CH 55

Ethan said so and held out his hand to Sarah.

"If it's an escort……"

"I'm asking you to allow me to have your first dance."

"Ah."

"You have to dance with someone at least once. I don't think you'll ever leave Claude's side except for that one time. Is that correct?"

"That’s true……"

"So I'll have to take it."

At Ethan's words, Sarah felt a subtly warm feeling and grabbed his outstretched hand. Then, intertwining her fingers one by one, Ethan grabbed her hand tightly. He looked a little relieved now.

"But it's been a long time since I danced, so I may step on Duke-nim's foot a little. You have to understand that."

"Of course."

"I'm really good at dancing. But it's been so long that I might make a mistake. So……"

"All right."

"If I step on your feet, that's not real skill, it's a mistake!"

Ethan smiled slightly as she looked at Sarah, who kept adding words as if she was worried.

"Let's practice once."

"Yes?"

Sarah looked at him with her eyes wide open. Then Ethan gently grabbed her hand and pulled her away. Leading her naturally, he wrapped his arms around Sarah's waist with a careful touch. With Sarah’s skillful dancing skill, she unwittingly took the steps that had been etched into her body and made one smooth turn. The hem of the dress Ethan had given her fluttered.

"It doesn't look like my feet will ever hurt."

".......!"

A low-pitched voice whispered in her ear rang out pleasantly. Sarah held her breath as she thought her ears were about to melt. Once again, taking steps as Ethan led, Sarah looked up at his close-up face.

"You're doing well."

Facing Sarah's gaze, Ethan praised her with a smile filled with laughter. As there was a subtle smile on his well-groomed face, Sarah, who had been staring blankly at him, stopped twisting her feet.

"……Ack!"

Ethan grabbed Sarah, who had lost her focus in an instant, with his strong arms, and pulled her into his arms.

"Careful."

Sarah trembled at the soft voice whispering in her ear once more and hurriedly got away from Ethan.

"Ah. That’s……"

Sarah's face was red as if it was about to explode as she got out of Ethan's arms. With Sarah's embarrassed face, which was rarely seen, Ethan briefly covered his mouth with his hand, which was about to come loose. Sarah hurriedly waved her hand and made an excuse.

"It was really a mistake just now, a mistake."

"Yes, I got it."

"Really!"

"Yes yes."

"Don't make fun of me!"

Ethan nodded obediently, but Sarah couldn't shake the feeling that she was being teased. However, Ethan's smile, which was slightly raised, looked good, so Sarah eventually laughed.

"It may be because it's fun to tease me, but it's nice to see Duke-nim smiling better than before."

"......?"

Ethan raised one eyebrow and ran his hand over the corner of his mouth, perhaps not knowing that he was smiling. The tips of his fingers gently touched the corners of his lips. He nodded his head slightly.

"I see."

"Didn't you know?"

At Sarah's question, Ethan raised his gaze and just stared at her face. Then he nodded as if he knew something.

"I didn't know."

"Fufu. It's nice to be able to laugh well. Claude-nim is also smiling a lot these days."

Sarah smiled proudly. She liked the atmosphere of the mansion, which was softening as the day went by compared to when she first came. As she steadily pressed Ambrosia's power, the servants who were afraid of Claude at first seemed to be relieved and approached him again like before.

"......"

Ethan felt the warm change that had blown over Ambrosia more than anyone else. He realized it even more every time he saw Claude showing himself a little more diverse expression every morning. Everything changed little by little because of Sarah, and Ethan liked it.

"Sarah."

"Yes?"

"Thanks to you, I have realized something."

Saying so, Ethan stretched out his hand to Sarah again. He held Sarah's hand firmly as if he was not going to let go. Then he slowly pulled her hand, kissed the back of her hand, lifted his gaze, and looked at Sarah.

"You have to take responsibility for that, you."

***

It was not easy to run a bar in a town where monsters invaded several times a day. First of all, alcohol was considered a suicide act for young people, who had to live in tension all the time. Even merchants were often attacked by monsters, so things that were not daily necessities were considered a luxury. So, the only bar in Alton Estate was the inn run by Baker.

"Uhaha!"

