The magnificent party hall, gilded to recreate an ancient palace, welcomed the nobles.

Luxurious decorations filled every corner the eye could see.

Even the fresh flowers adorning the tables were sprinkled with gold dust.

Even nobles accustomed to luxury had their eyes wide open.

“Baron Rotten must really have a lot of money.”

“Even so, he must have gone overboard to do this much.”

The splendid party firmly impressed Dietrich Rotten’s wealth upon the guests.

At the same time, this extravagance concealed another intention.

“Now I understand.”

“Understand what?”

“Why the arrogant Calliphe Offensa is marrying a mere thug of a Baron.”

The nobles sneered.

“She’s selling herself for money, that’s what.”

“She was so proud of being a direct descendant, but now that’s going to change.”

“You mean Young Marquis Caiman?”

Making even the shield of direct lineage that Calliphe clung to into an object of ridicule.

After confirming these reactions through his servants, Dietrich smiled crookedly.

With her status fallen this far, she would find it difficult to maintain her footing in the Capital’s social circles, and would docilely follow through with the marriage.

Everything was going smoothly.

“Baron, it’s time for you to make your appearance.”

“Good.”

Dietrich adjusted his attire one more time and entered the party hall.

“Welcome, everyone. Thank you for coming to grace this special occasion. Of course—”

His words trailed off as he spotted Calliphe standing to one side with her arms crossed.

Though Calliphe was just standing there with clear eyes, lost in thought, no one dared approach her vicinity.

Not knowing her place and still maintaining such an air.

Thinking this, Dietrich smiled at Calliphe.

“The most radiant person here must be Lady Offensa, my bride-to-be.”

As those words fell, people looked at Calliphe with a mix of tension and anticipation.

‘She’ll surely cause a scene in anger!’

Everyone had similar expectations.

However.

“That’s right.”

“…!”

Far from getting angry, Calliphe broke into a bright smile.

“Being a bride-to-be makes every day so happy lately.”

Even those who had been mocking her were momentarily dazed by her smile, truly worthy of being called the golden rose of social circles.

But Dietrich felt an inexplicable chill.

‘Why has she been acting so different from usual lately?’

The spot where he had been flicked before started hurting, detecting danger.

That’s when Calliphe continued speaking.

“As the bride-to-be, I also have something to announce.”

“…An announcement? Now?”

“Yes.”

Click-clack, Calliphe climbed the stairs and pushed Dietrich aside.

“Move aside.”

“Wh-what, hey!”

In his confusion, Dietrich, despite being much taller than Calliphe, was pushed aside like a twig.

Having boldly taken over the attention-drawing position, Calliphe addressed the crowd.

“Everyone, thank you for taking time out of your busy schedules to attend my marriage announcement party.”

“…Congratulations on the joyous occasion.”

The nobles were just bewildered by Calliphe’s rude speech.

That’s when one tactless noble asked.

“Are you truly happy about getting married?”

“……”

Calliphe remained silent.

The sudden silence instantly drew everyone’s attention and tension.

Even the soft background music abruptly stopped.

Dietrich caught onto Calliphe’s intention.

‘Is she deliberately keeping quiet to maximize people’s attention?’

What nonsense is she planning to spout!

Before he could hurriedly step in, Calliphe spoke first.

“Of course I’m happy. I was the one who chased after him asking to get married.”

“Oh, Lady Offensa pursued Baron Rotten…?!”

“However.”

Calliphe dropped an unexpected stone into the shocked audience.

“It’s someone else.”

“…!”

“My marriage partner isn’t Baron Rotten, but another man I’ve been having secret meetings with for a long time.”

“…!!”

Then Calliphe announced to Dietrich.

“So stop being so clingy.”

“Wh-what!? Hey! What is this!”

“Stop sending letters asking if I’m sleeping at dawn.”

“When did I ever!”

Though Dietrich shouted with an expression like he was about to lose his mind, most people were already accepting Calliphe’s announcement as fact.

Or more precisely, they seemed to have an attitude of not caring which version was true.

