Free Web NovelChapter 4: Masquerade Ball
Carriages were lined in slow procession within the mansion’s entry point.
When it was the D’Arc House’s turn, a footman in Leurox House’s bright yellow livery opened the carriage doors.
Entry had to be subtle yet grand, fitting for the D’Arc House. While Vincent had no idea how he could make it grand, he could at least be subtle.
He was trained the whole day for everything, so he took every step carefully out of the carriage.
Anastasia kept a close eye on him.
Vincent’s stature was short as per noble standards. He was well dressed but that was all there was to it. The eye mask on his face further added to the anonymity.
Anastasia was his attendant and could subtly glance around, unlike Vincent who had to focus completely on his walk and handing the guards the invitation.
’Nobody recognizes the young master. If it was the Countess or the young lady, all heads would’ve turned by now.’ Anastasia thought as she recalled the scenes from her past iterations.
As the guards checked the invitation and found the special seals and insignias, they personally escorted Vincent to the ballroom.
The tall ceiling, arched like a cathedral’s was ornately decorated with grandiose crystal chandeliers possessing candles around them.
The floor was a polished black-and-white patterned stone for smooth movements in the ball.
The golden candlelight shone upon Vincent’s black eye mask with silver engravings as he entered the ballroom.
The conversation of nobles in attendance softened as they saw the newcomer escorted by high ranking guards.
Who was he? They wondered as they tried to guess him from his house colors and attire.
Vincent was in an all black suit with red accents. He was blending well with the rest, and guessing his house was a difficult task.
The nobles let out quiet whispers regarding him. He was someone of importance in their eyes as the guards would not escort just anyone inside the ballroom.
Before a lot of heads turned in his direction and the situation turned chaotic, Anastasia signalled Vincent toward a group of nobles in light blue attire.
A server gave them their welcome drinks, and holding it in his hand, Vincent and Anastasia walked towards the said group.
Vincent formed a stiff yet polite smile as he neared them.
The group noticed his arrival and mirrored the same polite smiles.
"It seems we have the honor of receiving a rather distinguished guest this evening." A white-beared man responded.
Vincent raised his glass slightly. "Greetings, my lords."
The men raised their glasses in response. "Greetings, my lord."
’Okay, now what?’ Vincent felt so blocked. He had no topic to talk about with them.
The men looked at with an expectant gaze, as if waiting for him to initiate something.
’Tsk. Why can’t you guys speak first...’
The current society was strict on hierarchy, and these men here weren’t speaking because Vincent was clearly someone of importance.
To be escorted personally was an honor reserved only for the most influential, almost on the level of another Duke.
These guys as well as the ones in the ballroom could not figure out Vincent’s identity or background, so they treated him as someone high class.
There were a lot of gazes locked on him, despite many not staring at him directly.
They ranged from a quick glance while sipping their drinks to blatant staring while moving within the ball.
The men in light blue dress belonged to a Viscount house. They definitely weren’t escorted by guards so they chose to be extra polite with Vincent, clearly working against his favor.
"It’s a lovely evening, isn’t it?" Vincent made small talk, letting out a dry laugh.
"Aha, it surely is." The men let out soft laughs. "My lord’s presence further adds to the evening’s warmth."
They did not hide the obvious flattery and made Vincent somewhat uncomfortable.
’It feels so cringe. Acting as a noble is harder than I thought. It’s only fun to see noble settings in anime and novels, not in real life because of so many customs and restrictions.’
Vincent kept the conversation going with a few more generic small talk topics.
Anastasia stayed silently beside him and sipped on her drink. Her job was to assist and guide Vincent. She couldn’t move from her place but could quietly glance around.
With the way Vincent was, he barely stood out. However, due to the guards, it did not take time for him to be the center of everyone’s attention.
Duke Leurox, as the host, hadn’t made his presence yet. So to these gossiping nobles, uncovering Vincent’s identity was a bigger issue than anything.
If he was someone important and they did not form a meaningful connection with him, they’d definitely lose out a lot in this ball.
It was the eighteenth birthday of Duke Leurox’s daughter but so what? Were balls ever meant for something joyous?
They were all about networking and increasing influence!
A few moments passed.
Vincent wasn’t left alone with the group of three men for long.
Someone’s attendant walked up to the three men and said, "My lords, my master has gotten to know of your expertise in metallurgy and seeks an audience. Please come with me."
The men couldn’t refuse even if they wanted to. They had spent a long time with Vincent already and it was time to move around. If they did not, the consequences wouldn’t be good.
