In response to a reader's request, I'll now be using quotes "…" for dialogues(And here I thought it was a good idea to use these 「 」)

Thank you for reading.

*****

"Attention, everyone! His excellency, Lord Cro Galroe is entering!" Shouted the same announcer.

(He must be one of the organizers for this ball, his eye bugs are so deep. He has it tough.)

The moment he announced it, the huge door on the upper stage opened, revealing a tall yet fat old man and a small figure just right beside him.

Everybody in the hall stiffened in response. After several seconds, the silence was broken by one of the nobles with his loud claps everyone then followed in response.

(A follower? Seeing how bright his sinister smile is, he must be a follower.)

Soon after, that said old man raised his left hand, signaling everybody to stay quiet.

(Appraisal goes brrrr…)

:Name:Cro Galroe

:Race:Human(?)

:Level:29

:Age:40 years

:Stats:

STR:38

AGI:26

DEX:9

INT:55

LUK:--

VIT: 26

Total stats:154

:SKILLS:

Tier 2 Magic, Body Reinforcement 2(+2% All physical related stats), Magic Control 3, Swordsmanship 2, Trickery 5, Swindling 4, Ballroom Etiquette 5

:Attributes:

Fire: 25/100

Earth: 68/100

:Titles:

[Former Marquis]⟩Stripped of all authority and power as a nobility

[Fallen Hero]⟩All combat-related skills -5 levels, combat-oriented skills' progress will be blocked

[Cruel Sadist]⟩User's presence is given a negative feeling

[Manipulative]⟩User's words will be thrice influencing

(…as for that little boy…)

:Name: Laor Galroe (Mind: Broken)

:Race:Human

:Level:2

:Age:12 years

:Stats:

STR:3

AGI:3

DEX:4

INT:9

LUK:-4

VIT: 2

Total stats:17

:SKILLS:

[Spearmanship 1], [Magic control 2]

:Attributes:

Fire: 75/100

:Earth: 80/100

:Titles:

[Marquis]⟩A high rank inherited from the former Marquis, all authorities of a Marquis is now granted within the Alphore Kingdom

(Makes sense. That child is a mere puppet of the former Marquis. Though I wonder how he ended up with a broken mind.)

"I thank everyone for responding to my invitation and attending this party that I've prepared for my son, Laor." Said the old man then patted the boy right beside him," "Greet" he said under his breath.

(Such convenient hearing.)

The said boy then stepped forward, bowed, and then greeted before stepping back again. In the plainest way.

Yet the crowd clapped enthusiastically as if he was some angel.

"He's so cute…!"

"I want to spoil him…"

"The bastard… I want a child as adorable as him..!"

Such praises can be heard everywhere. Confusing Celes more. She then glanced beside her to check on the girls but ended up finding a blushing bunch and a nose-bleeding Cess.

(What's going on here? Are these guys seeing the different things that I'm seeing?)

'Mr. Reg' She then reached out for Reg.

'Oh, you startled me! I'm guessing you're seeing this too?' He stated in reply.

'Yes. What do you think is going on?' Celes asked.

'Must be an illusion. I have an innate resistance to Mind magic, so I'm not affected,' He then replied.

'I see, let me try something, hold on.' Celes halted.

The two talked while the Marquis announced the start of the party, and most nobles danced to the song with their partners, while commoners talked and ate together.

Celes then proceeded to use the magic vision of :Magic Manipulation: to see what was happening. Only to end up sensing a dense amount of mana, especially around the kid Laor and the previous announcer.

(How was I unable to sense all this magic? No, more importantly.)

'That announcer, Mr. Reg. He's using mind magic.' Celes reported to Reg.

'I see, I can't sense it at all, maybe you can with your :Magic Manipulation:. They maybe want to keep a clean face in front of all these nobles. If that's the only desire of Galroe, then we shouldn't do anything involving it. Remember not to stand out.' Reg ended the conversation.

'Got it.' Celes responded.

(Now then, since we're not dealing with it, I'll just try not to stand out as much as possible. I have to keep the girls safe per Mr. Eloc's orders after all.)

"You came, Amy!" And so she heard a voice that ruined her plan of not standing out.

"I sure did, Lord Laor!" Amy replied to the boy.

The two chatted while the others just watched them with an envious look in their eyes.

Their group now stood out like a sore thumb.

(I guess there goes my cover. Mr. Reg also has a sour look on his face… wait, that kid should be Broken right now, what's…)

:Name: Laor Galroe (Lovestruck)

(I see… it seems like even the Marquis can't do anything about a love fool. But now we're noticed by everyone.)

The girls chatted after a few minutes, Celes then…

"Can I have this dance, milady?" One of the younger nobles offered Celes a dance.

(Well, Celes is indeed cute so that's a given.) The girls thought like it was the most natural thing in the world.

"You go, girl! Just enjoy it!" Kaith Said to Celes, with the full support of the other girls.

(I guess it can't be helped.)

Celes then took the hand of the young man and was led onto the open area by the young man.

The two danced elegantly, even the others made space for the beautiful pair.

(And with this, the whole "not standing out" plan is busted. Mr. Reg has been sighing real hard whenever the nobles get heated up while watching the two of us dance.)

'Celes…' Reg contacted, just to receive no response from Celes.

A few minutes passed and the dance came to an end.

"Thank you for that wonderful experience, milady! I hope that I don't offend you but, may I ask of your name?" The young man then bowed once again to Celes, alerting some of the nobles around.

(Nope, any more than this is seriously dangerous. I don't know if the Marquis was in that hall when I had my incident with the royal family but, he was watching us so intently. This might bring trouble to Mr. Eloc and the girls.)

