Chapter 7
Chapter 7
Qualifications of a Protagonist?
I know.
You shouldn't casually put your hands on a girl's shoulders like this.
Even in the modern world, touching someone without permission is rude.
And this was noble society.
The rules were far stricter.
Touching the body of an unmarried noble lady in a public setting?
That wasn't a simple breach of manners.
It was the sort of thing that could shake a family's reputation, marriage prospects, and future plans all at once.
Very dangerous.
But what was I supposed to do?
I was already a lunatic.
And if she had been using my name to corner someone moments ago, she should've been prepared to deal with the consequences if she got caught.
Good.
Now everyone understood who was in the more difficult position.
The situation had reversed so completely that Bianca couldn't say or do anything for the moment.
Just like Angela had been caught off guard by an unexpected attack.
Beneath the arm resting on Bianca's shoulder, her body had become rigid.
It seemed like she could barely breathe.
Just moments ago, she had been pressing Angela down with etiquette and logic.
Now she looked incapable of accepting reality.
The surroundings had become even quieter.
The noble ladies watching with held breaths.
The nobles observing from a distance.
Even the attendants.
Everyone stared at us in complete silence.
No explanation was necessary.
In the middle of a banquet hall,
a prince
had personally laid hands on an unmarried noble lady.
That alone was already a major incident.
"Your name was Bianca, wasn't it?"
"Y-Your Highness Rouang! What... what are you doing...?!"
"Hm? Isn't it obvious? We're standing shoulder to shoulder."
As if nothing was wrong, I lightly patted her shoulder.
Bianca's shoulders were pale and slender.
And astonishingly stiff.
At this point, she was practically frozen solid from fear.
People usually reacted that way when bitten by a mad dog.
Glancing aside, I saw her escort knight standing awkwardly nearby with one hand half-raised.
His face clearly said he wanted to intervene but couldn't.
The reason was simple.
I was still holding a sword.
If he acted recklessly and Bianca got hurt in the process, the situation would become even worse.
If a scar remained on the body of an unmarried noble lady, the responsibility would likely fall entirely on him.
Eventually, the knight shoved the back of a trembling attendant.
The attendant hurried off in a panic.
He was probably going to fetch the family head.
Well, if you couldn't handle a troublesome guest, you called someone higher up.
Even children looked for their older siblings or parents when fights got out of hand.
Of course, things would become annoying if the family head arrived personally.
But the adults were probably busy with their meeting right now.
Debating how to send me out of the Imperial Palace.
Discussing what authority they should grant me.
Things like that.
It would be difficult for an attendant to immediately break into that meeting.
In other words, I had a little time.
And honestly, I never intended to keep Bianca trapped for long.
I didn't have a hobby of bullying girls.
Nor did I possess the childish tendency to torment people I liked.
So I'd keep it short and simple.
Looking down at Bianca, I asked,
"I heard my name being mentioned. Were you trying to get close to me too, Lady Bianca?"
"Huh? Huh?"
"So that's a yes. Haha. I really am popular."
Bianca could barely respond.
Her face had gone pale.
Her lips trembled.
Her breathing had become uneven.
To her, everything I was saying probably sounded insane.
Which, to be fair, it was.
Only a fool or a madman would interpret "Huh?" as agreement.
And dealing with someone insane is very difficult.
Normally, you'd ignore them or walk away.
Bianca had run directly into one.
Her mind was probably blank by now.
Just moments ago, she had been the center of this group.
She started the conversation.
The other young ladies naturally gathered around her.
She also possessed the perfect justification for criticizing Angela's breach of etiquette at Manuel's banquet.
Naturally, everyone's attention had been focused on her.
But the moment I stepped in, the entire board flipped over.
Now the focus wasn't on a noble lady correcting etiquette.
It was on a noble lady trapped by a lunatic prince.
Moments ago, she had been pressuring someone else.
Now she was the most uncomfortable person in the entire banquet hall.
"So, what exactly were you discussing?"
"That was..."
"Hmm. Difficult to answer? Very well."
I slightly raised the sword in my hand.
That tiny movement alone sent another ripple through the atmosphere.
"The sword...!"
"Surely he isn't planning to spill blood at a banquet...?"
