"Why don't you ask Lord Lunatil for help?"
"Beramund?"
"He's the son of a ducal family. Like , he's been trained in estate managent. He probably knows more than I do."
"I see..."
Since she had never received such education, it hadn't occurred to her. Sigrid nodded.
"I should do that. Thank you."
"Don't ntion it."
Morris was determined not to be a petty friend, now that they had agreed to be friends. He wanted to be a friend Sigrid could always lean on.
He loved her, but he didn't want to be soone who struggled between rejected love and close friendship, only to ruin both.
If he said he'd remain a friend, he truly had to remain just that.
"If I beco Vice-Captain, I'll probably receive a baronetcy too. Let's both worry about our estates together."
At Morris's words, spoken with a smile, Sigrid nodded with a sigh.
As they finished their dance, Morris was about to escort Sigrid back to Beramund when he whispered, "Oh dear."
"It seems Marie-Chez is giving him a hard ti, doesn't it?"
Sigrid nodded as she saw Beramund and Marie-Chez standing side by side. Beramund looked uncomfortable, while Marie-Chez wore a bright smile.
He was definitely getting a tongue-lashing.
Sigrid's ability to read between the lines among friends had grown considerably. She quickened her pace slightly to approach the two.
"Oh my, Siri? Are you done dancing?"
"Yes."
"The song was short."
At Morris's words, Marie-Chez smiled sweetly. Her snow-white mother-of-pearl fan with inlaid patterns swayed gently.
"Siri, for the next song?"
"Ah, I think I'll rest a bit. I've danced back-to-back."
Marie-Chez nodded at her words and asked:
"Then champagne?"
"Lemonade for ."
Sigrid shook her head. It seed this might go on for a while, so it was best to refrain from alcohol. She had never had a good experience after drinking.
"I'll go get it."
Morris said, then asked Marie-Chez, "And you?" to which Marie-Chez briefly replied, "Champagne." Without waiting for Beramund's order, Morris turned and disappeared.
Marie-Chez swiftly turned her eyes back to Beramund.
"Let
warn you once more, if you intend to make my dear friend a wallflower, I must tell you to stop right now."
"That wasn't my intention..."
"You an breaking the dance fan in front of everyone?"
Marie-Chez stood her ground firmly. The woman in her late 150cm range looked exceedingly small in front of the 187cm tall man, but Marie-Chez didn't back down an inch.
In this social world, a battlefield of tongues and pretexts where neither swords nor aura were needed, she had no reason to yield.
Marie-Chez lightly covered her mouth with her fan and said:
"Or did you have so other aning, Lord Lunatil? Don't you think you've crossed a line, not even being her fiancé?"
Beramund tried to make excuses, but nothing ca to mind. Sigrid spoke instead:
"Marie-Chez, I'm fine. I couldn't have danced all night anyway."
"Siri, it's not fine at all."
Marie-Chez frowned. She half-covered her face with her fan and whispered to Sigrid:
"Weren't we going to shake up the social world together?"
"What does that have to do with dancing?"
"Sigrid, look at those n's smoldering gazes over there. And I was going to pick up the leftovers beside you."
"D-did we say that?"
"You won't die from dancing a bit. Besides, it's not like you're going to marry Beramund anyway."
"Uh—"
Caught off guard by the unexpected remark, Sigrid's mouth fell open. Marie-Chez continued:
"So I'm telling you to scout out potential future partners in advance."
Ahem, Beramund cleared his throat.
"I'm sorry, Lady Inglet, but masters have good hearing..."
"Oh my? I didn't say anything wrong, did I?"
Marie-Chez said proudly with a huff.
"What are you talking about?"
Alkerto suddenly chid in. He offered Marie-Chez a glass of champagne. Morris handed Sigrid a glass of lemonade and said:
"We t over there."
"With all the celebrities gathered, it's not easy to join in."
Alkerto winked at Sigrid. Sigrid chuckled and said:
"Nonsense."
"No, really!"
My heart was pounding, Alkerto said, placing his hand on his chest. Marie-Chez glanced at Alkerto.
"When did you get here?"
"Just now."
"I bet you weren't late because of the celebrities, but because you were greeting the ladies."
Marie-Chez lightly tapped his chest with her fan, chiding him.
"No, I haven't even had my first dance yet."
Alkerto protested with an aggrieved look. Marie-Chez stared at him, saying, "Really?"
It was a gaze that conveyed her aning clearly enough.
Alkerto sighed as he handed his glass to a nearby servant.
"Would you like to dance?"
Marie-Chez answered as if offended by his sigh:
"I don't dance if it's forced."
"No, it's just that if I dance my first dance with you, the next partner will be boring."
At those words, Marie-Chez grinned, quickly emptied her glass, handed it to Sigrid, and took Alkerto's hand.
"Well, in that case, I can't refuse."
"You minx."
"Roses have thorns, you know?"
As Marie-Chez and Alkerto headed to the dance floor, an odd combination of Morris, Sigrid, and Beramund remained. Beramund glanced at the retreating couple and asked:
"Those two, are they...?"
Sigrid tilted her head, then understood and shook it.
"No. It's not like that."
"Ah, I see?"
Beramund nodded. Just then, a group of won who had been watching Marie-Chez leave approached quietly.
"Lord Lunatil, it's been a while."
"Won't you introduce us to your new girlfriend?"
"Lord Deforest, how are you?"
Surrounded by dresses adorned with abundant lace and vibrant flower-like petals, watching them wave their ornate fans, it felt like being in another world.
"I'm Sigrid Ankertna."
As she greeted them in turn, she noticed one woman subtly clinging to Beramund. Beramund flinched and carefully distanced himself. The woman pouted.
