“Of course.”
“Why do people suddenly shout ‘Objection!’ in the middle of someone speaking?”
“Hmm, that’s to stop idiots who spout nonsense from saying whatever they want just because they have a mouth.”
As Liselotte answered very gently with a bright smile, the shoulders of Count Valan, who was standing beside her, twitched.
Ah. She had let her true feelings slip in front of a young lady.
Liselotte turned an even brighter smile toward the young lady, whose eyes were still sparkling.
Rather than the harsh words, the young lady, captivated by the soft pink hair and beautiful face, opened her mouth without knowing a thing.
“Wooow… then did you gather all the evidence by yourself?”
“No. The Grand Duke helped me in every possible way. If he hadn’t, it would have been incredibly hard.”
Liselotte pointed at Eren with her eyes.
When attention suddenly focused on him, Eren flinched, his body giving a small jerk, and then he avoided her gaze.
He probably thought the young lady would cry if she looked at him.
Liselotte tightened her grip on the arm she was holding.
Then, without losing her smile, she whispered to him in ventriloquism.
“See? It is fine.”
He cautiously turned his gaze, but the child had already had her attention stolen by Liselotte and showed little interest in his eyes.
Perhaps embarrassed by the trivial question, Count Valan quickly took hold of his daughter’s shoulder and bowed his head.
“Haha, my apologies, Your Highness. My daughter only just completed her debutante this year, so she is not yet well-versed in etiquette.”
“It’s fine. She was just curious.”
At her easygoing attitude, the gazes within the banquet hall quickly intertwined.
“It doesn’t seem like the Liselotte of before.”
“After getting married, did she gain some sort of enlightenment among the rough Northern folk?”
“Even if that’s the case, don’t the two of them look far too close?”
House Keilos, one of the four Great Houses, formed the core of the subjugation forces.
On top of monopolizing the teleportation magic stones, they had left quite the impression with Liselotte’s conduct at the trial in court.
All the nobles were thinking the same thing.
‘The Grand Duke is a bit frightening when he is alone, but if it’s Princess Liselotte, wouldn’t it be somewhat manageable?’
Especially since the point of comparison was the well-built Eren, Liselotte standing beside him somehow even gave rise to an optical illusion of looking much smaller and softer.
‘Well. At worst, it’s just a slap to the cheek!’
‘As long as we don’t die, that’s fine. A slapped cheek is better than death!’
Compared to the uncertain losses, the gains to be had were far too great.
Having quickly finished their calculations, they began to edge closer to Liselotte one by one.
“Um, Your Highness. We are from House Padero in the Central region…”
“Good evening, Your Highness. Yesterday at the court, I was seated in seat number sixty-five…”
Slowly, deliberately, the nobles’ attention converged competitively in one place.
Faced with a reaction clearly different from the first day, Liselotte blinked without realizing it.
While Liselotte, caught between Eren and the crowd pressing in around them, floundered—
The doors of the banquet hall quietly opened.
It was Duke Gloria, attending with Diana.
According to Imperial Court etiquette, if a higher-ranked noble had already entered and been announced, those of lower rank would not receive an entrance announcement even if they arrived later.
Since the Grand Duke and Grand Duchess had entered first, they had no choice but to enter quietly.
Diana was deeply dissatisfied with the situation.
‘I don’t like it. Neither Kaul nor this banquet.’
The newly contracted subjugation force member was, quite literally, a wild horse of a man.
He had never learned etiquette to begin with, nor did he seem to have ever tried to learn it.
He was disgustingly vulgar.
He had even blatantly made rude remarks to her, saying she was scrawny and useless.
She had endured it because they were short on subjugation force members, but even toward her father, who had brought in such a man from who knew where, her anger flared.
And on top of that, such an alien sight greeting her the moment she entered the banquet hall.
‘Has my illness worsened? Is this a hallucination?’
Diana lightly brushed her forehead with her hand.
Judging by the fact that her mind was still clear, it seemed to be reality.
The face that had always been desperate to kill her was now smiling openly among the crowd.
It was shocking, but it showed only as a slight stiffening at the edge of her softly curved lips.
Diana took a deep breath to calm herself.
