The moment he saw the figure appear before him, Rei unconsciously held his breath.
That was how breathtaking the sight before him was.
Put simply, Elena was wearing a party dress. Nothing more.
Under normal circumstances, a party dress was something one rarely had the chance to see, so it would not have been unusual for the mere fact of seeing one to command all of one's attention.
However, fortunately—or perhaps unfortunately—Rei knew someone who wore party dresses on a regular basis: Marina.
And not just ordinary party dresses, but ones with deeply plunging necklines and open backs, gorgeous yet deeply alluring.
Given that Marina already stood in a league of her own when it came to feminine allure, the men around her frequently found their eyes captivated whenever she wore such dresses.
As someone who often attended parties alongside Marina, Rei naturally had plenty of occasions to interact with her when she was dressed like that.
And yet... even for someone as used to it as Rei, he found his eyes stolen by the sight of Elena standing before him in a party dress.
"Um... how is it? I'm not used to dressing differently from usual, so I feel a little embarrassed."
Saying so, Elena lightly brushed up her golden hair.
Watching her, all Rei could manage was a single phrase.
"Yeah, it suits you."
As a compliment, it was terribly cliché, nowhere near enough to do justice to Elena.
But even so... from Elena's perspective, she had received praise from the very person whose approval she wanted most. There was no way she could not be happy about that.
"I see... I see."
Murmuring in a deeply moved tone, Elena glanced back at Rei and spoke again.
"Um, your outfit suits you too, Rei. I'd never have guessed it was made in a rush."
"...Is that so? Personally, I'm not really fond of this kind of attire."
Looking at Rei, Elena could not understand why he disliked his current outfit so much.
That said, given that he needed to attend today's party, she had to ask him to bear with it.
"I'm sorry, but please put up with that outfit for today."
"Yeah, I know. At the very least, I need something that won't make me look foolish standing next to you."
"...Mm."
At those words, which slipped so abruptly from Rei's mouth, Elena's cheeks faintly flushed.
He had just said he wanted to be beside her.
She knew that. She knew that, and yet... being told not to feel flustered was simply asking the impossible.
Even bearing the alias of Princess General and being feared by neighboring nations, Elena was still a maiden at heart.
"Lady Elena, Lady Elena. Please pull yourself together!"
Ara, who had been standing nearby, tried somehow to bring Elena back to her senses as she slipped into what could only be called maiden mode.
However, Ara standing beside Elena was also, unlike usual, dressed in a party dress.
Ara often served as Elena's bodyguard, but she was in fact of noble birth.
Naturally, unlike Rei, she was accustomed to wearing party dresses and the like, and anyone with an eye for such things would certainly have found their gaze captivated.
...But since she was currently at Elena's side, people's eyes were inevitably drawn to Elena rather than Ara.
Still, Ara did not resent Elena for that.
If anything, she was glad to be at Elena's side.
"Hm? Ah, sorry. I'm fine."
Brought back to herself by Ara's voice, Elena quickly responded.
"So then, Rei. Are your preparations for the party finished?"
"No, I didn't really have anything I needed to do."
Strictly speaking, Miranda had told him which nobles to watch out for, but compared to Elena and the others of Duke Kerebel's House, he had overwhelmingly fewer things to do.
"Is that so? I've been quite busy on my end. There are many people coming to see me, and above all, getting changed took quite some time."
Elena showed a slightly tired expression, but in truth, her makeup, hairstyle, and the fitting of her party dress—all sorts of things had taken time.
In Rei's case, he had done some light makeup, but that was merely to ensure the lighting at the party venue would flatter him, and it was not particularly elaborate.
In contrast, Elena had been properly made up.
...And yet, it was not that Elena was being made up, but that she was doing her makeup. In other words, rather than being used by makeup, she was mastering it. That was the impression Rei received.
In fact, Elena's beauty—beyond simply wearing a party dress—had undeniably been elevated to an even higher level by her makeup.
Elena was often called the Goddess of Beauty even in everyday life, but right now she possessed a beauty beyond even that.
Rei, who was able to see Elena like this, felt that he was unquestionably fortunate.
He disliked wearing makeup himself, but seeing someone else... especially Elena, wearing makeup, was undeniably a delight.
"I'm happy just being able to see you as you are now, Elena."
"..."
At Rei's words, Elena's movements stopped once again.
But this time, she came back to her senses before Ara could say anything.
"I-I see. I'm glad you're pleased, Rei. ...I'd love to talk a bit longer, but..."
Elena's gaze turned toward Ara, but Ara, receiving that look, shook her head.
"Unfortunately, Lady Elena still has many things left to do. There is not much break time remaining."
"She says so."
"Ah... well, that can't be helped. Just from the fact that we're talking here, I can tell you're going out of your way to make time."
Even as he said this, Rei wore a slightly disappointed expression.
There were still several hours before the party began in earnest.
If Rei were in his usual Dragon Robe, he would not have been this at a loss for how to spend his free time.
After all, he could have done something like step out of the mansion for a bit of fun.
But in his current state—having worn makeup and put on a bespoke suit made for the party—there was no way he could do such a thing.
