The Banquet
"……Are you nervous?"
"A little, Your Highness."
"A man should enjoy occasions like this."
……That was a rather sexist remark. I looked at Achillea after she spoke. She had changed everything from her makeup to her attire, and now sat with her legs crossed, gazing at me. Her dress was similar to mine—a wine-red base with black patterns. It revealed her ample bosom and pale skin so completely that I found it difficult to know where to look.
When I subtly averted my gaze, Achillea gave a small laugh, rested her elbow on her knee, propped her chin on her hand, and stared straight at me.
"You should speak as though you intend to charm even the Crown Princess herself—boldly, without hesitation."
"……Your joke goes too far."
"Do you truly think it a joke?"
Suddenly, I met Achillea's crimson eyes. I could not decipher the emotions tangled within them, but it was easy to tell they held no sincerity. After all, someone of Achillea's stature could hardly be the type to fall in love at first sight.
"It is a joke."
At the sight of Achillea speaking with a playful smile, I let out a small breath and turned my head away. My eyes kept instinctively drifting toward a certain pale and ample area. Achillea seemed to notice my inner thoughts and leaned back against the chair.
"Do not be so tense. There is still quite some time before Yeo makes an entrance."
The protagonist of this banquet was Achillea. Naturally, that meant she would be the last to appear. I had already heard beforehand that she would enter the hall after even the Emperor, so this was no surprise.
'……It must mean His Majesty the Emperor fully supports Achillea.'
The Emperor was showing his backing of Achillea's imperial authority through this small gesture. It was a relief for her, but for those waiting, it was torturous.
Considering Achillea's personality, she was not the sort to scold me for acting relaxed or to take offense, but the problem was that we were inside the imperial palace. Though I could not sense them, we were not alone. There were surely many people watching us from the shadows, so I had to be careful with every action.
Feeling suffocated, I exhaled a long breath and raised my head, closing my eyes. Not to fall asleep, but to clear my mind a little.
@
"Announcing the entrance of Lord Helicion di Vimela, eldest son of the Vimela Marquisate, and Lady Pamela Jean Degorsis, eldest daughter of the Degorsis Count family!!"
The knight guarding the banquet hall doors bellowed loudly. All eyes inside turned toward the pair—the eldest son of the once-prestigious Vimela Marquisate and the eldest daughter of the Degorsis Count family entering together.
Pamela looked around the hall with an innocent, adorable expression. Helicion led her forward, wearing a deliberately relaxed smile. Contrary to her outward appearance, Pamela was inwardly scowling and sighing heavily.
'This is so annoying……!'
Pamela's original plan had been to enter the banquet hall quickly. Arriving late with this man would only make people suspicious of their relationship. But at Helicion's forceful insistence, they had entered together, and as expected, all sorts of gazes were now fixed on them.
Of course, Pamela had no choice but to comply with Helicion's demand. She desperately needed his help to even attend this banquet.
"Let's go this way."
Helicion paid no heed to Pamela's will whatsoever, dragging her this way and that. She screamed inwardly.
'He has absolutely no consideration……!'
This was precisely why Helicion, the eldest son of a prestigious marquisate, had been struck from Pamela's list of priorities. Not only did he act as he pleased, but he also treated women like trophies. No matter how powerful his family was, a man with a broken personality was nothing short of a disaster to her.
Of course, she was the one forced to endure that disaster. Moreover—
"……So both the eldest daughter and eldest son of the Degorsis family are attending?"
"How unexpected."
At the voices around her, Pamela forced her drooping head up and smiled. 'Don't forget.' Reminding herself of why she had come here, she steadied her heart and offered a smile to Helicion, who was looking at her with a greasy gaze.
"……Yes!"
For now, she had to play along. For now, she had to bow her head. For now…… for now……
Enduring with those words, Pamela began wandering the hall with Helicion, greeting the nobles he knew.
"A pleasure to meet you. I am……"
'Not this one.'
"It is an honor to meet you, Lady Degorsis."
'Not this one either.'
"It has been a while, Lady Degorsis……"
'Definitely not this one!!'
As Pamela observed each person they met, she screamed inwardly once more. The nobles Helicion knew were obviously the same sort as him. She had known that from the start, but the problem was that she had no other connections besides him. That was why she had gone along, hoping to find at least one decent thread to grasp……
As expected, she could not find anyone who met her strict standards.
"Haa……"
Before she knew it, Helicion had left her behind and was chatting with his friends. Pamela exhaled softly as she stared at his back.
'This is really annoying……'
She had never thought it would be easy. But realizing it was harder than she had imagined made all the strength drain from her body. Pamela stared blankly around the hall. Everyone except her seemed happy. Watching the people laughing and chattering, she was startled by a booming voice and turned her head.
"……Announcing the entrance of Her Highness the Crown Princess, Achillea fil Hamen Ulais, and the second son of the Astria family…… Felice van Astria!!"
"……Felice?"
It was the final entrance of the evening—the Crown Princess. And upon hearing the familiar name that followed hers, Pamela unconsciously gaped and stared in that direction.
It was like a painting. Achillea's silver hair shone brilliantly, her jewel-like crimson eyes sweeping over the crowd. With her usual cold expression accentuating her unchanging beauty, Achillea appeared. At her side stood a man Pamela knew very well. Flaming red hair and deep black eyes. His appearance, which she had always thought quite decent, looked different today. The subtle makeup and neatly styled hair made his features shine even more. At the same time, the two of them wore matching formal attire, as though made from the same cloth. The wine-red base with black patterns embroidered on both the dress and the suit made them look like a picture.
Pamela could not help but stare at them in a daze. The Crown Princess Achillea and Felice escorting her. From their figures, an unbearable sense of inferiority welled up within her.
"……So that is why he refused."
A few days ago, when she had asked Felice first, Pamela now understood the reason behind his roundabout refusal and muttered without thinking. Her own voice, laced with self-mockery and loneliness, made her body tremble. What was this? Why had such a voice come out? Even Pamela herself did not know. If she acted like this, it would seem as though she had feelings for Felice.
Letting out a hollow laugh, Pamela shook her head while still keeping her eyes on them. She envied Achillea's confident figure as she crossed the hall, naturally accepting Felice's escort. Biting her lower lip, Pamela finally turned her head sharply and moved to walk away. Or rather, she tried to.
"……Pamela."
At the familiar voice, her feet seemed glued to the floor. A chill ran down her spine. Her body trembled uncontrollably, and without realizing it, she clenched her fists. Slowly, she turned her head toward the voice.
There stood the man. With violet hair and the same purple eyes as Pamela, the middle-aged man looked at her with emotionless eyes.
"……Father."
At his voice demanding a reply, Pamela forced her mouth open and called her father. The head of the Degorsis family continued to stare at her with those same emotionless eyes and asked,
"Why are you here?"
"……I came with a friend."
Standing before her father, Pamela felt herself shrinking and swallowed dryly.
"If you are thinking of doing anything foolish, you had best abandon the idea."
When the Count of Degorsis looked down at her with a cold warning, Pamela bit her lip hard. Normally, she would have let it pass without a word. She knew well how foolish it was to talk back to him—to her own father. But perhaps because she had seen Achillea. Because she had witnessed the woman who had overcome everything so differently from herself. A surge of defiance rose in Pamela.
"Why……?"
"……"
"Are you going to kill me too, just like my mother?"
The moment she spat out her defiance, Pamela thought 'Oh no' inwardly, but the words she had already spoken could not be taken back. At the same time, the eyes of the Count of Degorsis grew chillingly cold.