Social gatherings for adults were meant to broaden one’s knowledge of philosophy or law, but for young nobles, these parties were simply venues for conversation with friends, dancing, and romance.
Dien let out a sigh and massaged his shoulders.
Due to the overwhelming amount of interest, he hadn’t had a single moment to himself. For over one hour already, Dien had repeated the story of meeting King Lonas more than ten times.
“Dien! I heard even Court Musician Pablo was moved by your performance. We want to hear your music, too! Is there any chance we could hear it here?”
“I didn’t bring my instrument today… but if there’s an opportunity later, I won’t refuse.”
“Dien! May I invite you to our house? My father was also very curious about your playing.”
It was clear that if he kept accepting every request, there would be no end to it.
Reaching that conclusion, Dien stepped back slightly from the circle of young ladies and spoke.
“Hahaha… I’m sure there will be a good opportunity.”
“I’m saying this because I really want to invite you! Or would you rather invite us to the House of Portran, Dien?”
“Hahaha, if the chance arises…”
“Hmm… fine.”
The young ladies pouted. One of them from the group linked her arm with Dien’s and spoke.
“Dien, isn’t it stuffy staying inside? Why don’t the two of us go outside for some fresh air?”
“Hahahaha… Oh, right! I had something to say to Baran… Excuse me for a moment.”
Dien gently unlinked his arm from the lady’s. He happened to spot Baran passing by right in front of him. Using Baran as an excuse, he hurriedly escaped the spot.
Before he knew it, cold sweat was beading on Dien’s forehead.
‘Phew… why is this so exhausting?’
No matter how much he thought about it, social gatherings weren’t to his taste. This dense level of attention was beyond burdensome.
Dien, who eventually caught up to Baran, caught his breath.
The atmosphere of the evening party was ripening as much as Dien’s flushed face. Baran was busy chatting with friends, unaware that Dien had approached, and a few people were swaying their bodies to the growing volume of the music.
“Baran! I heard your swordsmanship has improved a lot lately?”
“Don’t even get me started! Even my master is amazed by my talent every time.”
“Really? You’re not just saying that, are you?”
“Of course! It’s the truth!”
“Since we haven’t had a chance to see your skills, Baran…”
Baran was bragging about his swordsmanship among the young lords. Since Baran always had strong pride in his skills, Dien didn’t find his words surprising.
‘Right, I’m much more comfortable here.’
Dien felt more at ease joining the young lords to talk about swordsmanship than being surrounded by the young ladies.
“Doesn’t Dien learn swordsmanship?”
A student who was chatting with Baran looked at Dien and asked.
“Our Young Lord Dien is so busy with many affairs that he doesn’t have time to learn swordsmanship.”
“Right! Dien is taking academy classes and heir lessons at the same time, isn’t he?”
“That must be tough…”
Before Dien could even open his mouth, Baran stepped in to answer the question for him.
“I am learning a little bit of swordsmanship…”
“Guys, you should think of a sword as just an extension of your arm. Honing your swordsmanship is the process of adding muscle to that extended arm…”
Dien tried to answer the question belatedly, but Baran pulled the attention that had shifted to Dien back to himself. Dien smiled, finding Baran’s behavior cute.
While the conversation was in full swing thanks to Baran’s self-promotion…
“By the way, Dien! I’m so jealous.”
“Of what?”
“Look at those gazes over there.”
The students glanced at the young ladies whose eyes were fixed on Dien. It was common for young ladies to show interest in students who excelled in swordsmanship or magic, but they never expected them to send such looks toward an administrative official student.
Because of this, the administrative official students couldn’t help but be even more envious of Dien.
“This kind of interest is only temporary.”
Dien waved his hand as if it were no big deal. The social gathering was passing its midpoint.
*Twitch.*
The invited musicians began to play a piece with a faster tempo than the previous one. Dien’s ears perked up at the change in atmosphere.
“Dien, you don’t know because it’s your first party, right? In our Delos social gatherings, we always enjoy court dancing.”
“Is that so?”
“I wonder which of those many ladies Dien will choose?”
Dien could not hide his flustered expression at Baran’s words.
The court dance had evolved into a social dance. The highlight of the evening party, the court dance, was a dance performed in pairs and involved a lot of physical contact.
Usually, the man would approach the woman first to request a dance, and if the woman accepted, they would become partners and dance together…
“I’m going to step out.”
Dien had never learned social dancing, nor had he ever seen it, so he stood up from his seat with an awkward smile.
“Dien! The court dance is the most enjoyable time of the evening party!”
Baran grabbed Dien’s arm in surprise. The surrounding young ladies also became restless at Dien’s movement.
Of course, leaving his seat now might be impolite, but at the thought of having to dance, Dien’s heart pounded with a sense of rejection.
While Dien’s pupils shook, unable to find a place to settle…
“Still, dancing is a bit…”
At that moment, just as Dien was trying to avoid the dance by any means necessary, the loud music suddenly went quiet.
“Dear fellow students of Solenon Academy! It is a pleasure to meet you. I am Arnold Dennis of the House of Dennis. I apologize for ruining the mood while the ball is in full swing, but I would like to make a proposal to further enliven the spirits of my fellow students.”
