Chapter 112: The Banquet (Part 2)
“Come to think of it, Young Master Dee got married, right? Nobles sure marry young, huh?”
“Seriously?! He’s only thirteen, right? Not even an adult yet!”
“Must be family circumstances and stuff, right? He became a Count before we knew it.”
“So? Which one is the Young Master’s bride?”
“No idea. Wanna call her over?”
“Yeah!”
“””Hey! Madam Wife—!!!”””
No, “Hey!” is just too much. Good thing I got them to agree to informality at the start… Normally, you’d get cut down for such disrespect, you know?
I was worried Cassandra would get angry, but she was beaming and waving back.
“Oh! She’s waving this way!”
“Whoa! I’ve never seen such a beauty!”
“The Young Master got himself a fine bride!”
Can you guys just go home already?
For some reason, when the fief’s people do something outrageous, I’m hit with this mysterious sense of secondhand embarrassment.
“My apologies, Dora.”
“Not at all. This must be the way things are done in this domain, right? It’s quite novel and amusing.”
“It helps that you say that…”
“That’s right! Let’s have the Young Master and his wife dance too! We gotta let everyone know the Young Master got such a beautiful bride!”
“Give me a break…”
Who was it that suggested that…?
“Young Master! Show us that dance again! The noble one you danced with the Young Lady!”
“Ooh! Yeah!”
“We wanna see the Young Master and his wife dance.”
“See, even the elder, who doesn’t have long left, is saying so!”
“Quiet, you! I’m gonna live to be a hundred!”
“There he goes again.”
“Young Master! This is where a man shows his stuff!”
“That’s right, that’s right. We gotta let everyone know you’ve taken a wife!”
The fief’s people showed a mysterious sense of unity, pressuring Cassandra and me to dance. Damn these drunks.
“Husband, everyone is saying so.”
“Dora?”
“Let’s go, Husband!”
“Whoa.”
I was pulled along by Cassandra towards the campfire. Her cheeks were even redder than the flames. Is Cassandra drunk?
“Oh! Alright!”
“Da-ance! Da-ance!”
“Is that the Young Master’s bride?”
“Looks like it.”
“She’s a beautiful girl. The Young Master is a lucky man.”
Having reached the front of the campfire, Cassandra and I looked at each other. Now that we’d come this far, not dancing wasn’t an option.
I knelt and took Cassandra’s right hand.
“Dora, would you please dance with me?”
“With pleasure.”
And so, Cassandra and I began to dance, twirling around the campfire.
“Whew! Whew!”
“Hey! Hey! Hey!”
“Beautiful…”
“Alright, alright!”
Amidst the cheers and clapping, I twirled and danced with Cassandra.
Come to think of it, this is the first time I’ve danced with Cassandra. My partners were always Cornelia or Lily, so the height difference feels fresh.
Moreover, Cassandra’s chest is pressed against my own. My gaze keeps wanting to drift to her bosom. In fact, it keeps darting there. Grrr. Cassandra’s cleavage is powerful. More powerful than a dragon.
“Fufufu. You can look more, you know?”
“Wha—!?”
She found out?! Did she find out I was sneaking glances at her chest?!
“What are you talking about?”
“Husband, you like breasts, don’t you?”
“Kuh!?”
She definitely knows I was looking at her chest. This is incredibly embarrassing.
Besides, when a beauty like Cassandra says “breasts,” it alone sends shivers down my spine. Am I sick or something?
“‘There are times when a man must fight, even knowing he cannot win…'”
Damn it, Cornelia and Lily are small, so I have no resistance to large chests.
“That sounds rather pointlessly grandiose.”
“Don’t call it pointless.”
“Yes.”
Exchanging such whispers, we finished our dance. The fief’s people rewarded us with warm applause.
Phew, maybe it’s because I drank and then danced, but I think the alcohol’s hitting me a bit. My head feels fuzzy.
“Onii-sama, next, please dance with me!”
“Ria?”
“And after that, with Lily.”
It seems Cornelia and Lily wanted to dance too. Can’t be helped. Guess I’ll do my best.
“Alright then, shall we dance, Ria?”
“Do that hand-taking thing you did for Sister-in-law.”
“Yes, yes.”
I knelt and took Cornelia’s right hand.
“Would you please do me the honor of a dance?”
“With pleasure!”
“It’s been a while since we saw the Young Master and Young Lady dance too.”
“Somehow, it makes us wanna move our bodies too.”
“Well then, shall we dance?”
“Yeah!”
It seems the fief’s people were going to dance too, as several male and female pairs gathered by the campfire.
“Alright, shall we dance then?”
“Yes!”
There was no orchestra, and naturally, no music. We each began to dance freely, relying on the clapping.
I danced with Cornelia, listening to the boisterous cheers and clapping. The smell of cooking, the scent of bare earth. The green scent of plants and trees. All of it mingled together, and I truly felt the scent of my hometown, the place I was meant to return to.
I suppose I’ve become dyed in the colors of Baumgarten too.
Starting tomorrow, I’ve got to work hard and devote myself to the development of the domain!