Chapter 14 – I’m Glad We Have a Captain

The venue for the debutante ball, marking the beginning of the social season, was the splendid Suishoukan, a hall designed for dances within the royal castle. In the center, a spacious ballroom was flanked by thick columns that stood tall and straight, supporting the ceiling, while at the far end, a grand staircase with more than ten steps led up to a throne and chairs reserved for royalty.

A straight red carpet extended from the main door to the throne, its intricate and delicate patterns in shades of red showing not a single speck of dirt. No one dared to step off the central carpet. The stars of the evening were the young men welcoming the debutantes. With this awareness, everyone gathered around the tables and chairs placed on either side, engaging in lively conversation.

Among them, Oryuga and his companions relaxed on a sofa positioned between the columns, waiting for the royal family, who would arrive last.

This was the time for nobles to greet one another.

High-ranking nobles had been approaching Al for greetings since earlier.

“Marquis Izeal Roydenatel’s son, it’s been a while.”

Oryuga observed as everyone approached Al with smiles on their faces, resting his hand on Izeal’s arm. Today, he intended to fulfill his role as Al’s partner properly.

It had been a long time since Oryuga had attended such a party.

Previously, he had actively participated as the top candidate for the engagement of Crown Prince Narish, aiming to build connections as a future crown princess. He had attended nearly every invitation, earning a perfect attendance record.

Due to the embarrassment of wearing the same outfit twice, he had bought new party clothes for each occasion, which had drained his allowance and even put him in the red. Realizing this, Oryuga had asked his older brother Bizet to decline all invitations.

However, with the summer social season beginning, there were several parties hosted by the royal family that he had to attend at the very least.

There weren’t many parties that Al insisted he must attend, so he planned to accompany him to those as well.

Al seemed to be expanding his business in the textile industry, branching out into clothing and accessories, thereby increasing his wealth significantly.

It was amusing to see nobles of considerable status bowing to Al, who, despite being the heir of a marquis family, was still not the head of the household.

As he watched the familiar faces come to greet Al, memories of his own extensive participation in parties resurfaced. He recalled how, when he had been the top engagement candidate, nobles had also bowed to him, and he smiled amiably, matching their greetings with the knowledge he had acquired from the noble’s encyclopedia.

Though he no longer felt the need to build connections, he thought it wise to engage in some socializing since he was expected to receive an earldom in the future.

Then, a thought struck him.

If I were the villainous son, what would happen to me after I was condemned? He remembered that he hadn’t confirmed this with Al.

Would he be able to inherit the earldom in the future?

He resolved to check on this matter, albeit belatedly.

Just then, the royal family appeared.

Beginning with Their Majesties, Crown Prince Narish and the top engagement candidate, Neiny, followed by their younger brother and sister, they proceeded along the carpet and stood before the throne and the chairs arranged around it.

All the gathered nobles stood up and bowed their heads toward the royal family.

As the customary greetings and toasts were exchanged, Oryuga’s gaze fell on Neiny standing next to Crown Prince Narish. Her strawberry-blonde hair and bright green eyes were easily recognizable even from a distance.

Just a few months ago, Oryuga had been in that very spot, but it felt like a distant memory. He believed that even with the return of his past life’s memories, he remained Oryuga. His values had shifted somewhat, but he felt unchanged. Still, his feelings for Crown Prince Narish seemed to have faded into a vague uncertainty.

Even with Neiny standing next to Crown Prince Narish, he felt no hint of jealousy.

As gentle music began to play, the royal family took to the dance floor first. Following them would be the young debutantes of the evening.

Oryuga watched blankly as Narish and Neiny stepped forward to take their positions for the dance.

Today, the two were dressed in outfits that reflected each other’s colors.

“Pink…”

The prince was wearing Neiny’s color. It seemed that going all out in pink was a bit much, so he had opted for touches of pink in the sleeves and collar. The embroidery on his cape used threads mixed with a hint of pink, showing his effort. Overall, he leaned more towards Neiny’s green eyes, giving a predominantly green appearance.

“Captain, you shouldn’t laugh.”

My cheeks were twitching uncontrollably. Huh? Am I the only one finding this amusing?

Neiny wore a luxurious outfit in the deep blue color of the prince, adorned with lavish gold embroidery.

“I wish he had gone all out in pink.”

What a pity.

“Please stop imagining that.”

Al scolded me.

The dance between Crown Prince Narish and Neiny was a graceful performance, perfectly executed. The prince was quite skilled at dancing, likely adjusting to Neiny’s level.

Last year, I had been the debutante. I had danced in the same Suishoukan, filled with excitement and nerves. As an Omega, I could only attend the ball at the age of sixteen, just like the young ladies, marking my debut.

