episode_0064

I don’t like dancing.

Actually, I don’t like meeting and forming relationships with many people. In my past life, I just liked spending time alone at home.

You might ask what I did in Delki City, but it was not because I really wanted to do it, but because I knew how shameless it would seem to live there and not do such things.

Just because you say it’s good to stay at home, you can’t just stay at your parents’ house. The longer you spend, the more discerning you become, and in the end, you end up looking for a job somehow. I did the same.

And even in that situation, I had no reason to get involved with other people.

Several wolves followed me around all the time, and forming relationships with them didn’t require the same interests as humans. All we had to do was walk around together in silence, roll together, occasionally bring them food, catch prey and share it with them. We didn’t argue or make faces for political reasons. There is no need to blush.

However, the banquet tree town was a place where I had to interact with people. I didn’t just hate it because I had to move my body, go out, or go to new places, but I hated the situation where I had to dance and socialize with people I didn’t know.

so that-

“How do you feel? When you actually dance like this, it’s not all that bad, right? It’s fun to leave your body to good music and follow the rhythm.”

Amelia, who wrapped her arms around my waist, looked up at me and smiled.

Maybe it was because she was busy moving her legs to the music, or maybe she was a little embarrassed by the attention of people flocking to her. Amelia’s face was a little red.

It’s probably the same for me too. In fact, my normal face is so white that it’s almost bloodless, so I might look a lot dirtier than Amelia.

“… … Yes.”

Amelia smiled brightly at my answer.

*

When we stopped dancing after one song, I was surprised to find that I was feeling a little disappointed.

Actually, we only started dancing halfway through the song, so we danced a little shorter than the people who danced at the beginning of the song. But even so, I didn’t expect that I would be this disappointed.

“Phew.”

Amelia caught her breath and placed her hand on her chest. Thanks to this, Amelia’s vivid body was more emphasized and her heart skipped a beat.

The moment Amelia opened the door, looking up at me—

“Oh my.”

Just like that, someone’s exaggerated voice of surprise was heard.

The sound was not directed at us. There were many people who looked at us in surprise, but the exaggerated sound that seemed to be on purpose took people’s attention away from us in an instant.

If I had made that sound while the music was playing, people wouldn’t have paid so much attention. In fact, there were many people who watched me dancing with Amelia with bated breath, so when the music stopped, the surroundings fell into unusual silence, so There was more attention than necessary.

However, the woman who made that exclamation did not feel intimidated by the gaze, but rather smiled as if she was happy.

The smile on his face that appeared for a moment was soon hidden behind a fancy fan.

She had her hair in a bun that looked like a drawing, with one hand on her pelvis and the other hand holding a fan to cover her mouth.

… … Her hair was in a bun that looked like she could bite it with her mouth if she wanted to. She had shiny blonde hair that seemed a little too bright, and the dress was a gorgeous pink. If you tweak the shape of your hair a little and put a crown on top of your head, you’ll look like a princess from a famous game series. It was a look that could be seen, but I guess it was because of the venomous expression, or perhaps because of the slightly excessive fashion sense, but it looked a bit like an extra.

So, should I say that it looks like it’s intentionally trying to attract aggro?

Needless to say, she was a young lady who appeared as a villain in the novel.

My name is Diane. My family name is Hoover.

The Hoover family was a count and occupied one of the central axes of power in the kingdom. The territory itself was quite small and did not produce any special products, but since it was near the royal capital, exchanges with the royal family were frequent, and the population of the territory was large, so the amount of crops grown each year was high. Quite a lot.

Although it was not as bad as Gratton Mount, where large amounts of gold and iron ore were produced, the amount of taxes paid each year was not at a level that could be ignored.

In the original work, the setting is that he was Amelia’s right-hand man. Of course, in the novel I read, Amelia had no intention of torturing Adele, so that ended up being just a setting.

“Aren’t you the daughter of the Carlins family?”

And the person confronting her was, of course, the original protagonist, Adele.

“… … Long time no see, Countess.”

“That’s right. It’s been a really long time. However, I didn’t know we could meet here like this.”

