Now, onto the third step of dealing with troublesome customers: the finale.
Sensing something ominous, Mariposa flinched and shouted, “W-Why are you carrying that?”
What I held was no ordinary object. It was magically enhanced, similar to a plastic trash bag in modern times.
“You did tell me to change dresses earlier, didn’t you? Luckily, I found something that suits me perfectly.”
I smiled at her as brightly as sunshine and shook the black bag I had prepared.
“Y-You…!”
Of course, I had already cut five holes in the black trash bag just for this moment!
I quickly slipped through the large hole at the top and stuck my arms and legs through the other holes.
“This is what you call a trash outfit.”
Gracefully, I spread my arms, making the trash bag outfit flutter.
“Do you like it now?”
Mariposa looked like she was about to faint.
“You… Are you insane?”
“Yes~ Giselle is completely insane!”
Viscount Milpianne looked equally stunned. After glaring at me with a growl, he spat out, “I thought you were well-behaved despite the rumors, but what is this! Such an uncultured… This engagement is off! I’ll annul it right now!”
“Yes, Giselle agrees! Let’s call off this engagement!”
The party was in complete chaos. Mariposa whispered coldly, “It seems you’ve used your head, not knowing your place, haven’t you?”
‘Nope. Is blowing off wigs at a social event something a smart person would do?’
Only someone who throws all logic out the window would pull a stunt like this.
But just to make her angrier, I smiled and nodded.
Seriously, how does our dear Mariposa survive in this world with a brain like hers?
“Fine. I’ll sell you off to a better place than the Milpianne family. I’ll deal with you in my own way from now on, so just wait.”
It was a threat. I theatrically turned my head and looked at her pitifully.
“Oh, how could you…”
Just as her eyes sparkled, thinking she had won, I spoke up.
“But, could you still do as you please when Count Florette returns?”
“…What?”
Count Florette was a friend of my late father, Count Sehera. After both my parents died and the title of Count along with the family’s fortune vanished, he was the one who kindly took me in.
‘Even though he’s not here right now.’
He had been on a long voyage to recover my father’s belongings, and during his absence, his sister Mariposa and the family council had taken control of the household.
“When Count Florette took in ‘the poor divorced sister’ Mariposa, there was a condition, wasn’t there?”
My raised voice caught the attention of the people at the party. Mariposa’s greatest shame was that she had returned to her family after her divorce, dragging her son with her.
“That condition was to raise me warmly, like a daughter or a niece.”
“You… Stop…”
“That’s why, when I was young, I often called your wife ‘Mother’ by mistake.”
Though, every time I called her that, her face would twist in disgust.
Mariposa’s face turned red as she whispered threateningly, “Shut up. Count Florette… is dead.”
It’s true that contact had been lost after a message claiming he had discovered a spice island, and most people now believed he had passed away. They were even preparing a funeral.
“Who knows? Maybe the ghost of the late Count will return.”
And deliver divine punishment to his sister, perhaps.
I grinned, lifted the trash bag outfit proudly, and walked out with confidence. The rustling sound echoed through the silent hall until it completely faded away.
—
Swearing to the heavens, it was purely by accident that Duke Bientine Kalinos witnessed Giselle’s “incident.”
Just as she was pulling off her little stunt, he entered the social party, his arm smeared with the pink blood of a beast.
Though he seemed indifferent and uninterested in the world, the people around him certainly didn’t share the same attitude.
“D-Duke Kalinos is here…”
“No, stay calm. He probably just killed someone on the way here, like usual.”
That wasn’t true.
He recalled his appearance. His hair was neatly combed, and he wore a clean uniform.
He had only conducted a small experiment to determine how much blood a monster would produce when taken down with one hand.
His attendants trembled as they watched his frown deepen.
“S-Surely, he is…”
“I haven’t killed any humans.”
He cut them off before they could bring up that childish nickname of his: “the bloody villain.”
But as soon as he spoke, the room started buzzing.
“He’s going to kill us…”
“Come to think of it, I think I just saw him decapitate a monster in one strike. R-Run!”
There were no monsters here. After all, this was a party venue. However, the situation was becoming more and more dramatic.
“If you don’t want to die, lower your eyes.”
All he did was explain himself, yet people started foaming at the mouth.
‘Tiring.’
He gave up on any further explanations and ignored the attendants frothing at the mouth, walking past them. He was about to carry out the tedious duty of meeting all the ladies of the social circle.
As he approached the slightly open door of the ballroom, he spoke to the doorman in a honeyed, persuasive voice, though not without some detachment.
“Open the door.”
“Y-Yes, yes.”
“I have someone to meet.”
The servant quickly bowed his head when he saw the soft curve of the duke’s lips.
“You’ve come to, to kill someone, yes? Understood! I’ll open it right away!”
‘Indeed, wearing a kind smile makes persuasion easier.’
He had read in a book called The Theory of Social Interaction that one should always smile when dealing with people. He was quite pleased that the servant hadn’t fainted.
Unaware that the doormen guarding the party had fled cowardly and quickly, he found himself meeting shocked stares from inside the party.
‘How do I handle socializing with ladies?’
Even though he barely had enough time to work 24 hours a day, here he was, wasting time on such thoughts. Yet, from his grandfather down to his younger brother, everyone wanted him to marry. Even the council insisted he needed a marriage to solidify the power structure further.
Thus, Duke Kalinos found himself at the entrance of the ballroom, driven by the pressure of his family. But as soon as he stepped in, the ladies, who were supposed to be his targets for socializing, scattered as if they had seen a terrifying monster.
With the ladies quickly disappearing, something strange caught his eye.
“…Trash?”
At the end of his gaze was a moving trash bag with arms and legs.
“No… a human trash bag?”
The trash bag, to his surprise, was actually a woman.
‘Who is that woman?’
Her face was unfamiliar, her appearance vague, yet she was happily chatting while wearing a trash bag.
…The woman in the trash bag quickly passed him by and fled.
Judging by her serene yet somewhat crazed smile, it seemed she had orchestrated this chaotic scene.
“Perfect.”
She was a perfect lunatic.
But just then, a voice interrupted.
“W-Well, it seems something is going on. Anyway, please go inside. The ladies must be waiting for you.”
‘Oh, right. There was a chaperone.’
The aide, whose name he barely remembered, had been sent by his mother and grandfather in collaboration.
“Is that so?”
“Yes, you must marry, sir!”
“So, it doesn’t matter who, as long as I marry, right?”
The aide, who had eyes like a frog, blinked nervously as if sensing something ominous.
“As long as it’s a lady, yes? You know commoners won’t do, right?”
“I know. As long as there’s no violation of imperial law, it doesn’t matter, does it?”
“Well, yes, but…”
As the crinkling sound of the trash bag completely faded into the distance, and the ladies inside finally caught sight of Duke Kalinos standing outside, they froze in fear.
Duke Kalinos’s lips twisted with amusement.
“I see. Cancel all my social engagements.”
“What? All of a sudden?”
“Yes. I’ve found a new research subject.”
It was rare for him to take an interest in anything. It had only happened when he found ingredients for a rare potion, encountered a beast tamer, or discovered a good research topic.
A cold sweat ran down the aide’s spine.
‘This… will it be okay?’
