Lindbergh (3)

Now, what should I do?

The reason I went out of my way to follow them here was that I wanted to see the Jake and Lottie couple. It was also one of the episodes with a fair amount of weight in the original story.

If I really had to split hairs, the story between Alice and Leo was an important episode too, but that relationship had changed in many ways from the original.

In the original, Alice stopped Leo from going to help Lottie. That became the reason their relationship briefly grew a little distant... Well.

I turned my gaze toward Leo. It looked like not only Leo but even Claire was ready to jump in and help at any moment.

Alice didn't seem inclined to stop the two of them. She had become far more at ease than the Alice in the original, so she probably had no reason to worry about her standing being diminished by something like this.

But that didn't mean I could let Leo and Claire help Lottie.

Those two were from a baronial house. They hadn't even received a formal invitation. That had also been why Alice stopped Leo in the original. If he helped Lottie, a commoner with half the blood of the colonized natives flowing through her veins, then Leo's reputation, already compromised by the lack of an invitation, would have hit rock bottom.

In this timeline, we had all come together at Jake's suggestion, but in the original, it was really Alice, more than Jake, who had been the deciding factor by asking him to come with her. Alice, who hadn't attended many of these gatherings, had asked Leo along because he was a familiar face—or, to be precise, because she wanted to go with the man she secretly liked.

From Alice's perspective, she must have been concerned about the reputation of the man who had come at her request taking a hit, but all Leo saw was someone discriminating against a fellow schoolmate—well, that was how the story went, anyway.

That being the case.

Fortunately, I was closer to Lottie than Leo and Claire were.

Close enough that even at a normal walking pace, I could reach Lottie's vicinity before the two of them could.

Without a word, I walked over and sat right down beside Lottie.

I gave no one the chance to stop me.

Ironically, because all eyes had been fixed in this direction, once I suddenly entered their field of vision, no one could find the moment to say anything.

"......."

Lottie's eyes, usually always expressionless, widened for an instant. It was the same for Lottie's mother. Both of them were staring at me with looks of pure surprise.

It wasn't just their gazes. All the nobles' attention was now fixed on me.

The murmuring stopped. What followed was a suffocating silence.

There was nothing I could do about the wine soaking the floor, but at least I could pick up the large glass shards right away. To begin with, only one wine glass had shattered, and if the person who got wine on their clothes hadn't insisted on making a scene, it was a manageable amount that could have been cleaned up quickly.

I carefully placed the glass shards onto the cloth Lottie's mother held in her hands and folded the ends over to cover them. The hand gripping the cloth trembled violently.

Every maid and servant here would have been briefed on who today's visitors were.

And I must have been on the list of people requiring special caution.

"Th-thank you, Your Imperial Highness...."

"Not at all."

I said that and rose from my seat.

The noble who hadn't grasped what on earth was ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠happening looked at me with a confused expression.

I met that noble's face once, then shifted my gaze toward Jake. Jake's expression as he looked at me was complicated too. Perplexed, maybe?

"You said earlier that the Lindbergh side would handle the compensation for the clothes, didn't you."

"Ah, yeah."

"Then it's a matter of processing it that way and being done with it. Is there any further reason ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to get angry and ruin ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the atmosphere of the banquet on a fine day like this?"

When I looked back at the noble, his face had gone pale this time.

In the original, Leo had spoken with a bit more courtesy and offered slightly more appropriate reasoning. To be precise, if you selected the right dialogue choice here, you could earn bonus points, and the official story progression was through the choice that gave you that bonus.

But I had no need to do that.

If he really didn't like it, he could just come find me at the imperial palace in the imperial capital.

"Oh, no. My apologies. I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠failed to read the room."

And this approach was more effective.

Because it allowed me to frame it not as helping the two out of kindness, but as personally stepping in to handle the situation because I couldn't tolerate the ruined atmosphere.

The noble quickly composed his expression and fled the scene. Judging by the way he retreated far away, he seemed to want to get as far from me as possible.

"Sylvia."

