Chapter 32 · At the Betrothal Ceremony (2)

‘Haa… I’m completely drained.’

It hadn’t even been thirty minutes since the party began, and my mind and body were already in tatters.

In truth, I hadn’t attended many balls like this. In my first life I had gone to a few without knowing any better, but the contempt and cold treatment had been so severe that I usually ended up running out of the hall in tears. From the life after that, when my fear of people set in, I attended maybe once or twice at most. And to begin with, I had been far too young to make my social debut, so invitations had been extremely rare.

‘Still, thank goodness I learned etiquette, even just by watching.’

Smiling and greeting nobles who looked down on me was a task of the utmost difficulty. Knowing full well how complicated and brutal high society was—a world of the strong devouring the weak—I had firmly intended never to show my face until I escaped Santra. Debuts were usually at fourteen anyway, so it shouldn’t have been a problem.

‘But that lunatic went and ruined everything!’

Alter was beaming and shaking hands with guests as if he were delighted. Haa… As expected, knowing the future doesn’t make you invincible. You never know where or when a variable will appear.

Anyway, I had exactly one goal at this ball.

‘Avoid becoming those two’s adopted daughter at all costs! And to do that…!’

They say the enemy of my enemy is my ally, don’t they?

I knew the faction hostile to the Alter family. I hadn’t grasped every interest of every noble, but the major pieces of information I’d picked up here and there were all stored in my head.

Thanks to its dazzling wealth and status, the Alter family enjoyed considerable support, but its self-righteous attitude and excessive greed had also piled up a great deal of bad karma. As a result, there were houses that snarled at the mere sight of them across generations—and the Laselles family was a prime example.

The Laselles family was one of the few marquis houses in the country, having held its place among the highest nobility for hundreds of years. But it had suffered a great blow when it was caught up in the fires of war. Both the eldest son and the second son who would have carried on the house had died in battle, and Rouar, the largest city in the marquisate, had been utterly destroyed.

‘Marquis Laselles must be on the verge of madness.’

I needed to talk to him somehow, but I’d only known his name and not his face—until the marchioness helped me identify him. Now all I had to do was draw him out. But…

“Papa, don’t you feew wike going to the washwoom?”

“No.”

This man was the problem. How was I supposed to shake him off!

Having no one to talk to, he stood awkwardly in the hall, looking around. It was exactly like looking at myself before my regressions.

‘There’s no need to resemble him in that, of all things!’

Well, there were no other temple people here, and he wasn’t sociable enough to have built friendships with nobles, nor was he the type to actively approach others. If anything, he’d looked shocked when I went up to the noblewomen first and greeted them.

“Princess, you look tired. You may leave at an appropriate time. Being present is what matters.”

Look at this? Don’t pretend to worry about me! The truth is you’re the one who wants to leave! I was so dumbfounded I almost laughed. At this rate, I’d be dragged back to my room without accomplishing anything. What on earth could I do to get out of his sight, even for a moment?

Just then, a group of noblewomen came flocking over to rescue me. They were the ladies who had been staring at Paeon, spellbound, since earlier. That’s it, this is it! See, a man really does need a handsome face!

“Um… would you care to dance, Sir Parsiel?”

One noblewoman held out her hand to him, and the women around her all held their breath and giggled. Despite her courage, he looked flustered and tried to shrink back.

“I do not dance—”

Thwack!

I suddenly struck Paeon’s knee with all my strength, and as he staggered, he ended up taking the hand of the lady before him. The lady took it as acceptance, and her face flushed.

“Papa, don’t wowwy about Asha, go and have a good time.”

Paeon looked at me with a dazed face, but soon a lively dance tune began to play, and he was dragged off by the lady. I laughed inwardly and hurried over to where Marquis Laselles was.

‘Hehe. Now I have something to tease him about for the next ten thousand years.’

It was a great shame I couldn’t see him dance… but just imagining how much Sierra, Yuz, and Rosa would love to hear about it made me smile on my own.

As I approached with that bright smile, the gentlemen conversing in the corner looked startled.

“Good evening, gentwemen.”

“I-it is an honor to meet you, Princess Anastasia.”

“A pleasure to meet you, Princess.”

“Awen’t you the head of the Wasewles family, Mawquis?”

A middle-aged man whose dark hair was speckled with gray flinched and answered.

“Yes, I am… Is there something you wished to discuss with me…?”

I whispered with a meaningful expression.

“Not hewe. Wet’s go to the tewwace.”

“…!”

They looked baffled and exchanged glances.

“Quickwy, pwease! We don’t have much time.”

When I urged them, they scurried after me and carefully moved to the terrace. Everyone was deep in the heat of dancing, so no one paid much attention to the combination of two gentlemen and a small girl.

