CH 10

A week has passed since I spent all my time in dance lessons. 

Then, the day of the birthday party arrived. 

The birthday party is a celebration for Natalie Alderath (ナタリー・アルデラート), the eldest daughter of the Alderath family.

She is the same age as me, but unlike me, she has a good reputation.

It is rumored that she is a beautiful angelic girl.

She is also well educated, good at dealing with people, and has a talent for magic, which makes her a promising candidate for the future.

I’m fat, uneducated, incompetent, and violent. Furthermore, I was the complete opposite of her, having never practiced magic.

So many noblemen have been invited to her birthday party. How dare you invite the Pepper family?

I thought, but since she is writing to most aristocrats, so I guess it is just a coincidence.

I have a bad reputation, so I will be very quiet.

I have not learned much about party etiquette, and I do not know how to behave.

Why, do you think I am not cultured enough to be a Noble? It is because I used to be…

“I can’t be taught by these people! Get the hell out of here!” I had said before. 

And that is why all the teachers quit.

After that, no one wanted to be my teacher.

The only exception was Katherina-sensei.

I asked my magic teacher, Katherina-sensei, to teach me about writing and general knowledge.

Sensei is really an amazing person, isn’t she? She is beautiful, she’s kind to me like this, and she’s skilled in handling magic.

After all, she is a Sage.

No, beyond sage, ……God. Thank you. If I had a sculpture of Katherina-sensei, I would definitely buy one and display it in my room.

By the way, the creepy paintings hanging on the wall were removed and sold.

…That painting barely made me any money.

I bet they were tricked into buying it.

Do not mind it, me.

(TL Note: Yeah, he is talking about the past version of him as if it were a completely different existence not related to him at all…)

Thinking about this, I reached a large room.

Chandeliers dangled from the ceiling, illuminating the entire venue.

It seemed to be a standing party, and there were a lot of food preparations.

That looks like a delicious dish.

Normally, I am on a restricted diet, but at least today I should be allowed to.

This is how people rebound…

I put the most delicious-looking dishes I could see on my plate and began to eat them quietly in a corner of the hall.

I’m being a wallflower.

I am standing alone in the party hall, which is bustling with people.

As I ate in silence, I suddenly had a thought.

‘Hmm? What is the point of me being here?’

In the first place, why would you celebrate a stranger’s birthday with a bunch of strangers?

If you are a positive person, you will probably enjoy saying “YEEY!”, but for a negative person like me, it’s just too much.

And that is when I am thinking.

“Oh! So that’s the daughter of the Duke of Alderath.”

The sound of the surrounding people began filtering into my ears.

When I turned in the direction of the voice, I saw a beautiful girl there.

Her golden hair sparkled in the light of the chandelier.

Clear indigo eyes.

The girl was truly worthy of being called an angel.

I mean, the thing was so cute.

She is truly a work of art, a girl who looks like she just stepped out of a painting by a top-notch painter.

And she is so calm that it is hard to believe she is ten years old.

‘You live in a completely different world than mine.’

It is such a big venue with so many people to celebrate with.

She was in the center of the venue, shining brightly, and I was standing in the corner of the venue, hiding.

It’s a sad difference.

After watching her for a while, I quietly walked out onto the balcony.

The night breeze feels nice.

In contrast to the glittering atmosphere inside, there was no one here.

I felt more at home in a place like this.

I looked down at the beautiful garden from the balcony.

It was when I was zoning out, thinking about how beautiful the garden was, I heard footsteps approaching.

■　■　■ (Change of POV)

“Haaah… So depressing,” Natalie Alderath sighed secretly so that no one would hear.

Today is Natalie’s birthday party, as she just turned ten.

Since she was the eldest daughter of a duke, her birthday party was very extravagant.

However, although it was her birthday party, she didn’t think it was fun at all.

Besides, this birthday party was not for Natalie to enjoy.

As the daughter of a duke, she is expected to behave in a way that is not embarrassing.

Everyone who comes to greet me here may be smiling, but deep in their eyes, they are evaluating Natalie.

Is Natalie worthy to be the daughter of a Duke?

It is through Natalie that they see the future of the Alderath family.

Every move she makes carries with it a great deal of responsibility.

Because of this, Natalie cannot speak out of turn and must play the role of the perfect young lady.

There is no such thing as perfection, but at this moment, she must be perfect.

There was no way such a birthday party could be fun.

But she has resigned to the fact that she doesn’t have a choice.

She was born a daughter of the Alderath family, one of the three great Dukes.

“Natalie-sama is very intelligent. You are indeed the daughter of the Alderath family.”

“Wahahahaha. I guess the Alderath family will be safe in the future.”

They all sound like uncaring words.

Where do they really think they are?

Behind the scenes, they are not afraid to call each other names and kick each other down.

Natalie fought down the urge to run away.

Even though it was a large room, she felt cramped and suffocated here.

The room was dazzling, but she wondered why she could only see the shadows of people.

“Father. I’m going to rest on the balcony for a bit.”

“Come back soon.”

“Yes”

Natalie left the scene quickly and headed for the empty balcony.