Chapter 45
｡･:*:･ﾟ★ Translated by Sienna ｡･:*:･ﾟ☆
A pretty plate with roses engraved on it caught my eye.
It was the same plate that the staff member had just handed me, treating me as if I were penniless.
‘The plate is innocent. But.’
Anyway, it must be cheaper than a silver spoon!
I dropped the plate to the floor.
Crash!
With a loud noise, everyone’s attention in the hall turned to me. Even the people entering the shop froze in surprise.
Rize, too, looked over with an irritated expression at the loud sound.
“What’s going on? What’s with the commotion…”
“Oh, sorry.”
I smiled slyly and said, “I noticed everyone seemed to be having fun, so I wanted to join in and get your attention. Did I accidentally cause a commotion?”
When I blatantly used informal language, Rize frowned and said, “Who are you? How dare you speak so casually, where do you…!”
At that moment. Through the still-open door, the wind blew once more.
Unlike the strong wind that overturned the terrace just moments ago, this one was gentle, mixed with a subtle scent of roses, but enough to uncover my hood.
My pink hair, tinged with gray, rippled out.
“Ugh…!”
“L-La, Lady Peregrine…!”
It was a scene straight out of a movie, everyone’s mouths dropped open in horror.
“W-What do we do, my lady…!”
“…….”
The young ladies who came with Rize were completely pale.
“…….”
And I was also taken aback. I didn’t expect the wind to blow at the right time, revealing my identity. I never thought something like this would happen in real life.
‘No, this is an opportunity.’
I quickly hid my bewilderment and took a step towards them.
“Lady Caparoel, it’s been a while.”
“I didn’t expect to see you here, milady.”
Rize smiled as if she had been all along.
“I guess so. You must know, mentioning the Duke’s family registry is akin to suicide.”
But when I didn’t let it go and pointed out what had just happened, she clutched the hem of her skirt.
“……I apologize for being presumptuous. But I believe there are things that need to be said.”
However, perhaps thinking she couldn’t back down now, she spoke up again.
“I’ve said it many times. There is nothing between me and Lord Roderick. But you didn’t believe me, milady?”
Rize said with a face full of injustice.
“Do you know how much I suffered then? It took me weeks to recover from my illness. If only Lady Peregrine hadn’t poisoned me……!”
She seemed about to shout out in frustration but then closed her mouth. As if she was forcibly holding back what she wanted to say.
With reddened eyes and sharp remarks about the damages I had caused her, she even mentioned the specific poison. She perfectly summarized the incident so that even those who didn’t know who we were could understand the situation.
‘Let’s see how this plays out. She’s a master of summarization.’
But there was a flaw in the conversation between Rize and the young ladies just now.
To lead that conversation, I smiled smugly and said, “I’m sorry to hear that you suffered from the poison, but isn’t your body healed?”
“What are you talking about……! My body isn’t healed at all, and my teeth are all damaged. I’m still undergoing treatment!”
“Is that so? But…”
I slowly lowered my gaze.
As if on purpose.
Then, the gazes of the people who were watching us moved along with mine.
My gaze fell on the desserts Rize was about to buy.
“For someone with aching teeth, you sure picked some hard ones, didn’t you?”
“……!”
Then Rize’s face flushed with embarrassment.
“T-this is just a gift! I’m not planning to eat them!”
“Oh, well, Then it’s even more serious.”
I said with a tone of mild discomfort, running my index finger along my jawline.
“Lady, it seems you’ve been deceived.”
“Deceived? What do you mean all of a sudden…!”
“But didn’t this young lady just said, ‘Lord Evans even went as far as obtaining the holy water from the temple.'”
“……!”
Then, the lady who finally got the chance to speak widened her eyes.
“I-I only said what Lady Rize mentioned!”
Realizing the disadvantage, the lady quickly retracted her statement
“Is that so?”
“…….”
What do you think?
When I raised my eyebrows casually, Rize bit her lip.
It couldn’t be helped. Even for nobles, the holy water from the temple was a very rare and precious item that wasn’t easily obtained.
And yet, Rize claims that she hasn’t fully recovered despite receiving the holy water.
In other words, she was proving with her own words that the holy water was fake.
But there’s no way the holy water could be fake.
In other words.
‘She treated those young ladies like servants while pretending to be sick.’
Then a faint anger began to show on the faces of the young ladies. But it didn’t end there.
“By the way, the one who was deceived wasn’t the lady, it was Lord Evans.”
“……!”
As I mentioned it belatedly, Rize’s face turned pale.
By mentioning Roderick, who belonged to a prestigious family, in front of all these people, she risked dragging him into the situation as well.
“I-I didn’t mean it like that…”
“Then?”
Rize, who had been hesitating and stammering, suddenly turned around.
Then she started to confront the young ladies who came with her.
