Chapter 61

The scene that had been left behind after the August siblings, who had appeared abruptly and caused all sorts of commotion, disappeared.

The crowd that had naturally gathered due to the two unexpected people naturally returned to its original state, but instead of dispersing, they began to flock toward the young master of the Blackwood family.

“Ah, greetings, Sir Ethan Richard Blackwood! I am Raphael Henry Brighton, the second son of the Brighton Count family!”

“N-nice to meet you, Young Master Ethan. I-I am Letitia Seitaridis, the eldest daughter of Viscount Kane Seitaridis. I-it is truly an honor to meet the young master at such an occasion…”

“I-I am Elvis Preston, the Captain of the Preston Knights…”

…Yes, this is how it usually goes.

This was expected given his being from the Blackwood Ducal family, his debut into high society for the first time in almost 10 years, and, objectively speaking, his quite handsome appearance.

Although they hadn’t recognized him until now due to Ethan’s drastically changed appearance, the earlier incident had clearly revealed that this neat man was Ethan Richard Blackwood.

For them, there was no longer any reason to hesitate in approaching him.

Especially since opportunities to interact with a high-ranking family like the Blackwoods were limited, they naturally wanted to establish connections somehow.

…Although, it somewhat faded the meaning behind why Princess Seraphine hosted the masquerade ball.

Seraphine probably envisioned a place of free interaction where the distinction between lower and higher nobility didn’t matter.

…Not a typical social gathering where everyone flocked to a single high-ranking noble to introduce themselves regardless of who they were.@@novelbin@@

“Greetings, young lady! I am George Bell Edmond, the second son of Gray Bell Edmond! It’s an honor to meet…”

“Ah, hello… I-I am Natia Braithwaite, the eldest daughter of Nicholas Braithwaite, Viscount…”

…Moreover, when people gathered like this, it was natural that attention was drawn not only to Ethan but also to me.

I, too, had to struggle quite a bit dealing with people I never expected.

How did they all perceive me to be from which family that they respond with such polite courtesy?

…Well, at least the August siblings had shown the “prime example of what absolutely not to do” before leaving, so it wasn’t incomprehensible that they were being overly courteous in this situation.

The problem was that I wasn’t a high-ranking noble lady as they expected, but a commoner, debt-ridden maid.

I had no choice but to force an awkward smile and give composed responses to the approaching nobles while being overwhelmed by all sorts of burdensome gazes and atmospheres directed at me, someone who was merely a commoner debt-ridden maid.

“It’s an honor to meet you as well, Miss Braithwaite.”

‘Ah… I feel like vomiting from the pressure…’

My head was already being crushed by the strong pressure of dealing with nobles while holding the position of Ethan Richard Blackwood’s fiancée.

…To begin with, even if these people try to appeal to me, it has nothing to do with the Blackwood family.

Ethan had explained beforehand that I wouldn’t need to deal with many nobles as long as I didn’t attract too much attention, but in the end, we drew attention and had to greet the endless stream of nobles one by one.

We also had to respond as brazenly as possible to the occasional sensitive questions.

“What is your relationship with Young Master Ethan?”

“Hoho, who knows? What do you think our relationship is?”

“T-that ring… Could it be that you’re his fiancée…?”

“Who knows? Perhaps Ed and I both coincidentally wanted to wear similar rings.”

“Excuse me, but may I ask which family you’re from…”

“I don’t want to reveal that in a place like this. This is a masquerade ball hosted by Princess Seraphine, after all. It’s not like you need to reveal your identity to socialize, right?”

“Y-you are absolutely right!”

…As I said before, even if I’m crushed by the pressure, I have no intention of neglecting my “acting as Ethan’s fiancée.”

Bar the fact that I feel nauseous wearing this unfitting mask, I must do what I set out to do properly until the end.

In any case, if I get exposed as a commoner here due to my mediocre acting skills, the one who will be most troubled is obviously me.

Above all, I don’t want to later get unnecessarily nitpicked by Ethan for being half-hearted about it.

‘The dress is already dirty, making me anxious, so there’s no need to create more reasons to get nitpicked here.’

At least he won’t make absurd demands like asking me to pay for the ruined dress in return for agreeing to his request.

