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I gave a triumphant smile.
“If His Majesty witnessed it himself, then that’s all the proof we need.”
“Then the Duke of Kolhart’s family really did such a thing?”
The words spreading like wildfire were more than enough to drive the two Kolharts to the edge of a cliff.
They can’t exactly call the emperor a liar, can they?
Well, who told them to treat people that way? They brought it on themselves.
I gave a short laugh and turned away. The last image I saw was Saren collapsing into his seat in shock.
The emperor covered part of his face with his hand, as if savoring the victory in secret.
The five beside me were practically bursting to praise me.
“Well done.”
“Don’t you think it’s a bit lacking? We should’ve blown up their mansion too…”
“It’s fine. Shunen did it, that’s enough. They won’t be able to show their faces in society now anyway.”
“True… that too… Well, if Shunen’s satisfied, that’s what matters.”
“Yeah. We agreed not to step in directly, remember.”
Retilia whispered softly, Ethan scolded a grumbling Nobel, Hazen muttered lazily, and Isaac chimed in. Their cheerful banter rang pleasantly in my ears.
“Shunen, do you think this is enough?” Isaac asked.
I gave a mischievous grin.
“Of course!”
After the best self-introduction of my life, the ball continued, though only in formality.
It was dazzling and grand to the point of being intimidating.
Saren and the duke fled the ballroom almost immediately once the atmosphere settled, and I didn’t bother to stop them. Everyone already knew they were socially ruined.
The guests who had been whispering among themselves were now dancing to elegant classical music. Hazen and I roamed around the buffet tables together.
“Hazen, how about this one? If it’s bonbon, doesn’t it have alcohol?”
“Yeah, probably. But if you eat that, Retty might scold you…”
“Ah, right. Then how about this?”
I picked up a small tart and held it out to Hazen, who promptly accepted and ate it.
“Shunen, you too—ah…”
“I can eat it myself.”
“Then feed me too. Here.”
In the end, I obediently accepted a tart from him, and Hazen looked quite pleased.
The other four were away meeting the emperor, so Hazen was the only one left in the ballroom with me.
Though he was practically pushed into it…
They were planning to ignore the imperial summons entirely, but were eventually convinced otherwise. Still, they insisted at least one person stay with me, so Hazen remained behind.
👏👏👏
A round of dance ended, followed by polite applause.
“I’ll never get those kinds of dances.”
Understandably—noble dances were rigid and formalized.
I clicked my tongue, and Hazen lazily shook his head.
“It’s fine… None of us siblings know how to dance them either.”
“Really? I thought Retilia and Isaac might.”
“Retty definitely doesn’t~ Isaac might know, but he’d never dance.”
“Yeah, that sounds right.”
It was hard to picture Isaac dancing—stepping mercilessly on his partner’s feet, maybe, but dancing properly? No way.
“Or he’d ‘accidentally’ make the other person mess up without them even noticing…”
“Oh yeah, that’s totally possible.”
“And then he’d just keep smiling the whole time.”
We shared our guesses, imagining how the four not present would react, and had fun spinning scenarios.
“Excuse me for a moment.”
“Hm?”
In the middle of our laughter, a middle-aged man with light blond hair and a distinguished face approached us.
Oh, someone’s actually coming up to talk first.
I was briefly impressed.
Whether it was because I was a Hardenberg or because of the five constantly at my side, nobles had only watched from afar, wanting to talk but not daring to.
“…You.”
Hazen’s voice held hostility. The man bowed politely.
“Greetings to Hardenberg, the Empire’s Shield. I am Roam Burkrodel, head of House Marquis Burkrodel.”
“…Burkrodel?”
“Yes.”
Wait. Burkrodel?
The man smiled kindly, but I was shocked for a different reason.
No way. That Burkrodel?! For real?
The name was all too familiar.
In the original story, Isaac was part of the underworld—an organization known as “the Shadows.”
The head of that organization outwardly belonged to none other than House Burkrodel. Basically, they played the archetypal crime family dominating the underworld.
Why are you showing up here?!
Isaac hadn’t joined them (yet), so there shouldn’t have been even the slightest connection.
Swallowing my unease, I forced myself to answer calmly.
“I see. Did you wish to speak with me?”
“Ah, nothing important, just—”
“Be quiet.”
