Ayumu Reflects and Meets his Fiancée!?

I hurriedly departed from the room. When I left, I saw Lucy standing outside the door. I passed by her and she naturally followed after me.

As I somewhat absent-mindedly made my way through the mansion, I thought back on the meeting with Fabian's family.

I was thrown off guard when Fabian's dad started going off about his past and ended up nodding along to whatever he said... At the end of the day, it all somehow worked out. But there were a lot of things I learned during that conversation. Now that it was over, I needed to review all the new information.

During the meal, Fabian's dad had said he originated from minor nobility. That clarified a couple of things for me. First, the existence of nobility in this world. Second, the fact that our family was no longer a part of minor nobility but rather a step above them on the social ladder. Would that be major nobility then? Or maybe middle nobility...

Whatever. Who cared what it was called? The important thing was that we were somewhere higher than the so-called minor nobility. That was it.

On another note, I barely said anything for the majority of the meal. Thankfully, Fabian's dad carried through most of the conversation on his own so I didn't have much of a chance to screw things up. I was just nodding along and savoring the dishes.

Oh yeah, speaking about food—it really exceeded my expectations. I wasn't expecting much compared to my previous world, but, contrary to those expectations, the meal was really good. There was pasta, fillet, and even a dessert similar to a gelato—

—Oops, I should probably get back on track. Hmm... was there anything useful other than that?

He did mention something about a report...

I didn't really understand what he meant, but if I had to guess, considering Fabian's age, it would be something related to studying. Fabian was still a teenager and there had to be some sort of education system in this world, if not for commoners then at least for nobility. I heard that, historically, many nobles received education at home. If that was also true here, then it would make sense that Fabian's dad was the one giving feedback on the report.

Well, it was too early to conclude that. The report could easily be something completely different after all. Although, him mentioning some kind of practical part made me sweat a bit—

"How did it go?" Lucy asked out of the blue, taking me out of my thoughts.

I slightly jumped up in surprise.

Wow. She has so little presence I forgot I wasn't alone for a second.

"It went... alright. Dad told me to go and meet Miss Maria." I replied.

In other words, I was to have a meeting with someone who likely knew Fabian well...

Miss Maria. That's what Fabian's dad had called her. Lucy also had called her Lady Maria previously.

A one-on-one meeting with Fabian's fiancée... Unlike the meal, where I wasn't required to do much of the talking, this could be very different and much more difficult to navigate...

On the positive side, I at least knew fiancée's name. It would be beyond suspicious to not know even that... 

To be fair, I didn't even know my family's names. In fact, there were only two (three if you were counting Fabian) people in this world whose names I did know. And one of those three people was currently following me—my personal attendant Lucy.

I took a glance behind me. This entire time, Lucy consistently maintained the distance between us to be about one meter, never decreasing nor increasing it. 

That distance represented her status as a servant. As an attendant, one had to have as little presence as possible in order to not be a nuisance, but simultaneously always be nearby in case they were needed.

That seemed downright unreasonable to me yet was fully expected of personal attendants in this world. Such things spoke of a much more severe class delineation here compared to the world I came from. I wasn't very comfortable with that idea, but there wasn't much to be done about it—

I stopped walking as an important realization hit me. When I did, Lucy stopped as well.

Hold on a second. Just where did I learn that information?

I knew way too much about personal attendants. No matter how I thought about it, my mind contained knowledge that wasn't supposed to be there.

It definitely wasn't something I learned by chance: I didn't overhear that in a conversation, nor did I reach that information from my own observations. 

I simply knew.

Since when? And how come I didn't even notice...?

...If I had to hazard a guess it probably happened back then. When Lucy left Fabian's room so I could get dressed. In that moment, I was hit with a stream of images that caused me a severe headache.

Initially, I thought that all of the information I got was about Lucy herself. That included some fragmented memories as well as basic knowledge about her, like her name, her position, and a couple of other things. Now that I thought about it, the more time passed, the clearer my mental picture of her as a person became.

But that knowledge also came with general information about personal attendants.

Was that because Lucy was a personal attendant herself?

What I was trying to say was that without such knowledge, I wouldn't be able to comprehend what her position actually entailed, so I received the required information alongside the memories.

Was that it?

That theory seemed to make sense but there were a few questions left.

For example, was it a one-off thing? Or something that would periodically come back? If so, then what triggered those visions? And finally, how was I able to see the memories that clearly belonged to Fabian?

 Was there a part of Fabian's soul, hidden somewhere inside this body...?

...Ugh, that's terrifying. ...I hope there is some other explanation...

Maybe it's actually much simpler. Despite me inhabiting this body, physically it was likely the same as before my reincarnation. That meant the brain still possessed all of the memories and knowledge. And now that I was in the driver's seat, my mind was trying to reconcile those existing memories with my consciousness. 

At least that was my theory. Not like I could prove or disapprove anything either way...

If that theory was right, that meant I would keep receiving those visions. They were not exactly pleasant to experience, but, if they came with the knowledge about the world, then I would welcome them with open arms. 

Ok, let's go with that theory for now. 

Instead of continuing blind guessing, I should focus on the things that actually matter.

Hmm... I feel like there's something that slipped my mind entirely. What was it again?

Something was wrong, but I couldn't figure out what it was

...Oh, that's it.

Finally, it clicked.

I turned around and looked at Lucy. 

"...Where are we going again?" I asked.

Yeah, I was completely lost. I had absolutely no clue where I was supposed to be meeting this 'Miss Maria'. 

Lucy met my gaze with a slight pause. As always, her expression remained unchanged, but I could tell her silence lasted a little longer than usual.

"...This way, Young Master," she replied and turned in a completely opposite direction than where I was heading.

