Around fifteen minutes later, in the ballroom…

Straf enters with Stripe trailing behind him. The room is not quite packed, but filled and lively. Straf winces slightly at the amount of people gathered in cliques, talking in small to medium-sized groups. He looks at the largest of the groups, and notices slivers of Cycelia's fancy dress peeking through the busy crowd of magnates and counts, along with their ladies. The original group seems to have atomized and dispersed around the room.

In the distance, Greaves appears to be proudly bragging about something with his fists on his hips, standing amidst a small semicircle of serious looking men. Every few words, Will shakes his head in disapproval with indignance on his face, and adjusts his glasses behind him. Alicia is talking with a handful of ladies, presumably wives of the men, while Shien and Lian are the center of attention of the remaining few. Shien says something, Lian nods along, then says something herself.

The small group listening to them stroke their chins with great interest. With his hands in his coat's pockets, Straf makes his way to Cycelia with Stripe, and then spots Nona in her black dress talking with a large gaggle of fancy looking older women, albeit it's they who are talking, while she simply nods along, holding a tall narrow-necked glass in her hand. Straf changes direction to approach her.

「…Because my man takes interest in falconry, you see, so furs are-」

「I thought you left the opposite way- Ah. Changed your mind on the dress after all?」

Straf speaks loudly, remarking on Nona's black gown, and abruptly interrupting one of the women incessantly talking.

「Straf, you're back!」

Nona's head perks up through the gaggle of women. They turn around with displeased grimaces on their faces, especially the woman who was interrupted, but their disgruntlement lasts only until they take a good look at Straf. When the women look at the handsome man casually approaching their group, they cover their mouths with their gloved hands, then begin chatting and giggling amongst themselves.

「…Yeah? Wasn't that obvious?…」

Straf shrugs, furrowing his brows slightly.

「Who is he?…」「…My, how handsome…」「…That's the finance minister!…」

The group of women around Nona murmur, with a few of their words rising into audible volumes.

「…Not really. I didn't see you come in.」

Lightly confused, Nona tilts her head. She blinks her amber eyes at Straf, and he blinks back.

「But I literally just told you I'm looking for Stripe, Nona…」

「Huh? When?…」

Straf tilts his head with a lightly pitying, patronizing smile. Nona tilts her head further as her confusion deepens. Will notices Straf, and slips out of the group of serious men. When Cycelia notices him move, she looks to see where he is going, and her emerald eyes too catch a glimpse of Straf's face through the crowd surrounding her.

「Ah! Excuse me for one second, this is important!…」「No, of course your highness!…」

Clink.

Cycelia quickly excuses herself and slips sets her glass down on the silver tray held by a maid attending her. The people quickly make way, and she half-jogs towards Straf while pinching her dress up out of the way of her extravagant heels as they clack on the hard wood in a rapid rhythm.

「…Less than an hour ago? Thirty, maybe fifty minutes or so?」

Straf shrugs as he replies, still smiling at her.

「But you weren't-」

「Straf!… Straf…」

Cycelia calls out, interrupting Nona while she practically runs up to the two. Will joins them at the same time, staring at the empress with his brows lightly raised.

「Ah, Lia… I thought I'd rescue you from the boring assholes' grasp, but you looked like you were having a good time for once.」

Straf looks at her, and nods his head towards the group of the wealthy she just left.

「…Straf. You're back so soon? What happened? With the… You know.」

Cycelia asks with a concerned face, briefly glancing at the group of chattering noblewomen standing nearby. Crossing his arms, Will turns his gaze up to Straf, and waits for his reply.

「Nothing. I fixed it.」

Straf casually shrugs his shoulders with a carefree grimace.

「Wha-? You fixed it? Already?」

Cycelia's chestnut head perks up and recoils back, while her brows furrow in surprise.

「Well… Technically, it won't be fixed until like… Tomorrow afternoon? Wait for the markets and banks to open up, and such… But really, it's fixed. Don't worry about it.」

Straf rolls his eyes, and nonchalantly explains with his mouth aslant, shrugging.

「How? Markets and banks?… What does that have to do with anything?…」

She asks, shaking her head lightly in confusion.

「Lia… Let me ask you this. Purely hypothetically speaking, imagine you have a problem that is completely out of your control. Now, is it worth worrying over it?」

Straf asks back, pulling his hands out of his pockets and spreading them.

「What?… If it's out of my control… I suppose… No, there's no point in that, then.」

Further confused, she blinks her emerald eyes at Straf, before pondering his question. She shakes her head as she replies.

「Right. Lia, I think it's better off if you have a clear conscience, so just don't worry about it. It's fixed.」

Straf nods, shrugs his hands, and returns them to his pockets.

「Bullshit. You're bluffing.」

「Huuuuh?」

Will declares, adjusting his glasses, immediately causing Straf to glare at him.