Just as the back of the noble's head receded into the distance and the murmuring began to trickle back through the silence, Alice, who had come up beside me, spoke.

Alice wore an expression of hesitation for a while, as if unsure what to say, then soon spoke with a smile at the corner of her lips.

"That was admirable."

Without any particular answer, I just shrugged my shoulders.

"...... Thank you."

I heard Lottie's voice. When I turned my head, Lottie and her mother were standing facing me. Lottie still had a little wine on her knees, and the maid uniform Lottie's mother wore was soaked with wine.

Still, it didn't look like anyone had cut their hands on the glass. The cloth must have been thick enough.

"I simply found the atmosphere disagreeable. There is no particular need for thanks."

"......."

Even so, the two of them bowed their waists slightly in my direction before gradually withdrawing toward the back.

"Impressive."

And only then did Jake speak to me.

"Reacting like that in that kind of situation... isn't behavior a noble or a member of the imperial family would normally show. Ah, I'm not insulting you. I just mean... I want to say thank you, too."

Then he closed his mouth and stared at me quietly.

As the son of a ducal house, he'd probably heard a lot. Well, Duke Lindbergh hadn't shown any signs of directly keeping me at arm's length, so he wasn't treating me like some kind of assassin.

"I told Lottie as well, but you don't need to thank me. I just disliked that atmosphere, that's all."

Having said that, I turned around without a shred of lingering attachment.

Then I walked toward the spot where Mia Crowfield was still standing in a daze.

Hmm.

Did I look cool?

*

Whether it was fortunate or unfortunate, the banquet's atmosphere wasn't completely shattered by that incident.

Duke Lindbergh was once again making his rounds of the banquet hall as if nothing had happened, exchanging words with each of the invited students one by one.

Even toward Leo and Claire, who had come in without an invitation, the Duke showed considerable interest.

Watching the two of them answer while sweating nervously, it didn't seem the Duke had said anything particularly bad. Did he know that Claire was adopted?

Well, that sort of thing probably didn't matter to the Duke. After all, even if you were adopted, your status was still firmly that of a noble. Considering that even I, famous for being adopted, had been viewed as a potential marriage partner for his son, the Duke seemed to have a surprisingly open mind.

Though that open mind probably didn't apply to everyone.

I didn't drink any alcohol in particular. It wasn't that I had hated alcohol in my past life, but, separate from that, my taste in drinks had been dreadfully cheap. Rather than aromatic and expensive liquor, I preferred beer I could grab cheap from a convenience store or diluted soju.

...... Actually, it wasn't just the alcohol; there was also the issue of food to go with it. If there had been some spicy soup dish, I might have even had some vodka.

"...... Your Imperial Highness."

I may not have been drinking, but that didn't mean the banquet hall was free of the smell of alcohol. Having stayed in such a place, my stomach felt a little unsettled, so I had stepped out onto a nearby terrace to get some air.

The voice that came from behind me was Lottie's.

"Lottie."

As I glanced back and spoke, Lottie bowed her head politely.

"You don't need to do that. Until we graduate, we're just students at the same school."

"......."

Lottie didn't bother to answer that.

I tapped the terrace railing I was leaning against. Lottie seemed to consider it for a moment, then walked over toward me.

But she didn't lean beside me the way I had intended. She stood about a step behind me, at a diagonal, so in the end I had no choice but to turn around.

Because of the bright light pouring from the windows, shadows fell across Lottie's face. Her expression was mostly blank, but the shade made it hard to discern even the very slightest changes in it.

"Do you have something you wish to say?"

"......."

At my question, Lottie fell silent again, as if briefly mulling it over, then slowly opened her mouth.

"Just now, that... the maid. Did you know what relationship I have with her?"

Well, there was no need to hide it.

I pushed myself off the railing and walked forward. Lottie hastily twisted her body to make room. She must have thought I was going to ignore her and walk away.

But I only drew the curtains over the terrace window.

It couldn't be helped if someone was determined to eavesdrop, but this was still a personal conversation.