"Phew... I'm a little nervous, honestly."
"Fufu, are you? Given that it's you, Rei, I would think you'd be used to this sort of thing."
Hearing the murmur slip from Rei's lips, Elena smiled and took his arm as she spoke.
It was already night.
For the New Year's party hosted by Duke Kerebel, many of the participants should have already gathered in the great hall serving as the venue.
Since Duke Kerebel and his wife, as well as Elena, had not yet made their appearance, the party hadn't officially begun.
Even so, with so many people assembled, all manner of conversations would naturally be underway.
Amidst all that, Rei had been tasked with escorting Elena, which was why he found himself waiting in this anteroom.
He had spent the daytime talking with Bluitt. As evening drew near, Bluitt—looking thoroughly exasperated but admitting he had things he needed to do—had taken his leave, leaving Rei behind on his own.
After killing some time in the library Miranda had recommended, Rei had made his way to Elena's waiting room once the hour drew close.
Incidentally, the waiting room assigned to Elena's parents, Liberte and Arcadia, was in a separate room from hers.
This was likely Arcadia's doing—she had probably figured that with her parents present, Elena and Rei wouldn't be able to relax.
Then again, since they had already shared dinner together, Rei no longer felt that particular brand of nervousness around them.
If anything, it was the role of escorting Elena that had him on edge.
"Easy for you to say. You'll almost certainly monopolize everyone's attention at the venue, right? And if I'm standing right there beside you... there's no doubt I'll be drawing plenty of attention too."
With that, Rei turned his gaze to Elena, whose arm was linked with his.
Pressed close as they were, he couldn't exactly take in her full appearance from this angle.
But even in her Party Dress—or rather, precisely because of it—he was acutely aware of her ample bosom.
At such close range, it asserted itself against him with overwhelming presence.
If even Rei, who was used to seeing Elena, reacted this way, what would become of someone who rarely had the chance to interact with her?
There was no need to even imagine it.
"I'm glad to hear you say that, Rei."
At his compliment, Elena smiled with genuine delight, as though the words had reached the very bottom of her heart—only for a knock to ring out through the room, as if to interrupt that smile.
"Excuse me. Lady Elena, Lord Rei. It is almost time, so please make your way to the party venue."
The speaker was a maid.
It wasn't Miranda, who served as Rei's attendant, but someone he was seeing for the first time.
A maid in her forties or fifties, with the air of a true veteran.
At the sight of her, Elena's face broke into a different kind of smile than the one she'd worn moments ago.
"Jalana, you've come back? I was certain you'd be too busy to come today."
"Hohoho. It is Lady Elena's début. I pushed myself a little to return."
At the word "début," Elena's pale cheeks flushed a faint pink.
She understood exactly what Jalana meant.
Elena rarely attended parties, but that didn't mean she never participated in any at all.
Today's New Year's party was one such occasion—there were a few events she simply couldn't avoid.
That was why the word "début" wasn't technically appropriate... but with Rei at her side, the implication changed entirely.
It was, in effect, a declaration that Rei was Elena's chosen partner.
It was because their relationship had been so implicitly referenced that Elena's cheeks had turned red.
Before they had even set foot in the venue—at the stage where they were merely linking arms in a waiting room—there was no way to explain it away.
"Now then, Lady Elena. It's almost time for your appearance, so please come along. ...Lord Rei, I leave Lady Elena in your care."
"Yeah, I know."
Rei nodded to Jalana, who looked straight at him—at him, an Alias Holder—without so much as a flicker of hesitation.
For someone who didn't know the rumors surrounding Rei or his title, such directness wouldn't be unusual.
But Jalana worked at the Duke Kerebel Mansion; there was no way she could be unaware of the circumstances.
Even so, she met his gaze head-on, unflinching. Her nerve was clearly a cut above that of the average adventurer.
"Well then... shall we?"
"Yes."
Rei asked with their arms still linked, and Elena gave a short nod, as though steeling herself.
Together, Rei and Elena stepped out of the room and began walking.
Their destination, naturally, was the party venue.
Both were dressed in attire befitting the occasion, and to anyone with an eye for such things, they made a striking pair.
...Of course, given that Elena was taller than Rei, they might not have been everyone's picture of an ideal couple.
Even so, the two walked down the corridor arm in arm, seemingly unconcerned about the difference in their heights.
At first, the corridor was empty, but as they neared the party venue, the number of nobles lingering in conversation steadily increased.
Those nobles, naturally enough, were captivated the instant they caught sight of Elena and froze in place. Only after coming back to themselves did they first notice Rei standing beside her.
The nobles here certainly knew who Rei was—but what they knew was Rei the adventurer, clad in his Dragon Robe.
Because of that, it didn't immediately occur to them that the man at Elena's side was him.
"H-Hey. That man who was with Lady Elena... do you know who he is? I've never seen him before."
"Y-Yeah. I've never seen anyone like him either. Who on earth is he?"
"Probably... and I mean probably... but I think that's Crimson Rei."
"Eh? That Alias Holder adventurer? Well, now that you mention it, the height seemed about right, and the facial features too..."
Those nearby murmured amongst themselves, but Rei and Elena continued down the corridor without paying them any mind.
However...
"What the hell is that? Can't he consider whether he's actually a match for Lady Elena? This is exactly what you get from lowborn trash."
