Mid-Boss vs XX XX (1)

The eldest daughter of the August Border Count family, Lizzie Lynn August.

A diligent noble lady who had been involved in high society since childhood, building numerous connections – the very epitome of such a figure.

Until now, she had smoothly built her network by leveraging her discerning eye for people and her status as a member of the August Border Count family.

But at this masquerade ball, she was acutely realizing in her mind that something was going terribly wrong.

‘That man… is really the only son of the Blackwood family?’

At first, she had simply assumed he was some viscount or baron’s son she didn’t recognize.

His slightly messy black hair, well-defined muscles, and his attire – stubbornly clad in dull black even at such a banquet.

Since he was clearly someone she’d never seen before, she naturally thought he must be some obscure noble from the outskirts.

Having participated in countless social circles since the tender age of eight, it was hard to imagine there could be any high-ranking nobles she didn’t know.

Moreover, the possibility that her counterpart was Ethan Richard Blackwood, making his first public appearance at an external event, was such an exceptional case that considering it seemed impossible.

But looking at the results, Lizzie had failed to recognize him as Ethan Richard Blackwood until the moment he revealed himself.

And by then, the mistake she’d made had long passed the point where she could clean it up herself.

Having been in social circles since childhood, Lizzie had a knack for reading people’s psychology.

Particularly, deducing what emotions her counterpart might be experiencing in a given situation to elicit the desired reaction was one of her specialties.

In many situations, she used this ability to make others feel indebted to her or to naturally smooth over her own mistakes.

While searching through the crowd for the masked Third Princess Seraphine, spilling her cocktail on someone else’s shoulder was undoubtedly an “accident.”

But in that situation, instead of admitting her fault, she had deliberately provoked anger in her counterpart – a calculated move based on her assessment of the situation.

Since both the counterpart and their partner were complete strangers in high society, she naturally assumed they couldn’t possibly be above the August Border Count family in status.

In an incident where her fault was clearly greater but the damage was suffered more by the other party,

if she admitted fault first, there was a risk the August family might appear indebted to the other family.

To prevent such a situation, she had boldly taken an audacious stance instead.

If she could provoke the counterpart into making insulting remarks, at least it wouldn’t end as solely the August family’s disgrace.

Of course, what actually came back from the counterpart was a calm response completely different from what she’d expected.

‘How about we consider this incident a mutual mistake and let it pass without further fuss?’

‘……?’

She had expected rightful anger from someone who had the audacity to say such shameless things after causing damage, but the noble lady summarily concluded the incident as a “mutual mistake” and ended it.

Coming to her senses, she found herself nodding along to the lady’s apology in a daze.

Though she felt strangely like she’d lost a psychological battle, the situation itself had taken a favorable turn.

From Lizzie’s perspective, making her mistake disappear entirely was the most amicable solution.

Moreover, her social radar, honed over ten years, was inexplicably picking up an instinctive sense of danger.

In that moment, she had an ominous premonition that if she didn’t meekly accept this proposal, her life might genuinely be in danger.

‘Very well. I suppose I’ll have to generously forgive you this time out of mercy.’

Thus intending to quickly resolve the situation and leave, Lizzie was stopped when the lady’s partner – the one whose clothes had been stained – called her back.

Snapping back at him and reigniting the argument became the worst mistake she made today.

That the lady’s partner would turn out to be the eldest son of the Blackwood family was something even Lizzie couldn’t have anticipated.

Now finding herself in a situation where she might have to reveal her own family name, she was plunged into considerable distress.

‘…What should I do?’

Had she known he was a noble son of the Blackwood family, she would have prostrated herself begging for forgiveness the moment she made her initial mistake.

Even if she hadn’t directly offended the Blackwood heir, the damage done to his partner was tantamount to insulting him.

But since neither the man nor the woman were people she’d ever seen in high society before, Lizzie mistakenly assumed they were both of lower status than herself.

That fatal miscalculation had now backed her into a corner.

‘If I kneel and apologize now, could I still be forgiven…?’

If forgiveness was possible, she was ready to prostrate herself immediately, but her transgressions had already grown too severe.

The Blackwood heir was clearly exuding a murderous aura toward her.

Lizzie could be certain she had long passed the point where forgiveness was possible.

The only possibility for this to end without incident was if this man was actually some lower noble impersonating the Blackwood family, but…

‘……Ah.’

She finally noticed it on the hilt of the sword at his waist.

The symbol of the Blackwood family, a crest only one family in the Empire could use – the black twin-headed eagle engraved on the sword’s hilt.

‘…I have to run.’

With forgiveness impossible and now certain of her counterpart’s identity as the Blackwood heir,

the best course of action for Lizzie, daughter of the August Border Count, was to flee this place immediately.

Though failing to meet the Third Princess Seraphine – her original objective – was a bitter failure, at this point worsening relations with the Blackwood family would be an even greater loss.

She needed to escape this ballroom quickly before more people gathered and someone recognized her identity.