◇ ◆ ◇

Outside, a gentle breeze made it cool. With the outer door closed, the clamor of the ballroom faded, and only the faint song of a lark somewhere could be heard.

Marquis Laselles was bewildered. He couldn’t quite grasp what had just happened to him. That he had been led out here by the words of a child of only four or five! And yet, there was something strange about this girl. Her behavior and manner of speaking were not at all like a child her age.

Anastasia leaned against the terrace and gazed at them quietly. Under that gaze, which seemed to pierce right through him, Marquis Laselles felt a chill.

“Now, please tell us. Is there something you wished to say to us?”

She opened her mouth quietly.

“Pwease become Asha’s backew.”

“…!”

A backer. How would a child even know such a word? No… even if she knew it, how could she say ‘become my backer’ with such confidence?

“Of couwse, I’m not just asking fow nothing. The wowwd is give and take, aftew aww.”

Pfft—Baron Victor burst out laughing, unable to read the mood. Both the marquis and Anastasia glared at him at the same time.

“Ah, no… it’s just that the princess’s pronunciation is so cute…”

There are times when a child speaks so grown-up that it makes you laugh, aren’t there? That was exactly what was happening to Baron Victor. He couldn’t bring himself to believe the child truly meant what she was saying, and assumed she was repeating something she’d picked up from a novel or a play.

“Does this wook wike a joke to you?”

At her icy voice, the baron’s attitude changed at once.

“If you’we not going to wisten in eawnest, then weave.”

“N-no, Princess. I apologize.”

When he swallowed hard and apologized, Anastasia finally relaxed her expression.

“You’ve heawd about the owacle, haven’t you.”

“Yes—that the princess is ‘the one who will bring light to Santra’…”

“You don’t bewieve it, do you.”

The two men flinched. No noble believed in the oracle. They believed in the god Lux, but they did not trust the Great Temple.

“I undewstand. Thewe’s no pwoof.”

To them, who could say nothing, she spoke with her emerald eyes glinting mysteriously.

“But if I showed you a powew of fowesight, would you bewieve me?”

“…!”

“D-does the princess mean to say you have prophetic visions? But even the High Priest cannot do such a thing…”

“That’s why Asha hasn’t towd anyone. Because thewe might be people who’d twy to use Asha cweverwy ow go aftew me.”

They were astonished again at how thorough she was—impossible to believe she was a child.

“But if you make a contwact with Asha, I can give you infowmation usefuw to you, Mawquis.”

“…Information useful to me, you say…”

The marquis swallowed dryly. Being only human, greed was stirring in him.

“Somewhewe in Santwa, thewe’s a pwace whewe magic stones awe mined that boost mana absowption by mowe than ten pewcent fow a set time.”

“!”

If such a thing truly existed, it would be a resource more valuable than a diamond mine—no, beyond any price.

“…What is it you wish me to do for you, Princess?”

“Pwease be the one to step fowwawd and oppose the hosts of today’s pawty adopting Asha.”

“!”

From Marquis Laselles’s perspective, it was a welcome but unexpected request.

“May I ask why you dislike the idea of being adopted by them?”

“That’s…”

Anastasia hesitated for a moment.

“Because Wux towd me that Count Awtew is a vewy, vewy bad man. He said He’d send down divine punishment, too. So I can’t become that man’s daughtew.”

Was this a little too much like a con artist? Contrary to her worries, the marquis gritted his teeth and agreed.

“…Personally, I would be glad if the princess’s words were true.”

“Your Excellency, Marquis! Even if no one is listening, saying such a thing…”

Baron Victor tried to stop him, looking troubled.

“My two sons must certainly have died because of that bastard!”

“What happened?”

Anastasia asked, flustered. They had been a hostile house to begin with, but there must have been a deeper story.

“Two years ago, at the Battle of Dropov, those three were cut off behind enemy lines… My eldest son, who was commander of Dinitas at the time, and my second son, who was fifth in rank in Dinitas, both lost their lives—and only that bastard came back alive.”

His face twisted in pain.

“Something must have happened. He survived, so there’s no way those boys should have died like that. And in the end, he took the commander’s seat as well…”

“But you’ve been unabwe to do anything because thewe’s no evidence.”

“That is correct. I absolutely… cannot allow that man to become grand duke.”

Marquis Laselles bowed his head helplessly.

“Thank you fow tewwing me.”

“The princess told me a secret, so I am merely telling the princess a secret in return.”

He raised his head and looked at her with serious eyes.

“However, this old man has one more proposal to make to the princess.”

“What is it?”

“Please become betrothed to my grandson.”

“…!”

Baron Victor coughed and sputtered at those words. Anastasia, too, opened her already round eyes even wider and stared at the marquis. After a few tense seconds, the words that came out of Anastasia’s mouth were unexpected.

“How many gwand sons do you have?”