Chapter 16
“You really did forget, didn’t you? I thought it was odd how relaxed you were this morning. Just a few days ago, you were thrilled about it being the perfect chance to indulge in desserts to your heart’s content.”
“Yeah. So please choose a dress with a loose fit. Tighten the corset just enough. At the last party, there were so many desserts I couldn’t even touch because of that corset.”
Rodellia cupped her cheeks in regret, and Mei clicked her tongue.
“Is there a ghost of someone who died hungry clinging to you? How on earth do you cram all that into such a tiny stomach?”
“Mukbang is all about momentum, you know. If you’re determined to eat, there’s nothing you can’t devour.”
“Oh dear, our lady is inventing strange words again. What on earth is mukbang?”
“It’s a thing. Basically, it means being dead serious about eating.”
“Mei has a dream: that our lady becomes as composed as the other young ladies. So Mei can slack off without a care in the world.”
“Mei, you’re still clinging to hopeless dreams. Me becoming composed is about as likely as the sun rising in the west.”
“Yes, it certainly seems that way.”
Mei let out a sigh and urged her to head back now.
Rodellia smiled brightly and fluttered down the corridor like a butterfly.
After that pleasant stroll, she stepped out, fully adorned by Mei’s efforts.
The ladies’ social gathering was held at a cafeteria in the heart of the Barnard capital.
It was a three-story cafe rented out entirely for the event.
Ostensibly for fostering friendships among the ladies, it was really a venue to discreetly scout out who held affections for whom.
Rodellia was scanning for a suitable seat when it happened.
“Lady Peris.”
Someone called out to Rodellia, and naturally, all eyes turned toward her.
“We meet again. Come sit here.”
The one who had called her was Nanael.
She flashed a sly smile and pointed to her table with her fan.
‘Ah, right. Nanael was one of the ladies who made her debutante this time too.’
Facing Nanael, whom she’d thought she’d never have to deal with again, made her heart shrink to the size of a pea.
‘Don’t get intimidated. She’s the one in the wrong.’
Rodellia straightened her back with effort and headed toward Nanael’s table.
“I greet the Star of the Empire. It’s an honor to meet you again in a place like this.”
She offered the appropriate pleasantries and was about to sit in an empty chair when—
“No, not there—here. I said sit here.”
“Pardon? But…”
Rodellia was flustered.
The seat Nanael had indicated was already occupied by another young lady.
As expected, the innocent young lady already seated there expressed her reluctance.
“I’m sorry, Your Highness, but someone else is already sitting there.”
At Rodellia’s point, Nanael let out a short laugh.
Then she commanded the young lady in the seat beside her.
“Loti. Are you going to keep sitting there cluelessly? Move over there. How long are you planning to tag along after me anyway?”
“I-I’m so sorry, Your Highness.”
The young lady called Loti scrambled up from her seat in a panic.
Her face was flushed red with humiliation.
Rodellia’s gaze shifted to Loti.
“There, now the seat’s free, isn’t it?”
Nanael wore the most dazzling smile as she tapped the spot next to her.
Loti, abruptly displaced, stood there awkwardly, hovering uncertainly.
The other young ladies at the table simply pretended not to notice.
If anything, they seemed amused, stifling giggles behind their fans.
It was clear what was going on.
Nanael had loved playing with dolls since she was a child.
What seemed like an ordinary hobby was actually quite malicious.
Because the dolls she played with were none other than people.
From a young age, this budding villainess was infamous for cycling through her attendants every month to indulge in her doll play.
It had reached its peak right after her debutante.
Rodellia recalled how, in the original story, Nanael had targeted the heroine, Summer, as her doll.
Before that, Nanael’s doll had been the very Loti Beige before her eyes.
Summer found the atmosphere of treating people like dolls repulsive and was feeling uneasy about the gathering.
At that moment, someone trying to save Loti, who was stumbling and falling after tripping over her own feet, accidentally stepped on Nanael’s skirt—it was a mistake.
It happened to be a skirt woven from the finest lace, and Summer, who was the young head of her household, lacked the means to compensate for the dress right away.
