Chapter 90

The ball, a noble version of a cabaret or nightclub… well, not really, just a waste of money by bored rich folks. While kids on the streets starve to death for lack of a piece of bread or get caught stealing wallets and die, these people are wasting money on such parties.

Unfortunately, Camelian Peony and Glacia couldn’t attend due to their schedules, so only Lorcha, Airi, and I could participate. Of course, not under our real identities—we had to attend as Count Holstead, a noble who made his fortune in mining on the outskirts. Lorcha was my wife, and Airi was my younger sister.

Naturally, we had to disguise ourselves accordingly. It wasn’t anything as grand as plastic surgery, just using magic potions to change our hair and eye colors and some makeup.

I became a redhead with red eyes, Lorcha a blue-haired, blue-eyed beauty, and Airi had black hair and black eyes. The colors were so intense it looked like the Korean flag. Ah, may the blessings of Emperor Gojong, the creator of the flag, be upon us.

However, Airi seemed quite dissatisfied with her role.

“Wouldn’t it be better if I played the wife role instead?”

“Sadly, even in make-believe, I can’t do that with a minor. My friend Lorcha might not like it either.”

“Who do you think wants to play your wife? I only accepted because of His Highness the Crown Prince’s orders!”

Lorcha suddenly shouted.

“My ears are going to fall off.”

“I still haven’t forgotten what you said to me back then. So if you thought it’d be easy to brush off, you’re sorely mistaken…”

“Excuse me, but we’ve arrived at the ballroom.”

The coachman’s warning stopped Lorcha’s outburst. Before entering the ball, I tied my hair back.

“Every time I see it, I wonder how you manage to tie your hair so well while everything else is a mess.”

“I told you, a friend taught me.”

“You… had another friend besides me…?”

Lorcha looked at me with genuine surprise. Airi joined in too.

“Yeah, it’s really surprising… I’m shocked too.”

“He never had friends before… this is really unexpected.”

Even Werner had hometown friends like Iri, and I had friends too. Like the moderators of the <Draghinty Fantasy 2> forum, or that troll who kept posting disgusting images until I hunted him down and killed him, or the guildmates from WoW… I have plenty of friends.

“I told you, the friend who taught me how to tie my hair was someone else… tsk, they’re dead now.”

“Ah…”

Only then did Lorcha realize her slip and covered her mouth.

“Did that friend die of illness…? Or an accident…?”

“No, they were murdered. By a trashy, despicable bastard.”

“Did you catch the culprit…?”

“I killed them myself.”

Sometimes, in my dreams, that bastard keeps popping up, causing trouble. But every time, I barely hold onto my sanity and kill him again. Damn bastard, how many times have I killed him, and he still comes back? Does he think he’s Delonzo or something?

“Well… shall we go…?”

“Let’s… go, Master…”

“Both of you, be careful with your titles from here on out. If we slip up, the whole mission is ruined.”

The basics of disguise are acting, and the basics of acting are dialogue. If you mess that up, you’re screwed.

“Got it… brother…”

“Sigh… alright… you be careful too.”

I felt Airi glaring at Lorcha when she called me “you,” but I trusted it wouldn’t interfere with the mission and decided to proceed.

As soon as we entered, a sweet, enchanting melody filled the air, and the announcer at the door shouted:

“The Holstead family has arrived!!!”

The real Count Holstead was loyal to the Crown Prince and had never shown his face in high society. So, no one would recognize me. I leisurely held the cane that noble heads carried and surveyed the surroundings.

As expected, many nobles were captivated by the beauty of the women. Lorcha and Airi were stunning beauties if they just kept their mouths shut. Werner, with his makeup, also stood out as a handsome man with sharp features.

Then, a noble approached and offered a handshake.

“I am Ketchup, head of the Mustard family. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Count.”

I almost burst out laughing. How the hell does someone have a name like Ketchup Mustard… damn it… I can understand the surname Mustard, but why the hell is the first name…

“Ah… yes. I am Johann, head of the Holstead family. The Mustard family… you’re the ones who’ve been selling spices for generations, right? Pleasure to meet you.”

