A single girl stood before him.
She looked about middle-school age, with short bobbed purple hair. She was short and slender—to some, she might even pass for an elementary schooler.
He had never met her before… of that, he was certain.
Her features were plain, yet somehow memorable—the kind of face that, once you saw it, you would never forget.
"…………"
"House Lavender, you say…"
The unexpected name caught him completely off guard, freezing Rest in place for a moment… until he snapped out of it with a sharp gasp, eyes widening as he placed a hand to his chest.
"Ah… forgive my rudeness. I am Rest Clover. Though I am still young, I have been granted the title of count."
He offered a graceful bow.
It was a noble's salute—one he had practiced so many times it had been drilled into his very body.
"It is an honor to meet the young lady of House Lavender."
"…………"
"I humbly look forward to a pleasant relationship with you moving forward."
"…………"
"…………"
"…………"
"…………Um, Lady Lavender?"
He had finished his rehearsed greeting… yet no response came from the other party.
By all rights, it was customary for the other side to return the pleasantry—that was basic noble etiquette…
"Perhaps you're not feeling well...?"
"............Beautiful."
"Huh...?"
"Beautiful... ah, so beautiful..."
The young lady of House Lavender gazed up at Rest from below, her eyes vacant and unfocused.
Her gaze was dreamy and soft, almost as if she were drunk—but Rest noticed that her irises shimmered with a rainbow-like luster.
(Rainbow-colored irises... what is that shade?)
It wasn't some trick of the campfire light.
The eyes of the young lady who called herself Urla held an otherworldly hue that seemed to shift in shade every time he looked at them.
Being stared into by those eyes, Rest felt as though the very depths of his heart were being read.
(Wait—did she just say "beautiful"... about me?)
Rest wasn't ugly, but he certainly wasn't strikingly handsome either.
He'd been through his share of battlefield ordeals, so there was a certain weathered sharpness to him—but beauty had never been part of the equation.
"Haaah..."
"Wai—!?"
On top of that—suddenly, Urla's body began to topple backward.
Rest panicked, but a woman who appeared to be an attendant, standing behind Urla, caught her before she fell.
"My sincerest apologies. It appears my young lady has suffered a fainting spell."
Holding Urla steady, the attendant spoke in a calm, measured tone.
"Please forgive this discourtesy. And yours as well, young lady of House Rosemary."
"Eh, ah... yes"
"That's all well and good, but..."
The sudden change of topic left Viola and Primula, who hadn't even been introduced yet, wearing bewildered expressions.
Incidentally... it seemed Urla hadn't noticed Yuri at all.
Being a sheltered young lady, she probably hadn't recognized her as a young lady of House Cattleya.
"Then, if you'll excuse us. We shall pay our proper respects another day..."
With that one-sided parting remark, the female attendant carried Urla and departed.
"............"
"O-oh?"
However... even while being carried along like a piece of luggage, Urla had her eyes locked firmly on Rest.
Her gaze was so intense it was as if she were trying to bore a hole through him with her stare alone.
It wasn't exactly a glare... but it was a look that made him inexplicably uncomfortable.
"Wh-what was that about?"
Once the two had disappeared from sight, Rest voiced his honest impression.
Despite it being them who had approached him, he still didn't know what they wanted by the end of it.
If there was one thing he had learned, it was that the young lady of House Lavender's name was "Urla."
And... though the reason was completely unclear, she had been thoroughly interested in Rest.
"Strangely, I didn't sense any hostility or ill will... but I couldn't figure out what she was thinking at all..."
"Y-yes... I've never heard that House Lavender had a girl that young."
Primula tilted her slender neck with a puzzled look.
Perhaps she was sheltered like Yuri... If Viola and Primula had never heard of her, then her existence must not have been made known to the other nobles.
"Then why would this sheltered girl be here? If she's here, that means... she's participating in the frontier development expedition, right?"
Viola too furrowed her brow with a look of suspicion.
"Normally, when you talk about a young lady's debutante season, it would be some kind of party, wouldn't it? Some people use enrollment at the Royal Academy as the occasion... but?"
"At the very least, the development of the demon realm isn't exactly the sort of festive occasion for a debutante. Well, I haven't had my debutante season either."
Yuri, in his usual easygoing manner, threw sand over the campfire to put it out and tidied up.
"Well, she did say she'd come by to greet us again, so why not just ask her then? More importantly than that... this is a sleepover with everyone!"
As if the details didn't matter at all, Yuri flashed a childlike grin, showing his innocent delight.
"The pajama party at House Rosemary's mansion was fun, but this is my first time sleeping in the same tent as friends! And with Rest, no less — I'm so excited! Since we're at it, let's sleep right next to each other?"
"...Yuri, that's a violation. Even a friend can't let that slide."
"...Rest's neighbors are me and my sister. You're too early for that, Yuri."
The Rosemary sisters both puffed out their cheeks as Yuri lobbed his little bomb with that carefree smile of his.