"Have you beco a boring man now that you have a lover, Lord Lunatil?"
"If that's boring, I suppose I've always been a boring man."
"Oh, co on—"
She chuckled and looked Sigrid up and down. Then, stroking Beramund's arm with her fan, she said:
"You know how to contact
if you're ever available, right?"
"My, my? I'd love to hear how to contact you, Baroness Liande?"
Lowengrin elegantly laughed as she joined the conversation. Everyone startled at her appearance and greeted her.
"Lady Alsekidna."
"It's been a while, everyone."
Lowengrin scanned them with her eyes and turned to Sigrid.
"Siri, aren't you curious? How do these two contact each other?"
"I wouldn't know, as I've never contacted her."
Beramund answered with a faint smile, and Baroness Liande's face turned red. She said:
"I think I should be going now."
"You should take care of yourself at your age."
Lowengrin said with a grin, and the baroness and her group left after saying their goodbyes. Lowengrin turned to Sigrid and said:
"Why are you letting them walk all over you?"
"Was that what was happening?"
"Yes. They were openly flirting with Lord Lunatil right in front of you."
"Thank you for your help, Lady Alsekidna."
Beramund was grateful, as the ploy had been obvious, but he couldn't have stepped in himself. Lowengrin chuckled and said:
"Just call
Lowengrin. And Siri."
"Huh? Yes."
"When you hear sothing absurd, don't just let it slide. Question it."
"Question it?"
"Yes, ask 'What do you an by that?' or 'What are you trying to say?' Usually, those spouting nonsense will stamr and disappear when questioned like that."
"I see."
Sigrid nodded, thinking, Sohow, those looks and words didn't feel good. Lowengrin chuckled and lightly tapped Sigrid with her feather fan, saying:
"Of course, such chatter probably doesn't bother you at all."
At those words, Sigrid shook her head slightly and said:
"No, it did bother ."
Lowengrin's eyes sparkled at Sigrid's words, thinking, 'So she doesn't care about herself, but she cares about Lord Lunatil?'
She wanted to tease her about it, but since Beramund himself was present, Lowengrin refrained.
Looking at them like this, they're quite a good pair...
Marie-Chez clearly didn't like Beramund, but to Lowengrin, he wasn't bad.
'He has good sense too. And since it's Sigrid he's dealing with...'
This might be better than soone too straight-laced.
Lowengrin looked Beramund up and down and said:
"By the way, I heard His Highness is recruiting a new finance minister?"
"New wine should be put in new wineskins, right?"
"I heard Baron Gomlet is a strong candidate."
At Lowengrin's words, Beramund smiled and said:
"I'm curious where you heard that story."
"The source of a story is just a story, isn't it?"
"A candidate is just a candidate."
"Ah—"
Lowengrin gestured to a nearby servant and took a glass. She raised it to eye level as if toasting and said:
"Then I should wish for good luck."
"If a beautiful lady like Lowengrin wishes for luck, the chances might increase."
At Beramund's words, Lowengrin laughed elegantly.
As the conversation turned to politics, Sigrid tried to focus on their dialogue, but she was still unfamiliar with political taphors, analogies, and nicknas.
So she kept her mouth shut and listened intently to the two's conversation when soone quietly approached, and Sigrid reflexively whirled around.
Her hand went to her waist, but of course, there was no sword.
The other person was equally startled by her movent. The young girl who had approached quietly bowed her head in surprise and said:
"Ah, hello, Countess Ankertna."
"Sneaking up from behind—"
Sigrid was about to tell her not to approach like that but closed her mouth with a sigh. This was a ballroom, not a battlefield.
"I'm sorry."
The girl bowed again. Fourteen? Maybe fifteen years old?
Thanks to Marie-Chez's training, Sigrid's eyes automatically scanned the girl's attire.
Coarse cotton clothes, inexpensive solid-color dye, a single worn-out brooch for jewelry, and only common seasonal flowers for hair decoration.
Moreover, she had spoken to Sigrid first.
It was customary that unless you were acquainted, it was impossible to initiate conversation. That's why people who wanted to talk to Sigrid clung to Marie-Chez and Lowengrin.
Sigrid stared at her, wondering if she knew her, but it wasn't a familiar face.
And her attire was certainly not that of a noble.
If it were Marie-Chez, she would have snorted at this point and said,
"If you're looking for a good etiquette teacher, go find Mada Antre."
—indirectly telling her to learn so manners—and then promptly ignored her, but Sigrid was Sigrid.
"Do we know each other?"
"No, we don't. This is the first ti I've t you."
"Ah."
As Sigrid nodded, the girl quickly said:
"I, I'm from Conwills."
"Ah."
For the second ti, Sigrid's mouth fell open. By now, Lowengrin and Beramund had stopped their conversation and were staring at them. Moreover, other people's gazes were starting to turn their way.
Lowengrin whispered to Sigrid:
"I think it would be better to move sowhere else. The ladies' lounge would be good."
"You're right."
"I'll guide you."
Sigrid nodded at Lowengrin's words and looked at Beramund.
"Excuse
for a mont."
"I'll gladly wait."
Beramund bowed, and Sigrid chuckled before following Lowengrin. Lowengrin circled the hall, avoiding people's gazes as much as possible, and went outside.
There wasn't just one or two ladies' lounges, and Lowengrin chose the farthest one, opening the door after quite a walk.
"There's no one here."
At Sigrid's words, Lowengrin nodded.
"The party's just starting to heat up, so there's no need to co to such a far lounge."
"Thank you, Lowengrin."
"It's nothing. So, shall I stay with you? Or—"
"I'll be fine on my own."
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