Chapter 145

-Harnier sighs as she walks towards the carriage.

Today, on the last day of the break, there’s a party scheduled before the Eastern Nobles’ Meeting officially starts.

Although nominally a party, countless stories circulate among the participants and their attendance, so she can’t afford to miss it.

But she can’t help feeling reluctant to step into that place.

-Who will they lure this time?

-How pitiful the young lady who gets her nape hit must feel. Betrayed by a snake in the grass, ruining a solid relationship.

-It seems she’s quite adept at enticing and seducing other people’s men?

As a result of becoming everyone’s enemy in the social circle, she finds that place uncomfortable.

No matter what she does, she ends up being the culprit.

If a man is involved, rumors or malicious gossip spread, and even if she tries to explain, they turn a deaf ear and force a resolution.

Moreover, men often send out rumors or whisper sweet nothings to entice her, and when she tried to shake them off, it led to a vicious cycle, spreading bad rumors among the young ladies.

This would likely be the same here.

Given that the social circle’s women are attending the meeting, anything happening at this party hall was predictable.

But the real problem wasn’t there.

“Grr…! Why did I say such things to those people!”

Once upon a time, Harnier found herself surrounded by young ladies in the social circle, facing a crisis.

With people eager to catch her in compromising situations with other men, she was at risk of exposing an upper merchant guild she was trying to fund from the Marquis House of Teresia.

In such a situation, there was only one way to avoid trouble.

She had to claim she had an engagement.

To avoid suspicion from the Marquis House, she had to insist that she was seeing someone.

However, she didn’t think it through enough.

-If you’re close, wouldn’t you show your fiancé’s dance moves?

-There’s nothing better than a dance on stage to express the distance between a man and woman. If you’re close… you certainly wouldn’t shy away from showing it.

-You could showcase it directly at the upcoming Eastern Nobles’ Meeting, couldn’t you, Miss Harnier?

By asserting her engagement and emphasizing her close relationship with the man, she inadvertently exposed a weakness.

As a result, she had no choice but to dance at this party.

Harnier, exasperated by this predicament, sighed.

“Sigh… I can dance, but… Prince Carsein wouldn’t know anything about it.”

She was often unfamiliar with noble etiquette, requiring frequent instruction, and she had to select different books due to incorrect etiquette manuals.

Her fiancé, who knew little about noble etiquette, wouldn’t easily manage if he had to dance.

Adding insult to injury, time was short.

She tried to arrange a meeting with Carsein to inform him of this, but since the Marquis House suspected her, surveillance had increased, preventing her from sending a proper reply or setting a date.

If this continued, her lie would be exposed.

Harnier glanced at her watch.

“How much time is left…”

Even if she stretched it out, it would only be a few hours. Not much time at all.

Without even having time to slip a letter to the Duke House of Bargrand, Harnier hurriedly grabbed her skirt and rushed toward the carriage.

“Grr…!”

Caught by sudden pain while walking toward the carriage, Harnier clenched her teeth and stopped.

Why did she have to resort to such blatant tactics to prevent her from attending today’s party.

“No, I can’t stop now.”

Harnier, standing still, breathed deeply to endure the pain.

This was the second crisis.

If she couldn’t handle it naturally, the tower she painstakingly built would crumble.

Clenching her teeth, Harnier climbed onto the carriage.

While enduring the pain, she thought deeply about any other options, but none came to mind.

No matter how hard she tried to come up with alternatives, it would lead to the conclusion that she would be torn apart by both the Marquis House and the social circle once her lie was uncovered.

Soon, the pain returned.

Harnier descended from the carriage and faced the splendid party hall.

“…I guess arriving right now was too optimistic, huh?”

Well, that was unavoidable.

The Bargrand Duke House traditionally showed little interest in such parties.

Most often, they would briefly dip their feet into the festivities and then return to their own seats.

She had hoped Carsein would arrive first, but things don’t always go smoothly.

“I’ll have to wait for a chance. Even if it means arriving at the Duke House earlier…”

Just as Harnier walked around the party hall nervously…

A splashy sound came from nearby, followed by a cheer.

“Could it be…”

Surprised by the nobles’ cheers, Harnier quickly moved toward the source of the noise. The Bargrand Duke House might have arrived.

It was a plausible scenario.

The Bargrand House, at the pinnacle of the nobility, was often envied and jealous, yet also yearned after.

However.

When she reached the source, the Bargrand Duke House wasn’t there.

“Oh my…”

“Who is that person?”

