Chapter 15
“Now, now. Let’s all drink up!”
The baron, raising his wine glass high, urged everyone cheerfully. This came after he had delivered a long speech about how exquisite the wine was. Mia had let most of his explanation go in one ear and out the other, but she had a few suspicions—especially if he was serving “premium wine” with no clear origin. Then again, even without his suspicious behavior, she had already experienced something similar to what was about to unfold.
With the baron’s toast, large plates—ones that looked rarely used—began to arrive one after another, attempting to create an extravagant atmosphere. As if that wasn’t enough, ornate candles, seemingly saved up for this very day, were set all over the table.
If this was meant as hospitality, it would’ve made more sense to hold the banquet in the evening. What enjoyment could guests get from viewing candles that weren’t even visible in daylight? Shaking off the passing thought, Mia turned her focus to the food laid out along the long table.
The food was being served by the baron’s son, dressed in greasy, stained clothes. His appearance clashed so strongly with the carefully decorated dining room that he seemed entirely out of place.
If the baron hadn’t mentioned family and directly insulted him, Mia wouldn’t have guessed in a million years that he was a member of the household. The incident revealed how poorly the baron treated his own son.
He even went so far as to scold the boy—who had come out carrying a huge platter while dripping with sweat—and chased him out, claiming that he ruined the dignity of the meal! The behavior made Mia wonder if there was some hidden scandal behind the boy’s birth.
As for the food itself, it seemed to be the best one could expect from a small estate. Oily and overly spiced to mask any off-flavors, but still passable—enough that even the officers of the Holy Legion, most of whom came from noble families, could eat without much complaint.
Yet not everyone at the banquet was enjoying the feast. One man seated at the far end of the table was stubbornly refusing all food that came his way.
“Your Excellency, the food is actually rather tasty. Won’t you at least try a bite?”
“I’m sorry, but my health isn’t great. The strong spices upset my stomach.”
At those words, the baron’s face stiffened slightly from across the table.
Mia cast a sympathetic look toward the baron’s son, who was quickly leaving the room. When their eyes met, he gave an awkward smile. Upon closer inspection, he seemed to be around her age, which made her feel even more pity. Surely, it couldn’t have been pleasant to be tethered to such a father for that long.
Mia didn’t have much time to dwell on her thoughts about the baron’s family. The baron himself came all the way to the end of the table and called her name.
“Lady Blanchard.”
“…”
“Lady, don’t stay over there. Come sit next to me. I’ve kept the seat of honor open for you.”
His tone and manner were both unpleasant, so Mia pretended not to hear. But the baron was persistent and kept urging her to take the seat beside him. In the end, Mia had no choice but to respond.
“I’m sorry, but I’m so used to sitting at the end of the table that I can’t seem to eat anywhere else.”
A completely ridiculous excuse—but then again, his suggestion was just as absurd. Her logic matched his nonsense perfectly.
When she refused to change seats, what came next was even more outrageous.
“Very well. Then I’ll make a different proposal.”
And without giving her a chance to reply, he continued,
“Lady, what would you say to becoming engaged to me?”
It was the most ludicrous thing Mia had ever heard.
This was hardly a safe place, and the tone of his proposal was closer to coercion than a suggestion.
A heavy silence fell over the banquet hall.
Even before fully processing his words, Mia felt a wave of instinctive disgust. Why on earth would she marry an old baron—rude, greedy, and already with a son her age? What could she possibly be lacking to deserve that?
Yet the baron looked quite pleased with himself, as if he’d offered something precious. Could someone really be that oblivious? Judging by the way he had been watching Mia so carefully until now, it was clear he didn’t even realize how wildly inappropriate he was being.
“I’ve heard that you’ve yet to find a spouse even at your age. Surely it’s because you have some… unmentionable flaw?”
So that was it. Because he believed she “needed” someone, he assumed he could treat her like an equal. He had clearly been digging up gossip, yet hadn’t heard the rumor that she was in a relationship with the legion commander.
To propose marriage without even conducting basic research—it was shockingly reckless for someone who ruled a territory.
His arm, wrapped in layers of expensive fabric, slid along Mia’s back like a snake. A trail of revulsion followed the path his hand traced. From his baseless assumptions to his unsolicited touch—everything about this was a blatant insult.
Too blatant, in fact.
His gestures were so exaggerated, it almost felt theatrical…
“Surely you’ve shed pitiful tears in solitude every night. But fear not. I, Ruphus, am magnanimous. I can understand any burden you carry, and—”
Smack!
Enough was enough. Mia couldn’t tolerate his drivel any longer and slapped the baron across the face. His oily smirk was wiped clean as his head snapped to the side. His face began to turn an almost comical shade of red. By the next day, it would likely be swollen to the point he couldn’t show himself in public.
“Baron.”
“…”
“Knowing one’s place is an important virtue for a noble.”
“…”
“You seem to lack that virtue. Perhaps it’s time you cultivated it.”
A heavy silence still filled the banquet hall.
“That was unexpected.”
Everyone—except the baron—seemed to side with Mia.
Suppressing the twitch in her lips, Mia thought it over.
Given her status as a soldier, striking a civilian was grounds for disciplinary action.
Plenty of people within the legion were just waiting for her to make a single mistake. If used right, this could have been perfect fodder for a smear campaign. After all, stripped of context, she had indeed struck a civilian without warning.
And yet, here they were, choosing to support her. Unpredictable.
Mia glanced around at the room, then turned and exited the hall. After spending so much time among sly old foxes in politics, she had learned to exude a cold air even when fleeing unpleasantness. The atmosphere in the hall only grew chillier in her absence.
With the baron stunned and the legion commander fuming, the officers had no choice but to quietly gauge the mood.
Clink. A spoon was set down beside the baron.
“There’s no way I can continue eating in this atmosphere. I’ll excuse myself.”
In the end, the commander was the first to leave. His subordinate officers followed shortly after.
Only the baron noticed a pair of vivid violet eyes glaring at him from the doorway—eyes that had not yet departed.
Mia had known that unexpected events would occur—differences from her past life. It would have been ideal if she could control everything perfectly now that she had returned to the past. Still, things were going better than before, and she had no major complaints.
At least, not until Baron Gallois’s dinner banquet.
“Why would he…”
Mia tried to recall the baron she remembered. Gallois had been greedy, ignorant of his own worth, and foolishly brave. His proposal may have come from that same foolish recklessness. That’s the kind of man Ruphus Gallois was—at least, the one she knew.
But…
“He was clearly watching someone’s reaction.”
Now that events were diverging from the past, she was beginning to see things the impulsive Mia Blanchard of her first life had missed.
Back then, she had a habit of disregarding others too easily. She hadn’t received any proposals in her previous life either, and having just returned from deployment with a need to prove herself, she had likely looked down on the baron.
“Maybe I was the one who didn’t know my place.”
A growing sense told her that the baron was more deeply involved in all this than she had initially assumed.
