Hayley calmly cut off Deneb’s words. The invitation she deliberately held in her hand bore the imperial seal, leaving nothing further to verify.
“Ah, then it seems I was mistaken.”
“Of course, misunderstandings happen. I do live surrounded by quite a number of stories and rumors.”
At the pointed remark hidden beneath her gentle tone, Deneb’s smile stiffened slightly.
So he truly was the type who could not hide his emotions at all.
“Could it be that Hayley and I have come somewhere we should not be? This floor is open to all guests invited to the palace as auction participants, is it not? Yet you still seem rather flustered, Young Lord.”
“……”
“Or is it because we happened to overhear that conversation? Perhaps House Rosena is simply too insignificant to purchase the honor of you gentlemen?”
At the continued questioning, Deneb glanced repeatedly toward Hayley with an awkward expression.
After insulting her so freely moments ago, was he now expecting Hayley to step in and rescue him?
Hayley endured the humiliation astonishingly well.
Minabel had been right. If even this much was difficult for me to tolerate, how could I possibly survive listening to the conversations in taverns?
I could endure insults aimed at myself, but the moment someone insulted the people around me, I would immediately step in.
“Perhaps you assumed I could not possibly have received an invitation because I fail to live up to my fiancé’s reputation.”
As though she had finally organized her thoughts, Hayley replied in her characteristic calm voice.
Not coldly rebuking them.
Not accusing anyone.
Her tone was impossibly soft—so gentle it almost sounded like she was telling a fairy tale that did not exist in this world.
“What do you mean by that? Surely it isn’t related to what those gentlemen were discussing beyond the terrace?”
Tilting my head like a naïve young lady utterly ignorant of rumors and politics, I caught the flicker in Deneb’s eyes.
He clearly intended to smooth things over and escape the situation.
Just as I expected, he was much easier to manipulate than Jade.
He did not even bother hiding the thought:
‘I can use this clueless young lady.’
Why was it that malicious people always wore their emotions so openly across their faces?
“Ah, well… discussing such things in Lady Hayley’s presence is still a little…”
I raised my fan to hide my mouth, pretending to think deeply.
In reality, I was simply concealing the tightly pressed lips of someone trying very hard not to explode in anger.
How much longer was I expected to play along with this farce?
It would be nice if certain people could arrive on time for once.
At that exact moment, the latecomer finally appeared.
“It has been discovered that Lillian Paneschula falsely testified that a servant of House Ginevra visited a plague-ridden region. She is currently under investigation.”
Lucian appeared leisurely with Jade beside him and leaned casually against the terrace railing as he looked down at me.
Hiding my mouth behind my fan, I curved my eyes slightly in a smile.
“Ah, so it was that matter after all?”
“She claimed she feared for the health of the frail Third Prince, since allowing a servant who had visited a plague-stricken area to roam freely through the Empire would be dangerous. Thus she advised His Highness the Crown Prince that perhaps House Ginevra should not be invited to this year’s auction.”
“Oh my, is that true, Hayley?”
“It is true that one of our servants visited a plague region, but he has not yet returned. Moreover, the child already survived the disease in his youth and possesses immunity.”
Hayley delivered her prepared explanation flawlessly, while I turned toward the two men with feigned sympathy.
“Whatever could have possessed Lady Paneschula to do such a thing?”
Their faces had stiffened completely now.
Honestly, I wished they would manage their expressions better.
Feeling somewhat pleased, I decided to generously provide the answer they most desperately wanted.
“Oh, and by the way, the invitations for Hayley and myself were personally sent by Prince Lucian. After receiving mine, I contacted Hayley and learned she had not received one.”
“Ah, well…”
“We’re quite close, you see.”
Leaving just enough ambiguity for them to wonder whether we referred to Lucian and me—or Hayley and me—I turned away without another glance.
This should help pull Paneschula slightly away from the Crown Prince’s side.
