PWH C17

I got into the carriage. Gabby, grumbling, got in with me.

“Why are you riding in the same carriage as me?” I frowned as I asked.

Gabby gave a dry laugh. “What, do you think you should get this spacious carriage all to yourself?”

He muttered while giving me a sideways glance, “We can share the carriage, can’t we? If you have an ugly face, at least you should have a kind heart, but your temper…”

Hold it in. Today, I will hold it in.

Forcing a smile, I complimented Gabby, “Your heart is as sharp as your beautiful face. I suppose it’s like a thorn that suits a rose.”

“Ha! Are you out of your mind?”

Gabby’s reaction made me tilt my head.

I remembered when Belial, the Lustful Lord, told me that humans liked this kind of compliment. Back then, Amon, the Lord of Wrath, who overheard our conversation, had scolded him, saying, “Stop teaching the kid strange things.”

I replayed what I had just said in my head.

Considering the context and the choice of words, it was definitely a compliment. So, Gabby must be the weird one.

“Is she really out of her mind? Ha…”

Gabby took a deep breath, trying to control his emotions. He then spoke to me in a somewhat calmer tone, “Hey, it’s not like I care about you, but—could you change the way you talk? At least at the ball, use honorifics.”

“Honorifics?”

“Yes. You need to use honorifics. Do you even know how arrogant you sound right now? It might not matter much with other nobles, but this is the imperial ball.”

“Do I have to use honorifics with the imperial family?”

I didn’t understand, so I tilted my head again.

I spoke casually to the Demon God, after all. Surely the imperial family wasn’t higher than the Demon God… Was this some strange rule humans had made for themselves?

“Ha. How do I deal with this fool? You were always stupid, but lately, you’ve been acting even weirder.”

Gabby grumbled something to himself and then began explaining to me.

“I’ll only explain this once, so listen carefully. You can speak however you want with those below you. But it’s different with those above you. You have to use honorifics, no exceptions.”

“Who’s above me?”

“Who else? The imperial family. There are a few more, but since you’re a member of the ducal family, they won’t make a fuss if you don’t use honorifics with them. But the imperial family is different. They could charge you with treason and throw you in jail.”

“Jail?”

So, what Gabby meant was that I should use honorifics—to acknowledge that they were above me? Then I’d rather choose jail.

“A small, damp place wouldn’t be so bad.”

What’s a human jail to a demon?

“Are you insane? How hard is it to use honorifics that you’d risk jail time over it?”

“It’s a matter of pride.”

“You’ve really lost it, haven’t you? You’re going to jail over some foolish pride?”

“Gabby, someone like you could never understand.”

“How many times do I have to tell you not to call me that ridiculous nickname!”

Calling him a nickname like “Gabby” must be feeding his ego. That guy was always full of himself.

I clicked my tongue. Honestly, I only called him Gabby because I couldn’t stand saying “Gabriel.”

Come to think of it, Gabby’s attitude toward me seemed to have changed a lot. If he despised me at first… I wasn’t sure what he felt now, but it wasn’t contempt.

Since we were on the topic, I asked Gabby something that had piqued my curiosity. “Did you really try to use aura as a toothpick?”

“Huh? Yeah, once, on a bet with the knights, but it didn’t work. Broke all my teeth.”

“……”

Sher was right about Gabby not being too bright.

I looked at his intact teeth and asked, “Dentures?”

“Damn it, no! I called a priest to heal them.”

This guy was an idiot.

I clicked my tongue again. What would his ancestors think, knowing their descendant was this foolish?

They’d probably be in despair. I chuckled to myself.

***

After talking about trivial things, we finally arrived at the imperial palace. Though it was night, the ballroom was as bright as day.

Seeing the other nobles’ elaborate attire made me feel uneasy.

I lowered my gaze to look at my dress. Compared to the other nobles’ lavish clothes, mine was plain and simple.

I was glad I had insisted on this dress. No one approached me. Though I wasn’t being ignored—people kept glancing at me when they thought I wasn’t looking. Well, half of those stares were probably directed at Gabby, who was following behind me.

I looked back at Gabby and asked, “Why are you following me around?”

