When I arrived at the banquet hall, there were a lot of people.
At first, I didn’t realize it, but the people who came over with me from the meeting room headed to their respective circles.
In other words, they came here because of the meeting. To be more precise, they are diplomats?
The fact that the most important person was in that location earlier means something.
No, is this real?
Did they bring me to that kind of place for an introduction?
Thinking about it, that actually makes sense.
If they want to sell me at a high price, it’s better to inform only the highest-ranking officials. Rare things tend to increase in value.
Moreover, providing such important information to select individuals alone adds credibility in itself.
They say people can be that naive, really?
Highpion will manage well.
If things go south, it’s fine; a harvesting environment will unfold, and if a good regime is established, harvesting machines will mix with their descendants.
I’ve set the stage so that things can flow either way.
Unless they’re trying to drown everyone like Victoria did last time, there should be benefits.
I’m not planning to act so rigidly for securing warmth. I’m going to collect it easily and slowly, while making sure not to fail as much as I can.
I’ve come to the banquet hall, but there’s not much for me to do.
All I really have to do is stand still. Speaking of which, Kanna and Polaris are also here. Polaris is looking at me with a surprised expression as I stand in the center of the banquet hall.
Kanna is busy greeting people with her parents.
But what’s going on?
Kanna, who was touring with Duke Shiodore, met Solindiges, and their expressions are rather subtle.
As far as I remember, Kanna never had any romantic feelings for Solindiges. After all, a limping person cannot become a queen.
On the contrary, I recall her being quite busy mediating fights among noble ladies. Well, technically, that’s still in progress.
Even if Kanna thinks of someone who makes her suffer like that, why is Solindiges looking at her like that? I’m not sure.
Duke Shiodore seems to have noticed the atmosphere too, but he lets it pass without saying anything.
Thus, the oddly tense moment passed.
After that, I was just standing a little away from Highpion. But inexplicably, Polaris’s gaze is fixated on me.
So I met her eyes and waved, to which she returned a bitter smile before looking away to greet someone she knew.
Is there a reason to smile like that?
After all, Highpion is currently glued to Princess Aurora, with a harvesting machine with blue skin standing around them.
Both are knights, but one is originally just a regular soldier. According to my memories, that person shouldn’t be here.
They brought him for a reason.
Are they trying to make Aurora’s blue skin less noticeable?
Not a bad idea.
Having recently seen how harvesting machines are made, I briefly felt a prick of suspicion, but it quickly vanished.
Instead, the attention shifted to me, the creator of the harvesting machine.
Ah.
Is the reason I’m being stood here to diffuse the attention directed toward Aurora?
Isn’t that a bit too protective? There are two princesses in this country and one prince, isn’t it a bit biased?
But… being a king, that kind of favoritism would be even more likely.
If needed, a king could lock their own children in the cupboard to starve them. No, “starving” might be too gentle; “sacrificing” would be more accurate.
In any case, a king can impose their likes and dislikes on the world.
Usually, if favoritism occurs among royal children, it’s expected that the other siblings would feel jealousy…
Solindiges, of course, and even Lunaria, the eldest daughter, really likes Aurora.
This place is strange.
Perhaps because they were supposed to die, they became kind, leading to this affection?
Affection is good. It raises the survival probability of the child Aurora bears.
Anyway.
I wonder how the harvesting machines will fare in this royal court. Honestly, it would be nice if Solindiges could become a harvesting machine, but unless an accident happens or they fall ill, that seems difficult.
If they become a harvesting machine after having a child, that child will be outside my influence.
But I really don’t want to hope for that to happen.
It’s better to feel dignified about myself.
When I take a breath, I have to swallow it properly. Unless it touches the tip of my tongue, I don’t swallow in one go.
I have plenty of time.
So I stand still. Alongside the young knight they assigned to me.
I thought we would end up not having any meaningful conversation, but after quite a while, the knight approached and whispered in a soft voice.
“Isn’t it uncomfortable standing like that?”
Seeing his expression, he seems to be considerate.
There are really a lot of good people here.
“It’s work.”
Usually, saying that implies that you’ll endure even if it’s uncomfortable, but I’m actually fine standing here. However, explaining it this way might make it sound as if I’m catering to Highpion.
Or it might sound like I’m being controlled.
Look. The people who have been watching me past the harvesting machine perk up their ears as soon as I respond.
