fluvia 87: Fluvia in Front of the Ministry Buildings 2

<Previous Chapter] [Index] [Next Chapter>

Chapter 86: Fluvia in Front of the Ministry Buildings 2

While waiting for Father and Brother to return from the Royal Training Field, a carriage pulled up in front of the Ministry of Domestic Affairs that contained a man in slightly gaudy businesswear and a girl dressed far too maturely for her age.

Although Edgar, our coachman Alwin, and I would have preferred to act as if we hadn’t seen them, that just wasn’t the custom of Valed.

Luckily we have Edgar, a man who can smile as if nothing’s wrong even if he was robbing you blind.

As if he knew what I was thinking, Edgar shoots me a glare.

His instincts are getting sharper by the day.

In the next second, however, Edgar takes a quick breath and straightens up, giving a small bow towards the man.

It’s in Valed’s code of chivalry to greet everyone appropriately, and within the Palace walls, you greet … EVERYONE.

Except the servants who act like they’re nonexistent, like Alwin currently is doing.

The mark of a good servant is how adept they are at performing their tasks without interfering with their masters’ and mistresses’ affairs.

Remaining nondescript and forgettable is probably also a way of protecting themselves by trying to avoid messing up the business, or lack thereof, between nobles.

As Edgar bows, he gives a quick,

“Good morning.”

I also curtsied slightly.

That’s how it usually goes in this situation; one party gives a slight bow and a quick greeting, the other returns it, and then everyone moves on with their days.

But, well…

There have always been people who shirk their duties to show common courtesies, and thereby respect, to others.

And unfortunately, this man appears to be one of them.

He seems to have intended to just barge right into the Ministry of Domestic Affairs without a second glance at the people around him, but at Edgar’s greeting he stops and looks over.

It’s been a while since I’ve had a man looking up and down my body, as if appraising it, and I have to say, I was hoping to never feel this sensation again in either life.

Edgar was given the same treatment though, so I feel a little relieved that, despite what the girl he’s with is wearing, the man himself doesn’t seem to be a pedophile.

Or maybe he’s just a massive deviant, but being that we’re in the more ‘business’ part of the Palace, I’m going to assume that he’s appraising us more on a status and influence level.

However, after an uncomfortably long moment, he raises his lips into a sneer and says,

“Well, I suppose you’d be somewhat capable, getting to work in the Ministry, but don’t you think bringing a child along with you is beyond your station?”

Poka~n.

Edgar and I, and even Alwin, are so dumbfounded that we can’t even say anything.

I mean, saying Edgar isn’t allowed to bring children when he himself is… …

As if responding to our unasked question, the man puffed out his chest and twirled his moustache, saying,

“Just because her appearance is lovely doesn’t mean she’d be able to catch the eye of anyone worthwhile. While your intentions are admirable enough, if your worth is only so much, do you truly believe that you will be able to elevate your sister above a vulgar common girl? Compared to you, my efforts won’t be wasted, at least. After all I was able to be invited to the Summit, and as for you … well, you can only blame yourself for being unable to obtain a status worthy enough.”

Oh my.

Ignoring how he thought Edgar and I were brother and sister, don’t tell me he thinks Edgar is a Ministry staff member, and even a lower ranking one at that.

I’m actually shocked speechless.

I could understand mistaking Edgar for an official, at the very least, but a staff member?

I wonder how he came up with such a thought.

Certainly, we have a subdued carriage and are lacking servants, except for the coachman, and I suppose Edgar is still very obviously on the young side of adulthood.

And of course, like Brother said, I’m wearing ‘shabby’ clothing compared to those that noble girls tend to wear to the Palace, so perhaps he thought that this outfit was my best dress.

However, even with all those factors, there are so many more that should have indicated we weren’t your normal civilians, right?

The most basic being that if Edgar really was a staff member, shouldn’t he be inside working instead of outside standing next to a carriage?

Not to mention that Edgar, Sir Steward Edgar Henry, is one of the most famous Stewards in Valed at this moment and is more than just a little well-known for his young age and ingenuity.

It doesn’t matter if you approve of him or his policies, you will at least know of him.

Sure Stewards aren’t in the public eye quite as much as the nobles they work under, but I’d like to think that people would keep the possibility in mind when they see someone around his age in an official place like this.

Second, while it’s true that most noble girls don’t wear such simple clothing in the Palace, it’s because most noble girls only enter the Palace during Festivals and Galas.