"Look at that. Lady Elena is taller than him, you know? Normally, any man would be too embarrassed to show his face beside her at an event like this. What could he possibly be thinking?"
"Who knows. That type usually dreams above their station."
It wasn't just those who had been genuinely surprised at first sight—there were also plenty of people exchanging words laced with malice.
What made it worse was that they were speaking at a volume just loud enough for Rei to catch.
In reality, Rei's senses were sharp enough that he would have heard them clearly even without their deliberate effort.
He understood that it was nothing but ugly jealousy.
They envied and resented Rei for standing in a place they could never reach, no matter how hard they tried.
Even knowing that, jealousy from such quarters was still unpleasant...
"Don't let it bother you, Rei. Those people can do nothing but envy others. They make no effort themselves, yet their jealousy knows no bounds. They are pathetic, incompetent fools."
Elena said this to Rei.
Not in a voice meant only for him—but at a volume clearly intended to reach the men who had been directing their malice his way.
Naturally, the nobles who had been making snide remarks about Rei heard her. They bristled with dissatisfaction, but in the current situation, they couldn't utter a word in reply.
After all, these nobles weren't particularly outstanding or accomplished in any field.
With several other nobles in the corridor now turning their gazes toward them, they found themselves unable to stay and hurried off.
"Good grief."
Even as she said it, a satisfied smile played across Elena's lips.
It was only natural to be angry when someone you cared about was spoken ill of, and having silenced those responsible, she was naturally in good spirits.
"Well then, shall we go? A great many people are waiting for us at the venue."
"I hope so. From what I just saw, I can't help but feel like the only one they're waiting for is you, not me."
"I was looking forward to attending today's party with you, Rei, you know?"
As she said that, she tightened her grip on his arm.
Naturally, this caused Elena's ample bosom to press and distort against Rei's arm. If anyone had witnessed the sight, they would have undoubtedly stared with wide eyes.
Regardless of gender, anyone would have been captivated by that image.
That said, fortunately—or perhaps unfortunately—the only ones who witnessed it were Rei and Elena themselves.
The others, not wanting to become the target of Elena's Verbal Attack... and judging that the party would truly begin now that Elena had arrived, had already hurried off toward the venue.
In the end, that was probably for the best for everyone involved.
If they had lingered and seen the sight, they very likely would have been late for the start of the party.
"Mm, ahem."
Elena, her cheeks faintly flushed at her own actions, nonetheless continued down the corridor without releasing Rei's arm.
As the party venue drew near, the number of nobles gathered there naturally increased.
With all manner of gazes directed at them—curiosity, jealousy, affection—Rei and Elena finally arrived at the party venue.
The moment they stepped inside, the nobles present stirred in an instant.
They had already heard the talk from nobles who had arrived before Rei and Elena. They had heard it, yes... but the majority of them were still startled when they actually saw the pair.
That Elena was a peerless beauty was common knowledge among those in the Noble's Faction.
But even knowing that, those who saw her now found themselves captivated all the same.
Even those who already knew Elena could tell, upon seeing her anew, that her beauty had a different quality from usual.
And the most decisive reason for that difference was...
"So that's Crimson Rei... Looking at him like this, he doesn't seem like the kind of person the rumors make him out to be."
"No, no, he may not look the part now, but he was absolutely incredible in the mock battle the other day. He single-handedly took down dozens of opponents. Truly living up to the name Crimson."
One noble, observing Rei's appearance, voiced his doubts—but a noble standing nearby recounted what he had witnessed at the mock battle.
Unusually—truly unusually—that noble spoke about Rei with a decidedly favorable tone.
A noble who was well-disposed toward Rei was a rarity, and several of those listening in found themselves leaning in to hear the explanation.
Those who harbored their own grievances against Rei listened with bitter expressions.
Even so, since Rei had already demonstrated his power in the mock battle, they couldn't make a move so carelessly.
Moreover, if they were reckless enough to try something anyway, dismissing such things as irrelevant, they would end up repeating the fate of Count Ceresse, who had been expelled from the Noble's Faction.
(Ugh, they're all staring.)
Rei, having entered the party venue alongside Elena, felt that realization sink in deeply.
Being stared at by others wasn't anything unusual, and he was used to it.
But this was Anesis, the stronghold of the Noble's Faction, and most of those gathered for the party were Noble Faction Nobles.
Given that, the way people looked at him was naturally different from usual.
Normally, plenty of people looked at Rei—but today, he couldn't shake the feeling that he was being regarded as little more than an accessory to Elena.
He was subtly unaccustomed to that, and it left him with a hard-to-describe feeling.
"Let's go, Rei. My father and mother are waiting."
"Hm? Ah, right."
Following Elena's gaze, Rei could see what appeared to be her parents engaged in conversation with some nobles.
As the hosts of the party, Liberte and Arcadia would naturally have no shortage of nobles to speak with.
Rei and Elena made their way toward the two.
Naturally, the surrounding gazes trailed after them, and Liberte and Arcadia—mid-conversation with their noble guests—noticed Rei and Elena's approach.
Upon arriving before them, Elena smiled and spoke.
"Father, Mother, I apologize for the delay."
"I'm not used to these kinds of parties, so we ended up running a bit late after I was talking with Elena."
Rei and Elena called out to Liberte and Arcadia with those words.