Chapter 61
Chapter 61
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 61
Chapter Title: Calm Before the Storm (1)
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The scene left behind after the August siblings suddenly appeared, caused all sorts of chaos, and then vanished.
Rather than naturally returning to their original state, the crowd that had been pushed aside by those two unexpected people instead swarmed straight toward the young nobleman of the Blackwood Family.
"Ah, hello! I'm Raphael Henry Brighton, second son of the Brighton Count family!"
"I-it's an honor to meet you for the first time, Young Master Ethan. I-I'm Leticia Seitaridis, eldest daughter of Marquis Kane Seitaridis. I-it's truly an honor to meet you here today..."
"I am Elvis Preston, Knight Captain of the Preston Knights..."
...Yeah, this is what you'd normally expect.
The backing of the prestigious Blackwood Duke family, his debut in high society after nearly ten years, and objectively speaking, his rather handsome appearance.
Until now, they apparently hadn't recognized him because of how drastically his looks had changed, but the recent incident had clearly revealed that this refined man was Ethan Richard Blackwood.
Now, they had no reason to hesitate in approaching him.
Especially since opportunities to connect with a high-ranking family like the Blackwood Dukes were limited—they'd want to forge some kind of tie no matter what.
...Though it might somewhat undermine the reason Princess Seraphin hosted this masked ball.
She had probably envisioned a venue for free exchange where lower and higher nobles mingled without regard to status.
Not this typical social gathering where everyone rushed to introduce themselves to one high noble.
"Hello, miss! I'm George Bell Edmond, second son of Gray Bell Edmond! It's an honor to meet you..."
"Ah, hello... I-I'm Natia Breyswait, eldest daughter of Viscount Nicholas Breyswait..."
...And naturally, once people started crowding like this, the attention wasn't just on Ethan—it turned to me too.
I had to deal with no small amount of hassle from these completely unexpected people.
I had no idea what family they thought I was from to treat me with such polite respect.
...Well, at least the August siblings had put on a full display of 'things you absolutely should never do,' so this blanket politeness wasn't entirely incomprehensible.
The problem was that I wasn't some high-ranking noble lady as they seemed to expect—I was a debt-ridden maid lower than a commoner.
I forced an awkward smile and gave calm responses to the approaching nobles.
All while feeling overwhelmed by the burdensome gazes and atmosphere swarming toward a mere commoner debt maid like me.
"It's an honor to meet you too, Miss Breyswait."
'Ah... I feel like I'm going to throw up from the pressure...'
Handling the nobles while bearing the title of Ethan Richard Blackwood's fiancée had my head pounding under intense pressure.
...Not that cozying up to someone like me would give them any real connection to the Blackwood Family anyway.
Ethan had explained beforehand that as long as I didn't draw attention, I wouldn't have to deal with many nobles, but since we had drawn eyes after all, we ended up exchanging greetings one by one with the endless stream approaching us.
I even had to brazenly deflect the occasional sensitive questions.
"What is your relationship with Young Master Ethan?"
"Hehe, what do you think it is?"
"Th-that ring... Are you perhaps his fiancée...?"
"Who knows? Maybe Ed and I just happened to want to wear matching rings."
"If I may ask, what is your family...?"
"I don't really want to reveal that here. This is a masked ball hosted by Princess Seraphin, after all. We don't have to disclose our status to mingle, right?"
"Y-yes, quite right!"
...As I said before, no matter how crushed I felt by the pressure, I had no intention of slacking on my 'Ethan's fiancée' act.
Separate from the nausea of wearing this ill-fitting hat, I intended to see through what I'd started to the end.
After all, if my mediocre acting gave away that I was a commoner here, I'd be the one in the most trouble.
More than that, I didn't want to give Ethan any unnecessary ammunition to nitpick later.
'The dress is already ruined, which has me anxious enough—no need to create more reasons for him to complain here.'
He wouldn't demand I pay for the ruined dress since I'd done him this favor, at least.
Still, staining this priceless scrap of fabric with cocktail had inevitably stirred up anxiety in me.
Separate from playing the young master's fiancée, my sense of money remained firmly rooted in the plebeian mindset from my previous life.
I'd been extra careful precisely because I was so anxious, and yet it had ended up like this.
In this situation, my conclusion was that I had to at least nail the fiancée act.
After all, all I had to do was plaster on a thick façade and pretend I was someone important.
It might feel a bit awkward, but no one would dare point it out.
That was fine for my 'Ethan's fiancée' performance, but...
'If Princess Seraphin sees us like this, clustered around just one or two people, she probably won't be pleased.'
A masked ball meant for free mingling regardless of status had turned into a Blackwood Family gathering—what kind of face would she make?
As this unease crept into my mind, I faintly felt Ethan's gaze from my right.
When I instinctively turned to look, our eyes met for a moment, and he quietly nodded to signal me.
"...Enough. We've already greeted plenty, so let's call it a day."
The crowd parted slightly at Ethan's words, gauging the mood.
I was watching to see how he'd disperse them when I suddenly felt his hand pulling mine.
Before I knew it, my body—dragged along by his hand—was wrapped in his arm around my shoulder.
"From now on, I want some intimate time with my partner. Sorry, but we'll continue any unfinished talk next time."
...He really has gotten sharp lately.
In a situation where he openly declared he wanted to date his girl, only someone as oblivious as Karah would dare interrupt.
About half the nobles awkwardly backed off at his declaration that it was over for the day.
The other half lingered a bit but turned away carefully, worried about earning glares for intruding.
In an instant, the throng scattered across the entire hall, leaving just Ethan and me.
"Sorry, Lilith. I didn't mean to tire you out."
"It's fine, Ed. The commotion started because I bumped shoulders with that August girl anyway. It could have been worse after all that chaos, so we're lucky it ended like this."
"How is that your fault? That brazen girl bumped into you first and made a huge fuss—it's all on her."
"Still, it wasn't bad for you, right? You got to put the August family in your debt because of it."
"......Huh?"
"The August Margrave family wields no small influence in the western Empire. Judging it a good chance to saddle them with a debt was smart. You've been learning management from your... father lately, and it really shows—you're starting to look like a proper heir."
"......"
Ethan's lips twitched as if he had something to say, but he fell silent.
Was he feeling guilty because I'd caught on that he'd used me to expose the Augusts' weakness?
To show it didn't bother me, I supplemented his unspoken words with more about the incident.
"For the record, you don't need to worry about me. I don't think you used me at all."
"U-used you...?"
"It all worked out perfectly, didn't it? The girl who bumped into me and picked a fight was from a decent family, and as your partner, I had plenty of justification. Even though we'd already settled things, she got mad anyway—which means you must have planned for that, right?"
"N-no, Lilith. I didn't get mad for that reason..."
"It's fine. Whatever your intent, you landed a solid hit on her, and that satisfies me. Watching her hurriedly flee outside at the end was entertaining too."
"......"
"More importantly, how long are you going to hold me? The crowd's gone—let go already."
"S-sorry..."
As soon as I spoke, his grip on my shoulder released, restoring freedom to my compressed body.
Ethan's expression toward me still looked uncomfortable, as if something didn't sit right.
'...Was the dress even more expensive than I thought?'
Rich people are said to be stingier with money, after all. Maybe that's really what's bothering him.
I'd brushed it off vaguely since I didn't want to reveal my family, but maybe I should have just told him to bill the Blackwood Family for compensation.