CHAPTER 097
As soon as Lady Redmond finished speaking, the door to the banquet hall opened.
And the person who walked in was really Philip!
"The Crown Prince is attending this event?" Bella muttered in surprise.
Charlotte was equally astonished, her eyes wide open.
There hadn't been any mention of the Crown Prince attending this birthday party.
We weren't particularly close, so how did this happen?
The other nobles present were also staring at Philip in shock.
Philip was the only one unaffected by their gazes.
"It seems I've surprised everyone by coming."
Yes...
I nodded inwardly.
Since when did Philip start attending the birthday parties of Count's daughters?
"The Redmond family is an important business partner of the royal family. Since it happened to be Lady Redmond's birthday, I came to celebrate in person."
Ah, that's it.
Come to think of it, I had heard that the Redmond family recently signed a mining development deal with the royal family.
As Philip scanned the crowd, his gaze rested briefly on our group.
It didn't last long. After a brief nod, he looked away.
I was a bit nervous seeing him for the first time since rejecting his overtures, but it was all for nothing.
After Philip's arrival, some time passed.
I mingled with Bella, Charlotte, and other young ladies.
Philip remained notably close to Lady Redmond.
Or rather, it was more accurate to say Lady Redmond was constantly by his side.
Considering Philip was the one initiating conversations with other nobles.
"Lady Haas almost got a boyfriend?"
"Not quite. It almost happened! If it had, I'd be so happy!"
Are they really just business partners, or is there something more?
While listening to the ladies' conversation, I kept glancing at Philip.
The words he once said to me kept nagging in my mind.
The benefits he mentioned about getting close to him were still lingering in my head.
Surely, he didn't approach Lady Redmond with the same intent, did he?
But Lady Redmond isn't one of Lewis's confidants, so what could Philip possibly gain from her?
"Why do you look so serious, Lady Elsner?"
"She's engrossed in my story! Imagine what it's like to almost have a boyfriend."
No, that's not it!
But my mouth moved on its own to match the situation.
"That's really unfortunate. I can empathize."
"See? Lady Elsner understands me so well."
"Haha..."
Maybe I was too lost in my own thoughts while hanging out.
I resolved to pay more attention to the ladies' conversation.
But then, the two people I was worried about approached us.
"Your Highness!"
The ladies were startled and greeted Philip.
Philip smiled and accepted their greetings.
"I see many familiar faces."
Of course. Many of the ladies invited by the Empress are here.
But it seemed like Philip wanted to talk to me. He looked at me with a smile.
What is it? Curious, I met his gaze, and Philip asked,
"The Marquis of Bloomberg is rejoining the temple investigation, isn't he?"
Ah, that?
It had already been officially announced by the temple, so it made sense that Philip knew.
"I thought we could find it first, but competing with the Tower Master makes me lose confidence."
"No, Your Highness might uncover it first."
Especially since Lewis doesn't seem to be very keen on investigating the magic circle!
It was more of a tactic to keep Philip in check.
On the other hand, Philip seemed genuinely interested in the magic circle investigation.
Lewis wanted to conclude the investigation after finding information suggesting it resembled a demon summoning circle.
He hadn't even shared that information with the priests.
Seeing how passive Lewis was, maybe Philip really could uncover the truth.
"It'll be a fair competition. I'm quite looking forward to it."
He smiled, looking forward to the future.
That competition, though, seems like something Lewis isn't interested in...
Philip, perhaps concluding our conversation, took my hand and kissed the back of it.
Unlike when Lewis did it, this felt purely like a formal greeting.
"Then, I'll see you next time with the Marquis."
With that, Philip left us.
He gave a slight, formal smile to Charlotte as well.
The birthday party ended three hours later.
Philip had left earlier, and I returned to the duchy with Bella in our carriage.
As soon as we entered the mansion, Michael greeted us.
"Did you have fun?"
"Yes, it was enjoyable today!"
Bella was right. It had been so peaceful it felt strange.
Meeting Philip had been surprisingly uneventful.
There was no way to know what was on Philip's mind.
* * *
Back at the Crown Prince's palace, Philip's aide approached him.
"Did you find out anything?"
"Yes."
