MTLNOVEL 46
“If I was supposed to attend the tea party too, you should’ve told me in advance!”
I sat next to Kyle with a sullen expression. Fortunately, I had an outfit prepared for the engagement ceremony, so I didn’t have to blend in with the nobles looking disheveled.
Of course, since the system would tell me the original story, it would be easier for me to attend in person…
“Try this too.”
Kyle must have noticed that I wasn’t in the best mood because he started serving me all sorts of desserts onto my plate himself.
“That one looks delicious too. Do you want more tea?”
I picked up my fork and stabbed a neatly cut piece of muffin. It was so delicious that my sulky expression melted away for a moment.
Seeing my face brighten, Kyle got even more enthusiastic about serving me food. Muffins, scones, macarons, and even mousse cake and chocolate so sweet it made my tongue ache.
As I kept eating the endless stream of food, Sen, seated at the head of the table, smiled slightly.
“You still eat well.”
“…Ah, yeah. I mean…”
I was so busy eating that I almost forgot—Sen had said she found her lost name after arriving at the imperial palace. If I remembered correctly, she was the daughter of Baron Langde, whose family had been exterminated.
That was probably Belial’s doing. If he had gotten engaged to a mere maid from the North, people would have laughed at him.
I wasn’t sure what had happened here in the meantime, but if a commoner like me acted too familiar with Sen, the noble ladies would look down on her.
“Should I address you as Your Highness, the Crown Princess…?”
“We’re not engaged yet, so call me Lady Langde.”
“Yes, Lady Langde.”
At that, a noblewoman hiding her face behind a fan spoke in a coy voice.
“My, my, you look just like the late Baroness Langde. I could almost believe she had returned. Though, if she had, she certainly wouldn’t have come back in such a state.”
Despite the sweet laughter that followed, there was an unmistakable bite to her words.
Sen replied calmly.
“Indeed. But isn’t it fortunate that I was born to a commoner father? If I had been born while my mother was still at the palace, you wouldn’t have dared to say such things to me.”
As I silently observed their conversation, a system window popped up before my eyes.
[Baroness Langde was the third Serena candidate. She had someone she loved, but she couldn’t defy her family’s demands and sided with the Emperor, being used to check the Duke of Klein. However, she lost the power struggle against the duke, was exiled, and, after marrying the man she loved and giving birth to a child, was falsely accused and tragically killed.]
It was exactly as Sen had told me before.
She wanted revenge against the Empress, who had destroyed her family. That’s why she reclaimed her lost name and was using Belial to secure a foothold in the imperial family.
I turned my gaze to Belial, seated beside Sen.
He was chatting with the other nobles. He had exchanged a few words with Sen, but that was all. The two of them seemed too distant and composed to be lovers.
It was strange.
He didn’t love Sen, yet he helped her reclaim her name and even got engaged to her? If he had heard about the Langde family, he would’ve known they were practically his own mother’s enemy.
“Have you lost your appetite?”
Despite everything, Kyle was still taking meticulous care of me. He briefly touched the cup in front of me before sliding over a glass of iced water.
“The tea is still hot. If you’re thirsty, drink this instead.”
“…Ah, okay.”
So thorough.
I forced a smile and nodded. Stop just looking at me and start talking to people. Weren’t you supposed to be identifying nobles who were friendly to the North?
Ahh, whatever. Might as well help him out. I came along for this reason anyway.
‘Can I check side characters’ profiles too?’
As soon as I summoned the system, it popped up eagerly.
[o(￣▽￣)o]
Alright. You’ve been getting ready for this, huh? Time to check things out.
I looked toward an older man sitting at the far end of the table. He was stroking his gray beard while chattering nonstop. He seemed quite knowledgeable, though not particularly serious.
[Ron Castanets. Second son of the Castanets Baron family and the head of Castanets Trading Company. Holds the largest territory in the northeastern region.]
So this was the head of Castanets Trading Company. He seemed quite capable.
[Currently seeking to expand northward to grow his trading business.]
Well, of course. There couldn’t be only one trading company in this vast land.
If the southern competitors were pressuring him, it made sense that he would start considering Blake Territory. The land was barren, so he would be more than willing to pay extra for agricultural products from other regions.
Since he was the second son, he wouldn’t inherit the family title, which meant he’d continue managing the trading company. No way he’d be satisfied with being the fourth-largest trading company.
‘If I play my cards right, he might be useful at least. Let’s hear what he’s saying first.’
I perked up my ears just in time to catch Ron bursting into loud laughter.
“So, listen to this! That person, wearing a strawberry-patterned sweater, walked in barefoot and—!”
…Yeah, let’s stop listening right there.
No, seriously, how far has the rumor about that damn strawberry-patterned sweater spread? Did the head of the trading company personally report it to the capital or something? Blabbering about a customer’s personal affairs like this—how unprofessional!
