episode_0040

In the forefront of the group of maids, there was a maid with blue-tinted black hair, walking towards me with a flutter of her hair.

Her steps were like that of a cat stealthily approaching its prey.

With sharp eyes like a cat, her golden eyes stared at me intently.

She was Princess Sharfille, the daughter of the Duke of Orléans.

“I greet the princess.”

I lifted the hem of my dress slightly and greeted her.

“I am meeting Lady Roanne for the first time.”

“Nice to meet you, Princess.”

Perhaps because she was the daughter of the Duke of Orléans, there was a clear hostility towards me that subtly showed.

“I heard that you became the daughter of the Archbishop of Roanne.”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

“Hmm…”

She stared at my face intently in response.

“You look like you’ve come from a flower shop or somewhere rolling around, don’t you think?”

“I highly doubt that.”

I replied with a smile.

Even though she mentioned rolling around in the battlefield, it’s true that after spending about ten years there, I did roll around quite a bit.

“By the way, what’s with this fierce attitude? A lady wielding a sword, oh my my…”

“Well… it’s just something.”

“If you don’t like someone, you might as well stab them with a sword?”

“No, that’s not it.”

We had only exchanged a few words, but it felt like the air was being sucked out of me.

When I looked back, Laurent was already far away.

“Help me out a bit.”

“Please, Maris.”

We communicated silently, without speaking.

“By the way, Lady Roanne, you’re not following the example of Saint Jeanne, nor are you a child holding a sword like that?”

I felt an impulse to run away immediately.

Why does that woman have such a grudge against the royal faction that she would do this as soon as I arrived at the banquet?

“Oh? Princess, does that remind you of something from the past?”

Behind me, the glamorous silver-haired Marquis Youngae appeared.

“Marquis Youngae…”

Princess Sharfille narrowed her eyes and glared at her.

“Do you remember the past? You said you would become a lady-in-waiting and be like Jeanne, didn’t you… Oh! Wasn’t that something that shouldn’t be mentioned?”

In response to Marquis Youngae’s words, Princess Sharfille fanned herself and blushed.

“Oh my~ Did I bring up an embarrassing memory unnecessarily? If it made you uncomfortable, I apologize.”

She lifted the hem of her dress and slightly bowed her head.

“Hmph!”

“Lady Roanne.”

Marquis Youngae called me over.

“Yes?”

“Follow me.”

She grabbed my hand like she was kidnapping me and led me somewhere.

“Why are you foolishly listening to that girl’s words politely? There’s no one here to reprimand you if you just ignore her.”

Marquis Youngae let go of my hand and started lecturing me.

“Are you so ignorant in social circles? I’m helping you because I saw the face of Viscount Bastonu, so you should thank him.”

“Well… that’s true. It’s not common for me to ignore the words of someone higher than me…”

I scratched my cheek and replied.

“Goodness… What is wrong with that person?”

“Maybe it’s because of the war, it’s not easy to change old habits.”

That’s why I endured Viscount Flandre’s muttering inside the carriage.

“Ugh…”

She clicked her tongue at my words.

“Why is your tone like that? It’s not like you’re a man, why are you speaking like that?”

“Well… this is just how I am…”

“There’s no ‘just how I am.’ You have to change everything to live.”

She crossed her arms and looked at me.

“Let’s have a private chat next time.”

“Wow… I’m envious.”

Laja and Countess Yeongae’s words made the Yeongae behind her murmur.

“I’m not sure if I can go because I’m busy…”

At my words, the other Yeongaes glared at me with a flicker in their eyes.

It was as if they were questioning why I was refusing Countess Laja and Yeongae’s offer, with a somewhat arrogant look.

‘Ugh… these young girls…’

The young Yeongaes had quite a cheeky look in their eyes, and for a moment, I felt like giving them a piece of my mind, but they were daughters of nobles like Armand, so I couldn’t bring myself to do it and clenched my fist.

“Anyway, thank you for helping me.”

“Hehe, it’s only natural since you helped me along with Bastonieu Yeongshik.”

Countess Laja Yeongae, who seemed to think of me as a rival, subtly belittled my efforts as she spoke.

I only thought of Lorang as a friend who helped me deal with the aftermath of fighting with Dushak’s soldiers, nothing more.

But every time I mentioned Lorang’s name, I wondered why her face blushed so much. Was he really that great?

To me, he was just a talented young man with immense potential.

…In fact, there was something else that was immense besides that.

“I was planning to come early and take you away before Princess Shapril started causing trouble, but those girls came first and beat me to it.”

“It’s nothing.”

Listening to her words, I found it somewhat bearable compared to the curses I heard from the instructors during training, which drained my mental strength.

If Princess Shapril loses her mind over trivial matters, the instructors at the training camp were ruthless in breaking people’s spirits.

“Since a new person has joined our noble gathering, shall we greet each other?”

When Countess Laja Yeongae clapped her hands, the other Yeongaes flocked to me.

“Nice to meet you, I am the Viscount of Chatello…”

“I am the Marquis of Damarilery…”

“Ah, nice to meet you.”

I greeted the Yeongaes and continued with the introductions.

“Have you finished greeting everyone?”

After the greetings, Countess Laja Yeongae approached me.

“I have finished. I didn’t know that greeting could be so tiring.”

