“Haha. Why do you need to be polite to your relatives? If we want to get to know each other quickly, we need not be concerned about such formalities.”
Viscount Gagnon, not realizing even the slightest contempt seeping into his mother’s eyes, hugged Eugène’s shoulder tightly. It seemed to be an act of showing friendliness to others, but thanks to this, the newly prepared justaucorps was smeared with chalk around the shoulders.
“Whilst it may be late, welcome back Baron Amieux. Easterners should socialize with Easterners. There are people I would like to introduce to you, so please come this way. Many people have been waiting for you since before.”
As the owner of the house was so obstinate, there was nothing that Eugène, as a guest, could do. He hid his bitter smile and walked as Viscount Gagnon led.
“Now, look here everyone. A long-awaited guest has arrived. Do not miss the opportunity to come and pay your greetings. We will be seeing each other often from now on, so we need to familiarize ourselves with each other’s faces.”
Viscount Gagnon, shouting loudly to gather people as soon as he entered the billiard room, began to introduce each of those approaching Eugène one by one.
“This is Charles de Carême of House Carême, collateral family of House d’Estuaire.”
“Hello.”
“Hello, Baron Amieux. It is a pleasure to meet you.”
Baron Carême, who was holding a cue stick in one hand like Viscount Gagnon, tried to proffer a shake but withdrew his hand as if he was embarrassed. As he was enjoying billiards for a while, he had chalk on his hand.
“And this is Fabian de Gemeine of House Gemeine.”
“It is a pleasure to meet you.”
“Likewise, it is a pleasure to meet you, too.”
“This friend is Vincent, the younger brother of Viscount Gemeine.”
Eugène clearly recognized the subtle vigilance revealing itself in the clasped hands and the lowered gaze. Indeed, if he were in their place, even he would act suspicious of himself. Even though they come from similar backgrounds, a person who has taken a completely different path until now suddenly entered their territory and acted like he knew them, so they may wonder what exactly was going on here.
Fortunately, Viscount Gagnon, who was suspected of being insensitive by nature, did not seem to be able to read the undercurrent between the two parties at all. He introduced Eugène with no fuss, as if he was truly pleased to welcome the guest, and thanks to the owner’s attitude, he was able to finish the communion without any conflict on the surface.
“It just so happened to be that there were not enough people, but it seems like it worked out for the better. Do you know how to play billiards, Baron?”
After the greeting was over, Baron Carême, radiating a sad impression, welcomed him to the billiard table.
“What does that mean? Does it make sense if a gentleman does not know how to play billiards?”
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
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As a result, the majority of the guests who remained outside the billiard room—most likely wanderers who came to see the Emperor’s unofficial paramour—had to vent their anger at Viscount Gagnon’s rudeness while pretending to be outwardly sophisticated.
… Now would you look at this?
Eugène was handed a luxurious cue stick engraved with the family crest, thereby he stood out. From the moment they first met, Viscount Gagnon had been consistently crude and discourteous. Due to his unusually unsophisticated appearance, his actions seemed to have taken place because he lacked personality at first glance, but considering what had happened so far, it was not a matter to be taken lightly.
Nobles were hypocritical enough to value face. No matter what they did behind the scenes, they always maintained a graceful and formal demeanor on the outside, above all downplaying profane actions that clearly showed their intentions.
Since they were such people, only a few could openly sniff around if Viscount Gagnon, the owner of the house, had shut himself in the billiard room with Eugène.
As the billiard room was originally considered a masculine space, it was an awkward place for noblewomen to come and go without a special excuse, and even noblemen had no reason to wander around where others were enjoying games.
Those who held a grudge would criticize him by calling him a frivolous person with no respect for courtesies, but the reputation of Viscount Gagnon had already scratched the floor before, so he had nothing left to lose.
Eugène rubbed the chalk on the cue stick he’d been given and looked carefully at the faces of those around the billiard table.
