"Wait a moment, Sir Euclid."
Erencia stopped Euclid as he tried to walk past, pretending not to hear.
As time goes by at a banquet, some people are bound to get out of control.
With the drinking taking place and the prevailing atmosphere that disputes arising at banquets can be resolved privately, unbridled foals naturally emerge.
Euclid did not even want to speak to such low-class people.
However, Erencia is different. No, the Erencia of the past was like Euclid.
If she thought they were on a different level, she wouldn't even give them a glance.
However, as she repeated her life, Erencia changed.
The result of repenting again and again, and the reflection gained from deeply contemplating the essence of humanity, did not disappear just because she decided to live as a villainess.
'If I get involved, they'll probably criticize me for being nosy.'
Of course, she came up with a reason to justify her actions, though.
"You-you're rude. A-apologize to me!"
The stuttering voice was familiar. Erencia could no longer ignore it.
"The music started."
Euclid pointed his thumb at the dancing people.
"I have to go over there. If you want to dance, please dance with someone else."
Erencia said only what she wanted to say and let go of Euclid's hand.
"Are you saying we're going over there?"
Euclid pointed to a corner.
A man, enraged to the limit, was shouting at a woman standing in front of him with his hands on his hips.
It was a place where things certainly wouldn't go well.
Erencia nodded and headed in that direction before Euclid could stop her.
Euclid let out a low sigh. He had no choice but to follow her, shielding her back as much as possible.
***
"Miss, please take your medicine."
In front of the banquet hall, a small but elegant carriage came to a halt.
Sitting upright in the carriage, Mary accepted the medicine offered by her lady-in-waiting.
For Mary, the banquet hall was a place difficult to enter without taking a strong medicine to calm her mind.
Although she had accompanied her father since she was old enough to understand, taking the place of her deceased mother, she had absolutely no good memories of the banquet hall.
- You didn't get a single dance request today, did you?
- Good heavens, such a tacky dress.
- If you weren't the Count's daughter, who would even look at you? You'll probably marry into a good family, too, right? Even a woman as unattractive as that manages to snag a good man and get married, so what am I?
- You said you were the Count's only daughter.
She had done nothing, yet people disliked her.
They avoided mentioning names directly and cleverly covered their eyes with a fan, but they could not hide the negative feelings directed at her. Mary sensed it all, and so she grew smaller and smaller.
After that, Mary began skipping banquets under the pretext of illness. Consequently, she became estranged from her father, who had expected her to fulfill a certain part of the role of Countess.
Eventually, Mary had to attend banquets again. And she went through a terrible ordeal
- She went absolutely crazy just because I danced for her once.
- Are you going to become the Count's son-in-law soon?
- Of course.
- Doesn't she know that you have a lover back home and even have a child with her?
-You just need to keep it a secret until the wedding.
It turned out that the handsome man who asked her to dance had ulterior motives.
Mary broke down the moment she saw the man deceiving her with the very lips that had whispered he loved her.
Because she believed it was love, and because he whispered that even her flaws were beautiful, she gave him everything.
What she received in return was cold betrayal. The approach itself was a planned scam.
However, Mary could do nothing. She told him she wanted to break up, but the man left with a mocking laugh, asking if she thought she could ever see another man.
Mary buried herself in the emotion of depression. Just then, news of Victorina reached her.
They say she slapped Stein for seeing another woman and even sued his family for damages.
She looked great.
Mary contacted Victorina.
- I had a good teacher.
When asked how she was able to muster the courage, Victorina smiled and answered.
A light shone from her face. The lighthearted expression, as if the cobwebs had been cleared away, moved Mary.
- I want to meet her too.
Mary asked Victorina for a favor. She had never been so desperate in her life. And she met Erencia and learned many things.
Now she will change too.
“I don’t need medicine.”
Mary dropped the medicine in her hand onto the carriage floor.
***
"Mary!"
Victorina greeted them warmly. Evelyn was also by her side. The three, who knew each other but weren't close enough to stick together throughout the banquet, became much closer thanks to their fondness for Erencia.
"I'll be able to do well today, right?"
As soon as she arrived, Mary showed signs of anxiety.
"Of course! Who did we learn that from?"
Victorina lifted her chin to mimic Erencia's characteristic confident expression.
Mary and Evelyn burst into laughter at the sight.
"Has Lady Erencia arrived?"
"Seeing her makes me feel like I'll gain courage."
“She’s over there...”
Evelyn covered her hand with a fan and pointed at Empress Lillie's table. Even from a distance, it was clear who Erencia was.
Who could play Erencia and pull off a backless dress so elegantly?
“It was amazing.”
Evelyn highly praised Erencia's outfit, calling her a courageous female warrior who challenges the world's customs.
Mary's heart fluttered.
'Can I do it too?'
***
The dance music began. Victorina and Evelyn paired up with suitable men and went to dance.
Mary moved to a corner as she saw the two off.
"Hello, Young Lady of Hetrot. Would you grant me the honor of dancing with you?"
A sleek-looking man held out his hand to Mary.
His glossy face was quite handsome, but his arrogant tone, as if he never thought he would be rejected, was annoying.
"Shouldn't we start with an introduction?"
Mary was surprised even by what she said.
The man's expression contorted for a moment and then smoothed out. Mary didn't miss it.
'That man just thought, 'You're nothing.'
Mary decided not to dance with the man.
"We'll get to know each other gradually. Before that, let's dance first."
The man grabbed Mary's hand. Mary was startled and slapped his hand away.
The man's eyes turned fierce.