As if he had been waiting for the music to stop completely, Arnold, from a knightly family, focused the crowd’s attention with a loud voice.
“Do you all know where the noble evening parties originated from?”
Arnold nodded as he looked at the students who gave no answer to his question.
“The beginning of these parties originated from our ancestors meeting to review the martial arts they had competed in during the day over simple drinks. Later, it spread widely as many philosophers and cultural figures exchanged opinions to cultivate their knowledge.”
Soon, the whispering in the hall subsided, and everyone began to focus on Arnold’s words.
“I cannot help but lament that the noble evening party has degenerated into simple entertainment. Therefore, I would like to make a proposal to you all.”
Arnold looked around. Feeling that all eyes were now on him, he continued with a fishy smile.
“I would like to take this opportunity at the party to test the martial prowess between the young lords of the nobility. This is to enjoy the party culture passed down by the great ancestors of Delos for its original purpose.”
“Sounds good!”
“I agree!”
As soon as Arnold finished speaking, the young lords from knightly families began to agree with his words. It was as if they had made a promise.
“Since this is a social spar rather than a formal duel, I suggest we use wooden swords instead of real blades and prohibit physical strikes. What do the other students think?”
Arnold looked around. The nobles from knightly families actively supported his words. The atmosphere was gradually flowing according to the intentions of the knightly nobles.
***
“What do you think?”
The ones troubled by Arnold’s proposal were the young lords of the administrative houses. No matter how much of a social spar it was, how could they hope to beat the young lords of the knightly houses?
“I feel like we’ll only end up being humiliated…”
“There was no word saying we had to participate unconditionally. And since he said there would be no physical strikes, maybe it’s just about exchanging a few blows?”
“You’re lucky, Baran. You’ve been learning swordsmanship for a long time… Why don’t you show us your skills on this occasion?”
“I… well, I don’t mind…”
Baran hesitated for a moment but soon expressed his intent to participate. However, the other administrative family scions besides Baran had no choice but to deliberate over the social spar.
As the buzzing grew louder, the scions of the magic families also began to actively support the social spar.
“The scions of our magic families will present blessing or support magic. If we were to cast offensive magic, we might end up blowing up the entire mansion.”
Ramie Gale, whom he had seen during the day, stepped forward gallantly on behalf of the magic families. At the sudden announcement of the magic families’ participation, the administrative nobles began to stir even more. Just as Ramie Gale’s prideful statement suggested, the magic family scions each wore a confident expression.
“Yes! That sounds great. As far as I know, the young lords and ladies of the administrative houses also learn swordsmanship or magic. Administrative families, what is your opinion on my suggestion?”
A moment of silence followed. Judging by the atmosphere, it seemed certain that the social spar would proceed. Half of the nobles attending the gathering were already in agreement.
“We agree as well.”
When no one could readily answer, Zalz Cherbil stepped forward on behalf of the administrative families.
“Excellent!”
At Zalz’s answer, the corners of Arnold’s mouth rose noticeably. Dien watched this scene with a nonchalant expression.
‘Fortunately, I won’t have to dance.’
Watching the sparring and magic of the academy students was far more interesting than performing a dance he wasn’t destined for. And through this opportunity, he would be able to see the magic of this world up close for the first time.
“Then, we students from the knightly families will begin with a formal spar first.”
Whatever the reason, Dien liked Arnold’s sudden event. Soon, a young lord from a knightly family came forward, and after showing mutual respect, they began to exchange blows.
*Clack! Clack!*
Their spar was, literally, a formal spar with pre-arranged moves. They seemed to have no greed for victory and no ill will. It was a spar focused purely on flashy movements.
There were no specific techniques worth learning, but as he watched closely, he saw some young lords showcasing quite impressive motions.
‘It’s no big deal? I could do that, too.’
The eyes of the administrative family lords who were watching the spar sparkled.
To the young ladies who hadn’t learned swordsmanship, it might look like a flashy battle, but if one had learned even a bit of swordsmanship, they could tell those movements were not threatening.
*Clap clap clap!*
After the spar ended, a gentle round of applause poured out for them. And a few noble ladies approached the young lords who had shown impressive swordsmanship, showering them with even louder cheers and applause.
Due to Arnold’s event, the attention that had been focused on Dien began to shift toward the young lords of the knightly families.
“I’m going to participate, too!”
Watching this, Baran stood up from his seat gallantly. If it was at the level he just saw, he could also show off swordsmanship that would make the students’ jaws drop.
As he approached Arnold to declare his intent to participate, his shoulders were filled with confidence.
“It’s going as expected!”
Along with Baran’s declaration, many young lords from administrative families also expressed their intent to participate, and Arnold’s rotten smile grew even deeper.
“Whoa!”
Two or three bouts of sparring between the knight houses followed. Having coordinated their moves in advance, they showcased even more dazzling movements, and they were able to focus the students’ attention on the knightly families as intended.
“She’s finally coming out.”
Dien, who had been yawning, straightened his posture for the first time. The sparring between the knightly families had ended, and it was now time for Ramie of the magic families, whom he had been waiting for.
“No need for long words; I’ll show you right now.”
Ramie closed her haughtily raised eyes. She began to chant as if she were mumbling.