Unedited
Unlike Edgar, Jody was an unmarried noblewoman living near Talon. This meant she could send a proposal to Jaden (though Edgar could too, technically, but that’s beside the point). When I shrugged shamelessly, Jody nearly fainted. She opened her mouth as if to speak, then closed it again, furrowed her brows, then relaxed them, before finally speaking coldly.
“Well, whatever. If I can’t be the Duchess, it’d be nice if you at least became one. Just don’t forget that we’re your cousins.”
“Why are you so cool about this? Weren’t you ready to risk your life in the competition to be Jaden Spencer’s girlfriend?”
“You have to risk your life! Do you know how much attention the Spencer Duchy’s Girlfriend Contest—oops, I mean charity banquet—got? Didn’t you notice anything unusual about the ladies who came out with musical instruments? You may not know it, but all of Talon’s young female aspiring artists must have gathered here. By now, they’re probably seeking patrons.”
“You’re calling it a girlfriend contest.”
“You keep saying it so much that I got confused too! What I mean is, whether you aim for Spencer or not, just standing there is a perfect opportunity to present yourself in Milua’s capital social circle. For lower nobles like us, how often do we get that chance? Of course, I was hoping it would work out with him, but that went out the window.”
“Why?”
“Obviously, because of the ‘anonymous viscount’s daughter’! I thought I would easily beat her, but it turned out that wasn’t the case at all. Speaking of which, it looks like he’s really into you. He didn’t let any other man dance with you.”
So that’s how it looks. Feeling a bit embarrassed, I scratched my cheek and replied,
“Yeah, it turned out that way.”
“Good for you. That guy in the lion mask from earlier was Spencer’s subordinate, right? It seems like he even made sure you wouldn’t be embarrassed.”
‘No, he’s a Prince of Nadon, who broke continental law and even committed robbery to attend a banquet he wasn’t invited to because he was curious about whether me and Jaden were really dating.’ After filtering out elements that could cause misunderstanding, there were not many words left.
“He’s just… a thief.”
Upon further thought, I thought there would be a much bigger misunderstanding if I would just refer to him as a thief, especially considering he disappeared after spending a suspicious amount of gold. So I added immediately.
“He’s also Jaden’s subordinate.”
“Prince Spencer really employs people without any requirements, huh? Well, I guess that explains why he’s dating you.”
Jody muttered as if in admiration. I couldn’t tell if she was genuinely impressed by Jaden Spencer’s disregard for social status or was mocking me by putting me on the same level as a thief. According to the ‘social etiquette’ Jody adhered to, it was probably the latter.
Anyway, the fact that she accepted my hasty and shabby explanation was fortunate for me. So, I gave her a kind smile. It was a time when I needed to be humble. ‘You’ll keep my secret, right?’ I acted so servilely that the vain Judith was a little flattered.
“Of course. What benefit would I get from exposing the identity of the ‘anonymous viscount’s daughter’? When are you going back? Aren’t you going to stop by Banford? Jared’s still gnashing his teeth at you over the ripped pants incident.”
“Let me be clear, I ripped his pants because he smeared dog shit all over my dress; the only difference between us is that I saw it before I put them on and he didn’t.”
“What, was that what happened? I should tell him to be more attentive. Anyway, men are petty.”
“I agree. Say hi to Uncle Arnold for me.”
Even without the ripped pants incident, I wouldn’t have gone to Banford. I received word that my parents were almost at Dalton Harbor. Alyssa and Rohan Dalton bickered on the deck of every trading ship, so they were always in a cold war by the time they returned.
Now it was their lovely only daughter’s turn to step forward. If Ariel Dalton’s tongue had been even a bit less sharp, the Dalton Merchant Guild would have been half its current size by now. My loathing for that damned Elven-printed fabric stemmed from the same context.
“… Jody?”
Suddenly, I felt that my cousin had become dead quiet. I had just stepped onto the stairs leading down to the maze garden. Feeling a strange premonition, I looked to the side and saw Judith standing at the edge of the landing. There was no light reflecting from her round eyes.
[Fatal error occurred at 0028:C0003F20 in VMM+00002F20.]
My legs buckled as I tried to recall a not-so-distant memory about the same unnaturally emotionless tone. I barely managed to spin around to regain my center when the back end of her folding fan poked my chest. A light push. But it was enough to lift my feet off the ground.
The fall was cold and lonely. Having faced life-threatening situations often enough, I felt rather calm. In the first place, although the stairs were long, they were not steep, so it wasn’t a fatal height. I wouldn’t die. That is, as long as I wasn’t unlucky enough to land on my head. I hadn’t heard of any stories of broken skulls being glued back together with divine power.
