Chapter 27: The First Dance

Chapter 27: The First Dance

Saturday evening, eight o’clock.

Riding in his own luxurious carriage, Klein spent two and a half minutes reaching Councilman Macht’s residence at 39 Böklund Street.

He glanced at the fountain, where splashing water reflected the lamplight, then fastened the buttons of his tailcoat while stepping down from the carriage. With unhurried steps, he made his way toward the front door.

Richardson followed closely behind his employer, holding a beautifully packaged bottle of Southville red wine.

The moment Klein entered, he saw Councilman Mori Macht and his wife, Madam Liana, coming forward to greet him.

The former wore an olive-green army officer’s uniform, an orange-red sash, and several medals pinned to his chest. In the Loen Kingdom, both active and retired officers favored wearing military uniform to balls.

The latter wore a yellow, collarless gown, decorated mostly with flounces and only a modest amount of delicate lace. It differed from the dresses of unmarried young ladies, though it likewise revealed her fair neck and half her shoulders.

Klein took the bottle of Southville red wine from Richardson, handed it to Councilman Macht, and bowed.

“My apologies. I am a few minutes late.”

This was, in fact, a common feature of Loen banquets. Guests would rather arrive a little late than early, because the hosts might still be busy with the final preparations. It would be improper to receive guests at such a time. Of course, the lateness should still be kept within ten minutes.

If Wahana had not specifically taught him this common sense, Klein would undoubtedly have arrived politely ahead of time.

“There is no matter. The ball has not officially begun.” Macht glanced at the Southville red wine in his hand, smiled, and handed it to his personal valet.

In Loen’s upper social circles, when attending a banquet hosted by someone for the first time, one had to bring the host a small gift. Among such gifts, alcoholic beverages were the most popular, but one had to remember that on the first occasion, the bottle should be domestic.

After greeting the male host, Klein looked toward Madam Liana. Seeing her slightly raise her right hand, he took a step forward, lifted her hand, bent down, and gave it a formal air-kiss.

“Your radiance illuminates the entire ball.”

Before the start of a banquet, praise directed at the host was one of the rare occasions in Loen social life where subtlety was not required. What distinguished Loen from Intis, however, was that a kiss on the hand had to be initiated by the lady. Only after she offered the gesture could the gentleman proceed. Otherwise, it was a serious breach of etiquette.

“Your arrival does the same,” Madam Liana replied with a smile.

After that, the married couple led Dawn Dantes through the vestibule and into the hall, where elegant melodies were already echoing.

After they had gone forward a few steps, Mori Macht gestured toward a young lady in a sky-blue gown.

“My daughter, Hazel.”

Klein followed his gesture and looked at the young lady. His pupils suddenly contracted.

He knew this young lady!

More accurately, he had seen her image before.

When he had asked Arrodes where he could obtain a mystical item capable of stealing the Beyonder powers of others, the Magic Mirror had shown him a scene of a haughty young lady wandering in the sewers. That young lady was precisely Hazel Macht, a girl with dark-green wavy hair and bright, dark-brown eyes.

She possesses a mystical item corresponding to Fire-Stealer? With her family background, why would she be wandering around the sewers? Is that part of some fortuitous encounter? What is she looking for, or waiting for, down there? Has she already become a Beyonder? How did she become one? Could there also be an old grandpa parasitizing her body? If there is, could that old grandpa, like the Blasphemer Amon, detect traces of the gray fog?

Beneath the “skin” of Dawn Dantes, Klein thought of many questions in an instant. Outwardly, however, his expression did not change. He placed a hand to his chest and bowed.

“Good evening, Miss Hazel.”

During this process, he quietly swept his gaze over Hazel Macht’s face and found that the young lady’s expression was calm, her eyes proud. She merely returned a polite smile.

“Good evening, Mr. Dantes.”

She has no unusual reaction. That means, at the very least, she herself cannot sense the aura of the gray fog… As for whether there is an old grandpa parasitizing her body, that cannot yet be confirmed. I’ll have to continue observing…

Klein straightened and took a glass of pale-golden champagne from a tray carried by a nearby waiter, then turned to converse with Councilman Mori Macht.

“I had not expected you to have once been a major.”

He had inferred this from Councilman Macht’s epaulettes.

If the other party had been a colonel, Klein would have suspected that he, too, might be a Beyonder. But for a major, it was hard to say.

“Haha, that is nothing much. In East Balam, there are far too many opportunities to build military merit,” Mori Macht replied modestly. “Of course, the climate there is also terribly difficult to adapt to. I have always been suggesting to the higher-ups in the army that special uniforms be designed for East and West Balam, and that the traditional dark colors be abandoned. Otherwise, officers feel as if they have become beef roasting on a grill.”

As for soldiers, they generally wore red on top and white below.

“Yes. The climate there is entirely different from the one at home. Even Desi Bay is not so hot,” Klein said, seemingly casually indicating that he had been to the Southern Continent, and to either East or West Balam. This corroborated the hunting experiences he had mentioned a few days ago.

