Chapter 10
“Miss, the Macherte Ducal House has sent you an invitation to their ball. It’s scheduled for three days from now.”
At the sudden news of the invitation, my small shoulders twitched.
So the “real” romance fantasy story was finally beginning.
Adam said that my debut in high society would mark the true return of House Mayla.
I might even meet one of the people I needed there.
“You’ve greeted His Majesty the Emperor and officially moved into the Marquis’s estate. Now it’s time for you to take your first step into the Empire’s social circle. I’ve heard that more and more people have become curious about you.”
Adam smiled.
“The social world of Albreon is no easy place. You’ll need to be prepared.”
“…She’s so pretty! I think she’s the prettiest sister who’s gone inside!”
“Ellie! Shh! Miss, please forgive her.”
As I stepped out of the carriage and entered the Macherte estate, a little girl who looked about five years old, holding her mother’s hand, stared at me with sparkling eyes.
Her mother, one of the household servants, quickly pulled her back, as though she’d made a terrible mistake, and bowed deeply to me.
Smiling, I reached into my small clutch bag and handed the little girl a piece of candy.
“Here. It’s a present.”
The girl’s face lit up.
“Wow! Thank you, big sister!”
“No, thank you. You helped me relax.”
Seeing the little girl smile so brightly over just a few pieces of candy made me smile too.
The servant looked startled when she heard me thanking her daughter and bowed once more.
I smiled and continued forward.
That brief conversation with the child had eased some of the tension in my face.
Sure enough, when I’d looked in the mirror before leaving, I had looked radiant.
My naturally pretty face—with its slightly chubby cheeks, straight nose, delicate lips, and emerald-green eyes—already helped.
On top of that, the experienced maids had carefully styled my thick blonde twin tails and dressed me in a light blue gown that made me look every bit the noble young lady.
That’s right. Don’t lose confidence, Arinel Mayla.
As soon as I entered, the eyes of countless nobles turned toward me.
I remembered what Adam had told me.
“House Macherte is one of the Empire’s greatest noble families, standing alongside Houses Siegfried and Germent. They originally supported another prince instead of His Majesty, but changed sides immediately after he ascended the throne. As for today’s host, Lady Lariel Macherte… she may not be very friendly toward you.”
…
Since it was the birthday ball of Lady Macherte, who was the same age as me, there were just as many young noble ladies and gentlemen as there were adult noblewomen.
Several of them looked at me with stiff expressions.
More accurately, they looked territorial.
Just as Adam had warned, this was going to be a difficult gathering.
“Because Lady Macherte has long been fond of His Highness the Crown Prince.”
Near the center of the ballroom stood the obvious star of the event.
The girl with wavy red hair and black eyes was beautiful, but there was a coldness about her.
A group of elegantly dressed girls surrounded her.
It was easy to tell they were the dominant clique among the young nobles.
…
Honestly, after hearing that the young lady liked the Crown Prince, I’d hesitated to attend.
My very first ball is being hosted by someone who already sees me as a rival… Talk about terrible luck.
But Adam had insisted that I absolutely attend today.
The reason was simple.
“I’ve heard that that lady was invited, and that she accepted the invitation.”
“’That lady’…?”
“Yes. The Minister of the Imperial Household.”
Her husband, Duke Allens, the Emperor’s maternal uncle, had died less than a year after their marriage.
After becoming a widow, she devoted the rest of her life to educating young noble ladies.
It was said that, over the past twenty years, almost every woman considered a flower of the Empire’s high society had passed through her hands.
Every noblewoman with a young daughter dreamed of having her child accepted as one of her students.
But she chose her pupils according to extremely strict standards.
Her eye for talent was legendary.
Girls with the potential to become gemstones would emerge from her tutelage as the Empire’s finest jewels, dazzling all of high society.
“There’s a high chance she’ll choose a new gemstone today. Since Lady Macherte is hosting the party, she’s the most likely candidate—but there’s nothing to lose by trying.”
According to Adam, invitations to today’s ball were even being resold to daughters of lesser noble families for enormous sums.