Sure enough. It could be seen that some of the people Viscount Gagnon first introduced him to were still there. They were close associates directly or indirectly related to Viscount Gagnon, and they were said to be the central forces of the surviving Eastern aristocrats.
“I heard rumors, but I was surprised to see her in person. The Viscountess is a marvelous beauty.”
Is it intentional or a coincidence? Eugène, struggling with an accurate character evaluation of the Viscount between the gap of his external reputation and what actually was the case, opened the door to a daily topic. Viscount Gagnon, who was looking down at the billiard table, heard the words and hit the ball with a big smile.
“My mother is considered to be the second-most beautiful woman of the empire, is she not? She was the youngest daughter of the famous Duke of d’Estuaire and was so beautiful that it was a great fortune for my deceased father that the East had collapsed. If not, would my father, who was only a Viscount, have been able to ask for her hand in marriage?”
Viscount Gagnon’s way of speaking about his parents was so free and easy and to the point that it would embarrass the listener. It was quite a thing to say as the child of the two in question and the only non-Eastern aristocrat in the room, but unexpectedly, no one showed displeasure at his words.
Rather than that, a completely different reaction from what one would normally expect came back from the people around him.
“What are you saying? Your deceased father was the only one who formally proposed to my aunt, who had no dowry.”
Baron Carême, another nephew of Viscountess Gagnon, replied as he moved around the billiard table to play his turn.
“Certainly. Was it not a complete mess back then? In her prime days, there was an unscrupulous situation in which the imperial family even dared to make her a concubine, so what would have happened if it were not for your deceased father back then?”
Viscount Gemeine, who had given Baron Carême a good place to hit the ball, also agreed with him. Together, they praised the gentlemanliness of their predecessors. However, contrary to their praise, the predecessor Viscount Gagnon was well-known for his incompetence.
He ruled the last gateway town of the capital, Michèle, as his territory, and squandered more than half of House Gagnon’s wealth, who were wealthier than anyone else at the time, and had a weakness for gambling and sex. Had he been handsome, even such carelessness might have been packaged as aristocratic profligacy, but to make matters worse, the previous Viscount Gagnon was an extremely ugly man.
He asked for Count d’Estuaire’s daughter’s hand in marriage, who had no dowry, all out of a sheer desire to win a beautiful woman. Count d’Estuaire, who was in a hurry to support the rapidly declining family after losing his estate, sold off his daughter on the condition that they would receive support for the maintenance of the mansion. At that time, Mildred de d’Estuaire, the daughter of Count d’Estuaire, was only eighteen, and Viscount Gagnon, who was getting married for a second time, was forty-three.
It is said that half of the remaining Eastern aristocrats are being supported by Viscount Gagnon, and it seems that the rumor is true after all.
They were busy chasing back no matter what Viscount Gagnon said, reminiscent of sharksuckers that followed a giant shark to get food. Eugène looked at such an image.
“Oh, Baron. It is your turn now.”
Compared to his enthusiasm, Baron Carême’s billiards skills were not all that good. He couldn’t score much and accidentally touched the red ball, so his turn was quickly over.
Baron Carême sadly clicked his tongue and informed Eugène, who was watching the game, about the order. Eugène, not knowing whose side he was on because he was suddenly invited in the middle of the game, shrugged and walked toward the cabinet end of the billiard table where the balls were piled up.
“Come to think of it, I did not even know how the game was progressing. Who is winning right now?”
“Hahaha. You came in halfway through the bout, so it is still worth playing. Still, you are lucky. Currently, it is your side that is winning.”
According to the rules Eugène knew, he was now on the same side as Viscount Gagnon. “You are winning?” he looked back at him with a questioning look, Viscount Gagnon nodded and replied, “We are leading by ten points.”
“Seems like I have come at the right time.”
Eugène bent deeply and took a position, pushing a white billiard ball made of ivory from the side of the red one. The white ball hit the three sides of the billiard table after hitting the yellow ball that was barely settled nearby, lightly touched the red ball, and returned to its place. Viscount Gagnon whistled and openly rejoiced after detecting Eugène’s level with just that move.
