“What are you saying to my daughter!”

“You first poured nasty words on my granddaughter, and you’re raising your voice. Do you think I’m a joke?”

Looking at Lord Diart now, she felt that an expressionless face was more frightening than a frowning one.

Wow, is this charisma?

Duke Celsior also seemed to feel the intimidation and hesitated.

“Shailyn is fully qualified to become queen. Unlike Lady Celsior, she experienced various hardships like carriage accidents on the way here. As if someone tried to prevent my sister from participating in the selection.”

Dain, who had approached her left side at some point, took her side like the duke.

“I even heard from a maid that someone secretly broke into the waiting room and tore up her dress. Sister is able to stand here after overcoming all that.”

Deborah, who appeared from the right side and linked arms with her, said primly.

Not stopping there, she glanced toward the lady and drove in the wedge.

“Instead of someone who sat back comfortably waiting to be crowned queen, we should value more someone who worked hard to earn the title.”

“……Lady Diart, are you talking about me right now?”

Apparently very angry, Lady Celsior asked with trembling lips.

But Deborah responded nonchalantly without showing any sign of fear.

“It wasn’t necessarily that, but I guess you have a reason to feel guilty?”

“Hey!”

“What.”

Deborah’s eyes sharpened.

Witnessing vividly before her eyes the attitude that had once been directed at her now targeting someone else, the emotion was extraordinary.

Well done, well done, Deborah!

So this is how ladies fight.

It was the moment she was convinced that the overall advantage had shifted to their side.

“What are you all doing in front of Her Majesty the Empress?! Stop it right now!”

Suddenly the imperial consort stood up abruptly and scolded them as a group, then spread her fan and subtly declared.

“Anyway, since the Celsior ducal family side has raised objections, this queen selection needs more thorough review.”

No, how can that be.

I won the observer vote and was chosen by Her Majesty the Empress too!

It was extremely unfair, but she could barely endure it since she couldn’t engage in public fighting anymore. Then a weighty voice reached her ears.

“Please wait a moment. We also have something left to say.”

It was the duke’s entrance.

While Lord Diart and the siblings occupied behind and both sides of her, the duke had stepped back.

Since she hadn’t even dreamed of his help, she naturally thought he would remain that way until the selection ended.

The duke, who slowly walked out and stood in front of her, spoke with his characteristic gentle but cold smile.

“On the way here, our carriage was attacked by someone. Shailyn was also riding in it.”

An attack.

Did that mean the fire and commotion weren’t simple accidents?

When she looked at the duke with wide eyes, Deborah briefly explained the situation in a whisper.

Only after hearing that could she realize.

Dain’s meaningful words earlier. And even Lady Celsior’s strange expression when she arrived at the detached palace.

The lady standing behind Duke Celsior flinched and glanced at them.

“But fortunately, our family’s knight caught the culprit. He said the family that ordered it is in here.”

“……!”

People were startled and murmured at the duke’s words.

He looked at the Celsior father and daughter with a calm face and continued.

“It seems like the work of a lady from a family that was wary of Shailyn…… Who do you think it was, Duke?”

“……Why are you asking me that?”

“Well, isn’t Celsior the one most wary of Shailyn in this place right now.”

“Ha……!”

Duke Celsior laughed as if dumbfounded but couldn’t refute.

Because among the participants, only the lady’s side had objected to her victory.

And she witnessed Janice, who had been smiling brightly when the lady raised her voice, now clasping her fidgeting hands and secretly letting out a sigh of relief.

Oh my, was she about to add a word too?

“If you’re going to review the queen selection, please also investigate the attack incident, Your Majesty the Empress.”

The duke turned toward the empress and bowed politely and elegantly.

Then the imperial consort, who seemed to be on the Celsior ducal family’s side, opened her mouth.

“Duke Diart, such personal matters should be handled—”

“The duke is right. Since she was attacked because of the selection, we must also investigate the truth of that.”

The empress firmly cut off her words and sided with the duke.

Then she turned her head coldly and looked down at the imperial consort.

“But before that, who said we would review the selection results? Imperial consort, did I say such a thing?”

The face of a gorgeous cold beauty showed displeasure.

The crown prince definitely took after his mother. Not only the overall features, but the face when frowning was exactly the same.

“Your Majesty, I was merely trying to lighten Your Majesty’s burden since you rarely go out……”

“To lighten my burden, you acted arbitrarily as if sitting above my head?”

“Absolutely not, Your Majesty!”

The imperial consort, who had turned pale, waved her hands.

Eventually she shut her mouth like a dog with its tail down, and seeing this, the expressions of Duke Celsior and his daughter were not good at all.

Duke Celsior, who glanced at their side, sighed and opened his mouth.

“Come to think of it, we seem to have gone too far, Your Majesty. We were probably flustered because the results were different from our expectations. Since it’s said to have been difficult in various ways, we’ll also accept that young lady’s victory.”

She looked at him with a dumbfounded face as he acted as if he was doing a favor by saying something obvious.

In the midst of this, she was just amazed by his attitude of subtly ignoring her by calling her ‘that young lady’ to the end.

The father and daughter are equally shameless.

“Then I hope the investigation of the attack incident goes well, Duke Diart.”

Duke Celsior curled up the corner of his lips and nodded.

The duke stared at him with coldly cooled eyes, then turned his head.

“Since no one else is raising objections, we’ll proceed with the golden rose presentation ceremony.”

At the empress’s words, people only straightened their posture, and no one expressed dissatisfaction.

She finally stepped on the red carpet and walked to stand in front of the platform.

The empress, who got up from her chair and came down, elegantly took out the golden rose from the box a maid offered.

“May you become a precious person who shines brighter than gold.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty the Empress.”

She bowed her head while receiving the rose with a joyful heart.

The empress smiled faintly and lightly patted her shoulder.

“This year’s social queen is Miss Shailyn Sharofe. Everyone please congratulate her with applause.”

When the head maid officially proclaimed, fairly resounding applause filled the hall.

She smiled brightly while holding the golden rose. The mission was successful anyway.