After a few minutes of small talk, Councilman Macht excused himself and led Madam Liana toward the staircase. They ascended to the second floor and stopped behind the railing facing the main doors. Raising a glass filled with red wine, he said, “Thank you all for attending this ball. First, let us praise the deities, for They are the source of all that is beautiful.”

He and Madam Liana immediately tapped four times over their chests, softly praising the Goddess. The guests each praised the deity they believed in through their own corresponding gestures.

Councilman Macht kept his glass raised and continued with a smile, “Second, praise the kingdom. It is the foundation of stability.”

“Praise the kingdom.” Klein raised his champagne glass along with the surrounding guests and echoed the words.

Then Councilman Macht looked around and asked with good humor, “Lastly, what should we praise?”

A thought stirred in Klein. He laughed clearly and said, “Praise the improvement of Backlund’s air.”

Councilman Macht froze for a second, then answered with an irrepressible smile, “Excellent. That is an excellent suggestion.

“Let us praise the improvement of Backlund’s air. It is the symbol of a better life. Cheers!”

Controlling air pollution had always been one of this member of the House of Commons’s political ideas. He had continually pushed for the drafting of corresponding bills on various occasions and had played a meaningful role in environmental improvement. Therefore, praising the improvement of Backlund’s air was equivalent to praising him—but in a subtler and far more upright way.

The guests warmly responded and drank the alcohol in their hands.

Immediately afterward, Councilman Macht took Madam Liana’s hand, descended to the first-floor hall, and began the opening dance amid gentle music.

The gentlemen present began seeking the first dance partners they wished to invite, while Klein took another glass of champagne and leisurely surveyed the guests.

Huh. Madam Mary is here too…

With a sweep of his eyes, he discovered a familiar face: Madam Mary, the major shareholder of Coim Company, a woman worth tens of thousands of pounds, who had once commissioned Sherlock Moriarty to catch her husband in an affair.

She is a member of the Air Pollution Investigation Committee, so it is normal for her to be close to a member of the House of Commons who supports the issue…

Klein made no attempt to invite her to dance. At present, he was Dawn Dantes and did not know any ladies outside this block.

He withdrew his gaze and looked elsewhere, seeing Hazel Macht holding a glass of white wine near the edge of the room. With a somewhat detached smile, she watched the gentlemen each choose their targets and prepare to issue invitations.

This young lady was actually rather beautiful, graceful in both breadth and softness, and by rights she should have been the star of the ball, someone the gentlemen competed to invite. Yet the proud attitude she carried, with its hint of looking down from above, caused one man after another who had looked toward her to shift their gaze away.

That sort of gaze… I’ve seen it in certain Beyonders. They believe they are no longer ordinary, and when facing normal people, they feel an intense sense of superiority… Heh. This means Miss Hazel is very likely a Beyonder… That makes sense. If she weren’t a Beyonder, how would she dare wander around the sewers? Is she of the Marauder pathway? But with that haughty appearance, how could she act as a Thief or a Swindler? It’s hard to imagine…

Seeing that the opening dance between the councilman and his wife was about to end, Klein also began seriously considering which lady he should invite.

Dawn Dantes was in his early forties. It would be somewhat inappropriate for him to invite a young girl for his first dance unless she was clearly a junior. And married women would usually reserve their first dance for their husbands… Mm. I should invite someone familiar, or the host of the ball…

Klein’s gaze swept across the dance floor. He found only one lady familiar to Dawn Dantes: his etiquette teacher, Wahana.

Invite her? No. After the help given in secret, she should already know. If I invite her for the first dance now, it would be very easy for her to misunderstand. It might even affect the relationship between husband and wife and bring Dawn Dantes’s identity unnecessary trouble… I’m not Roselle, with a taste for married women—no, he had a taste for everything. In any case, when avoidance is necessary, I should avoid suspicion…

As Klein’s gaze shifted, he heard the melody change, turning from gentle to brisk.

This was a kind of music popular in the countryside of central Loen and beloved by nobles, often used to accompany the first dance.

As the melody shifted, the gentlemen walked one after another toward the young ladies or married women they had chosen. Klein noticed that no one was approaching Hazel Macht.

She is one of the hosts of this ball… And I can observe her at close range… Heh. If she really is a Beyonder of the Marauder pathway, that means the gray fog has a certain “converging force” toward the pathways adjacent to the Seer as well…

With a gentle smile, Klein walked at an unhurried pace toward that haughty young lady.

“Miss Hazel, may I have the honor of this dance?” Dawn Dantes, whose temples were graying, bowed with perfect form.

Hazel looked at him and remained silent for several seconds.

“It is my honor.”

She then extended her hand.

Klein politely took it, led her onto the dance floor, and began a lively, light-footed dance with the music.

After glancing at her soft yet expressionless face, he decided to probe gently and said with a smile, “I noticed that many young gentlemen wished to ask you to dance, but failed to muster the courage.”

Hazel raised her head slightly and swept him a glance.

“Mr. Dantes, that is not a polite topic.”

…Klein was instantly choked and, for a moment, did not know how to continue.