To think riding clothes turned into a dress!
Frederick's eyes narrowed.
He thoroughly scanned Erencia's attire without realizing that he was being rude.
Upon closer inspection, it was different from the one-piece dresses typically worn by noble ladies.
Frederick, who had a keen eye, caught the color and frill shape of Erencia's top in an instant and noticed that they were not different at all when she wore pants versus when she wore a skirt.
So, she just wore a skirt over her pants.
'That's a good idea.'
Frederick was genuinely impressed.
“Please guide me.”
"Yes?"
"I said, guide me inside."
Erencia smiled transparently and spoke clearly once again.
Frederick was consumed by worry.
If Erencia goes in like this, she will be compared to the guests who arrived earlier.
Frederick hoped that if Euclid ever got married, his partner would be Erencia.
Why? Because it's fun.
"I said to escort me, Sir Frederick. To the room where Her Royal Highness the Princess and Sir Euclid are."
Ah. But this kind of fun is a bit lacking.
It’s turned into the atmosphere of raiding the scene where your owner is having an affair.
Frederick scratched his head.
"If you could wait a moment, I will let them know that the young lady has arrived. How about you go upstairs after that?"
"Why?"
"Well, that’s just the proper etiquette..."
“I’m not polite.”
Erencia waved her hands as she walked past Frederick and went inside.
While Frederick hesitated in confusion, Erencia crossed the lobby without hesitation.
The structures of aristocratic mansions are all pretty much the same. She did not ask Frederick to guide her because she might get lost.
Requesting guidance was merely a formality.
At Erencia's sudden appearance—and without a carriage, a fan or a parasol, or even prior notice of a visit—the people of Euclid Manor froze.
"Hello."
Erencia greeted first with a friendly demeanor.
To the servants, who had only ever seen pretentious nobles, Erencia was the very definition of a radical departure.
The subsequent actions were the same.
"Oh my, it's full of dust here. Wipe it up. It won't clean well with a rag like that. You really need to come to the Novellita Mansion to learn."
Erencia pointed out various things here and there as if she were the mistress of the mansion, then swung upstairs.
Only the lingering scent of the rose perfume Erencia often sprayed, and the dazed servants of the Duke's mansion remained in the place where she had passed.
They looked at each other with dumbfounded faces.
"Is that the person who will become our Lady?"
"Didn't she teach us?"
It was a very sarcastic tone, but there wasn't a single wrong word.
Why did dust stick the more you wiped? Among all the cleaning tasks, dust removal was the one the maids avoided the most.
"What does she mean by saying we have to come to the Novellita mansion to learn?"
"Right, oh! Come to think of it, a maid working at Novellita came by a while ago asking if I wanted to buy a nice rag she had. Should I contact her again?"
"Right, while you're at it, ask about the prospective mistress's personality."
The maid with the cute appearance nodded.
"More importantly, didn't Her Highness the Princess just arrive? I thought Her Highness the Princess and the Young Master were getting married..."
"Shh! Don't you know what's going on? I'm telling you, he got caught red-handed meeting someone else while leaving his significant other behind!"
"Good heavens! Our young master?"
People pondered.
It took less than a minute for Euclid to become a notorious womanizer and a villain weighing two beautiful women against each other.
Only Erencia can't do that easily.
***
"Hello."
Bartlea, who was guarding Euclid's reception room, frowned at the very loud noise coming from the end of the hallway.
Selvarena and Euclid were having a quiet conversation in the drawing room.
She informed everyone in the mansion of that fact. He had just instructed them not to come to the floor where Euclid and Selvarena were having a private audience, where the Emerald Room is located, unless called upon.
But who would come so rudely and loudly?
Bartlea sighed as she confirmed the figure slowly taking shape.
It was Lady Erencia, whom Frederick mentioned every day these days.
It was amazing that she could recognize it right away, even though it was the first time she had seen the real thing.
And at the same time, Frederick's one-line comment, "I'm telling you, she really isn't like a noble," was absurd to make such a point immediately.
'Did that person propose to our young master?'
Bartlea shook her head inwardly.
In the meantime, Erencia, who was standing in front of Bartlea, spoke.
"Would you tell His Excellency that Erencia Novellita has arrived?"
"Good morning, Miss Novellita. Did you make an appointment in advance?"
No way could have happened. This is because Bartlea had never heard of it.
You cannot go around to get inside. That is what was told.
Erencia fell silent. It took Erencia less than a second to judge what kind of person Bartlea was.
'Assistant Frederick is a bit absent-minded, but the man in front of me is so flawless that you couldn't even prick him with a needle.'
In times like this, using power is the best strategy.
"Then, should I, Erencia, the only daughter of the Duke of Novellita, go back home to send a letter and then come visit? I am busier than I look."
Erencia raised one eyebrow and crossed her arms.
Usually, everyone backs down when you say that. However, Bartlea was a formidable opponent.
"That is usually done, Miss."
"Look here, do you know what kind of person our young lady is! Are you acting like this just because Her Royal Highness the Imperial Princess is inside? Our young lady is the one who will become the mistress of this mansion!"
Unable to stand it any longer, Agnes stepped forward.
Erencia and Bartlea wanted to correct Agnes's words in different ways, but they couldn't.
Because the door opened.
"It's you, of course. Well, I don't know if I should thank you for coming."
Euclid, who would normally have frowned first, smiled.
Erencia tilted her head, somehow managing to lower the corners of her mouth that were unconsciously rising along with her.
'Why is that man acting like that?'
He was extremely happy to see Erencia.
