Chapter 69

The 254th Royal Banquet of the Frozen Kingdom.

Hundreds of long, candle-shaped lights floated near the ceiling through magic, illuminating the hall.

They were the work of Empress Grace, who had left her mark on royal history through her mastery of magic.

“Wow... Magnificent.”

“Candles floating in the sky. It is like looking at the stars.”

The nobles who had arrived early admired the ceiling with open wonder.

Others had already formed small groups and begun their real conversations.

“The Kreutz family is attending this time, correct?”

“Yes. That is why everyone has been in such an uproar.”

The banquet had officially begun, but the highest-ranking families had yet to arrive.

By custom, they arrived late to emphasize the difference in status. Members of the royal family were often delayed by as much as an hour.

“High society is about to become much more entertaining.”

The nobles did not mind.

If anything, they saw this period as an opportunity to gossip freely about the great families without worrying about being overheard.

“We have not seen Duke Kreutz in five years. Every time there was a banquet, I was so disappointed that I could not admire that handsome face.”

“Exactly. And I heard he succeeded in yet another monster subjugation?”

A noblewoman smiled as °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° she fanned herself.

“I will not be able to speak to the Duke, of course. I will only admire him from afar... but this banquet should be quite entertaining.”

“They found Young Lord Lucas too, did they not?”

A young noblewoman nearby, who had been listening with perked ears, joined the conversation.

“And I heard he adopted an orphan girl into the main line?”

Duke Kreutz, hero of the north.

Young Lord Lucas, found after five years.

And Lady Aisha, the child who had risen to an impossibly high status.

Every front page during the first half of the year had been occupied by the Kreutz family.

And if one were asked which event had caused the greatest upheaval in high society—

“...To think an orphan was adopted into the Kreutz family. I was born into a marquis’s family, and I cannot help but feel wronged...”

—it was Lady Aisha.

“I admit, I am a little worried. Would she even know noble etiquette?”

“She is five. It will probably seem endearing.”

“But my daughter is also five, and she already knows the basics of proper conduct.”

“That is true. And she is attending before even making her social debut?”

Aisha had been a thorn in the side of the established nobility from the moment her name first appeared in the newspapers.

An orphan becoming a noble?

Not merely a noble, but one ranked above the majority of the aristocracy?

Those who had been nobles to their very bones regarded Aisha with both curiosity and unease.

Perhaps that was why—

“Who knows? She was raised as an orphan. Imagine how curious she must be about high society. Perhaps she begged the Duke until he was forced to bring her.”

“Why did the Duke adopt an orphan in the first place?”

“He shut himself away for five years after losing the Duchess and his children. He must have been lonely.”

“What convenient timing. She appeared just as he began to feel that emptiness and managed to secure an adoption...”

“When you put it that way, she sounds rather calculating.”

“She is calculating! There are countless pitiful children in this world. She must have had something that set her apart from the rest, or she would never have been adopted.”

The cheerful conversation gradually deteriorated into petty jealousy.

“But now that Young Lord Lucas has returned, would he truly care about some orphan?”

“Exactly. He may have found her cute at first, but once his true blood relative returned, she must have become an unwanted burden.”

Who could say?

Perhaps throughout the banquet, Duke Kreutz would dote only on Lucas and barely spare Aisha a glance.

“Pfft!”

Perhaps they had all imagined the same thing.

Several groups exchanged knowing looks and raised their fans to hide their smiles.

They had been entertaining themselves with such low-grade gossip for quite some time when—

“Entering now: Duke Calypse Kreutz, head of the Kreutz family, ruler and hero of the north; Young Lord Lucas Kreutz; and Lady Aisha Kreutz!”

At the gatekeeper’s announcement, every noble who had been fluttering a fan turned toward the entrance at once.

The enormous doors opened on both sides—

“......!”

Several young noblewomen stopped breathing as a man strode into the hall on long legs.

Duke Kreutz wore a white formal uniform symbolizing the north.

The tailored uniform fitted his massive inverted-triangle frame perfectly. Medals chronicling his history adorned the left side of his chest.

