The Elkanto Count’s residence, built with white marble, was large and beautiful even from a distance. And it seemed the approach to the Count’s residence was like the southern Autobahn.

“Mikhail, is there perhaps a carriage race at the Elkanto Count’s residence today?”

Clop-clop-clop-clop-clop-clop-clop-clop-

Several carriages had been leaving the Elkanto Count’s residence, and they all dramatically increased their speed once they spotted my carriage. The horses pulling the carriages were even foaming at the mouth, looking like racehorses.

“There’s no way they’d race with carriages like those. More importantly, looking at the crests on those carriages, they seem to be from the families who were supposed to attend today’s tea party…”

Mikhail furrowed his brows slightly as his voice trailed off.

“Could it be…”

“Could it be what?”

“It’s nothing. We’re almost there, let’s go.”

It seems the coachmen were having their own rage race after dropping off their young ladies. Well, they must have had a lot pent up.

When we stopped in front of the grand entrance that looked like a five-star hotel’s, an Elkanto servant hurriedly ran over to open the carriage door.

“Oh, w-welcome, Lady Rabius!”

“Yes, hello. Have all the other guests arrived?”

I asked since I’d seen many carriages leaving, so I assumed most had arrived. The servant’s pupils shook violently like a weather vane in a typhoon.

“W-well…”

“Some ladies had urgent matters arise and left early.”

The one who answered instead of the young servant was a middle-aged man who clearly seemed experienced. He had the same aura as Mikhail’s father, the middle-aged butler of the Rabius duchy.

“I am Henrik, the butler serving Count Elkanto. Refreshments are prepared in the back garden, so I’ll escort you there.”

“Thank you, Henrik.”

The man who introduced himself as Elkanto’s butler hesitated for a moment for some reason. But he quickly composed his expression professionally and guided me to the tea party venue.

***

The place I was led to was a beautiful garden filled with fresh flower fragrances and the scent of grass. I’d heard about it before, but the emerald sea churning below the cliff truly offered an amazing ocean view. Looking at the white chiffon draped on the milky-white pillars where climbing roses grew, filtering the sunlight. If this were Earth, this place would definitely have been a social media hotspot.

And on the tables set up on the lawn were luxurious 5-tier trays and afternoon tea sets, and around them were the noble young ladies of the south, as I’d heard…

‘There are only two people?’

“Ahem, welcome, Lady Rabius! I’m Louisa Elkanto who sent you the invitation! Please call me Louisa!”

“I am Maribel Yuno of the Count Yuno family. Please call me by my name as well.”

A cute young lady with curly blonde hair and another with dark brown hair and sharp eyes stood up from their seats to greet me.

“Nice to meet you, Louisa, Maribel. I’m Callia Rabius of the Rabius duchy. I’d appreciate it if you’d call me Callia too. But where are the others…?”

The invitation said about eight others would come beside me, why has it been reduced to a quarter?

“They… all had urgent matters come up…”

“My, how curious that six people suddenly had urgent matters at the same time.”

“Well…”

Louisa fidgeted uncomfortably, rolling her eyes around. Then Maribel explained what really happened with these ‘urgent matters.’

“They ran away when they found out the identity of Louisa’s surprise guest.”

“Oh.”

The surprise guest must be me. So that’s why those carriages sped up when they saw my carriage. I understood immediately.

“It seems my reputation isn’t very good here either.”

“Unfortunately not.”

After receiving this concise answer from Maribel, I nodded and pulled out a chair to sit.

“I’m so sorry, Callia! If I had known this would happen, I would have told the others in advance…”

Louisa apologized with her eyes tightly shut and looked at my expression with a dejected face. She looked just like a puppy checking its owner’s reaction after causing trouble. I mean that she was cute. And I’m weak to cute things.

“It’s fine. I enjoyed watching the carriage race, and I actually prefer this.”

I truly mean it. I was relieved not to have to meet people, but I can’t tell you how flustered I was when I received an invitation for a party of nine. The burdensome appointment has been reduced, and I’m glad my villainess title still seems useful. If possible, I’d like to continue living as a legitimate outsider like this.

“Lady Callia…”

“Yes, Mikhail. Everyone, this is my butler. Handsome, isn’t he?”

“Yes, indeed!”

“Certainly, he’s a rare beauty even in the south.”

Mikhail, who had called me gloomily, pressed his lips tightly.

‘That’s… a face that says he has much to say but will suspend judgment since there are witnesses.’

I should probably change the subject if I don’t want to increase the amount of nagging.

“So, I understand why Louisa is here since she’s the host. But Maribel, did you know I was coming?”

“Of course not. Because Louisa kept it so secret, I only found out after I arrived.”

“Oh my, you missed your chance to leave then.”

I was going to offer her an escape, but Maribel smiled, playfully raising her eyebrow.

“My, leaving? I’m not foolish enough to throw away the chance to meet the only daughter of the Rabius duchy.”

“Even knowing my reputation?”

“There’s a saying that a pebble from a mountain peak becomes a boulder as it rolls down. Rumors from far away tend to be exaggerated. I never fully believed them anyway, dear customer.”

“‘Customer’?”

“The Yuno Merchant Guild and the Rabius Merchant Guild are long-time partners responsible for the south and central regions respectively. I look forward to our continued relationship, Callia.”

