Chapter 15: Shouldn’t she be a little more grateful?

“Ha, look at that!”

Viviana’s violet eyes widened in shock. She was looking at a beautiful girl with pure white hair, who was sitting on the floor, shedding pitiful tears.

A faint, bitter smile appeared on Viviana’s lips. Others might have missed it, but since she had been watching the girl since the moment she entered the banquet hall, Viviana barely noticed the subtle change.

Even with her finely honed senses, sharpened like a sword through extensive training, she barely caught the slight difference. An ordinary person would have missed it entirely.

“She was definitely enjoying herself just now.”

“Where are you looking, Lady Viviana?”

A gentle, beautiful voice redirected her gaze straight ahead. There stood the Third Princess, Astellah, with her splendid white hair and eyes as noble as golden sunlight, looking at her with a hint of curiosity.

“I’m sorry, Your Highness. I got distracted by what seemed to be a small commotion.”

“Hehe, such disturbances are not uncommon in social gatherings.”

The Third Princess, Astellah, looked up at her with a nonchalant smile as she observed the commotion in the hall.

“I didn’t expect you to attend on the second day as well, Lady Viviana. I’m touched.”

“Since we’re going to be working together, it’s only natural to show this level of dedication.”

“Oh my, hehe…”

Despite her words, the real reason Viviana attended this event wasn’t because of the princess. She couldn’t stop thinking about the white, smooth backside she had seen at the previous banquet. For some reason, that image had stuck in her mind since the first day of the event and wouldn’t go away.

It affected her daily work to the point where she felt compelled to return. She had never attended the same banquet twice in a row before, but she couldn’t shake off this confusion without seeing that backside again.

So she came here, only to witness something unexpected.

It seems that our pet young lady isn’t as innocent as the rumors say.

Ironically, that only piqued her interest more.

“Hmm…”

It looks like I’ll need to have a little chat with her.

***

While Rose, with a bruise on her left cheek, ran out of the banquet crying in frustration, I was surrounded by young ladies offering love and comfort.

“Tina… Are you okay? You must have been scared.”

“Sniff, n-no… I must have accidentally upset Lady Rose…”

“That’s not possible! Tina, you were just trying to be nice, but Lady Verdalen must have lost her mind.”

“That’s right. I always thought Lady Verdalen was rude, but I never expected it to be this bad. It’s unbelievable.”

Several young ladies wiped my tears away. As I buried my head in Versha’s belly, she stroked my head sympathetically and spoke softly.

“Tina, don’t worry. I’ll make sure that woman never touches you again.”

“No, really, I’m fine, Lady Versha. I’ll just be more careful next time…”

“…Sigh, you’re too kind for your own good, Tina.”

Judging by the atmosphere, Rose wouldn’t be able to show her face in social circles for a while. With her family’s power waning, being marked by Versha meant she wouldn’t be able to walk around with her head held high like before.

“It’s a pity Lady Mardian wasn’t here; it would have been satisfying to slap that woman properly.”

What a terrible thing to say.

If Mardian had been here, things would have been different.

If Mardian had stepped in, it would have been a reminder of why she’s called a villainess in the game. It wouldn’t have ended as just an emotional outburst from me.

“Are you feeling a bit calmer now, Tina?”

“Yes… I’m still a little sad, but actually, as soon as I saw you, Versha, I felt better.”

“Oh, really?”

“But I also pretended to be down because I wanted to be pampered by you… I’m sorry, did I trouble you?”

Versha’s eyes widened, trembling slightly. With a soft blush on her cheeks, she hugged me tightly and started spinning me around.

“You could never be a burden, Tina! You can be as spoiled as you want.”

I felt breathless, but I smiled without showing it. The brief commotion quickly faded away, and the night of the banquet deepened further.

The ladies laughed at their usual meaningless chatter, and I leaned on Versha’s shoulder, playing along.

“Speaking of which, Tina, you should visit Lady Mardian.”

