“Shailyn Sharofe! Think I’m meeting you here!”

“It’s been a while, Mother. Janice. So the news that you came to the capital was true.”

Shailyn smiled calmly. Gwen glared at her with fierce eyes.

“How shameless! Looking at your glossy face, you must have lived well after abandoning this mother and sister?”

“Abandoning? What do you mean?”

Shailyn shrugged as if bewildered and added.

“I just went to find another family’s embrace.”

“Ha! Whatever. But why didn’t you respond to us all this time?”

“Why should I answer?”

Shailyn deliberately fiddled with her nails and responded indifferently.

Heat rose to Gwen’s face.

“……What? When the family situation got bad, you cowardly ran away to live alone, so you should have some conscience……!”

“Why did that situation get bad? It happened because of you and Janice, so take responsibility yourselves. I have absolutely no intention of giving you money.”

“Huh……”

When Gwen was speechless at the attitude that had become even colder than when she saw her at the ducal residence……

“Hey! Aren’t you really going too far?!”

Janice, who couldn’t stand listening anymore, shouted angrily. Then she approached Shailyn with large steps as if to hit her.

But before she could even properly raise her hand—

“The moment you lay a hand on my master, my sword will come out.”

“……!”

She froze at Carl’s deadly warning from behind Shailyn.

Frightened, Janice scurried back to Gwen’s side.

Shailyn looked at them and opened her mouth calmly.

“Whether you two live in the capital or emigrate, I don’t care. Just behave moderately.”

The act of making her a public outcast and isolating her ended in the county.

She wouldn’t stand still and take such scheming anymore.

“If I catch you spreading false rumors about me even once more, I’ll request an honor duel in the name of the Diart ducal family.”

As she said this with a bright smile, Carl placed his hand on his sword sheath behind Shailyn and slightly revealed killing intent.

“……!”

Gwen’s shoulders jumped up greatly.

She intuitively realized that Shailyn was the one who had flipped the rumors.

But how could a powerless child in the capital’s social circles possibly……

What solved that question was Shailyn’s next words.

“And Blue Moon boutique is my regular shop, so don’t loiter around for no reason and disappear.”

Gwen knew how big a role boutiques played in social gossip.

While she grabbed the back of her neck thinking she’d been had, beside her Janice got angry at Shailyn waving her hand as if shooing away insects.

“Who are you to say such things! Blue Moon would want to accept us as customers!”

“Me? I’m this boutique’s biggest investor, what are you going to do about it.”

“Wha, what?”

The moment Janice’s eyes widened at the unexpected answer—

“Miss, what are you doing not coming in?”

Rain appeared, opening the boutique door. Shailyn turned her body toward her and said.

“Ah, there are blacklisted customers in front of the shop. Never accept those two people.”

At those words, Rain stared at Gwen and her daughter, then nodded.

“Yes, I’ve remembered clearly. I’ve prepared tea, so come in quickly.”

“Alright. Then take care.”

Shailyn waved her hand with a fresh smile and slipped into the shop. There was no chance to catch her.

Carl demonstratively slammed the door shut and went in, leaving the two people with dejected faces.

Whoosh.

A forlorn wind swept past the mother and daughter left behind miserably.

The Competition is Too Much

---

After meeting the count’s mother and daughter in front of Blue Moon boutique, the situation was completely settled.

No one believed the false rumors or cursed me anymore.

Rain appropriately spreading words to customers visiting the boutique also played a big part.

【Congratulations!

The rumors that were seriously damaging your reputation have been silenced! ٩(^ᗜ^ )و】

The system window with the warning message erased sparkled and appeared before my eyes.

I was happy along with it.

【Now, shall we start the next mission?】

This d*mn system window didn’t give me time to rest.

【Mission: Get sick with a disease that kills you if you don’t become the social queen!

You who lived in the territory your whole life lack social influence!

The female lead can’t stay like this, right?

Participate in the upcoming social queen selection and become queen! ☆ (>ᴗ0 )

Deadline: Until the selection ends

Success conditions: Being selected as this year’s queen, bringing tower master Chester as partner

Success reward: Multiple male leads’ favorability increase and one person’s identity reveal

Failure penalty: Crown Prince Linus’s favorability reset】

“Crazy bastard……”

That favorability, how hard I raised it, and you’re going to take it away all at once?!

I was happy reading up to the reward, then grabbed my head at the penalty.

What kind of thing is this, really.

I lay face down on the bed, sighed and got annoyed, then jumped up.

What can I do. If they tell me to do it, I have to do it.

First, I needed to gather information about the social queen selection.

The people who could give me this were—

“Oh, Shailyn. You were interested in such things too?”

“Are you thinking of participating, sister? It won’t be easy.”

Dain and Deborah.

“The social queen selection is held every year between summer and fall, targeting unmarried noble ladies between 17 and 23 years old.”

The purpose was to select talent who would lead social circles in the future.

The main judges were the empress and imperial consorts, and they determined the winner by adding votes from nobles who came to observe.

“The evaluation categories are dance and dress. Dance is basic cultivation that any noble lady should have, and dress is to check if you have the eye to lead social trends.”

Deborah added while lifting her teacup.

“By the way, Lady Celsior has been selected as queen for the past 3 consecutive years.”

That d*mn Lady Celsior is appearing here again.

I slightly frowned at the unwanted appearance of that name, and Deborah drank her tea, put down the cup and said.

“Seeing that word has been going around since last month that the lady will participate in this year’s queen selection, she’ll definitely appear again.”

In the end, to solve the mission, I had to defeat the lady and rise up.

As I held my forehead and sighed, Deborah’s other advice flowed into my ears.

“If you’re really determined to enter the selection, you need to choose your dance partner well. If you bring just anyone, people won’t give you votes.”

“Hmm, I see.”

Is this why the system window set the partner as a success condition?

As I crossed my arms and nodded, Dain asked curiously.

“You seem to have someone in mind?”

“Yeah.”

“Who?”

Deborah also sent a curious look. I pointed my finger at her and smiled brightly.

“Your boss.”

***

The next day.

I followed Deborah to work and headed to the magic tower.

It was to meet the tower master and propose being partners for the queen selection.

“Sister, the tower master has been busy lately, so he might not accept.”

Deborah said worriedly.

She had tried to persuade me several times since yesterday to choose someone else, but.

Because of the success conditions, I had no choice but to insist on the tower master.

“Why is he busy?”

“He’s been racking his brains over the magic stone supply shortage. The place that used to provide magic stones went bankrupt……”

The magic tower itself owns magic mines, but that alone isn’t enough, Deborah added with additional explanation.

Hmm, is that so?

While I stored her words well in my head, our carriage had already arrived in front of the magic tower.

“Come this way.”

Deborah naturally guided me and entered the magic tower.

It had been a while since I visited, so I felt strangely happy.

“Wait in the break room and I’ll go tell the tower master.”

“Thanks, Deborah.”

“No, what……”

Deborah, who had tied her hair up high with the ribbon I gave her as a gift, suddenly flinched looking ahead.

Huh? Why is she doing that?

Where her gaze reached, a man was standing.

Dark navy hair tied in a ponytail and languidly drooping eyes.

“Hello, Senior Spencer. You came out early today too.”

Deborah politely bowed and greeted. Hearing those words, I could identify the man’s identity.

That man is that Attos?

Senior Spencer who tormented Deborah like crazy from her first day at work.