Chapter 4: Preparing for the Debut (Age 5)
I was the second son of the Rosso Barony.
My older brother and I had different mothers.
My mother was the second wife.
And I had only seen my father, mother, and brother a handful of times.
My father stayed in the main residence, my mother in a separate estate, and my brother was currently in the noble academy dormitory.
None of them seemed interested in me, and even when we met, we only exchanged brief, formal greetings.
âIs this just how nobles are?â I had thought, but as usual, when I eavesdropped on the servantsâ conversations, I realized that wasnât normal at all.
“Young master is so pitiful. Wonât the madam come to see him more often?”
“The madam never wanted to marry into a barony⌠it seems she has no affection for young master Amadeus at all.”
Apparently, my mother originally came from a ducal family.
But for some reasonâwhether she caused trouble or due to certain circumstancesâher first engagement fell through, and she was forced to marry into the Rosso Barony, and not even as the first wife, but as the second wife.
She was extremely dissatisfied with that, and had no love for my father.
And none for me either.
âŚSo Iâm actually in a pretty pitiful position, huhâŚ?
After quietly returning to my room from my eavesdropping spot by the thin wall, the head maid, Bell, spoke to me with concern.
Bell was a beautiful mature woman in her forties with sharp eyes.
She looked strict, but she was actually kind.
Though when she got angry, she was terrifying.
Once, I found a bug in the garden that looked just like a rhinoceros beetle, got excited, grabbed it, and ran inside the house, only to be yelled at by Bell, made to sit seiza-style, and scolded.
It seemed both the male and female servants disliked insects.
Come to think of it, even on Earth, countries where people adore insects are in the minority, right�
Also, that seiza sitting posture seemed to be used as punishment here, not something people normally did.
“Amadeus-sama⌠it seems the madam had some urgent business come up, so although she was supposed to visit tomorrow⌔
“She canât make it, right? I understand.”
It wasnât unusual for her planned visits to be canceled.
To be honest, meeting someone I barely knew and who didnât even like me was exhausting, so I was more like, âYay~ more time to play~.â
But the servants looked at me with sympathetic gazes, as if thinking, âYoung master⌠even though heâs lonely, he doesnât show it⌠such a brave little boyâŚâ
Even if I said, “Iâm totally fine!” it would probably just make it seem like I was putting on a brave front.
And there was no way I could say something so un-childlike and dry like, “I havenât seen them much, so I donât really think of them as family⌔
The reason I was fine was because, even now, my real family was still my family back on Earth.
My kind father and mother.
My younger brother, who had caused a lot of trouble when he was young, perhaps because he felt left out while our parents focused on my weak health.
After we had one big fight, something must have changed in him, because he suddenly became much more mature.
By the time he entered middle school, we got along well.
I have memories of being loved.
Memories of being cherished.
And now, the servants all treat me with care.
If anything, since they were the ones who raised me, they are my family.
So even if my blood-related family here shows no interest in me, it doesnât bother me.
But⌠realizing that I would never again see my mother, father, or younger brother from JapanâŚ
The tears wouldnât stop for a while.
I cried quietly in my bed in the middle of the night.
The next morning, my eyes were swollen, and the servants mistakenly thought I had cried because I missed my mother, which made things a bit awkward.
In early summer of the year I turned seven, noble children are made to attend something called a âdebut ceremony.â
Until the age of seven, there is no interaction with nobles outside the household, and children are educated at home by tutors.
At the debut ceremony, representatives of the nobles in the territory gather at the lordâs castle to observe the results of the childrenâs education as they officially join noble society.
The results of their education⌠at the debut ceremony, one must choose between a âsword danceâ or a âmusical performanceâ to present.
Most boys choose the sword dance, and most girls choose musical performance, but you can pick whichever you like.
It seems boys choosing music is fairly common, but girls choosing swords is rare.
Itâs kind of like how relatives gather on Childrenâs Day to celebrate Shichi-Go-San, and the kids are made to perform somethingâŚ
Of course, I chose a musical instrument performance.
However, there was a bit of trouble regarding learning an instrument.
When I turned five, I was told it was about time to start practicing an instrument, and as someone who loved music, I was like, âI want to start already! Let me do it now!!!â practically snorting in excitement as I waited.
But no music tutor came.
After eavesdropping, I found out that the servants were troubled because they âcouldnât find a good teacher.â
They had planned to introduce the same teacher my older brother Christoph had, but the music instructor was already teaching several other children and couldnât come.
“There are no available teachers nearby⌠we even looked among commoners, and there was one skilled musician⌔
“If theyâre skilled, wouldnât it be fine even if theyâre a commoner for now?”
“Well, the problem is they lack proper manners⌠theyâre a bard, you see, basically a traveler, so theyâre hard to trust.”
“But itâs already getting late. If young master performs poorly at the debut, it will bring him shame⌔
A⌠a bard!?!?
I really wanted to meet them.
In this world, travelers seemed to be seen as suspicious drifters, but I desperately wanted to hear a bardâs performance and songs.
I could hardly leave the house, and there were few books, so I was starving for information from the outside world.
I wanted to hear stories.
And since they existed in this world, they were guaranteed to be good-looking.
A good-looking bardâI wanted to meet them so badly.
“Hey! Is the bard coming to our house?!”
“Wahâ! Amadeus-sama!!”
I burst into the room.
Instead of eavesdropping from behind the wall, I pretended I had been nearby and jumped into the conversation.
“Theyâre coming as my tutor, right? Iâm excited!!”
“No, um⌠it hasnât been decided yet⌔
“I want to start practicing instruments soon! Bring the bard quickly!!”
When I looked straight at them with an eager expression, the servants made faces like, âUgh! So dazzling!â and seemed troubled.
Thereâs no resisting a childâs sparkling smile.
Heh.
My pronunciation still sounded childish because my tongue wasnât fully developed yet.
It wasnât like I was trying to act cute.
I used âIâ formally because I had been taught that nobles should speak that way.
As a result of applying this pressure, a few days later, the bard finally came to our house.
When I first saw them, I was slightly taken aback.
“âŚNice to meet you. My name is Rosie.”
Rosie was the first person I had seen in this world who looked like a âvagrant.â
The maid beside me visibly stiffened.
A dirty cloak, torn shoes, unshaven stubble.
Tall, but slightly hunched.
Messy long bangs that nearly covered the eyes.
A sullen expression with dark circles under the eyes.
Only the well-used string instrument in their hands looked somewhat clean.
That was how I met the partner who would accompany me throughout my musical life.