Hey, you could have mentioned it if you knew we were heading the wrong way...

***

A beautiful girl in a white-green dress sat in the reception room of the Berion Manor. Her name was Maria Aes Alcia, the daughter of Viscount Alcia and Fabian Aes Berion' fiancée. She had beautiful golden hair as well as emerald eyes, matching her dress.

With inquisitive gaze Maria looked around the reception room. She was taking in her surroundings, comparing them to what she saw a year prior. 

The room contained a sofa and a number of armchairs as well as a tea table and a marble fireplace. There were a few paintings in the room and a tapestry hanging on the wall, right above the hearth. The fireplace itself had intricate decorative floral patterns around its edges. Similar patterns also adorned the edges of the ceiling.

This was the kind of luxury you would expect from nobility. That expectation, however, wasn't necessarily applicable to all nobles. Works of art such as murals, tapestries and paintings, as well as other decorations were costly even for nobility. Even a major noble such as Lord Berion wasn't likely to have such luxury in spades. Especially considering his origins.

Therefore, Maria suspected only a handful of the manor's rooms were decorated as lavishly as the reception room. If you didn't have enough money to decorate all of the manor to the same standard, you only needed to prioritize the more public spaces.

Nobility was all about putting on facades. High society was a dangerous world where showing weakness to anybody wasn't allowed. Even if the person in question was your own son's fiancée. It didn't matter that Maria was to enter the family one day; as long as she wasn't a part of the family right now, she wasn't allowed to see Berions' weaknesses.

Rather than a decision made specifically  by Berions, it was closer to noble common sense that didn't need to be doubted.

Based on what she saw, Maria was evaluating the state of affairs of her fiancé's family.

There doesn't seem to be significant shift this year... I guess that's as good of an outcome as one could hope for. Hopefully, the private quarters also didn't suffer a significant setback.

As she concluded her analysis, her thoughts turned to Fabian.

Fabian seems to be weirdly late... Hmmm, it's unlike him to keep me waiting. Did something happen?

Just as that thought crossed her mind, a knock on the door resounded.

A slight smile appeared on her face. Her emerald-colored eyes glittered almost unnoticeably.

Maria Aes Alcia was somewhat famous in noble society. She was famous for her beauty: for her golden hair, for her fair features, for her perfect smile... But there was one thing about her that stood out to observers more than anything.

It was her eyes—they would say—her gaze. There was something special about it—something that pulled people in...

...and swallowed them whole.

And that gaze was even more effective on the less scrupulous of the bunch.

***

I stood in the hall, just a few meters before the door. Beyond that door, Fabian's fiancée was waiting.

I gulped and tried to suppress my nerves.

Initially, I was afraid that tricking Miss Maria would prove nigh impossible. She was Fabian's fiancée after all. But then I had a sudden realization.

Fabian's family were nobles, right? And what comes to your mind when you think about nobility and engagements? 

That's right, political marriages.

Political marriages have been prevalent throughout history, and they were closer to a transaction or a business deal than an actual bond of love. In web novels, engaged were often portrayed in a loving relationship regardless, and that portrayal twisted my perception; but this wasn't just a fictional setting of some power fantasy story. Instead, this was an actual world with its own rules and logic. 

In other words, there was a high probability this engagement was much closer to what political engagements were in my world's history. A transaction between noble families. Nothing more and nothing less.

That meant I still had a chance.

While I stood still in thought, Lucy passed by me in order to open the door.

"Lucy... what kind of person is Miss Maria?" I asked her.

"...?" She turned at me and questioningly tilted her head.

That was no doubt a confusing question to her, considering it was coming from Miss Maria's fiancée himself...

"F-from you perspective, I mean... I'm engaged to her so my perception is probably a bit different... I just wonder what someone with an outside view thinks," I added, trying my best not to sound suspicious.

"Lady Maria...," Lucy paused slightly before continuing, "...I think she's very calm and well collected... Maybe even cold."

"...I see, cold, huh?" I mumbled out a reply.

Cold? A pretty extreme assessment... Still, that could be to my advantage. 

Considering the nature of a political engagement, that sort of personality trait lessened the chances of her being close with Fabian. They weren't zero, of course, but it was better than her being bubbly and cheerful... probably?

The more I learned, the more optimistic I became. If this meeting was going to be formal and stiff, then I only had to maintain basic etiquette and I would be fine. 

Not like I knew what that etiquette was... I guess I just had to give it my best shot.

While I was reevaluating my situation, Lucy approached the door and knocked on it lightly several times.

"Lady Maria, Lord Fabian is here," she announced our presence, "may we come i—"

"You may," a voice replied before Lucy even finished her sentence.

In response, my attendant nodded and reached for the door handle. She opened the door and bowed as she slid to the side. During the slide, her right hand went near her chest, and her left hand passed in front of her with a flowing motion, seemingly inviting me in.

As the door opened, I stared straight ahead, preparing myself. There—

"Fabiaaaan!"

—I saw a cheerful girl run at me at full speed. As she closed in, she was fully prepared to leap into my chest, no doubt expecting me to catch her. Her jovial scream reverberated throughout the hall soundly and betrayed none of the calmness that I expected. Instead, it was filled with overwhelming energy and joy. As if a young girl in love was finally reunited with her lover.

No, not 'as if'. That's clearly what was happening...

I barely reacted in time and caught her. I spun in place to stop the momentum, before putting her down.

"Hehe!" Miss Maria laughed like an innocent child.

As I looked at her cheerful features, a single thought crossed my mind.

Political engagement? Calm and collected?? Cold?????? 

None of those things are even remotely true! This girl is clearly all over him!

And with that desperate cry of my soul, a truly memorable and tense meeting was about to begin.

In other words, I was in deep, deep trouble...