By the window of the banquet hall on the second floor of the Kalinos ducal residence, where the meeting was set to take place.
Caitlyn, the head maid of House Kalinos, looked displeased as she watched the Duke and his fiancée stepping down from the carriage.
“That shameless wench dared seduce His Grace the Duke?”
Rumors swirled about this woman, saying she’d clung to Marquess Berto, a swordsman, and then to Duke Reshaniel, a mage.
It was nothing short of a disgrace to the family.
“I can’t just sit back and let this happen.”
And now that very woman intended to marry into their household and climb over Duke Kalinos’s head?
Yuliana, who was watching Giselle from the window beside her, quietly rested her chin on her hand and declared,
“Someone weak and pathetic cannot enter our family.”
“You’re absolutely right, Madam. I’ll handle it if necessary,” Caitlyn replied.
The reason Yuliana had chosen Caitlyn as her head maid in the first place was because she needed hands to deal with such feeble pests in her stead.
Yuliana glanced briefly at a report detailing the background of Giselle and the Count of Floret’s family, then stood up.
“Throw that trash away.”
She had already memorized the report, including how frail and weepy Giselle was and what kind of insults she had endured.
As she left the dining room, a faint smile played on her lips.
“Prepare something to serve her—start with water.”
“Pardon?”
Caitlyn, who had been eyeing Giselle’s soon-to-be seat with disapproval, quickly replaced the table centerpiece with a malicious grin.
The atmosphere around the table became instantly barren and hostile.
“This will be a luncheon like no other. Very grim indeed.”
—
When the Duke and I entered the luncheon hall, Count Teren and Madam Yuliana were already gathered and waiting.
“Welcome, Your Grace the Duke of Kalinos.”
“Brother! And Lady—”
“Please, take a seat, dear,” Yuliana said, completely ignoring my presence. When Count Teren tried to acknowledge me, she deliberately cut him off.
‘Oh, being treated like I’m invisible right from the start.’
Count Teren, who usually had a gentle nature, glanced at me with visible discomfort.
But I grinned inwardly.
‘Actually, this works in my favor. All I have to do is stay quiet, right?’
I sat next to the Duke of Kalinos, keeping a peaceful expression.
Yuliana, acting as though she couldn’t even see me, spoke while looking only at the Duke.
“It’s been a while, hasn’t it?”
Of course, Duke Kalinos wasn’t the kind to be cowed by Yuliana either. Without hesitation, he gestured to me and said,
“This is Lady Giselle Floret, my future wife.”
“Hello, Mother. I’m Giselle,” I greeted.
Without even a twitch of her brow, Yuliana replied coldly,
“So you’ve come, Duke.”
She completely ignored my greeting and instead whispered casually to Teren,
“Teren, do you remember when you were seven years old?”
“Uh, Mother? Yes?”
“You used to speak out of turn to your elders all the time.”
“Hmm, I suppose I was a bit playful back then…”
Yuliana’s voice turned icy, clearly not amused.
“You were so young… and supposedly cute, back then.”
Just then, her eyes glanced at me sideways.
“Ah, the social warfare begins.”
By bringing up her son Teren’s childhood, she was subtly criticizing me for speaking out of turn.
Saying, “You were cute back then” implied: “You’re not cute now.”
In other words, she had insulted me, thinly veiled in social niceties.
And everyone in the room understood exactly what she meant.
‘Interesting…’
I blinked and smiled.
‘But isn’t this too weak compared to her reputation?’
It felt like she was underestimating me.
As someone used to dealing with absurd people, I decided to jump in fast.
“Wow, what a really fun story! That’s so adorable!”
Yuliana’s eyebrow twitched again.
“Teren. Do you understand?” she asked coldly.
Still scolding me.
“If she says so?” I replied, looking at Teren with innocent eyes.
Yuliana’s brows arched even higher—she was clearly displeased.
“Even I find myself annoying right now.”
But she couldn’t outright attack me.
I wasn’t someone she could target directly without losing face; we simply weren’t on the same tier.
Yuliana, glaring coldly at me as I smiled brightly, gave Caitlyn a subtle nod.
“Let’s eat. Serve the lady a drink. No—just water.”
Caitlyn whispered mockingly,
“Yes. I’ll prepare very cold water.”
‘Ah, she’s using a classic social punishment—serving cold water.’
Last time someone served cold water to a lady, her reputation never recovered.
But my reputation couldn’t fall any lower—it was already at rock bottom.
“Oh! I actually love cold water. Perfect!”
Yuliana paused slightly and asked,
“…You like it?”
“Yes, I only drink cold water—even in winter. I love it~!”
As Caitlyn lifted the pitcher to pour water with a forced smile, I felt a strange sense of déjà vu.
‘Wait, I know what this is.’
It was exactly like when my foster mother, Mariposa, once tried to pour water on me.
As the pitcher spout neared my face, I opened my mouth wide and aimed.
“Aaah—!”
The stream of water, meant to spill on my face, went straight into my open mouth.
Dribble, dribble—
I gulped it all down before the flustered Caitlyn could pull the pitcher away.
“If you relax your throat, it goes straight to the stomach—like with drinking contests.”
Who knew the skills I learned during work dinners would come in handy here?
Thank you, Manager!
“W-What is this…?” Caitlyn stammered.
I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand, raising an eyebrow.
“Hmm? You were pouring water in the air, so I thought it was a family tradition here to serve water directly into the mouth? Is something wrong?”
Of course, there was no such ridiculous tradition.
Everyone watching the situation was shocked beyond belief.
Except for one person.
Duke Kalinos, sitting next to Giselle, clapped softly with a blank expression.
Clap, clap, clap.
“Well done.”
“…?”
With an unwavering expression, he complimented her.
“That was excellent.”
Teren, jaw dropped, muttered under his breath,
“What on earth… am I watching?”
Yuliana, staring coldly at Teren, asked with a calm voice,
“You really like cold water?”
“Yes~!”
“You looked displeased, that’s all.”
A hint to show some manners.
Giselle, looking her straight in the eye, cheerfully lifted her empty teacup.
With one hand delicately placed over her chest, she mimed drinking from it—perfect etiquette.
“I’m simply honored by your warm hospitality! I can’t believe I’m being welcomed like this!”
Yuliana, for once visibly flustered, quickly regained her composure and smirked.
“You’re not quite what I heard.”
Giselle beamed.
“You too, Madam! You’re so kind and thoughtful!”
As Giselle smiled sweetly, Yuliana turned her gaze completely to the other side—clearly done with the conversation.
The moment Yuliana ignored Giselle, Caitlyn stepped up and reached toward her.
Her calloused, firm hand brushed Giselle’s arm—what appeared to be an accident.
In that instant, the ruffled sleeve of Giselle’s dress tore with a loud rip.
“Oh, I’m sorry,” Caitlyn said nonchalantly, pulling her hand back.
Giselle opened her eyes wide, pretending to be flustered.
“Oh my goodness! It ripped all the way down the sleeve!”