"Hey. You're acting so stuck-up."
Mary was suddenly frightened. The man's gentle expression changed in an instant.
'You have to refuse, firmly!'
Mary, thinking that the man was pestering her because she hadn't properly refused him, recalled what Erencia had whispered in her ear.
"I have clearly rejected you, so please don't cling to me pathetically."
"What?"
"It looks really cheap!"
"Huh? You were stuck in a corner and couldn't even get a dance request, and you're so upset?"
The man puffed out his shoulders and approached Mary threateningly. This made it certain.
This man is a bad guy.
Erencia said that one should not be ignored by anyone, and that one should get even angrier when someone ignores them.
"Th-That's rude! A-Apologize!"
Mary squeezed her eyes shut and shouted.
The surroundings became noisy with a commotion.
It seemed like everyone was cursing at Mary, saying she was acting up without knowing her place.
Mary wanted to kick off her seat and run away.
"I heard you go crazy for men, flipping your dress hem up to pounce on them? Do you think suddenly acting like a refined lady makes any difference? I struck up a conversation thinking I was doing you a favor out of a pitiful person, and what is this?"
The man grabbed Mary's wrist tightly. His strength exceeded Mary's imagination. For a brief moment, her legs lifted into the air and fell back down.
Mary, greatly intimidated, could not even scream.
'Please help me!'
She looked around with earnest eyes.
But no one came forward.
"Mary, are you close with that guy?"
Then a clear and pure voice was heard.
'Lady Erencia!'
Her savior appeared.
Mary quickly shook her head.
"Then do you know that man?"
“Oh. No.”
“Do you like that guy?”
Erencia kept looking back and forth between Mary and the man, only asking questions.
'She's disappointed in me. That I can't even properly refuse a dance.'
Mary's shoulders slumped.
"No, I do not want."
Mary said softly, almost mumbling.
"What did you say? I can't hear you well."
'Even Lady Erencia isn't on my side. That's too much.'
Mary became sad. And at the same time, she became angry.
"I said no! I don't know a man like this! I really hate a lowlife like this!"
Mary shouted. The surroundings fell silent.
The person who broke the silence was Erencia.
Erencia swung her fan mercilessly at the man's wrist.
The man let go of Mary's hand during the sudden attack.
"What?"
The man frowned menacingly and looked at Erencia.
In an instant, a murderous aura surrounded the man.
The man's gaze shifted from Erencia to Euclid.
The man's spirit was dampened.
Erencia laughed at the man who was backing down at Euclid.
The corners of the man's lips twitched violently.
“What’s your name?”
Erencia pressed the tip of her fan against the man's shoulder and asked.
Erencia's gaze was quite different from that of the women the man had met so far.
An aura emanated that made one dare not treat her disrespectfully. Come to think of it, her attire was also extraordinary.
"I hate being asked twice. I saw earlier that you seemed to be hearing well, so I'm asking what your name is."
"B, Bran Masetti..."
Overwhelmed by Erencia's aura, the man blurted out his name inadvertently.
"Sir Euclid, is he from a family you know?"
Erencia asked without taking her eyes off the man.
“I don’t know.”
Euclid shook his head.
Of course, Euclid knew the names of most of the empire's prominent families. It was a basic qualification required of an heir to a ducal family.
Masetti was an unfamiliar family.
Erencia's smile deepened.
"There are two reasons why people don't know what kind of family it is even after hearing the name: they are not nobles."
The man was unfazed.
Erencia raised one corner of her mouth diagonally.
"Or a wretched family unsuitable for the position."
The man's eyes trembled slightly.
"It seems you are the latter. How dare you flirt with a Count's daughter like a commoner? Go ahead and try it on me."
As Erencia stepped forward with her hands on her hips, Euclid grabbed her arm and pulled her toward him.
"This is the birthday banquet for His Royal Highness the Prince. Erencia, do not make me throw the handkerchief."
Euclid warned in a low voice. The warning was directed at Bran.
"Ah. No, not at all. I, I'm sorry."
Bran bowed towards Euclid and Erencia.
He is a man who is unlucky to the very end.
"You have something to say, Mary?"
Erencia looked back at Mary.
Mary swallowed hard.
Euclid blocked Bran as he was trying to run away with his tail between his legs.
In the meantime, Erencia approached Mary and gently pushed her back.
Mary moved forward smoothly, like a sailboat being pushed by the wind.
Mary clutched the hem of her dress tightly.
"Apologize to me!"
Mary spoke clearly and in a firm tone.
Mary's voice was full of excitement but firm. Not taking her eyes off Bran's dazed face, Mary opened her eyes wide menacingly.
"Apologize to me!"
Once the voice burst out, it showed no signs of subsiding. Mary shouted even louder as she took a step closer to Bran.
People's eyes poured out.
The gaze of blame was directed at Bran, not Mary.
Bran tried to run away by backing away with a pale face, but his escape route was blocked by Euclid.
In the end, he said, "I'm sorry, Young Lady," offering a barely audible apology.
Only then did Euclid step aside, and Bran ran away as fast as he could.
Mary, still flushed, gasped for breath and glared at where Bran had disappeared.
"Good job."
A cold voice was heard. It was Erencia.
Mary realized Erencia's sincerity.
'Lady Erencia gave me a chance.'
A chance for her to overcome her trauma regarding men on her own.
Mary slowly turned around. Her eyes moistened with emotion.
"Lady Erencia..."
Her voice was trembling slightly.
An ominous premonition swept across the back of Erencia's neck.
Something had gone wrong again.
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