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Tension rippled through the wide hall. The young ladies and noblewomen around me, as well as those who had been chatting noisily, all shut their mouths with stiff expressions.
I could feel the startled gazes of Lady Adena, the marquis’s daughter who had been chattering merrily, and her followers sitting beside her.
Her pale green eyes fixed directly on me. When our eyes met, she flinched, her face showing inexplicable unease.
Sensing that not only she, but every young lady and noblewoman in the hall had their eyes trained on me, I continued speaking.
“Even if one might turn a blind eye to idle gossip about unconfirmed matters, the words you have just spoken cannot be overlooked so easily.”
“Ah…”
“Y-Your Highness, Grand Duchess…”
“To speak so carelessly—not about anything else, but about the Empress—did you think that was such an easy thing to do?”
I raised my voice slightly, sharpening my tone. Not only those at my table, but also the other young ladies and noblewomen flinched. Among the paling faces, I caught Lady Adena’s changing expression.
Finally realized the situation, have you?
I couldn’t tell if she was truly dense or simply pretending. When she had slyly mentioned Angelica, it had felt more like she was feigning ignorance, but her slow grasp of the mood seemed genuine. There was no way she could act that well.
Lady Adena, daughter of a marquis. I didn’t recall her appearing in the original story—probably not even fit to be considered a background extra. Her boldness now must have been the result of changes to the story’s course.
This was, after all, another reality that played out like a novel. If its contents shifted, then everything else would shift with it. Even characters who had never been mentioned could suddenly appear as extras.
Just like that other girl over there.
I glanced toward the diagonal table. A young lady with brown hair and blue eyes—was her name Lady Esmeda? I remembered seeing her family listed among the Neutral faction in the noble records I had studied. But neither she nor her family had ever been mentioned in the original.
When I smiled at her, her eyes trembled nervously and widened in surprise—almost endearingly so.
Two newly emerged extras, each on opposing sides. In such a clear situation, my course of action was obvious:
Win over those who could become allies, and crush those who were not before they could grow.
“None of you here should be in a position to speak so lightly of the title of ‘Empress.’”
“……”
“Even I—someone who could claim at least some closeness to His Majesty—speak with caution and prudence on such matters. Yet you chatter away so freely… do you have two hearts beating in your chest, Lady Adena?”
“Y-yes?”
Startled at being called out, Lady Adena stammered. Yes, you. A mere marquis’s daughter who dares look down on Angelica, a count’s daughter—your rank barely a step higher. You flaunt your allegiance to the Emperor’s faction despite having once been Neutral. Shameless.
Her wide-eyed, innocent blinking irritated me further. I fixed my gaze squarely on her. Her followers beside her blanched even further.
“Even if Lady Verner were indeed close to His Majesty, her private affairs are not something just anyone has the right to meddle in. And certainly, Lady Adena, you have no right to spread rumors about matters that are neither confirmed nor publicly announced.”
For all her marquis title, she was still just a young lady. Among those present today were several marchionesses, not to mention other marquis’s daughters of equal standing.
Perhaps she had gained some backing after switching to the Emperor’s faction and attaching herself to House Even, but her family had never been particularly prominent within the Neutral faction. Their reputation was weaker even than that of the Verner earldom.
Yet here she was, speaking so boldly before ladies from far more distinguished houses. Whatever promises House Even had given her, I would not allow her to act this way in my presence.
I picked up the fan resting on my lap, snapping it open in one hand as I continued.
“The Empress is chosen by His Majesty alone. For a mere young lady to speak on such a matter is improper. And even if Lady Verner were to become Empress, would Lady Adena truly be in any position to make requests of her?”
“W-what do you mean…?”
“What business would a marquis’s daughter have seeking favors from an Empress? Are you truly that close to Lady Verner? As far as I know, you met her only once at the last gathering, and even then only briefly. Are you saying you built such intimacy in that short time that you could promise things for the future?”
“T-that’s not…”
“If you were indeed so close, then surely you, like Lady Esmeda, should know of the matters between His Majesty and Lady Verner. After all, if your bond is that deep, there’s no way you wouldn’t know what even I know.”
