Chapter 20

After my first dance with Niel and some nobles, I joined the refreshments with the other Young Lady.

In the meantime, I didn't really want to join, but I did so because some Young Lady persuaded me to drink tea with them.

I'd never liked dancing, so I accepted the invitation to take a break, but I quickly regretted it.

"Did you say the Kingdom of Artise had gone?"

"Well, you've been imprisoned in the Palace, so does it matter?"

I sighed inside.

It appeared to be a place that was determined to discourage me and cause me a great deal of embarrassment.

The main character of the banquet, Count Recesil Young Lady, in particular, had a strong facial expression.

'That's possible, well.'

I drank tea quietly. It was a gathering place for all the nobles of the Southern region, but I received the most attention.

As I previously said, the social world was extremely exhausting.

All the Young Lady who have been close and formed factions since childhood have made me a public enemy.

I am the Princess of a ruined country, and it has been less than a month since I became an adopted daughter, no matter how strong Marquis Evgeny is.

For a long time, no friends had been loyal, and all of their opponents were aristocrats trying to push against the background.

Furthermore, Evgeny had a long history, but there were many predictions that the Marquis would fall, and that his sons would eventually decline due to their poor health.

"But I'm not sure if it's okay for us to be together like this. Artise is cruel."

'Is this just the start?'

The conversation between them quickly continued, possibly because they thought it was a good thing that I didn't respond much to the words.

"I mean, I understand. A rumor has it that he planted three pieces and used black magic."

"Isn't the Young Lady Elsia also related to black magic? It's—"

"Fortunately, Wizard Niel has arrived. Could you please keep it to yourself? He claimed that Wizard Niel caught the mage quickly."

"How did Marquis Evgeny think about adopting Young Lady Elsia as his daughter—?"

"Isn't it revenge? Young Lady Elsia, you're not being mistreated by the Marquis, are you?

Shivering here and shouting no, that's what they wanted.

I drank my tea calmly without changing my expression and decided to keep an eye on where they went.

That meant there were several more reasons to be hostile toward me.

It's a mess, and with the escort of Niel Evgeny, who everyone would have liked to have seen at least once?

After that, some noble young man rushed up to me and asked me to dance?

"That's possible."

Count Recesil Young Lady burst out laughing.

"You've lost weight since I last saw you in the capital. It seems that you are unable to eat properly at the Marquis House."

The other young lady asked, her eyes wide open at the words.

"Young Lady Elsia, have you ever been to the capital?"

"Yes, at the 3rd Prince's birthday banquet."

The only person who seemed to notice me at that time was Count Recesil Young Lady.

'I wanted to avoid the capital and the palace as much as possible because I was tired of all this.'

Today was the first time the rest of them saw me. And there must have been a reason to bring up the banquet at the time. Only the young lady who didn't come gathered in this way.

I almost laughed at the next flow because it was so predictable.

"At the time… Well, really… Are you really twice the size you are now?"

All eyes have widened in response to Count Recesil Young Lady's words.

With a shrug, I responded.

"That's correct, but why is that?" Is there an issue?"

"The dress seemed to be on the verge of exploding. I recall that dress being a rustic design that was out of style five years ago. And then… when you came in without an escort and opened the venue's door… "

'Oh, no, that's not true. That's a bit of an exaggeration.'

There was no escort, so I entered quietly through the door that the servant had opened.

The faces of the other Young Ladies who were listening to the story became increasingly astonished as the story progressed.

It was unfathomable to aristocrats who had been taking liberal arts classes since childhood.

"You walked across the banquet hall, and you said that we should dance while holding Prince Ixion's hand."

"O-oh my—"

The Young Lady, who was sitting next to me, opened her mouth and even dropped her fan.

"So— Did Prince Ixion dance with her? Don't you want me to pull this crazy woman out right now?"

"They danced."

Count Recesil Young Lady responded with a triumphant smile.

"Because Young Lady Elsia's lifelong dream is to dance once, but the banquet hall yelled loudly for her to leave."

"Oh my goodness…"

"And you know it's a shame because you just disappeared. For quite some time, the capital has been buzzing about it."

"T-that sort of thing…"

"Prince Ixion must have been struggling at this point. The nobleman danced with a woman who was not properly dressed, had her hair messy, and wore no sleeves."

'Are you finished?'

I put down the teacup with a shallow sigh.

The Young Lady's gaze was now fixed on me.

"That can't be right, can it? You've been so uncultured?"