If he went to see Set in this condition... there was a high probability his clothes would be dirtied to the point where attending the party would become impossible.
A mock battle with the Duke Kerebel's Knight Order was entirely out of the question. ...Of course, today, said to be the busiest day of the year, the Knight Order was naturally busy with security and escort duties, so even if Rei were in his usual Dragon Robe, there likely would have been no one available for a mock battle.
In any case, he parted with Elena, who would remain busy, and after promising to return before the party started, he left the room.
Incidentally, the reason Rei would visit this room again before the party was not to kill time as he was doing now, but because he was to serve as Elena's escort.
This was not Elena's unilateral decision; proper permission had been obtained from Liberte and Arcadia as well.
By having Rei escort Elena, the likely purpose was to make known to the other nobles exactly what kind of relationship Rei and Elena had.
Rei was not particularly fond of becoming such a spectacle, but if he was told that it would not completely eliminate but would greatly reduce the number of men who approached Elena, he had no choice but to accept.
Besides, when it came to being a spectacle, Rei had grown accustomed to it through the mock battle incident and the matter with Set.
In that sense, Rei had no reason to refuse the role of Elena's escort.
"Now then, the question is how to kill time. ...Got any ideas?"
The person Rei asked after leaving the room was Miranda.
Miranda, who had been waiting for Rei outside the room, thought for a moment before speaking.
"Let me see. This mansion has a library, so why not visit there? The collection is quite extensive, so I don't think you'll be bored, Rei-san. And there's no need to worry about staining your clothes."
"There's a library in the mansion? ...That's impressive."
Indeed, considering the price of books in this world of Elgin, having a library attached to a mansion was quite a luxury.
It was likely only possible for Duke Kerebel's House, which held the rank of duke and governed Anesis, the kingdom's second-largest city.
At the very least, while Daskar's mansion in Gilm had a room that could be called a study, it was not on a scale to be called a library.
"Yes. The master actively collects books as well, so while it may not rival the library said to be in the Royal Capital, it should still be worth seeing."
"I see. In that case—"
I'll head to the library.
Just as Rei was about to say that, a voice suddenly called out to him.
"Yo, if it isn't Rei. I was wondering where you were, and here you are."
The owner of that voice used language that was somewhat difficult to call befitting a noble... but he was unmistakably a noble, and an acquaintance of Rei's.
"Bluitt."
Rei called the man's name... but his voice carried a faint hint of doubt as to whether the person before him was truly Bluitt.
Bluitt Exolis.
The next head of the Exolis Count Family, and a rare personality who got along well with Rei.
...To begin with, the fact that he walked around town without a single bodyguard already raised questions about his suitability as a noble.
The reason Rei hesitated, even if only for an instant, over whether this was truly Bluitt was that Bluitt's appearance was clearly different from when they had last met.
When Rei had seen him before, Bluitt had been wearing clothes suited for a commoner, or perhaps slightly better than a commoner's, but certainly not something a noble would wear.
That was the Bluitt Rei had recognized. But the Bluitt who now appeared before him had dressed his large frame in attire appropriate for the upcoming party, and his hair was properly styled as well.
Since he clearly looked different from the Bluitt that Rei knew, expecting Rei to recognize him instantly was asking the impossible.
Of course, if that were the standard, then Rei was in the same boat, dressed and styled differently from usual.
"Hm? What's with that puzzled look? Don't tell me you forgot who I am? No, you were calling my name, so that can't be it."
Perhaps picking up on Rei's quizzical expression, Bluitt asked him this, but quickly concluded that since Rei had called his name, he hadn't forgotten who Bluitt was.
Faced with that, Rei immediately erased his surprise and directed a gaze at Bluitt that carried a hint of exasperation.
"I don't think there are many people who could look at you now and believe you're the same Bluitt they met in town. At the very least, I didn't recognize you for a moment."
"Hey now, if we're talking about changed appearances, you're in the same boat, Rei. So how come I'm the only one getting called out like that?"
He voiced his dissatisfaction, but the color of amusement was stronger on Bluitt's face.
It was clear he was not genuinely reproaching Rei.
Rei, understanding this as well, smiled and continued.
"I don't have much experience with these sorts of occasions, so it's fine for me."
"Even so, I would've liked you to at least know who I am."
"Don't ask for the impossible. ...So?"
The "So?" was Rei's response to the fact that when Bluitt had appeared, he had said something about looking for Rei, mentioning he had been wondering where Rei was.
Perhaps he had been searching for Rei because he had some business with him.
"Hm? Ah, no. It's not like I had any particular business with you. I was just bored in there, so I was looking for someone I knew. Then I heard a rumor that you'd be attending this party too, Rei, so I figured you'd probably be around."
"...Did you really need to go out of your way to find me? Wouldn't you have noble acquaintances of your own, Bluitt?"
At Rei's question, Bluitt quietly averted his gaze.
He was well aware that he was, as a noble, an existence outside the norm.
That was precisely why there were not many who would willingly associate with someone like him... and as a result, the only people who approached Bluitt were those seeking to profit from his connections.