“Do I have to use formal speech? Who are you supposed to be?”
Pleury fanned herself dramatically and scoffed.
“You’re saying you truly don’t know who I am?”
“Yeah. I don’t.”
“Hah!”
Apparently believing she had been insulted, Pleury began fanning herself even faster.
“What nerve! Does it even make sense for someone living in the capital not to know me? Young ladies, don’t you agree this is ridiculous?”
When Pleury sharply turned her head toward the girls behind her, they hurriedly chimed in.
“Of course it’s ridiculous! Not knowing Lady Pleury?”
“There isn’t a single citizen in the Empire who doesn’t know how much Her Majesty cherishes Lady Pleury!”
Satisfied by their responses, Pleury lifted her chin proudly.
“You hear that? Are you still going to pretend you don’t know me?”
‘Ah, this is so childish.’
As expected of kids, their behavior was painfully immature.
‘How am I even supposed to respond to this?’
Having a completely different mental age really was a problem. I had no idea what kind of rhythm I was supposed to match here.
‘Should I just apologize for not recognizing her and end this already?’
Honestly, I felt very uncomfortable right now.
Having everyone’s attention focused on me was already annoying enough, and I didn’t want to create an even bigger scene with some bratty kid.
If I simply bowed my head and apologized now, the situation would probably settle down. Then I could leave and finally rest somewhere quietly.
‘Yeah. Let’s just apologize.’
Just as I opened my mouth to apologize, Pleury impatiently cut in first.
“Well? Hurry up and answer. Are you really still going to pretend you don’t know me? Ah, perhaps….”
One corner of Pleury’s lips twisted upward.
“Could it be that you simply don’t know anything?”
‘Ooh?’
A chill ran down my spine at how accurate her instincts were.
‘How did she know?’
Because honestly, I didn’t know anything.
This whole noble system was unfamiliar to me, and I’d never had time to properly learn etiquette. Formal greetings like this were completely new territory.
‘Wow, I’ve actually been living pretty comfortably at the estate.’
I suddenly felt grateful all over again toward the kind servants of House Tanzeric.
“As expected, someone uneducated can only behave vulgar and low-class.”
The lively murmuring around us instantly fell into complete silence.
Some people were so shocked they forgot noble decorum altogether and stared with their mouths hanging open.
‘Does this girl have some kind of personal grudge against Roxina?’
No. That couldn’t be it.
This was Roxina’s first time attending a banquet—or even stepping outside the estate.
Which meant there was only one reason Pleury would publicly humiliate me like this.
‘Territorial behavior.’
Pleury was trying to crush the confidence of a newcomer entering high society.
“Low-class….”
What a subjective thing to say. She was defining someone else’s worth entirely according to her own standards.
“You’re saying I’m low-class?”
“Yes! Which is exactly why even the Duke—”
“Then just how noble are you supposed to be?”
“What?!”
Hearing my muttered response, Pleury shouted furiously.
“I am the daughter of Count Mertols Akarins, elder brother of Her Majesty the Empress! Someone like you could never compare to—”
“I think I’m better though?”
Wasn’t a duke ranked higher than a count?
I was the daughter of a duke, while Pleury was the daughter of a count. So socially speaking, wasn’t I technically above her?
“Isn’t a duke higher than a count? Then why are you saying I can’t compare to you?”
‘Ah, wait. Since Count Akarins is the Empress’s older brother, maybe that somehow makes him rank above Heinox despite only being a count?’
When I tilted my head with genuine confusion, Pleury’s already pale face flushed bright red.
“W-What?!”
Unable to hide her shock, she repeatedly sputtered things like, “Hah! Seriously!” while aggressively fanning herself again.
‘What’s wrong with her?’
Wait… did she actually not know either? Had I accidentally cornered her by asking something she herself couldn’t answer?
‘If that’s the case, then I feel kind of bad….’
The thought of humiliating a young girl in front of this many people made guilt begin bubbling inside me.
‘It’s okay not to know things sometimes. Mocking someone for that is just cruel!’
If I pointed out Pleury’s ignorance here, I might completely ruin her social relationships.
Then Pleury would definitely resent me, and I’d spend the rest of my life burdened with guilt for destroying someone’s happiness.
‘Apologize now.’
Rather than suffer lifelong guilt, ending things here would be healthier for my own mental well-being too.
“I’m sowwy.”
“F-For what exactly?”
Though visibly startled by my sudden apology, Pleury still tried maintaining a haughty tone while glancing at the crowd around us.
“Explain specifically what you’re apologizing for!”
‘Even when I’m trying to help her, she’s really….’
“Um… well… I’m sorry for not greeting you first, and sorry for not knowing you’re Her Majesty’s niece, and also….”
“What exactly is going on here?”