It shouldn’t be the usual distance for sound to carry, is there some sort of magic at play? Or maybe they just have good hearing?
Considering the one with animal ears flinched, it’s probably just good hearing. Which means I need to be careful about what I say.
Keeping that in mind, I asked the knight.
“And you?”
“I’m working too. Impressive. You shouldn’t be used to things like this normally, but you can stand so still. I’ve been trained in etiquette, so I know.”
When he said “etiquette training”, his face twitched slightly.
Yeah, that makes sense. It’s not strange to have a training for keeping such a stiff posture. Especially knights entering a royal court can be used for decoration.
He’s rather polite in his conversation. Plus, he genuinely looks worried.
But as soon as I answered, sharp stares flew over to me.
Wondering what that was about, I turned in that direction and noticed a few individuals occupying the so-called noble lady positions. And there’s a maid moving at the edge too.
It’s a familiar emotion.
It’s one of the top emotions related to people who die in despair.
Jealousy.
Oh boy. That makes sense. I’m a girl, after all!
Objectively speaking, I’m considered a handsome man, so I could be a target in terms of sexual attraction. Jealousy directed toward a reproductive target is quite a natural phenomenon.
Got it.
As I pondered about how to make use of that, I recalled that it’s best to play dumb. I also remembered that melting and consuming a jealous girl would taste delicious, although I wish I could improve my search engine for that.
I want to exclude memories of humans with such peculiar sexual habits from my search results.
But don’t we have too many entanglements when it comes to love rivals?
I often see Victoria at the dormitory. No, it’s only been a few days since entering the dormitory. This is happening here too.
Is there a lack of entertainment?
Or is it just a normal reaction rather than an easy and quick pleasure?
Since it’s a human relationship, it feels normal.
People meet whom they like, mate, If there’s an enemy, they eliminate them, and then they get married as a stamp of approval.
That said, there’s no need to mention that many royal families have the same maternal genes but several paternal lines that vanish.
It’s always the same in any world, so they don’t need to be so flashy about it. Dae-gon’s memories, I’m talking about you.
Phew. Anyway.
There’s no need to create unnecessary enemies.
Although it feels a bit late, there’s no need to fan the flames. Even in a royal family, I think they’d dislike being caught in such a story, and if tools start moving on their own, Highpion might be in trouble.
It’s better if there’s no personality.
That way, it’s more convenient to use. That’s why companies scold new employees by asking what they can do to chip away at their self-esteem and mentally dominate them into only listening to what they say.
They don’t need someone who can think properly.
They only want something that functions as desired.
So after using it as much as they want, they throw it away. A bloated society operates that way. It’s convenient, after all.
There’s a reason they say “cogs in a machine.”
In some remote place, they feed someone poison to create a disabled person, and if that person survived, they use it while tossing the dead into the sea to erase their existence. That’s the reason why.
The concept of zombies is also from that faded memory. Tools that are easy to use without thought.
When people are treated like tools, their minds get broken.
If they’re people.
I’m not a person. Instead, I am that enemy. So I’d rather be treated like that.
Hehe.
As I stood quietly without saying anything more, the knight glanced at me momentarily and returned to stand near me, resuming his watch.
I hope nothing happens like this.
Just when I thought that, shortly after, he made a slight hand gesture. Wondering what was happening, I saw him pointing a little further inside with his finger. There was a pillar near where I was standing.
Huh?
Oh, he’s inviting me to take a break. Behind the pillar is the terrace, which is typically a resting spot. It’s a common unspoken rule that if there are people, you either avoid it or close the curtains when entering and move your garments aside.
Of course, it’s not a written rule, but rather an abitus. Abitus. A rule only shared among people in that position.
In any case, I don’t need to rest, so I shook my head.
Then, Kanna came over to look at me.
She directly approached and blocked my path with the knight.
“I’m going to talk for a moment. However, I’ll ask you to do this in the name of Kanna Temrane Shiodore. Please let us take a break.”
When she emphasized “let us take a break,” the knight looked directly at Kanna and led us to the spot he had subtly pointed out earlier.
He pushed us into the terrace, closed the curtains, and stood in front.
“Hello.”
“You really are consistent.”
Kanna smiled wryly.
“When standing in the same position at a place like that, it’s agonizing. Just sit down.”
Then she pointed to a chair in the terrace. Once seated, she followed suit.
“It’s time to relax.”
“Yeah. Spot on.”
Kanna laughed, acknowledging.
