Chapter 38
“Jack! Where did I put those shoes last time?”
“Second shelf in the dressing room, bottom row.”
“Jack! Where are the white lace gloves?”
“Third drawer in the dressing room.”
“Jack!”
“Am I your household servant or something?”
On the day of the banquet, at noon, Iris was frantically preparing.
Jack, as usual, was idling at Iris’s mansion with nothing to do, but somehow, in the process of assisting her, he knew the exact location of every item she asked for.
“At this rate, wouldn’t it be better if you just became a servant, Jack?”
Aster, unaware of the situation, innocently mumbled while watching Jack, who seemed to know the location of items even the homeowner didn’t, and Jack felt a headache coming on.
“I’ll be back late today, so make sure to feed Aster!”
“Now I’m supposed to play nanny too?”
“You’re going to eat anyway, so just eat together!”
Taking Aster to the banquet hall was too risky since she still knew little about noble society. A single mistake could cost him dearly, maybe even his life.
Iris bathed, put on the dress and accessories personally bestowed by the Empress, along with white shoes and lace gloves, and waited for the knight who would escort her.
Not long after she finished preparing, a carriage pulled up in front of the mansion.
Since she wasn’t officially engaged yet, she couldn’t use a carriage bearing the imperial crest, but it was a splendid one specially arranged by Her Majesty the Empress.
The person who arrived with the carriage was, surprisingly, a familiar face.
“The flower garden hair knight?”
“…No, I am Bern Gaston, Lady Iris.”
Remarkably, it was the man who had been by the Crown Prince’s side during his nighttime outing.
She knew he was a knight, but she hadn’t expected him to be assigned here. Iris smiled brightly and stood in front of the carriage.
“How does it feel to escort the flower garden hair lady?”
“…I was rude back then.”
“Oh, I’m not upset about that. By the way, how do I look today?”
Sir Gaston looked her over from head to toe and said,
“You look absolutely beautiful.”
“No floral scent?”
“Did you put on perfume?”
“No, because my hair’s a flower garden!”
“…Lady.”
“Haha, just kidding. Shall we go?”
She took his hand and climbed into the carriage. Before the door closed, she waved to Aster and Jack.
“I’ll be back!”
Thud, the door closed, and the carriage set off.
* * *
Under the dazzling chandeliers, nobles gathered in small groups, chatting among themselves. Their faces were uniformly bright, likely because they understood the significance of this banquet.
“Her Majesty the Empress is finally with child.”
“Such a joyous occasion.”
“I heard many foreign royals and nobles are visiting for this banquet?”
“Of course! It’s only natural when the Empress of the Empire is expecting a child!”
Since the current Crown Prince’s position was so secure, very few believed the Empress’s child would cause any issues with the line of succession.
If the Crown Prince failed to produce an heir, that might be another story, but that was unlikely, so the banquet was simply an occasion to eat and drink merrily.
“By the way, didn’t His Highness the Crown Prince go abroad himself to deal with the Prince of Cecil Kingdom?”
“It seems inevitable to completely suppress the rebellion in the Cecil Kingdom.”
“What a troublesome kingdom.”
As the conversations flowed naturally, someone suddenly asked,
“So, who will Lady Iris be entering with?”
At that, the nobles focused on the speaker.
Come to think of it, who would the woman, rumored to be soon engaged to the Crown Prince, enter with today?
“She’s not from a noble family, so she probably doesn’t even have a suitable knight to escort her.”
“His Highness the Crown Prince surely made arrangements.”
“That’s true. He’s so meticulous, he’d never stand to see his fiancée hold hands with an unapproved man.”
Thanks to the Crown Prince’s ardent courtship from the start, he was already seen as a doting, jealous fiancé. It was the kind of talk that would give Iris a headache if she heard it.
And then, the arrival of the much-awaited woman was announced loudly.
“Lady Iris and Sir Bern Gaston!”
With that, the doors of the banquet hall swung open, revealing Iris and Sir Gaston.
Thanks to his regular training, Sir Gaston’s face was tanned, which made the woman in the white dress beside him stand out even more.
“…She’s so beautiful, it’s almost unfair.”
“Now I understand why His Highness the Crown Prince was so eager to court her.”
In a white dress adorned with diamonds and pearls, with flowing platinum blonde hair and striking ruby-red eyes, her smooth ivory skin and perfectly sculpted figure made her look like a statue.
“That’s the Crown Prince’s personal guard knight.”
While everyone was looking at Iris, someone managed to recognize Sir Gaston and spoke up. At that, people turned to him with expressions as if just noticing, “Oh, there’s someone next to her.”
“That knight never leaves the Crown Prince’s side, but it seems he was left behind for the fiancée.”
“He must really cherish his fiancée.”
As they whispered among themselves, someone raised a question.
“But will she really become the Crown Princess?”
Silence.
No one could answer the question. Not only because of her background, but because a massive obstacle stood in her way.
Someone cautiously opened their mouth.
“…She probably won’t stay quiet about it.”
Everyone swallowed dryly, as if in agreement.
Having entered with Sir Gaston, Iris stood at the edge to avoid the crowd. She could see people glancing at her, wanting to strike up a conversation, but she pretended not to notice and sipped her champagne.
‘The Crown Prince’s influence feels pretty overwhelming all of a sudden. People even want to talk to me.’
The lovely Iris was, in every sense, the flower of high society—nothing more, nothing less. A beautiful flower everyone wanted to hold at least once.
She was used to pointless advances from men, but this situation, where nobles were subtly looking for opportunities to approach her, was unfamiliar.
“Is something bothering you?”
“Sir Gaston, you’re quite perceptive.”
“…Is that an insult?”
“It’s a compliment. It’s just a bit uncomfortable having people glance at me like this when they usually wouldn’t even acknowledge me.”
“That’s because you’re the Crown Prince’s fiancée now.”
“Exactly, and that’s what makes their behavior uncomfortable.”
“You’ll have to get used to it.”
“Ugh.”
As expected of a knight, so rigid. Iris took another sip of champagne and glanced around. Suddenly, she felt an intense gaze and looked to her left, where a woman with purple hair was glaring at her.
‘Aha.’
Realizing the inevitable had arrived, she subtly averted her eyes and looked forward.
‘Well, I figured it would come to this.’
The one glaring at her as if she could kill was the “villainess” from the original story. The classic “villainess” found in every romance fantasy novel—the kind who desires the male lead and torments the female lead.
‘Hmm, I guess since I became the fiancée so early, this was bound to happen.’
Her name was Velvet Anerta, the youngest daughter of the Anerta ducal family, with two older brothers. Spoiled rotten as the precious daughter of the duke’s household, she was utterly self-centered.
‘It looks like I’ve become the target instead of the heroine.’
It wasn’t entirely unexpected. She had somewhat prepared for this.
But she hadn’t wanted to face her this soon, though it was no surprise she’d show up at a banquet like this.
“Lady Anerta is approaching.”
“I know.”
Thanks to Sir Gaston’s tactless warning, she was already mentally prepared. With an inward sigh, she turned to the left, flashing a bright smile.
“Are you Iris?”
“Oh, hello. It’s an honor to meet you, Lady Anerta.”
This was her first clash with the original story’s villainess.
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