In this Chaotic World, I Am Doing Fine - Chapter 8

Acelia laughed wickedly inside.

But inwardly, she was grinding her teeth.

‘You dare to challenge me?’

Pretending to be friendly with Liam was as disgusting as flattering an overbearing senior, but it was a perfect opportunity to pin the rumors about Gale on Liam.

“What are you talking about?”

“I’m right… aren’t I, Liam?”

Acelia poked his shoulder with an affectionate touch, as if telling him to shut up.

Liam flinched.

He seemed to want to say something, his mouth twitching, but in the end, he couldn’t utter a word.

Being hit by the Princess was his shame.

There was no way he could reveal it in front of so many people.

‘This should explain why the Grand Chamberlain and High Priest of the Imperial Palace visited my palace.’

Just then, a clear voice cut in from the side.

“Your Highness the Princess, it’s been a while.”

“Yes, it has been a while, Ensia.”

Acelia deliberately used informal speech and acted friendly to gain the upper hand.

Cousin, was it? Then she could speak informally.

The actual relationship didn’t matter.

She needed to show that she was in a superior position.

Acelia, wearing a mask of innocence, smiled brightly at Ensia.

“…You look much brighter since I last saw you.”

“Yes. Thanks to your concern, I’ve regained much of my health.”

“I was worried because you didn’t reply to my letters or invite me to the palace, but I’m glad.”

‘Oh ho.’

Her skill at indirect criticism was no joke.

Clearly, she wasn’t just bright and friendly as the noble ladies had said.

‘But I’m not to be trifled with either.’

The two women’s gazes clashed sharply.

***

From the moment the Princess approached Liam, many people had their eyes on her.

Joachim was one of them.

Representing the temple, he inwardly swallowed a laugh at the Princess’s bold handling of the situation.

‘Ha.’

It was a clever and quick-witted response.

He knew all about the incident that occurred in the Princess’s palace, that is, Acelia cracking her fiancé’s head and Gale getting a nosebleed.

Since he’s frequenting the Imperial Palace, he had naturally heard about it.

So he quickly grasped the intention behind Acelia’s words.

‘The Princess shouldn’t have the personality to take such bold actions.’

Her opponents were her fiancé, Count Liam Wade Felix, and Lady Ensia Monium.

Needless to say, Liam was the heir to the Wade ducal family, and Ensia was also a woman known as the flower of social circles due to her strong family background and outstanding personal abilities.

Her standing was worlds apart from Acelia, who mostly lived in seclusion.

She was even called the ‘The Forgotten Princess’.

Yet Acelia stood confidently before these two.

A face that looked purely innocent, without a trace of intimidation.

Joachim’s blue eyes fixed on the Princess.

He intended to watch how she would handle this.

Unaware of Joachim’s gaze, Acelia focused solely on the two people before her.

Even for someone who’s a novice in social circles, human nature was the same everywhere.

Liam, who was arrogantly relying on his bloodline, and Ensia, who was clearly no ordinary person though she wasn’t sure about her yet.

Acelia clasped her hands to her chest and tilted her head.

“But were you two always close? Since when?”

“It hasn’t been long! When we talked, I found that Lady Monium and I conversed well. So we became close quickly. Now, well, we’re like needle and thread. Ha, haha.”

“Close enough to bring someone else as a partner when I’m here? Liam, I’m disappointed. I’ve been waiting for your contact for so long…”

Liam, realizing he might mess up if he said the wrong thing here, hurriedly tried to draw a line, but Acelia drove the point home.

‘It’s not that there’s something wrong with me. He’s the bad one.’

Acelia had taken note of the talk that due to her introverted personality, the vigorous Liam was wandering outside.

And becoming like a needle and thread with another woman while having a fiancée is exactly what cheating is.

Should I just sew his mouth shut with a needle?

When the flustered Liam tried to reach out to her, Acelia subtly avoided him and clapped her hands.

“Anyway, I’m glad to see two people I care about becoming close. But I hope this doesn’t happen again. People are watching, you know.”

“What? Are you saying I have something going on with Lady Monium?”

“Who said that? I’m just saying to be careful because others might misunderstand.”

A characteristic of cheaters is that they get angry when their problem is pointed out.

Liam was no exception, so Acelia shrank her shoulders as if frightened.

She had to be the oblivious and innocent princess.

As if she couldn’t even imagine the two of them having an affair.

That way…

“There’s no way Liam and Ensia could be like that, right? That would be no different from what beasts do.”

Acelia wrinkled her eyes with a smile.

It felt so satisfying.

Pushing aside Liam, who only opened his mouth to say minus things, Ensia stepped forward.

Unlike Liam, she skillfully hid her emotions and put on an apologetic face.

“You don’t need to worry about that, Your Highness. The Count and I are truly just friends.”

“I believe you. You’re my cousin, aren’t you? My kind, considerate, and pretty sister. Ensia, you’re really a sister to be proud of.”

Repeatedly emphasizing the message ‘you are below me’, Acelia smiled shyly.

For a moment, indignation flashed across Ensia’s pink eyes and disappeared.

‘Not bad?’

Acelia felt disappointed.

If she had gotten angry here, it would have been an interesting sight.

“I’m grateful you think that way. But Your Highness, may I say something out of concern?”

“What is it?”