Kyle, who had followed my gaze to the other side of the table, muttered curiously.
“Strawberry pattern?”
“I never even knew such sweaters were sold. It looked as if a beginner had knitted it—clumsy and stretched out, as if it had been forcibly enlarged…”
Kyle seemed to be recalling the strawberry sweater he had given me for the hamster.
Yeah, that’s exactly it. But technically, it wasn’t the sweater that had grown…
I quickly shifted my body to block Kyle’s view.
“Haha, seems like strawberry patterns are trending these days.”
“…Is that so? Then perhaps I should get Cashew Nut a strawberry-patterned hat—”
“No, no! That’s not what I meant.”
What, is he supposed to wear a full strawberry outfit now? Knit something else, for heaven’s sake!
Anyway, I’d talk to Ron later, once the topic shifted. Maybe giving Kyle a heads-up wouldn’t be a bad idea either.
I turned my attention to the other nobles.
[Jayden Piroc, a distant cousin of the Duke of Klein. Handles the Duke’s dirty work with a ruthless nature.]
Yeah, definitely not him.
[Earl Poppins, hostile toward the Duke of Klein.]
‘…Huh?’
Hostile toward the Duke of Klein? But he’s chatting so amicably with Belial right now?
I awkwardly observed Belial, who was smiling and conversing with his grandfather’s sworn enemy.
Other nobles around them were chiming in, and the system kept popping up to provide information on their ties to the Duke of Klein.
[A family that originally resided in the capital. Owned a mine and supplied gemstones, but lost their market after falling out of the Empress’s favor.]
[Was humiliated and exiled by the First Prince, Lorenz…]
[Long-time allies of the Langde Barony…]
‘…?’
Something was off.
Most of the nobles I checked were friendly toward Belial. However, they also had ties to the now-extinct Langde Barony or were at odds with his maternal family, the Duke of Klein.
There was a distinct divide. It felt like the nobles were split into two clear factions—those aligned with Belial and those siding with the Empress and Lorenz.
[乂(>◇< );;;]
Don’t wimp out on me—give me more! Can’t you see what’s happening here? Who knows when they’ll all gather like this again? It’s going to be chaotic during the engagement ceremony!
[(x_x)]
Don’t collapse! Earn your keep!
As I scolded the system while staring into space, someone approached me.
“Are you accompanying His Highness Kyle Jane Meinhardt?”
I flinched and turned around just as the system window hurriedly vanished.
“Yes, I am.”
“Pardon me, but… are you a mage?”
“…What? No, I’m not.”
Who is this guy? He didn’t introduce himself, so I had no clue. Should I ask the system?
Just as I was about to check, the man narrowed his eyes.
“Is that so? I’ve been sensing traces of magic from you for a while now.”
He was clearly suspicious of me. Had he been watching me all this time? If he had seen me scanning the nobles with the system, it wouldn’t be unreasonable for him to mistake it for magic.
‘What excuse should I use?’
I couldn’t outright deny it. As I struggled to come up with a reasonable explanation, Kyle suddenly lifted my wrist.
“It must be because of this.”
The blue gemstone on my bracelet shimmered under the sunlight.
“It’s an enchanted item. I gave it to him as a gift. You must have mistaken it for a magical presence.”
“….”
“Do you have any objections?”
“…No, none at all.”
I gazed up at Kyle, still holding my wrist.
He didn’t seem to disbelieve what he just said. Was he covering for me because I was with him?
Thankfully, the awkward tension between us was soon broken. A rather unexpected confrontation was unfolding across the table.
“Lady Sen, you are quite kind to the maids, aren’t you?”
A young noblewoman sitting near the head of the table waved her fan, her lips curled into a smile.
But her eyes weren’t smiling in the slightest.
“Is it because you used to be a maid yourself? You seem rather unrestrained. You’re also quite comfortable with that commoner Prince Kyle brought along… Ah, I suppose you two met at the servants’ quarters in the North?”
“What the—?”
Now they’re dragging me into this?
I bristled, about to retort, but Kyle squeezed my wrist in warning.
“Stay out of it. She’s the First Prince’s cousin.”
Ah. Meaning, she was backed by the Duke of Klein.
I frowned and glanced across the table.
It seemed like those aligned with the Duke of Klein were taking advantage of Belial’s brief absence to undermine Sen.
“Well, they do say what one learns is difficult to forget.”
Her tone was a direct jab at Kyle’s mother, Jane, whom the Emperor had taken in as a maid despite her commoner origins.
“…”
Kyle’s grip on my wrist tightened. He was holding on so firmly that I doubted he even realized he was still clutching me.
But of course, he had more pressing matters to be angry about than that.
All I could do was wince and endure it.
Come to think of it, if she was the First Prince’s cousin, that also made her Belial’s cousin.
…This family is a complete mess. Is this even allowed?