So money matters more than whether I’m a villainess or not. She’s truly committed to capitalism, fitting for a K-rofan setting. Come to think of it, I think Mikhail mentioned yesterday while listing the eight ladies’ information that Maribel was the actual head of the Yuno Merchant Guild. Though I had forgotten until just now.

After somewhat awkwardly shaking hands with Maribel, and then with Louisa who was looking at me like a pitiful kitten, Maribel brought over something that looked like a rectangular box from a nearby stool.

“I think this might be to Callia’s taste, would you like to take a look?”

Is this an opportunistic business? What she handed over was a thick book bound in blue velvet.

‘Hmm, Callia wasn’t particularly interested in reading.’

Still, hoping it might be interesting content, I took it, and Louisa’s eyes grew wide.

“Maribel, that’s…!”

“I did say I would only show it specially today, but unfortunately for those six ladies…”

Maribel shrugged her shoulders lightly and looked at me with eyes urging me to open it. When I opened the book, inside… it was full of portraits of well-dressed young men.

“Wow, what is this?”

“It’s a collection of realistic portraits of unmarried noblemen to prevent fraud from fake portraits.”

“What?”

“After I had to break off three nearly-done engagements because I was deceived by portraits, I gritted my teeth and personally created this collection.”

“Ah.”

After briefly explaining the origin story of the collection, Maribel showed her capitalist smile again.

“Thanks to this, the number of families hoping to trade with our merchant guild has increased dramatically. Life is quite ironic, isn’t it?”

I quietly nodded my head.

Well, while the Rabius duchy was powerful enough that Callia could even conduct fiancé interviews under the pretense of balls, in many cases, they only exchanged portraits and proceeded straight to the wedding.

While I was thoroughly enjoying the collection with Louisa, my hand suddenly stopped at a particular page. The person in the portrait was so handsome it was hard to believe he existed in real life. At this level, he wouldn’t lose out even standing next to Friedrich, the original male lead. In terms of looks and aura, he might even overwhelm him in some aspects, but- after all, it’s just a picture I can’t have.

“Ah, Admiral Aquilus is here too!”

Yes, that’s what was written in fancy lettering below the portrait. Richard Aquilus. The twenty-eight-year-old young admiral who holds the maritime power of the Hessen Empire.

“If not for his obsessive-compulsive disorder, he’d be the empire’s most eligible bachelor.”

Maribel muttered while looking at the portrait with regretful eyes. But I couldn’t agree with those words.

‘If it were just a normal obsessive-compulsive disorder like they say, I would have agreed…’

But having read the original story, that’s impossible.

In “Contract Saint,” Admiral Aquilus appeared only once.

It was when he came to seek the Emperor’s permission to eliminate pirates.

The Emperor didn’t want Admiral Aquilus, who had already practically dominated the south, to take over the pirates’ territory as well.

After all, another power holder gaining strength ultimately means the weakening of imperial authority.

So he used a rather petty method, hosting a ball for the Admiral who had come to the capital, despite the latter’s refusal.

‘Since he avoided and despised people due to his germaphobia, they intended to use that to diminish his influence.’

Indeed, the ball ended exactly as the Emperor intended.

The capital’s nobles didn’t look kindly upon the Admiral who either stiffened and avoided their daughters when approached or rejected all dance requests even when they gathered the courage to ask.

Eventually, the Admiral’s proposal for “Naval Deployment for Pirate Elimination” was rejected by a majority vote in the political council.

However, at that ball, Anael, a saint with historically powerful holy power, was also present.

According to her assessment, his germaphobia wasn’t stemming from psychological issues.

No, it wasn’t even germaphobia to begin with.

‘It was because of a curse that drained the life force of anyone he touched.’

Being the kindhearted saint she was, Anael never revealed the existence of the curse to anyone and kept silent about it until the end.

Especially since she knew the Emperor would use it as a political weakness, she kept quiet even from Friedrich, her lover.

It wasn’t a type of curse she could purify with her power, nor was it a curse Richard brought upon himself.

She chose to remain silent as a minimal courtesy.

‘Anyway, this has nothing to do with me.’

Even though we’re both in the South, I’ll never have any personal involvement with the Admiral.

I have no intention of meeting a man I can never even hold hands with, no matter how handsome he is.

And Admiral Aquilus avoids getting close to anyone, regardless of gender.

But somehow misinterpreting my contemplative expression, Maribel and Louisa started consoling me.

“Callia, don’t be disheartened. While they might not be quite like Admiral Aquilus, the south has plenty of handsome men.”

“That’s right! Especially in the navy!”

“That’s truly delightful news.”

Even if they might not like me. After all, just looking at handsome men makes one feel better. Hehehe.

I smiled at the two of them, feeling pleased just from the imagination.

Then Louisa looked back at me with even more sparkling eyes.

With a clap of her hands, she exclaimed.

“Right? Oh, that’s right! Maribel, let’s go there!”

“Ah, ‘that place’? What an excellent idea, Louisa.”

Hey, why are you two having a conversation only you understand?

“Where is ‘that place’?”

To my question, Maribel replied with a mysterious smile.

“Stand up, Callia. Let us show you the true south.”