And as a bonus, it should also ruin that unpleasant Deneb fellow.
* * *
Under the moonlit sky, seated together within the quiet imperial gardens, Lucian and I likely appeared rather like lovers.
Though if anyone actually heard our conversation, they would realize how far from romance our relationship truly was.
“I did not predict the matter involving the servant. Impressive work.”
“Before questioning me, perhaps you should first tell me your own analysis.”
“Of course, I only inferred things based on what I observed, so my conclusions may differ from the truth. Is that acceptable?”
“Even so, I shall trust your judgment.”
“Please do not trust me too much. I would never intentionally lie to Your Highness, but I am merely human. I am hardly omniscient.”
Even now, I was more focused on discussing how much the influence of Paneschula’s faction had shrunk.
Hayley quietly followed us out of the palace interior. Until then, she truly seemed like someone maintaining perfect composure.
But the moment we were far enough away from the crowd, she staggered like a puppet whose strings had suddenly snapped, forcing Jade to catch her immediately in his arms.
‘Take your fiancée inside.’
‘But Your Highness, protecting my lord is my highest duty.’
‘Your lord is several times stronger than you, so stop worrying. At the moment, the proper and honorable duty of a knight is to care for the proud woman who endured all that humiliation and contempt alone.’
With a tone that sounded simultaneously mocking and considerate toward Jade, Lucian ultimately chased the two of them away.
They likely had much they needed to say to each other anyway.
“Now then, regarding the two men from earlier. One of them was a knight I recognize. The other belongs to Paneschula’s side, I presume?”
“He’s the same man Sir Jade mentioned before. Apparently he’s trying to attach himself to House Paneschula, and he has already received knighthood. Though personally, I saw not even the slightest trace of knightly honor in him.”
When Lucian appeared, Deneb instinctively showed proper respect toward royalty.
Yet even then, his gaze remained fixed upon Jade.
The contempt, inferiority, and jealousy in those eyes had been so painfully obvious that I could hardly suppress my disgust.
A moderate amount of jealousy might motivate people.
But he clearly belonged to a far more unhealthy sort.
“Yes. House Raud. They obsess over the title of knighthood, but in reality they merely spread rumors under Paneschula’s instructions.”
“Hmm.”
So they were not some grand intelligence guild.
Merely people whose greatest weapon was their wagging tongues.
Yet at times, people capable of crafting lies that sounded plausible were more terrifying than assassins or information brokers.
People with enough status to sound credible.
People skilled with words.
People capable of mixing believable exaggeration naturally into casual conversation.
Because if something sounded like a joke, those who heard it would easily repeat it to others as another amusing rumor.
“There must be more of them.”
“Of course. There’s no way they would rely only on these few.”
This time, they merely used House Raud because their goal was relatively “small”—to damage House Delphoi’s reputation among the nobility and torment Hayley.
But undoubtedly, Paneschula had people planted throughout every level of society.
When I explained this, Lucian—who sat beside me—stared at my face for quite some time.
“…Did I perhaps say something strange?”
“No, not exactly. It’s just… listening to you speak, it almost sounds as though you don’t believe Paneschula is the true mastermind.”
“Regarding Hayley and Sir Delphoi’s matter specifically, I believe Lillian acted independently out of spite.”
Lillian possessed an arrogant personality and had always obtained everything she desired.
She had never once been ignored.
Never once failed to get what she wanted.
And then suddenly, the man who should naturally have chosen her looked elsewhere instead.
Worse still, some girl who had supposedly been bedridden and half-dead suddenly rose from her sickbed and completely ruined the carefully cultivated book club she had worked so hard to build.
How could resentment not grow from that?
“Isn’t the word spite a little too cute for the crime she committed? In truth, she deceived the Crown Prince, my lady.”
“Yes. She should pay for her sins.”
A person who failed to control their desires and used that blade to wound others deserved punishment, did they not?
“And you don’t believe my brother Vincent is behind it all?”
