Episode 10
“Um… then, I’ll formally introduce myself as well.”
I bowed my head politely.
“My name is Scheneria Colhart. Please call me Shunen. And thank you so much!”
Leaving aside the fact that they were the five protagonists of the original work, I really was grateful. If it weren’t for them, I would’ve been trapped indefinitely amid endless scorn.
I smiled softly with sincerity. The expressions of the five warmed in response.
Then a sharp ache ran through one cheek and the corner of my mouth, and I quickly wiped the smile away. Ouch.
Crack.
Something fractured in the expressions of the five.
“How dare she breathe on this land….”
“We should’ve killed her back then! We should’ve made her sleep on the streets starting today!”
“Shut up, you’re noisy, Nobel. Looks like we’ll have to make a move soon. Come to think of it, we left our share behind.”
“Anyone’s fine, just kill those two already… I’ll take care of the cleanup….”
“Should I turn the successor into an idiot for you, Shunen?”
I hurriedly tried to stop them as they casually tossed around opinions that would terrify any ordinary person. Somehow, the curse I’d thrown at Saren earlier seemed to be working a little *too* well.
Revenge over a single slap, but on a completely different scale—our protagonists sure were something. Well done!
❖ ❖ ❖
One week after leaving the ducal estate.
After briefly spacing out over the fact that I was living together with the protagonists, I found myself growing close to them at an unexpectedly fast pace—fast enough that we even dropped formal speech.
“Shunen, I bought this from the most famous pastry shop in the capital. What do you think?”
Ethan, despite constantly bickering with Nobel, got along surprisingly well with him. Other than those moments, he was fairly quiet—and currently my dessert partner.
“I couldn’t decide how to decorate your room. For now, I thought it might be best if you used this entire floor….”
Letilia had a decisive, resolute personality.
That said, she sometimes made irrational decisions—like trying to give me the entire top floor of the residence. For the record, since I had no confidence I could ever use all that space, I was just using the room next to hers.
“Shunen, want to try this…? I just got it recently, and it’s pretty strong~”
Among the rest, Hazen was the closest to his original portrayal. Languid, indifferent, lethargic by nature. A heavy drinker, but not the kind who caused trouble, so we got along smoothly.
“Sorry if I startled you back then. Isaac was pissed that he was the only one who got to go see you….”
The most unexpected one was Nobel. He couldn’t bring himself to approach me and just hovered nervously until I spoke to him first.
He was still the most hot-blooded of the group, and his patience—especially where Isaac was concerned—was still nonexistent.
As for Isaac, he was exactly the same as expected, to the point that he barely needed explaining. The only oddity was the strange nickname Nobel used for him.
—You damn apple bastard!
I had no idea how that nickname came about, but my curiosity didn’t last long.
“Ethan, my share.”
“You don’t even need to move your legs—why don’t you go yourself?”
“If someone’s already going, you should use them efficiently. Hand it over.”
“Is your head made of apples or something…? Here. Satisfied?”
Isaac liked apples.
More precisely, apple pie.
Watching him shamelessly siphon off his portion from Ethan—the one buying my desserts—I couldn’t hide my disbelief. So that nickname really did come from something that simple?
In any case, they weren’t all that different from what I remembered.
‘Except for the inexplicable overflow of goodwill.’
And thanks to Isaac’s explanation afterward, I also came to clearly understand what “Hardenberg” actually was.
“So… a special organization officially recognized by the Emperor?”
“That’s right.”
Hardenberg was said to be a group specially acknowledged by the Emperor, holding a status equivalent to a grand duke. They had no territory, just a mansion and the mountain behind it.
Not an organization operating in the shadows like in the original work, but a spear protecting the Empire.
Of course, if they didn’t feel like it, they seemed perfectly willing to ignore even the Emperor’s orders—but the fact that they cooperated at all was practically a miracle.
“Well, no country would want to make enemies of the five of us. It’s a wise choice.”
“Hahaha….”
“They should be grateful we even bother humoring them to this extent.”
Isaac laughed derisively. I offered a brief, silent prayer for the Emperor who had to deal with these five personalities.
And today—our long-awaited first outing—I was personally experiencing the stature of *that* Hardenberg.
‘Wow.’
I muttered inwardly. This is insane.
The bustling downtown area I was visiting for the first time.
Surrounded by countless general shops and salons frequented by nobles, the crowd split apart in unison around the three of us—Letilia, Hazen, and me.
‘This isn’t the miracle of Moses or anything, is it…?’
No one had told them to move, yet everyone backed away.
Dumbfounded, I stepped forward and walked through the gap.
“Is that them?”
“Hardenberg….”
“My goodness, for them to be out in a place like this…?”
Soft whispers drifted through the air. Everyone around us was holding their breath, murmuring in awe and disbelief.
“But who’s the one with them?”