“What a handsome person…”

The cheers were directed at the young ladies attending the party, but their reason was entirely different.

“…Carsein?”

Leading the way were the young ladies who fell dramatically, hands on their chests, with all kinds of young ladies surrounding him.

***

What’s going on?

How did this happen?

I chose the safest time to take the carriage and arrive.

I roughly know the locations with marked danger levels, so I figured out the building structure and paths, and took this route.

I hoped no other choices would appear and that I wouldn’t encounter any nobles here.

So, I chose this path and moved alone.

“May I ask your name, sir?”

“You have such a strong build… Are you a knight?”

“We’d like to invite you to our salon. Could you tell us your family name?”

For some reason, more people kept coming.

“Damn, what’s going on?”

The timing was correct.

If I got off the carriage at 5:15 PM, I could move without encountering many characters, and since I wasn’t with the Duke family, I wouldn’t stand out much.

Moreover, this area is frequented more by commoners than nobles.

Those who disdain mingling with commoners and prefer standing above them wouldn’t want to be seen here.

The danger level was green, indicating a safe zone.

No other episodes occurred here, and there were no significant choices. It was a route often used in the game.

Even with a perfect clear reward, this shouldn’t happen.

“Why are so many people gathering here?”

It’s beyond comprehension.

That’s why I’m frustrated.

If I’m seen by a passerby, it could trigger a choice.

If that person is related to a sub-episode, it could force a sub-episode to start, leading to penalties in the main episode.

And if the Duke House spots me?

The worst-case scenario could unfold.

Damn it. First, I need to forcibly get rid of these women…

How can I do that?

If I use force, it could lead to a sub-episode where Carsein uses violence.

There was a clear example of this in the perfect clear rewards.

If I threaten with a sword, it could reach Ariana and get me dragged away. Touching a young lady incorrectly could make me look like a pervert.

I couldn’t do anything rash.

“Let’s move somewhere and have a simple conversation, shall we?”

“There’s tea prepared just now.”

“We’re curious about who you are, so please introduce yourself properly.”

Damn it. An introduction is pointless.

Young ladies would jump in fear hearing “Carsein Bargrand.”

No, I need to escape forcefully.

If I stay here foolishly, a choice will definitely occur.

To avoid unpredictable variables, I had to leave here, even if it meant taking some penalties.

I might as well give them a piece of my mind.

They’d probably point fingers at me, calling me uncouth.

“Move aside, damn it—”

Right then.

Someone pushed through the crowd of women and grabbed my hand.

“Ah, what is this?”

“Who are you? To interrupt a conversation so rudely…”

“You’re so rude!”

The complaints of the young ladies didn’t last long.

“That’s something I’d like to say to you.”

None of the young ladies here knew my name properly.

The most I could figure out was how much they disliked me from the affinity box.

But there was one person whose name I clearly knew here.

“What are you doing to my fiancé?”

Harnier Teresia.

On the surface, she was supposed to be engaged to Carsein.

Deep down, due to a contract, she was the one who could help me in this absurd situation.

***

Harnier’s arrival caused a split reaction among the young ladies.

Some frowned, others guessed her name, and some clenched their fists in sudden hostility toward Harnier, but…

“Let’s go, Carsein.”

Thanks to her help, I could easily avoid the dangerous situation.

…But, is it because of my mood?

Usually, I escort Harnier slowly by holding her hand, but today, she grabbed my hand and led me.

It’s not exactly escorting, but it feels almost like dragging.

“Hey, Harnier. Can you let go now?”

“…”

When I asked, Harnier paused, looked at me slightly, and said,

“Hmph. Just follow quietly.”

Then she started walking again.

What’s this? Unusual behavior.

Something felt off, so I cautiously asked.

“…Harnier? What’s going on?”

“Don’t talk. Just follow.”

“But, you should at least tell me where we’re going…”

“Didn’t I say not to talk?”

This time, she didn’t even turn back and walked confidently.

“…If we keep walking like this, we might end up in a dangerous area.”

But, that worry was unnecessary.

Harnier led me to a quiet terrace where nobles rarely noticed.

The location was in a safe zone.

There were hardly any passing nobles. It wouldn’t be difficult to kill time like during Claire’s coming-of-age ceremony here unless we caused a huge incident.

-Kachan.

Just as I relaxed a bit.

Closing the door, Harnier looked at me with a peculiar gaze.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

Did I do something wrong?

Her eyes seemed sharp.

Tense, I asked…

“Did you enjoy being among the young ladies?”

Harnier replied, glaring at me.

Wait, why are you doing this too?