“He resembles his mother, Duchess Babloth, perfectly.”

Noia Sanche Babloth entered the hall. Radilt also took in his appearance from among the ladies.

Dazzling golden hair that couldn’t be compared to Radilt’s roughened locks. Clear blue eyes like a transparent summer lake. Elegant movements that naturally permeated from being born with perfect bloodline and raised in an environment befitting it.

He possessed an unreal beauty, the kind found only in masterpieces painted by renowned artists.

‘……Lord Duston’s friend.’

A very close friend.

Radilt quietly placed her hand on her chest. The host of the banquet, Marchioness Bofarnin, approached Noia. After a brief exchange:

‘Ah……’

She looked in Radilt’s direction. She lightly pointed with the tip of her fan. Was she telling him that his friend Lord Duston’s lover was present?

Radilt hurriedly corrected her bewildered expression. She straightened her body, wearing as elegant a smile as possible.

Lord Babloth’s gaze turned toward Radilt. However, it touched her very briefly, almost brushing past, before immediately moving away. He turned away as if he had no interest in his friend’s lover.

Radilt blinked. She could clearly feel her expression crumbling, but there was nothing she could do.

* * *

“Pendlore, you are truly a heartless man.”

On the second floor of the mansion where the banquet was being held, only two guests were present in the spacious reception room for gentlemen. This was understandable as the banquet had just begun. Since they couldn’t leave without dancing at least once, only Pendlore, who had finished the first dance, and Cherse, who had dropped by without a partner, were spending their leisurely time.

“Despite my many requests, you deliberately prevented me from even making eye contact with Lady Brill. Far from introducing her when you spotted me, you grabbed me by the neck and dragged me up to the reception room. Really, it’s too much. It’s too harsh.”

“What would you gain by seeing her?”

Pendlore ignored the unsatisfactory remark and gazed into the darkness beyond the window. Carriages carrying late-arriving guests were entering the garden at intervals.

“What do you mean, what would I gain! She’s the prospective wife of a close friend. Naturally, I should exchange proper greetings and maintain a relationship. My lady has also sent a letter by hawk saying she wants to meet her as soon as she returns.”

“I’ll permit your lady, at least.”

Cherse’s fiancée was an excellent young lady with a kind and warm personality like him. She was intelligent and capable enough to play a significant role in her lover’s business, so it would be fine to have her meet Radilt.

She might even learn various things for that small workshop.

“I am most honored. But why did you leave her alone in the hall today if you want to keep her so hidden? This must be her first such banquet, so she must be feeling quite anxious.”

“She needs to get used to it.”

“……Pendlore.”

Cherse’s expression became serious.

“Do you know how many ladies want to take a bite out of Lady Brill? It’s no exaggeration to say everyone attending this banquet. Even my lady is curious about her! If left alone, she might be nibbled bit by bit until only the core remains.”

“Lady Brill is not that weak.”

Pendlore calmly replied to the concerned Cherse.

“She’s like a tenacious weed from the wasteland.”

“……I’m a bit confused whether that’s a compliment or an insult.”

“It’s a compliment, of course.”

Besides, most women at this banquet would be kind to Radilt. They would be wasting efforts trying to build friendships with her, eyeing her position.

So Pendlore had no reason to remove Radilt from the hall.

‘Perfumes are still primarily purchased by ladies.’

Beyond getting accustomed to society, it was an excellent opportunity to meet and understand future customers. If Radilt were more skilled, she might even mark a couple of potential regular customers.

“Hmm, it’s not bad to trust Lady Brill, but. Don’t you think you should be a bit more considerate?”

“I don’t understand what more consideration you expect.”

At the implication that he had already shown sufficient and even excessive consideration, Cherse’s face went blank.

“……Look here, Pendlore. Sometimes I really don’t understand what’s going on in your head.”

“No one can perfectly understand another person.”

“That’s true, but still.”

As he ignored his friend’s words and gazed out the window, Pendlore’s brow suddenly furrowed. His eyes narrowed sharply as he identified a carriage that had just entered the garden and its crest.

“D*mn it.”

“Pendlore?”

“That cursed b*stard.”

Noia Sanche Babloth.

He, rarely seen at such banquets, was stepping out of the carriage. Even in the darkness, the unnecessarily dazzling golden hair was unmistakably that of his friend.

“I told him not to come near her!”

“What? What’s—Oh? The Babloth ducal family?”

While Cherse belatedly recognized the carriage’s crest, Pendlore strode toward the hall on the first floor. The reception room door was roughly flung open, and his eyes headed toward the stairs.

