Banquet (3)
Pamela Jean Degorsis. To explain why Pamela, the eldest daughter of the Degorsis family, had attended this banquet, one would have to travel far back in time. Pamela was the daughter born between the Degorsis head and a commoner woman. Thanks to that, she had inherited her mother's brown hair and her father's purple eyes, and had boasted exceptional beauty since childhood. It was because she had inherited her mother's looks, which had been striking enough to capture the heart of the Degorsis heir.
The moment Pamela's mother realized she had conceived a child from a single night of passion, she had no choice but to seek out the Degorsis family. Pamela knew it had not been born solely from maternal love that made her unwilling to end the pregnancy. Knowing that bearing the child of the count family's heir would give even a commoner like herself a chance at rising in status, Pamela's mother went to the Degorsis household and succeeded in becoming a member of the family, one way or another.
The problem came after that. The Degorsis head already had a fiancée promised in marriage, and she was naturally the daughter of a noble house. The fiancée who had become the legal wife by pushing aside Pamela's commoner mother could never like the woman who had entered as a concubine. After all, the firstborn was ultimately Pamela. At the same time, unlike the fleeting night of passion with Pamela's mother, the love between the noblewoman and the Degorsis head was "real."
The woman who had been the Degorsis head's fiancée became pregnant. Pamela's already weak position, unloved from the start, grew smaller and smaller. When Pamela's father finally ascended to the position of Degorsis head, the legal wife's harassment began. Leftover scraps of food that someone had eaten were served to Pamela and her mother as meals. In the cold winter, mother and daughter were forced to stay locked in a room where the icy wind blew in, shivering from the cold. The servants of the mansion, bribed by the legal wife, began openly ignoring and tormenting Pamela and her mother.
Once, after nearly losing Pamela, her mother realized something. In order for her and her child to survive, she had to make Pamela the head of the Degorsis family. Regardless of the reason, Pamela's mother tried. She worked to make Pamela the next head of the Degorsis family by leveraging the fact that she was the firstborn daughter. However, the fact that Pamela was a "daughter" and a child born between a commoner and a noble held her back. The rigid Degorsis family elders refused to recognize Pamela as the next head. Yet Pamela's mother did not stop either. Perhaps it was because she thought that once she had started, she could not stop… or perhaps because she had been tainted by noble society. She tried every possible method to make Pamela the next head by any means necessary.
Pamela, too, had only moved to help her mother. She had never dreamed what kind of tragedy that would bring. Pamela's second mother, who had originally been a noble lady, disliked the sight of Pamela's mother and Pamela. She believed that not only had they stolen the position that should have been hers, but they were now coveting the position that her own son should rightfully have held. Thus, the second mother asked her own family to "deal with" them. Handling a mere commoner woman was not a difficult task for her family. And so, without a sound, Pamela's mother was erased from the world. No one except Pamela knew the truth. More precisely, "no one wanted to know." Because the Degorsis head had covered it up. To him, Pamela's mother had been nothing more than a single "accident" from his youth. When that accident began to hinder him, he did not let pass the opportunity to quietly dispose of her.
Thus, Pamela was left alone. She was naturally pushed far from the position of head, and within the Degorsis family, she became a person who did not exist. At first, Pamela did not know why she had been allowed to live. She, too, had been nothing more than a "blemish" to the Degorsis head, so she could not understand why he had spared her. And when she grew a little older, she finally learned the reason.
[She's got her mother's looks, so she's pretty enough. If we sell her off to another family, it will benefit our Degorsis house.]
Having accidentally overheard the conversation between her second mother and her father, Pamela made a decision. She would become the head of the Degorsis family by her own power. And so, she would take revenge on those who had killed her mother and treated her as a tool.
"……Haa."
Pamela let out a long, deep breath and pushed away the rising memories. All of it was meaningless. The fact that she had attended this banquet, the fact that she had struggled and schemed to do so—everything. The moment she realized she had only been dancing in the palm of the Degorsis head… her father's hand, Pamela shook her head. She could not stop. Even for the sake of avenging her mother, she had to succeed. By any means necessary, even if it meant using her friend, even if it meant exploiting the emotion called love—she had to bring down the Degorsis family. For the girl, that was the only purpose of her life.