“People have their own dignity, and just as butterflies go well with flowers, one should associate with people who match their ‘class’. Wouldn’t it be better to be selective about who you meet?”

Ensia’s gaze briefly flicked towards the direction behind Acelia.

It was where Gale was.

Acelia’s expression hardened as she realized who the words were targeting.

‘See that?’

How dare she criticize Gale in front of me?

Even siblings who fight at home unite when someone comes home beaten up by others.

Moreover, Gale was the person Acelia had grown closest to after her nanny. She couldn’t let this slide.

While she was contemplating how to feed this cheeky one her words, a notification sound suddenly rang.

Ding!

[<Spin, Spin, Crazy Roulette>! To commemorate your first entry into social circles, we’re giving you a random trait!]

Beep beep beep…

The roulette that appeared out of nowhere started spinning again, regardless of Acelia’s will.

But this time, she welcomed that noisy roulette.

Because among the spinning options, there were quite a few useful traits.

Especially that one that caught her eye.

[<Heavenly Eloquence>
— Possess a refined mouth that never loses in any situation.]

‘Yes, that’s it. Let’s crush them with class!’

Meanwhile, the roulette’s speed gradually slowed down.

Click. Tada!

[You have acquired the <Sword Mastery — Sword Master trait (limited to the first thrust in combat)>!]

A completely unexpected trait came out.

…Are they telling me to fight here?

And not even for the entire battle, but limited to the first thrust?

‘Oh my, how stingy.’

Of course. She was a fool for expecting anything.

As Acelia clicked her tongue with disappointed eyes, she felt gazes on her.

There was still a pair of cockroaches in front of her that she hadn’t dealt with.

Acelia quickly managed her expression and added gently.

“Are you trying to teach me?”

“Oh my, I was merely offering advice.”

Ensia covered her mouth in surprise.

It was a way of speaking that would make the other person seem petty if they didn’t take the advice as advice.

At that moment, the announcement of the entrance of the main character of the banquet, the First Prince, and the Emperor and Empress was heard, and their conversation naturally ended.

It concluded with them each giving as good as they got.

Acelia tried hard to cover her boiling insides with a smile.

“The sun of the Empire, His Majesty the Emperor, the moon of the Empire, Her Majesty the Empress, and His Highness the First Prince Ian Hedwig are entering!”

‘They’re here.’

Acelia, bowing her waist, raised only her eyes to scan the Emperor, Empress, and Ian in order.

She had seen the Emperor before, but it was her first time seeing the Empress and the First Prince.

The Empress, Acelia’s birth mother, was younger than she had expected.

Purple hair tied up and sky-blue eyes.

Wearing a deep navy dress like the night sky and wearing a smile as if painted on, she was elegant and full of dignity.

Seeing her hair color, it was similar to Ensia’s.

‘I guess the Empress is from the Monium marquis family.’

That would explain why Ensia and herself were cousins.

On the other hand, Ian was a handsome man with a scholarly air, just as she had heard from her nanny.

Platinum blonde hair neatly tied back, green eyes full of intelligence, and round glasses perched on the bridge of his nose.

He was known to be sickly like Acelia, but was mentioned as a candidate for Crown Prince due to his outstanding intellect.

The other candidate for Crown Prince was the Second Prince Diego Hedwig, who should be somewhere in this banquet hall.

She had heard that Diego had leadership skills and a natural talent for swordsmanship.

Since it was their league anyway, Acelia lost interest in both of them.

Factions, politics, anything that gave her a headache was a big no-no.

The Emperor announced the start of the banquet, and Ian went around greeting people here and there.

Although it would have been appropriate to approach and offer congratulations, Acelia swept through the banquet food with Gale.

Due to the trash <Sickly> trait, she had only been eating bland soup while lying down, but now that her condition was better after a long time, her appetite had returned.

‘They say even the ghost of someone who died eating looks good.’

Of course, she wasn’t going to die.

She had no interest in dancing.

With skills learned through attributes, who could she dance with?

It would be fortunate if she didn’t step on her partner’s feet.

Surprisingly, there were quite a few ladies showing interest in Gale, but he focused only on the food.

‘Isn’t he a glutton rather than a scoundrel?’

“Angelica, try this too. It’s really delicious.”

“Why do you keep messing up my name after getting it right? What is it? Wow, it’s so pretty it’s almost a shame to eat it.”

With nothing particular to do, Acelia attacked the food aggressively, thinking that eating was the best thing to do.

“My, Your Highness. Your appetite has become quite vigorous since I last saw you.”

“Yes. I guess it’s because I’m in my growth phase.”

There were occasional noble ladies or young ladies who came to pick fights, but Acelia brushed them off with random responses.

Whatever sarcasm they threw, it was just a disturbance to her eating.

But then a person appeared who couldn’t be ignored.

The Empress approached Acelia, accompanied by a guard knight.

“Princess.”

“…Ahem, I greet Your Majesty the Empress.”

She just couldn’t bring herself to use the term ‘mother’.

To Acelia, her only mother was Mrs. Lim Kyung-sook in the real world.

Hurriedly swallowing what was in her mouth, Acelia curtsied, lifting her skirt.

The Empress glanced at Gale, who was inhaling cake as if possessed, and said,

“Princess, I have something to discuss with you briefly, so follow me.”