Because it was more exciting than a makjang opera!

Dietrich’s finger trembled as he pointed at Calliphe.

“Y-you, are you making up these lies to mess with me?”

“It’s not a lie.”

Calliphe gestured broadly at the gathered crowd.

“That person is right here in this room.”

“…!!”

The highly excited nobles buzzed with chatter as they looked around frantically.

Among them, Lynen Ortega was alone sipping champagne and thinking.

‘How surprising. Who could that poor person be?’

Whoever could handle that unpredictable personality must be quite the remarkable individual. Did they even know about her drinking habits?

“N-now wait. Everyone, calm down! No, please calm down!”

Though Dietrich stepped forward, the commotion showed no signs of settling.

Having said what she wanted to say, Calliphe had already quietly descended from the podium. She even playfully winked when their eyes met.

“Augh, isn’t she completely crazy!”

At this rate, this party that he had gone to such lengths to hold would be ruined.

Dietrich ground his teeth.

‘No choice. I’ll have to move that up!’

“Everyone!”

Ding ding ding. Dietrich tapped his glass loudly to draw attention.

“There seems to be some misunderstanding. Please disregard the previous announcement. Because I am the one marrying Lady Offensa!”

“……”

The look in people’s eyes as they stared at him was somewhat strange. Tinged with sympathy…

Dietrich hurriedly brought up the main point.

“To apologize for the confusion!”

Clap clap.

As Dietrich clapped lightly, a large curtain on one side of the hall was drawn aside with a swoosh.

What was revealed was a passage leading to another venue.

“I’ve prepared a very special performance, so please enjoy.”

The nobles, finally showing interest, began to move.

Dietrich, breathing a sigh of relief, hurriedly moved as well.

And he informed the mercenaries waiting behind the stage that the schedule had been moved up.

The mercenaries showed some reluctance.

“But we haven’t finished feeding the magical beasts yet. We need to feed them a bit so they don’t rampage too much.”

“We can control them with magical tools anyway, so what’s the problem?”

Dietrich sneered irritably.

“When it’s the biggest one’s turn, pretend to get pushed back and drive the magical beast towards Calliphe Offensa. Then I’ll handle the rest, got it? What, are you scared?”

“…No. We’ll do it.”

“That’s more like it.”

Dietrich smirked with satisfaction at the mercenaries’ spiteful response.

* * *

“The magical beast battle will begin shortly!”

I was internally surprised at the announcer’s words.

Magical beast battles? That was a sport from ancient times.

A cruel sport where humans fought magical beasts while spectators placed bets and enjoyed the show.

As dangerous as it was, it required a proper venue, but all I could see before me was a theatrical stage that was merely grand and spacious.

‘This makes the front row the most dangerous, doesn’t it?’

The distance between the stage and front seats was close too.

A servant guided me to my seat.

“Lady Offensa’s seat is in the front row with the best view of the performance.”

“…I’ll sit in the back.”

“What? But the seating has already been arranged, so that would be difficult…”

“Then I’ll just stand in the back.”

“B-but if the Baron finds out you’re standing in the back, he’ll scold me…”

That’s when it happened.

“Do you have a hobby of making servants uncomfortable?”

A pleasant baritone voice tickled my ear.

When I turned around, Duke Ortega had approached without me noticing.

“Creating a scene won’t help your secret lover.”

“Ugh.”

I unconsciously took half a step back.

“…What do you mean?”

“No, I just want to make it clear that my relationship with my secret lover is very wholesome.”

I clearly remembered Duke Ortega from when we first met.

He was someone righteous enough to be considerate of a child sponsored by a woman he disliked, but at the same time demanded high standards from me as a guardian.

‘Did he come to lecture me?’

Lynen’s lectures seemed like they might hurt a bit. It would feel like being scolded by a textbook.

“Noah comes first for me, no matter what.”

“……”

Lynen stared at me with an unreadable expression.

Then he suddenly said, “I didn’t ask.”

“How annoying.”