Both of them had lived in the royal capital for a long time. If we had to be honest, Adele was the native. Because the Carlins family was a family that had lived in this royal capital without a fiefdom to begin with.

When the Carlins family still had some spare time, Adele’s father tried to give Adele a good teacher. After the war, peace came, and the paradigm changed, so Adele had to grow up in a different direction.

The problem was that the teacher was also teaching the Hoover children, and Adele was better than the Hoover children in many ways.

The tutor was also sensible, so he didn’t make any overt comparisons.

However, rumors are bound to spread in some way. Whether it is through the mouth of a student who is happy with the sense of accomplishment, or when the student’s father is happy to hear the story and brags about it to someone.

The teacher didn’t say anything, so the student didn’t know that his grades were the best among the students taught by the teacher. Because of that one fact, the story leaked out.

Of course, Adele would be a thorn in the side of Diane, the ‘child of the Hoover family.’

It would be easy to pressure the teacher to stop teaching Adele.

And families that do not belong to the original faction will be disadvantaged in many ways if they are seen by other factions.

Adele doesn’t know it yet, but the incident has rolled and turned into a snowball, giving her father a hard time.

“Thank you for your concern.”

“So, I was really worried. From the looks of it, there doesn’t seem to be anyone to escort you, but I’m glad you were able to come like this.”

“… … Once again, thank you for your concern. But I am here because I have the right to be here. I received an invitation.”

“Invitation?”

As I was watching the story unfold, I felt someone gently grabbing my arm from the side.

“Elsie.”

“Yes.”

I nodded at Amelia’s whisper.

We walked slowly together and headed toward that direction.

“By the way, did you say it was an invitation? That’s strange. Were there any high-ranking nobles close to the royal family among the relatives of the Carlins family?”

“No, but—”

“Or, did your father make a great contribution in the war? That is how he strengthened his friendship with the royal family and local lords.”

“… … .”

The Kalins family became knights in Adel’s grandfather’s unit. However, they did not make a big contribution in the war. However, they were not able to form friendships with great nobles while fighting. Since there were no major wars in my father’s generation, they naturally did not make a contribution to rise to a higher level. I couldn’t even do it.

That’s why I tried to give Adele a good teacher and build connections in the social world, but due to various misfortunes, that teacher stopped teaching Adele.

Moreover, when it became known that the Carlins family was at odds with Hoover in many ways, the families with which they had some friendly relations turned away one by one, and were now almost isolated.

“It’s strange when I think about it. Perhaps the invitation is—ah.”

A sharp smile appeared on Diane’s lips as she intentionally stopped talking.

Even in the original work, the invitation was sent by someone on Diane’s side. Of course, it was fake, but it would be revealed… … In fact, it probably wouldn’t have happened.

Originally, Adele, who had brought a fake invitation, could not even enter at the entrance, and the crown prince, who heard what had happened at the entrance, appeared and spoke to Adele, asking ‘What’s going on?’, and after finding out that it was a forged invitation, various incidents seem to have occurred. But—

“As a fellow noble, I am sorry to say this, but could I have a quick look at the invitation? I’m sure you’ve already been inspected at the entrance, but I guess it’s a little… … Do you know?”

Diane said that and took a few steps closer to Adele.

In fact, you may have noticed something a little strange.

If the invitation had been fake, you wouldn’t have even been able to enter here. In the first place, manipulating an invitation sent by the king is a serious crime. It means that a person who was not supposed to be invited was put in a place where only ‘verified people’ were supposed to be gathered.

Of course, if it had gone according to the original plan, it shouldn’t have been caught, and if it had gone according to the original plan, Adele would have had to overturn the charges, but that didn’t happen in the original work or in the villainous stories I read.

“Sorry, but that’s not possible.”

Adele spoke with a stern face.

“Why? Is there something wrong? Could you check if the invitation is wrong? You know what? I got the same invitation too.”

Diane, who seemed to have decided to find out more about the test later, approached her with a smiling face—

“No, because I don’t want to do anything that would make me suspicious of the person who gave me the invitation. I am not the recipient of a knighthood, but as the proud eldest daughter of the Knights of Carlins, I cannot do such a rude thing. ”

—Adele answered as if declaring.