"Let's drink and die!"

Baker's Inn was doing well in its own way, but these days it was enjoying a boom that would never be seen in a lifetime. Thanks to the arrival of the First Prince to Alton Estate, knights and servants escorting him often used the bar. Not only that, but it was largely due to the sudden appearance of a customer one day who gave alcohol to everyone who drank at the bar.

"Today, I will give each of the big brothers here a glass of beer as well!"

"Wow! I love you, you punk!"

"You’re the best, Oliven!!"

Hearing that there was a big shot customer who gave out alcohol every day, drunk people from Alton Estate flocked to Baker's Inn. And the name of the great guest was Oliven, an immature young master who came to travel after hearing the rumors of the monster forest.

"Aiya, Oliven! Are you really an aristocrat?"

"Of course, of course, otherwise we can't drink alcohol like this every day."

Even today, the guests who got drinks from Oliven came to him staggeringly drunk already.

"Eyy, what are you talking about? I kept telling you. I ran away from home because I didn't want to inherit the business."

"How much did you carry when you ran away?"

Customers who were deceived by Oliven's natural acting giggled and patted him on the shoulder.

"Still, thanks to you, I'm going to fill my stomach with alcohol!"

"Haha, then my big brothers…… Can you please listen to my one request?"

"What? A favor? What is it? Tell me right now. I'll listen to everything!"

Oliven wrapped his arms around the shoulder of the man who was pounding on his chest and ranting like a snake and said in a subdued voice.

"You know, I'm the blood of a merchant……, please hear me out, our big brother! I heard you work for a precious person here."

"Ha…… Right, I'm working under a very precious person!"

"Then big brother, help me sell one thing over there."

"What? What do you sell?"

"No, some of the items I stole from home are expensive and can't be sold. I need someone to buy it for me here."

"Hmm……"

"Shouldn't I sell some of this to earn travel expenses and make money to buy alcohol for my big brother like this?"

At the sly words of Oliven, the man blinked his thin eyes and fell into agony for a moment. Then another customer next to him, who was listening to this conversation, roared and sided with Oliven.

"That’s right! You! How many drinks did you get from Oliven, so let's sell at least one thing for him!"

"Ah crikey…… So troublesome, really."

The man agonized with his arms folded for a while. He was a handyman working under the first emperor who had been expelled here. That was why he went back and forth with the First Prince's attendants and put his face on it. Because the First Prince was often vicious and rude, his servants often asked for things to calm his mood.

"That, I’ll see your stuff once?"

"Aigoo, let’s let’s. Let me tell you what this is!"

Done. Oliven softly lit his eyes and pulled out a round sphere from his bosom. The transparent marble-like sphere shimmered mysteriously in the light.

"It's from a foreign country, but isn't it called a marble that can summon beings that make wishes come true?"

"Summoning beings that make your wish come true?"

"Ah, that’s what I’m saying!"

"If that's real, you should've made a wish. Why would you want to sell it? Are you telling me to play a prank on that precious person?"

The man was furious at the nonsense story. However, Oliven continued with a smile as he knew it would happen.

"Aigoo, big brother! What's so important about making your wish come true or not? Nobles rush in like a hound when they see something glamorous and rare."

"Um……"

"It's enough for me to dispose of this treasure trove at an expensive price, so please just try slipping it for me! Half of the sale price will be paid to my big brother as an introduction fee!"

"Ah, but still. Wouldn't it be sold only when it looks a little plausible outwardly?"

The man soon waved his hands and refused, although he was tempted. The precious person to whom he had to deliver that marble was a very fearful opponent.

"It's pretty plausible. Now, look at this."

"......Huh?"

Oliven pushed the marble close to the man's nose. Then, the mysterious light suddenly flashed and swirled in the marble, and soon it cracked and scattered like a snowstorm and disappeared.

"What? Is this an artifact? You should have said that first! How can such light be……!"

The man's eyes widened at the strange sight. Seeing the face of the man peering back and forth through the marble over and over again, Oliven swallowed a secretly fishy laugh.

'Done.'

Oliven succeeded in obtaining such an easy-to-access connection to the First Prince.