Feeling that Lillie's anger toward her had grown, Erencia wielded her fork even more diligently.
"The Imperial Palace chef is skilled."
Euclid chimed in with a comment in the middle.
"Seeing you enjoy it so much makes me want to eat some too."
Barlos eventually ordered his own share of the dish.
It was unexpected support.
'Ah. This can't be happening.'
Since the Crown Prince, the guest of honor of the banquet, stepped forward to eat with them, Erencia's behavior could no longer be taken issue with.
How many people would have the guts to dare to judge whether the Crown Prince did a good job or a bad job in a matter they participated in together?
They might chatter away in bed, but it is not something you can criticize openly.
‘This isn’t it...'
Even though she knew it wasn't right, Erencia couldn't put down her fork. It was because the food was truly delicious.
Lillie kept fanning herself with her head turned away.
Selvarena's lips trembled slightly upon seeing the exposed neckline turn bright red.
Selvarena found this situation very amusing.
Erencia, who appeared wearing clothes that defy common sense, is giving her mother a hard time.
When will the day ever come again to see Lillie, who was a hundred-tailed fox until she sat on the throne as Empress and a seasoned raccoon until she gave birth to a Prince, being so helpless?
She laughed at the sight of Lillie, who would normally have overturned the table, unable to do anything because of the people's stares.
If it had been Prince Grasis's banquet or her own banquet, she probably wouldn't have been holding back like this.
"Please stop staring at me; I’m going to end up looking like Lady Erencia."
Euclid expressed his displeasure at Selvarena's blatant stare. Selvarena's eyes widened slightly.
'Oh my?'
It's fun, and fun, and even more fun.
'I would believe it if you said it was my birthday.'
Selvarena looked at Euclid, stretching the corners of her mouth to both sides.
"Am I making you uncomfortable, Sir Euclid?"
Euclid drank water without answering. It was rude, but Selvarena did not point it out.
Euclid tilted his head.
The Selvarena that Euclid saw was a more astute person than Barlos.
She knew exactly when to step forward and when not to, and she was well-versed in the social atmosphere and political situation.
Furthermore, she was knowledgeable and published a considerable number of papers.
Lillie openly dismissed her, saying, "What would a woman do by publishing a paper?" but Euclid held Selvarena in high regard.
It was puzzling that Selvarena didn't know that Euclid was uncomfortable around her.
Lillie and Barlos did not openly demand it, but they were subtly encouraging Euclid and Selvarena to marry.
However, since a formal proposal had not been submitted, it was a situation where refusal was not an option.
In this case, it would have been right for Selvarena to express her refusal. Or to meet someone else.
However, Selvarena's attitude was ambiguous.
She wore a peculiar smile, neither happy nor sad, when mentioned alongside Euclid.
When the Emperor suggested another marriage partner, she replied, "I have someone in mind."
In Euclid's view, she was not someone who had someone in mind, but rather someone who did not want marriage itself.
However, Selvarena pretended to know nothing, simply leaving herself to the flow of the times without clearly stating her intentions.
A person who is unpredictable and inscrutable is dangerous.
Of course, Erencia was also hard to read, but she was different from Selvarena.
Because Erencia demanded what she wanted without hesitation.
Why is she interested in Erencia?
That's not a very good thing.
It was not a conclusion reached through logical reasoning. It was an intuition and discomfort felt as a fellow kind.
"It is not comfortable watching me eat like an exhibit at an imperial fair."
"I didn't see the scriptures; I saw Lady Erencia."
Selvarena smiled even more broadly as she saw Euclid, who had his spines raised high like a hedgehog.
A man who shuns women and banquets, and Novellita, appears at the banquet with Erencia Novelita as his partner.
It’s surprising enough that he said that, but he even says something quite like a partner.
'You're even taking care of it. Right in front of everyone, you know.'
"It seems like it's a waste for me to watch, Sir?"
Euclid neither strongly denied nor affirmed anything, stared intently at Selvarena, and put the meat into his mouth.
He kept his mouth shut as if it wasn't worth answering.
The woman who moved a stoic man and outsmarted her foxy mother.
Selvarena decided.
'The person I need to make my ally is not Euclid, but Erencia.'
***
"Are you eating now?"
“I guess so.”
The young ladies felt a sudden hunger upon seeing Erencia and Euclid eating.
Then, the strength drained from their perfectly fine legs, and their head felt dizzy.
"How many days has Young Lady gone without food?"