"Lord, you need not the name of a mere commoner. You should socialize with your same league." The young man was saddened, while the alerted nobles had a relieved sigh from Celes' words.

"I see…" he responded in utter disappointment.

Celturned around and returned to the group after a bow for the young man.

***Cro Galroe's POV***

This goes back to when Laor approached Amy.

(That annoying thing. He managed to break out of his broken state and is now love-crazed, you say? Are you mocking me?! … Even if I raged over it, the reports won't change.)

The Marquis took a sip of his luxury wine from his golden cup.

(Doesn't matter, I can just use that woman. They're all little girls anyways, breaking their minds will be easy.)

The Marquis ate away at his steak as he thought of how he will torture those little girls in front of his son when suddenly a noble child asked one of the said girls to have a dance.

He noticed that the nobles were mesmerized by the pair dancing in the middle of the room. The little girl is indeed beautiful and her dancing is so clean and flawless as if she is a river flowing peacefully and elegantly.

The dance ended and everyone gave their applause for the pair.

Though the Marquis' attention was captivated by another reason. She's strong, he thought.

(There's no doubt. My experiences on the battlefields tell me not to mess with her. Even with that, a thin layer of mana is enveloping her body at all times. What is it for? Defense? No, doing that will cost so much mana, if that's the case doesn't that mean that she has so much!?…)

(… I've decided. I want her. I'll get her under me no matter what…) The Marquis reached his conclusion and immediately pumped his brain and thought of ways to get the girl under his command.

The Marquis stood and walked down the stairs, alerting all the nobles, especially Reg.

The Marquis approached the little girl, no he wasn't sure anymore if she was a little girl. The way she moves, her every movement is so sharp as if she's been training her whole life.

After the Marquis got in front of her, the young lady bowed and asked, "What can I do for you, my Lord?" to which the Marquis smiled off.

"I'll be blunt, I want you to serve under me. I'll be more delighted if you were to marry my son." The Marquis' first plan is to ask her and show her kindness. One doesn't want a man with no loyalty under them at all costs after all.

This alerted Reg and the nobles even more, and the Marquis' son is trembling on the side of his father after his name was mentioned.

But the words that came out of the young lady's mouth were within his expectations.

"I deeply apologize but, I do not wish to be under anyone. Even as a maid, I am not fit to be your servant, good Lord. Please choose someone more befitting of you." The young lady bowed and refused.

It made the nobles sigh with relief as if they also want her.

***Celeste's POV***

'Mr. Reg, I just caught the attention of the most troublesome. What now?'

…

'Mr. Reg?'

Celes glanced in Reg's direction only to lay her eyes on a man staring at his wine.

(No use, if only this Marquis will just go away after I refused him…)

"No no no, I think you're a perfect fit, young lady. What's more, shouldn't you be grateful?" The follower joined in after he stared at the situation for a while.

"A commoner getting to marry my Lord's dear son, shouldn't you be happier?" He continued.

(Any more than this is not good, we should leave now.)

"I most sincerely apologize, but I still think of myself unworthy," Celes said.

'Girls, we're leaving. This isn't good.' She said to the girls through the hairpins.

'Huh, why? The event is not even halfway through! I still wanna talk with Lord Laor!' Amy complained.

'It's because I said so, Amy. It's my responsibility to keep you safe, and I'll prioritize your safety more than your feelings. Please understand.' Celes explained to Amy.

'Just do what she says, Amy. I'm sure Celes has a good reason,' Kaith followed.

"Fine…" Amy said under her breath.

"Well then, we'll be leaving now, please excuse us." Celes gave one last bow and turned around to go with the girls.

"I see, well that's unfortunate. Let's go, my son." The Marquis said. "Ah… yes, father." said the poor boy.

:Name: Laor Galroe (Mind: Confused>Broken)

Though the Marquis kept a warm smile, he is slightly mad inside.

(Doesn't matter. I'll just use force, if persuasion and kind words will not work.) The Marquis thought before signaling his follower to follow him.

*****

After the girls got back to the restaurant. Reg followed.

"You certainly caught the attention of a great one, didn't you." Reg sighed hard after talking.

"Yes, but enough of that. What's done is done, I'll just deal with it properly."

"What's wrong? Isn't it good that you got an invitation from the Marquis? They say that your life is set if you got to serve a high-ranking noble." Said Cess.

"That is true, Cess. But that only applies to proper and good nobles." Celes explained.

"Why? Marquis Garoe is one of the greatest nobles here in the Alphore Kingdom, you know? He was even the hero on the battlefield against the empire when he was in his prime. The king praised him for that. He had indeed done some troublesome things, but it isn't on the level that the king can't ignore," Said Eloc.

"Appraisal. You should understand already with just that word."

"SIGH I don't know anymore, that problem is yours to deal with, Celes. I'm not helping." Reg stated before leaving.

"Well, that's to be expected. We're not acquittances in their eyes after all. If you were to help me, then that will put you and your business in a bad position."

"Thank you for understanding," Reg said before closing the door.

"Now. You girls are in the middle of all this," Celes pointed out to the girls.

"And what do you mean by that, Celes? Girls, get back to the dining hall, for now, Cole you stay here," Eloc asked in an obvious change of tone.

"Got it," Cole said after letting the girls out of the locker room.

"Now, please explain, Celes," Eloc sat in front of Celes and continued.

"What is it that the girls have to look out for, and what did you see with your appraisal?" Eloc asked of Celes.

(He sure cares about his workers. I guess that doesn't apply to me yet. Well then…)

"Nn, I got it," Celes confirmed.

*****