My cool sister absolutely refused to stand for Caroline’s cunning, victim-playing attitude.
See, everyone? My sister is this cool.
“N-nonsense, Lady! That is going too far…!”
“Shut up, Lady.”
Periose looked at the young woman who had stepped up as Caroline’s spokesperson as if she were ready to commit murder.
Caroline’s spokesperson put on an expression intended to frame Periose as a villainess and began, “Oh my!”
Unable to just watch that, I stepped in abruptly.
“Caroline, I’d like you to get your facts straight.”
At my words, the gazes of the young ladies—who had been tense, fearing Periose might start her usual hysterics—all converged on me.
With all eyes on me, I pointed out the parts Caroline had twisted to her advantage.
“I wasn’t the one who dragged away ‘His Highness the Crown Prince, who was having a moment with you.’ You came to our table and pestered me about why I hadn’t visited your barony, and His Highness was sitting ‘alone’.”
Taken aback, Caroline’s face stiffened instantly as she spoke to me.
“So, what I meant was…”
“My sister only pointed out that it was wrong for you, a baroness, to order me, a viscountess, around. His Highness the Crown Prince was the one who started the argument with my sister while trying to defend you.”
“……!”
“And I was the one who made him leave his seat because I had something to say to him, since he was blaming my sister before even grasping the situation.”
Hearing this, the young ladies began to whisper among themselves.
Gratefully, one of them stepped forward and mentioned that there were times when the Crown Prince was unusually cold and aloof toward my sister specifically when Lady Caroline was present.
I found the young lady who had said that and replied immediately.
“Exactly! I’ve found that so baffling myself. It’s almost as if someone has been badmouthing my sister to His Highness the Crown Prince every time.”
As soon as I finished, I turned my head to look at Caroline. She met my gaze with a wounded expression, her eyes brimming with tears.
“Ellie, I don’t know why you’ve changed like this. What on earth could I have done to you?”
“What was that?”
Because Caroline was openly blaming Periose for the change in my attitude, my sister flared up again.
Sensing she was hoping for a scene, I squeezed the arm I was holding to signal her not to fall for the provocation.
Then, I stepped in for my sister and said to Caroline:
“Caroline. That’s rude. Asking ‘what on earth you could have done to me.’ No matter how specially His Highness the Crown Prince treats you, it is improper for a mere baroness to use that tone with a Lady.”
At my words, the blood drained from Caroline’s face.
I remembered how, in the original story, every time she endured Periose’s outbursts, she would tell herself, ‘A mere baroness shouldn’t stand up to a Lady, I know that.’
To that extent, Caroline had been very conscious of rank versus Periose’s status in the original as well.
Perhaps that was a sensitive spot for her.
Just as Lloyd was a sensitive spot for Periose.
Regardless, it was clearly wrong for her to try and disparage me just because I stood on my sister’s side.
I also couldn’t forgive the original female lead for using lies to solicit pity.
Caroline was clearly targeting Periose rather than me, claiming that I had taken away Lloyd, with whom she was supposedly having a meeting.
After all, everyone would assume I could only act like that toward the Crown Prince because I had a Lady as my backer.
Since such things could happen again, I wanted to correct those behaviors here and now, so I poked at her sore spot. As expected, Caroline stared at me with a stiff face, forgetting even how to manage the expressions that were her greatest asset.
“I am not someone who acts recklessly just because His Highness the Crown Prince thinks of me specially.”
She looked terrified that the other young ladies might see her that way.
“For someone who says that, it’s quite clear to see you acting cheekily toward me while riding on Prince Lloyd’s coattails.”
When Periose interrupted to say that, Caroline bit her lower lip hard, as if aggrieved.
The tears that looked ready to spill at any moment mingled with that expression, making anyone who saw her feel a pang of pity.
Is this the female lead buff, I wonder?
She looked so kind and good-natured no matter what she did that I almost felt like I wanted to be like her.
“It’s a misunderstanding, Lady. I…”
“Enough. From now on, try to fix the habit of subtly layering lies on top of truths. Because of your way of speaking, other young ladies could get hurt, couldn’t they?”
I was pointing out that because of the lies she had craftily built, Periose and I had almost been viewed in a bad light.
