieved for a moment, but she took on a panicked look and began trembling when he asked his question. Just as Lect began to wonder why the girl reacted like so, the door to the parlor opened with a loud “bang!”

“Ah, have you awakened, my lord?”

“Oh, it’s you, Paula, you’re just in time. Why was I sleeping here? And why is this girl here?”

As Lect asked his questions, Paula stared intently at him; it may have been his imagination, but Paula seemed to regard him with suspicion and scorn… no, it was most likely his imagination. Lect internally shook his head to reassure himself.

“Hmm, you really don’t remember? My lord, I had told you I was going to introduce a friend of mine, and so you went to the parlor ahead of me. When I got here, you were already on the sofa, fast asleep. You must have been extremely tired.”

“I-is that so? I can’t seem to remember anything at all…”

“It seems you had been working hard lately. Perhaps the fatigue has even started affecting your memory.”

As Paula shakes her head in disapproval, Lect cannot deny her observation.

It was a fact that Lect has been traveling around the kingdom in search of Celena and had only recently returned. After coming home, Lect continued performing his bodyguard and assistant duties under Count Reginbars, and now he must add “find a companion for the Spring Ball” to his list of jobs – a task that may cause him to accumulate even more stress.

“I didn’t expect to be so tired that it would begin affecting my memory though…”

“…Do you really not remember?”

Paula had asked in a suspicious tone, but the only thing Lect could answer was, “I cannot remember a thing.”

Upon watching Lect cross his arms and tilt his head in thought, Melody visibly relaxed while Paula looked dissatisfied.

(Thank goodness. It seems like he really doesn’t remember a thing)

(Hmm, if he did remember, I could have hit him with a tray. Too bad that seems to be unecessary)

Of course, the story is a complete fabrication; Melody had already told Paula of the circumstances as well as of the magic involved. Paula, for her part, simply made up a story to fill in the blanks. If Lect really had forgotten the bathroom incident, then all was well for Melody.

“Well, my lord should learn to take better care of himself. Anyway, please allow me to introduce my friend; this is Melody, with whom I became acquainted today.”

“Um, my name is Melody Wave. I am currently employed at the Luthorburg residence. It is a pleasure to meet you.”

Melody gracefully bent her knees and performed a curtsy in greeting, and Lect found himself mesmerized.

(…How beautiful. I had no idea a simple curtsy could feel so different)

Despite only lasting several short seconds, the curtsy felt more like a dance to Lect.

Polished etiquette was no less an art, Lect realized in that moment.

And so he begins thinking: perhaps Melody has the correct level of training to handle high society?

“My name is Lectias Frodo. You can call me Lect.”

“Of course, Lord Lect.”

“…There’s no need to be so polite.:”

“Then… Sir Lect?”

“That is fine.”

“But for a mere maid such as myself to address a noble so casually…”

“I have no connection to House Luthorburg, so you need not worry about proper formality.”

“Ah, well, if you insist, then I shall oblige. It is nice to meet you, Sir Lect. Thank you again for your help back at Trendivars.”

Melody’s unblemished smile caught Lect by surprise, and he felt his heartbeat grow in volume as he met with her bright expression. The sound of Lect’s heartbeat became so loud that even Melody should have noticed.

(J-just now, what in the world..?)

Lect carefully masked his perturbed state, but Paula, standing behind him, was grinning.

From this day onward, Lect would begin seeing Melody by using Paula as an intermediary; he would not understand the strange motivation driving him to do so, and he would remain confused. How was it that he, at twenty-one years of age, had not realized what has happened…

And so it would be quite some time before Lect understood the meaning of his racing heart.

Incidentally, Luciana’s tea party took place the next day and finished without incident. The only event remaining was the entrance ceremony at the Royal Academy of Partesia… for which Luciana’s parents should be arriving soon.

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