"I starved for two days. I barely managed to drink water and milk. And I haven't eaten a single bit of even that since this morning."
As they shared their troubles with one another, the young ladies looked at Erencia enviously.
One of the young ladies, who had been staring blankly for a long time, muttered.
"If we wore dresses with that kind of design, I feel like even if we couldn't eat to our heart's content, we wouldn't have to go hungry..."
"I want to wear it. Like Erencia!"
"I want to freely and confidently show off my figure like her."
"It won't be that glamorous, but at least I'll be able to take off the corset."
"Isn't it worse because your figure is showing?"
"It’s just that everyone’s waist is tiny because of the corsets; actually, if we walked around with our bodies fully exposed, people wouldn’t even pay attention."
"That's true, though. And if it really bothers you, you can just exercise."
"That's a great idea! Let's exercise together."
Erencia's dress moved the young ladies in a strange direction.
It reminded the young ladies, for whom walking to catch a carriage was their entire daily exercise, of the importance of exercise.
At that time, neither Erencia nor the other young ladies knew what kind of impact this would have in the future.
***
"Thank you for the meal, Your Majesty the Empress."
Erencia smiled broadly as she stroked her bulging lower belly.
She was satisfied with her belly, which protruded only slightly compared to the amount she ate.
"I'm glad you enjoyed the meal."
Lillie gritted her teeth and answered. Seeing the completely empty plate, anger welled up inside her.
Since he was a chef specially selected from among the imperial palace chefs, you can more than imagine how delicious the food must be.
She's tried it. The texture melted in her mouth the moment she put it in, and the juices were incredible.
Just watching them eat made the taste of meat naturally linger in her mouth.
She didn't know how many times she swallowed silently because her mouth was watering.
"You, shouldn't you start dancing now? A debutante begins and ends with dancing."
Barlos also finished his meal and wiped the corners of his mouth.
The debutante, which was considered extremely important, was actually nothing special.
Attending the banquet, exchanging greetings, and dancing was all there was to it.
However, the nobles had a knack for making something insignificant into something significant.
They attached great significance to their first dance partner at their debutante and brought it up as a topic of conversation for a long time.
Erencia's first opponent was set as Euclid, so it wasn't bad. No, it was very good.
Erencia was the only woman Euclid had a debutante ball with.
'With this, I will become the public enemy of the young ladies.'
She had to get up soon.
"If you don't have any other requests, may I go dance?"
Erencia asked politely. A meal was enough to infuriate Lillie. There would be plenty of opportunities in the future.
Now that Erencia has become a candidate for the family's successor, Lillie will contact her in some way.
If you scratch her insides every time.
'They will hate our family.'
No matter how talented Novellita is, how could we possibly endure the Empress's hatred?
Erencia smiled brightly and turned to look at Euclid.
Euclid stood up and held out his hand.
"Duke Novellita raised his daughter poorly."
As soon as Erencia got up from her seat, Lillie spat out words filled with anger.
"Is that so? I thought it looked good."
Barlos covered his enigmatic smile with a champagne glass.
Selvarena looked back and forth between Lillie and Barlos.
Barlos showed affection for Erencia.
"Selvarena, you need to step up your game too."
Lillie turned her arrow toward Selvarena.
Selvarena smiled faintly and did not answer.
Lillie raised her eyebrows as if urging an answer.
Selvarena briefly debated whether or not to make it clear here that she had no intention of helping Barlos.
If I mess up Barlos's birth party, will Lillie try to kill me?
It would be better if it came out like that.
Then, she can go to her father, the Emperor, and plead that she is not qualified to be Empress, thus separating her from Barlos.
If it is Barlos without Lillie, he is definitely worth a try.
Selvarena did not want the throne to pass to Barlos.
The qualified one will hold the throne.
The Emperor's words made Selvarena dream.
To catch a big fish, patience is required. Selvarena decided to hold off today.
“I’ll try.”
Selvarena thought as she watched Euclid tightly spread his hand to cover Erencia's exposed back.
'I guess targeting Erencia is the right move.'
***
Erencia and Euclid were moving toward the center of the banquet hall to dance.
"What?"
An unpleasant sound came from one side. The sound commonly referred to as a pig being slaughtered.
"Huh? You were stuck in a corner not getting any dance requests, so I felt bad and thought I'd dance for you. What's with the fuss?"
The vulgar content attracted people's attention more than the loud voice.
Erencia also had no choice but to stop abruptly.
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