I felt proud and happy that my first dance had been with the crown prince, reminiscing about all the practice I had put in.

As Narish and Neiny’s dance neared its conclusion, I clapped along with the others, relieved that it had gone well.

“……Last year’s debutante didn’t finish the dance, did they?”

Al whispered to me.

“Huh? No, they didn’t. Wait, how do you know? Has it become a famous story?”

“No, it was in the game…”

Al mentioned it was because of the game.

Right, my debut had been interrupted last year. It had started off well, but then I was disturbed midway.

An Omega male with pink hair had collapsed, crying that his heat had begun. He claimed that the suppressants he had taken since morning weren’t working, and he was shouting that the pheromones wouldn’t stop.

I was the one who wanted to shout.

I had been so angry that I slapped his cheek and yelled, “Then don’t come!”

Only to find out that it had been Neiny.

“Was that in the game?”

“Yes, collapsing there and being cared for by a target is an event. You have to collapse near the target you want to pursue, but if you use points, you can dance the first dance with the crown prince.”

What’s that!? And points!?

“What are points?”

According to Al, points are rewards for completing events or mini-games. You can accumulate points to increase intimacy with your target or trigger love events to obtain voice-acted videos.

“You were happily collecting them too, Captain.”

I was?

Neiny, who had interrupted my first dance last year, later appeared being cared for by the son of the prime minister, claiming the suppressants had worked, and went to apologize to Crown Prince Narish, saying she wanted to dance with him for her first dance at the debutante ball.

Neiny had pressed her cheek, still red from my slap, and tearfully pleaded that no one would dance with her with such a cheek. I remembered being furious, thinking she should just dance with the prime minister’s son who had helped her.

My debut had ended in utter disaster.

“Huh? So Neiny is using points? Isn’t that a game setting?”

“Exactly.”

Al had been brought to last year’s debutante by his father. He had seen me slap Neiny and was convinced that things were unfolding just like in the game. When he saw Neiny dance with the crown prince, he began to question things. The fact that events triggered by points were happening in reality made him wonder if Neiny knew the game’s content or was actually a player herself.

“Is Neiny also a reincarnator?”

As I murmured this, Al looked at me with a pleased expression.

“Until you appeared, I was worried that I might be trapped in the game’s world, living only according to its rules. I feared what would happen if this wasn’t reality but a game someone was playing.”

Al spoke softly.

What if this were a game someone was controlling? No matter how differently I tried to live, I would have no freedom, bound to live only according to the game’s script?

Moreover, if it were a game, I might have to repeat it over and over again…

“That sounds very painful.”

Until I appeared, Al had been fighting that anxiety alone.

“When did you first gain your memories?”

“From the very beginning.”

“I see… I was lucky to meet you right away.”

“Is that so? Then I hope I’ve repaid you a little.”

Of course, I smiled. Al returned my smile in kind.

Unbeknownst to us, there were people watching from a distance.

As the royal dance concluded, the main stars of the evening stepped forward to dance. They would dance with their partners, either family or a few fiancés.

Duke Nobizel, the eldest son of the Nobizel family, was dancing his first dance with his younger brother Noatuna, but his attention was drawn to Oryuga, the youngest, who was in his line of sight.

“Grinding your teeth won’t make the sound reach them, you know?”

Noatuna admonished his brother in exasperation.

Though their dance continued elegantly, their gazes were fixed on the two laughing joyfully by the wall.

“W-wait, could it be that Oryuga is in love with that kid?”

In a low whisper, Noatuna expressed disbelief, “He’s only four years younger than you, right?” The son of Marquis Izeal Roydenatel was the same age as Noatuna. Oryuga was only one year older than him. It seemed entirely reasonable.

“Don’t interfere, okay?”

Knowing firsthand how much his brother doted on Oryuga, I decided to side with him and stopped Bizet. Oryuga was still in the running as a candidate for Crown Prince Narish’s fiancée. After their dance ended, Narish would likely invite the fiancée candidates one by one to dance, meaning Oryuga would dance with the prince before Izeal.

Since Noatuna was not a candidate for engagement, he wouldn’t have the chance to dance with Narish today. After all, there were six other candidates besides Neiny.

If Oryuga were to become engaged to Izeal, he would be removed from the list of candidates for Narish’s fiancée, allowing Noatuna, as an Omega, to become a candidate. That was the plan Noatuna had in mind.

And both the eldest and second brothers were well aware of this.

“Noatuna, I wouldn’t recommend that.”

Before he could say anything, Narish had already dismissed the idea, causing Noatuna to puff up his cheeks in frustration.