***
"Nice to meet you, Lady Erencia."
"I greet Your Highness Princess Selvarena, the Lily of the Valley of the Empire. I am Erencia Novellita."
Erencia greeted politely.
"I don't like that kind of formality, so please treat me casually."
Selvarena said with a smile.
Selvarena wore a pure forget-me-not-colored dress and styled her hair in a single bun. Her refined and elegant appearance resembled Lillie's, yet exuded a distinctly different atmosphere.
Erencia straightened her bent back.
"Shall we then?"
Erencia replied lightly and plopped down on the sofa in front of Selvarena.
Selvarena's eyes narrowed. Euclid clenched his fist tightly and cleared his throat.
'That man is smiling?'
Seriously. We even danced together, and you're actually enjoying watching me fall apart?
It was something she did on purpose to get criticized, but seeing Euclid, whom she like, made her feel strangely resentful.
“That’s fun.”
Selvarena said.
Far from scolding Erencia for the rudeness of joining without permission, Selvarena even kindly offered her tea.
'What? The Princess looks like the master.'
Erencia looked back at Euclid with a displeased expression.
"Do you like rose tea? Or peppermint? We have coffee too."
Only then did Euclid sit beside Erencia and show a host-like attitude.
"Ah. But I don't want to treat you to coffee, and I don't want to have it stuffed on my head like Sir Stein."
Euclid leaned closer and whispered in her ear.
The rumor had already circled the capital and reached Euclid's ears.
Seeing that it had reached the ears of Euclid, who had no interest in gossip, it was certain that even the children of the capital knew about Erencia's atrocities.
'It's good that rumors are spreading, though.'
The problem was that it was rumored to be a righteous punishment rather than an atrocity.
Look at Euclid, too; he is laughing like that even with a woman next to him who has poured tea and cake all over a man's head.
'Is he smiling so much because I'm the woman who poured cake and tea down a man's throat?'
Euclid, whom she met a few times, was by no means an ordinary person.
I'm telling you, he's a contrarian.
"I don't want coffee today either. Please give me peppermint."
I didn't want to bicker today.
At Erencia's words, Gredelus's butler moved without making a sound.
***
The tea was served quickly. The aroma was pleasant.
Taking a deep breath of the head-clearing scent, Erencia set down her teacup.
While Erencia was tasting the tea, Euclid chased away the person.
"Lady Erencia, I apologize first."
Selvarena opened her mouth as if she had been waiting for this moment.
“Apologise to me?”
Erencia almost dropped the teacup she was holding.
"Ignorance is a sin, but this case was truly something I never even imagined."
"What do you mean?"
Selvarena glanced at Euclid.
Euclid looked like he knew something about this.
Erencia looked back and forth between Euclid and Selvarena.
"Please don't push him too hard. And of course, please hate me just a little. The situation was unavoidable."
Why would I hate Euclid?
Even feelings of hatred arise from affection.
To Erencia, Euclid was merely a means to an end.
There has never been a time when her feelings intersected with his, and there never will be.
"So what do you mean...?"
"I proposed to Sir Euclid."
"Oh my! You did so well... sob."
If Euclid hadn't grabbed Erencia's waist and pulled her to the side, Erencia would have poured out her true feelings like a waterfall.
Selvarena's eyes narrowed again.
'She is a Princess who laughs a lot.'
Erencia smiled awkwardly back and thought.
"I am truly sorry for creating this situation, Erencia. I should have proposed properly."
Euclid looked at Erencia with a troubled expression and spoke.
'What's going on right now? What are you doing to me?'
Erencia was confused.
His words that he would propose to Erencia did not feel like a lie.
It was because of the look in his eyes that said he was dying of love.
Euclid smiled, his eyes crinkling.
It was a smile that would have made any ordinary woman swoon and fall over in delight.
Euclid's hand, which had touched her waist, wrapped around Erencia's shoulder.
And he gently pulled her closer. Erencia's body leaned toward Euclid.
To others, they would have looked like a truly affectionate couple.
"As you can see, Your Highness the Princess, my heart has been completely stolen by Erencia. Therefore, if you intend to marry only because of the Empress’s coercion, please withdraw your intention."
Oh my?
After hearing Euclid's words, Erencia easily grasped the situation he was in.
'So you mean Her Majesty the Empress intends to marry Her Royal Highness the Princess to Sir Euclid?'
This is fun.
Usually, this is a matter shared between the elders of the family, but for some reason, Duke Gredelus was secluded in a quiet, secluded provincial estate. Since she couldn't meet the Duke, she must have come to speak to Euclid directly.
But why Selvarena and not Lillie?
That was questionable, but the important thing here is that Euclid is trying to use Erencia to scuttle the marriage with Princess Selvarena.
'Are you going to use me?'
Erencia whispered, pretending to rest her forehead on Euclid's shoulder.
"When did the marriage proposal with Her Royal Highness the Princess first come up?"
"It's been quite a while. A year or two ago?"
"You must know quite a few people, right?"
"It's top secret, but everyone who knows knows."
Lucky!
Erencia lifted her forehead from Euclid's shoulder. Then, looking at him, she smiled broadly.
The smile was so bright it was blinding. Euclid frowned.
"I should be the one apologizing, Your Highness. I am sorry. But I cannot live a single day without Euclid."
Erencia looked straight at Selvarena.
"I won't give up Euclid."
I have earned the title of the ultimate bitch who steals other people's men!
It seemed as though a clear and cheerful sound was coming from somewhere.
Erencia smiled with a hopeful face.
But will that really happen?
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