Chapter 22 - Ballroom of Madness (1)
[Deilos, Son of Demon Lord Dantalion, Young Lord]
[Demon Territory, De Gracia—Boutique]
The wardrobe in front of me was intimidating to look at.
Inside it were many elaborate clothes stacked on each other like some hay bales gathered from 10 hectares of wheat. I was honestly impressed by the variety of clothes.
I’ve already seen an absurd amount of clothes in the guest mansion, but not to this degree and sophistry. If the clothes in the guest mansion were clothes that you wouldn’t normally see, something prestigious, then these were the clothes you wouldn’t even think would be possible to be made by a sane person.
I skimmed through the racks of clothes, which made me question whether a crazed artisan or asylum escapees made them. A formal suit made of animal skin that seemed to be from an alligator with its head attached like a hoodie, a fur jacket riddled with teeth, a pink cloak with a patterned design with differently colored feathers that intertwined resembling a peacock’s, and so on.
If there was something relatively new I was discovering now, then it was this.
“Hmmm...... this should do.”
The ones I chose were rather simple among the sea of unorthodox clothing: a white long-sleeved shirt with black cuffs and lining around its neck area, paired with a black tuxedo jacket and tight black pants. Looking at myself in a mirror, I could compare myself to the noblemen around the 1800s wearing these. I could imitate Napoleon Bonaparte, though, without the medals and epaulettes.
I looked around to see where Scylla might have run off.
It was quite silent in the boutique, with only a few people at the other end talking in whispers to each other. All I could really pick up on was the smell of fabric and dust in the corners.
Scylla had recommended this boutique to me yesterday and introduced me to the clerk. Surprisingly, she and the clerk of this establishment were somewhat close to each other. I was even taken aback when she greeted Scylla with a warm welcome.
Other than Pelica and me, there were no other people I saw who talked to her in such a way. Being a half-breed, treated like an outcast, and always getting scorned, it was refreshing to see her be treated like this. I felt proud that my lovely maid was not an antisocial person but someone far more normal when looking past her impassive face.
I wandered the boutique for a short while before ultimately going back to where I started.
When I returned, somebody was already there. That certain someone had light blue hair and wore a maid outfit. They turned their head in every direction as if scanning the area for predators until they spotted me.
“Young lord.”
The light blue-haired person spoke.
“Why weren’t you here? I’ve told you to stay there, haven’t I?”
“Is it wrong to stroll around?”
“That was not the point, young lord. I—”
“You abandoned me.”
I cut her off.
“Since it was taking a while, I was worried that Scylla had dropped me off here and left me to fend for myself. I was here, thinking, paranoid about that simple fact. During my contemplation, I thought of ways to survive such abandonment. Imagining it, living it. An agonizing life is what’s before me the moment the thought comes to mind. Within that imagined reality of mine, I was always living on the edge. May it be scavenging for scraps of food, eating raw mice, stealing bread, or eventually prostitution.”
“......”
“Ahhh...... pitiable me. To think I would have such a fate. It is a fate that is truly haunting. As such, there was only one conclusion that I came to......”
I took one of the long-sleeved shirts that’s been on the racks and tied it to resemble a noose.
“......suicide.”
She looked at me with an unamused face.
“Young lord, please cut the jokes.”
“I wasn’t joking, you know.”
“......”
In all honesty, what came out of my mouth was something as natural as breathing. It might be my sleep deprivation in the past few days that’s been taking such a huge toll on my mind. Whether it’s looking into all the bullshit that’s happening around me or what’s going to happen tonight, all of it was making my head fuzzy, keeping me from being able to communicate like a normal person. Is this just a simple notion of me going insane? Well, I was tortured till I couldn’t even sleep. Now I’m not able to sleep due to people being dicks to each other, forcing me to keep an eye out for someone who would possibly stab a knife in my back. In other words, another form of torture. This world truly does have a problem, and I’m caught in the middle of that said problem. I want to kill myself.
After some time analyzing what in the world the words that came out of my mouth were, Scylla placed her left hand on her forehead and sighed deeply.
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“Here’s the list of the possible partners the young lord could be acquainted with for his ballroom dance.”
The partners......
When Scylla noticed me getting silent, she walked toward me and handed me the paper she was holding gracefully.
The contents inside the paper were written in demon language.
Scylla pointed to the first name on the list.
“She is Llemaprahias, a serpentine from the estate of Demon Lord Sitri. Known for her beautiful scales, she is the daughter of the Serpentine House of Nobles in the Northern Domain of the Demon Territory......”
She pointed to another one.
