Chapter – 16
During the three days the banquet continued, I felt slightly embarrassed rather than grateful.
“Um… are you really okay staying here the whole time?”
It was because Assel stayed by my side for all three days.
“Is that something you need to concern yourself with? Even if state affairs pile up, I’m the one who will suffer from overwork, not you.”
He said such unpleasant things whenever I asked if he was busy, but still.
Perhaps it was fitting of a male lead to strictly keep the words he had once spoken.
Because Assel acted this way, the attitudes of the people around us also began to change.
Before, they had spoken loudly as if making sure I could hear them, but now they lowered their voices and whispered.
“What if His Highness isn’t just acting on a whim?”
“It is rather unexpected…”
“Should we change sides even now?”
Most of it was still mixed with “surely not” and “that can’t be true.”
What a ridiculous situation.
Just because Assel treated me differently, everyone else’s attitude changed too.
I’m still the same person.
Of course, it wasn’t something I cared about.
These people had acted exactly the same even before the curse activated.
Cockroach-like people who cling to whatever trend benefits them.
All they could really do was gossip.
And their influence was insignificant anyway.
The one I really need to pay attention to is over there.
Princess Marien, standing silently in one corner of the hall while trying to erase her presence.
Even though she stood as if hiding by the wall, I could clearly feel her because she was staring intensely at me.
There she goes again.
In the original story she looked at Seraphina like that. Now it seemed I had become her new target.
Well, it makes sense. Princess Marien desperately wanted to remain in the Empire.
I didn’t know what trick she might use to interfere between me and Assel.
This world already contained the changes I had caused. That meant her schemes might also take different forms.
Maybe I should provoke her a little while figuring out her personality.
Before throwing away trash, there’s something you must do first.
You separate what can be recycled from what must be discarded.
And conveniently, as Assel’s fiancée, I had the duty of greeting banquet guests.
“Since you’ve traveled such a long way to the Empire, have you experienced any inconveniences? Even small things are fine, so please feel free to tell me.”
Using that as an excuse, I approached her.
Marien looked at me with wide, startled eyes.
She clearly hadn’t expected me to speak first.
But her hesitation only lasted a moment.
“It seems the nobles of the Empire are all very busy. At first they welcomed me warmly, but at some point they began distancing themselves and left their seats. The Empire is vast, so I suppose there are many people more important than me.”
She began badmouthing those who ignored her.
“I was also somewhat worried. I heard the Empire has many unique individuals who are difficult to approach. Among them, I heard stories about you as well, my lady… O-of course I didn’t agree with them.”
She must have participated in the gossip about me, yet now she excluded herself while relaying what others supposedly said.
Up to this point, I could understand.
Marien had desperate circumstances, and I held what she desperately wanted.
But still.
“But Lady Marceline didn’t seem to like me. She pretended to include me in conversation but deliberately used difficult terminology. It felt like she was trying to make me struggle… you know, those types of people who use others as background to highlight their own competence…”
Trying to get me to join her in badmouthing another noble?
That crossed the line.
“Of course, it could just be my misunderstanding…”
“Yes. It sounds like paranoia, Your Highness.”
“…!”
Marien’s eyes widened.
She clearly hadn’t expected that response.
Her open mouth showed confusion and embarrassment, but I found her rather ridiculous.
Did she think I would take her side just because I don’t get along with the nobles?
How naïve.
Besides—
“I don’t think Lady Marceline used particularly difficult terms.”
If she struggled just because she couldn’t understand the gold standard, shouldn’t she reflect on her own knowledge level?
Even if the trade negotiations were mostly a formality, from Esha Marceline’s perspective, Marien was still a representative sent by her kingdom.
Naturally, many people would approach her for that reason alone.
Which meant she should have at least prepared some basic knowledge beforehand.
And also—
“It’s even more absurd to badmouth Lady Marceline while wearing those shoes.”
I had chosen low-heeled court shoes, but Marien wore high, sharp heels.
Perhaps she wasn’t used to them, because she kept stumbling.
And whenever she did, her dress lifted slightly, revealing the shoes.
The glossy toe.
The ribbon with the dangling M-shaped pendant.
No doubt about it.
Those were shoes personally crafted by Esha Marceline as a hobby.
Having been her friend, I had seen them many times and recognized their distinctive design immediately.
Even though, because of the curse, I was the only one who remembered our friendship.
“I-I… I…”
Marien clearly hadn’t known who made the shoes she was wearing.
She froze, unable to remove them or run away.
I stepped closer and gently pulled her shoulder.
“Of course, I understand you, Your Highness. You came to a distant empire without any personal or academic connections. It must have been very difficult.”
I spoke in a deliberately gentle voice.
“So I think you should get some rest.”
It was a warning to behave herself.
Her schemes were shallow, and her level too low for me to even consider associating with her.
Of course, Marien wasn’t the type of character who would listen.
“The princess… was injured?”
After the sun had completely set.
Near the end of the banquet.
News spread that Marien, whom I had sent to the lounge, had been injured.
“My goodness, who would do such a thing?”
“How cruel.”
Amid the murmuring nobles,
Marien sat there with red swollen eyes, wiping tears with her sleeve.
Her dress was slightly lifted, exposing her foot.
It was a mess.
It looked like someone had deliberately stomped on it repeatedly with a sharp heel.
“Could an outsider have entered…?!”
“No! The room was properly guarded! No one entered the lounge!”
The guarding knight answered stiffly.
If security had been breached, it would mean failure on his part.
“Um… but if no one entered… wasn’t the last person with Her Highness Lady Leways?”
“That’s right… she was the one who escorted the princess to the lounge…”
The murmurs and gazes gradually focused on me.
“I… I… well…”
Marien avoided my eyes, lowering her gaze hastily.
At the same time she covered her mouth as if suppressing sobs.
But I definitely saw it.
The slight upward curve of her lips.
At that obvious scheme—
What kind of nonsense is this now?
I almost laughed.
* * *
“Do you think it’s true?”
“Well… we can’t say it’s impossible…”
“Oh my… unbelievable.”
The suspicious whispers grew louder.
Because the original Laura might indeed have punished a princess who suddenly appeared and showed interest in her fiancé.
In other words, this was partly Laura’s own past reputation coming back.
Nothing I can do about that.
I smiled bitterly but calmly began organizing my thoughts.
Then—
“I saw it!”
Someone suddenly stepped forward.
“Lady Leways only escorted the princess to the lounge! She did not enter the inner room!”
Esha.
My friend who had forgotten me was now defending me, veins bulging in her neck.
“And look at the shoes Lady Leways is wearing.”
After briefly asking permission, Esha lifted my dress slightly to show my heel.
“With such a low and thick heel, it’s impossible to create the kind of injuries seen on the princess’s foot. If she had done it, the wounds would look different.”
Oh.
I thought nobody noticed because my dress covered them.
Apparently, Esha had been watching me more closely than I realized.
Then Assel also spoke:
“I can personally attest to Lady Leways’ innocence. I remained by her side the entire time in the hall.”
Once Assel stepped in, the commotion noticeably died down.
Someone unwilling to accept my innocence tried raising another suspicion.
“She could have changed her shoes midway!”
But they immediately shrank under Assel’s fierce glare.
Because that would imply Assel was so blind he couldn’t even notice his partner suddenly becoming shorter.
Silence followed.
The atmosphere is set now.
It was time to counterattack.
