Chapter 5: the banquet (2)

"Markus, do I look weird? I am new to wearing makeup"

Sophia sent an upturned glance at her personal knight's way, wondering what he thinks about her current appearance, although she wouldn't say it his opinion meant more to her than anyone else.

""Not at all, but please don't give me seductive glances during the banquet, you will be receiving mountains of engagement letters after tonight, after all""

Unaffected by just how adorable and yet so bewitching Sophia looked right now, Markus gave her an indirect compliment disguised as an objective advise, his tone was indifferent, showcasing his lack of care for her appearance.

"Mou…Even you are saying that now, Markus!"

The young lady said blushingly, her eyes shined bright blue with her embarrassment.

But deep down inside she understood that Markus was complimenting her and it made her unequivocally happy, causing a shiny golden hue to mix in with the blue luster her eyes were giving off.

((Her usual confidence was nowhere to be seen, and she is kind of flushed, the maids must have showered her with compliments thoroughly...))

Markus assessed, trying his best not to let his anti social tendencies ruin the mood again.

The maid, who was in charge of makeup and dressing, stood there proudly, with her arms folded, she is a true professional.

((No, but seriously…I don't even want you to look straight at me, please…I may not have the ability to feel emotions but that doesn't mean I can't be affected by your eyes))

Markus thought slightly averting his eyes from Sophia's.

Thanks to their high elven heritage the "eyes" of the Rosewood family are special, "Magic" or some form of mystic power dwells in their eyes, Markus knew that from his knowledge of the game even before he heard it from the Marquis himself, this information is well known to high ranking nobles, but there are also some lower ranking nobles who do not know.

The marquis's own eyes are the [Magic Eyes of inquisition] which allows him to determine whether the other person is lying or not when mana is flowing through those pupils of his.

((There is no doubt that one of the reasons why His Majesty the emperor appointed Marquis Rosewood as his "dagger" is because of the [Magic Eye of Inquiry] to put it in simple terms, something like a "lie detector" is very difficult to reproduce with conventional magic...))

But he young lady's eyes are even more special, they are the [Magic Eyes of mysticism] which have a variety of effects depending on her current emotional state at that time, the one effect that Markus has seen so far and the one he's afraid of is the ability of the eyes to enhance the opponent's willingness to fight for her when mana is flowing through, the so called [inspire] effect.

Since anyone can use magic and skills, it does not get too much attention, but special "Magic Eyes" are unique in that they always appear in the bloodline of the Rosewood family, making them a kind of special one of a kind existence, that can garner the attention of even the most powerful individuals and organizations.

((I heard that these magic eyes are distributed to an extremely small minority in the population as a whole, even for the elves, only those with the highest purity of high elven blood will have a chance to possess them, but it is a fact that they can be extremely useful depending on how they are used))

These magic eyes are one of the only things in this world that Markus fears as in the original game, it was Sophia's [magic eyes of mysticism] that led to his death, to cut a story short, Sophia used an ability of her eyes to connect and share her emotions with Markus, thereby awakening his own suppressed emotions causing him to slip up and fall victim to Reinhart's blade.

((That is why I do not lie to the marquis))

Markus listed another reason why he's very wary of Marquis Alterra Rosewood, for someone who holds as many secrets as Markus, a person who can see through his every lie can be said to be his ultimate counter.

Then, Markus picked up noise from the entrance with his ears trained by [Hearing Enhancement], another skill that is learned through his [assassin] class.

The marquis, who always leaves at sunrise and never comes back home before sunset, came back home early today, right when Sophia finished dressing up.

The maids and butlers bowed simultaneously, and Markus also bowed accordingly, the marquis walked over to the young lady.

"Sophia. I hope you enjoy today"

The marquis said in his usual low tone, as if he's just reading off of a script rather than actually speaking to his daughter.

"…Yes"

Although Sophia was happy inside, she also seemed a bit downcast for some reason.

((Is that all? Aren't you supposed to compliment her a little bit more? However, "indirect" is not good, and "too direct" is also not good, okay?))

Markus half sarcastically recited Rouche's words of instruction for the marquis in his head.

"…Markus-kun, please come here"

The marquis couldn't have seen Markus's expression (well actually even if he did it wouldn't have mattered due to how expressionless Markus is all the time), as his head was bowed down, but he was called over for some reason. As Markus lifted his head up, he saw the marquis beckoning him over to the corner of the room, away from the lady Sophia. As he walked to the corner of the room, Markus felt everyone's stares focused on his back.

""…Is there something?""

Markus asked the cold-blooded-marquis, acting as innocently as possible.

"…My daughter seems to be in a bad mood, what did you do wrong?"

As the doting father that he is, the marquis asked.

((M-My fault?! Why would you automatically assume that I did something?))

Markus was flabbergasted at the fact that he had just been accused of something he didn't do, but his usual mentality of "I don't give a sh*t" prevented him from showing it.

""…No, I don't think I behaved wrongly""

Markus answered, not even showing a hint of fear as he knows he has done nothing wrong.

"…Unfortunately, that seems to be true"

The marquis poked at Markus for a bit and then concluded.

((Don't use the [Magic Eye of inquisition] for that!))

Markus screamed internally, he has seriously had it with this guy, but he couldn't openly show his displeasure to nobility so he just pretended like nothing happened.

"So, what's wrong with my daughter?"

The marquis asked, consulting Markus on how to brighten up his daughter's mood.

""Who knows, it's not included in the work of a knight""

If someone were to describe the relationship between these two in less than 3 words, it would be "strictly professional", the two rarely interacted and when they do it's only because of Markus's work as the cold-blooded-lord's daughter's personal knight, so they weren't exactly on such good terms that Markus would give special treatment to him or his daughter, he mostly just treated them like how he treated other people:"not too close but not too far either".

