The fitted tailcoat, the wavy hairstyle, and the bright powder forced onto his face made the freshly groomed Liszt look dazzling.
"Perfect!"
Meiopal patted Liszt on the shoulder. "You'll be the center of attention for every woman at the ball tonight."
"That's not what I'm after. Maybe in a few years I'll be eager for that sort of thing, but for now, sorry, cousin, I have no plans to meet any noble young ladies."
"I won't believe you when you say something you don't mean. Don't worry, Liszt. The best thing in life is meeting the right person at the right time. Don't just leave it to fate—seize the opportunity."
"Is that why you've never married, cousin?"
"Don't turn the conversation around on me. We're talking about you."
Liszt straightened his cuffs. Meiopal treated him well. He actually wanted to tell his cousin that instead of chasing the Grand Duke Sapphire's socialite daughter—with the possibility that the Long-Yam Family might one day trade her in for someone else—it would be better to find a noblewoman and settle down.
But he kept the thought to himself.
This was surely the Marquis's will. The Long-Yam Family prided themselves on being shrewd, and perhaps they hoped to climb even higher. If one of them married the Grand Duke Sapphire's daughter, the family's position would become unassailable.
As a small-town baron from the countryside, he'd best not eat coarse bread while worrying about the Marquis's affairs.
Dressed to the nines, he followed Meiopal to the hall where the ball was about to be held. A few nobles had already arrived and were chatting leisurely while enjoying the drinks the servants had prepared.
"Sir Meiopal, you've finally decided to come out?" A nobleman approached with a wineglass in hand.
"The ball hasn't started yet. There's no need to rush, Martil."
Martil looked at Liszt. "And who is this?"
"My cousin. His father is the Earl of Coral Island."
"So you're from the Tulip Family. A pleasure to meet you. I'm Martil Crossbow."
"Liszt Tulip." Liszt maintained a polite smile, though he wasn't particularly warm. He wasn't a sociable nobleman, and attending this ball was a necessity he'd rather have avoided.
Still, he had no choice but to endure it. With Meiopal introducing him, he met one young noble after another from Red Crab Island. Almost all of them were followers of the Long-Yam Family—nobles enfeoffed by the Marquis and utterly loyal to him.
The interesting thing about the nobility was this:
Nobles enfeoffed by the king were the king's vassals, while lesser nobles enfeoffed by other nobles were their liege lords' vassals. But those lesser nobles were not the king's vassals and did not have to swear loyalty to him. For example, Leewilliam Tulip, Earl of Coral Island, was a noble enfeoffed by the king and thus his vassal. Liszt, however, was not. He only had to be loyal to his father.
After his father passed away, he would have to be loyal to his older brother, Levis.
"Have you spotted any pretty young ladies? If you have, tell me and I'll introduce you. Don't be shy." Meiopal had made the rounds to greet the guests and had now returned to Liszt's side. "Look at your brother. He's completely at ease at a ball like this. He's already charmed three daughters of viscounts."
Following his gaze, Liszt saw his plain-looking brother Levis saying something that had a young lady laughing heartily.
"And your sister has men trying to flatter her, too."
Two male nobles were chatting and laughing with Lvera. She wasn't particularly beautiful, but a little asking around would reveal that she held a baron's title. That made her an excellent marriage prospect for baronets or nobles who couldn't inherit their family titles.
By marrying her, they could continue to enjoy noble status.
Liszt raised his fruit wine and clinked glasses with Meiopal. "I hope they find happiness soon. As for me, cousin, you really don't need to worry."
"Are you sure?"
"Absolutely."
"All right. But I'll still keep an eye out for a suitable young lady for you."
"That's really not necessary." Liszt was speechless. His cousin was going too far. Was he really that eager to play matchmaker?
Meiopal only shrugged slightly, then lowered his voice. "Actually, this is Grandfather's idea. He knows you're not highly regarded in the Tulip Family and hopes you'll come to Red Crab Island. Besides, I need help. The Long-Yam Family isn't large, and I have no brothers or sisters. You know, I'd really like you all to come."
Liszt could tell Meiopal meant it.
Converting the measurements into familiar units, he estimated that Coral Island was about the size of a prefecture-level city, roughly ten thousand square kilometers.
Red Crab Island was ten times as large as Coral Island, around a hundred thousand square kilometers.
That was about the size of provinces like Jiangsu or Zhejiang. There were no roads, and transportation relied on horse-drawn carriages, so larger territories were harder to manage. Besides, the nobility wasn't organized as a centralized government. The more lesser nobles were enfeoffed, the more chaotic the management of the land would become, potentially even undermining the ruling family's foundations.
After thinking it over, he couldn't deny that the prospect was tempting. Flower Town was a poor backwater with little real potential for development.
If he came to develop his prospects on Red Crab Island, the Long-Yam Family would at least have to offer him a title one rank higher—a viscount's title, with a small city as his fief.
Still, Liszt was strongly opposed to achieving that through a woman. "Let things happen naturally, cousin. If I like someone, I won't let the chance pass me by. But don't force me if I don't."
"All right."
Night fell, and the ball began.
The gentle piano melody flowed from the pianist's fingertips, creating an atmosphere perfectly suited to the ball.
As the host, Meiopal danced the first dance with a viscount's daughter. Then he stepped aside, inviting everyone to find a partner.
Liszt sat in a corner, watching the young men and women dancing gracefully in the middle of the ballroom.
He made no move.
He had already looked over all the women attending the ball, noting their heights, builds, and looks, but none had stirred his heart. A few mature women fit his tastes, but their age was an obstacle—after all, he was only sixteen.
Many nobles had already begun to indulge themselves at that age.
But it wasn't yet the age for marriage. The season of marital restlessness only came when men reached twenty and women eighteen.
His gaze passed over the crowd and settled somewhere in the empty distance. A moment later, formless smoke gradually appeared, twisting into Snake Script.
"Task: Fresh, tender alfalfa is loved not only by cows but also by horses. It is the foundation for establishing a horse ranch and the first step toward building a career. Please provide a home for the Alfalfa Bug. Reward: three stalks of Wild Corn."
The task had been there for several days, and he was starting to feel a little anxious.
"A few days have passed. The alfalfa should have grown by now. I should be able to settle the Alfalfa Bug when I get back... Wild Corn, huh? I wonder what it looks like. Its yield should be several times higher than Wheat's, at least."
Just as he was thinking about the task,
a voice as pleasant as an oriole's suddenly sounded beside him. "Hi, Liszt. May I sit here?"
The smoke vanished at once.
Liszt came back to himself and saw a young woman of seventeen or eighteen. She looked a little like Mary Crawley, the earl's eldest daughter in Downton Abbey. She had wavy flaxen hair, a sharp nose, deep-set eyes, and thin lips that seemed to be smiling.
She was quite striking, easily an eight out of ten.
Meiopal had introduced her earlier. She was the younger daughter of a viscount, named Athena Salmon. Her family was famous for producing salmon.
Liszt smiled warmly and gestured toward the seat. "Beautiful lady, you're welcome to sit anywhere."