“Alright, what should we do?”
The reason I came all the way here was that I wanted to see Jake and Roti as a couple. It was one of the relatively significant episodes in the original.
To be precise, Alice and Leo’s story was also an important episode, but that relationship has changed in many ways from the original.
In the original, Alice stops Leo from going to help Roti. That was the reason their relationship momentarily became a bit distant… Hmm.
I turned my gaze toward Leo. Leo, of course, looked like he was about to cling onto Claire as well.
Alice didn’t seem to have any intention of stopping them. She had much more composure than the original Alice and probably didn’t have to worry about her position being reduced because of something like this.
But I still couldn’t let Leo and Claire help Roti.
The two were from Baron Grace’s Estate. They weren’t even properly invited guests. The reason Alice stopped Leo in the original was the same. If Leo went to help Roti, a commoner, who had the blood of the oppressed natives from the colonies, without an invitation, his reputation would tank.
Here, we all came together at Jake’s suggestion, but in the original, it was Alice who crucially asked to come along. Alice, who had never been to such an event, asked to join just because she wanted to be with the guy she liked—precisely, that guy was Leo.
From Alice’s perspective, it would have been an effort to care about how the reputation of the man she brought was affected, but to Leo, it only seemed like discrimination against a fellow schoolmate—and well, that was the story.
In that case…
Fortunately, I was closer to Roti than Leo and Claire were.
I could reach Roti first just by walking normally.
I quietly went over and sat down right next to Roti.
There was no time for anyone to react.
Ironically, all eyes were on this side, so when I suddenly entered the view, there was no room for anyone to say anything.
“……”
Roti’s eyes, which always had a blank expression, grew wide for a moment. It wasn’t just Roti; her mother also looked the same. Both were staring at me in surprise.
Not only their gaze, but all the nobles’ attention was also directed at me.
The murmuring stopped. What followed was a suffocating silence.
I couldn’t do anything about the spilled wine on the floor, but at least I could quickly pick up the large pieces of glass. After all, it was just one wine glass that broke, and if those with wine-stained clothes didn’t loudly complain, it was something that could be cleaned up quickly.
I carefully placed the glass piece on the cloth held by Roti’s mother and covered it with the edge of the cloth. The hand holding it trembled as if it couldn’t handle the pressure.
All the maids and servants here must have heard about who the visitors today were.
And among those they had to be particularly careful about, I must be on that list.
“T-Thank you, Your Highness…”
“No need for that.”
I said that and stood up.
The nobles, unable to comprehend what was happening, looked at me with confused expressions.
I glanced at the face of that noble and then turned my gaze toward Jake. Jake’s expression also seemed complicated. Was it confusion?
“You mentioned earlier that compensation for the dress would be handled from Lindbergh side, correct?”
“Uh, yeah.”
“Then it’s simply a matter of processing that and ending it here. Is there really a reason to ruin the banquet atmosphere by getting angry on a nice day?”
When I looked back at the nobles, this time their faces turned pale.
In the original, Leo would have used more courtesy and provided a more suitable reason. To be precise, if you choose the right options here, you could earn bonus points, and the official story progression was to obtain those bonus points.
But I didn’t feel the need to do that.
If they truly disliked it, they could just come to the Imperial Palace in the Imperial Capital.
“N-No, I’m sorry. I didn’t grasp the atmosphere.”
And it turned out that this was more effective.
By making it seem like I helped the two because I was nice, I could create the justification that I stepped in to handle a situation I couldn’t stand due to the shattered atmosphere.
The noble quickly regained his composure and retreated. It seemed he wanted to get as far away from me as possible.
“Sylvia.”
As that noble’s back faded away, and as the silence began to break with murmuring again, Alice approached me.
Alice hesitated for a while, seemingly unsure of what to say, then finally smiled and said, “You did great.”
I shrugged without saying much.
“…Thank you.”
Roti’s voice came through. When I turned my head, Roti and her mother were looking my way. Roti still had a bit of wine on her knees, and her mother’s maid outfit was also covered in wine.
However, it seemed that no one had cut themselves on the glass. The cloth must have been thick enough.
“There’s no need to thank me. I just didn’t like the atmosphere.”
“……”
Still, the two of them slightly bowed their waists towards me and gradually retreated.
“Impressive.”
And only then did Jake start talking to me.
“That reaction in such a situation… that’s not typical behavior for a noble or royal. Ah, I’m not criticizing. I just wanted to say thank you.”
And then he fell silent, gazing at me.
As the son of a duke, he probably had his share of complex stories. Well, since Duke Lindbergh didn’t show any signs of directly being wary of me, it didn’t seem like he treated me as an assassin.
“Like I told Roti, there’s really no need to thank me. I just disliked that atmosphere.”
I said that and turned away without any lingering feelings.
Then, I walked over to where Mia Crowfield was still blankly standing.
Hmm.
Did I appear a bit cool?
*
Should I call it fortunate or unfortunate? That incident didn’t completely ruin the atmosphere.
Duke Lindbergh, as if nothing had happened, continued to circulate around the banquet hall, chatting with the invited students one by one.
Even to those who entered without invitations, like Leo and Claire, the duke seemed quite interested.
Seeing the two of them respond while sweating bullets made it look like the duke hadn’t said anything particularly harsh. Did he know that Claire was an adopted child?
Well, probably not something the duke cared about. After all, even if she was an adopted child, her status was undoubtedly noble. Just thinking that even I, known as an adopted child, was seen as a potential match for his son made it seem that Duke Lindbergh had quite an open mindset.
Though that open-mindedness doesn’t apply to everyone.
I wasn’t specifically drinking or anything. It’s not that I disliked alcohol in my previous life, but my tastes were terribly cheap. Rather than expensive wine with a nice aroma, I preferred cheap beer or diluted sake that could be bought at a convenience store.
…In fact, there were snack-related issues, too. If there had been some spicy Korean dish, would I have ended up drinking vodka?
“…Your Highness.”
I might not have been drinking, but the smell of alcohol wasn’t absent from the banquet hall. I had been feeling a bit off after being in such an environment for a while, so I stepped out to the nearby terrace for some fresh air.
The voice that came from behind me was Roti’s.
“Roti.”
When I turned slightly to address her, Roti politely bowed her head.
“There’s no need for formalities. We’re just students from the same school until we graduate.”
“……”
Roti didn’t respond to that remark.
I tapped the terrace railing in anticipation of my departure. Roti looked like she hesitated for a moment and then began to walk toward me.
However, unlike what I intended, she didn’t lean against me. Instead, she stood a step behind me, diagonal from where I was standing, leaving me no choice but to turn around.
The bright light pouring in from the window cast a shadow over Roti’s face. Her expression was generally blank, but the shadow made it hard to read even the faintest changes in it.
“Do you have something you want to say?”
“……”
At my question, Roti fell silent again, seemingly contemplating something, before slowly opening her mouth.
“Did you know what my relationship with that maid was about earlier?”
Well, there was no need to hide it.
I stepped away from the railing and walked forward. Roti hurriedly turned her body to create space. It seemed she thought I was going to ignore her and try to leave.
But I merely drew the curtain of the terrace window.
If someone had made up their mind to eavesdrop, I couldn’t help it, but for now, it was a personal matter after all.
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