I realized anew that my sister could speak articulately without resorting to hysterics, and I was overcome with emotion.
The villainess Periose, who used to fly into uncontrollable rages, was nowhere to be found now.
Caroline, who had the ability to subtly draw people’s hearts to her side, seemed flustered that Periose hadn’t caused a scene as she had anticipated.
That was to be expected, considering she had built an image of being a kind, pitiable, yet resilient and brave baroness who endured Periose’s outbursts until now.
“I apologize.”
Judging that there was nothing to gain by staying, Caroline bowed her head and turned away quickly.
Her sycophant follower called out to her and followed, but the other young ladies, seemingly uninterested, surrounded Periose and me again, curious about what happened when I called out the Crown Prince.
I didn’t miss the opportunity. To build up Periose’s reputation, I started explaining what had happened, eyes sparkling.
Of course, with a little seasoning to favor Periose.
Because of that, I managed to get voices to agree that “His Highness the Crown Prince is too much,” but since it was true that Lloyd had picked a fight first by telling Periose to stop, I didn’t feel particularly guilty.
* * *
Inside the carriage on the way home after the tea party.
“I really enjoyed today, Ellie.”
Periose said in a warm voice, looking out the window.
I smiled contentedly as I watched her.
It was because Periose, who had properly scolded Caroline today, looked so cool.
That was when it happened.
Suddenly, I felt someone’s gaze from outside the carriage.
There was no way anyone could peer into a moving carriage, but strangely, I felt watched.
I quickly turned my head to look out the window.
People were coming and going on the street at a moderate pace, filling my field of vision.
Even though I couldn’t see anyone staring into the carriage, I strangely kept feeling that gaze.
The ominous premonition I had felt before crawled up again.
Back then, I thought it was because the hunting festival was approaching, but this wasn’t just a simple feeling.
Someone was definitely watching me.
“What’s wrong, Ellie?”
Periose asked, seeing my expression stiffen.
“No, it’s nothing.”
I forced a smile at Periose and looked out the window as if nothing were wrong.
‘Well, what could happen?’
I calmed my anxious heart and thought about my sister’s affairs.
‘The strategy of creating a good reputation for my sister has turned to the fact that Lloyd behaves especially badly toward her whenever he is with Caroline. This was a good result. Thanks to that, everyone seemed to understand why my sister had outbursts against Caroline.’
Of course, my sister was still considered a nasty-tempered woman among the young ladies… Although I have the image of a villainess, their minds were now sufficiently imprinted with my existence, so the fact that ‘if you become close to the Young Lady, you can receive her infinite affection’ must have been imprinted as well.
Someone endlessly kind to their own people.
That is the public image of my sister that I am aiming for.
* * *
“My Lady! We’re receiving so many invitations!”
Becky, who burst through the door without even knocking, showed me the letters she was holding in both arms, making a fuss.
Seeing as there were three times as many invitations as yesterday, I found it understandable that Becky was this excited, so I let out a small, dry laugh.
“Aren’t you happy? All the notable young ladies of the empire want to invite you to their tea parties!”
It would be a lie to say I wasn’t happy, but it wasn’t enough to make a fuss like Becky.
In the first place, all those letters were likely sent because they couldn’t endure their curiosity after I failed to properly explain the contents of the article and my relationship with Theor at the first tea party.
Among them were group tea parties, as well as invitations for one-on-one sessions to chat.
I intended to visit all the young ladies who invited me to spread good stories about my sister at this opportunity, but since the first tea party had drained me so much, I concluded that attending one every single day would be a bit difficult.
For some reason, gatherings with young ladies have a strange quality of draining a lot of energy, so it might be better to attend a party once every two or three days and take a break for a day or two.
“Oh my, there’s even a letter from the Grand Duke’s son?”
Just then, Becky pulled out a letter stamped with the seal of the Grand Duke’s castle and held it out to me.
I opened the letter, wondering why he would use such a bothersome method when we had contact orbs.
[I would like to use the contact orb; would you grant me permission, Ellinea?]
I couldn’t help but let out a laugh at the letter, which only had a single line written on it.
Really, he truly is a steadfast and frustrating second male lead.