Chapter 817 - Guests
As a polite gentleman, Klein obviously wouldn’t stare at Aaron’s wife. He looked at the famous surgeon and said, “Good evening, Aaron. How may I address your lovely companion?”
Aaron’s cold demeanor hadn’t changed, but it didn’t stop him from handing over an intricately packed bottle of red wine and say with a polite smile, “My wife, Wilma Gladys, a middle school teacher.”
“It appears you are about to become a father again. When’s it due?” Klein received the present and asked.
The topic he had planned to cover when talking to Dr. Aaron had been about a few new surgery techniques in the papers, but he never expected him to bring his pregnant wife.
This was a pleasant surprise for him. This was because Ma’am Wilma Gladys was expecting the unborn Snake of Mercury, Will Auceptin.
Aaron subconsciously glanced at his wife’s tummy and said with a smile, “Early July. If you don’t mind, I wish to invite you to his birth party.”
Just as he said that, the gentle and beautiful black-haired lady, Wilma, suddenly held her tummy and exclaimed in pain.
“What happened?” Aaron asked in concern.
“He kicked me, but he’s calmed down,” Wilma said with an eased expression.
She then looked at Dwayne Dantès and smiled.
“Because of my pregnancy, I’ve been home all the time and haven’t been to such balls in a while. Feeling pent up at home, I got Aaron to bring me along. Although I can’t dance, I’ll be able to chat with the other ladies, and I’ll even find some time to play some cards.”
“Your presence honors me,” Klein sincerely replied. “I will come for his birth party in early July.”
He wasn’t affected by the tiny accident, as he still remembered Dr. Aaron’s invitation.
After exchanging a few words of pleasantries, Klein handed over the gift to his valet, Richardson, and got him to lead his two, no—three guests into the hall.
Without needing to wait too long, he received his second guest. It was Bishop Elektra, who was still wearing his black clergyman robe, and his female partner.
His partner was a lady in her early twenties who still had a little bit of baby fat to her cheeks. She looked at everything with a sense of wonder, and she was filled with energy. However, she had an additional hint of maturity to her due to her already having a child.
“Good evening, Your Excellency. My sleep has recently been excellent,” Klein said, feigning ignorance of the Church of Evernight’s secret efforts.
Elektra immediately tapped his chest four times in a clockwise fashion.
“This is a blessing of the Goddess.”
He then introduced his female partner.
“She’s my wife, Shona Johnson.”
As he often visited Dwayne Dantès and had been to his residence several times, he didn’t need to prepare any gifts for the ball. It would appear overly polite and too distant.
“Nice to meet you. You are a lot younger than I imagined,” Klein greeted Shona half-politely and half-jokingly with a nod.
Meanwhile, he silently did the math.
It’s said that the bishop got married two years ago. That means that his wife was only eighteen or nineteen… This age difference is quite huge… In a few years, I might have to introduce a particular chubby Apothecary to him…
Upon hearing Dwayne Dantès’s joke, and recalling the conversation back when he visited him while the former was sick, Elektra immediately felt uneasy. He coughed gently and replied, “She’s someone who likes a bustle. If she’s free, she has no wish to miss any ball.”
Klein didn’t speak further because he saw Ma’am Mary alight from her carriage and was walking over.
After letting Bishop Elektra and his wife enter the hall, Klein smiled at Mary and said, “Ma’am, perhaps we will be fellow workers next week.”
The lawyer and accounting team he hired had completed their investigations and had cleared the Coim Company’s audit and said that it was very suitable for investing into. Furthermore, he had already reached a preliminary agreement with the gentleman who was selling the shares. Final confirmation of the sale of 3% shares for 12,800 pounds was to be made next week.
When Mary heard that, she chuckled and said, “I already treat you as a partner.”
This seems to have a deeper meaning to it… Don’t tell me that Dwayne Dantès has caught your fancy… Klein’s heart stirred as he feigned ignorance and reached his hand out.
“I hope for a pleasant partnership.”
After a shake of hands, he got Butler Walter to lead the lady in.
At this moment, more and more guests were arriving. Klein recalled the corresponding topics and warmly and humorously received them, receiving plenty of gifts as a result.
If not for my instinctive ability as a Faceless to remember a person’s looks and characteristics, I wouldn’t be able to tell who is who, much less find the correct topic to raise… It’s no wonder that a butler’s help is often needed at such times… As Klein was stirring in poignancy, he saw Member of Parliament Macht and his family arrive.
He smiled again and took a step forward.
“Good evening. Today’s starry sky is especially beautiful.”
