Chapter 7
“There will be plenty of friends your age there. Since this is your first time going to Follet, Raon might be coming too,” Gloria said as she gently held Ellen’s hand inside the carriage.
“Raon?”
“The crown prince’s son. He’s your cousin, but you probably haven’t seen him since you were a baby. He’s four years older than you, and when you were a baby, he absolutely adored you. A baby doting on another baby—it was the cutest thing.”
Thinking of her adorable nephew brought a smile to Gloria’s lips. Seeing her mother’s smile, Ellen also broke into a cheerful grin.
“He sounds like he’ll be a nice big brother. Oh? Mom, isn’t that a Karzel family carriage?”
Ellen turned her gaze outside and spotted a familiar carriage, pointing toward it.
“I heard Roil will be attending starting this year. Since there’s someone you know, it should make you feel more at ease.”
It was true. In an unfamiliar place full of strangers, having someone familiar made a world of difference.
Soon, the two carriages from the Quinter and Karzel families arrived at the teleportation magic circle office.
Gloria and Ellen, along with Diana and Roil, got out of the carriages and exchanged brief greetings before hurrying inside. Their scheduled teleportation time with the capital’s magic circle office was just moments away.
To use the magic circle, the offices on both ends had to coordinate and inject mana simultaneously.
In the old days, when magic was at its peak, it was possible with mana from just one side. But now, there were almost no mages with such vast mana reserves.
“Quinter family first, please step into the capsule. The young lady will need to be carried by an adult. Karzel family, please wait for a moment.”
Following the directions of the office director who had personally come to greet them, Marsha scooped Ellen up and entered the capsule with Gloria.
Ellen clung to Marsha’s neck, her eyes darting around busily. The interior of the capsule looked so old that even the rusty parts didn’t seem strange.
It looked fine from the outside… Is there any chance this thing malfunctions?
Feeling a little uneasy, she tightened her grip around Marsha’s neck.
After a short wait, dazzling yellow and blue lights burst chaotically inside the capsule.
✿ ✿ ✿
When Ellen, who had instinctively squeezed her eyes shut, slowly opened them again, she was greeted by a completely different scene. The capsule interior now looked luxurious enough to be lined with gold.
Well, this is impressive in a different way.
While Ellen was glancing around in amazement, a man who seemed to be the head of the capital’s magic circle office approached, opened the capsule door, and greeted them politely.
“Welcome, Countess Quinter, Lady Quinter.”
After acknowledging the greeting, they stepped aside from the capsule and waited briefly. Soon after, Diana and Roil appeared inside the capsule, accompanied by his nanny Emma. Ellen’s eyes widened when she saw the sudden burst of light reveal people where there had been none a moment ago.
She crept closer to the capsule and gave it a quick touch. Feels just like a carriage. Fascinating.
“Welcome, Countess Karzel, Young Master Karzel.”
The office director, once again bowing politely, noticed Ellen quietly touching the capsule. He gently pulled her hand away before firmly locking the door.
“Teleportation can put some strain on the body. Please rest for a while in the lounge.”
They all went into the lounge next door and took their seats. The director followed them in and checked Ellen and Roil’s conditions, touching their foreheads and asking if they felt dizzy or nauseous. Both shook their heads.
“If you develop a fever or feel unwell later, be sure to call a doctor. I must go greet the next arrivals.”
Leaving instructions for refreshments to be brought, the director excused himself. Soon, a staff member came in carrying a tray of tea and snacks.
Once only the six of them were left, Gloria and Diana began chatting.
“Roil, this is your first time going to Follet too, right?”
As the adults talked, Ellen and Roil began whispering to each other.
“Yeah. I think they decided that our age group would start attending from this year. My mother said it’s an annual gathering and told me to attend every time.”
“My mom said the same thing—told me to make lots of friends.”
Ellen shrugged, bit into a cookie, and asked,
“But do you think you can really get close to people you only see once a year?”
“Yeah, probably not. By the next year, it’ll feel like meeting for the first time again.”
Roil agreed, secretly thinking it would be lucky if they even remembered each other’s faces by next year.
While the two were questioning the practicality of the gathering, two more mother-daughter pairs entered the lounge. Hearing the faint footsteps, Gloria, Diana, and the nannies stood up.
Startled by their mothers’ sudden movements, Ellen and Roil also stood up without even realizing why.
“It’s been a while, Duchess Note. Countess Brubon.”
“It’s been a while, Countess Quinter. Countess Karzel.”
The newcomers numbered six in total: a richly dressed noblewoman with a striking presence and a blond-haired girl, a neatly styled brown-haired noblewoman with a reddish-brown-haired girl, and two women who appeared to be the girls’ nannies.
Ellen recalled the portraits she had seen in the noble register before coming to the capital. She hadn’t reviewed all of them—only those families likely to attend the gathering—but she thought she recognized these faces.
