The answer couldn’t have been more resolute. Lysith was the one surprised by his unexpectedly intense reaction. She hadn’t thought he would like it this much.

Ashites was equally surprised.

This was the ultimate foul play. If she called him that with a smile, he felt like he might stupidly answer “Huh? Okay.” even if she said “Hand over the magic tower to me.” Of course, he knew she wouldn’t make such a request, so it was just a manner of speaking.

Surprised, his upper body automatically leaned back. Right now, he wanted to cling to her tightly because he was so happy, but on the other hand, he was afraid of being too close in case his heartbeat was too loud.

As Ashites distanced himself a bit, Lysith seized the opportunity to stand up, smoothing her skirt. She planned to visit the powder room under the pretext of fixing her dress.

“Then that’s good. I’ll just…”

“Wait…!”

The situation unfolded in an instant. As Lysith stood up and was about to take a step, a woman walking behind her without looking ahead collided with her.

Unfortunately, because the other party was holding a teacup, Lysith ended up with all the spilled tea on her back. Ashites jumped up and grabbed Lysith’s arm to pull her, but it was already too late.

Perhaps the only fortunate thing was that the tea had almost cooled down.

Ashites quickly checked Lysith’s back and then turned to look at her face.

“Are you okay?”

“Yes. It’s not hot.”

After swiftly assessing her condition, Lysith turned to face the person who had spilled tea on her. If the other party said it was a mistake, it would be difficult for her to say anything.

…Although the man beside her seemed annoyed regardless of whether it was intentional or not.

The woman, thoroughly intimidated by Ashites’ fierce gaze, came into Lysith’s view. It wasn’t a face that remained in her memory, so she didn’t seem to be a very important person.

Still, just in case, she searched her memory and confirmed that she was the second daughter of what was it, the Leaf viscount family? It was natural for her to tremble, as the daughter of a viscount had spilled tea on the daughter of a duke. Moreover, the Tower Master holding Lysith’s shoulder now also had a share in that fear.

Seeing her apologize with trembling hands looked quite pitiful, so Lysith decided to let it go.

“I’m, I’m so sorry…”

“It’s alright. These things happen. Ah, Marchioness. I’ll need to borrow a dress…”

“Oh my, then shall we go this way for a moment?”

Just before leaving to change her dress, there was a hand that firmly grasped Lysith’s.

“Noona.”

“Yes?”

“I can do it for you. You don’t have to go…”

At Ashites’ words, Lysith made a briefly enigmatic expression, then gestured as if telling him to lean in. Feeling a bit hurt, thinking it was about time she trusted him, he leaned in with a sulky expression.

Holding one of the man’s arms and slightly raising her heels, Lysith whispered softly into his ear.

“I think even my underwear is wet…”

“Okay, okay, so go quickly.”

Cutting off her words and urgently sending Lysith away, Ashites covered his face with both hands.

After being so flustered at the banquet last time, doing this again — was it a lack of caution, or did it mean she trusted him, or perhaps she didn’t think this would stimulate him…

After cooling his slightly heated face by fanning it with his hand, he sat down confidently in his seat again, crossing his legs.

The thought of her wearing a dress different from the one she had matched with him suddenly annoyed him, but he decided to hold his temper a bit, knowing that if he took it out in the wrong place, her gaze would surely return to how it was before.

Having thus flustered Ashites and followed the marchioness into the mansion, Lysith was now enduring the talkative woman’s chatter.

“To be honest, I sent an invitation to the Tower Master without much expectation. My goodness, I never thought you two would come together! I was really surprised.”

“Is that so? You didn’t seem very surprised, so I thought you knew.”

“No! I really didn’t know. As you know, he’s the kind of person who might suddenly show up, so of course there was no reply.”

“I see…”

This guy… he really was reckless, wasn’t he?

It might have seemed strange that everyone accepted such behavior so nonchalantly, but considering the Tower Master’s authority, it was also natural.

