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Chapter : 60
“What did you say?”
Vanessa squinted her eyes as if she had misheard, asking again with a sharp, pressing gaze that demanded the words be repeated.
However—
“I said the words of Lady Vanessa Neselrod were rude.”
Paula instead doubled down and criticized her more specifically.
Even Paula herself didn’t know how she managed to do it.
But if she had been the player of Ark, she would’ve seen a flurry of system messages pop up in front of her.
[SYSTEM] The effect of the ‘Silver-Tongued Emerald Brooch’ has activated, revealing your hidden eloquence. Persuasiveness temporarily increased by 10%!
[SYSTEM] The effect of the ‘Rage-Inducing Diamond Earrings’ has activated. Your patience is reduced by 90%, and you feel an uncontrollable fury swelling in your chest!
Perhaps that was why.
Though Paula didn’t know it, a surge of courage, confidence, and long-suppressed anger at Vanessa and her clique welled up in her chest.
“Lady Paula, did you just call me rude?”
“Ask yourself.”
“…What?”
“Or is your sense of judgment so poor that you need to ask others?”
Her heart was pounding.
It all felt like a dream.
She couldn’t believe she was snapping back—at that Vanessa Neselrod.
Yet she couldn’t stop. She didn’t want to stop.
The rage she was feeling was actually still being restrained—because even now, she was trying not to lose her dignity in front of everyone.
So… she couldn’t stop. Not until Vanessa apologized for those arrogant words she had carelessly spit out.
“H-How dare you speak of Lady Vanessa’s judgment like that!”
“She was only worried about you! Are you lashing out because it hit a nerve?”
The young ladies acting like Vanessa’s handmaidens screeched as if they were the ones being insulted.
In the past, Paula would’ve shrunk back and quickly apologized.
“I misunderstood your good intentions, Lady Vanessa,” she would’ve said—meekly.
“If ‘judgment’ sounds too harsh, shall I replace it with ‘intelligence’?”
“W-What did you just say?!”
“I endured your rudeness up to now because I believed you at least had a basic level of judgment—or rather, intelligence. But…”
Sweat gathered in her clenched palms.
Though the words flowed out of her mouth like someone else was speaking, each one made her feel as if her chest were being squeezed by a corset.
“I never dreamed someone would insult the head of my family and speak so thoughtlessly about our private affairs—especially without being asked for advice.”
Still, she had to finish what she started. Paula continued speaking.
Because she was sure of one thing: what she was saying was right. And none of it was wrong.
“Or perhaps you don’t realize what you said was inappropriate? Truly?”
Shockingly, Vanessa—who always led the bullying against Paula—was at a complete loss for words.
In truth—
[SYSTEM] The effect of the ‘Counterattack Gold Bracelet’ has activated. Each time you retaliate, your opponent’s fighting spirit decreases! If the argument exceeds 10 minutes, their morale is halved!
It was thanks to the bracelet she was wearing.
As the crowd around them fell into silence, Paula’s anger also slightly cooled.
Strangely enough, the other young ladies’ momentum had faltered, and their expressions—including Vanessa’s—were…
Not bad.
Actually, they looked quite alright.
Even the daughter of Count Yeager didn’t seem to think this argument had ruined the party she hosted.
Still, prolonging such a hostile exchange was impolite, so Paula decided to wrap things up.
“It’s a basic principle, but if you truly ‘didn’t know’ something, then I’ll give you a pass just this once. I believe ignorance can be corrected through learning.”
“Lady Paula!”
“What’s the matter? Are you upset, perhaps?”
Vanessa had called her name sharply, her pride wounded—but Paula’s question immediately deflated her.
“Surely… you’re not upset just because someone pointed out your rudeness, right?”
“……”
“I was certainly offended—but I’m not speaking out of personal feelings.”
This was the moment.
The moment to return every bit of humiliation she had endured.
“I’m only saying this with the kind intention of helping you learn. So please, don’t take it the wrong way. You’re not hurt, are you?”
Silence followed.
And just as the gathered noble ladies were trying to figure out how to react—
“I wouldn’t dream of making such a rude comment about another noble house’s affairs,” said a new voice.
It was Helene, who had remained silent until now.
“That’s my response, Lady Neselrod.”
Then, the daughter of Count Yeager also calmly spoke.
“I, too, have no desire to gossip or pass judgment—especially not about a guest I invited to my party.”
A total victory on one side, a complete defeat on the other. But the one smiling at the end had changed.
The good feeling Paula had when she left the ducal estate had proven true.
Because today was the day that Paula Ulmer—once the black sheep of high society—had secured her first complete victory.
***
Paula’s behavior toward me changed noticeably.
She no longer acted irritating or snide when we crossed paths. If anything, she seemed a bit cautious.
But it was the head maid, Mrs. Bier, who came to offer tribute and made me truly realize the shift.
“Lady Paula has ordered that we stop keeping watch on Lady Adelheid.”
“Hm? Keeping watch? What kind of watch?”
“She had ordered us to monitor your activities and outings and report them to her. It began… around last fall, my lady! O-Of course, I dutifully followed her orders at the time, but I’ve now sworn my loyalty entirely to you…”
Last fall—that would’ve been before I transmigrated into this world, and even before the gameplay officially began.
…So she had been spying on me while pretending not to care. How sneaky.
Really, there’s not one decent character in Ark.
“Well, got it.”
I cut off the rambling maid and nodded.
The maid, worried that I might scold her for spying on me, hurriedly fumbled with something in her coat and pulled out money.
“H-Here. Th-This is the tribute, my lady. I know it’s not much…”
“Alright.”
I calmly held out my hand.
Perhaps she had hoped that tattling about Paula would get her a discount—but my indifferent expression crushed that hope. Still, she didn’t forget her duties and handed me the money with trembling hands.
She had brought me 2,000 dalings. From the perspective of someone who now felt like a super-rich heiress from Dubai, it was mere pocket change.
Still—more money was always a good thing. I hadn’t forgotten my bitter past, sobbing while mining with a pickaxe…
Actually, it wasn’t even possible to forget.
Randolph, who had taken over the pickaxing in my place, never missed a chance to grumble about it.
‘I really should get another slave soon just for Randolph’s sake.’
It was about time I brought in a reliable new slave. Randolph was already working overtime, not just mining but also acting as my spy.
“She called it a ‘decisive victory,’ apparently.”
“A decisive victory?”
“Yes. She said there was this woman named Vanessa Neselrod who always looked down on her and picked fights, and she finally put her in her place. She was so happy about it that she even bought luxury cookies for the maids.”
Judging from Randolph’s intel, it seemed the dresses and accessories I’d given Paula were working to her advantage.
“U-Um, my lady?”
At the maid’s voice, I snapped out of my thoughts and looked at her.
“Good work, Head Maid.”
“N-Not at all, my lady. B-But… with prices rising lately, it’s getting difficult to continue offering you extra allowance like this…”]