“What?”

My body flinched instinctively. Maybe it was because I remembered getting spanked multiple times by Mardian last time, but I didn’t really want to face her.

“I heard she prepared a gift for you? And quite an expensive one, at that.”

Well, there’s some history between Mardian and me, so I guess it wouldn’t hurt to visit her. Come to think of it, I don’t really dislike her, and there’s no reason not to go.

It’s definitely not because of the gift.

“The gift is nice and all…”

“Hehe, it wouldn’t be polite to the one who prepared it.”

“Uh… Okay, I understand.”

With a reluctant expression, I nodded. Versha giggled, covering her mouth, then patted my head as she saw me off.

As I wandered through the vast hall of the banquet, a subtle excitement seeped into my heart. If it’s Mardian, the so-called queen of the social scene, she wouldn’t have prepared a light gift.

I clutched my softly pounding heart and tried to suppress the faint smile spreading on my face.

How should I describe this feeling? It’s like being personally summoned by a wealthy chairman who has always cherished me and heading up to her office.

‘What could it be?’

It could be a necklace with a blue gemstone like the one Sharione had, or perhaps a diamond-studded ring like the one Versha gave me before. Whatever Mardian gives, I was certain it would be of great value to my mother and me.

As I walked across the hall, filled with excitement, someone grabbed my shoulder.

“Oh, we meet again, lady.”

“…What?”

My heart sank at the unexpected face.

A woman with strikingly distinct features, radiant purple eyes, and jet-black hair contrasting her fair skin. Her body was a harmonious blend of revealing and soft curves.

If I were born a man, I might have been instantly captivated by her appearance.

“Wh-Why is Lady Merdelia here…?”

Viviana Merdelia.

She looked at me and smiled sweetly with her eyes.

“It’s Her Highness’s banquet; of course, I must attend.”

No, that can’t be.

Viviana never attends the same banquet twice. This was explicitly mentioned as part of her character in the game. It was a plot point to show how much Viviana dislikes socializing.

Even if summoned by the royal family, someone of Viviana’s status could show up just on the first day and leave without anyone saying a word. Why is she here now?

I was curious for various reasons but decided not to delve too deeply. Right now, the gift prepared by Mardian was much more important and exciting to me than Viviana.

Whatever the reason she was here, it wasn’t my concern. I smiled sweetly and politely greeted Viviana.

“Oh… I see. It’s an honor to meet you again, Your Grace.”

“Hmm… Is that so?”

Viviana raised an eyebrow and gave a faint smile. She seemed pleased, but it was all an act. Everyone knows Viviana doesn’t get happy over such shallow compliments.

“Yes. Then I’ll take my leave.”

At my brief words, Viviana’s violet eyes trembled slightly. She still held my shoulder, smiling sweetly, and asked again.

“Hmm? Is there some matter, young lady?”

“Yes, I have a prior engagement with someone important… Please excuse me. I wish you peace.”

I bowed deeply once more with courteous words, but Viviana still didn’t let go of my shoulder. Puzzled, I looked at her.

“Th-then, it was an honor to meet you, Lady.”

She didn’t let go for a while, so I took a few steps back and gently removed her hand from my shoulder. Leaving Viviana, who stood there in a daze, I bowed once more and retreated.

‘…There’s nothing to worry about, right?’

By the way, what could the gift be?

I hope it’s something expensive.

***

“…Huh?”

I watched the young lady with white hair retreat like a rabbit.

‘That’s it? Just a polite greeting?’

Even though we’ve only met once, I carefully applied medicine to her when she was having trouble walking. Shouldn’t she be a little more grateful?

Of course, I had decided not to take much interest in her until yesterday. I thought I would just greet her a few times if we happened to meet. I didn’t want to pay any more attention.

I wasn’t so free as to spend time on a young lady from a precarious family.

But still, no matter what, she should have been a little more pleased, right?

“…This is annoying.”