Chapter 4: The Dinner Party (Part 3) – The Public Face and the Private Face
“Elena was right, it really is dark… I need to watch my step…”
About forty minutes had passed.
Byleth, his stomach even fuller after spending more time at the venue, had slipped out alone and was leisurely walking around the spacious grounds, breathing in the fresh air.
someone might wonder, “What about Elena and Luna?” Well, the time between 6 PM and 8 PM was mainly reserved for greeting others.
During these two hours, it would be considered a breach of etiquette to invite someone to slip out,
as it would prevent others from having the opportunity to greet that person.
(Well… everyone was engaged in conversation anyway, so I couldn’t have invited anyone even if I wanted to.)
There are mainly three reasons why someone might leave during the greeting time:
- Those like Aria, who have a scheduled performance during the banquet.
- Those who have fallen ill.
- Those who have become bored.
In Byleth’s case, unfortunately, it was the third reason. However, he didn’t look disappointed. Instead, he was smiling contentedly, remembering what had happened at the banquet hall.
“Even someone like me had three people come to greet me…”
For the son of a Marquis, this was actually a very small number.
Anyone he reported this to would probably laugh, but for Byleth, it was huge progress.
(I hope I can become like everyone else someday…)
By “everyone,” he meant Sia, Luna, and Elena.
Byleth wasn’t aiming to become popular, but he had come to understand that greeting people at parties could be enjoyable.
Moreover, he had another strong thought:
“I need to measure up to everyone.”
The number of greetings one receives is almost an indicator of “how well-liked you are” and “how much others care about you.”
“The quickest way would be to learn from Lady Aria, but that’s absolutely impossible… She’s so refined that I can’t even imitate her, I heard she sings well too, and despite her high position, she chooses her words carefully, treats everyone equally, and is so generous…”
He couldn’t find a single area where he could compete. That was Byleth’s feeling.
“I should be more mentally mature than her, but… I need to create at least one area where I can compete…”
Watching his step, he unconsciously continues to talk to himself.
As he was seriously considering this “competitive edge” while watching his step,
Byleth suddenly encountered something that stopped his thoughts in their tracks.
“The food was so yummy~”
“?!”
Hearing a strange song with rhythmical “do-re-mi-fa-so-la-ti-do” notes—
“My tummy’s all wobbly~”
“Huh!?”
“Such a bothersome practice~”
“……”
“Not a fun practice at all~”
“………..”
“But I’ll do my best~”
“……………”
A peculiar song overflowing with originality.
The singing is bizarre, but the more you listen, the more you realize how beautifully clear the voice is.
Approaching silently towards the source of the voice, there’s a small figure sitting alone on a roofed bench.
Still singing that strange song, happily swaying the upper body left and right.
It’s too dark to identify who it is.
However, one thing is certain – it’s not a ghost, but a woman.
“I’ll let you sleep with me~ la la la”
(W-what kind of song is that……)
The girl lurking in the darkness is completely in her own world. She even gives the impression of being drunk.
It’s intriguing, and the variety of songs is curious, but the scene is more frightening than anything else.
(Um, yeah……. I think it’s best to pretend I didn’t see anything and leave……. That’s definitely the right choice……)
Anyone who witnessed this scene would probably come to the same conclusion.
Byleth, making the obvious choice, slowly turns his body in the opposite direction, takes one careful step, and as he’s about to take another step to distance himself further—
“Ah……”
He feels something hit the tip of his shoe, and the sound of a small stone rolling echoes—
“Oh!!”
The sound of someone holding their breath is heard. With a swift motion like cutting through the wind, that shadow quickly turns this way.
“……”
“……”
In the darkness, eyes meet with someone whose identity is unknown.
No, it’s possible they’re glaring at each other.
How many minutes of silence passed with the motionless figure?
Byleth, increasingly enveloped in fear, contorts his face and carefully calls out while maintaining a posture ready to flee at any moment.
“Um… that’s quite a unique song, isn’t it?”
“Ah, no no no, this is a misunderstanding. I-I wasn’t the one singing…!”
“O-oh, I see. I’m very sorry about that.”
A lie as poor as Sia’s flies out.
Normally, one would retort with something like [That can’t be true], but the identity of the other person is unknown.
While playing along, Byleth tries to gauge the distance and gather information.