@
Meanwhile, Cain and Silvia had, by coincidence, encountered the very people Felice had been looking for—the head and heir of the Astria Count family.
"It has been a while, Lord Astria."
"Indeed, young master of Jairus."
"……Please speak comfortably."
"How could I? I know what position our young master of Jairus holds within his family."
At the sight of Count Astria smiling leisurely with a "hoho," Cain also gave a small smile. Cain, who had previously led business dealings between the Astria and Jairus families, was already acquainted with the count.
"Now that Her Highness the Crown Princess has been officially invested, the prestige of House Astria has risen as well, so there is no need for you to use honorifics with me."
At Cain's consistently respectful tone, Count Astria waved his hand and firmly refused the suggestion.
"Greetings, young master of Jairus. I am Xenon van Astria, eldest son of House Astria."
At the words of the young man who resembled Felice but looked somewhat sharper, Cain gave a slight bow.
"A pleasure. I am Cain von Jairus."
While Cain and the Astria family exchanged warm greetings, Silvia could not focus on their conversation and was looking around.
……Where is Felice?
It was because she could not see Felice, who had entered with Achillea earlier. As a commoner, Silvia could not join the conversation even if she wanted to, so she simply kept searching for Felice.
"And this young lady is……"
"I am Silvia Verche. As a commoner, I do not have a middle name."
Startled by Count Astria's words, Silvia greeted him as politely as she could. Worried that he might look down on her for being a commoner, Silvia was taken aback when the count simply smiled faintly without any such sign and returned the courtesy.
"Ah, I… It is an honor to meet you as well."
"There is no need to call it an honor. Are you perhaps a student at the Academy, Miss Silvia?"
Nobles who showed courtesy even to commoners were rare, but thinking that he was Felice's father, Silvia found it understandable.
"Yes, I am. I am in the same class as Felice."
"Oh…! So you are friends with our second son."
At the mention of Felice, both Count Astria and Xenon brightened and looked at Silvia.
"Yes, yes, that's right."
"Are you close with my younger brother?"
"……Well, I think we're fairly close…!"
At Xenon's question, Silvia answered with a stiff posture. She did not know why, but she felt that was how she should respond.
"That is a relief. I was quite worried because my brother has always been so shy that he might not make friends easily."
"……Felice?"
At Xenon's relieved words, Silvia tilted her head slightly and asked. Shy Felice? As Silvia briefly wondered whether the Felice she knew and the one Xenon spoke of were different people, she blinked slowly.
"Of course. When he was young, he was so shy that he would follow right behind me wherever I went."
"……Really?"
Hearing a story about Felice that she did not know, Silvia's eyes sparkled as she listened attentively to Xenon. Xenon continued with a nostalgic look in his eyes, as if reminiscing about those days.
"He was quite adorable back then, but lately he does not follow me around anymore, saying he is too old for that."
"Pfft, he must have been really cute."
"It is quite moving to see that child now escorting Her Highness the Crown Princess."
"You must be very close with Felice."
When Silvia spoke with wonder, having heard that noble families usually fought over the position of head, Xenon gave a small smile. Thinking that his smile was exactly like Felice's, Silvia noticed someone's figure behind Xenon and her eyes lit up.
……It's Felice!
Red hair and black eyes. She could see Felice carefully eating from a plate piled high with food.
"Of course. He is still my precious little brother."
Smiling back at Xenon's words, Silvia's gaze continued to follow Felice.
Over there……
Silvia also knew that Felice had been assigned to escort Princess Achillea. That was why it was not strange for him to be on that platform. While watching Cain and the Astria family discuss business, Silvia had been gauging the mood when she quietly whispered to Cain.
"Cain, I will be right back……"
"Ah, sure. Go ahead."
With Cain's permission, Silvia walked away with a bright smile.
I should greet Felice!
With that thought, Silvia headed toward Felice, but when she finally reached where he was, she had no choice but to stop.
Huh……?
There, she saw Felice whispering affectionately with Achillea.