"Did you sense anything?"
"No, nothing at all."
Philip frowned.
"I attended that event specifically to figure this out, but I sensed nothing."
Just as Selina had suspected.
Philip's attendance at Lady Redmond's birthday party was not just because of business ties with the count's family.
The pretense was to celebrate the birthday of a noble lady from an allied family, but there was another reason.
It was to verify the information that touching her reduced the noise.
He had wanted to invite Selina, but she would likely have refused, citing various reasons.
Even trying to arrange a meeting through the Duke of Cliff would have similar results.
So he involved Lady Redmond.
Someone with a decent relationship with Selina and who had a favorable view of him.
Of course, Lady Redmond was unaware of these circumstances.
He simply told her he wanted to talk briefly, and it was resolved.
"I hear you're planning a birthday party. May I attend?"
"Your Highness, you want to attend?"
He had already confirmed that Selina was planning to attend.
When he expressed his intention to attend, she immediately accepted his proposal.
"Then it would be an honor! Having Your Highness at my birthday party..."
She was both bewildered and thrilled.
Given Philip's tendency to avoid unnecessary entanglements with nobles, especially women, she was understandably surprised.
Except for Charlotte, he had shown no personal interest in anyone.
"Thank you for welcoming me."
Philip smiled brightly at her eagerness to host him.
She had previously looked at him with trembling eyes.
So he knew she would be welcoming.
At the party, Philip got his desired contact with Selina.
A simple attempt like kissing the back of her hand should have been enough to check.
But-
"The agent we placed in Croft's household suggested there might be something, but I felt nothing. Why?"
Philip felt no change at all.
Before Sir Shuster or his aide could offer any opinions, Philip muttered,
"Could it be that it only works with the Marquis?"
"If so, that would make sense."
Sir Shuster responded.
"So you think so too?"
Philip's face lit up with a smile.
This was certainly intriguing.
"If this could corner Lewis, even better."
Philip instructed his aide.
"Contact Lord Madden. I have something to discuss with him about this."
* * *
The next day, I went to the magic tower to meet Lewis.
"Marquis, guess who came to the party yesterday? The Crown Prince!"
I told Lewis about seeing Philip at the birthday party.
There was no need to worry about talking about the Crown Prince since it was just the two of us in Lewis's office.
Lewis frowned as soon as he heard about Philip.
"Why would the Crown Prince attend Lady Redmond's birthday party?"
"Something about a mining business? Apparently, the Redmond family is involved. He said the timing was perfect for a congratulatory visit."
But Lewis still looked skeptical.
"Would the Crown Prince really attend a count's daughter's birthday for that?"
"Uh..."
Yesterday, it seemed plausible because of their business ties, but is it really that suspicious?
Lewis's words made me reconsider the situation.
"Come to think of it, he stayed close to Lady Redmond all day, acting like they were very close."
"Are they close?"
"Not that I know of. This is the first time I've seen him act like that."
Philip usually avoided showing favoritism to any noblewoman in public, except for Charlotte.
"Previously, he did that with Lady Yaniels."
"Did his type change to Lady Redmond?"
"It didn't seem that way..."
Though they seemed close yesterday.
I assumed it was just because of their business relationship.
But given Philip's usual behavior, he wouldn't stick close to someone unless he had a reason.
"Did he do anything suspicious? Say anything strange?"
"He couldn't, with so many eyes watching. He did acknowledge me, though."
"Acknowledge you?"
"Yes, about the magic circle."
I recounted what Philip had said to me yesterday.
"He likes fair competition. Who's going to uncover it first?"
Lewis scoffed.
See, I told you, his participation in the investigation is just to keep Philip in check.
"Nothing else?"
"He did something unusual. He kissed the back of my hand as a greeting."
Oh no, Lewis's expression darkened.
"Why does that make me uncomfortable? It's just a formality."
"Exactly... it's just a greeting."
As I awkwardly laughed, Lewis held out his palm.
Was he asking for my hand?
Without thinking much, I extended my hand, and he grasped it, chanting a short spell.
"What did you do?"
"A purification spell."
"Gosh, is that really necessary?"
"Yes. The Crown Prince touched you."
His firm response showed he was serious.
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