Chapter 108
The rules set by the host of a salon are absolute, no matter what those rules are.
It was an unspoken law among the nobility. A salon wasn’t merely a social gathering—it was considered the future of Barcheha.
Therefore, anyone who ignored the host or the rules would be permanently ostracized from noble society.
The host of this salon, Lady Karin, drew attention with an elegant tap of her glass with a spoon and then announced the rule:
“Whatever happens in this salon, no matter how trivial, must never be spoken of outside.”
A typical salon might have around twenty rules, yet she chose to impose only this one.
And the host was none other than Lady Karin, the only duchess of the empire, and one of the most famous ladies alongside Odette.
No one would dare break this rule. To do so would be to make every member of the noble society your enemy.
Damian, sitting at a poker table, thought to himself:
‘I should have just stayed in my room. Did I really need to come here…?’
Damian only knew how to imitate a gentleman; he had no real refinement to participate in discussions.
If he hadn’t accidentally overheard Lady Odette gossiping that morning about how shallow and foolish she was, he wouldn’t have even shown up at the salon.
The rumor was malicious enough that he had come to the salon to track down its source… but everyone here was speaking in words too complicated to understand.
‘I can’t keep steering the conversation back to poker anymore.’
Just as he was deciding it might be best to slip out unnoticed, the door opened. The tardy Odette had arrived.
Damian’s eyes widened.
‘Damn it. Why on earth is she here?’
Before coming to Athena Island, Damian had been thoroughly briefed on Odette’s plans.
She wasn’t supposed to attend the salon…!
‘Our lady has walked right into a trap… How am I supposed to get her out?’
Damian felt helpless. He knew how to rescue someone from a den of thugs, but not in such a formal setting.
“Wow… I’ve never seen Lady Odette at a gathering like this,” a middle-aged gentleman at the next seat whispered in admiration beside Damian.
“Really?”
“She seems to hate entangling herself with others. She has such an arrogant and unruly personality.”
“You speak as if you’ve conversed with her personally, Baron Vogel,” Damian replied.
“It’s the truth. The gossip magazines have consistently reported it. It’s no easy task for a maid at a count’s residence to consistently leak stories to the tabloids.”
Baron Vogel smacked his lips lightly and continued:
“But… I heard from a servant yesterday that she’s terribly foolish. Always holding her chin high and ignoring everyone’s conversations…”
“……”
“She just didn’t want anyone to notice her emptiness.”
There was a lingering hint of regret for the sour grapes in Baron Vogel’s tone.
‘Who cares if someone’s empty-headed? Worry about your own head, not hers…’
Apparently, this old bachelor—or rather, old middle-aged man—had dared to hope for something more with Odette.
“Back to our previous topic, Sir Quendel. What was the name of that casino you enjoyed so much?”
“Wolfgang Casino.”
“Hm, doesn’t sound like a noble name… Was the owner a commoner?”
“I don’t know. I only cared about winning money.”
Damian shrugged shamelessly in response to Baron Vogel’s question, using the alias he had created for his uncle.
Then:
“Sir Quendel, Baron Vogel.”
A gentle voice, reminiscent of a flute, spoke:
“What a lovely afternoon. May I join your conversation?”
“L-Lady Odette?!”
The salon buzzed; no one had expected her to speak to anyone. Baron Vogel, who had just been criticizing Odette’s arrogance and temper, looked utterly shocked.
“I also enjoy poker,” she added.
But the person most shocked in the vast hall was undoubtedly Dolly, who seemed completely petrified.
Damian, bound by his duty to act as a gentleman, had to stifle his laughter at the utterly stunned expressions around him.
‘So the source of the rumor was probably that maid.’
Damian quickly figured it out but saw no need to report to Odette—her smirk suggested she already knew.
“Of, of course!”
Baron Vogel excitedly offered his sofa, but another voice intervened:
“I’d like to join as well.”
“My goodness. B-Brentano?”
The host, Lady Karin.
Baron Vogel seemed about to faint, suffocated by the honor of being with the empire’s two most famous ladies.
“But… wasn’t Lady Brentano known to dislike Lady Odette?”
Baron Vogel whispered to Damian.
‘Of course. Even a commoner like me has heard the rumors.’
The nobles in the salon openly stared at the table, astonished by the historic sight of Lady Odette and Lady Karin sitting together.
Baron Vogel clumsily began shuffling the deck.
It was meant to be a natural conversation, yet no one spoke.
I recalled the “Prideful Flower of the Social Scene” negative reputation in my quest log and spoke first:
“What were you discussing?”
“Ah, um, we were talking about the Wolfgang Casino. Sir Quendel had a very enjoyable experience there,” Baron Vogel replied.
Lady Brentano spoke in a stiff tone:
“The place seemed utterly vulgar from the entrance. Gambling is supposed to be a noble pastime. What fun could there be among commoners with bloodshot eyes, desperate to earn money?”
Damian slightly furrowed his brow, but I smiled faintly.
‘Just like in the game—arrogant and noble.’
She was consistent.
Lady Brentano was the only daughter of a ducal house in the empire. Originally, there were four ducal families, but the current emperor had eliminated all but the Brentano family for political reasons.
The emperor had even attempted to annihilate the Brentano family entirely, but they were so frugal that not even dust could be found after a thorough search. In the end, they lost all their wealth without bloodshed, leaving only honor and history.
Now, Lady Brentano had nothing but a prestigious name.
‘…And a rival to Charlotte in the game.’
If I were the “villainess,” Karin Brentano was Charlotte’s worthy rival—a strong competitor vying for social supremacy.
“I also agree with Lady Brentano’s opinion,” I said, drawing a card from the deck. Damian’s face betrayed shock at my agreement.
Apparently, he hadn’t expected me to side with her, and Lady Brentano herself bit her lip.
But I couldn’t pass up the opportunity.
‘Lady Brentano represents the opposite of indulgence. Frugal and exemplary, but boring.’
Simply by disliking the Wolfgang Casino, it becomes a symbol of pleasure. In my case, the “villainess” image made opposing it even more promotional.
“How embarrassing. Perhaps I am not very noble. I feel ashamed before the two ladies, but it truly was an enjoyable memory for me.”
“What enjoyment did you find in such vulgarity?”
Damian pretended to meet Lady Brentano’s cold gaze, but he was actually surveying the other attendees at the table.
Three of the people paying close attention matched the characters in the illustration I had sent.
“Of course, it was the thrill of pressing down the dealers’ noses,” I said.
“Oh, I heard the rumor. Sir Quendel won a fortune with a full house, didn’t he? Wolfgang Casino almost went bankrupt?”
Odette asked lightly. Damian answered a beat later:
“The fun of turning 1 Atasha into 3,000 Atasha in one hand was incredible.”
“Wha—3,000 times?”
“Eek.”
The absurd number drew amazed murmurs from the eavesdropping crowd. Even Lady Brentano, usually stiff-faced, was briefly astonished.
Only Damian seemed composed, though I knew he wasn’t as calm as he appeared.
‘Full house.’
That word was my secret code to Damian.
