Chapter 377
Magi Craft Meister 372
A Tiresome Party
The hall where the wedding banquet for Reinhart and Belche is being held overflows with life and joy .
Reinhart’s brother, Leonhart, is the family’s representative on the groom’s side . The same role is being fulfilled on the bride’s side by Belche’s brother, Matheus .
After they delivered their short but heartfelt speeches, the groom and bride begin serving all attendees .
Both Reinhart and Belche are pouring wine into the gla.s.ses of all of the guests .
After almost thirty gla.s.ses were filled, a toast is called for .
“Let’s make a toast to the future of these two promising young ones!”
Reinhart’s father, Wolfgang, raises his gla.s.s and after saying such words, drinks it up in one gulp .
After that, the room turns into chatter . Even though there are chairs prepared for the guests, this is basically a standing buffet party .
Jin and Saki are standing next to a wall, since they’re not that good at dealing with that kind of noise anyway .
“Now Reinhart is a feudal lord, huh?”
Saki murmurs that as she takes off her gla.s.ses and absentmindedly looks around the room .
“Ah, that’s right . What will our diplomat do now?”
“Lady Belche… No, his wife is a very reliable person, so even in his absence she’s more than fit for an official role . ”
Saki says things like ‘Belche has a good sense of economy’ and ‘She’ll take good care of him’ with a smile on her face .
“… I’m definitely no match for her, huh?”
After saying those words, a trickle of tears found their way out of the smiling Saki’s eyes .
“… Ah…?””
Saki hurriedly wipes herself off with the back of her hand .
“It’s weird, huh… And I had put my feelings in order…”
Her tears continue to spill over and over, no matter how much she wipes herself clean . Seeing that, Jin thinks to himself ‘I knew it’ .
So, Jin takes Saki outside of the room from a side door while n.o.body is watching .
“… You still think of Reinhart, don’t you?”
“… Yeah… It looks like that . Jin… I’m sorry… that you have to see me like this . ”
Saki’s voice breaks as she speaks, tears still rolling down her eyes .
“That doesn’t bother me at all . But don’t let Reinhart or Belche see you like this . ”
“Hmph, I know that . If they see me like this, I would have been putting up with this for nothing… Only you and Elsa are the ones who know about my feelings . ”
“Huh?”
Jin is surprised to hear Elsa’s name .
“A long time ago, I talked about my feelings with Elsa . I think she was 12 or 13 years old at the time . ”
Saki’s eyes look distant, as if reminiscing the past .
“Back then, I only needed to take it out of my chest with someone . Elsa listened to me without saying a word . Well, maybe that was because she was still too young and probably didn’t know what to tell me, but still . ”
Jin nods, agreeing with Saki that that is the most likely scenario .
“I’d like to see her again someday . ”
Saki’s tears finally stop, and with her smile back on her face, the two of them go back to the main room .
“Ah, Saki, I’ve been looking for you!”
The woman in front of us is about as tall as Saki, maybe a little shorter . Platinum blonde hair with grey eyes, and a lean figure .
“Oh, Aunt Karen . ”
“It’s rare to see you accompanied by a man other than Reinhart . And he looks like he’s from the Egrea Kingdom . Will you introduce us?”
Said the woman while eyeing Jin .
“Ah, this is Jin Nidou, he’s a close friend of Reinhart . As you can see, he’s the Honorary Magi Craftsman”
“I’m Jin Nidou . ”
Jin nods lightly .
“Jin, this is my aunt…”
“Karen Theoderic Von Banarth . Nice to meet you . ”
Saki’s aunt introduces herself in the middle of Saki’s introduction . Jin thinks that she might be a little impatient .
“And Saki, stop calling me ‘aunt’ . ”
“Ho ho! Got it, Karen . ”
“See, that’s much better . And I see that you haven’t changed that weird way of laughing of yours . Even though Father, your grandfather, told you to take care of it…”
“Hmph! But this is like a bad habit of mine . It’s not something I can easily get rid of . ”
“Good grief, you’re helpless . ”
Karen sighs as she says that, and turns to Jin .
“Jin, you probably already know this, but I’m the youngest daughter, and Saki is the daughter of my eldest sister . That’s why even though I’m her aunt, I’m actually younger than her . ”
Karen begins to talk about it even though no one has asked her . Jin thinks that this may be yet another aspect of her personality that she cannot hide .
According to her, Saki’s mother – Shirley Theoderic Von Morley – left the marquis and ran off with Toa Eschenbach when she was 15 years old . The marquis himself was 16 at the time . Saki was born a year later . Two years after that, Saki’s mother pa.s.sed away at age 18 .
On the other hand, Karen’s mother is Emma, the marquis’ fourth wife . According to Karen, the marquis has been single ever since Emma too pa.s.sed away back when Karen was 12 .
Jin feels a little bored about being told so many unwanted details about the family’s affairs .
At that moment, Reinhart and Belche appear .
“Hey, Jin, Saki . Thanks for being here today . Oh, you’re with Karen too?”
Reinhart seems to know Karen from before .
“Thank you, Reinhart, Belche . You two look so happy . ”
“You seem to be doing great too, Karen . How is the marquis doing these days?”
This is a standard greeting between the two of them, but Karen frowns a little .
“Hmm, I’ve been a little worried that he might not be doing so well, he’s been losing some weight… His mood is not as good either these days . ”
“Did something happen?”