‘Excuse me, I’m in the middle of apologizing—who interrupted me…?’
Annoyed, I looked up toward the person interrupting my confession.
And immediately froze in surprise.
“Renzard?!”
Why are you here of all people…?
Unlike the blank expression he’d worn earlier, Renzard was now glaring at Pleury with blazing eyes that looked ready to spark fire.
Renzard stepped closer toward Pleury, who looked utterly confused.
“Roxina has no obligation to greet you. She’s the daughter of House Tanzeric.”
Pleury’s face immediately filled with confusion.
“You’re the one who should be greeting her. Isn’t that right?”
Renzard sneered openly at Pleury.
“I honestly don’t understand why some ordinary count’s daughter thinks she deserves greetings from a Tanzeric duchess.”
‘Wow….’
Kids these days fought viciously. Who would believe these two were teenagers?
‘Renzard, you’re actually scary.’
Back at the estate he’d only acted like a whining brat, but seeing him now revealed a surprisingly sharp side to him.
‘Well then, maybe I should quietly slip away now.’
I looked around for an escape route—only to realize my plan to leave unnoticed had already been completely destroyed.
‘Why is everyone staring over here…?’
The nobles who had fled earlier to avoid getting dragged into trouble had all gathered back the moment Renzard appeared.
And now that the confrontation between Renzard and Pleury had reached its peak, the entire area was packed with nobles eagerly watching the fight.
‘Damn it….’
Not only had the attention not faded, they all looked thoroughly entertained by someone else’s argument.
‘You dignity-less nobles!’
What happened to all that obsession with noble decorum?!
‘Please stop paying attention to us….’
Unfortunately, my wish went unanswered. Renzard kept escalating things further, making the situation even more exciting for the spectators.
“Apologize.”
“…….”
But Pleury stubbornly kept her mouth shut.
Seeing that, Renzard lowered his voice even further in warning.
“I said apologize.”
“Why… should I?”
“Hk—!”
The nobles who had been eagerly watching the drama all gasped loudly at once.
Honestly, I was just as shocked.
‘Why is she this stubborn?!’
All she had to do was reluctantly apologize once and this would end. So why was she dragging things out this far?!
‘Maybe unlike me, she actually enjoys this attention?’
Considering how obsessed Pleury seemed with herself, maybe that really was the case.
‘But I hate it!’
Since escaping this situation was impossible now, the only option left was ending things as quickly as possible. But with Pleury acting like this, the conflict kept growing worse.
‘At this rate, calming down Pleury is impossible. I should try stopping Renzard instead.’
Just as I reached for Renzard’s sleeve, Pleury lit the final fuse.
“For someone who killed her own mother, she sure acts arrogant just because the Young Master is defending her!”
“Ah….”
I realized in that instant that Pleury had crossed a line she could never return from.
“You just….”
Renzard radiated a fury incomparable to anything from before.
“What… did you just say?”
‘Pleury, please don’t say another word!’
I stared desperately at Pleury, but the mouth she’d apparently borrowed straight from hell refused to stop.
“The Young Lady caused the Duchess’s death! Is the Young Master truly fine with that? Everyone here already knows it’s true!”
“……!”
She was insane. Completely insane. Not even being young could excuse this.
‘She actually brought up Priscilla in front of Renzard.’
Within House Tanzeric, mentioning Priscilla was an unspoken taboo.
And yet this reckless girl had stomped right across that line.
“She’s insane.”
That quiet mutter came from one of the nobles observing behind me.
‘Exactly what I was thinking….’
Now even the girls who had supported Pleury earlier were backing away with pale faces.
“I-I wasn’t saying anything wrong—!”
“Pleury Akarins.”
Renzard cut her off completely.
“You really are unbelievably stupid.”
“What did you just—!”
“You dare mention our mother in front of a member of House Tanzeric?”
“……!”
Only then did Pleury realize her mistake, quickly covering her mouth with both hands.
But it was already too late.
“What right do you have to say that?! What could someone like you possibly know?! Who the hell do you think you are?!”
At that moment, I felt profoundly relieved that Renzard wasn’t carrying a sword.
If even a practice blade had been hanging at his waist, this banquet hall would already have descended into chaos.
‘What do I do now?’
Stopping Renzard was impossible at this point. Things had already spiraled completely out of control, and Pleury had gone way too far.
The sheer intensity pouring off Renzard instantly exhausted me.
‘I want to go home. I want to flop onto my bed. I want to bury myself under blankets forever….’
Just as I desperately longed for the warm comfort of my bed back in my room, a voice rang out nearby like salvation itself.
“What is all this commotion?”
‘Heinox!’
It seemed he had returned after hearing the uproar while away handling whatever “important business” had called him from the banquet hall earlier.