“Duston~”

And met bright blue eyes.

“I heard you were in the reception room, so you came to welcome me? I’m truly touched—”

“Shut up and come in here.”

Pendlore dragged Noia into a private room separate from the reception room. Cherse followed them as well. After closing the private room door, Pendlore glared fiercely at Noia.

“Noia, I clearly asked you to stay away from Radilt Brill.”

“It was closer to a threat than a request, but since I consider you a dear friend, I gladly accepted it.”

“Then why are you here?”

Noia waved his hand dismissively, wearing a smile that seemed to emit light.

“Don’t worry, I didn’t even make eye contact with Lady Brill and came straight up.”

Pendlore’s expression remained cold, but he knew well that this seemingly frivolous friend before him wasn’t one to enjoy lying. He was a man to be trusted, regardless.

Watching them, Cherse quietly murmured, “Wow, Pendlore’s jealousy is quite intense.”

“But Radilt Brill is, yes. She seems to be a very kind and diligent person.”

At Noia’s words, Pendlore’s face, which had just begun to relax, hardened again into a grim expression. He gritted his teeth and spoke in a low voice.

“I warned you that if those unpleasant crows of yours lurked around me again, I would cut off their wings.”

“Until Radilt Brill becomes Radilt Duston, it’s not around you.”

Noia replied nonchalantly. As a judge, he had a special squad of investigators funded from his private purse. Highly trained investigators who faithfully followed the Babloth Senior Judge and handled field work such as searches, tracking, and arrests. They were Noia’s m*rder of crows.

“Above all, she’s your lover. You should make it certain.”

“……”

“There’s every possibility that she approached you with ulterior motives.”

Pendlore silently grabbed Noia by the collar. Cherse quickly intervened between the two.

“Noia! You went too far this time. You crossed a line! Pendlore, you should calm down too. That fellow deals with crimes every day, doesn’t he? So understand that his thinking has been tainted by darkness and is excessive.”

Under Cherse’s mediation, Pendlore released his hand. Stepping back a couple of paces, Noia spoke with a still bright expression.

“Fortunately, Lady Brill is very clean. Her in-laws might be a bit of a headache, but it’s something you can easily resolve, Duston.”

“Hmm? Wasn’t Lady Brill a childless widow?”

“That’s right. She’s supporting three in-laws with whom she no longer has any relationship. She’s such a kind person, it’s pitiful.”

“My goodness. She must have had a hard time.”

“Yet you can’t treat her better,” Cherse glared at Pendlore. Pendlore ignored Cherse’s words and coldly stared only at Noia.

“……She’s the type of woman you would like.”

“Ah, I do very much like people who are kind to the point of foolishness and diligent on top of that! Those who diminish themselves to shine a small light can’t help but be lovable, can they?”

“So.”

At Pendlore’s weighty single word, Noia quickly waved his hand.

“I’m a celibate, remember? While it’s truly moving to see Duston sharpening his blade for the woman he loves, please change the direction of that blade.”

“Yes, Pendlore. This fellow just needs to take a vacation. Seeing only filthy sights has given him such strange tendencies.”

Pendlore sighed briefly at his two friends making a fuss. There was no chance Noia would desire his friend’s woman. Even if he weren’t celibate, he wouldn’t make the first move at the very least.

But what about Radilt Brill?

A deep furrow formed between Pendlore’s eyebrows.

‘……That woman.’

As Noia said, a woman so kind to the point of foolishness and innocent would quickly give her heart to a handsome man who was gentle and affectionate. After all, she was a woman who gave her affection so easily even to a mare she had only seen for a day.

“Anyway, stay away from Lady Brill from now on as well.”

It was right to cut off unnecessary conflicts from the bud. Even if she and Noia were to meet after she and Pendlore parted ways, persistent rumors would follow.

Such risks needed to be thoroughly blocked.

“From now on, I’ll just quietly cheer for Duston’s love, so don’t worry.”

“No matter what people say, we’re always on your side. Of course, when blinded by love, one can grab a friend’s collar any number of times.”

“Yes, yes. I don’t mind at all, so hurry and go to Lady Brill.”

Pendlore’s eyebrows raised at their exaggerated words, but his hardened expression softened considerably.

“There’s no need to go see her.”

That woman would be doing fine enough. Even if Radilt couldn’t adapt to the atmosphere of the banquet.

“If she wants to go home, she’ll come find me. Or send a servant instead.”