Suddenly, a loud noise made me look up. The sight of a large black mass slamming a slender body into a tree caught my eye. Without realizing it, I stretched my arms out toward Jody’s limp body. There was no way I could reach it. What is it? Who’s here? Is it an enemy, an ally, or the system? As I was quickly calculating various possibilities, my vision turned pitch black.
My fall stopped as if I had been nailed in the air. Soon, my whole body was wrapped in something rough and thick.
The reason why I expressed it as ‘something’ is because it was clearly not a person. Part of it covering my face was densely covered with something like scales. I felt heavy breaths brush against my ears, interspersed with growling noises.
[Don’t touch me.]
Suddenly, an unexpected thought invaded my mind. Startled, I quickly withdrew my hand that had been groping it.
“Was that you just now?”
[Close your eyes.]
“What happened to Jody?”
[Close your eyes.]
The unknown creature didn’t seem to want to talk to me much. Helplessly, I did as I was told and closed my eyes. Then, I felt as if I were being transported somewhere, and soon, a hard surface touched my feet. It must have carried me to the ground.
“Um, thank you. But—”
[Count to thirty and then open your eyes.]
I ultimately failed to have a proper conversation with it. When I hastily counted from one to thirty and opened my eyes, it had already completely erased all traces of itself. It felt like I had just had a nightmare.
***
The ‘Ariel Dalton Free Pass’ I gave to Jaden was effective for only 1 day. However, I pretended to be Jaden’s girlfriend at Talon for over eight days. When I asked him to be my tutor for the second semester as fair compensation for overtime work, Jaden accepted without hesitation.
While I was at it, I also requested approval for the gag exchange gift that will be held at the Joke Month banquet. It was approved smoothly. I guess he didn’t know that I had given Kyle a life-size wooden sculpture of Professor Dwyer last year (it still occupies a corner of Kyle’s dorm room. Jose Soto was convinced it was the source of his nightmares).
“You know, Jaden. In the future, when you buy land or anything like that, you should definitely show the contract to a third party.”
I said, worried about Jaden’s future. He just replied in a nonchalant manner that he understood, but his overly obedient attitude made me wonder if he really understood what I meant.
As Bree and I were going to the train station to catch the train to Sancreek, the helmeted knight and, to our surprise, his mother, rode with us in the carriage. Madam Spencer seemed very impressed with my performance at the girlfriend selection contest. This is because the only person who chose to commemorate the Spencer family rather than display individuality was the daughter of a viscount, who was suffering from an incurable disease of unknown cause and chronic distrust of people. Bree, who went from being a first-class handmaiden to becoming my friend again, kept wiggling in her seat because she wanted to convey that the fire show was actually a display of my own personality.
According to Madam Spencer, even Duke Spencer, who pretended not to be affected, was in tears. It turns out he was always a sensitive person. The mysterious connection between ‘Ham’s Song’ and tears was finally revealed.
I received an explanation that the awkward atmosphere after the fire show was due to them needing time to accept what they had seen. That was a fact that even Brianna had acknowledged. After I left the hall with Edgar Ramos, all the people in masks were whispering about the ‘anonymous viscount’s daughter.’ As expected, Ariel Dalton’s plan, devised with the intelligence of Brianna-Smart-Mosley, despite her limited intellect but not cunningness, proved to be spot on.
I spent the next ten hours feeling much lighter than I had been eight days ago. Even the rainy scenery of Sancreek, which was extremely gloomy compared to Talon, felt romantic.
As soon as I arrived at the Dalton manor and unpacked, Madeleine, my nanny and the housekeeper of the Dalton manor, appeared. She first reprimanded me for using a spell incorrectly to sort my laundry, causing everything to mix together, and henceforth banned me from using magic for laundry. I nodded glumly.
“Also, while you were in Talon, there was someone who came looking for you.”
“Me? Who? Kyle?”
“Second young master Villard said he’d come in the afternoon. It was a blonde nobleman, but since you were away and he wouldn’t reveal his identity, I politely sent him away.”
“Blonde?”
A sudden wave of anxiety slammed into the crown of my head.
“Was he incredibly handsome?”
“Don’t even mention it. In my sixty years, I’ve never seen such a dazzling man. Of course, the second young master of Villard is quite handsome as well, but what I mean is, universal beauty is inevitably relative…”
The unexpected shock made my body go numb, as if I had been covered in paralyzing powder. Maddie’s excited voice sounded distant.
I stood there in a daze for a moment before pulling myself together. I repeatedly told Maddie that if he ever visited Dalton Mansion again, he was not to be let in, even if I wasn’t there. Maddie seemed to sense something suspicious about my desperate attitude, but, like an experienced employee, she simply lowered her head and left the room.
As soon as the door closed, my legs gave out. I sat down right where I was standing.
Oh my god, Keran Illestia…
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