From the portraits and Gloria’s greetings, Ellen concluded that the elegant woman in extravagant attire was Duchess Note, and the neat-looking brown-haired woman was Countess Brubon.
While Ellen’s attention shifted more toward the children than the ladies, she greeted the adults first.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Ellenoa Quinter.”
“Nice to meet you. I’m Roillete Karzel.”
Once they finished, the two girls introduced themselves.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Erica Note.”
“Nice to meet you. I’m Serel Brubon.”
The girls curtsied politely, making Ellen’s eyes sparkle at their cuteness.
Noticing the children’s curious glances at each other, Duchess Note smiled.
“Erica, Serel, these are Lady Quinter and Young Master Karzel. You’re around the same age, so be good friends.”
She gently nudged Erica and Serel forward. Ellen, seeing this, grabbed Roil’s hand and led him toward another round table.
“Let’s sit at this table!”
Claiming a chair, Ellen flashed a bright smile at Erica and Serel. Roil sat down beside her, and after a moment’s hesitation, the other two girls joined them.
“I’m Ellenoa Quinter. Call me Ellen.”
“I’m Erica Note. Just call me Erica.”
“I’m Serel Brubon. Nice to meet you.”
As soon as Serel finished, Erica turned to Roil.
“And you? What’s your name?”
Something about her posture suggested invisible antennae fully tuned toward him.
“Roillete. Roillete Karzel.”
Perhaps finding those invisible antennae a bit much, Roil kept his answer short.
“Karzel? I’ve heard of it… Where’s your territory? Where’s your house in the capital? Can I visit?”
Ignoring Roil’s curt reply, Erica propped her chin on her hands and asked with eager eyes.
Her voice, tone, expression, and gestures all made it obvious—she was interested in Roil.
Ellen glanced at Serel, who met her eyes, smiled knowingly, and nodded.
Wow… First meeting, and she’s already like this?
Ellen found the situation entertaining.
As for Roil—when she sneaked a peek, he looked downright troubled. He must have realized Erica was showing interest in him. So he wasn’t completely clueless, after all.
“Uh… the territory is in the north. The capital residence is…”
Roil trailed off, looking uncertain.
Wait, what’s the address again? No one’s told me the capital address before.
Would it seem strange not to know?
He hesitated briefly.
“Most noble residences are in the Granbert district. Isn’t yours there too?” Serel offered, trying to help.
“Uh… yeah, probably?”
Even with his vague answer, Erica beamed.
The conversation continued with Erica bombarding Roil with questions and Roil sweating as he struggled to answer. Ellen and Serel mostly watched in amusement, occasionally stepping in to rescue him when he seemed overwhelmed.
Ellen found herself liking Serel, who—despite her young age—could read the mood and be considerate of others. She could also easily see how someone like Serel had become friends with the more immature, childlike Erica.
Since none of them were particularly interested in the refreshments, the tea remained mostly untouched. By the time it had cooled, the ladies began to rise.
“Erica, it’s time to go.”
Led by Duchess Note, the noblewomen began gathering their children.
“Roil.”
At the sound of Countess Karzel calling him, Erica whipped her head around.
“So your nickname is Roil? Can I call you that too?”
“Uh, sure. Serel, you can call me Roil too.”
Startled by Erica’s sudden question, Roil answered automatically, then quickly added a note to Serel as well.
✿ ✿ ✿
From early morning, Ellen had been dressed up by her nanny and maids. Now she was dozing off in the carriage.
She was on her way with Gloria to greet the Emperor. Today’s schedule was to meet the Emperor and then attend her first noble gathering.
Ellen had been taught proper etiquette in Quinter territory specifically for the day she would meet the Emperor.
The Emperor… but he’s just my grandfather, right? I’ve noticed other kids don’t seem to meet him separately, so he must just want to see me because I’m his granddaughter. But do we really have to go through all this formal etiquette?
Thinking about the lengthy procedures for entering the audience chamber and offering greetings—something that could take half the day—Ellen rubbed her sleepy eyes. She needed to wake up first.
The Emperor… come to think of it, she had heard a story about him before. It was about when Gloria married Gerald.
The Emperor had been so protective of Gloria that he used to say, “I’ll never let my daughter marry!”
When Gerald told him he wanted to marry her, the Emperor looked at him as if he were the worst kind of thief and set one condition:
“Bring me a wedding dress made from a mermaid’s scales.”
Gerald actually set out to find the legendary home of the mermaids.
Fortunately for the mermaids, Gloria stormed to the Emperor after hearing about it and made a scene—“If you keep this up, I’ll run away again and never see you!”—and the condition was withdrawn. The two were married without a mermaid-scale wedding dress.
From the story, he doesn’t sound that difficult to deal with.
Still, Ellen mentally reviewed all the etiquette she had learned. After all, there was no harm in making a good impression.
