“...Partlan Young Lady?”
Serlan Gongja’s face showed clear signs of confusion, as if he were facing sothing he shouldn't be.
“Could you please answer?”
Usually, Joy would give her opponent ti to calm down and respond, but this ti she didn’t. She urged for an answer in an unusually cold voice.
“...Ah. I an, I just saw Young Lady Alrn at the festival and was expressing my admiration.”
Just a mont ago, Serlan Gongja’s face had been flushed due to my provocation, but after Joy’s appearance, that expression had changed.
His face was pale like that of a corpse.
I couldn’t understand why.
Is Joy really that terrifying? Her appearance might be cold, but isn’t she just a goofy young lady inside?
Why is Serlan Gongja, who is from a similar duke family and clearly much older, sweating coldly while facing Joy?
“Is that so? Thank you, Serlan Gongja, for passing on the complint to my friend.” “It was nothing, really.”
“If you have nothing more to say, could you leave? I need to have a private talk with my friend.”
Serlan Gongja seed to have a lot to say, his mouth moving, but he didn’t utter a word.
After he reluctantly left, Joy put away the fan she had been using to cover her mouth.
“Alrn Young Lady, just chase off people like that. Don’t just watch how long they can hold out.”
‘What did he do?’
“Goofy Young Lady, what did that perverted Gongja do for you to act like that?”
“Don’t you know?”
Of course, I didn’t know. He was hardly ntioned in the ga, right?
In the first place, the Serlan family didn’t play a significant role in the ga.
Was he called the Serlan Gongja?
I tried to recall but couldn’t think of anything.
If it was a character of significance, I usually rembered their na. If there was an illustration, I’d rember their face too.
Yet, even with that, it was hard to recall anything about the Serlan Gongja.
It seems he really had no significance.
“...Ah. Right. Alrn Young Lady, you’re a bit inexperienced in situations like this.”
Joy nodded to herself and told that this person had caused a major incident recently.
“He’s in a situation where he might get kicked out of his family because of that incident, so he wants to smooth things over sohow.”
Only after hearing her words did I recall.
The Serlan Gongja.
He was the one who always talked about how he struggled because of his stupid younger brother whenever a mber of the Serlan family popped up! So that’s who he was!
“We won’t et again by the ti we graduate from the academy, so there’s no need to worry about him.”
After saying that, Joy cut off the topic about Serlan Gongja.
In the academy, I only thought of him as goofy and cute, but now I could see a duchess-like aspect of her.
‘Impressive, Joy.’
“Hey, Goofy Young Lady. Are you trying to act cool right now? Like, ‘Look how amazing I am~’?”
“Wha—?! That’s not really what I’m—”
Oh? Was she serious?!
Was Joy really thinking that she was kind of cool?
I’ll take back my complint, Joy. You must always be the goofy young lady no matter where you are.
As my gaze turned lukewarm, Joy cleared her throat.
“Ahem. Anyway, Alrn Young Lady, you don’t have anything to do separately right now, do you?”
‘No.’
“Okay. But?”
“Could you co with for a mont? My father wants to speak with you.”
Duke Partlan? Why would he want to speak with ? Is it sothing related to the academy?
If that’s the case, then this ti I really will beco a sickly sugaki. I’ll hit my head with my own hands until I faint!
Following Joy, we headed to the reception room outside the party hall.
In that room, besides Duke Partlan, Benedict was also present. I was wondering where he had gone after the party started, but he was with the duke.
With those two gathered together, the atmosphere was intense. It felt like a mob boss and his lieutenant were standing together.
If they had just discussed whom to take down, I might have believed it without a second thought.
Since it was the first ti eting after the incident with Tabol, it seed Benedict had a lot to say, but he didn’t voice any of it.
“Father, as requested, I brought Alrn Young Lady.”
Joy broke the silence in the room. I wasn’t sure if it was my misunderstanding, but the sharpness in Joy’s tone seed unusual, causing Duke Partlan to smirk.
“Thank you for your hard work, Joy. You can go back now.” “No, I’ll stay here. That’s okay, right?” “...Yeah. Do as you please.”
What’s this? Has Joy hit her rebellious phase?! Why is she acting like she hates her dad?!
I didn’t understand how the situation had turned out, but since Joy was moving ahead, I followed her and sat in a chair.
“I’m sorry for calling you in the middle of the party, Alrn Young Lady. I have sothing to discuss separately.”
‘It’s fine.’
“Yeah, but?”
“It’s okay. Duke Partlan. I was bored anyway since there were only diocre people here.”
“Then that’s a relief. First, what I need to say is... Yeah. I’m sorry, Alrn Young Lady. I’ve made you go through unnecessary hardship because of .”
Why is this person apologizing to ?
At first, I tilted my head in confusion, but as the story unfolded, my thoughts changed.