“Isn’t that the new Hardenberg they were talking about? I heard soon the Colhart ducal house would—”
“But her eye color….”
They were talking about me.
Glances slid toward my eyes as they tried to guess my identity.
‘So the rumors spread, but news of the ducal house falling apart didn’t. Makes sense, I guess.’
According to what I’d heard from Ethan, the Duke’s rumor about the birth of a new Hardenberg had been the hottest topic lately.
And that supposed Hardenberg was Saren Colhart.
Everyone had been waiting for her, but there was no way the ducal house could proudly announce anything now.
‘Serves them right, but still.’
The problem was the attention on *me*.
Since I hadn’t even held a debutante ball, I wasn’t known in high society at all. There was no way anyone should recognize Scheneria.
“But she has black hair….”
“Why would Hardenberg be with a woman like that…?”
“Shh, be quiet! You don’t know what might happen if you offend them!”
Speculation and rumors naturally followed.
The whispers grew louder. Yeah… this was starting to feel dangerous.
I glanced at Letilia and Hazen. Standing on either side of me, neither of them even blinked at the surrounding stares.
“What is it, Shunen?”
“Should we have taken a carriage after all…? Leti, want to call one?”
“No, no. I was the one who said I wanted to walk first.”
…This wasn’t exactly what I had in mind.
I never imagined that even ordinary nobles and commoners alike would recognize Hardenberg on sight. Expecting a peaceful stroll was my mistake.
“I think everyone’s just curious about me.”
The moment I finished speaking, both of them stopped walking.
“Still, it’s annoying that they’re talking about you so carelessly. Should I bury them right now?”
“Do we just kill everyone here…?”
“No, no, no! You don’t have to kill anyone! It’s fine!”
Their completely sincere suggestions rang out clearly for everyone to hear. The color drained from people’s faces.
I shook my head frantically.
“Of course they don’t know me! I never had a debutante ball, and the ducal house covered everything up—there’s no way they would!”
“…Debutante.”
Letilia murmured. With the immediate danger halted, I let out a sigh of relief, and she continued calmly.
“Right. Two years ago, originally—”
“Then.”
“Huh?”
Letilia murmured as if she’d realized something. Hazen and I looked at her.
“Then you just need to have a debutante ball.”
“…Huh?”
“Officially. So that no one in this Empire won’t know you, Shunen. Grandly, as tradition demands.”
“…What?!”
“Oh, that’s a great idea~ As expected of you, Leti….”
“Just wait a little, Shunen. Starting today, we’ll prepare your debutante ball immediately. I’ll make sure everyone in this world knows you.”
What the hell kind of logic is this?!
My jaw dropped as Letilia spoke with utmost seriousness and Hazen enthusiastically agreed.
A debutante ball after two whole years? And on *that* insane scale?!
But compared to what came next, that was nothing.
“—We’ll seize the Imperial Palace as soon as possible.”
Letilia declared solemnly.
I screamed internally. No! That’s not it!
Worried for the ever-besieged reputation of the Imperial Palace, I desperately tried to stop her.
But the proposal had already reached the other three—
“We originally planned to use the Imperial Palace outright, but since you said you didn’t like that, we compromised. We’ll hold your debutante ball at the palace instead.”
“…At, at the Imperial Palace… a debutante….”
“All nobles and their children will be required to attend, so at the very least, no one in high society will be able to claim they don’t know you anymore.”
In the end, I was going to have an initiation ceremony disguised as a debutante ball—held in the Imperial Palace.
‘What is this, renting the palace like a buffet hall for a first birthday party…?’
I was utterly horrified, but I was left speechless as the five of them rejoiced, saying it was the perfect opportunity to announce that I was now a Hardenberg.
❖ ❖ ❖
The day after Scheneria’s debutante ball was mentioned, at the Imperial Palace.
A dazzlingly golden, magnificent hall. At the far end, on a jade throne, sat the Emperor, Carthus.
“Haa….”
He let out a sigh, his blue eyes turning toward the man standing before him.
“Don’t you think this is an unreasonable demand, Isaac Hardenberg?”
Silver hair tinged with a strange bluish hue, and deep black eyes. It was Isaac Hardenberg.
Isaac curved his eyes slyly.
“Well. I don’t think it’s something you *can’t* do for us, Your Majesty.”
“You’re saying it’s not unreasonable to ask that the Imperial Palace host a debutante ball for a single individual?”
“And who exactly is the subject? That much shouldn’t be a problem.”
The Emperor dragged a hand down his face.
To suddenly request an audience only to make such a proposal—worse still, Isaac hadn’t even properly explained who the subject was.
Though recent rumors made it difficult not to guess.
“You’re doing this for the new Hardenberg?”
“We can’t allow her to be casually disregarded just because she isn’t known.”
“…I never thought I’d hear *that* coming from your mouth.”
The Emperor clicked his tongue.