“A player of your caliber is always welcome. It is a pity that we could not be together from the beginning.”
“It was nothing much.”
Eugène responded politely and moved the cue stick again. The white ball, which was placed in an easy-to-angle position, once again scored a point and rolled toward the center of the billiard table. The place where the white ball stopped was in an excellent position again, and Baron Carême, on the other side, groaned.
Eugène did not particularly enjoy miscellaneous games such as gambling or billiards, but he was quite good at them nevertheless. Since he was so smart and good at using his body, he was able to easily learn the tricks without having to try them a few times.
“If I had known this would be the case, I would have raised my stake a little more.”
“Look at what this friend is saying. Do you not think that is too much? Regardless, what kind of ludicrous remarks are those from the person who is already winning? Would you feel better only after you leave us penniless?”
Baron Carême pretended to be furious at Viscount Gagnon’s silly joke.
“What do you mean? The game is not over yet; are you already crying?”
“A game or two? My hands may be dull, but I have an accurate eye for the flow. This round is already on– it is on… Instead of this, how about changing sides next time? No matter how much I think about it, you and Baron Amieux being on the same side is too unfair to the other party.”
While Eugène scored points without losing momentum, Baron Carême, who was watching him, whined and complained.
Anyone could tell that Viscount Gagnon was busy teasing Baron Carême, whose grumbles were half-joking, half-serious. Viscount Gemeine, who had been silent, intervened with a laughter-like voice as the quarrel prolonged.
“Stop it. What are you doing like children in the presence of a guest?”
“Do you mean to say that the money the guest wins is not money? I do not want to lose, even if it is just for fun.”
“However, it does not make sense to ask him to come to the side that had its outcome already decided. As you said, it is simply a game for fun, but would Baron Amieux change sides depending on which one is advantageous or disadvantageous to him?”
At first glance, it sounded like he was trying to appease Baron Carême, but if one were to listen carefully, it was obvious that those words were aimed at Eugène, so he clicked his tongue inwardly.
In fact, he was reading the hidden messages directed at him in the conversation between Baron Carême and Viscount Gagnon, which came in and went like a joke. ‘You came in halfway through the bout’ or ‘You are lucky’. What did that mean? Does that mean they are up to something? But are they going to let him in on it?
Generally speaking, if you invite a new person to the game, it is normal to start all over again. To invite me in the middle of the game and insinuate that they need me means that there is something they want.
Although not pleasant, the past few months of court life had led Eugène to become accustomed to the ambiguous way of speaking inherent to the nobles.
Duplicitous utterances hidden between explicit sentences and contexts, complex and subtle hints investigated by customary situations, and countless gestures that no one spoke out loud because they were tacitly determined…
The court language was more difficult than any other language he knew, but Eugène learned it with a mindset similar to when learning a foreign language. The best way to communicate was to speak in a way that the other person could understand. Eugène needed to learn their way of speaking in order to survive here.
“Well, it is hard to say. I, too, dislike losing since I have a strong desire to win.”
“If one is going to play a game, would it not be better to stick to the winning side?” Eugène lightly added as if joking, covering the edge of the billiard table with his hips. The problem was that he sold his mind to another place while he was hitting the ball, so this time his position was not good. He tilted the cue stick vertically to separate the balls that were too close together, ignoring the stinging gaze on his head, and nudged the ball slightly.
The white ball that escaped the gap returned after hitting the rail cushion and touched the yellow ball and the red ball one after another. Once again, points were scored.
It was still his turn.
Thank you for the update 🤍
Thank you for the chapter!! <3
Thank you for the chapter~
I miss our emperor TT
But our Eugene is so cool and so smart ah!
Thank you for the chapter ! 💙
EUGENE PLAYING BILLIARDS IS SO SEXY!!!!
EUGENE PLAYING BILLIARDS IS JUST (๑´ڡ`๑)♡