“Also… are you here because you have nothing to do?”
“Huh?”
“Oh, sorry. I partly came out to get some fresh air for that reason myself.”
(This weird person must be here because they have nothing to do…)
Knowing it’s rude,
Byleth keeps this thought to himself and waits for a response, which comes as a relief.
“Ah, well, I… ‘I’ am like that too, yeah. I have nothing to do, but breaks are necessary, right?”
“Y-yes, I think so.”
(Did her way of referring to herself change? Did her manner of speaking change too?)
Such questions only last for a moment.
Because the other person is strange, there’s no room to think about anything else.
Unable to choose the option of [leaving] immediately, and failing to grasp the timing to part ways, Byleth ends up killing time with [the mysterious girl he can’t see in the darkness].
Of course, for her, the situation of [a mysterious boy whose face can’t be seen in the darkness] is the same.
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[How did it end up like this……]
[How did it turn out like this……]
Byleth, still standing, and the mysterious girl, still sitting on the bench, felt this simultaneously.
While she’s probably not a bad person, there’s only one way to deal with such a unique and strange individual.
[Now that it’s come to this, let’s try not to provoke her……]
Not being able to grasp anything about the other person’s background makes one cautious.
On the other hand, the girl who had been casually singing for a break, to clear her mind, and as a light warm-up, was thinking:
[I can’t let anyone know that I’m the kind of person who does this……]
She’s the one most aware of it.
That she can’t ruin the image of the [beautiful songstress].
That she can’t let anyone know about that side of her.
In her anxiety, Aria desperately racked her brain and took a bitter strategy.
She revealed a side of herself that only Sonya knows and changed the way she refers to herself.
With these two tactics, she tried to avoid being recognized.
The only fortunate thing for her was that the darkness helped conceal her identity.
“Ah, you can speak more casually if you’d like? I think you’re here to take a break too.”
“Um… it might get quite casual, is that really okay?”
Even though the other person is strange, Byleth still confirms after receiving the proposal, but the response is light.
“Yeah, yeah. Look at how I’m speaking.”
“Then… alright. I’ll take you up on that offer. Thanks for being considerate.”
“W-wow, it really did get casual.”
“Haha… I’m aware that I’m quite casual compared to other nobles.”
“I bet~ And it must be tough having to put on the face that’s expected of you~ I like the atmosphere of soirées and all, but I’m not good with the stiff formality, you know.”
“Same here.”
“We both have it tough~”
“Yeah, we do~”
The drawled-out voice unconsciously spreads to Byleth as well.
“……”
“……”
At this moment, both of them think:
[We shouldn’t be close, but somehow it’s easy to interact] and
[We shouldn’t be close, but somehow it feels comfortable].
But this is only natural.
If you remove the element of social standing, Byleth and her sensibilities are quite similar.
A man who doesn’t care about someone’s status, precisely because he hasn’t lived in the world of the nobility.
He absolutely doesn’t want to get involved in discrimination or power struggles, and he has no desire to make enemies.
And a woman who, because of her simple wish to live peacefully above all else, doesn’t care about someone’s lower standing.
Though their thoughts differ, they both arrive at the same conclusion.
“Yawn~……”
“Haha, you seem quite tired.”
“Today was really fun, but I used up all my energy putting on a front because of how much fun I had.”
“For me, it’s more mental fatigue. Wondering if I made any mistakes, or trying not to leave a bad impression.”
“Let’s both relax when we get home~”
“By the way, what’s your schedule after you get home?”
“Of course, I’ll be lounging around until tomorrow.”
“Huh? Until tomorrow?”
“Mhm.”
Byleth wants to retort at the somewhat proud response, but he still observes her behavior.
While allocating some thought to that, he had one thing on his mind.
“Um, hey? I’m sorry if this is sudden, but do you have any worries?”
“Huh? Why would lounging around mean I have worries?”
“How should I put it… Well, I’ve been through something similar in the past. Of course, everyone’s different so I can’t say for sure, but often when you feel like ‘not wanting to do anything,’ it’s because your heart is tired.”
This is from personal experience.
Soon after becoming a working adult.
He was really battered by the waves of society.
A new environment, a strict workplace. Unreasonable scolding. Forced participation in drinking parties. Numerous overtime hours.
Even when blessed with days off, he didn’t feel like doing anything—and so on.
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