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At last, the applause and cheers that had seemed as though they would never end subsided, and the musicians began to play a waltz. Yet scarcely any couples stepped forward hand in hand onto the dance floor.

Rather, the invited guests fixed fervent gazes upon the four returning from the floor—upon Prince Mikhail in particular. They were waiting eagerly for an opportunity to exchange words with him.
It was not that they burned with ambition to expand their influence or businesses through connections with the prince. Most likely, they simply dreamed that when Mikhail ascended the imperial throne one day, they would be able to say with pride, “I once spoke with His Majesty in person.”
And they wished to convey directly the emotion and joy they had felt at seeing their local traditional dance performed as the first dance of the night.

“Ekaterina, I will accompany His Highness. It will take some time, so you should step away.”

Aleksei murmured this softly into Ekaterina’s ear.

“Onii-sama, I too must fulfill my duty as hostess.”
“No, I would like you to entertain Miss Flora. For her to remain constantly at our side while we receive their greetings…”

He left the rest unsaid, but Ekaterina understood. From the celebratory feast, she knew how exhausting it was to receive greetings without pause. For Mikhail, Aleksei, and herself, it was an obligation of their rank—but it would be unfair to drag Flora into it.

“It is Flora’s first party, after all. The two of you should enjoy yourselves.”

Mikhail also smiled at Ekaterina and Flora. Despite the tremendous number of greetings he was about to exchange, he remained composed. The difference in experience, no doubt. As expected of a royal prince.

“Very well, we shall do as you say. Lord Mikhail, Onii-sama, if you grow too weary, please do not overexert yourselves.”

Though she knew it was pointless to say, Ekaterina could not help herself. Aleksei and Mikhail both nodded gently in response.

.

Thus separated from their male partners, Ekaterina and Flora had taken only a few steps when they were forced to stop.
Men had begun approaching them—no, more accurately, forming a loose encirclement.

Come to think of it, at the celebratory feast as well, the moment I left Onii-sama’s side, I was surrounded by men…
That time, Onii-sama had rescued me at once.
So. I still have no idea how to handle this! Utterly incompetent!

In any case, I must protect Flora-chan. My rank is higher than any of theirs; by etiquette, those of lower rank may not address me first. If I avoid meeting their eyes, they cannot speak to me—somehow it will work. Probably.
…What am I, a suspicious person… This is hardly appropriate conduct for a hostess… Oh dear, what do I do…

.

Ekaterina stiffened, while Flora looked at her friend with concern.
And then—
The strongest fleet advanced with a decisive march.
No ships were actually involved, but Ekaterina thought they looked formidable.

Sweeping aside the young men with sheer presence was a group of noblewomen—young, yet older than Ekaterina.
When the lady at their head smiled at her, Ekaterina’s face brightened.

“Lady Margarita. I am delighted to see you.”
“Thank you. At the celebratory feast, your warm words moved us all deeply.”

Margarita was the daughter of Novak and Lady Adelaine.
With wisteria-colored hair and black eyes, she resembled her mother, though her striking eyes were inherited from her father. She exuded the aura of a beauty. Already married into another house, she had attended the previous feast with her husband. It had been immediately apparent who held authority within their household. In temperament as well, she took much of her mother.

At that moment, a young man approached.

“Ah—Sister…”

He addressed one of the ladies who had come with Margarita. His intention of having her introduce him to Ekaterina or Flora was transparent. The lady he addressed replied from behind her fan, in a low voice:

“Step back.”

A clean, decisive cut. The feeling of having just sliced down something trivial.
The young man retreated meekly.

…Come to think of it, in my previous life I had a friend with a younger brother. She treated him entirely as an errand boy. Is the sibling hierarchy between elder sister and younger brother an absolute law that transcends worlds? Well, I suppose it varies from siblings to siblings.

The other young men seemed thoroughly discouraged.
Thus, Ekaterina and Flora were finally able to converse calmly with the ladies.

.

“The dance just now was magnificent. That it once suffered prohibition in the era of Duke Aleksandr, and yet His Highness chose to perform it as the first dance at a welcoming banquet… I never imagined we would experience such surprise and joy.”

Margarita’s cheeks flushed faintly. The ladies around her likewise glowed with delight, some even tearful, others visibly enraptured.

“I have heard from Mother that it was your idea, my lady. Father said that you have inherited Duke Sergei’s inventiveness. It seems he was correct.”
“No, the idea merely came up while the four of us were discussing things together.”

She could hardly explain that it had been conceived as a desperate measure to avoid raising her own ruin flag by dancing the first dance with Mikhail. So Ekaterina deflected in this way. Flora beside her subtly concealed a smile, making it quite obvious to the ladies that this was modesty.

“When I conveyed to my brother that Lady Adelaine had spoken of the charming local dance tradition that was on the verge of fading away, he declared it a grave matter. Lord Mikhail also said that the harmony among the people sought by Emperor Piotr the Great and the first Duke Sergei ought to be valued.”

At these words, the ladies grew animated.

“My, you are permitted to address His Highness by his given name!”
“Only natural! It is well known throughout Jurnova—from letters sent by our younger siblings attending the academy—that His Highness, our Young Lady, and Lady Czerny are fine rivals competing for top honors at the magic academy.”

We are WHAT?!

“Moreover, during the grave incident when a magical beast appeared at the academy, it was precisely the four who danced the first dance just now who fought to protect the students and successfully repelled the beast… It only speaks of how wonderful they are!”
“Lady Czerny manifested holy magic to protect you, my lady, and that in deep gratitude His Grace the Duke swore to regard Lady Czerny as a friend of Jurnova—anyone invited here today is well aware of these facts.”
“Beautiful, strong, and brave as well. That such individuals chose to perform our local dance as the first dance, and with such elegance… I shall never forget this day!”

Left behind by the rising fervor of the ladies, Ekaterina exchanged glances with Flora.
Then, struck by a thought, she looked at Margarita, who smiled serenely.

This is a damned Propaganda…!

Seeing how the people of the domain adored her brother, Ekaterina had sensed that someone was actively ensuring that his contributions to governance were widely known. She had vaguely suspected Novak was behind it.
Is their whole family doing this propaganda as a family business?!
And she somehow felt that the one who had taught Novak such methods of promotion was her grandfather, Duke Sergei. He must have been adept at such things. He had been quite the schemist, after all…

“My lady, it is the duty of the branch families to support the main house. Please, make use of us as you see fit.”
“Those are most reassuring words…”

Margarita’s declaration was so reassuring that Ekaterina felt momentarily drained.