“When did I ever say that Lord Evans obtained the holy water? I said he tried to obtain it!”
“What?”
The young lady, who had just made a false statement, chuckled incredulously.
“What are you talking about, Lady Caparoel? You clearly said Lord Evans obtained the holy water!”
“I-I heard it too!”
“When did I ever say that…! Don’t spread baseless words!”
As Rize firmly cut off the conversation, the young ladies burst into forced laughter. I could tell from Rize’s firm attitude.
‘She never received the holy water.’
But then a question crossed my mind.
‘If she didn’t have the holy water’s power, how is she still perfectly fine?’
Rize’s father, the Marquis of Caparoel, had announced that she was in the midst of a death spiral.
‘He said she might really die in the next few days if things don’t improve.’
So Peregrine not only allowed Flora Salertale, the temple’s pinnacle, into his mansion, but also paid them a huge sum of money in compensation.
Despite being in such a situation, her complexion was good, and her skin was flawless.
It was so suspicious that one might doubt if she had actually been poisoned.
“When did I ever say that! This is unbelievable!”
In the midst of her successful rebuttal, Rize looked back at me.
“……I apologize, milady. There must have been a misunderstanding in the communication process.”
“Ah, it’s all right.”
I said, smiling again.
“Since the young lady often speaks like that, she must have misunderstood that as well.”
“……!”
As I redirected the attack, Rize bit her lip again.
‘I guess you thought you escaped the holy water thing, but I haven’t forgotten yet. That you mentioned the Peregrine’s registry.
Rize clenched her fists in exasperation.
But there was only one thing she could do.
“I… I’m truly sorry for mentioning the Duke’s registry without thinking, milady.”
As soon as she finished the difficult apology, Rize swiftly turned her body and quickly left the shop.
Having exposed several flaws in front of so many people, she wouldn’t dare to blabber about registry or anything related to the Duke anymore.
“What? Why did she leave alone?”
“She must have somewhere to go, right? We still have things to discuss!”
“Lady!”
The young ladies, who still had things to say, followed after Rize.
The once noisy hall fell silent again.
Sighing quietly to myself, I thought,
‘The social scene is indeed not easy.’
Though I felt relieved for handling it well, I turned my head again towards the gazes directed at me.
“Um, let’s… uh, go outside…”
“Outside… let’s go outside!”
“But there’s no space…”
“Squeeze in! If there’s no space, make it!”
Then, as if suddenly remembering something, the people who were looking at me rushed towards the terrace.
In an instant, the interior became empty.
‘Can one control people with just a glance…!’
Admiring Daphne’s infamous reputation, I turned my body again.
Now, all that was left…
The staff member who had treated me like a nobody, trying to slip away unnoticed.
Taking advantage of the commotion, the employee seemed to be sneaking away subtly.
Thunk!
Someone wearing white gloves firmly grabbed his arm.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
It was Luciel, with a voice as gentle as his personality.
“Uh…!”
The frightened staff seemed to try to escape, but couldn’t get away from Luciel.
“I-I’m sorry! I didn’t recognize you and…… Please spare me!”
Eventually, he bowed repeatedly while looking at me. Luciel turned towards me after his apology.
“Milady.”
His red eyes sparkled.
It was as if he was asking, ‘Did I do well?’
‘He doesn’t seem to have the right expression after catching someone, but…’
Since he did well in catching him, I nodded. Luciel’s face brightened up.
“The management here is a mess. Employees running away and all.”
But upon my muttered remark, Luciel’s body twitched.
“Haha. Yeah…….”
He chuckled stiffly and sympathized with me.
“Over here.”
I called the staff who was being held by Luciel.
Although he trembled hesitantly and pleaded for forgiveness with his eyes, I had only one thing to say.
“Get the manager.”
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I ordered him to get the manager, and after a while.
“What’s going on here!”
A man wearing a baking hat quickly approached.
With white flour smudged on his cheeks, it seemed like he hadn’t noticed the commotion due to being engrossed in baking.
Clad in my robe again, I looked at the manager.
“Are you the owner of this establishment?”
“Yes, I am. I apologize for the inconvenience. Is there a problem?”
The manager asked with a puzzled yet composed demeanor.
Looking at the desolate interior of the shop and the frightened employees, honestly, even if he regarded me as the culprit, I had nothing to say. Nonetheless, he first set aside his own confusion and listened to me.
‘It seems like the problem lies with the employees, not the manager.’
Seeing the manager bowing repeatedly made me feel uncomfortable somehow.
I didn’t ask for the manager to complain.
Perhaps because of my presence, business today, or even for the next few days, might not go well.
As someone who was once a laborer, I would feel uncomfortable if the manager’s revenue decreased because of me.
‘And I even broke a plate.’
But considering Daphne’s personality, she would definitely inquire about how the staff were managed.
‘In that case….’