Even though he didn’t have a separate position in the empire, he was a figure that even the Emperor of the empire had to overlook, albeit reluctantly.

In the room she entered under the marchioness’s guidance, dresses of various colors were prepared. She knew the marchioness only had two grown sons, but all the prepared dresses were in line with the latest fashion.

Could she have prepared all this just for lending? As soon as she had that thought, she felt a chill. Indeed, being the host of an event was clearly not a role that suited her personality.

After taking off the wet dress, Lysith chose an off-shoulder dress with a suitable combination of white and gold. With the help of a waiting maid, she quickly changed clothes and left the room.

She had roughly memorized the way back when coming, so she was walking alone, leaving behind the maid who had offered to escort her.

Only the sound of her clicking heels echoed in the quiet corridor, when suddenly a similar footstep sound was heard from the opposite direction. However, it seemed a bit faster and more urgent than hers.

Puzzled, Lysith approached the bend in the corridor, and the person coming hurriedly also seemed to sense her and stopped abruptly.

In the middle of the corridor, facing the person who had stopped, Lysith muttered inwardly.

Ah, this is troublesome…

“It’s been a while, Lady.”

“…Indeed, it has been a while. Lady Pallaize.”

Lysith hid her true feelings and forced a smile as she greeted. This situation, where Lady Pallaize, of lower status than her, greeted her first despite Lysith not acknowledging her, was close to insubordination. However, it seemed that the original Lysith had not handled such insubordination well, leading to this situation even now.

Sighs came out involuntarily, and unable to manage her expression, she let out a hollow laugh. The other party, perhaps feeling that this was dismissive of her, furrowed her brow deeply.

“…You must be pleased, Lady.”

“About what?”

“You’ve received the love of the Tower Master, and now you’ve even taken the love of His Highness the Grand Duke. Isn’t that right?”

I never asked for it. As a game player, it was right to take it, but. Did I ever beg those men to love me, what did I do?

When Lysith didn’t say anything, Lady Pallaize, emboldened, started talking again.

“Tell me honestly.”

“……”

“Seducing the Tower Master like that, wasn’t it all to turn His Highness the Grand Duke’s heart?”

What kind of thought process leads to such ideas? Bewildered, Lysith finally decided to listen to the end of her words, curious about how far she would go.

“Playing around with other men like that, of course it’s bound to bother someone’s heart! That’s what you were aiming for, right?”

That was correct.

“The Tower Master too. How could he, with a divorced woman…”

That was something Lysith was curious about too.

“So, are you happy now that you’ve won His Highness the Grand Duke’s heart? Are you pleased to have obtained it in such a manner?”

She did feel good about successfully conquering him.

‘…There’s nothing wrong with what she’s saying?’

As Lysith just listened quietly, Lady Pallaize, expecting her to show a timid reaction like before, swallowed once and finally crossed a river that shouldn’t have been crossed.

“Lady, when His Highness the Grand Duke clings to you, you’ll just discard someone like the Tower Master, won’t you?”

“……”

“Honestly, to have seduced him so quickly, did you perhaps offer your body…”

“Lady Pallaize.”

Lysith’s coldly composed voice echoed chillingly through the corridor.

Only then realizing she had crossed a line, Lady Pallaize shut her mouth tightly, yet continued to glare at Lysith with her purple eyes.

“Everything you’ve said, from start to finish, is wrong. I stayed quiet to see how far you’d go.”

“……”

“You know that’s all sophistry, don’t you? If it were true, you’d spread rumors in society… There’s no reason to come yelling at me personally, right?”

After catching her breath briefly, Lysith continued with a sigh.

“No, and why should I put Ashites and His Highness the Grand Duke on the same scale? My dear Ash is far more precious.”

“…’My dear Ash’?”

“I’m really sorry, Lady Pallaize. Even if you gave me a man like His Highness the Grand Duke, I wouldn’t take him, so try seducing him yourself and do your best.”