145. A Grand Intersection (1)
Harnie let out a sigh as she walked towards the carriage.
Today was the last day of the break, and a party was prepared just before the Eastern Noble Assembly began.
Although it was called a party, it was an event where many stories would be exchanged among the participants, so she couldn’t afford to miss it.
However, she didn’t want to attend, and it was unavoidable.
-Who will they try to seduce this time?
-The poor lady who gets deceived is really pitiful. To think that they got caught up in a flower-like scheme and got hurt.
-Are you skilled in seducing men and making them fall for you?
As someone who had become the enemy of the entire social circle due to Helly, she felt uncomfortable in that place.
No matter what she did, she was already guilty.
When a man was involved, rumors of scandals or evil deeds would spread, and even if she tried to explain, they would shut their ears and tie her up with force.
Moreover, men would send rumors or whisper sweet nothings to seduce, and if she tried to shake them off, it would start a vicious cycle, and bad rumors would spread among the ladies.
It would probably be the same here.
Since women from the social circle would also be attending the assembly, it was clear what would happen at this party.
However, the real problem wasn’t that.
“Ugh…! Why did they have to say that to those people!”
Harnie had once been surrounded by ladies in the social circle and faced a crisis.
Since there were people who would catch and expose her relationships with other men, she was in danger of being discovered while preparing the funds to leave the Duchy of Teresia.
In that situation, there was only one way to avoid the crisis.
To have a fiancé.
Claiming to have a fiancé was the best way to avoid the Duchy’s suspicions.
However, she didn’t think it through.
-If you’re that close, can’t you show us your dance with your fiancé?
-There’s nothing like a dance on stage to show the distance between a man and a woman. If you’re that close… you won’t be able to avoid showing it.
-You can directly show it at the upcoming Eastern Noble Assembly, can’t you, Lady Harnie?
With her fiancé’s existence and their close relationship, she ended up exposing her weaknesses instead.
As a result, she had to dance at this party without a choice.
This was a huge problem, so Harnie instinctively put her hand on her forehead.
“Ah, I can dance, but… the Duke of Karsein wouldn’t know the first thing about it.”
She wasn’t familiar with the noble etiquette, so she had to receive frequent lessons, and even had to send a separate book with corrections.
Her fiancé, who knew little about noble etiquette, would find it difficult to dance properly.
To make matters worse, time was running out.
She tried to find an opportunity to tell Karsein about this, but…
The suspicious gazes from the Marquis’s household made her unable to send a reply, and she couldn’t even find the time.
If this continued, her lies would be exposed.
Harnie glanced at her watch.
“How much time is left…?”
No matter how she looked at it, there were only a few hours left.
Including the time it took to arrive at the party venue in the east, she would only have a few tens of minutes to practice.
Without even having the chance to send a letter to the Bagrand Duchy, Harnie grasped her skirt and hastened her steps towards the carriage.
“Ow…!”
Harnie suddenly felt a sharp pain and stopped in her tracks, closing her eyes tightly.
It seemed that the Marquis’s household was intentionally trying to prevent her from attending the party today.
“No, I can’t afford to stop now.”
Harnie took a deep breath, endured the pain, and continued on.
This was the second crisis.
If she couldn’t overcome this naturally, the tower she had built would come crashing down.
Harnie got on the carriage, gritting her teeth in pain.
As she rode the carriage, she deeply pondered what other methods she could use, but none came to mind.
No matter how hard she tried to come up with an alternative, the conclusion was that the moment her lies were exposed, she would be ostracized by both the Marquis’s household and the social circle.
Before she knew it, the pain began to resurface.
Harnie got off the carriage and faced the grand party venue.
“…Did I really think I could make it on time?”
Well, it was only natural.
The Bagrand Duchy had never shown much interest in these kinds of parties, so it was common for them to leave early and return to their own seats.
She had hoped that Karsein would arrive first, but things wouldn’t go that smoothly.
“I can only wait and see. If I can arrive at the Duchy a little earlier…”
As Harnie wandered around the party venue with a nervous heart…
She heard the sound of horse hooves from a nearby location, followed by cheers.
“…Could it be?”
Harnie’s eyes sparkled at the noble’s cheers, and she quickly moved towards the source of the sound. It was possible that the Bagrand Duchy had arrived.
This was a highly likely scenario.
The Bagrand Duchy, who stood at the pinnacle of the nobility, was a family that received much envy and admiration, as well as resentment.
But…
Let’s head to the source of the sound. But it wasn’t the Bagurand Duke’s family who arrived there.
“Oh my goodness…”
“Who is that person?”
“How can they be so majestic…”
The owners of the cheering voices were undoubtedly the noble ladies attending the party… However, their reason for cheering wasn’t what one would expect.
“…Carsain?”
With the ladies who had fainted and were now clutching their chests leading the way, all sorts of noble ladies surrounded him.
***
What’s going on?