The Mustard family was just a regular extra family mainly dealing in spices… if this were a romance novel, maybe a Korean woman would reincarnate into their family? Something like, “The Mustard Family’s Young Lady Wishes for a Death-Ending by Turning the Pocket Watch.” If there really were such a woman, I’d be happy to meet a fellow countryman. Though if she caused trouble around the Crown Prince or me, I’d have to eliminate her.

And this guy was one of the targets to watch at this ball.

“By the way, I’m surprised to see such a beautiful wife and sister with you.”

“Surprised?”

“Rumors say the Holstead family lives in a remote, polluted area, and all its members are sickly and suffer from skin diseases.”

Laughter erupted around us. Ah, so this is what they call “territorialism”? Even in this world, such a culture exists.

In that case, as someone from another world, I wanted to introduce the beautiful culture of “punching” from my world.

“I’m surprised too, seeing nobles in the capital with such normal physiques.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Not long ago, a man named Lloyd, a councilor, was said to have taken bribes and handed over the sewers to child kidnappers. And there were quite a few nobles who associated with him.”

“Why bring up such unpleasant matters on a day like this…”

“Taking salaries from the hard-earned taxes of the people, then taking bribes on top of that… gathering among themselves to feast… with all that feasting, I thought the capital would be full of piglets.”

Then, I tightened my grip on Ketchup’s hand.

“Ugh…”

“Ah, my apologies. Being from a humble mining background, I must’ve used too much strength. Be careful in the future; I might not control my strength well.”

These bug-like bastards. I personally despise those who flaunt their territorialism and petty pride. They’re vermin that need to disappear for a beautiful society. I’m starting to truly understand why the Crown Prince wants to eliminate them.

“His Highness the Crown Prince will now deliver a speech. Please pay attention.”

At the solemn announcement, everyone turned to the stairs. From the balcony reserved for royalty, the Crown Prince raised his wine glass.

“To all who have gathered on this joyous occasion, I express my deepest gratitude. Please enjoy yourselves to the fullest tonight.”

The Crown Prince had personally called for this gathering, so naturally, the vermin would flock here. If they gathered privately, it would raise suspicions, but in a public setting like this, it wouldn’t seem strange.

Soon, the music changed to a dance tune. Everyone headed to the center to start dancing. What a shame—if the beat had been a bit faster, I could’ve shown everyone the popping and moonwalk of the Pop King.

“Hey, what are you doing?”

Lorcha poked my side. The side is a dangerous spot if hit by a sword, so poking there could be considered a declaration of war, right?

Then, Lorcha whispered quietly.

“Go ask someone to dance.”

“Who? You?”

“Then should I tell you to ask your sis… younger sister? Idiot…”

Even while whispering, she never messed up the titles.

“Why?”

If it were a dance battle, I’d understand, but a dance duet was a bit embarrassing.

“Idiot, the first dance is traditionally with your partner.”

“But there are nobles who don’t dance.”

“Those people never intended to dance in the first place.”

“I don’t intend to either.”

As the heir to Michael Jackson’s soul, surrendering my body to such slow classics was a sin.

“No, idiot… this is how you can ask the noble ladies, who are our surveillance targets, to dance and keep an eye on them…”

“Ah. You should’ve said that earlier.”

“His Highness mentioned it, have you forgotten already?”

I only remember that bastard vomiting, so my memory of other parts is quite hazy. As the successor to Michael Jackson, I detest surrendering to such sluggish classics, but what can I do? However, there was one big problem.

“Hey, wife…”

Lorcha, out of whisper mode, smiled brightly.

“Yes, dear?”

“There’s a big problem.”

“What is it?”

I whispered into Lorcha’s ear.

“I don’t know how to do social dances.”

Sadly, neither Werner nor I had that knowledge. Should I just go all out and moonwalk and pop in the middle?