Chapter 17
I realized Nanael’s intention a little too late.
It was a nasty tactic used in high society to ostracize someone.
At first glance, one might wonder how offering food could be a form of exclusion, but falling for it was no different from walking into a clever trap.
If you accepted, they’d keep feeding you until you got indigestion or threw up, and if you refused, word would spread that you’d snubbed their kindness.
There was even precedent from the previous debutante ball, where I’d gotten drunk after drinking the alcohol Nanael had offered, so this was undoubtedly a setup.
But what to do about it?
I’m not good with alcohol, but I can eat desserts until I’m sick of them.
In fact, during preparations for the debutante, I’d been put on a strict no-desserts order.
It was due to the chaperone’s stern command to maintain the most beautiful figure.
I’d been exhausted from having to eat nothing but tasteless greens every day because of that, so this was actually a welcome turn!
“Am I really supposed to eat all of this by myself?”
Thinking I’d gotten scared at her final confirmation question, Nanael gave a sly smile with her eyes.
“Of course. I heard you love desserts—surely that wasn’t an exaggeration?”
“No, I love them too much. You won’t take it back, right?”
“Pardon?”
Confirming the crack in Nanael’s smile, I turned around and addressed Mei.
“Mei, you heard that? It’s not that I wanted to eat them—Princess Nanael personally offered them to me?”
As I asked with sparkling eyes, Mei let out a laugh that sounded like a sheep’s bleat.
“Ahahaha. Miss, even so, eating all of that might be a bit much, don’t you think?”
“Ehei. How could I possibly refuse what Her Highness is offering? So, you get it, right?”
When I winked, Mei pressed her forehead.
It was a rough signal for her to smooth things over with the chaperone.
“Ahahaha. Yeeees, enjoy yourself. Waa… Mei’s the one who’s going to die here.”
Mei reluctantly agreed, clapping her hands slowly.
Paying it no mind, I placed my hand on my chest and conveyed my thanks to Nanael.
“Thank you, Your Highness. These are all things I love so much that it would’ve been a shame to just pick at them a little.”
“……”
“Wow, how long has it been since I had a real sugar bomb like this?”
As I began to eat the desserts with a reverent, enraptured expression, Nanael’s face was quite a sight.
She looked utterly flustered, not at all the reaction she’d expected.
You know what they say?
The hardest opponent for a villainess to handle is the airheaded heroine.
There’s no one who weakens a villainess’s power more than a heroine who cries out, “I don’t know anything—the world is bright and warm!”
Of course, I’m not a heroine, but I can act airheaded.
I ostentatiously emptied my plate and exclaimed brightly.
“Your Highness, this is sooo delicious? As expected from a palace patissier—it’s on another level! Today, I’m so envious of you. To be able to enjoy top-tier desserts like this every day… Waa, truly the best, the best!”
At my exaggerated praise, Nanael wore a weary expression.
“I’m glad it suits your taste.”
“It’s more than just suiting my taste? I’m so, so envious of Your Highness for getting to eat desserts like this every day!”
The one she’d meant to torment was instead enjoying it far too much.
When her plan went awry, Nanael, her appetite completely soured, hid her rigid expression behind her teacup.
How about that? Isn’t it utterly infuriating?
I smirked triumphantly, as if to flaunt it, and began heartily devouring the desserts with obvious relish.
The only one busily clattering utensils across the table was me.
A few of the others licked their lips longingly but kept glancing warily at Nanael.
It was then that Nanael cleared her throat and launched back into her assault.
“Lady Peris must be thrilled. With that astonishing appetite of yours, you’ll get to buy new dresses every single time.”
In other words, it meant, ‘If you keep eating like that, you won’t have a single dress that fits.’
I widened my eyes innocently and shot back.
“Oh my, how did you know? Actually, there are quite a few dresses in my wardrobe that I can’t wear anymore because they’re too small.”
When I parried so nonchalantly, Nanael faltered. I turned to the other young ladies for their thoughts.