Nanael, aware of this, asked Summer to serve as her attendant, an incident that openly branded her as Nanael’s puppet in high society, stamping her with that indelible mark.
In truth, Rodellia was neither as righteous nor as kind as Summer.
For Rodellia, whose sole aim in life was to live peacefully and without incident, Nanael posed far too great a threat.
‘Getting tangled up with her will only lead to exhaustion.’
Instinctively sensing the danger, Rodellia flashed a smile that didn’t reach her eyes.
“Oh dear, now that I think of it, I left my bag behind! There’s something truly, truly important inside, so I’ll just pop back quickly—please, make yourselves comfortable and enjoy…”
She hadn’t even finished her sentence.
“Miss, your bag is right here, though?”
May, who had entered late, handed the bag to Rodellia without a hint of awareness.
May, read the room.
Rodellia swallowed a silent scream and gripped the bag tightly.
“Oh my, so you brought it for me? Th-an-k y-ou so much.”
When I shot her a glare outright, May tilted her head in confusion.
“Thanks to your diligent maid, you’ve spared yourself the trouble. Come now, take a seat—quickly.”
Nanael offered the spot once more, her smile radiant and blooming.
Even as May, finally picking up on the odd atmosphere, wore an expression like ‘Huh? Did I mess up?’, it was already water under the bridge.
With things having turned out this way, there was no choice but to sit beside Nanael.
Rodellia choked back her sobs with a forced smile and settled into the chair.
“Isn’t that right? Our May is just so efficient at her tasks, hohoho.”
Just you wait, May.
Sensing her piercing glare, May subtly averted her eyes and feigned innocence.
* * *
The regular social gatherings for ladies newly entering high society were overseen by the imperial palace.
This was to instill the appropriate virtues and foster friendships among those still unfamiliar with the intricacies of society.
Particularly this year, with the third princess, Nanael, making her debut, her mother, Consort Rosaria, had taken charge of the event.
Rosaria Barnard.
As the princess of a fallen kingdom, she had married into the Barnard family, bearing the second prince and third princess, and she was a woman of considerable renown who handled most of the internal palace affairs in place of the frail empress.
She was known to share a harmonious relationship with the empress, free of the typical strife between wife and consort, yet inwardly, she harbored ambitions to see her son, Cesare, ascend to the throne as emperor.
Of course, this was knowledge I’d gleaned from the original story.
In this world, those aware of Consort Rosaria’s hidden schemes were likely limited to Nanael and myself.
“Her Highness the Consort has been delayed slightly due to urgent matters. In the meantime, we’ve prepared desserts, so please feel free to enjoy them at your leisure.”
The cafe staff simultaneously placed trays laden with all manner of desserts onto the tables.
Among them, Nanael’s table was the most lavish by far.
It was only natural that my eyes lit up in that instant.
‘Oh, wait, that is…!’
What captured my gaze on the tray was none other than a fig cream cheese cake.
From that glossy, lusciously flowing cream to the figs coated in moist, glistening sugar.
‘With desserts like this to keep me company, sitting next to Nanael might not be so bad after all?’
My spirits lifted in an instant, and I barely restrained the urge to shimmy my shoulders in delight as I reached toward the tray.
I scooped a reasonable portion of what I craved onto my plate, only to feel a prickling stare upon me.
“Hm? Aren’t any of you eating?”
Only then did I notice that my plate alone was piling up with treats.
For some reason, everyone else was merely observing, their hands nowhere near the desserts.
It was as if they were all waiting for someone’s permission to drop.
That was when Nanael spoke.
“Lady Peris seems to have quite the fondness for desserts.”
Her voice was soft and lilting, but her eyes gleamed with a predatory ‘got you’ intensity.
“Of course I do. Is there really anyone who dislikes desserts?”
I stared back at her as if she’d just stated the obvious—like claiming a lemon cake tastes of lemon—and Nanael responded with a sleek, polished smile.
“How fortunate. In that case, Lady Peris can simply eat them all.”
In that moment, the ladies’ faces drained of color.
Loti Beige clamped her mouth shut as if on the verge of retching, swallowing a groan.
‘Aha, so that’s the game you’re playing?’