"In a flash, open the banquet hall door, and— Oh my—."

"Do you walk in a stride? That is absurd—"

"After all, a once-in-a-lifetime wish? Because everyone else is hearing it— Aren't you embarrassed, Young Lady?"

"How ridiculous must Prince Ixion have felt right now?"

I smiled with a look of no shame at all.

"Yeah, everything is right. I did it."

A sigh rang out at my words.

Count Recesil Young Lady smirked and shrugged as if to look at it.

'I can't look at it any longer.'

I apologize to Ixion, but it's not like it's not true, so I figured it'd be better to use it a little.

"I also received a marriage proposal not long ago."

"What?"

"It's from Prince Ixion."

There was silence at the time. I carried on as if I didn't care.

"There's something about relationships that only two people understand, so it's best not to do this and that."

I calmly took another sip of tea.

The icy silence belonged to Count Recesil Young Lady.

"Liar!"

With an incredible look, she erupted in rage.

"How brazen you have to tell such a lie. Prince Ixion would never do such a thing—"

Then something incredible happened, even to me, who had always maintained my cool.

Even Count Recesil Young Lady is unable to speak in this ridiculous situation.

"Young Lady Elsia Evgeny."

'Why are you here?'

I foolishly blinked.

This is because I heard the other person's voice who had never considered meeting here before.

In fact, I never expected to see him again in my life.

A man with black hair, sparkling blue eyes, a solid body, and a strong presence.

Ixion was literally walking up to me without hesitation.

"P-Prince..?"

"Prince.. Ixion?"

"Prince Ixion— Why are you here?"

Everyone was taken aback by his appearance.

He was dressed sloppily and didn't appear to have had his hair trimmed.

Of course, the fact that it was so beautiful and shaped like a sculpture added to the wild charm.

There was even a faint smell of blood. Looking closely, there was a blood stain on the clothes.

He walked across the banquet hall door and stood in front of me.

As if no one else was around.

'This strange thing reminds me of something from the past. The same situation that the Young Lady was discussing a while ago.'

A brown-haired man was scurrying up after Ixion in the distance.

Young Lady sitting next to me muttered.

"With Sir Aiden Giberth—"

There was no way to look at the man.

My unbelievable eyes met his bright eyes exactly as they were.

For a brief moment, I couldn't see anyone else in the banquet hall, as if we were the only two people in the world.

"Let me talk to you for a second."

"…Yes, what?"

I stuttered with embarrassment, as usual.

There were many questions at the harvest banquet of a mere Count about why the man who had just returned from the war came in this outfit and why he stood in front of me.

Is this how Ixion felt at the previous banquet?

"W-what is it that has brought you here?"

I was so embarrassed that I couldn't even stand up and look up at him.

"To see you."

"What? Why me?"

"Because, I sent you a marriage proposal a few days ago. You didn't come to the capital, so I have to come."

Huh. The sound of breathing could be heard here and there.

Count Recesil Young Lady could be seen flailing and collapsing.

'Did you receive a rejection response? Will you be receiving this? No, he said he'd marry me in exchange. Shouldn't I be grateful even if I say I won't get anything in return?'

But why were the eyes so terrifying? It was like going to war with someone.

No way, I wondered if it was because he was upset that I had rejected the Imperial family's proposal.

I wondered if this strange life was aimed at me, so I took a look at it.

"Do we— Uhm— have anything left to talk about…?"

His face fell in an instant.

'Did you say that you don't want to talk about it?'

Ixion spoke in a very serious tone.

"It's my lifelong wish."

I felt like I was going to fall back on that word.

That's exactly what I said at the previous banquet. I couldn't say no here without feeling ashamed.

I slowly rise, almost in tears.

"All right, let's go—"

A man named Aiden was naturally heard picking up the pieces behind his back.

"I don't know if you're aware, but it's a new trend in the capital these days. Young Lady Elsia devised this ground-breaking method."

All eyes were once again on us. My cheeks were strangely chapped, unlike before.

"But I've only seen it twice. It would be fantastic if I could actually see a third one. Please invite me if you have any plans."

*****

Because every balcony was crowded, we went outside into the garden.

As we sat side by side in the garden chairs, there was a terrible silence between us.

'What the hell is this guy doing here?'

The Prince didn't come down from the capital for such a grand banquet. It was only a small harvest banquet in the south, far away from the capital.

It was difficult to guess what else you wanted to talk about when you came to see me.