I hadn’t expected that Duke Partlan had forced into a difficult situation just to pressure into giving a speech!
Hey! Sir! Is it okay to do this to your daughter’s friend?!
What kind of distress could this cute little girl possibly cause you to do such a thing?!
Is this what you an?!
‘Could it be that you dislike being called Duke Sloppy?!’
“Could it be that Duke Sloppy is upset about the nickna I gave him, and that’s why he’s acting like a petty person? I didn’t expect soone leading a duke family to be so petty.”
“Of course, that can’t be the case! Alrn Young Lady, you are Joy’s savior! Would I stoop so low as to act petty over a re nickna? In the first place, I have no reason to resent you, as I actually liked being called Duke Sloppy!”
After that passionate outburst, the duke finally explained to the reason behind this incident.
So, in summary, he wanted to assess if Joy was soone I could fully trust since she seed too attached to ?
Listening to his words, as unexpected events kept arising and the scale grew larger, I rembered why this man was treated as a codic character in the community.
Duke Partlan was undoubtedly a capable person, supported by power, yet whenever he took the initiative to do sothing, he would always ss it up.
As I listened to his story, various s that had circulated in the past community kept coming to mind, making it impossible for to be angry.
In any case, it was over now, and I had received an apology for the mistake, along with a promise for future compensation, so there was no longer any reason to be angry.
By the way, if the duke was the one who initiated this incident, does that an it has nothing to do with the First Prince?
I thought he was 100% the mastermind behind this!
In the end, the one who reaped the benefits was completely unrelated! Isn’t this dereliction of duty?!
“We can discuss the compensation later. If we’re not careful, we might not finish talking until the party ends.”
The duke said that and sent us back.
On our way back to the party hall, Joy apologized to .
I heard that Joy had been called by the duke right before the party started.
There, she was bound by the duke’s magic and couldn’t move an inch.
When she finally managed to escape and return to the party hall, Tabol had already raised his voice.
Joy wasn’t just cold toward the duke for no reason. Even the kindest of people would have reason to be angry in this situation.
“I’m really sorry, Alrn Young Lady.”
Her apology contained many anings.
An apology for what her father did. An apology for not being able to help sooner. And there were likely many other things I couldn’t guess.
Though I could tell her words were sincere, I didn’t welco that apology.
Joy shouldn’t have to apologize.
‘Why are you apologizing?’
“Goofy Young Lady, why are you making silly noises instead of talking?”
“...What?”
‘Right now, I should be the one thanking you.’
“I don’t get why you’re being so sulky after helping . Are you trying to evolve from being goofy to being a timid little goof?”
“Are you no longer going to call Young Lady?!”
Well, it seems I can’t call her that anymore since she’s gotten too goofy.
Finding Joy’s reaction funny, I chuckled inwardly and outwardly, and before I knew it, Joy was smiling too.
Though it was still a fierce smile, it was better than her sulking.
After lightening Joy’s mood, we returned to the party hall, where the atmosphere was elevated.
The grand and beautiful sounds of the orchestra filled the air. Nobles were showcasing their dance moves in the center, while others gathered around, laughing together.
As I admired the scenery that looked like sothing out of a movie, I heard Joy sigh beside .
“I’m sorry, Alrn Young Lady. I have sothing to attend to.”
Joy said that and headed toward the group of noble ladies, who were exchanging sharp glances.
Does the duchess have to deal with things like that too? Well, since Joy is also the leader of several noble ladies, she probably needs to pay attention.
If possible, I’d like to help Joy, but if I got involved, it would only add to the workload.
So, I quietly made my way to a corner of the party hall.
Isn’t it better for to stay out of sight to lessen Joy’s worries?
Having experienced so much in such a short ti, I was feeling hungry. I craved sothing sweet.
I thought there would be delicious desserts in the party hall, so I decided to head towards the food area.
As I was thinking that, I ran into Frey and her younger sister.
Seeing Frey, who was filling her plate again, and her sister, who was scolding her, was quite refreshing.
Aren’t these two supposed to be in a cold relationship at this point?
“Hey! Are you listening?! ... Oh. Alrn Young Lady.”
“Hello, Lucy.”
Frey’s sister, who had been raising her voice, quickly shut her mouth when she saw , but Frey simply greeted while holding a tongs.
Is she really planning to eat all the food at the party by herself?
I knew Frey had a good appetite, but I didn’t expect it to be to this extent.
She must have been born in modern tis. If she had done an eating broadcast, she would have definitely succeeded.
“Hey! Alrn Young Lady!”
As I was staring at Frey in surprise, her sister approached .
“Thank you! For bringing my sister back to being human!”
And then she imdiately bowed her head.
It wasn’t just a light greeting; it was a bow filled with a lot of energy, as if directed at a benefactor.
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