A cold voice cut him off.
The air in the ballroom froze instantly. Even the music died down.
Hazen continued slowly.
“Shut your mouth and get lost. Don’t even think about talking to Shunen.”
“Haha… how sharp. I only wished to exchange a few words with the young lady who’s the talk of the town.”
“Did you not hear me?”
Hazen’s silver-gray eyes glinted threateningly.
“I said get lost. Now. Before my siblings get here.”
I instinctively glanced around.
If anyone else joined this situation now, the already fragile mood would shatter completely.
Please take your time getting here, I prayed inwardly.
“What are you?”
“Do you even realize who you’re trying to approach?”
…Of course this world wouldn’t be kind to me.
Nobel and Ethan arrived, closing in on Roam. Isaac and Retilia hadn’t shown up yet.
The two looked ready to remove him by force if necessary.
“You dare stand before—”
“Wait.”
I stopped Ethan mid-sentence.
“He spoke to me first. I should be the one to answer.”
There were too many eyes watching.
Given the place, the timing, and the audience—all nobles—I couldn’t just rudely drive him off without knowing his reputation.
I nodded lightly.
“First, let me apologize. Our wariness was excessive.”
“It’s understandable. No offense taken.”
“But…”
I trailed off, holding his gaze.
My eyes met Roam’s through his monocle.
“I would ask that you respect my brother’s wishes, Marquis Burkrodel.”
“…”
“As a Hardenberg myself, I have no reason to casually speak with someone my family is wary of.”
I smiled.
The tense atmosphere lasted only a moment before Roam laughed softly.
“Understood. It seems I was too curious and acted rudely.”
“Your apology is accepted. That’s enough.”
“Then I hope we can meet again another time, Lady Shuneria.”
His eyes curved gently. As he began to walk away, he suddenly let out a short exclamation.
“Ah, and—”
“…?”
“Your outfit suits you wonderfully.”
My eyes reflexively went to my trousers. Aside from Retilia, I was the only woman dressed like this, and it was indeed bold—but surely he meant more than just that.
I answered with a casual smile.
“I wanted to match Retilia.”
“Haha, how sweet of you. Well then…”
He nodded lightly and walked away into the crowd.
Only once everyone’s eyes had finally dispersed did I let out a quiet sigh of relief. I hadn’t said anything wrong, had I?
“I should’ve chased him off faster… Sorry, Shunen.”
“No, if you had, it would’ve been even more awkward. I said I’d talk, didn’t I?”
Hazen apologized, though of course he had nothing to be sorry for.
I didn’t know why exactly he was so hostile to Roam, but clearly he had his reasons.
It’s a relief things ended there.
Nobel and Ethan, however, still seemed displeased that I’d spoken with Roam at all.
“After all that, he still wants to stick his nose in.”
“Persistent bastard.”
They muttered to themselves.
Just as I set down my wineglass, Isaac and Retilia appeared in a familiar flash of blue.
“Shunen. Hazen.”
“Oh, Isaac. You’re back?”
“Yeah.”
He ignored Nobel and Ethan completely and smiled slightly at me. Was the food good?
I gave a vague nod. The taste of the wine had long since faded.
Noticing something was off, his brow furrowed slightly.
“Shunen, did something happen—”
“Retty, let’s go back. Some annoying thing’s clinging around.”
At Hazen’s words, their expressions hardened immediately. Their cold golden and black eyes swept across the ballroom, then twisted in irritation.
“…Yeah, let’s.”
Isaac muttered irritably. He turned back to me apologetically.
“Shunen, sorry, but we need to head back.”
“I don’t mind. Is this because of that man from earlier?”
“That man? You spoke with him?”
“For a moment.”
Isaac bit his lip at my reply, his displeasure obvious.
“He didn’t pull anything, did he?”
“Hazen stopped him before we could really talk. But… do you know him?”
I asked cautiously, watching his face. If he did, then how? Things were already so different from the original story.
Isaac’s face was filled with irritation and genuine disgust, like someone who’d found something filthy.
He ran a hand through his hair and replied,
“I’ll explain when we get back. Let’s just leave first.”
I nodded without hesitation and took his hand. The others prepared to leave as well, still wearing discontented expressions, and together we departed the palace.
Debutante – 2
