Chapter 46 (Part 1)
The spacious ballroom was filled with colorful gowns and tailcoats.
It looked like a blooming flower garden.
From a distance, a flower garden appears beautiful and pristine.
But dig beneath the blossoms, and you’ll find it crawling with insects.
Lindsay Dais, dressed in a black maid’s uniform, moved silently through the “garden” like a shadow, carrying a tray of wine glasses as if it were a shield.
As Lady Lascaille’s eyes and ears, she quietly observed the insects hidden beneath the petals.
“House Lascaille was truly impressive ten years ago. But now… who knows?”
“Their gemstone mines aren’t going anywhere, so they’ll remain wealthy. Still, a ten-year absence is a huge gap. Honestly, compared to House Duyireborg, Lascaille’s influence has…”
Just ordinary butterflies of high society.
“Seeing this ballroom makes it feel real. House Lascaille has truly returned! The center of the northern nobility is finally back!”
“The duke’s daughter, who was believed dead, has returned. Her family must be overjoyed. It’s practically a miracle.”
These were the beneficial insectsâladybugs and honeybees.
“What a waste of a ducal title. They threw away ten years just because one little girl disappeared… Well, if we use the young lady as leverage, we might be able to secure rights to those gemstone mines…”
“Honestly, how do we know where the young lady spent those ten years? She disappeared at ten and conveniently has amnesia? Sounds like an excuse to me. Maybe she was sold into the slums and lived a disgraceful life, and they’re just trying to cover it up…”
Those… were pests that deserved extermination.
As part of her duties within the Amethyst intelligence network, Lindsay continued assessing the atmosphere while mentally cataloging the important nobles in attendance.
“Marchioness Winterfield and her sons. The marquis and heir couldn’t leave the border again this season.”
“The Marquis and Marchioness Nysa with their children… Count Darius and his family… Baron Sage and his family…”
“Marquis Blen and his wife… Their daughter isn’t here? They did say she was rather eccentric…”
Amid all of this, one particular guest caught her eye.
A pink-haired girl was aggressively devouring desserts.
“Only Lady Duyireborg attended from that family. The Duke himself isn’t here.”
Nearby stood a brown-haired young lady, her younger brother, her elder sister, and a gentle middle-aged man, all deliberately keeping some distance from the pink-haired girl.
“The Earl Everett’s husband and their three children. The Countess herself didn’t come.”
Then…
A curly black-haired young man surrounded by pests.
“Grand Prince Joseph Adicle… High-priority observation.”
Since this was a debutante ball, most of the guests were young nobles.
The family heads who attended were either close to House Lascaille…
…or hoping to become close.
“The Crown Prince must belong to the latter.”
Unless he intended to draw House Lascaille to his side, there was no reason for the Crown Prince himself to attend the debut ball of a duke’s daughter.
“He eliminated Adicle’s immediate threat, but not completely. They still retain succession rights. He also needs a way to keep House Duyireborg in check after they escaped the succession conflict relatively unscathed… In that case, House Lascaille would be the ideal ally.”
It was a perfectly reasonable conclusion for one of Lascaille’s intelligence operatives.
The idea that the Crown Prince had attended simply to meet a single maid was far too absurd to imagine.
“Good. I’ll organize everything and report it to my lady later.”
Lindsay glanced once at the Crown Prince, who was surrounded by nobles desperately trying to attract his attention, before quietly moving on.