“Yllyuvir of the Blue Wolf Tribe. She is from the estate of Demon Lord Glasya-Labolas, and a close ally to the Eastern Faction of Demon Lords......”
There were plenty of nobles on the list, serpentine to beast-kin, lesser demons to even other Demon Lord heirs. All of them were described in perfect detail, where Scylla would break down their statuses, alliances, and which factions or estates they were part of.
Scylla had pointed and described them for a long while as I blankly stared at the paper, thinking. These were my choices as dance partners. I didn’t give one care about them. No matter how grand their titles were, all I could feel was nothing but a strange sense of disgust.
“......Faklaane, a noble and a high-ranking merchant of the Euryphaessa Fi—”
“Stop.”
When I finally opened my mouth, Scylla froze.
“Let’s take a small break. This is making my head spin. Aren’t I supposed to only pick one? Why are there so many?”
“It is normal to choose from a wide array of partners, young lord. This list is a compilation where a noble would post their name to the list of partners, and that list would get passed down to other nobles. Finding a partner during a ball is made easier this way than going to the said partner’s place to do a formal proposal, making the selection less of a hassle. That much is common for nobles.”
Basically, it’s the same as selling out your body. I could feel my stomach churn.
“Hah...... maybe I should go to the ball alone. That’s a better option than going with a complete stranger.”
“Young lord, hadn’t I already warned you of the consequences of not conforming to the noble customs? Although I respect that the young lord finds his joy in being a freeman, it is quite concerning that his actions might make him face an unexpected consequence in the future.”
I really couldn’t be bothered. To pick a partner in such a whorish way wasn’t my cup of tea. It feels as if they are merely names on a paper and not people at all. Isn’t the reason for a ball to attend with a person you’re interested in and dance with them?
Where’s the beauty in this? This disgusts me the more I think about it. I folded the paper before I lost the last sanity my mind had in store.
“Young lord......”
“I know.”
Scylla looked at me worriedly.
“Is going alone really that much of a problem?”
“While it is not problematic, one would get scrutiny because of it.”
I tapped my left index finger on my shoulder.
“Alright, I’ll pick a partner.”
Scylla’s expression softened for a quick second before going back to the usual.
“Then would the young lord like to have some suggestions? Then it is recommended that—”
“No, not from the list.”
“Pardon?”
“I’ll be taking you.”
“......”
“Now that’s settled, what clothes do you want to wear? I brought some extra money with me, just in case. Hmm...... this dress looks nice, don’t you think? It has a nice frill to it, similar to gothic dolls. Do you want to try it out?”
I looked through the wardrobe as Scylla stood by my side without a word. She looked at me with a blank expression.
“What’s wrong? Is it not to your liking?”
“Did I hear it correctly? Surely the young lord is joking again.”
“About what?”
“Taking this one to the ball.”
She stared at me without losing eye contact.
“Why would I joke about that?”
“I, no, this one—”
“Didn’t I already say to cut the honorific when talking to me? C’mon, pick. There’s this one too. It has a lighter color that compliments your hair. A goth outfit or a cute sundress...... Now I want to see you dressed up in both. Seeing you out of your regular maid outfit is something I hadn’t seen before.”
“Young lord, please reconsider—”
“Oh, that reminds me. Where’s Pelica? Didn’t she say she would come?”
“She said she had a business to attend to, and she’ll arrive when the event opens. No, rather, young lord, please stop disregarding this one and tell this one that the young lord is not truly planning to bring her to the dance.”
“I am.”
I smiled at her.
“This one objects.”
“Let’s look at the problem at hand, shall we? I’m asking again, choose or you’ll be the one to pay for it. This, or this? Or should we look for more? I saw some more gowns and dresses in that aisle when I wandered around.”
“Does the young lord not have a plan to change his mind? This one fears what the young lord might do in the future.”
“So you’re not objecting? Good. There’s also a selection of formal attire there. We should check them out, too.”
“This one...... I had not agreed......”
“How about this black one? Both of us having a matching color is a nice touch.”
“Young lord.”
“What is it this time? Is it too windy for you? I get it. Maybe something that covers you up more.”
“......”
Scylla sighed deeply again.
How many times had she sighed today? Was it the third time? If something’s been stressing her out, then she could have said something to me. Nonetheless, I’m not too keen on dealing with women. I’ll leave that concern to herself. It’s better to not meddle with someone, especially someone’s stress. Besides, I’ve already made her my partner for the ball, so there’s no need to stress her out further.
Scylla protested for a while before she reluctantly picked up the goth outfit I had picked out for her and tried it on.
It seems like it’s going to be an interesting night.
. . .
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