IICSYIRD l CH 18

chapter 04

“Miss, the Madam is calling for you.”

It was a little while later when Mother called for me.

“Mother, I… I’m here.”

Mother was reviewing the garden design plans. One of the trees in the garden had caught a disease, and since it was highly contagious, they’d had to remove all of them. Just as I thought—being the lady of a prestigious noble house in a novel meant you had to stress over a huge garden at least once.

“Blan, you’re here? Come here, sweetie.”

“Yes!”

As soon as she saw me, Mother handed the plans to the butler and opened her arms wide, as if telling me to come get a hug. I ran straight into her arms.

It was my own little way of being cute with her. Mother always smiled warmly and hugged me tightly whenever I did this. Sure, I had memories of a past life, but I couldn’t completely ignore the age of this body.

‘I’ve been acting more like a real kid lately.’

Maybe that’s why I found so much comfort in being held by Mother or Father.

Mother gently brushed my hair with her hand and said,

“Your hair’s starting to look more like your father’s now. And you look a lot like Enri too. My sweet girl’s looking so much better these days.”

I blinked. Then, out of the blue, she asked me something while still talking about how I looked.

“Blan, would you like to come to the palace banquet with me this week?”

****

The maids carefully brushed my hair with a fine-toothed comb.

“Since the young lady hasn’t officially debuted yet, tradition says you should wear white or pastel colors. We’ll make you look like a cute little spring fairy.”

As they chatted, the maids helped me into a pure white dress. It was decorated with soft pink lace on the chest, sleeves, and hem—like something a doll might wear. It was absolutely adorable.

“You really have gotten so much healthier.”

“That’s right. Your hair’s grown so much!”

And they were right. The color had changed too. It used to be a dull blond with a weird grayish tone, but now it sparkled like sunlight scattered through gold.

‘It’ll probably get even darker later.’

If it deepened to match Enricor’s hair as I grew older, I thought the name “Blandea” would suit me even better.

The maids styled my hair in a half-up braid and tied it with a large, elegant ribbon, pleated like lace to match the dress. Tiny pearls were sewn onto the ends of the ribbon, giving it a luxurious touch.

Once I had my soft pink shoes on, I clenched both fists in front of my chest.

“I’ll do my best…!”

“Oh, miss…!”

“You’re not going into battle…!”

“Just go have fun and eat lots of tasty food!”

“Okay…!”

I answered cheerfully—but inside, I was nervous.

No! I knew the truth!

In the novel, the social scene was no joke! The female lead even said it felt like hell!

Even though she eventually joined the military, she still moved freely through the capital’s high society later on!

Of course, I was just planning to quietly stick close behind my mother and observe.

But still—just in case.

‘It’s already pretty late for me to be showing my face in high society, anyway.’

I was already fifteen years old. The Lefebvre family was undoubtedly in a league of its own, but even the direct heirs of families just below us in status usually made an appearance in society by age twelve, at the latest—either with their parents or a chaperone.

Enricor, being the heir of House Lefebvre, had already attended a royal banquet at the age of ten.

“Oh my… What on earth did I give birth to? Could it be an angel?”

Mother’s face practically melted when she saw me. If she was trying to win me over with those sweet words, it worked. She clasped a beautiful bracelet around my wrist herself. It was a little big for me, so I had to wrap it around twice.

“This was passed down to me by your grandmother. I’ll give it to you as a wedding gift when you get married.”

“You don’t… have to give it to me.”

“Hm? Why not? Don’t you like it?”

“No… It’s pretty… but I don’t plan to get married…”

“If you don’t get married?”

“Then please… live with me instead…”

“You want to live with your mom?”

“Yes!”

Mother burst into laughter at that, but I was serious. After hurting a certain boy so badly, how could I go off and happily get married on my own? I had no intention of ever marrying. I was planning to just stay on Enricor’s good side and live in a separate house someday.

Mother seemed to think I was just joking.

“Let’s go, Blan.”

“Okay…!”

“Oh my…”

“Isn’t that the second daughter of House Lefebvre?”

“They say she’s been in seclusion for a long time due to poor health… She does look a little pale.”

“Do you think we’ll get a chance to speak to her?”

The whispers of noble ladies, voices half-covered behind fans and gloves, floated through the air. They were quiet, but clear enough for me to hear—so Mother must have heard them too. But she didn’t react at all. I loved my kind and gentle mother at home, but this icy, queen-like expression was just as cool.

‘So this is what the best in the kingdom looks like.’

They say Father chased after her constantly in their younger days—and now I totally understood why.

“Here, Blan. Have some juice and just enjoy watching.”

I nodded and took a sip of the juice Mother handed me.

“I heard Her Majesty the Queen is unwell.”

“Yes, that’s what they say.”

“That’s why she only showed her face briefly and then left the banquet.”

I looked around quietly, trying to keep a calm expression.

Children usually weren’t allowed at royal banquets like this. Since this was a special, unscheduled banquet, it was even more unusual. The Queen was known for her poor health, but she still hosted these sudden gatherings from time to time to maintain her influence in high society.

All nobles wanted to attend royal banquets, so getting an invitation meant cozying up to the noble ladies close to the Queen. It was her way of keeping her reputation and authority in social circles—something I’d read about in the novel.

‘This juice is really good.’

It had little fruit bits and was sweet—I ended up sipping two glasses. Watching the beautifully dressed nobles was fun at first, but I quickly got bored. And since I hadn’t officially debuted yet, everyone just saw me as a young, innocent girl, so I had to keep acting the part.

I looked around with my limited height when suddenly, my eyes met someone else’s.

‘Huh?’

It was a red-haired girl. Like me, she wore a white dress that symbolized her pre-debut status. It looked like she’d been watching me for a while. She stared right at me and then started walking over.

“Hello, Lady. I’m Titania Rosier.”

“….”

“…Lady?”

“Hi.”

I replied briefly, then turned my head away.

“….”

She looked a bit flustered by my cold response. The chaperone from House Rosier, who had been pretending not to watch us, quickly stepped in and took the girl away.

I sipped my juice calmly on the outside, but inside, I was shaking my head.

‘So she really does exist.’

Of course she should.

The End of the Mad Beauty was technically a romance-fantasy novel. Everything began when the female lead joined the military and met the male lead.

And that red-haired girl who boldly came to greet me just now… she was basically the main villain who clashed with the heroine.

The heroine’s name in the original novel was Ruri Rosier.

And the girl I just rejected was Titania Rosier.

Titania was a distant relative of the Rosier family, later adopted into it after Ruri disappeared. She became their foster daughter.

In The End of the Mad Beauty, the heroine, Ruri, started out as a commoner and joined the military.

She had been raised lovingly by an elderly commoner couple, but when monsters attacked, the couple was killed, and her home was destroyed.

Left as an orphan, Ruri entered the army.

Not just knights—ordinary soldiers were needed too. But during a standard holy sword aptitude test, Ruri showed overwhelming talent.

There were always rumors about illegitimate noble children hidden among commoners. People believed Ruri might be one of them, or maybe she had some noble blood mixed in.

One day, while on a mission, Ruri encountered a middle-aged nobleman who suddenly grabbed her in shock. His face had gone pale.

It was the head of House Rosier—Ruri’s biological father.

“…Ruri?”

“Who are you? How do you know my name?”

“You’re… you’re not dead? Ruri!”