Behind the scenes, LN 6

Behind the scenes is after the second act in the light novels series, The Saint's Magic Power Is Omnipotent by Yuka Tachibana, published on September 10, 2020 in Japan and March 21, 2022 in the U.S. in the sixth volume.

Summary
The royal council holds its meetings once a month. The council includes the king, the prime minister, and a minister from each branch of the government. This month they were talking about the ceremonial ball that will be held after the Saint’s debut. They had decided everyone had to have the best behavior towards the Saint. The Saint after all had high status like a king.

Josef Hawke was a part of this council, since he was the minister of military services. He had spotted Marquis Ashley towards him (father of the crown prince’s fiancee Elizabeth). A marquis was in a higher social rank than him. But both of them were higher ranking nobles. They were talking about how the ball will be the saint’s first formal ball. The marquis had asked if the youngest brother of his family, Albert Hawke, would be the escort for Sei. Albert was quite infatuated with the saint, however there could be numerous people that could be her escort. Sei would of-course would have the right to choose. The king couldn’t be an potion because he had 2 children and a wife, who had died 10 years ago due to an illness. A ball was often used at an event where unmarried women and men meet. Even though this kingdom had practiced monogamy the king had only loved one woman all his life. It has been learned that both the houses of Hawke and Ashley had been married into the royal family. Marquis Ashley knew of Albert's special relation ship so Albert wouldn’t be a bad choice for her escort.

House Hawke of the Hawke marquisdom had been a military family for generations and led the military power offices. It was one of the most powerful houses in Salutania, both in terms of social position and political power. The head of this family had three sons. Those sons being Josef, Erhart, and Albert. Josef had been living in the Hawke borderlands; this had meant he didn’t see his younger brothers often.

Josef had invited Erhart and Albert for dinner. Albert and Erhart knew that Josef had a hidden motive for this invite. He had asked them about their potential matches. Unlike the younger brothers Josef had been happily married for quite some time. Even though it was a marriage of convenience they had fallen in love. They also had a good relationship over the years, even producing a child together. He was quite the popular guy even with several women fighting over him. Unlike Josef, the younger brothers were not interested in getting married or any romantic relationship. They often tried to stay away from women as much as possible. But now Albert had someone close to his heart. Josef knew his younger brother was in love with her and teased him quite often. He believes that Albert could potentially be Lady Sei’s future fiancee.

Houses who were invited to the ball wanted to become Lady Sei’s acquaintance. While Johan had been practicing to dance in order to get ready for the ball Johan Valdec's older brother, Lorant, was watching him dance. Since Lady Sei didn’t know enough people, it would have been better to dance with people she knows. It had been known Albert and Sei were quite close to one another. It was a social custom that people who you dance with often are most likely to be suitors. The real reason why Lorant was talking to Johan was trying to figure out the Saint’s potential marriage partner. Lorant had mentioned Johan would be a good suitor. Albert however was a more realistic idea and he didn’t wanna stand in a way with his friend’s relationship.

Characters in Order of Appearance

 * Seigfried Salutania
 * Dominic Goltz
 * Marquis Ashley
 * Albert Hawke
 * Sei Takanashi (mentioned)
 * Erhart Hawke
 * Josef Hawke
 * Johan Valdec
 * Yuri Drewes (mentioned)
 * Queen Slantania (mentioned)

New Characters

 * Lorant Valdec