"Haha, it’s but a humble day’s work." The white-beared man said and walked away.
For a few seconds Vincent was alone, but then came a blonde young man in a dark blue suit with a black-haired young lady in his arms.
"Greetings, my lord." The two said in unison.
Vincent greeted them back with a polite smile.
"My lord seems unfamiliar to our circle—have you only recently returned to the capital?" The blonde youngster asked while glancing down at Vincent.
It was not that he was intentionally doing it but because Vincent was a head shorter.
"The capital’s quite vibrant, isn’t it?" Vincent hit the couple with another generic line.
He could clearly tell they were fishing for information but why would he purposefully tell them?
The young couple raised their eyebrows in amusement and returned small smiles.
"It surely is, my lord," said the young man, not trying to probe further.
In his eyes, Vincent was someone influential and it looked like he was caught trying to probe.
Not pushing it any further, he talked a bit more and returned, letting someone else initiate a conversation.
The same thing repeated once again.
Greetings. Generic talks. And finally, probing.
"How does your house find the current... shifts in the capital?"
They tried to hide it but it was useless.
Vincent replied, "Shifts happen periodically. Sometimes bigger, sometimes smaller. What’s worth looking at more is the people, and I find the current working class people doing their jobs normally."
"..." The ones who raised the question were at a loss.
They hadn’t heard of such a diplomatic answer before.
Guests changed and within ten minutes Vincent had talked to more than five nobles.
Anastasia, who was quiet up until this time, felt a sudden shift in air.
"Psst, that young man... just who could he be?" The nobles whispered to their close ones.
"I don’t know. So many people went to strike a conversation but he did not seem interested."
"Yeah, how could that be possible? Even when Count Hall personally went, the youngster did not flatter him or try to make a connection."
"Really!?"
"Yes! Count Hall even offered a coal mine in exchange for a few honest answers and was left disappointed."
"What? How’s that possible? Did the young man not answer honestly?"
"That’s not it."
The discussion was going quite lively around the ballroom.
Regarding Count Hall, many recognized him purely because of his burly stature and signature sideburns.
When he stood before Vincent to talk, the youngster disappeared from everyone’s vision for a few minutes.
Only the nobles nearby could hear him and they conveyed the messages to others.
"Why are you so silent? Just answer already." Impatient the nobles were, regarding Vincent’s matter.
That was more so the case with a young lady in a beautiful blue dress.
She was sipping on her drink but her ears were wide open, listening about the matters of the mysterious new man.
"Alright, fine. But don’t say it to anyone else, alright?"
A few ears perked up nearby and the conversation around the gossiping group turned almost quiet.
"Okay so... when I was nearby, I heard the Count asking the young man a few things and he gave his usual answers. But..."
"But?"
Ears perked up further.
"But eventually the Count was tired of these games and directly asked about the young man’s identity." freёwebnovel.com
"Yeah, no surprise about that. Count Hall is not a man known for his patience."
The ones listening in on their conversations couldn’t agree more with the statement.
"Yes. So he directly asked who the young man was. He even promised to keep it a secret but then the young man replied..."
The young lady in blue dress stopped sipping her drink and was fully paying attention to what came next. freёweɓnovel.com
"...I’ll try to quote it as originally as possible. He said—"
"If I wished to be known, my lord... I would not need to be asked."
"Woah...!"
The ones nearby fell silent.
The lady in the blue dress almost spilled her drink.
"Careful, my lady," a calm response came from her silver-haired attendant at the side who gave her a handkerchief.
"Calm!?" The young lady whispered loudly to her attendant. She leaned lower and closer to her.
"Leona, that’s the wastrel fiancé of yours! How could he say something like that to Count Hall?"
"My lady, he is still the Countess’s son." Leona still spoke calmly.
Her gaze then got locked with the young lady’s.
"And need I remind you..."
"...you are still a Viscount’s daughter."
The young lady’s body trembled. Her mouth opened as if she wanted to say something but ultimately closed because she couldn’t.
Leona’s gaze then turned to the young man in black suit. He was finally visible now that the tall people surrounding him had left.
’He is different...’
...
Meanwhile, on Vincent’s side, he was ready to talk to a new guest but a line of text appeared in his eyes while a cold mechanical voice spoke in his head.
[Ding!]
[Fate deviated slightly.]
[New Entanglement Formed.]
[Subject: Leona Voss.]
’Huh?’
