Don't Come Near Me, I'm Just a Background Character [BL Harem]

20 - The Debut (1)

(A/N: The capture targets are meeting in this chapter... what will happen (͡• ͜ʖ ͡•) ?)

I winced at the memory. Why? Because I knew for a fact that in the otome game 'Doki-Doki, I Love You For Eternity', Eliad was known as the swooned-over kuudere. The capture target was strictly professional and cold, but with Aileen, he would open up and reveal some less-than-child friendly scenes for the players to enjoy. So of course, when Eliad started to throw a fit as I was about to leave and stayed in my bed for the night that day, of course I would wince.

I buried my head in the pillow, my face bright red. I let out a groan and inched farther into the blankets. I had to stay three days in this forsaken manor. I just had to wait it out. Then, when I left back to Alsar, I would finally get away from that butler.

I would find a way to make sure that none of my classmates knew of my status despite my debut. I just needed to wait this part out and figure out a way to make sure that the news 'the Xenith Countdom's sheltered and treasured child finally debuts, it is proven that he was attending Alsar Academy of Magic and Swordsmanship before the debut!' didn't spread.

It was imperative to make sure the debut went exactly to plan. No thieves, no assassins, no drama, and certainly no capture target events.

----

The next day...

I grabbed the long overcoat hanging on the rack and left the room. The mansion was cold that day, and the walk through the large, grand corridors of the mansion seemed particularly grueling. The tinted windows overlooking the main garden showed the carriages streaming in through the central entrance, all filled with extravagantly-dressed nobles.

They would all be funneled to the east wing's ballroom. The room, with smooth marble floors and high white stone walls, seemed to be in a realm of its own. Outside the ballroom floor-to-ceiling windows of the ballroom were small, isolated balconies. They had splendid views, overlooking the East Garden and beyond it the evergreen forest that seemed to stretch out for miles.

Xenith childrens' debuts were always different from other Vires nobles'. The Xenith would always host the debutante's debut, and the debutante was always required to wear a mask until the final hour of the celebration, in which they would take it off and reveal their face for the guests to see.

The attending guests of the debut would stay in the ballroom for half a day, getting themselves situated. The hosts of the debut would come out in the later part of the day and go around greeting each guest individually. Finally, in the evening, the debutante would enter the venue, showing a display of strength to start off the final and most grand festivities.

Nicknamed the Xinar by previous generations, the display of strength was a necessity in all Xenith debuts. It could be a show of wit, knowledge, art, discovery, but since the Xenith countdom was a family of mages, it was usually a display of magic. The Xinar showed that the debutante was not only qualified to hold the name of Xenith, but also showed that the child was capable and experienced enough to officially advance into the aristocracy.

I sighed. I was originally planning to bomb the display, but...

"Remi, if you do anything to sabotage your show, I'll make sure you'll never be able to leave this mansion again, so don't try and play tricks, alright?"

...Mother beat me to it. And since apparently she had already observed me multiple times using magic secretly, she knew too much for me to pretend I was just incapable and not sabotaging the show.

I sighed, gathering a small, orb-shaped flame in my hand and fiddling with it idly.

Could I just refrain from attending the debut altogether? No, that would cause more of an uproar than me going in the first place. Plus, Mother would know before I even tried. Then what should I do for the show? I don't think a big, flashy fire indoors with hundreds of other guests would be smart. Should I form an animal out of fire and ride on it? No, I feel like that would be too advanced for a child. Mother wouldn't expect that much. What about...