‘First I need to quickly find Karaham in this banquet hall. If he stays, my identity will eventually be exposed. And as soon as I get back, I need to change my hairstyle. I should also avoid social events for a while…’

If she could just leave with her younger brother who had accompanied her to the masquerade, those two likely wouldn’t pursue her to the end.

After all, their main purpose here was presumably to build connections with the imperial family – they’d prioritize that over chasing some unidentified noble.

“You seemed to have quite a lot to say earlier, but suddenly you’ve gone quiet.”

“……”

“Since I’ve revealed my family first, I’d now like to hear which family you’re from and who you are.”

“……”

Feeling pressured by Ethan’s approaching steps, Lizzie desperately rolled her eyes behind her mask searching for her younger brother Karaham.

Fortunately, it didn’t take long to spot a distinctive man with sky-blue hair like her own entering her field of vision.

All she needed to do now was take her brother and hastily escape this ballroom, but…

Unfortunately, Lizzie Lynn August had failed to consider one fatal flaw.

“S-sister! Get away from that creepy guy!”

That her younger brother, Karaham Samuel August, was a muscle-brained fool with zero tact.

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

“You seemed to have quite a lot to say earlier, but suddenly you’ve gone quiet.”

“……”

“Since I’ve revealed my family first, I’d now like to hear which family you’re from and who you are.”

The sky-blue haired noble lady fell completely silent the moment Ethan revealed his family.

Seeing her hesitation, I could immediately confirm her family definitely wasn’t at a level to overwhelm the Blackwood family.

Though honestly, I doubt any family in the Empire could overwhelm the Blackwoods to begin with.

That she’d react like this when Ethan dropped the Blackwood name was entirely predictable.

I could even cautiously guess what final decision she might make now that she was cornered.

‘She’ll probably run. Without revealing her family to the end.’

Ethan had already created an unusual atmosphere with this woman, and at this point, her transgressions were too severe to be forgiven with an apology.

Having boldly spoken up relying solely on her family name, only to have that very card blocked, she was essentially a rat trapped in a corner now.

In this situation, the only viable solution available to her was escape.

…Well, I should probably mention it to Ethan. That this woman is preparing to flee.

Seeing the noble lady’s eyes darting rapidly behind her mask, I quietly whispered my observations to him.

“Ed.”

“L-Lillith…?”

“That woman seems to be thinking of running away.”

“Huh…?”

“…Just something to keep in mind.”

It was literally just information to keep in mind.

I wasn’t telling Ethan to stop her from escaping or to be on guard in case she ran.

Considering that his aggressive approach might actually be part of his political maneuvering,

and though I’m actually just his exclusive maid rather than his real fiancée (only me, Ethan, and Princess Seraphine know this),

the current situation where his partner was insulted could present significant political opportunities for Ethan.

‘Since the opposing family doesn’t seem small either, he could probably leverage this into substantial debt.’

While technically it was just a commoner’s (my) clothes being stained by that noble lady’s cocktail, with the right approach this could easily escalate into an inter-family issue.

Particularly this kind of one-sided insult could become a significant weakness in future noble dealings.

Considering potential future interactions with that noble family, firmly establishing this debt would be advantageous in many ways.

‘He’s definitely been involved in territory management lately – seems his mind is working well.’

Just like when he pressured Emilia with the territory guards last year, he clearly understands what will and won’t benefit him and his family.

Though I ended up being used twice in the process, I didn’t particularly mind.

After all, from my perspective too, that woman was just an unpleasant bitch, and watching her get what’s coming to her would be satisfying entertainment.

…Though realizing that Ethan wasn’t actually standing up for me but just using the situation was slightly embarrassing.

‘Well, the fact remains he did call out that woman who made me look bad. I’ll take that as repayment.’

From now on, whatever Ethan did was his choice.

He could watch her flee and let her go.

Or block her escape and demand greater retribution.

Assuming he’d choose the latter, I watched the situation unfold like observing a fire across the river, when Ethan began murmuring something to me in response to my advice.

“Got it. If that’s what Lillith wants.”

“…Huh?”

What exactly did I want?

As I puzzled over Ethan’s sudden muttering, the cornered noble lady finally made a move to escape.

Both Ethan and I focused intently on the sky-blue haired woman’s movements, our tension high, when-

“…S-sister! Get away from that creepy guy!”

“……!!”

“……”

“……?”

The attention of all three people, including the woman, instantly shifted toward the male voice coming from outside our field of vision.

“D-don’t touch Lizzie! You gloomy-looking bastard!!”

‘……Huh?’

I’ve definitely heard this voice before.

No, it wasn’t just the voice.

Though partially obscured by the mask, I could clearly recognize this character.

Sky-blue hair, familiar build, recognizable voice, and a sword design I’ve seen before.

…Plus, he just called that woman “Sister Lizzie.”

Considering all these circumstances, only one character fits all these conditions.

‘…Karaham Samuel August.’

Alias: Sword Demon Karaham.

Right, how could I forget?

Because he was the mid-boss character of Episode 3, the “Seraphine Abduction” incident in 『Luminor Academy』.