Dressing up for a ball without any ball to go to is the opposite of Prudence, one of the Noble Woman’s Virtues that the high society traditionalists love to harp on, so really, in this situation it’s the girl at your side who looks like she doesn’t understand the TPO.

I mean, who dresses like that to go to a Ministry building? It’s like showing up dressed for a masquerade at a job interview.

Unless the job is about a masquerade, you’re displaying a special kind of ineptitude.

Third … haa.

Look.

There aren’t many people with silvery-white hair in Valed, especially at my age.

Premature whitening of the hair is known to likely be due to severe illnesses or near-death experiences.

Even I didn’t start out with white hair; apparently my hair had been a pretty shade of cherry-blossom pink before I came down with brain fever, as if Mother’s hair color had just a touch of Father’s hair color blended into it.

I didn’t remember it myself, being so young in both mind and body before the brain fever, and only found out after Aunt Brigida had gotten drunk on the journey over and complained about how the brain fever had ‘ruined’ my youth.

I would just like to say I’m perfectly healthy these days, no matter how my family appears to believe otherwise.

I wish they wouldn’t use Brother’s level of health to judge whether I’ve recovered or not; he’s not normal.

Anyway, what I mean by all of this is … … just how many 8-year-old girls could there be with white hair?

Normally … wouldn’t the Dellarose Daughter be the first one you think of?

Surely this isn’t just narcissism on my part, right?

I can’t help my eyebrow quirking up a bit under the man’s sense of arrogance, but frankly speaking, I’m mostly just amazed that he’s this incapable.

I mean, it’s already laughable enough that he can’t determine who we are, but it’s even more ridiculous that he could have so easily avoided making a fool of himself by simply adhering to the custom of returning a light greeting.

Literally, all he had to say was, “And to you as well,” as he left.

At this point, I can’t even be bothered to feel offended by a clown like this.

Looking at this situation, I think there’s no way this man is a noble himself.

Naturally, as much as I try to stay on top of who’s who in society, there’s no way I’d know who all the minor nobles are.

Still, I’m confident this man isn’t one of them.

He seems so arrogant and proud that he was able to enter the Palace for official business that he didn’t hesitate to brag about it to the first person he thought was below him.

Most nobles would be delighted to receive an invitation to a social event in the Palace, and perhaps some of them might act like this man, but nobles who enter the Palace for official business treat it as a matter of duty rather than a privilege.

And given that he’s arrived at the Ministry of Domestic Affairs, this man is likely an official of some sort.

But even if he’s a high-ranking official of an Earldom, I can’t imagine that would be enough to give him enough backing to be so insufferably arrogant.

In the first place, an Earldom’s high-ranking officials wouldn’t be so foolish as to let this sort of situation go to their heads, so it’s even more unlikely that his own status is enough for him to act this way.

Family ties … I’d assume.

Probably not to an Earl, but perhaps to a Viscount, Baron, or a Viscount or Baron’s Steward I’d say.

My guess for that is because of the girl.

If she’s his daughter or other close relative, I can totally imagine him being the type to exploit any familial ties he has and say, “Surely you wouldn’t be opposed to helping her to get a leg up into high society? She’s your <insert relative status> after all.”

The only mystery is how he thinks a commoner would be allowed to debut at all, let alone with Prince Anthony, but who can truly understand someone who has more greed than sense in his head?

Commoners also tend to overestimate how much influence nobles of varying ranks tend to have.

Even the daughter of the Baron would have little to no chance to debut with the Prince unless there was absolutely no other eligible girl related to an Earl, Viscount, Duke, or the rest of the extended Royal Family’s bloodline.

Even then, it would be difficult for any single Baron’s daughter to beat out all the other Barons’ daughters for the spot.

For a man to think his daughter(?) has a chance due to his tenuous-at-best connections with a noble is foolishness itself.

---

<Previous Chapter] [Index] [Next Chapter>

---

<a/n: It was a little difficult to write for the weirdo man. On one hand it would be easy to revert to the stereotypical ‘rotten noble’ insults, but a) he’s not a noble, and b) I wanted him to come across as scheming. Not someone who is good at scheming, though. More like the petty little man who delights in cheating the local diner by throwing a fit over some made up complaint and getting a discount.
Basically he’s someone who thinks he’s ready to gamble with the big boys, but in actuality he doesn’t even understand the game’s rules. That kind of a character.>