RFLAS 13

Chapter 13

For a moment, I could have sworn the gentle banquet music playing in the background came to a screeching halt.

Wha… What’s this?

Eyes of crimson, emerald, and violet had, at some point, all turned and focused on me. No matter how you looked at it, this was not a good sign.

The first among them to break the silence was Devric.

“What did you say? Did you just say ‘Shashamo’?!”

“…This woman is her fan?”

Even Duke Leopold of the North, who had been silent until now, glared at me. For a moment, I was left speechless, unable to utter a word.

‘Why are they treating me like this?’

It hadn’t even been a full minute since I’d decided it was cliché to think a line like that… and now this had happened. The situation was a bit different from what I’d imagined, though.

“Wh-why are you looking at me like that? Is something wrong?”

Using the acting skills I’d honed while sneakily observing Charlotte earlier, I desperately forced an innocent, pitiful expression onto my face. It didn’t seem to work very well.

“You said you were Charlotte’s childhood friend, didn’t you? Martin, have you ever seen her with a female fan before?”

“No, at least not to my knowledge.”

“Exactly…”

The male leads, who had been exchanging glances amongst themselves, turned their eyes back to me. It didn’t look good. They were staring at me with highly suspicious expressions.

‘Are they suspicious just because I’m a female fan? Do they think I might be a possessor?’

The Shashamo members, being otaku themselves, didn’t find me particularly strange, but the ‘normal’ male leads apparently found me peculiar and suspicious.

As expected of male leads, their instincts were superior to the average person’s—something to be commended, I suppose—but for me, it was just a disaster.

‘I need to think of something… Or I’m dead!’

As my panicked brain scrambled to fabricate an excuse, a displeasing smile flickered at the edge of my vision. A pair of violet irises. It was Oscar’s.

In that instant, I immediately understood the whole truth.

He had been suspicious of me from the start and laid a trap with his question. I just didn’t know his motive.

‘He guided Julian to bring up the topic of me being in Shashamo.’

But this was no time for deductive games. If I hesitated any longer, it would be as good as admitting I was a possessor. I had to come up with an excuse, anything, and fast.

“…Lady Sera is different from the average Shashamo member.”

Just then, a voice of defense suddenly jumped in, cutting me off. The speaker was none other than Julian.

“Different from other Shashamos? What do you mean by that?”

When Devric asked, Julian continued without batting an eye.

“When Lady Sera encountered Lady Hanov earlier, she seemed genuinely happy. The same went for Lady Hanov.”

…I did?

“The two of you looked good together.”

“Oh… Is that so?”

Huh…?

Though his argument was closer to a flimsy excuse, the testimony that Charlotte had been happy seemed to strip away most of the suspicion from the other male leads.

‘Seriously? The same guys who were just suspicious a second ago…?’

Their sudden change in attitude, a masterclass in tactical shifting, left me utterly bewildered, but I decided to be satisfied with having narrowly escaped with my life for now.

“What a waste of time.”

Muttering those words, Leopold was the first to leave his seat. Devric and Martin soon headed elsewhere as well. Oscar, the mastermind behind all this, gave me a meaningful smirk before turning sharply on his heel.

Just as they had gathered, the male leads departed all at once, like the tide receding. A wave of exhaustion immediately washed over me, and I staggered.

“Are you alright?”

Thankfully, Angela grabbed me just in time, preventing me from falling.

“Ah, Lady Angela.”

Seeing Angela’s face filled with worry, I forced a smile to reassure her I was fine, but she wasn’t convinced.

“What in the world was that about? Why were those people looking at you like they wanted to kill you? Have you had some sort of trouble with them before?”

“No… Not at all. I really don’t know why they…”

She was already the worrying type, so I had no intention of telling her about this unnecessary mess.

However, Angela’s gaze shifted to someone behind me.

“…Do you perhaps know something about this?”

The person standing behind me was Julian.

‘Why is he still here?’

At Angela’s question, he bowed his head deeply, as if he’d been waiting for it. An unexpected action.

“This is entirely my fault. I offer my sincerest apologies to Lady Sera.”

“Huh?”

His sudden apology, following his earlier defense, made my eyes widen.

Of course, he did bear some responsibility for this situation, but given that it was all Oscar’s trap from the start, there wasn’t much he could have done. Even the other male leads couldn’t outmaneuver a brain like Oscar in a battle of wits.

“You don’t need to go that far.”

More importantly, as the actual possessor, I couldn’t help but feel a stab of guilt watching him apologize.

“It’s not that I don’t need to, but that I must.”

Unaware of my inner turmoil, Julian spoke with a serious expression.

“While it’s better not to look into it too deeply… ‘Possessor Trials’ are not as fun or exciting as they might seem from the outside. If an innocent civilian were to go through such a thing…”

Julian, who had been speaking rapidly, suddenly stopped.

He looked at me with a somewhat flustered expression, then eventually pulled out a white handkerchief and offered it to me. I accepted it without thinking.

“I apologize for making you uncomfortable.”

Bowing his head to me once more, Julian then returned to his usual flawless expression.

“If you ever face any difficulties related to this, I will help you.”

“…? Okay…”

Leaving behind those cryptic words, he departed.

Was Julian always such a talkative character? Feeling dazed, I clutched the handkerchief he’d given me. Angela, beside me, called out again.

“Sera.”

“Ah, I’m really fine.”

“That’s not it… You’re sweating buckets. And you’ve had a serious look on your face since earlier.”

Huh? I hastily borrowed a hand mirror from a passing attendant to check my face.

Sure enough, just as Angela had said, beads of cold sweat dotted my forehead, and my complexion was noticeably pale.

‘Don’t tell me it was hearing about the “Possessor Trials”…?!’

I felt my heart drop into my stomach.

It was a good thing Julian didn’t suspect me, because my current reaction was a dead giveaway—like a thief touching their own sore foot.

‘Why can’t this body stay calm?!’

I was just about to lament my fate in the face of this relentless barrage of crises.

“You do look pale, as my sister says. If you’re feeling unwell, it might be best for you to retire for the evening.”

My appearance must have been quite pitiful, because Corbin, who had been quiet until now, interjected with some advice. An unexpected savior.

“Huh? But you haven’t danced even one dance yet! If you leave like this, what am I supposed to do?”

But this time, Sergei cut in, blocking my exit.

When I was stuck among the male leads being suspected earlier, he just stood there with his arms crossed watching the show. Only now did he slink over, and the sight was infuriating.

I forced the corners of my mouth up into a smile.

“My apologies, but I’m really not feeling well.”

If he loved dancing so much, I wanted to tell him to go dance by himself, but doing that would definitely ruin my reputation.

Even a refusal had to be done politely and with careful consideration of others’ feelings. Hang in there, Sera.

“You’re delaying my sister’s departure. Know your place.”

“Eek! Ah, understood, Young Duke.”

If Corbin hadn’t once again played the savior, I would have likely been dragged into dancing with Sergei by now. My feeble refusal moments ago showed no signs of making him back down.

Somehow, I feel like I’m just constantly being helped out…

“Thank you for your help.”

“Don’t get the wrong idea. It wasn’t just Lady Arnstadt who wasn’t feeling well. This is purely for my sister’s sake.”

…Ah, yes. Of course.