“Hello. I’m Iris Mora.”

Even so, a calm voice came from Iris’s throat.

The eyes Evelyn fixed on her, persistent and unwavering, were different from Carlyle’s yet somehow similar. Those of high standing seemed to have a talent for issuing commands with a look alone.

When Evelyn introduced herself in return, a nearby lady added that the Spencer comital house was a distinguished family that had produced a queen, and that Evelyn Spencer was a lady of impeccable virtue and refinement.

Even at the praise, Evelyn kept her chin level and smiled softly, the way Carlyle did. Iris was briefly captivated by her smile and stared for a moment. It was the kind of smile often worn by those who lived in Carlyle’s world. Evelyn, who had blended into it as naturally as though she had always belonged there, looked like a graceful princess.

“Are you a singer, Miss Mora? Your voice is lovely.”

A gentle voice that said exactly what the other person wanted to hear. If anything, Evelyn was the one who felt like an actress performing a tragedy.

Iris shook her head, embarrassed.

“Thank you for saying so. I’m a teacher.”

“Ah……”

Evelyn’s response to her answer carried a slightly ambiguous note. Half surprise, half something like discomfiture.

Most of the faces around her looked similar. Iris also caught a woman standing behind the group raising a fan and whispering to the person beside her.

“Then how did you and the President……”

A man finally spoke up. He seemed to want the answer badly enough to risk Carlyle’s reaction. This was territory even Comus had not yet uncovered.

“It’s rude to ask a lady something like that.”

It was Evelyn who cut off the idle curiosity. The flawless Evelyn Spencer, who neither asked about nor showed interest in anyone’s private affairs.

“What a shame, that might have been an interesting story. One really must watch what one says in front of Miss Spencer.”

Davis looked at the man who had spoken and clicked his tongue with exaggerated regret. The man ended up apologizing to both Iris and Carlyle. Evelyn had become the guardian of a lady’s dignity.

After her intervention, fewer people approached Iris. Evelyn drew the atmosphere smoothly back to herself and took her place at the center of the conversation. When she spoke to Michel, her Imperial was flawless. The conversation shifted back to Volterra’s language because of her.

‘I’m tired.’

Iris seemed to be the only one in the entire glass hall who found this sort of gathering awkward and draining. Still, with Evelyn having drawn away the attention that had been focused on her, Iris could breathe for a moment.

‘He said I just had to show up, but this is far more work than that.’

Attending as Carlyle’s lover was not something she could get away with simply standing still like a doll.

People kept gathering around him, and it was only natural that they would speak to Iris out of courtesy. It was no different from standing through hours of parent consultations, the majority of them nobility. If dealing with people like this weren’t already her profession, she would have collapsed long ago.

She was just thinking she hoped Evelyn would stay for at least another thirty minutes, when,

「What do you think, Miss Mora?」

Without warning, Evelyn directed everyone’s attention to Iris.

‘What were they talking about?’

It would be awkward to reveal she hadn’t been paying attention, but giving a completely wrong answer would make her look foolish. Evelyn might have been making an effort to include her, noticing she had drifted.

「I’m sorry, I was briefly distracted by the desserts that just came out. Would you mind repeating that, if it’s not too much trouble?」

Iris used a method she had often seen parents employ. They described their wandering thoughts with graceful excuses, blaming a bird outside the window or a falling leaf.

‘I should have blamed something more like a sculpture.’

She regretted it slightly, but only for a moment.

「…… We were discussing the effective date of the legislation Sir Bardo had tabled.」

There was a faint tension in Evelyn’s voice as she spoke.

Fluency in Imperial was a symbol of social standing. Yet Iris Mora was nearly indistinguishable from a native speaker.

‘She said she was a teacher. Did she learn Imperial at a girls’ school?’

The skill was impressive even for that, but some people were simply born with a gift for language.

「Oh, I saw it in the papers. Next month, isn’t it? I understand it took quite a long time to get there. Congratulations, Sir Bardo.」

While Evelyn’s guarded eyes turned briefly to Iris, she offered Michel her congratulations.

