"On the contrary, it was good. You can't accompany someone in a luxury carriage without paying a penny and not giving anything in return. In any case, in order to appear plausible as 'Isabella', I must frequently attend meetings with nobles."
"You're not wrong."
Hugh nodded as if he understood what I said.
When I turned my gaze, I saw Eric approaching the employees at the top and giving various instructions.
"Whew, while I'm at the ball, please find out about the Baron Berker family and the Timona clan."
"Was there anything that bothered you or anything suspicious?"
"No. Not really, but..."
I was concerned that everything was going too well.
Fortunately, on that day, at that moment, Eric appeared in front of me with what I needed.
Thanks to his kindness towards me, I was able to easily go to the imperial capital, and the return he wanted was enough to 'tolerate'.
"I have never been so lucky in my life."
Maybe it's because I was born unlucky.
No matter what I do, the problems in front of me have rarely been resolved so skillfully.
I always had to sacrifice more than I had.
"So, first of all, be careful. Even if I became Isabella, I don't think my bad luck would have disappeared from my life."
Hugh, who was listening quietly, opened his lips as if he was going to say something, but then closed them.
***
After the sunset, stars appeared one by one in the dark sky.
I listened to the music coming from inside the magnificent building.
"You don't seem to be used to proms."
I asked in a low voice in response to Eric's words.
"Is it noticeable?"
"Because you seem nervous."
Isabella was not very active in social activities.
Most of the times she attended parties were hosted by his godmother, Lady Veronica, and even at those, she would only show respect and then return quickly.
'Rebecca has absolutely nothing to do with this position.'
Eric seemed to have a hard expression on his face, so I comforted him with soft words.
"It was just a gathering I attended as part of a fellowship. It's okay not to feel too pressured."
After checking the invitation, the gatekeeper gave us a polite greeting..
"I hope you have a nice night."
Beyond the open door, I saw women wearing dizzyingly colorful dresses twirling with their partners to a słow tune.
As he entered the ballroom with his arms folded, curious gazes poured in.
"Eric!"
A chubby, well-built man approached me and spoke to me in a friendly way.
"This is amazing. I can't believe you're attending a ball like this and with your partner!"
The gaze of the man who was making a fuss soon landed on me.
"This way?"
"This is Lady Isabella who came with me today."
As I lightly bent my knees, he greeted me with a friendly smile.
"Nice to meet you, my lady. My name is Isaac Franc."
He lightly grabbed my hand and lowered his head as if he wanted to bring his lips to mine.
Eric must have seen me flinch for a moment, so he naturally pushed me away and spoke.
"This is the suggestion you made to me last time."
"Huh? Right. Do you mean the business I mentioned? Have you reviewed it?"
Isaac raised his head curiously and smiled.
Perhaps because it was a very important matter to him, as soon as the word 'proposal' came out of Eric's mouth, all his attention was focused on it.
"I'm sorry, Isabella, but I'm going to have a chat with this friend for a moment. Could you please wait?"
Eric asked for my understanding in a soft voice.
"Yes."
"It will just take a moment. I will treat you appropriately and then come back."
When I came closer and whispered, I could clearly feel the other person's breath.
While Eric was taken aback by the unfamiliar sensation, he had already moved away from his friend, who was speaking passionately to him.
"Did you say Lady Isabella?"
As I stood awkwardly fiddling with my ears, a shadow of someone appeared in front of me.
A young-looking young lady with curious eyes caught my eye.
"Oh, my name is Grace of Viscount Noren."
I slowly bent my knees as Grace looked at me intently.
"Nice to meet you. This is Baron Harper's Isabella."
"Baron Harper?"
As Grace began talking to me, a young lady approached me and tilted her head.
"It looks like you came from a place quite far away from here, right?"
"Yes."
At the short answer, several ladies agreed with a somewhat puzzled look on their faces.