“But, just between us girls, don’t you think the dressmakers make everything far too small? If it’s custom tailoring, it should fit the body—but they insist on forcing the person to fit the dress, so of course things keep not matching up. Don’t you agree?”
As I glanced around the table, seeking agreement, one young lady nodded as if mesmerized, then hurriedly looked away.
In truth, among the ladies gathered here, it would be rare to find one who wasn’t stressed by dieting.
This was a world where it was commonplace to deliberately undersize garments, compelling people to conform to the clothes.
With no diet soda or allulose available, the challenge of losing weight was practically nightmarish.
When I gently prodded at those shared struggles, the young ladies—who had been merely watching cautiously—began to open up one by one.
“Actually, I haven’t touched a single piece of bread today. They said I have to starve myself if I want to fit into the new dress I bought for the next banquet.”
“Me too. Honestly, I feel a little dizzy right now.”
Spotting the young ladies starting to waver, Nanael snapped her fan shut with a sharp click and fired off a pointed remark.
“It’s a party where a lady must shine at her most beautiful, so isn’t that just the natural effort required? If anything, gobbling everything down without any restraint seems far stranger.”
I countered immediately, as if I’d been waiting for my cue.
“Isn’t the standard of beauty a bit too cruel?”
“That’s the kind of thing only women without willpower would say.”
“I don’t think it’s fair to insult it as a matter of willpower. There are so many ladies who faint at parties because they can’t breathe in their corsets—shouldn’t we change that kind of culture?”
“Lady Peris seems to hold some surprisingly dangerous ideas.”
The longer the exchange went on, the more Nanael’s composure frayed.
In the art of social conversation, the one who loses their temper first is the loser.
“I simply believe that no matter how much you decorate the outer wrapping, you can’t mimic true inner beauty.”
With that seemingly guileless response concealing its sharp barbs, Nanael’s face contorted in fury.
“That sounds an awful lot like you’re mocking me for having nothing but flashy packaging.”
I deliberately drew out my voice in an exaggerated tone, scraping away at her nerves bit by bit.
“Whaaat? No way! Of course, I think the flashiness of the packaging is absolutely splendid too!”
“No, I…!”
“And if eating just one piece of bread means I can’t wear a dress, then I’d rather not wear it at all! If you eat something delicious, you don’t gain weight anyway—that’s how it works!”
At my outlandish declaration, Nanael furrowed her brows as if beholding something utterly bizarre.
It was the look one gives a complete fool who makes no sense whatsoever.
‘Yes, exactly. In this moment, I’m playing the perfect lunatic just for you, Nanael!’
As the atmosphere took a peculiar turn, the young ladies at our table scrambled to hide their faces behind their fans.
They moved with remarkable speed, terrified that Nanael might catch even a hint of their smiles peeking through.
Of course, with Nanael being a bundle of raw sensitivity, there was no way she could miss the shift.
“Is there anyone here who wants to scarf down desserts as greedily as Lady Peris?”
Greedily, huh. Now she’s ditched all pretense of manners in her jabs.
I paid it no mind and popped the last macaron into my mouth, chewing contentedly.
Just then, someone gathered their courage and called over a server.
“One strawberry shortcake over here, please.”
“Ah, yes. I’ll bring it right away.”
A moment later, the server set the strawberry shortcake down in front of Lottie Beige.
As Lottie picked up her fork and began eating the cake, Nanael’s eyebrows twitched.
“Lottie, what do you think you’re doing?”
Under that predatory glare, Lottie hunched her shoulders but still managed to speak her piece.
“S-seeing Lady Peris eat made me suddenly crave it too.”
And she persisted, forking away steadfastly even as her hands trembled.
It seemed my unyielding stance against Nanael had sparked some bravery in her.
To honor her courage, I chimed in.
“That’s delicious, isn’t it? It pairs so perfectly with black tea—I was just thinking of having another one myself.”