“Why do you think? Because I’m worried you’ll cause trouble.”

“Worried?”

“Do you really think I’m worried? I’m keeping an eye on you so the Dunkeld family doesn’t have to clean up your mess!”

Hmm. He was denying it too strongly.

I spoke to reassure Gabby, “There’s no need to worry. I’ve decided to lose today.”

So stop following me.

Gabby’s eyes widened at my words. “Lose? What are you talking about?”

“Jessie said balls are like battlefields. I plan to lose every fight that comes my way today.”

“Hey! You can’t just lose!”

Gabby seemed upset about something.

“Just act like you normally do. They’re all nothing but weaklings anyway.”

“Hmm.”

“If anyone annoys you, just hit them. We can settle it with compensation.”

“Didn’t you say you didn’t want to clean up my mess?”

“Well, yeah, but I thought about it, and it’s not like I’d be the one cleaning up. The old man would.”

Gabby shrugged his shoulders and added, “If you’re going to hit someone, do it properly so the compensation is huge. Let’s drain the old man’s fortune.”

“I’ll think about it.”

But even if I said that, I planned to lose today. No matter who challenged me, I’d lose.

I watched the couples dancing in the ballroom. At first, it was an entertaining sight, but as time passed, it grew more and more boring.

“So, you don’t have any friends either, do you?” I spoke to Gabby, who was still by my side.

“Hey, do you think I’m you? I have plenty of friends.”

“Then why isn’t anyone talking to you?”

“Damn it. Just you wait.”

Gabby, seemingly provoked by my words, started striding toward a group of people. Was it just my imagination, or did the people’s faces show a flash of fear when Gabby approached them?

What a simple guy.

Successfully sending Gabby away, I relished the peace and quiet. I even considered leaving the ballroom and going back to the mansion.

“His Majesty the Emperor and His Highness the Crown Prince have arrived!”

The doors opened, and the emperor and crown prince entered the ballroom. The two crossed the hall and made their way to the prepared seats on the platform.

I frowned as I looked at the emperor’s silver hair. Seeing that hair reminded me of Zachary, and I had the sudden urge to set it on fire.

‘If I set fire to the emperor’s head, I doubt it would end with just imprisonment.’

I turned my gaze to the crown prince standing beside the emperor. Curiously, the crown prince had jet-black hair.

‘I thought the imperial family’s symbol was silver hair.’

Well, there are mutations everywhere, I suppose. That’s what I thought.

Just as I was about to turn my eyes away from the crown prince, my instincts sent out a warning.

Something felt familiar… I couldn’t take my eyes off the crown prince.

Meanwhile, the crown prince began dancing with his partner in the center of the ballroom.

“Don’t they look lovely together?”

“Hmm?”

At some point, people had gathered behind me.

A woman who seemed to be their leader spoke to me. She said they made a lovely couple?

I didn’t think so.

Neither the crown prince nor his partner seemed happy. Especially his partner, Nadia Clement—she looked as pale as a corpse. Well, she had only recently recovered from being poisoned, so it made sense.

“Do you think they look good together?”

“Yes. Do you have a different opinion, my lady?”

“You must have poor eyesight.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“I mean exactly what I said… or could it be that your hearing is also poor?”

She was still young, yet already like this. I looked at her with a gaze filled with pity.

The woman clenched and unclenched her fists several times before speaking again, “By the way, my lady, your dress is quite plain. I suppose one could say it has the beauty of a wildflower by the roadside.”

So, this was what Jessie had meant by a fight at the ball.

Since I had decided to lose today, I responded with a compliment, “Seeing you all dressed up like that reminds me of a monster in mating season. Had I seen you in the hunting grounds, I might have mistaken you for a monster and shot you.”

I praised her colorful dress. But the woman’s face turned bright red. Was she really that happy to be complimented?

She seemed more pleased than I expected. Humans were surprisingly weak to compliments.

The woman tried to say something more, but someone else spoke up first.

“Wow.”

At some point, Gabby had returned and taken his place beside me.

“I didn’t think you’d be in trouble, but just in case, I came over…”

Gabby made an awkward face and then gave me a thumbs-up. “You won.”