"The dance held at Bluewell is a place where acquaintances invite people, so most of them are locals. It's been a while since we've seen a new face, so everyone is amazed. Oh, I'm Emily from Viscount Wheelet."
"Nice to meet you, Emily."
After that, other ladies also greeted me with their family names.
I responded by trying my best to imitate Isabella's gestures, hand movements, and speaking style.
Fortunately, no one showed any sign of displeasure while greeting me.
On the contrary, I smiled and responded naturally, so it seemed like I was imitating it quite convincingly.
As I was feeling a sense of relief, someone suddenly asked me.
"How did you get to know Baron Berker?"
As I was about to open my mouth to answer the question of the lady whose face was half covered by a fan, I suddenly felt a strange atmosphere surrounding me. Most of the ladies present were glancing at me and waiting for an answer.
As if my answer was very important to them.
After pausing for a moment to look at the surrounding atmosphere, I slowly opened my mouth.
"It would be difficult to say that our friendship is deep. I met the Baron by chance at the last territory and ended up accompanying him to the imperial capital."
The atmosphere around me, which had been filled with inexplicable tension, changed to light due to my cautious answer.
"I knew so."
"I see."
In an instant, the strange tension surrounding me was instantly relieved.
Grace, who was the first to talk to me, closed the distance and crossed her arms.
"The moment we saw the lady walking in with Sir Eric's escort, we all knew. It's clear that you don't really know anything about him."
As the conversation continued, a sense of mission appeared on the faces of the ladies surrounding me.
"Eric Berker, he comes from a street where even his parents don't know."
"..."
"They said he was found among items purchased from a store. The owner of the merchant took pity on him, raised him, taught him various things, and found out that he had a talent for commerce."
"The original name of the merchant Timona merchant was Berker merchant. After the death of the owner of the business, the name was changed to Timona Merchant as if they were waiting for it."
"Did the owner of the business have no children?"
"No. There was. Although he was not as good as Sir Eric, he was said to be quite a talented person, but one day he disappeared from view and did not even show up at his father's funeral."
"It came to an end when Sir Eric later reported him missing and the police found something similar to his suicide note..."
Everyone made eye contact as if they were uncomfortable.
A man who went missing and was eventually determined to have committed suicide.
It seemed clear that everyone was guessing what they were saying, even though they couldn't say it out loud.
"Not long after that, the Chamber of Commerce gave an enormous gift to a high-ranking noble in the imperial capital and obtained the title of Baron."
Once the ladies' mouths began to open, their mouths were unrestrained.
"Everyone knows. Sir Eric was looking for an upper-class woman due to his lack of 'blood'."
"He wants to expand the top end further than it is now. His status is always an obstacle to taking on big projects."
In reality, it is the merchant who makes the money, but it is the noble who guarantees the merchant's abilities.
Is 'family surname' really a qualification for a noble who provides a guarantee?
"At least his ability seems to have been proven. He has grown a small business to this extent."
The fact that he had created a royal family in the imperial capital, received a title, and developed a large enough top company to establish and manage branches in each territory was a level that could not be ignored.
At least in the past, he was such a great person that they couldn't even touch him.
Emily, who was next to me, covered her mouth with a fan and smiled.
"So you have to be more careful."
"Yes."
"Isn't that why you were so eager to save money because you weren't born with anything?"
"Because one's origins are never hidden."
"What do I do if I change the name of the business and receive a title? A lowly birth never changes."
Everyone burst into laughter as if the sound of "Ugh" had started a fire.
These were just guesses.
Eric joined the merchant, the owner of the merchant died, and the name of the merchant was changed.
After that, the only son of the owner died.
Since the story progressed in an overly natural way in his favor, it might have been natural to have doubts.
'But what does that have to do with status?'
It bothered me to be convinced that I was born with nothing and that I was lowly, so of course I should have taken what other people had.
"He is a noble noble..."
It was funny.
Those who treat me like nobility just by wearing expensive jewelry and dresses and 'imitating' Isabella.
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