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~Chapter 55~
“Uh, welcome.”
“We greet Lady Claudius.”
The ladies of the reading club froze stiff at the sudden appearance of the powerful Claudius Princess.
Oh, this looked familiar.
It was exactly like when my parents first met her…
“…”
But now, the princess kept her lips firmly shut.
It seemed she had no intention of showing the sociability she displayed when she met my parents.
So I quickly stepped in.
“Thank you all for welcoming us like this.”
“I was really happy to receive the invitation, Lady Sherwood.”
“Oh, I’m the one who’s happy you feel that way.”
Lady Sherwood, snapping out of her daze, quickly responded.
“Shall we go inside?”
The ladies sat in their seats, and Lady Sherwood, who hosted the club, spoke as a representative.
“First, we’d like to thank the princess and Lady Ansi for joining our club. Our reading club selects a book and shares our thoughts on it…”
Her welcoming speech flowed smoothly, clearly memorized in advance…
But the atmosphere was strangely excited, and the reason was obvious.
“I can’t believe the princess actually came to our club!”
“Oh my, this is the first time I’ve seen her so close!”
The two other ladies were completely starstruck.
Honestly, I could understand them.
The members of this reading club weren’t the most popular ladies in society.
They were the quiet, less noticeable types.
So…
‘They were often underestimated by the more popular ladies.’
Like Seraphina, for example.
‘Ugh.’
Just thinking of Seraphina lowered my mood.
Of course, the members’ families were powerful enough that no one openly disrespected them, but…
It felt like water and oil—never mixing.
At that moment, one of the ladies clasped her hands over her chest and spoke.
“I’m so glad the princess came to our club…”
The princess, resting her chin on her hand, asked flatly,
“What about Lady Ansi?”
“O-of course we’re glad Lady Ansi is here too!”
“Really, why else would we send her the invitation?!”
The flustered ladies hurriedly spoke in unison.
“Yes! We’ve really been wanting to meet Lady Ansi too!”
Even Lady Sherwood joined in.
But the looks they gave me felt more serious than I expected.
“Uh… me?”
I blinked blankly.
Wasn’t I just invited as a bridge to the princess?
“Lady Ansi is very popular these days.”
“I… I am?”
“Yes, you’ve really changed a lot.”
“Your personality has become much brighter compared to before. And, I’m sorry if this sounds forward, but…”
One lady smiled shyly at me.
“You’ve also become very beautiful.”
R-really?
I knew people’s gazes had changed toward me, but I thought it was only because I was standing near the princess’s light.
‘…I’m happy.’
It was a little embarrassing, but I couldn’t deny it felt good.
I smiled awkwardly.
Meanwhile, the princess next to me was acting like her expression said,
‘See? That’s all thanks to me dressing you up.’
“Honestly, it was hard for us to approach you before because you were always taking such good care of Lady Lopez.”
“But now that you get along with others too, we felt brave enough to invite you.”
Hmm, that was a lot of beating around the bush.
If I translated it directly, it meant,
‘You were too busy being Seraphina’s maid to approach.’
Sigh, really.
Why did I live so pathetically back then?
I chewed over my regret for a moment.
“So please don’t misunderstand that we didn’t welcome you, Lady Ansi.”
“Yes, we really hope you didn’t think that.”
The ladies quickly added.
I nodded without hesitation.
“Of course I don’t misunderstand. Don’t worry.”
“I’m so glad to hear that.”
“Let’s continue to get along well from now on.”
Just as the mood was becoming warm and friendly…
‘Huh?’
I suddenly felt a chill down my spine and glanced sideways.
Then I nearly gasped.
‘Huh?!’
The princess was glaring at me with a strangely cold look!
‘Why?!’
But her odd behavior didn’t end there.
She suddenly got up and sat down right next to me, sticking close.
‘Why is she doing this? Did I do something wrong?’
I quickly replayed all my actions in my head.
‘…No, I didn’t!’
At that moment, the ladies, their eyes sparkling, called out to me.
“Um, Lady Ansi!”
“Yes? Please, go ahead.”
“W-well, about the south recently…”
One lady blushed and asked,
“Is it true that Duke Claudius danced with you, Lady Ansi?”
Ah.
I froze, unsure how to respond.
As I hesitated, the princess, who had been watching me closely, snapped in a sulky voice,
“Excuse me, I was at the Ansi party too, you know?”
“P-princess?”
“My brother isn’t the only Claudius family member, is he? Or am I not one?”
…The princess was definitely a little prickly today.
I quickly tried to lighten the mood.
“Haha, it was an even more enjoyable party because the princess was there.”
I forced a smile and turned to Lady Sherwood.
“So, what’s the title of the book you chose this time?”
“Oh, the book is…”
As I focused on the conversation, the princess continued staring at me without even blinking.
The first day of the reading club ended relatively peacefully.
“Today was so much fun!”
“See you again in two weeks!”
As we said goodbye to the other ladies…
‘Ugh, my back feels prickly…’
I felt sweat running down my spine.
The princess had been shooting sharp glances at me for a while now.
She clearly seemed a little upset.
‘I wish she’d just tell me what’s wrong.’
But her tightly closed lips suggested she wouldn’t say a word.
I sighed inwardly as I got into the carriage with her.
“…”
“…”
Silence filled the air.
Normally, the princess would already be chattering about the reading club by now.
But she just leaned on her hand and looked out the window with a displeased expression.
“Um, Princess.”
I carefully spoke to her.
“What.”
Her reply was curt.
I gave a troubled smile.
“Did you… not enjoy the reading club today?”
She pouted at my question.
“No, I did enjoy it.”
…Why would someone who enjoyed it make a face like that?
‘This can’t be ignored.’
My instincts warned me.
I quickly tried to soothe her.
“You can be honest with me.”
The princess rolled her eyes toward me without moving her chin.
She chewed her lip for a moment before suddenly asking,
“Forget me, how was it for you, Lady Ansi?”
“Me? I… I enjoyed it.”
I answered without thinking, then stiffened.
‘Did she just frown?! She did, didn’t she?!’
I hurriedly added,
“But if you don’t want to, you don’t have to attend the reading club anymore.”
After all, she had only come because I asked her.
Who could possibly force her to attend?
I carefully chose my words.
“From next time, I can just attend alone…”
“No.”
Huh?
I blinked blankly.
The princess turned her head away like a sulky cat.
“I’m going with you.”
I really had no idea what she was thinking.
I couldn’t hide my bewildered expression.