“Originally, it’s always like that in the beginning.”

Countess Laja Yeongae smiled and pointed to a line on the dance floor.

“Do you see that line on the floor over there?”

“Yes, I see it.”

“According to that line, the nobles are on the left and the royalists are on the right.”

“Oh… I didn’t know there were such detailed arrangements in this ballroom.”

“In fact, it naturally divided because they didn’t want to see each other’s faces.”

“I see…”

It was like how infantry and artillery in the army didn’t get along. Infantry disliked artillery for shooting from a safe distance, while artillery disliked infantry for not doing their job properly and always putting them in dangerous situations.

Even though they were all soldiers, they liked or disliked each other based on their own gains and losses, just like the royalists and nobles.

“I roughly understand the situation.”

“Then just be careful not to cross that line, and you’ll be fine.”

“Thank you for the reminder.”

After my words, Countess Laja Yeongae smiled and left to talk to the other Yeongaes.

Left alone, I looked around to see where Lorang had gone.

“Where did this guy disappear to?”

I thought we could enjoy some drinks together, but he was nowhere to be seen.

“There’s no restroom in the palace, where did he go…”

I shook my head and started enjoying the banquet alone, eating and drinking merrily.

As the music inside the banquet hall changed, people started going out to the courtyard to dance one by one.

Of course, I didn’t know how to dance, so I just watched.

I actually know how to dance the male part, but not the female part.

So, I picked up a piece of cheese and watched people dancing.

“Excuse me.”

I stared at people dancing while chewing on the cheese, and a man approached me and offered his hand.

“If it’s not too much trouble, would you like to dance with me?”

“Sorry, I’ve already had some drinks.”

I showed him the wine glass I was drinking from.

“It’s okay, I can lead.”

“Sorry, I politely decline.”

As I shook my head and declined, he seemed like he wanted to say something more but just backed away.

If someone asks me to dance, I can do it, but only if they can lead the female part.

As the music changed a few times, I continued to watch while nibbling on appetizers, and another man approached me.

“Beautiful lady, would you dance with me?”

My mouth twitched slightly at his cheesy line.

“Sorry, I’m a bit tipsy…”

“I understand.”

This time, the man who approached me politely backed off when I declined.

“Lovely lady, would you…”

“Sorry.”

“Dance with me…”

“I’m a bit drunk…”

“I…”

“No.”

Afraid of receiving the ire of other ladies due to the constant influx of suitors, I grabbed a bottle of wine and escaped to the terrace.

Standing alone on the terrace, feeling the night breeze, I suddenly remembered the novel Penny was reading.

It was a story about a beautiful woman standing alone on a terrace, meeting a man who happened to come in, and their eyes meeting.

Thud!

Suddenly feeling uneasy about the novel’s contents that came to mind, I locked the door.

Leaning against the terrace railing, I started drinking wine straight from the bottle.

Glug glug

As the wine flowed, my throat bobbed up and down.

“Ahh… this is how you live.”

By the way, why hasn’t King Angju 14th shown his face yet, even though he said he would meet me?

I was just planning to meet King Angju and pick up some food to eat before leaving, but I don’t know why this is dragging on.

“He’ll call me soon.”

I drank the wine glug glug and lit the bottle.

Pop pop pop!

Suddenly, while drinking on the terrace, a loud trumpet sound was heard.

“The great and glorious King Angju 14th of Elangs is here!”

“Huh…?!”

Upon hearing the sound coming from the banquet hall, I quickly channeled mana in my body to sober up.

“Can they smell the alcohol…?”

I sniffed myself to check the smell.

“Will it be okay…?”

I brushed off the dust on my skirt and headed back to the banquet hall.

“Why are you so late?!”

Returning to the banquet hall, Raju and Countess Yeongae lightly scolded me, tapping my shoulder.

“Sorry, I was delayed on the terrace…”

Meanwhile, King Angju 14th was giving a speech to the people from a high place.

Beside him was Queen Anne of Osterburg, who had come from Osterburg.

“…I don’t want to talk for too long, so I’ll wrap it up. Cheers to the peace of Elangs and Osterburg!”

“Cheers!”

As King Angju 14th raised his glass and cheered, all the nobles and aristocrats in the hall followed suit.

“For Elangs!”

“For the peace of Elangs and Osterburg!”

Leaning against a pillar, I watched King Angju 14th, who looked dignified as he raised his glass, and felt a mix of emotions.

Where did that man go who was looking for his mother on the battlefield seven years ago… It was truly a whirlwind of emotions.

“Wow… when did he grow up like that…”

Both my younger sister Penny and King Angju 14th seemed to have grown up so quickly.

I may speak like an old man, but I’m still in my twenties.

After finishing the toast, 14-year-old Angju went back inside.

“I should start singing now…”

I waited, listening to the love story of Lord Laurent and Viscountess Yeongae, until someone came looking for me.

“Are you Viscountess Marie de Roanne?”

“Yes.”

“We found you among the royal factions, but now we’ve truly found you. His Majesty the King is summoning you.”

“Please lead the way.”

“Yes.”

“Lord Laurent, Viscountess Yeongae.”

“Yes, what is it?”

“I’ll be back.”

Upon my words, Viscountess Yeongae waved goodbye to me.