"It is the job of an knight to protect the mental health of my daughter, right?"

The marquis asked a rhetorical question, as if it was natural.

((I am hearing that for the first time...(sighs)...he work coverage of a knight is too wide))

Markus really REALLY wanted to retire from being Sophia's personal knight as fast as possible now.

((…Well, since the young lady looks troubled, let's give him the answer))

But he ultimately gave in, since he had a little bit of fondness for Sophia.

""Please give compliments""

Markus told the marquis the answer to his problem.

"Compliments?"

""The young lady looks beautiful all dressed-up today, doesn't she?""

When Markus said that, the marquis looked over at the lady's beautiful white face.

"…Is it really necessary to say something so obvious?"

The marquis asked, truly confused.

((It is difficult to tell whether this person is over-doting, or being serious, or just joking))

As someone with an even more expressionless face, Markus was getting a taste of his own medicine every time he tried to read the marquis's intentions to no avail.

""Does that mean you don't understand a woman's heart, Your Excellency?""

Markus asked, even though he himself didn't know jack sh*t about a woman's feelings

"…I know when a woman is lying or not, so I have always given them what their heart wants"

(([Magic Eye of inquisition] is too powerful! I know at least a million different boys who could use it's help in their love life))

""There are many times "what the heart wants" is not a tangible material but an intangible word. Please pretend that you were coaxed, and compliment the young lady""

Markus instructed, just like how Rouche instructed him earlier.

"...…"

Mana dwelled in the marquis's eyes.

((Again, please don't use the [Magic Eye of inquisition] for such things))

Markus is currently lamenting the fact that he has to be stuck with this "pain in the a$$" of a father and his daughter.

"Okay"

The marquis agreed to follow Markus's words.

((Finally! My god you are thick headed...))

Markus managed to convince the marquis, and he returned to the young lady. Markus doesn't know whether this person's true nature is ultimately an over-doting parent, cold-blooded, or lacking awareness, but each one of his actions are picturesque and refined, but despite that Markus thought:

((I seriously hope that I don't turn out to be like that in the future…))

"Sophia. The dress specially tailored for you is nothing more than a complement to your original beauty, but thanks to that I once again recognized your beauty. You are the pride of the Rosewood family"

Marquis Alterra stated, his voice sounded poetic dreamy which was a clear contrast to his usual tone.

((Oh this motherfvcker! What a bullsh*t smooth talker he is!! And to think he didn't even think of complimenting her earlier...))

Markus felt betrayed, as even though both him and the marquis were unemotional characters, Markus himself could never come up with a romantic line like that.

"A-Ah..."

The young lady, who was still not used to being complimented, was flustered. Her gaze fell on Markus, as though asking for help. In response he nodded to reassure her, and she replied "Thank you," to the marquis, with a flushed cheek.

((…Yeah, everything turned out well. As long as you ignore the fact that the marquis is staring at me grumpily because the young lady seeked me out for help, yeah suck it b*tch!))

Finally able to catch his breath, Markus breathed a long sigh of relief this coupled with the feeling of successfully getting his revenge on the marquis alleviated nearly all of Markus's accumulated tension.

((As for his ultimate true nature, it is definitely "over-doting parent" so far))

Markus has come to learn some useful infomation on the marquis's character today.

The carriage of the marquis family carried the young lady to the venue of the banquet. Such carriages are prepared by every noble to be used on special occasions such as today, it seems. Rosewood' carriage was covered with scarlet cloth, which symbolized "Magic Eye". The huge wheels, made of iron, were polished and given a shiny finish. A gold crescent moon with two swords covered in the thorny vines of red roses stood on the roof-the Rosewood family crest.

Magic lamps were hung in four corners, emitting a warm orange light.

"Get on, Markus"

Sophia signalled, calling her knight onto the same carriage as her.

""Okay""

Simple yet splendor-Markus was a little daunted by the impact of the horse-drawn carriage, but the young lady's words encouraged him to get in.

((Syph-sensei I handed me the list of attendees at today's banquet, and said, "Go through it", some nobles do not confirm if they would participate in the event until the very last day, so the distribution of the list was done on the day itself, how annoying, I am a knight who is barely related to the upper class, you know!))

10 knights on horseback, including Syph, surrounded the carriage, Markus opened a small window and peered outside. The road, which is usually busy with noble purveyor's merchant carriages and load transportation, was quiet today, the general public knew that today was an important day for nobles. As such, access to the road was restricted.

It seems that citizens also receive charity during such events, instead of giving money, it is a charity structure that allows money to be distributed through purchases, such as ordering large-scale construction work and procuring a large amount of goods. Leaving aside construction works, the supplies and goods purchased are always in surplus. They said those will be distributed to orphanages and the poor through the church.

((The Imperial family's rule is surprisingly proper, isn't it? Still, there are still a few people who fall into poverty, so the need to sell themselves as slave-like has not diminished))

Markus took another look at the state of the empire and decided to review what he knew about this country once again in his head.

((I think there are several causes. There is a big gap between the rich and the poor in this country, it is not the kind of thing that can be bridged by conducting some charity. First, the privileged class of nobles hold all the desirable positions, and then the merchants who conduct business under those nobles become richer. Since it's almost impossible for others who are under the nobles to rise through the ranks in a "fair" manner, they take away money from the poor, even with the inclusion of a meritocratic system of allowing talented individuals to climb the social ladder, the empire is still a monarchy after all, it's only natural the common class of citizens in this country still face various problems although I have admit the altruism of the ruling family is quite commendable))

((What the young lady said…"structural problems" is exactly true, but what we're doing as slave business crushers is completely meaningless. Well, it's not the job of an escort to worry about that, so I'll just keep silent))

And so they went forward...

Making their way into the heart of the capital city, the imperial palace.