Encounter with James
‘Miss, what is your name? I have
been watching you for a while and you don’t seem to be interested in the Duke
at all. How come? You’re the only one, you know; the only woman not trying to
attract Duke Magnaria.’ (Zuben: Das special snowflake, ya)
Ah...so I was noticed.
‘Well, that is because I am not
interested in the Duke.’
‘So there are such women? I had
thought that all women would be aiming for the Duke’s attention. He has good looks.
He’s wealthy and has honours.’
‘I would prefer a man who loves me
as I am. I would prefer a man who is sincere and never lies.’ (Zuben: Ah dreams, can they come true?)
He laughed, ‘You’re amusing. May I
have a dance? I would like to chat with you more.’
He held his hand out to me. I had no
reason to refuse, so I placed my hand in his. Perhaps, he was my destined one. When we
reached the dance floor, we assumed the waltz and began to dance. Surprisingly,
he danced very well and was a good lead. His feet moved lightly.
‘Duke Magnaria seems to have picked
a three of the young ladies to dance with tonight,’ he said, ‘Lady Isabel
Bourbon, Lady Muriel Hilsalm and the Honorable Helmina Quesel. Although, there
haven’t been any rumours with him and these ladies, do you think the Duke will really decide who he is going to marry amongst them?’
‘It is strange…’ I replied vaguely, what I found
strange was this selection. I had attended a tea party given by Lady Muriel
after my arrival in the kingdom. I wasn’t close to her but I noted her
appearance is very neat and clean. She and Lady Isabelle were close friends,
but their admirers divided the ladies of nobility into two camps because their
families were of equal status. In contrast, the Quesel house is not so famous;
they were lower aristocratic family rather like mine. I don’t know what Helmina
looks like but she was an inconsistent choice. Moreover, it was strange for an
elite man who was said to know his way with women to be choosing a woman to marry
in such a way.
But these three women are very
different. Despite thinking it over, I could not understand his
choice.
‘What do you find strange?’ the
gentleman asked. I turned to him; eyes the colour of the clear sea were very
close to mine. My ruminations were interrupted. I had forgotten I was dancing
with a gentleman I did not know and had not been introduced to. Although he had
a good looking face, I felt crowded for a moment.
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‘I believe that the Duke Magnaria
does not intend to marry anyone of those women. He would not want to be bound
by a single woman.’
‘That is interesting. Do you think that
the Duke will overturn the purpose of this ball and not choose a bride? This
grand ball has been created by His Majesty; if he does not choose a bride, he
might lose favour with his Majesty.’
‘So that is why there is a
selection. The Duke Magnaria is a real schemer. The rumour that he works for
the Crown as a tactician must be true. By the way, you haven’t introduced
yourself.’
The gentleman wanted to say
something but stopped, I thought it was because the dance was over. The
orchestra readied for the next piece and he asked for my hand again, so I took
it. When the orchestra began, we started to dance again. But the man drew me
close to him, holding my waist he whispered in my ear,
‘My name is James Nascaria. What is
your name?’
Since I was drawn to him so
suddenly, my heartbeat thud in my chest. I replied with a calm that I certainly
was not feeling, I resented my lack of immunity to handsome men
‘I am Miss Julia Hermiata, daughter of
Viscount Hermiata.’
Nascaria was not a name I had heard
much of, was he a nobleman? (Zuben: Don’t they have a Debretts in your land)
His hands were clean and manicured so he was not a soldier. A merchant? But
there are no ink stains. If he was a merchant rich enough to be invited to a
royal ball, I would know of him. So, was it a pseudonym? Perhaps he was aiming
to fool a simple country girl and play games; I should be careful.
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‘You’re interesting, Julia. I like
you. I can love you for you, Julia.’ James said.
Wow, so absurd. I can’t believe he
just said with a straight face to a person he just met.
‘Pardon me sir, but you forgot “a
man who is sincere and not a liar”. So I shall excuse myself after this dance.
I don’t wish to waste my time.’
But the music had begun, and the
dance had started but there will be no third time. Devoting my limited time to
a strange man who is not my destined one is annoying. (Zuben: These Japanese
writers really do love this ‘destined one’ malarkey) As soon as the dance was
over, I made an attempt to leave, but I was drawn back by my arm. I opened my
mouth prepared to remind him of proper etiquette, but James said,
‘Shall we go and meet the Duke
Magnaria? I would like to see if things will happen as Julia predicts. That is,
if he can do it - because he is the ultimate misogynist.’ (Zuben: What an
annoying character – not the Duke, this James person)
Huh…? I had heard he was a
consummate womaniser.
James noticed my skeptical
expression and laughed.
‘Well, he is womaniser but he is
also very distrustful of women especially when it comes to marrying them. It
could be said he hates women in general. This time…I had thought he had a plan
too.’
Is that it? Well, even if he hates
women, he seems to the type that was a slave to his desires; the worst kind of man.
I’m glad I did not get chosen by the Duke. (Zuben: One of these days, there
would a character with a ‘wait and see’ attitude instead of jumping to
conclusions)
‘Do you know the Duke personally?’ I
asked James.
‘I will reply that with “no comment”,
because you have a sharp intuition.’
[Hate]…would
it be troublesome if I say I don’t want to go? True I would be letting go of a true
gentleman here, but I wanted to find my fated man, and get along with him well.
But then, I also want to know the true identity of this James Nascaria person.
So I went about the ball while
holding hands with James. He searched through the various rooms without
hesitation, I wondered if he was familiar with the castle. I got confused
further.
It was impossible for a merchant to
know this much about the castle layout, and it appears that he has also met the
Duke Magnaria. Who the hell was this person?
As all these questions crowded my
brain, we could not find the Duke.
‘Where has the Duke gone? He should
have finished dancing with the girls. He probably is hiding in a room with one
of them, but the chosen woman has to be finalized.’
Perhaps. But my suspicion was that
the Duke will hide himself somewhere and wait for the time to arrive.
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‘Mr Nascaria, I am going to find
Helmina. If things have developed as expected she might be in trouble…’ I
wildly pulled my hand from his and ran round a corner. I hid behind a large pillar so that he may not chase me. I did not have a good feeling about this
man. That might be because my expectations might be off.
I could not shake the sense of
foreboding. After leaving James, I went to search from the most likely place.
It would not be the rest room because anybody could enter at any moment; it would be a rest
area or a secluded terrace near a garden that didn’t see much traffic.
Thank you for taking up this novel ^^
ReplyDeletethanks for the chapter!
ReplyDeleteThank you for Tling this novel as always i like your comments
ReplyDeleteThank you for continuing this story!! :)
ReplyDeleteThank you for picking up the novel
ReplyDeleteJames Nascaria...Duke Magnaria. hmmm seems really close... I had hoped that the black haired spy would be the duke but I think that he wasn't sharp enough to be the duke. I think James is the duke, but wouldn't it be great if the spy was being force to act as the duke by james?
ReplyDeleteJames Nascaria is obviously a racing driver, i.e. James of NASCAR. lol
ReplyDeleteThank you for picking this up. I already like the MC so much.lol
ReplyDeleteSpecial snowflake🤣🤣🤣 top comment
ReplyDeleteThank you for translation.