Chapter 84 …
Amid the noble ladies, whose expressions hadn’t even had a chance to settle in the unexpected situation, I naturally slipped my hand into the pocket hidden within my dress.
Good thing I asked Madame to alter the dress in advance.
Not only had I requested waterproofing for the dress, but I also asked her to add a small pocket just in case. Madame had found my bizarre request amusing and readily agreed.
I pulled out the handkerchief that Theodor had given me as a gift and used it to wipe the grape juice off my hands while dusting my dress. Drinks like this will make your hands sticky if not cleaned immediately.
After giving the dress a few more careful wipes with the handkerchief, it looked as if the juice had never been spilled—no stain in sight.
The scenario the noble ladies probably expected was for me to cry as I dashed out of the ballroom with my dress ruined by the “accidental” spill of grape juice. But I had no intention of playing into their expectations.
Getting walked over is not my style.
Still, I could handle this one with a cute little smile. Based on past experiences, this level of prank was entirely predictable—and thanks to my preparations, my dress remained intact.
“What’s going on?”
Just as I was about to dismiss the situation with a warning, Theodor approached from behind, looking visibly annoyed, with Lucian and Kaiden beside him, their expressions gloomy.
“Did she spill juice on you? Are you okay?”
Lucian, unusually flustered, examined me from all sides. He grabbed my shoulders and shook me roughly, and I had to push his hands away as dizziness hit me for a moment.
“Stop shaking me. And calm down already.”
“Your dress is fine. Did you dodge it?”
Kaiden, checking on me from beside Lucian, asked with curiosity.
“No. I haven’t trained to dodge flying juice yet. But I did have a waterproof layer added to the dress. You can’t even tell, right?”
“Yeah. Did Madame do that?”
“Mm. Madame did a good job.”
“She did, indeed.”
“What nonsense are you two talking about? Does it matter right now?”
Lucian, listening to my conversation with Kaiden, snapped impatiently. I quickly covered his mouth.
“Lucian, lower your voice. Everyone’s barely keeping their attention on the banquet, and your shouting is drawing all eyes here.”
“Is that really what you should be saying right now?”
“My dress is fine, so what’s the problem?”
“Have you forgotten? You came here as Lady Delphinium’s daughter.”
“Who doesn’t know that?”
I dislike beating around the bush, so I retorted sharply to Lucian’s vague comment. Lucian scrunched his face and continued.
“From your actions, it looked like you didn’t even realize. You were about to laugh off being hit by juice from a mere countess’s daughter, weren’t you? It’s obvious.”
“Brother’s right. Letting such rudeness slide won’t save our family’s reputation.”
How would I know if she’s a countess or just pretending?
The concept of noble reputation was still too abstract for me. I couldn’t quite grasp when to let things slide and when to escalate.
Kaiden and Lucian seemed angry that a countess’s daughter, of far lower rank than a duke, had dared to spill juice on someone who was, at least outwardly, a duke’s daughter.
At that moment, Theodor approached the countess’s daughter, who had been squabbling with us from behind.
“Lady Plais, you will explain to me exactly what is going on right now.”
“W-well… I just… it was an accident…”
The countess’s daughter trembled under Theodor’s cold tone, nervously glancing at another noble girl who seemed implicated. But the other girl avoided her gaze and instead scolded the countess’s daughter.
“…Lady Plais, what kind of disgraceful behavior is this? Apologize to the princess immediately.”
“W-what? I didn’t do this…!”
“I don’t want to hear any pathetic excuses. Apologize now.”
The noble girl seemed afraid the countess’s daughter might bring her into it, so she pressed her to apologize to me before any more words could come out. The countess’s daughter looked at me desperately, as if hoping I would step in.
What do you expect me to do?
I wasn’t naive or kind enough to protect someone who tried to humiliate me. So I looked the countess’s daughter in the eye with an expression of feigned ignorance and popped a piece of dessert into my mouth that I had on my plate.
“I-I’m sorry, Princess. I-it was an accident.”
“Lasetia, don’t accept it.”
“I’ll handle this however you want. What punishment do you wish?”
“Yes. Let’s not let this slide.”
For once, the three of them agreed. They urged me to decide the punishment for the countess’s daughter. I took a moment, breaking my cake into small pieces with my fork.
In truth, my dress was fine, and I had anticipated something like this. I bore no grudge against the countess’s daughter, nor did I intend to punish her.
“Well… can’t your brothers handle it themselves? I don’t mind.”
I shrugged off the decision onto the countess’s daughter with indifference. Lucian, exasperated, raised his voice.
“Your personality is so soft… How do you expect to survive in noble society!”
“If you won’t step in, we will.”
Lucian seemed to have forgotten my earlier actions, calling my character weak once again. Startled, I set my fork down just as Kaiden’s words hit me like a punch.
“Who did you inherit such a weak personality from? No one in our family is like this.”
“….”
I was adopted—how would I possibly inherit anything from them?
“Huh…”
“Then, would it satisfy you to sever the family’s business funds and have the countess apologize directly?”
All for a little spilled juice?
I wasn’t angry enough for such retaliation in the first place.
Lucian seemed to interpret my stunned silence as refusal. He added, “Brother, I told you. She won’t be satisfied with that. She’d want total annihilation of the family.”
Earlier, you said I’m too soft…
Theodor nodded in agreement with Lucian’s dramatic exaggeration.
“Is that really so?”
Is it? You three need to get your stories straight.
Earlier they said I was soft, now they were turning me into a personality-defective monster who wouldn’t be satisfied without destroying a family’s livelihood.
“Total annihilation would take some time. Are you okay with that?”
“Are you kidding?”
“Perhaps a faster method….”
Kaiden’s serious inquiry made me sweat cold. When flabbergasted, people often can’t find the right words. I was at a loss, just opening my mouth when Theodor came up to me.
“I heard you said you didn’t want any punishment for Lucian, who hurt you before.”
“Ah, yes. Well… why now?”
“But it doesn’t seem like you really forgave Lucian.”
“Well…”
“You probably want to punish, but you’re not cruel enough to carry it out yourself.”
“Huh?”
I couldn’t help but ask in disbelief. So they all genuinely thought I was some vicious person who enjoys high-level punishment but is too soft to execute it myself? What kind of contradiction is this?
I realized I had to step in before the misunderstanding got worse.
“Wait. I’ll handle this myself. This is my matter. It doesn’t look good for anyone else to step in on my behalf.”
I approached the countess’s daughter, who looked aggrieved as if she had forgotten what happened.
“Um… Lady Pls, Plais? Anyway…”
I had heard her family name earlier but forgot it, so I mangled it. Luckily, no one noticed.
“My dress is fine, so I won’t hold you responsible.”
All eyes widened at my gracious decision. Ignoring their reactions, I leaned in and whispered just for her to hear:
“Mistakes are only forgiven once. Keep that in mind. And the one who should change dresses isn’t me.”
When I dusted off the juice earlier, it had actually landed on her dress, leaving a purple stain.
No matter who the opponent is, I always give my best when confronting someone—even if they are a child. Being lenient out of pity is an insult.