「You didn't fix anything. Am I wrong?…」

Will asks with a serious face. Cycelia glances at him, then returns her newly concerned face to Straf, furrowing her brows again.

「…It's not possible to just fix something like that in an hour or two. You're just bluffing to not worry her majesty, aren't you. How bad is it, really?」

Will adjusts his glasses again, and the two glare at each other. Nona's amber eyes dart between the two, while Cycelia stares at Straf with a worried gaze.

「Pft.」

Straf scoffs, and his serious expression breaks into an amused, snide smirk.

「Huh!? What's with that reaction!?」

Shocked and outraged, Will shouts with his hands clenched. A few people notice the commotion, but quickly return to their discussions. Greaves and Alicia excuse themselves out of their respective groups, and move to join Straf and the rest. Lily weaves through the crowd, tilting her golden head as she draws near.

「Straf, you're back. I was looking for you…」

Lily says from behind Straf with her small fists on her hips.

「Ah, Lily… Yeah. Did you need something?」

「Not really… I just grow tired of this worthless rabble. An hour here alone is like a century to me.」

Straf asks, and the little vampire baroness nonchalantly shrugs her shoulders with a visibly bored, lightly disgruntled face.

「Yeah, I know what you mean. Sometimes seconds are hours to me-」

「Hey! Don't just ignore me! Explain yourself! I don't believe you fixed it so easily!」

Will exclaims while pointing his finger up at Straf's handsome face.

「Silence, worm. I'm talking with Straf.」

Lily growls at Will, glaring at him with disdain in her scarlet eyes. He recoils back with a tight-lipped grimace, and quickly adjusts his glasses with his head lowered.

「S- Sorry… 」

He apologizes in a voice barely louder than a whisper.

「Lily… Be nice. He might be a weak, insufferable twerp… But Lia acknowledges his existence from time to time.」「Tsk…」

Straf softly chides Lily with a tilted head and a patronizing smile on his face again. He pauses briefly, searching for a good reason for her to be nice. She clicks her tongue.

「Acknowledges my existence, huh?…」

With his head still lowered, Will repeats with a grim grin as he adjusts his glasses again.

「…Anyway, I don't give a shit if you believe me. Will anything change if you believe me? No. It's your choice, twerp.」

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Straf replies with a casual shrug, and briefly spreads his hands, quickly glancing at everyone gathered.

「…Sorry, but what are we talking about? What is fixed?」

With a look completely devoid of enthusiasm, Stripe chimes in with her hand lightly raised.

「Ah! We're being invaded by everyone!」

Nona quickly replies with a completely carefree smile on her face. Cycelia's large emerald eyes snap open and turn to the gaggle of women, Will's jaw drops as he glances at Nona, then the empress, and Stripe's confused gaze instantly locks onto Straf.

「Huh? Invaded?…」「By everyone?… Meaning, all of our neighbors?…」「…Eh? We're at war? Again? Since when?…」

The amused and enamored faces of the noblewomen quickly turn concerned and serious as they exchange worried glances.

「Ah, no no no! It's already fixed! It's not a problem anymore! It's solved! You don't need to worry about it, just enjoy the party! It's fixed!… Right, Straf!?」

Cycelia waves her hands in front of herself as she jumps in front of the group, smiling awkwardly. She then quickly glances over her shoulder at Straf with a nervous grin.

「Yup.」

Straf nods in simple agreement.

「Right! Just relax! I have the best of the best minds solving all of the kingdom's problems day and night! On my honor as Redwing's descendant, I tell you, it's fixed!…」

She nods towards the nervous woman, and shrugs her hands with a falsely reassuring smile, while being nervous herself. The noblewomen exchange glances.

「Well, if you say so, your majesty…」「…Such diligent people…」「My, the empire can't have a moment of peace…」

The women collectively either shrug their shoulders, nod their heads, or contently tilt them in response. They bow slightly, and begin to disperse around the room to spread the gossip.

「…Straf, it is fixed, right? If it's not, my family name will be badly tarnished. Very badly. My father would never make a bold declaration like that blindly.」

Cycelia darts over to Straf and grabs him on his shoulders, digging her dainty fingers into them as she looks at his handsome face with a nervous, tight-lipped grimace on hers.

「…Does that work in reverse, too?」

Straf asks as his brow rises.

「Huh?」

Confused, Cycelia's head shakes a little.

「Will you gain honor or prestige if it's, uh… Fixed hard?」

Straf shrugs, and clarifies. Cycelia blinks her emerald eyes at him for a prolonged moment, and lets go, taking a step back. In the background, the band finishes playing a calm tune.

「I think I would, but… What do you mean by fixed hard, Straf?」

She nods, and asks in a wary tone. The dispersed noblewomen are very clearly spreading the news, as groups of men around the room are sneaking glances towards Straf and Cycelia.