What on earth is happening?
I chose the safest time to arrive by carriage.
I knew the areas with high danger levels, so I analyzed the building structure and route, and chose this path.
I hoped there wouldn’t be other options, and I didn’t want to encounter any variables by meeting the nobles here.
So, I chose this path and moved alone.
“What is your surname, sir?”
“You’re so robust… Are you a knight?”
“Please tell us your family name. We’d like to invite you to our salon.”
For some reason, more people were gathering.
“Ha, what’s going on?”
The time wasn’t wrong.
If I got off the carriage at 5:15 pm, I could avoid meeting most of the key characters and move without being noticed, as I wasn’t with the Duke’s family.
Moreover, this path was more frequently used by commoners than nobles.
Those who wanted to avoid using the same path as commoners wouldn’t want to come this way.
The danger level was also green, indicating a safe zone.
Here, other episodes wouldn’t occur, and the options were also limited. It was a path I had often taken in the game.
Considering the perfect clear reward, it was impossible for such an incident to occur.
“But why are so many people gathering here?”
I had no idea.
It was frustrating.
If I wasn’t careful, someone passing by might see me like this, and an option might arise.
If that someone was a character related to the start of a sub-episode, a forced sub-episode would progress, and I would be penalized in the main episode.
Worst of all, if the Duke’s family noticed me here?
The worst-case scenario could unfold.
This is bad. I need to shake off these women first…
How can I shake them off?
If I used force, a sub-episode where Carsain used violence at the party could progress.
There was a clear precedent for that in the perfect clear reward.
If I threatened them with a sword, the news might reach Ariana, and I could be dragged away. There was also the risk of being mistaken for a molester if I touched one of these ladies wrong.
I couldn’t do anything reckless.
“How about we move to a different seat and have a simple conversation?”
“Are the refreshments also prepared?”
“Who is this person? I’m curious, so please introduce yourself slowly.”
Damn it. Introductions are a pain in the neck.
If I say I’m Karcean Baugrand, the women will immediately freak out and scatter.
This won’t do. I’ll just have to force myself to leave for now.
If I stay in this place like a fool, it’s clear that I’ll get caught 100%.
To avoid getting caught in an unclear variable, I’ll have to take some penalty and get out of here, no matter what.
It would be nice if someone would just scold me and get it over with.
They’d treat me like some uncultured guy, pointing fingers and making a fuss.
“Don’t block the way, move aside, I─”
Just then.
Someone burst into the group of women and grabbed my hand firmly.
“What the hell is this?!”
“Who is that person? You’re in the middle of a conversation, and suddenly they appear out of nowhere…!”
“This is extremely rude!”
The sound of the women’s discontent didn’t last long.
“That’s something I should say to you.”
Among the women here, no one knows my real name.
At best, I can only tell how much they dislike me by looking at their friendliness level.
But there was one person here who clearly knew my name.
“What are you doing to my fiancé?”
From noble mtl dot com
Harinee Theresa.
On the surface, she’s the woman engaged to Karcean.
In reality, she’s someone who can help me in this ridiculous situation through our contract.
***
The women’s reaction to Harinee’s appearance was sharply divided.
Some people scowled, some people wondered “Is that person…?” and guessed my name vaguely. And some people clenched their fists, showing sudden hostility towards Harinee…
“Let’s go. Karcean.”
Anyway, with her help, I could easily avoid the dangerous situation.
…But, was it just my imagination?
Usually, I would hold Harinee’s hand and escort her slowly, but today, Harinee was holding my hand and leading me instead.
It wasn’t an escort, but it felt like she was almost dragging me.
“Hey, Harinee. Can’t you let go now?”
“…”
When I asked, Harinee stopped in her tracks, glanced at me sideways, and said,
” Humph. Just follow me quietly.”
Then she started walking again.
What’s going on? This isn’t like her usual behavior.
Something feels off, so I asked again, trying to sound casual.
“…Harinee? Why are you doing this?”
“Don’t say a word and just follow me.”
“No, at least tell me where we’re going…”
“Didn’t I say not to say a word?”
This time, he didn’t even look back and walked swiftly away.
‘…If we get caught in a dangerous zone like this, it’ll be a disaster.’
But, I didn’t need to worry about that.
The place Harnie took me to was a secluded terrace where the nobles’ eyes couldn’t reach.
Looking at the location, it seemed to be a safe zone.
There were few nobles passing by. It didn’t seem difficult to kill time here without making a scene, just like during Claire’s coming-of-age ceremony.
-Dal-kak.
I thought I had taken a deep breath, but…
Harnie, who had closed the door, gazed at me with a strange expression.
“Why are you doing this?”
Did I do something wrong?
His gaze felt sharp and piercing.
I couldn’t help but tense up and ask…
“Did you have a good time among the noble ladies?”
Harnie replied, looking at me with a piercing gaze.
No, why are you doing this too?