“Ah…”
Her pale green eyes quivered violently, her face drained of color. Only now did she seem to realize the weight of what she had done.
Close, indeed. Angelica sometimes exchanged letters with me, but not once had she mentioned Lady Adena. I had never heard of her forming any special friendship with any other noble lady either.
And with Angelica’s discerning nature, she would never entangle herself deeply with someone like this. She could read people well enough to recognize Lady Adena’s character at a glance.
Though Angelica was now actively engaging with society, few if any truly stood within her circle of trust.
She was like me in that way—fastidious.
It was important to make herself known, yes, but even more important to recruit the right allies for the future. That required careful judgment. Only capable, trustworthy people were worth drawing close.
In that sense, Lady Adena could never have forged a close bond with her—not from the start. And now, after having abandoned the Neutral faction and chosen to serve under House Even of all places? I could hardly see her favorably.
Snap!
I folded my fan sharply, raising my eyes in a piercing glare. Lady Adena flinched again, watching my lips intently as if bracing for the next blow. I lowered my voice, letting it cut deep.
“And from what I’ve heard, your family has already switched allegiances. For someone no longer even Neutral, who shares no true closeness with Lady Verner, to feign intimacy with her—it is a pitiful sight indeed.”
“I am merely proud to be a daughter of the Adena marquisate, and I place great hopes on Lady Verner of the Verner earldom, who once belonged to the same faction as us.”
“Proud, are you? Scurrying to lighten your burdens by leaping from nest to nest—can that truly be called ‘natural’?”
“W-what are you saying…!”
“And do you really think Lady Verner, however kind she may be, would welcome those who abandoned her faction for another? Even within a faction, ranks differ. If she is as prudent as I know her to be, she will know exactly who to exclude.”
In short: the rope you cling to is already rotten, and clinging to it will only bring you ruin.
Lady Adena bit her lip hard, her face flushed with humiliation. Her cronies, too, seemed stricken, as if my words had exposed something they wished to hide. Their faces paled to the point of faintness.
They must be young ladies from Neutral houses who, like House Adena, had recently crossed over to the Emperor’s faction under House Even’s wing. I hadn’t checked the attendee list carefully, assuming this was only a gathering of the Nobles’ faction and the remaining Neutrals.
Perhaps they had come out of habit, attending as they always had, but everyone knew by now which houses had defected. No one here would be ignorant of that.
No wonder Lady Adena’s group sat somewhat isolated—those around them looked on with thinly veiled hostility.
After all, nearly half of those present were from the Nobles’ faction, and the rest were still Neutral. Neither side could look favorably upon traitors. Especially not the remaining Neutrals.
Betrayal always cuts deepest at home.
Among the Neutral faction—smaller and more conservative than the others—the defection of houses like Adena’s must have struck as a bitter betrayal. If not for the Verner family’s steadying hand, the Neutral faction might have collapsed altogether. Even so, the wound had left them raw and sensitive.
Shameless. Beyond belief.
From the looks on their faces and the atmosphere around us, it was clear that Lady Adena and the two young ladies to her left belonged to such defected houses. The girl on her right, who had hesitated to answer earlier, seemed out of place—her neighbors cast pitying glances her way.
Whoever she was, I couldn’t help but feel sorry for her. She was caught in the crossfire of a quarrel she didn’t deserve.
Her features were rather ordinary—cute, even—but her deep chestnut hair and striking violet eyes left an impression. As I studied her, Lady Adena seemed to notice my shifting gaze. Abruptly, she shot to her feet and cried out:
“E-even if you are the Grand Duchess, Your Highness, your words are too harsh! I merely said that, since Lady Verner is rumored to be close with His Majesty, if their bond grows stronger it would surely be a great opportunity for her as well! Though our factions have changed, we were once of the same side—surely the old ties remain!”
“…What did you just say?”
“I only spoke with good intentions. I simply believe that Lady Verner, remembering our old ties, would not forget me or my family once she rises. To twist my words and accuse me so harshly… it is cruel, Your Highness!”
Standing straight, Lady Adena let tears spill from her eyes. She pressed a handkerchief—conveniently drawn from her waist—to the corners of her eyes in a show of pitiful sorrow.
What on earth is this woman talking about?
