Chapter 7
Chapter 7
I knew it.
I knew that putting your hand on a girl’s shoulder like that was improper.
Even in the modern world, touching someone without permission was rude. Here, in noble society, the rules were far stricter.
Touching an unmarried noblewoman in public? That wasn’t merely impolite.
It could shake her family’s reputation, her marriage prospects, and even future alliances.
Extremely dangerous.
But what could I do?
I was a madman by nature, and I had just used my name to corner someone in front of everyone. I had to be ready to take the consequences.
Good.
Now everyone clearly understood who held the upper hand.
Bianca couldn’t speak or move under the weight of the situation. Just like Angela had been caught off guard by an unexpected attack.
Under my arm, draped over her shoulder, Bianca’s body had frozen.
She couldn’t even breathe properly.
Moments ago, she had been pressing Angela down with etiquette and reason, and now she looked unable to comprehend the reality in front of her.
The hall was silent.
The whispering noblewomen, distant observers, and the servants all watched, mouths closed.
No explanation was needed.
In the center of the banquet hall, a prince had touched an unmarried noblewoman directly. That alone was enough.
“You’re Bianca, right?”
“Y-Your Highness Louan! Right now… what are you—!”
“Hm? Aren’t we just arm-in-arm?”
I lightly tapped her shoulder with the hand resting there, as if nothing was happening.
Her shoulders were pale and tense, stiff enough to be frightening. At this point, she was practically frozen in terror.
Looking briefly at her bodyguard, I saw him hesitate, hand half-raised.
He wanted to act, but couldn’t.
The reason was simple.
I still held a sword in my hand.
If he moved recklessly and she got even a scratch, the blame would likely fall on him.
So the bodyguard nudged the trembling servant beside him, who ran off, probably to fetch the head of her house.
If a difficult guest couldn’t be handled, calling a superior was standard. Kids did the same when fights escalated.
Of course, if the patriarch came personally, it’d be a hassle for me. But the adults were likely busy with meetings—figuring out how to handle me outside the palace, what authority to grant me, that sort of thing.
The servant wouldn’t make it through the meeting room immediately.
In other words, I had some time.
And I had no intention of keeping Bianca in place for long.
I didn’t enjoy tormenting girls. Nor did I have a childish tendency to harass them because I liked them.
This would be quick and decisive.
I glanced down at Bianca and asked:
“You were just mentioning my name. Did you want to get closer to me too, Lady Bianca?”
“Huh? Wha—?”
“You said yes, didn’t you? Ha, I really am popular.”
Bianca could barely respond. Her complexion was pale, lips trembling, breath uneven.
My words must have sounded insane. They were. Only a fool or a madman would interpret “yes?” as an affirmative.
Dealing with such a madman was exhausting. You should ignore him or brush past, but Bianca had looked him squarely in the eye.
By now, her mind was probably blank.
Moments ago, she had been the center of attention. She had spoken first, and the other young ladies had naturally gathered around her.
She had a solid reason to criticize Angela for breaching etiquette at Manuel’s banquet, so all eyes were on her.
But the moment I intervened, the whole situation flipped.
Now, the noblewoman who had been lecturing others was the one trapped in the middle of the hall, struggling under the mad prince’s attention.
“So, what did you hear?”
“Well… that is…”
“Hmm, difficult to answer? Fine.”
I lifted my sword slightly. Even that tiny motion made the surrounding air tense again.
“The sword…!”
“Is he really going to spill blood at the banquet…?”
“He wouldn’t hurt Lady Bianca, right?”
“Perhaps Prince Louan could…?”
The bodyguard flinched. Bianca’s fingertips went ice-cold.
Of course, I had no intention of harming her. She hadn’t attempted assassination; I wasn’t about to cause real damage.
I pointed the sword toward Angela.
She was the one who needed the final word. I was merely an assistant—the incident’s protagonist was Angela.
“Oh, me?”
“Yes, you. Tell me exactly what you heard, Lady Angela. Be honest.”
Bianca’s lips trembled even more. She realized that whatever Angela said could work against her.
Honestly, Bianca pointing out Angela’s mistake wasn’t unreasonable. Approaching another prince before the host was clearly a breach of etiquette. She hadn’t attacked the family, only corrected Angela’s personal error.
If Angela had admitted her mistake, Bianca could have maintained her dignity, and the matter would have ended there. Such mild pressure was common in the banquet hall—a way to assert presence by subtly putting someone in their place.
The problem was that I had intervened.
A noble would respond verbally—countering sarcasm with sarcasm, subtle attacks with subtle retorts.
But I applied physical pressure instead. It was rude, and I was holding a sword. Everyone considered me insane.
A person with a weapon standing silently was frightening.
The more composed I appeared, the scarier it got. People didn’t know what I might do.
Of course, I wasn’t going to swing the sword. Bianca hadn’t threatened me. I just intended a short, clear resolution.
If Angela simply said, “Lady Bianca took issue with me greeting Prince Louan first,” I could use that to intimidate Bianca and finish.
That was the plan.
But then…
“Nothing happened.”
“Eh?”
“Yes?”
Angela’s reply was completely unexpected.
Bianca, startled, froze her trembling lips and asked:
“Nothing happened?”
“Yes.”
“Then why was my name mentioned?”
Angela answered with a perfectly innocent expression, without any calculation.
“We were talking about how handsome Your Highness Louan is. Isn’t that right, Lady Bianca?”
“Ah, yes! That’s right!”
I was momentarily speechless.
Angela had calmly covered the entire situation.
Bianca followed immediately. It was a natural choice for self-preservation.
I looked at Angela with the sword in hand.
Her large violet eyes met mine directly.
No doubt, no calculation. She had the confident expression of a protagonist who believes they are in the right.
…Ah.
In moments like this, you let them slide.
When the hero appears at a critical moment and flips the situation, even the villain sometimes retreats.
I chuckled and sheathed my sword.
Then I lightly tapped Bianca on the back.
“Next time, give compliments directly to the person. Got it?”
“Yes, yes!”
I removed my hand and walked toward Angela.
“Come. You have something to say.”
“Yes, understood.”
Angela wasn’t as carefree as when I first met her. She looked a little tense.
I couldn’t tell what she was thinking, but she seemed useful in many ways.
‘First, I’ll need to teach her noble etiquette.’
If she made a similar mistake in the future without me around, it could be troublesome.
She might be lacking as a noblewoman, but as a protagonist, she was quite competent.
…Though based on what Angela just did, she seemed more like a candidate for my close aide than a typical protagonist.
Did she even realize her position?
‘Wait…’
Even as she followed Louan, Angela was lost in thought.
‘What just happened?’
An incident occurred at the banquet.
A man who looked like the male lead appeared and saved her.
In romance fantasies, the heroine is usually confident. She disregards social norms, acts on her own, and causes incidents.
Then the male lead shows up. He notices her uniqueness, helps her, and they become entangled.
…And what happens next?
It was predictable.
Angela shivered.
‘Did I just secure the heroine position?!’