His black hair was swept back from his straight forehead. His sharp yet deep-set eyes, his cool expression, and his high, well-defined nose made him look like the subject of a masterpiece drawn in bold, rugged lines.

But there was another reason the nobles’ mouths fell open.

“My daughter, are you nervous? Shall we go eat some chocolate? Look over there. They have a chocolate fountain.”

The man whose very presence made him difficult to approach—

“Let us go see the chocolate fountain. Do not be scared, my baby.”

“I’m not scared, though?”

—was carrying a fearless child in his arms and fussing over her as though she might shatter.

And Young Lord Lucas, walking beside him—

“Dandelion, once you get down from Father’s arms, you have to hold only my hand, all right? Do not let go. Understand?”

—kept circling around the Duke while staring solely at the little blond child.

What in the world...?

Every fluttering fan froze in place.

The hero they revered.

The mysterious, handsome duke who had not appeared in high society for five years.

Not only had he entered while holding the orphan girl, but he was now cutting through the crowd to reach the chocolate fountain.

And the little young lady named Aisha—

“I’m craving strawberries more than chocolate.”

—pointed toward another table with one short finger.

“Then we shall have strawberries.”

“Dandelion, I suddenly feel like eating strawberries too!”

The two men immediately turned in the direction of Aisha’s finger and charged toward the strawberry desserts at a brisk pace.

“......”

“......”

The faces of the nobles who had spent so long disparaging Aisha stiffened.

They did not hear us, did they?

What if other nobles who had overheard their enthusiastic gossip repeated it to the Duke?

Rustle.

One after another, they subtly hid their faces behind their fans and moved toward groups having perfectly ordinary conversations.

“My, what were you discussing?”

“Oh! We happened to greet Lady Aisha just now, and she was so polite and remarkably composed.”

“Truly?”

“Yes. Her manners were so flawless that one would think she had already made her social debut. So we were just about to... properly introduce ourselves to the young lady. Please excuse us...”

“Pardon?”

When the noblewoman holding the fan asked in confusion—

“We should take our leave.”

The young noblewomen gave awkward smiles, bowed with perfect courtesy, and withdrew.

We intend to side with Lady Aisha, and you will never be accepted into our circle.

“......”

It was an unyielding rejection.

***

Unaware of what was happening behind me, I was busy eating strawberry desserts.

“This is delicious, Lucas.”

“Dandelion, try the cream cake too. The texture is strangely different from the cakes made at our estate.”

Lucas speared a piece of cake with his fork and brought it to my lips.

“Mmm.”

I chewed, swallowed the cake, and gave him a pleased smile.

“Proceed in three hours.”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

I could hear Calypse saying something to Knox above me, but—

“Mmm.”

He will handle it. He is the hero of the north, after all.

I was extremely satisfied.

Drunk on the sugar from the cake, I relaxed into a contented straight-eyed expression and burrowed into Father’s chest.

I had not intended to behave like this from the beginning.

At first, I had planned to play the role of an intelligent young lady who declared, I can do everything by myself!

But before we entered—

“Now that Young Lord Lucas has returned, would he truly care about some orphan?”

“Exactly. He may have thought she was cute at first, but once his true blood relative returned, she must have become an unwanted burden.”

After hearing my reputation through the doors, I had decided to change that plan.

Well, I had not exactly meant to change it.

“Write down the names of every bastard taking part in that conversation.”

But when Father ordered Knox in a blazing rage, I had no choice but to intervene.

Calculating, am I?

Still cradled in Father’s arms, I glared toward a certain part of the hall.

It was where the nobles who had disparaged me were standing.

As though pricked by my gaze, they hid their faces behind their fans and slipped away.

Calculating? Me? Shall I show you what truly calculating looks like?

I was a former spy.

And I was five years old.

I would go beyond calculation and crush their pride with meticulous precision.

“Father.”

“What is it?”

“Your calculating daughter would like to greet Her Majesty Empress Grace. Together with Knox.”