「Thank you, Miss Mora. His Majesty has graciously agreed to issue an imperial decree. He is truly an emperor befitting a new era.」

「How wonderful! Then its passage is certain. This should mean fewer people caught up in unjust civil suits.」

A slight crease formed between Evelyn’s brows.

Once again, Iris Mora had been perfect. She was even keeping up with Volterra’s current affairs. The atmosphere began to tilt naturally back toward Iris.

Unfortunately, the only person in the room who hadn’t known Iris was Volterran was Evelyn Spencer. Without realizing that here, of all places, she was the outsider, Evelyn opened her mouth again.

「I hear His Majesty is also reorganizing the promulgation. Perhaps to build a stronger foundation, Miss Mora?」

「Ah…… the promulgation……?」

「Yes. Promulgation issued by the Emperor.」

Iris’s head tilted slightly. Evelyn’s pleasant smile returned at last.

「I’m sorry, I may have used too difficult a term……」

This was the moment to show this poor little teacher what heights she could never reach.

「Oh! You mean the imperial edicts? The Legislation Compilation?」

Iris clapped her hands together. The smile vanished from Evelyn’s face.

‘The Legislation…… what?’

She hadn’t even properly caught the word Iris had said.

「It’s a rather difficult term for those from other countries. It refers to the work of collecting the imperial edicts of successive emperors and compiling them into a reference code of law.」

「……」

「You know so many advanced terms, Miss Spencer. Imperial is not an easy language. That’s remarkable.」

Iris gave Evelyn a smile that was entirely sincere.

It was an objective fact that Evelyn’s ability was considerable. Many of the noble parents who came to the school also made a point of speaking Imperial to Iris, but compared to Evelyn, they were at a child’s level.

‘How……’

Even so, to Evelyn’s ears, Iris’s bright, clear voice sounded exactly like someone praising a child at a primary school.

Evelyn’s face had gone rigid.

“Pfft……”

Davis burst out laughing.

“Ha ha, indeed. Impressive, Miss Spencer. However, given my line of work, the conversation may get quite technical, so please everyone feel free to use whichever language is most comfortable. Your consideration is very much appreciated.”

Even Michel stepped in with a consoling tone toward Evelyn. It appeared to be a change of subject, but in the end it was an opportunity, born from Evelyn’s misstep, to raise Iris’s standing. He was sorry for the young countess, but using her distinguished name as a stepping stone to elevate his model’s value was too good to pass up.

“Of course. Not everyone can be like Miss Mora or Sir Bardo. Or shall we drop the work talk entirely, Miss Spencer?”

“Let’s move to a lighter topic, for Miss Spencer’s sake.”

The people in the group switched back to Lafreia’s language one by one, speaking in tones that seemed to soothe Evelyn.

Evelyn was not naive enough to miss that it was mockery. The composed smile she had been wearing vanished in an instant as her face flushed. Her blazing eyes were now fixed squarely on Iris.

‘Why is she angry?’

Iris gave a small start.

“Miss Mora is a teacher of Volterran nationality.”

Carlyle gave Evelyn the answer to what had happened. It was as good as announcing publicly just how foolish Evelyn’s petty scheme to put Iris in her place had been. What everyone had been laughing at inwardly but couldn’t say aloud, Carlyle said without any particular feeling.

“She simply speaks multiple languages because she was born in Lafreia. Pfft……”

Davis, apparently on the verge of a real laugh, clamped his hand over his own mouth.

“I understand the Convent School has teachers gather every morning for a newspaper discussion. For the sake of high-quality education, I’ve heard.”

As Evelyn’s expression darkened, Michel quickly changed the subject. It seemed like a redirect, but it was ultimately an attempt to elevate the level of common sense Iris had revealed, made possible by Evelyn’s blunder. He was sorry for the countess, but she had served as a perfect platform to raise his model’s stock.

“My, the Convent School? You must be a teacher at the Raphael Convent School, established under the alliance agreement?”

“Yes, I teach the children Imperial.”

“Oh! I heard the President provides newspapers and magazines to that school. Is that how you met?”