Chapter 17
Chapter 17
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 17
Chapter Title: Tea Party Champion of the Duel Grounds (2)
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But Beatrice's declaration that she'd make her pay and wouldn't forget it wasn't just empty talk either.
"Krishantimaiu Duke's Daughter, I met you in person, and you're just so incredibly harsh-mouthed! Even if you don't like me, to hurl such terrible insults and chase me away!"
With roughly that kind of story, she poked her head into every salon in the capital and spread the gossip.
That said, it didn't do much real damage to Tiona's reputation.
If Tiona had the kind of gentle or elegant image that most noble ladies possessed—or if she wanted one—it would have been a big hit.
But Tiona wasn't like that. So it didn't faze her.
Besides, everyone knew what Beatrice was like, so they took her gossip with a grain of salt.
Even so.
"Ah... You're the Krishantimaiu Young Lady...?"
"You know me?"
"N-no?"
Some people had formed a bad impression of Tiona even before meeting her, thanks to Beatrice's words.
And others mindlessly passed on the rumors they'd heard, secondhand and thirdhand.
"I heard from somewhere that a certain duke's daughter has a really awful personality."
"No way, really?"
The capital's A District was vast yet small. Especially since most residents were nobles themselves, their retainers, or servants.
Maids from another house happened to pass by us, chatting idly like that.
"...Young Lady."
"Hmph, I know without you saying. You're telling me not to get mad, right?"
Tiona puffed out her cheeks sulkily.
"The fact that you didn't snap at them means you handled it well."
The old Tiona would have charged at those maids and blown up at them right then. She'd have thrown in something like, "How dare lowly commoners," of course.
So letting it slide quietly was a sign of growth.
But that wasn't the only reason I spoke up.
There was still more to learn from this incident.
"How did it feel when people who'd never even met you badmouthed you?"
"...It sucked."
"Can you describe that sucky feeling in more specific words?"
"..."
Tiona fell deep into thought.
A quiet walk continued for a while, and finally.
"...It felt unfair."
"Why unfair, out of all emotions?"
"Because... unfairness is the feeling you get when people say you did something you didn't... I did lay into Beatrice pretty hard, but that's... you know..."
She seemed to be tying herself in knots, so I gave her a little nudge.
"Even if those maids had seen and experienced you firsthand before calling you nasty, would it have felt unfair?"
"...Probably not."
"Right. You might have felt angry at the rudeness, but not unfairly treated."
"...It's hard."
"Human emotions are tricky by nature. Sometimes your own are the hardest to pin down."
Feeling emotions is instinct.
But figuring out exactly what you're feeling? That's a skill.
That's why kids throw tantrums or burst into tears, then flounder when you ask why.
"Hmm... So... like..."
Tiona looked up at me.
Like a student anxious about whether she'd nailed the test question.
"You shouldn't judge people based just on what you hear from others?"
"...Excellent observation. Though that wasn't exactly my intent."
I was honestly a bit surprised, but I kept it from showing.
And one more thing.
"What do you want to do about Beatrice?"
"...Didn't you say not to get mad?"
"It's not always good to never get angry."
Not getting mad when you should is bad.
But getting mad when you shouldn't is just as bad.
"And when a problem arises, you need to think about how to handle it."
We turned at the halfway point of our walk and headed back home.
"Beatrice is actively badmouthing you. What should you do in this situation?"
"...What should I do?"
"Think about it yourself. What happens if you do nothing? What if you go to Beatrice and tell her to stop gossiping...?"
Both thinking skills and social savvy grow when you use your head and figure it out on your own.
"What happens if you do this? What if you do that...? Consider how others will react to your actions. Like billiard balls knocking into others in sequence."
"...What's billiards?"
"Hm? You don't know?"
"I really don't. What's that?"
Well, if she'd only recently come to the capital, it wasn't strange she wouldn't know.
"Want to try it out yourself?"
In a city of leisure and entertainment, such games evolve and specialize.
The more people there are, the more players to enjoy with, and shops can specialize in running them professionally.
Even in modern Korea, downtown Seoul has specialized spots for board games, escape rooms, indoor table tennis, and all sorts of fun. Go out to the countryside, though, and it's just rundown PC bangs.
The capital's indoor entertainment hubs were clustered in B District, block 7.
"Arthur, what's that place?"
"Too advanced for you yet, Young Lady."
I turned Tiona's head away from the dice-rolling gambling den, and Cynthia started trembling with a "Hiiiaah..."
"Wh-what's that? A place to relieve stress by beating people?"
"That's a racket..."
"Y-you hit people with a racket?"
"No, a ball."
Don't turn decent athletes into perverts. Even if there are perverts among them, they don't go to table tennis courts for that.
Since both Tiona and Cynthia had only recently come to the city, I had to explain every new place we saw.
As we opened the door to the billiards hall, a listless greeting came from the counter.
"Welcome..."
And when I looked that way.
I froze. Completely, utterly.
'Why the hell are you there?'
A woman with rare blue hair—even for this romance-fantasy world—tied in a ponytail.
One of the Black Saintess's future companions: the Blue Swordswoman.
The youngest daughter of the famed swordsmanship house Eperios: Lea Eperios.
"Yaaawn... Any empty table's fine... Cues are over there..."
This woman had no business being at a billiards hall counter. Especially not with such a lazy, slouched attitude.
The Lea I knew was a sword-obsessed training addict, to the point where people joked she was filming a hot-blooded manga all by herself in the novel.
Naturally, my gaze shifted to Cynthia.
"Wh-why are you looking at me like that...?"
"..."
Cynthia had ended up timid, cowardly, and lacking confidence—unlike the original—because I'd resolved what should have been her awakening event.
No way...
I hadn't accidentally nixed another awakening event without realizing, had I?
Whatever the reason, to check her current state, I needed to talk to Lea—
"Ack!! Beatrice!!"
Tiona's unnecessarily booming voice shook the whole billiards hall.
A woman bent over a pool table jolted upright in surprise. Just as Tiona said: Beatrice.
"Krishantimaiu Duke's Daughter...!!"
Tiona strode forward.
"I heard you've been going around badmouthing me lately!"
"Wh-what are you talking about? Got any proof?"
Without any drawn-out psychological warfare, Tiona's instant bad-guy-making line left Beatrice horrified.
"Don't do it! Because of you, people who've never met me are getting the wrong idea!"
"I told you, I didn't gossip. No proof, huh?"
Regaining her composure a bit, Beatrice went full shameless mode.
Even calling witnesses "proof" without naming names to avoid backlash was peak mind-game savvy. Those little details probably tipped the scales in psychological battles.
"If that's how you wanna play it...!"
Tiona jabbed a finger straight at Beatrice.
"Bet on a match with me!"
"A match...?"
"If we win at billiards, you never badmouth me again! If you win, say whatever you want!"
"...I didn't gossip, but."
Beatrice crossed her arms and shot Tiona a gaze burning with competitive fire.
"Fine. If those are the terms, you're on! Right now, right?"
"Of course!"
Tiona shoved my back. Toward Beatrice's side.
"Arthur! Crush this woman!"