62

“Really? That’s a shame. Seems like you’re quite intimate with the Second Prince?”

In response to Dante’s pointed question, Benedict replied politely.

“Well, we’re just trying to maintain courtesy towards each other. Simply not crossing the line can often keep relationships between people quite smooth, don’t you think?”

Neither of them backed down.

I glanced back and forth between the two men with a tired expression.

Seriously… why are they like this…?

Everything would be fine if they could just leave me out of it for once…

The people around us all looked uncomfortable, as if they were sitting on thorns.

‘I really didn’t expect to be in the same position as the esteemed members of the club.’

But then, at that moment…

“Have you been waiting long?”

The Second Prince returned.

He was now dressed elaborately for the occasion.

Wearing a wig dyed white and adorned in costumes reminiscent of those worn a hundred years ago, he looked like he belonged on stage.

Not only the Second Prince, but the other members who had left their seats were also dressed in stage costumes.

“Please enjoy the play.”

With a smiling face, the Second Prince headed towards the stage.

Then, as he glanced at me briefly, his sparkling eyes swept up and down, and his lips curved like a crescent moon.

‘What’s this?’

I furrowed my brow.

It was a gaze full of eager excitement, as if he were expecting something.

* * *

Before long, I realized why the Second Prince had personally commissioned the playwright for the script.

It was understandable.

“Oh, just look at that vulgar display!”

“Doesn’t that woman know anything besides clinging to men?”

…No matter where I looked, the content of the play was aimed at me.

The gist of it was roughly this:

A countryside girl named “Laura,” who had nothing to offer besides her beautiful appearance, becomes involved in one-night stands with wealthy and high-status men out of greed for money.

As she cannot bear her own extravagance and gradually falls into ruin, she ends up being abandoned by the men.

Meanwhile, Laura’s counterpart, “Marquis Alburton,” was portrayed as a flawless gentleman.

Really, doesn’t it reveal the clear fear of openly criticizing Dante?

It’s all just aimed at me.

“Look, Marquis Alburton.”

The Second Prince, on stage, looked straight at me as he delivered his lines.

“After replacing the fake doll with a new one, this one seems to last a bit longer.”

“…What do you mean by that?”

“Of course, I won’t deny that this doll is beautiful, but in the end, it’s still just a doll.”

The Second Prince’s eyes towards me sparkled strangely.

“It’s no use paying too much attention to a doll.”

“How could you say something so harsh!”

The actress playing the role of Laura, whose name I didn’t know, stiffened her face, pretending to be ashamed.

No matter how you look at it.

It was clearly a play designed to insult me.

However, I didn’t feel too bad while watching the play.

For one, the blatant malice was something I had encountered far too often before.

But more than anything…

‘…It’s so boring.’

The acting was so mediocre that I was on the verge of yawning.

I desperately tried to focus my eyes to fend off the encroaching drowsiness.

But my eyelids felt as heavy as stones…

‘I mustn’t doze off. I mustn’t…’

I pinched my hand several times and even splashed cold water on my face.

Then, as I blinked my eyes once and opened them…

Bam!

Suddenly, the stage was in chaos.

“Ahh! Your Highness, the Second Prince!”

“What in the world is this behavior!”

Ladies and gentlemen screamed in unison.

I stared blankly at the scene unfolding before me.

And then…

Dante stormed onto the stage, gripping the Second Prince by the collar… Is this real?

What on earth?

“Let go of this! Now!”

The Second Prince tried to maintain his dignity somehow.

Unfortunately, being helplessly suspended by the collar made him look ridiculous…

“Why are you doing this? Huh?”

The Second Prince raised his voice in frustration.

“If only you had behaved yourself!”

“What nonsense is this?”

Dante retorted with a mocking tone.

“You shouldn’t blame others for your own incompetence.”

“W-what?”

“I simply don’t like wasting time.”

Dante’s eyes sparkled fiercely.

“This play is too dull. If I continue watching, my eyes might rot.”

“How dare you speak to me like that…!”

“So, how about changing the playwright next time?” Dante twisted his lips slightly, a clear smirk apparent on his skin.

“Well, if there are issues with the planning itself, there’s not much we can do,” the Second Prince’s face flushed with embarrassment.

Dante continued to provoke the Second Prince.

“Anyway, how about wrapping up the play around here? Your Highness, what do you think?”

“…”

For a moment, my pupils twitched.

This play was solely designed to mock me.

If it were a misunderstanding, the Second Prince wouldn’t have directly accused me of being ‘stabbed’ like that.

Also, if Dante had gotten angry or admitted inadvertently…

‘He must think of me as a vulgar woman’

Dante would have admitted to himself.

But Dante didn’t do that.

Instead, he simply claimed that the reason for the disturbance was because he was ‘bored’.

So, in the end, that man…

‘…Wrapped me up.’

I clenched my lips tightly.

Why would he do that?

Confronting the Second Prince, taking all the blame upon himself… Was there a reason he had to do that?

Don’t do that.

If you keep behaving like that, you might seem a bit serious about me.

In that paltry affection you show me, there might be some sincerity mixed in.

…I might as well delude myself.

“Your Grace.”

My lips moved on their own for a moment.

Dante, who had been mocking the Second Prince, looked at me, momentarily taken aback.

Suppressing the emotions rising up to my throat,

I smiled brightly at Dante.

“…Shall we just go back?”

It was just one sentence, but it was enough.

“Hmm.”

Dante narrowed his eyes, then immediately released his grip.

Thud!

The Second Prince tumbled to the ground like a leaf in the wind, utterly pathetic.

Dante, who had been looking down at him with disdain, delicately folded his eyelids and smiled.

“Alright then, let’s go.”

Dante leaped off the stage and escorted me to make it easier for me to stand up.

“Let’s go.”

I gazed at Dante silently.

That man would surely someday drive me to hell.

Why now, then?

Why did I feel like I was being saved by this man…?

Is that why?

Despite knowing it shouldn’t be like this.

…Right now, I wanted to lean on Dante.

* * *

So Elze and Dante left the club.

The Second Prince, left behind, shouted in frustration, waving his arms.

“She’s gone mad for that woman!”

“Are you alright, Your Highness?”

“Ugh, what a mess!”

Nobles rushed to support the Second Prince.

In the midst of it all, Benedict stood still, as if rooted to the spot.

The events that had just transpired flashed through his mind.

Elze, watching the play that insulted her with a blank face.

Dante, decisively grabbing the Second Prince by the collar.

…And himself, sitting quietly in his place.

‘Could I have helped Lady Lepherian as much as that man, even if I had intervened?’

Probably not.

And that would have been the sensible reaction.

Benedict and Elze were only business partners who had engaged in a few transactions together.

There was no reason for him to assist Elze when she was being insulted.

Furthermore, he was not in a position to only care about Elze.

Benedict was primarily a merchant, and to successfully lead his business, he needed to manage his connections well.

Maintaining good relations with the Second Prince and other nobles required him to remain silent in that situation.

But still.

‘It’s annoying.’

Benedict clenched his teeth.

He felt strangely upset.