"He isn't going to hurt Lady Bianca, is he?"
"If it's His Highness Rouang... he just might..."
The escort knight flinched.
Bianca's fingertips turned cold.
Of course, I had no intention of hurting her.
I pointed the sword toward Angela.
The final move would be better coming from Angela than from me.
I was merely an assistant.
Angela was the actual party involved.
"M-Me?"
"Yes, you. What exactly was said? Lady Angela, feel free to answer honestly."
Bianca's lips trembled even harder.
It seemed she'd already guessed that whatever came out of Angela's mouth would put her at a disadvantage.
Honestly, Bianca pointing out Angela's mistake wasn't completely unreasonable.
Ignoring the host and greeting another prince first was unquestionably bad etiquette.
She hadn't attacked House Goldrun.
She had merely pointed out Angela's personal mistake.
If Angela had simply admitted she was wrong, Bianca would've preserved her dignity and the matter would've ended there.
That level of pressure was common at banquets.
A subtle way of asserting one's presence by pressing down on someone else.
Perfectly ordinary.
The problem was that I had intervened.
Normally, nobles would respond to situations like this with words.
Sarcasm answered with sarcasm.
Indirect attacks answered with indirect counterattacks.
But I wasn't using words.
I was applying pressure through physical contact.
That alone was rude.
I was also holding a sword.
And everyone knew me as a madman.
When a person who might not listen to reason is standing there armed,
people become afraid automatically.
The calmer their expression,
the scarier they seem.
Because nobody knows what they might do next.
Of course, I had no intention of drawing blood.
Bianca hadn't attempted to assassinate anyone.
I wouldn't hurt someone over something this minor.
I intended to end things quickly.
If Angela simply said,
"Lady Bianca took issue with the fact that I greeted His Highness Rouang first."
Then I could use that as an excuse to scare Bianca a little before ending the matter.
That was the plan.
But then—
"Nothing happened."
"Hm?"
"What?"
Angela gave an answer nobody expected.
Even Bianca stopped trembling long enough to ask,
"Nothing happened?"
"Yes."
"Then what were they saying about me?"
Angela replied with a completely innocent expression.
"We were talking about how handsome His Highness Rouang is. Isn't that right, Lady Bianca?"
"Ah, yes! That's right!"
For a moment, I was speechless.
Angela had completely buried the situation with a perfectly straight face.
Bianca immediately climbed aboard the excuse.
A natural choice if she wanted to survive.
Holding my sword, I stared at Angela.
She simply looked back at me with sparkling violet eyes.
There wasn't the slightest trace of suspicion or calculation on her face.
She looked exactly like a protagonist who genuinely believed she was right.
...Ah.
This was one of those moments.
When the protagonist appears at the critical moment and turns the board over,
the villain is supposed to retreat once.
Chuckling, I slid the sword back into its sheath.
Then I lightly patted Bianca on the back.
"Next time, make sure to give compliments directly to the person involved. Understood?"
"Y-Yes!"
Bianca answered in a voice that sounded on the verge of tears.
I released her and walked toward Angela.
"I have something to discuss with you. Follow me."
"Yes, understood."
Angela's face was no longer as bright as when I first met her.
She looked slightly nervous.
I didn't know what she was thinking, but she seemed useful in many ways.
'First, I need to teach her noble etiquette.'
If she made another mistake like this when I wasn't around, things would become troublesome.
She was lacking as a noble lady.
But as a protagonist, she was pretty impressive.
...Though judging solely from what she'd done just now, she looked less like a protagonist and more like a candidate for my future concubine.
Did she even understand the position she had put herself in?
'Wait a second...'
As Angela continued walking after Rouang, she stared blankly ahead in thought.
'What exactly is happening right now?'
An incident had broken out at the banquet.
Then someone who looked exactly like a male lead had appeared and rescued her.
The heroines of romance fantasy stories were usually bold.
They ignored social conventions and acted according to their own principles, causing trouble.
Then the male lead appeared.
He became interested in the heroine's uniqueness.
He helped her.
And that became the beginning of their relationship.
...And after that?
Usually, the answer was obvious.
A chill ran down Angela's spine.
No way.
'Did I just steal the heroine position?!'