Everyone wanted a chance to catch the eye of the Minister of the Imperial Household.
…
Personally, I had no desire to become the disciple of such an extraordinary lady—especially while wearing a princess dress that made walking a challenge.
Still, I thought it would be a good opportunity to at least introduce myself.
After all, this was the first step toward achieving my goals.
“Happy birthday, Lady Macherte. My name is…”
I approached her with my gift.
Lady Macherte looked at me with her black eyes.
The corners of her lips were slightly raised.
“Arinel Mayla. It’s nice to meet you.”
Silence hung between us for several seconds.
Then—
Snicker.
The girls standing behind Lady Macherte exchanged amused smiles.
Lariel Macherte slowly reached out and accepted my gift.
Then, in a quiet voice, she said,
“Thank you, Mariel Laila.”
Her eyebrows were perfectly neat.
Her smile was gentle.
But she had deliberately mispronounced my name.
Behind her, two or three girls burst into laughter.
Sigh.
I’d secretly hoped this girl, who gave off every vibe of a classic villainess, would turn out to be surprisingly nice.
But someone like me, whose story had started on hard mode, clearly wasn’t that lucky.
Adam’s warning came back to me.
“Since the fact that you lived with His Majesty in Galnem could make you a target for certain groups, for your safety… we’ve announced that you were raised by a foster family in the countryside.”
So this was obvious.
It was childish mockery.
The equivalent of elementary school kids making fun of the new transfer student from the countryside.
Even though my accent sounded no different from the nobles of the capital.
…
Snicker.
Instead of getting angry, I smiled.
Lady Macherte’s neatly shaped eyebrow twitched ever so slightly.
Her eyes clearly asked,
What’s so funny?
If I really were an ignorant little girl, I probably would have turned red with anger.
And causing a scene here would immediately ruin my reputation in high society.
That was exactly why she’d laid this trap for the country girl who had supposedly just arrived in the capital.
She’s upset because Parmes suddenly chose someone she’d never even heard of as the Crown Prince’s fiancée.
“My gift…”
I calmly opened my mouth.
“It’s an air freshener made from the medicinal herb Pompur. It helps calm both the mind and body.”
Lady Macherte curled her lips as if to say,
So what?
The girls behind her also stared coldly at me.
But unlike what any of them expected…
I wasn’t an easy target.
I’d survived ten years in the Korean workforce before being reincarnated, then another ten years surviving in rural Galnem.
Compared to these pampered little noble girls, I was in a completely different league.
“It also has medicinal properties.”
I smiled brightly.
“In fact, it’s often used to treat poor patients whose tongues are too stiff to pronounce words properly.”
“…!”
“It’s a truly wonderful herb. I wrapped it especially with you in mind, Lady Macherte.”
As I continued smiling, Lady Macherte’s eyes shook slightly, and her brows drew together.
Even the girls behind her flinched.
They clearly hadn’t expected me to respond like this.
Lady Macherte glared at me, her face turning icy.
But she couldn’t say a word.
Because all I had done was explain the purpose of my gift.
No one except her and the girls standing closest to her had heard her deliberately mispronounce my name.
If she got angry now, she’d only be exposing her own insult.
…
Her clenched fist trembled.
Since the Minister of the Imperial Household was present today…
She’d have to keep her temper under control.
Serves you right.
“Please make good use of it.”
Still smiling cheerfully, I turned away.
I could feel Lady Macherte’s furious gaze burning into the back of my head.
But I couldn’t deny how satisfying it felt to get one over on her.
Though…
My future life in high society was already looking pretty rough.
Doesn’t matter.
Someone who survived Galnem isn’t that easy to bring down.
Just then, a voice rang out, drawing everyone’s attention.
“Lady Piolena Allens has arrived.”
A clear bell rang through the ballroom.
The section that everyone had assumed was just a curtain covering the windows was drawn aside, and every eye turned toward it.
Behind it was a hidden room concealed within the ballroom.
Was Adam right?
Had the woman known as the Midas of high society really come to choose a new student?
Then, as she stepped forward in her velvet gown and revealed her face…
I couldn’t help but gasp in shock.