Member of Parliament Macht smiled as he handed a bottle of black Rand from some unknown vineyard to him and said, “I’ve been in Backlund for nearly twenty years, but the number of starry skies I’ve seen combined cannot even compare to the number I’ve seen this year.”
“I hope there will be more with time.” Klein then said to Ma’am Riana, “I heard that the both of you have gotten a boarding school for Miss Hazel?”
Riana looked at her daughter who wore a cold expression despite maintaining a polite smile.
“Boarding school education is becoming increasingly popular. It’s the same for females. And most importantly, perhaps Hazel will get to know more friends. Unfortunately, she doesn’t seem too happy about this arrangement, as she can’t bear to leave us.”
In Backlund, boarding schools that targeted females of high society had already grown in popularity. The education they provided might not be better than home tutors, but it created a social circle.
The school fees for such a boarding school like that was about 500 pounds a year.
She probably can’t bear to part with the sewers here… Klein lampooned. After a short chat, he let Member of Parliament Macht and family into the hall.
When it was almost time, he didn’t wait by the door and instead walked to the second floor. Standing behind the railing that faced the main door, he gestured for the musicians to pause the music.
Holding a cup of champagne, Klein surveyed the surroundings. With all the guests looking at him, he loudly said, “I’m very happy that all of you can grace this ball with your presence. First, I’d like to thank the Goddess, as well as you…
“I’ve prepared for everyone local music and food from Desi, and I hope you will like it…”
After a simple speech, Klein walked down the stairs to the first floor, in preparation to invite a lady to dance the opening dance.
Typically, a married host would definitely invite his own partner for the opening dance, while unmarried men or women would dance with a relative of the opposite sex, or invite someone they had their eye on, in an alternate form of a blind date. But Dwayne Dantès didn’t have any family or any suitable target, so this matter appeared somewhat embarrassing.
However, he had an experienced butler. His butler had hired a socialite of high society, and although dancing the opening dance would result in some rumors, it wouldn’t make others believe that they were dating.
Therefore, Klein looked at the lady named Oria without any guilt as he walked towards her.
This lady was a widow who had good relationships with several people in Backlund’s high society. She enjoyed quite a status in this circle, but of course, she wasn’t well-liked by the ladies. Anyone with a bit of standing looked down on her.
Regardless, Oria’s female charms and her bearing was excellent. It was especially so with her figure that had alluring curves. If it wasn’t because her looks were only above average, Klein would have suspected that she was a Demoness.
“Ma’am, may I have the pleasure of dancing with you?” Klein followed the teachings of his etiquette teacher, Wahana, and posed flawlessly.
Oria with her blonde hair bun smiled and reached out her hand.
“You are a gentleman that cannot be rejected.”
…That sounds ambiguous… Her identity and the role she plays in social settings ensures that she can’t act as demure as most ladies and madams… Klein held her hand, entered the dance floor, and began dancing under the tune of a village folk song.
The aristocrats all had land, manors, and castles in the villages, and they spent several months a year there; therefore, folk songs were one of the mainstream songs in high society social events.
“You dance really well. If Wahana hadn’t mentioned it before, I wouldn’t believe that you weren’t able to dance before.” Oria deliberately leaned in close. As they moved in step, her breathing could be heard.
As she was a stranger, Klein was a little uneasy by the close distance, but he couldn’t push her away while under everyone’s gaze, so all he could do was smile.
“I just didn’t know how to dance such dances.
“In fact, I’m good at the kind of dances from Desi Bay and the Southern Continent where there’s greater freedom.”
“I also like those kinds of dances. They are full of strength and passion. It’s danced for yourself and not for others.” Oria found a topic as she gyrated her body, appearing extremely intimate with Dwayne Dantès.
Towards the end of the opening dance, she said with a suppressed chuckle, “If it wasn’t for the rumors, I would even suspect that you don’t fancy women because you’re a little stiff.
“However, I no longer have any doubts.”
As she spoke, she glanced down.
Klein was actually rather embarrassed. She was really good at using her body and words to create a suggestive atmosphere; however, Dwayne Dantès was an experienced man and couldn’t admit defeat.
He smiled with a natural expression.
“Stiffness is a result of not being used to Backlund’s social scene.”
“I can teach you,” Oria said with a chuckle.
At that moment, the tune came to an end as she took a step back and winked with a smile.
“You’re really passionate.”
The words were a double-entendre that left Klein nearly blushing. He even began to suspect if she was related to Demonesses.
He continued wearing a stoic expression as he bent his back into a bow, and he sent Oria back to her spot. Through the corner of his eye, he caught Wilma Gladys, who was pregnant with the Snake of Mercury, walking towards the long table to the side. Her target was apparently the first batch of ice-cream.