「Lia, like I said, let's keep your conscience clear. You don't need to know the details. You like sausages, right? Don't ask how they're made.」

Straf lets out a short fatigued sigh, and shrugs his shoulders with his mouth aslant. The band begins playing a more jumpy, energetic song. Some pairs take it as a cue to start dancing.

「…Straf, would you dance with me?」

Quickly glancing at Cycelia, Nona steps in and asks Straf with a poorly hidden mischievous smirk on her face.

「Eh? Dance?…」

Straf furrows his brows, less than pleased by the proposition. He glances at Cycelia, who also looks a little disappointed, but ultimately shrugs with a light tilt of her head.

「…Sure… I guess.」

He reluctantly replies, and takes Nona's hands into his. Straf activates [Contextual Time Perception] to a high factor, and quickly glances around.

Lily's face is forming into an upset pout, Stripe looks unfazed, while Cycelia is lightly clutching onto her dress. Will seems to be in the middle of proposing the same to Alicia, much to Greaves's frozen shock-dismay. Rolling his eyes at the state of affairs, Straf continues looking around for some clues as to how to dance. He looks at one pair, a second pair, a third pair.

《Alright, whatever. It can't be that hard.》

Straf gives up, and the flow of time returns to normal. Nona pulls Straf aside, looking at Cycelia's sulky face with a smug smile on hers.

「…You're being very straightforward today, Nona.」

He remarks while looking at Cycelia. Sir Vinis approaches Cycelia for a dance, causing Straf to clicks his tongue in frustration at the sight.

「Hm? I don't know what you mean. It's just a dance.」

Nona replies, but from her growing smile and the tone of her voice, it's clear she's being blatantly facetious. Holding each other's hands, they resign themselves to simply mimicking what the rest of the dancers do, which at the moment is simply taking a step back and forth while spinning slowly. Straf looks at Cycelia and Sir Vinis.

If the two are not expert dancers, they are at least very good at fooling the onlookers that they are. Cycelia seems to have no issues dancing and talking at the same time, calmly nodding along while discussing something with the long-haired magnate as they slowly spin around while the music plays. Lian is visibly chuckling as she dances with Shien, who has the same expressionless face while they both tower over the crowd.

「I don't mean the dance, Nona.」

Straf sighs, and replies as his eyes return to hers.

「What do you mean, then?」

She asks, tilting her head. Her sarcastic tone is gone, and it seems to be a genuine question.

「Come on… I mean when last saw each other.」

With a roll of his eyes, Straf replies while looking at Nona with his mouth aslant. She blinks at him for a few moments, and trips over her own feet.

「Careful.」

「S- Sorry, I've never danced before… Ahaha…」

Holding her hands in a firm grasp, Straf stops Nona from tumbling over on her face, though it causes her to brace against him. Cycelia appears to get briefly distracted from her own dance, and her concerned emerald eyes look at the two as Nona appears to be hugged into Straf without realizing it. When she does realize it, a small grin appears on her face, and she straightens out. With her lips pressed together, Cycelia's attention returns to Sir Vinis, and she quickly replies to his words with a series of nods.

「…Do you mean when we talked about my dress?」

Nona asks while looking up into Straf's eyes.

「No, I mean when you expressed certain interest. Do I really need to spell it out for you, or are you just being coy?」

Scrunching his mouth, Straf replies, and asks back.

「What interest?」

Confused, Nona tilts her head with her brows furrowed. Straf glances aside and sees Sir Vinis bowing slightly towards Cycelia with his gloved hand on his shoulder, while she does a little curtsy in response. Straf looks at other dancers, and they too seem to be separating and looking for new dance partners. Lily is tapping her foot on the floor, and her clawed finger on her sleeve while watching Straf with a pout on her pale face. To his surprise, Shien has a long line of women waiting for a dance.

「…Ahhh… Forget it. If you don't want to talk about it, I get it. We're supposed to find someone else to dance now. Go bother the twerp.」

With a long sigh, Straf shrugs as he lets go of Nona's hands, and approaches Cycelia. With another nod towards Sir Vinis as he departs, she hastily makes her way towards Straf, too.

「Straf-」

She calls out with a tight-lipped grimace, but he quickly cuts in.

「Want to dance?」

「…Yes.」

Straf asks, and after a momentary pause, she nods her chestnut head with a gentle smile, then extends her dainty hand out for Straf. He takes it, then takes a glance at Lily, whose pout is practically turning into a scowl, and her foot is hammering the floor like a woodpecker.

「…In a moment, Lily. I can't split in a way that would be enjoyable for you to dance with.」

With a sigh, Straf says to Lily. Cycelia flashes an awkward smile her way.

「…Fine.」

Lily snaps her head aside, and the tapping of her finger quickens as well…