Chapter 16
The banquet lasted three full days.
Rather than feeling grateful, I felt slightly awkward.
“Um… Are you really okay staying here the whole time?”
Because for all three days, Asel remained by my side.
“It’s none of your concern, is it? Even if work piles up, I’ll be the one overwhelmed—not you.”
He replied with this sharp remark when I asked if he wasn’t too busy, but still.
In a way, it was very typical of a male lead to uphold his word to the letter.
Asel’s actions began to affect those around us too.
Before, people would gossip loudly as if they wanted me to hear. Now, they lowered their voices and whispered.
“If His Highness isn’t doing this on a whim, what then?”
“It is a bit unexpected, I admit…”
“Should we switch allegiances now?”
Still, most of their murmuring was laced with “surely not” or “there’s no way.”
What a ridiculous situation.
Just because Asel treated me differently, others were shifting their attitudes.
Even though I haven’t changed at all.
Not that it mattered to me.
These people had acted the same way even before the curse took effect.
Cockroaches who scurry back and forth with the tide.
All they could do was run their mouths.
Their influence was negligible.
What I really need to keep an eye on… is over there.
In a corner of the hall stood Princess Marienne, lips pressed tightly together, doing her best to go unnoticed.
But even tucked away like that, she was very visible—probably because she was glaring daggers at me.
There she goes again.
In the original story, she used to look at Seraphina like that. Now, I was the new target.
Well, it’s not surprising. Princess Marienne desperately wants to stay in the Empire.
I didn’t know what underhanded tricks she’d try to wedge between me and Asel.
This world had already been reshaped by my actions, so it was likely Marienne’s methods would also deviate from the original story.
Shall I poke at her a little? Get a feel for her character?
Before throwing out the trash, one has to sort it first.
Is it recyclable? Or just plain garbage?
And as Asel’s fiancée, I was expected to mingle with the banquet guests anyway.
“You came such a long way to the Empire—has everything been comfortable for you? Please don’t hesitate to speak up, even about the smallest matters.”
Using this as a pretext, I approached her.
Marienne’s eyes widened like a startled rabbit as she stared at me.
She clearly didn’t expect me to speak to her first.
But she only hesitated briefly.
“The nobles of the Empire all seem so busy. They welcomed me warmly at first, but gradually started keeping their distance and disappearing. I suppose the Empire is so vast and prosperous that there are many people more important than me.”
She started badmouthing those who had distanced themselves.
“I was a bit worried, personally. I heard that the Empire has so many unique individuals that it’s difficult to approach them. There were… stories about certain noble ladies as well. O-of course, I didn’t believe them.”
She was clearly implying people gossiped about me—while pretending she wasn’t part of it.
Fine. I could tolerate this much.
Marienne had her own desperate reasons, and I held what she desperately wanted.
But then…
“Lady Marceline didn’t seem to like me. She acted like she was including me in conversations but used overly difficult words. It was like she was trying to make me uncomfortable… You know, some people use others to make themselves look more competent…”
Trying to bait me into gossiping about another noble?
That’s crossing a line, isn’t it?
“Well, maybe I’m just overthinking it…”
“No, it sounds like delusions of persecution, Your Highness.”
“…!”
Marienne’s eyes widened in shock.
The way her jaw dropped in disbelief was almost funny—but I found it more amusing than offensive.
Did she really think I’d side with her just because I’m not close to the other nobles?
That was naïve.
Besides—
“I don’t think Lady Marceline used particularly difficult words.”
If you struggled to understand a simple explanation of the gold standard, maybe you should reflect on your own lack of knowledge?
Even if the trade negotiations were just a front, from Esha Marceline’s perspective, Marienne was the representative of a royal kingdom.
Anyone with similar ambitions would approach Marienne seriously.
So, at the very least, she should’ve come prepared with basic knowledge.
Furthermore—
“To be badmouthing Lady Marceline while wearing her shoes… that’s a bit much, isn’t it?”
I had chosen low-heeled court shoes.
Marienne, however, had opted for tall, pointy ones.
Perhaps unused to the height, she kept stumbling—and each time, her dress lifted just enough to reveal her shoes.
Shiny pointed toes, and an M-shaped pendant dangling below the ribbon.
No doubt about it.
Those shoes were made by Esha herself, the merchant head of the Marceline house. I had seen them many times while being her friend.
I was the only one who remembered that friendship—thanks to the curse.
“Th-that’s… I… didn’t…”
Marienne clearly hadn’t known whose shoes she was wearing.
Now, unable to take them off or run away, she stood frozen and stared at me.
I stepped closer and lightly touched her shoulder.
“Of course, I understand. Coming to a distant Empire with no personal or academic ties must have been very difficult.”
I said it in the gentlest tone.
“So… it might be best for you to take a break.”
It was a warning: know your limits.
Her little manipulations and shallow games made her unworthy of my attention.
❖ ❖ ❖
Of course, Marienne was not the kind of character to listen.
“What? The Princess… was injured?”
As the sun fully set and the banquet neared its end—
News arrived that Marienne had been injured in the break room.
“Oh dear, who would do such a thing?”
“So cruel…”
As whispers swirled in the background—
Marienne sat sniffling, wiping her red, puffy eyes with her sleeve.
The hem of her dress was slightly raised, revealing a foot that looked badly bruised.
It looked like someone had deliberately stomped on her foot with a sharp heel.
“Surely no outsider entered the break room…!”
“We were guarding the area! No one went in!” the knight on duty insisted, standing at attention.
If the security had been breached, it would reflect poorly on him.
“But if no one entered… then wasn’t the last person to be with the princess Lady Leweis?”
“Yes, she escorted Her Highness to the break room…”
Voices and gazes began converging on me.
“I… I…”
Marienne averted her gaze in a panic, avoiding eye contact with me.
She even subtly covered her mouth with her hand, like someone trying not to cry.
But I saw it clearly.
The faint curl at the corners of her lips.
Oh, what the hell is this mess.
I couldn’t help but laugh.
❖ ❖ ❖
“C-could it really be true?”
“We can’t rule it out completely…”
“Oh my…”
The murmurings of doubt grew louder.
After all, the original Laura would’ve lashed out at a princess who suddenly showed interest in her fiancé.
In a way, this was just my karma.
I guess I have to deal with it.
I sighed bitterly and began thinking calmly—when suddenly:
“I saw it happen!”
Someone burst in.
“Lady Leweis only escorted the princess to the break room. She didn’t enter the inner chamber!”
Esha.
My forgotten friend, now raising her voice to defend me with veins popping in her neck.
“And look! Look at her shoes!”
She politely lifted the hem of my dress to reveal the heel.
“These low, dull shoes couldn’t possibly cause the kind of injuries the princess has. If she had, the marks would look entirely different!”
Oh.
I’d thought no one had noticed under the dress—but Esha had been watching me more closely than I realized.
Asel spoke too.
“I can vouch for Lady Leweis’s innocence. I stayed by her side the entire time.”
With Asel stepping in, the murmuring finally subsided.
Someone still tried to cast doubt:
“She could’ve changed shoes partway through…”
But under Asel’s icy glare, that person shrank away.
That comment basically implied His Highness had such poor eyesight, he didn’t notice his partner’s height change.
“……”
Silence settled in.
Now that the mood is right…
It was time to strike back.
