TLVGAJ 36

~Chapter 36~

“You call yourself a noble, but you can’t dance?”

I crossed my arms and tilted my head, looking up at Hans.

Hans stared down at me with a shocked expression I had never seen before.

How foolish.

Did he really think I would be so easily fooled?

Even if I’m not good at romance, I’m an expert at spotting scammers.

I had already known Hans was a con artist.

In my previous life, living as a K-eldest daughter and taking care of my younger siblings was already hard, but my parents would sometimes make it worse by getting scammed.

Thanks to that, I naturally developed the ability to tell if someone was a scammer after just a few words.

In other words, I had sharpened my instincts for survival.

A normal, innocent noble lady might have been fooled, but someone like Hans was obvious to me.

From the start, it was strange for someone claiming to be on a business trip to be so enthusiastic about the ball.

But I didn’t cut him off right away… because I wanted to show something on purpose.

I wanted Albert to see me having “something” with another man!

That way, the misunderstanding between Eric and Albert would be naturally resolved, and I could still keep my distance from Albert.

And earlier, Albert had indeed spotted me with Hans.

So, my goal was achieved, and there was no reason to stick around with this scammer any longer.

“What… what do you mean? Are you saying I can’t dance?” Hans looked flustered but quickly spoke in a calm voice.

“Ah… I’m just clumsy. My dancing skills aren’t great, you see?”

“…Sorry, but you got the basic escort position wrong.”

Recalling the dance etiquette the original Irene had learned, I said:

“A lady’s one hand should hold the gentleman’s, and the other should be on his shoulder. Your position was wrong. This is a change that happens when noble dance culture spreads to commoners.”

“A-ah, no! In my country, even nobles dance like this!”

“Really?” I gave a small laugh.

“Then why, if you’re here on a business trip, didn’t you give me a business card to prove your identity when we first met?”

“…”

“And why are you taking the ball so seriously? It’s almost like you’re trying to seduce someone for a life-changing opportunity.”

Hans couldn’t keep his expression calm anymore and bit his lip.

I smiled and stepped closer, whispering in his ear:

“Innocent noble ladies might fall for your tricks, but I’m not one of them.”

“…”

“Get lost, you scammer.”

Leaving Hans’s red, angry face behind, I turned away.

Wow… did I just look kind of cool?

Feeling a bit proud, I started to walk away—

“This… this isn’t right!”

“…?”

“You acted like you were interested in me, and now you’re doing this? That’s cheating!”

I turned back at his loud shouting.

Hans’s face was bright red as he glared at me.

Huh?

He was getting pretty worked up… to the point he might actually hit me.

It seemed he really was thinking about it—Hans raised his hand like he was going to strike me.

But I calmly looked into his eyes without fear.

Go ahead and try. I have Deon.

If he dares lay a hand on me, I’ll show him exactly what happens when you touch a noble lady.

Just as Hans’s hand came down toward me, I felt Deon move—so I closed my eyes.

Smack!

I heard someone grab Hans’s wrist.

Expecting it to be Deon, I opened my eyes—and my eyes widened.

Standing in front of me was…

“How dare you be so rude to a lady.”

It was Eric.

Huh?

I tilted my head in surprise. Why was Eric suddenly here?

Eric looked down at Hans with cold eyes, clearly angry.

“You crazy bastard,” he muttered in a low voice.

“Scamming an innocent noble lady, and even trying to hit her… that goes against the code of chivalry.”

“Argh!”

Hans cried out as Eric twisted his wrist.

In an instant, Hans’s arm was bent painfully. Compared to Eric’s strong, muscular arms, Hans’s looked pathetically small.

It was funny—earlier I thought Hans was fairly good-looking, but next to Eric, he looked like nothing.

“Let go! Let me go!”

“Nope.”

The more Hans screamed, the harder Eric twisted.

The commotion drew the attention of the express train staff, who pushed through the crowd.

“What’s going on here?”

“There was someone in the ballroom trying to harm a lady,” Eric said with a smile, handing Hans over.

“It seems there are people using the anonymity of the ball to scam others.”

“I see… thank you for telling us. We’ll take care of it.”

And so, Hans disappeared with the staff.

When the noise settled, Eric turned to me.

“Are you alright?”

“Yes…” I still looked dazed.

I was shocked by Eric’s sudden appearance.

“Eric, how did you know to come here…” I began to ask how he knew the situation so perfectly—

But then I felt strange.

Was it from the tension? Or maybe from drinking too much wine earlier…

“My lady?”

“Oh…”

My vision went black again, and I collapsed—right onto Eric’s broad chest.

* * *

“Young lady, are you awake?”

I heard Sophie’s voice. Drifting out of the darkness, I opened my eyes.

Sophie was looking at me with worried eyes.

Ugh…

My head throbbed again, and I sat up with a frown.

What happened? Don’t tell me…

“Did I faint again?”

“Yes. Oh dear… I think your body keeps acting up ever since your magic went out of control last time,” Sophie said, touching my forehead to check for a fever.

“You overdid it again today. I should have stopped you earlier—sorry.”

“No… it’s not your fault,” I shook my head.

“For now, you should avoid anything exciting and take care of yourself. And of course, no alcohol from now on,” Sophie said firmly.

“Alright…” I nodded, feeling a bit depressed.

Irene’s body was more fragile than I thought. To faint this easily…

Before, it was because of magic going wild, but today it was just from being startled—that made it worse somehow.

As I sighed and lifted my head, I froze.

Albert and Eric were sitting side-by-side, looking at me.

“Well…”

Sophie scratched her head awkwardly.

“I told them to wait in their rooms until you woke up, but they insisted on staying because they were worried…”

“I see…” I nodded slightly.

Then, after a short pause, I said to Sophie:

“Sophie, could you step out for a moment? I have something to discuss with these two.”

If things had come this far, it was time for a three-way talk.