If she got agitated for no reason, she might collapse, so she needed to rein in her emotions.
Just then, a loud voice announcing an entrance rang out from behind.
“His Highness, Crown Prince Valen Perida is entering!”
Only then did the gazes that had been directed at Liselotte turn toward the doors all at once.
Those who had gathered to pay their respects to the Princess hurriedly scattered.
The crowd split apart at almost an astonishing speed.
In contrast, Liselotte, who had been at the center of it all, had nowhere proper to move.
Front, back, sides. As people moved irregularly in all directions to find their places, she stepped forward only to retreat again, repeating the motion.
‘She’ll fight with Valen again.’
Just as Diana was about to let out a scoffing laugh at the pathetic sight—
Liselotte’s body suddenly wobbled and toppled.
Fortunately, Eren, who was standing beside her, quickly caught her with one hand.
Watching him reflexively look after his wife, Diana clicked her tongue inwardly in disappointment.
She then hurriedly stepped aside near the entrance and bowed her head.
Creeak. The doors opened, and Valen appeared.
Walking as though following a path that naturally belonged to him, he stopped short when he saw those blocking his way.
Valen came face to face with Liselotte and Eren, who hadn’t managed to step aside in time like the others.
As Eren held her by the waist and helped her stand, Liselotte leaned into him and merely dipped her head to offer a formal greeting.
At that, Valen swept his narrowed eyes over her and asked,
“What is this?”
“I twisted my ankle while trying to make way when you entered, Brother.”
Her bright smile and gentle tone created the illusion that she was offering praise.
Watching this quietly from behind, Diana let out a hollow laugh.
In the past, she would have thrown a shoe at him, claiming she had been injured because of him.
Her actions had grown somewhat gentler, but the meaning embedded within her words was unchanged.
‘Judging by how she speaks to Valen, it doesn’t seem like she’s really changed.’
Valen’s brow briefly creased.
“And why is that my fault? I never ordered you to get hurt.”
“I was not blaming you. I was stating a fact. You asked, Brother”
Despite her forthright words, Liselotte’s head occasionally drooped downward, as if the pain was quite real.
Her slightly lowered eyes oddly made her look pitiful.
Seeing that, Diana thought once again that people’s perceptions truly changed depending on what kind of ornament stood beside them.
The Liselotte from before had collected shabby ornaments that didn’t know their place, ones that dared to show interest in Diana.
Since she was collecting such shabby things, she herself ended up looking just as shabby.
But among all the ornaments Liselotte had ever had, Eren stood out by far.
People said that golden eyes were vulgar and ominous, but beneath that lay fear.
Fear was better than being taken lightly.
Diana’s gaze turned toward Eren.
More precisely, toward his eyes.
***
The twisted ankle was more uncomfortable than expected.
It didn’t seem completely sprained, but it was irritating enough to be distinctly uncomfortable.
More than anything, the fact that she had to run into Valen of all people made it even more unpleasant.
Perhaps because of that—
‘She’s staring like crazy.’
Diana’s dull gaze directed this way was frighteningly vicious.
Unlike other nobles, they were connected by blood, so there was no reason for jealousy, yet her attitude was strange.
At the same time, she didn’t look like someone jealous out of love either.
‘What’s wrong with her?’
To make matters worse, Eren, standing right beside her and looking down at her with a serious expression, was also uncomfortable.
From the moment he had grabbed her as soon as her body tilted, his gaze had been fixed on Liselotte.
“Are you all right? If it is too painful, it would be best to have a priest look at it.”
As if he might pick her up at any moment, he extended one arm to the side.
“If walking is difficult, carrying you is also an option.”
“That sounds like something that would wake me up even in my grave. If it hurts, I will tell you, so please put that away.”
If nothing else, she didn’t want to show such an embarrassing situation in front of so many people.
Perhaps bothered even by her refusal, the arm and hand firmly wrapped around her waist, and the way he supported her while holding her, were excessive.
Even the look in his eyes just before she fell had been close to shock.
‘People get hurt sometimes in life. You’re reacting way too strongly…’
And facing Valen like that, in that state, was truly—
“…”
“…”
It was the worst.