Still, staining this who-knows-how-expensive piece of cloth with a cocktail was inevitably causing me anxiety.

Separate from acting as the young master’s fiancée, my financial sense had always remained at a working-class level since my previous life.

I was already trying to be as careful as possible due to my anxiety, but in the end, it turned out like this.

In this situation, the conclusion I came to in my heart was that I should at least properly play the role of Ethan’s fiancée.

Anyway, the acting I had to do was just putting on a thick face and pretending to be something I’m not.

Even if it’s a bit awkward, there won’t be anyone brave enough to point that out.

So even though I’m acting as Ethan’s fiancée…

‘Seraphine probably wouldn’t be too happy to see people gathered around one or two people like this.’

I wonder what kind of expression Seraphine would make seeing the masquerade ball she created for people to freely socialize while forgetting each other’s identities turn into a Blackwood family-centered gathering.

Around the time this uneasiness was rising in my head, I slightly felt Ethan’s gaze on me from the right.

The moment I unconsciously turned my head towards him, Ethan, who briefly made eye contact with me, quietly nodded his head to signal me.

“…Enough, I think we’ve exchanged sufficient greetings, so let’s stop here for today.”

At Ethan’s remark, the gathered crowd slightly dispersed and seemed to gauge the atmosphere.

I was also waiting to see what words Ethan would use to dismiss these people when suddenly I felt the sensation of his hand grabbing and pulling me.

Before I knew it, my body, pulled by Ethan’s hand, was embraced by one of his shoulders.

“From now on, I want to spend some intimate time with my partner. I’m sorry, but let’s continue the unfinished conversations next time.”

…Looking at his recent actions, he’s certainly using his head well.

In a situation where he’s openly claiming he’s going to have a date with his woman, the only tactless noble who would interfere would be someone like Caraham at best.

Half of the nobles reluctantly withdrew at Ethan’s words that he would stop here for today.

…the other half hesitated for a moment but carefully turned away, worried that interfering would backfire and earn them a glare.

The crowd that had been so large dispersed throughout the banquet hall in an instant, leaving only Ethan and me.

“Sorry, Lilith. I made you tired for nothing.”

“It’s fine, Ed. The cause of the commotion was me bumping shoulders with the young August lady anyway. Rather, it’s fortunate that it ended like this even after causing such a disturbance.”

“How is that your fault, Lilith? It’s the fault of that woman who brazenly bumped into you first and then made a fuss.”

“Still, it wasn’t too bad for you, right, Ed? Thanks to that, you were able to put the August family in your debt.”

“…Huh?”

“The August Marquis family is a family that wields quite a bit of influence in the Western empire. Your judgment to make them indebted to you at this opportunity was very good. It seems you’re learning business nowadays following your mas… father, and you’re certainly showing the qualities of a successor these days.”

“……”

Ethan moved his lips as if he had something to say but quietly remained silent.

Is he feeling guilty about using me in the process of creating a weakness for the August family?

To convey that he didn’t need to worry about that, I supplemented my words about what had just happened.

“Just to let you know, you don’t need to worry about me, Ed. I don’t think you used me at all.”

“U-used, you say…?”

“The situation just happened to work out well in many ways, didn’t it? The young lady who bumped into me and picked a fight happened to be from a family of decent standing, and I was Ed’s partner, so there was sufficient justification. Even though there was no need to get angry in a situation where the young lady and I had already finished our conversation, you still got angry, so naturally, you were considering that aspect, right?”

“N-no, Lilith. I didn’t get angry with that kind of intention…”

“I said it’s fine. Regardless of your intent, I’m satisfied that you gave that woman a piece of your mind. Watching her hurriedly flee outside the hall at the end was an enjoyable sight for me, too.”

“……”

“More importantly, how long are you going to hold me? The people have mostly dispersed, so let me go already.”

“S-sorry…”

As soon as Ethan released his grip on my shoulder at my words, the freedom of my body that had been restrained finally returned.

Ethan’s eyes still showed an uncomfortable expression toward me, as if something was bothering him.

‘…Was the dress more expensive than I thought?’

They say rich people are more stingy when it comes to spending money. Maybe that part is really bothering him.

I vaguely deflected because I didn’t want to reveal my family name, but maybe I should have just told them to compensate the Blackwood family directly.