Chapter 70

After the grand banquet, I returned to the mansion. The melodies of countless instruments still seemed to linger faintly in my ears.

“Ugh… Was I too harsh…?”

After a quick bath, I returned to my room, clutching my head in deep anguish.

Lillian’s gaze from the banquet hall was still vividly etched in my mind.

Her pink eyes, trembling with deep betrayal, as if tears could spill at any moment.

Strangely, at that moment, I quite liked that look in her eyes.

But now, the dominant emotion was guilt.

There was no reason to humiliate Lillian.

For some unknown reason, as soon as Lillian appeared before me, an inexplicable disgust surged through my entire body.

It felt like my insides were twisting.

“…I’ll make it up to her next time.”

Burying my face in the pillow, I let out a short sigh and concluded my thoughts.

It seemed like I had ended up tormenting Lillian, but I wasn’t too worried.

Looking at the posts left by players on the strategy site, the complaints about playing as Lillian were somewhat similar.

You might wonder what complaints there could be about playing a character who walks a flowery path, but there was one frustrating setting.

It was Lillian’s overly kind nature.

Her kindness was so excessive that she seemed like a pushover, being overly generous to others.

Even to those who had once tormented her.

Before fully awakening the Power of the Saintess, Lillian had to endure countless criticisms and neglect from the nobility.

If it had just been criticism, it would have been fortunate.

But she was constantly tormented by childish and petty acts of malice, like having tea poured over her head, being slapped, or being deliberately tripped.

After awakening the Power of the Saintess, she gained a status equal to the Archbishop, and such problems disappeared, but until then, Lillian had no choice but to endure constant suffering.

However, the real problem was elsewhere.

Perhaps due to the game developers’ intent to emphasize the Saintess’s nobility, Lillian, after awakening her powers, was given only one choice.

Forgiveness.

Lillian forgave all the nobles who had tormented her. Instead of seeking revenge, she welcomed them with a benevolent smile.

This allowed her to increase their favorability, but for players who had expected a satisfying revenge, it was quite disappointing.

The only person Lillian punished was Mardian.

Lillian tried to forgive her until the end, but after surviving an assassination attempt, she had no choice but to send Mardian to the execution block.

In other words, unless there was a special assassination attempt, there was no reason for Lillian to hold a grudge.

So, there’s no need to worry.

Moreover, I wasn’t the one who directly caused this incident. The one who caused the commotion was someone else, and I just gave a slightly false testimony.

In the first place, Lillian wouldn’t hold a grudge against me for such a minor prank, and even if she did, it would be against the woman who caused the commotion.

“Thinking about it, I didn’t really do anything wrong, did I?”

I just slightly distorted the truth, that’s all.

Lillian probably learned from this incident that she shouldn’t lay hands on nobles recklessly.

If she had grabbed someone like Mardian, her head would have flown off immediately.

I comforted myself by thinking that my actions might have helped Lillian.

“Heh.”

I’ll just make it up to her next time.

※

I felt irritation rising.

Facing Lillian, who was smiling brightly in the distance, I felt like my insides were boiling.

The Hibley Count family, one of the founding families of the Empire.

A small banquet was held to celebrate the birthday of the family head, Dillard von Hibley.

As he was a highly respected noble, many had come to raise their glasses with him.

‘But why is she here?’

My gaze fixed on a young girl.

A lively girl with soft pink hair fluttering like cotton candy, Lillian.

She was smiling with her hand covering her mouth, and that smile twisted my insides.

Once again, negative emotions welled up inside me.

I tried to suppress the inexplicable emotions and looked at Lillian.

‘…Has she already learned noble etiquette?’

Lillian, who used to wander around clumsily, now maintained a dignified posture.

Of course, there were still some awkward parts, but at least she didn’t look frivolous.

Instead of overreacting, she responded with a calm smile, and instead of moving excitedly, she stood quietly.

‘Strange, Lillian learning noble etiquette should be much later…’

Chaperone.

A guide who leads inexperienced noble ladies into the social circle.

The influence of a chaperone was never light. Depending on which noblewoman became a chaperone, a lady’s position in the social circle could completely change.

Of course, our protagonist will also meet a very excellent chaperone.

The Duchess of Helitiar, one of only four in the Empire, and the most noble in character.

But that’s a story for the distant future.

No matter how fast the game progresses, it will take at least a year after Lillian enters the social circle for the Duchess of Helitiar to appear.

At this point, the two couldn’t have met yet.

Could Lillian have learned noble etiquette on her own?

“Ah… You’re here, Young Lady.”

Had I been too deep in thought? I didn’t notice Lillian approaching until she was right in front of me.

“It’s nice to see you again, Young Lady of the Blanchard family.”

Unnecessarily bright pink eyes.

The last time I saw her, she was on the verge of tears, her face twisted with betrayal.

But now, as if nothing had happened, she was melting the atmosphere with her bright smile.

Her soft cheeks on her fair skin made me want to pinch them, and the blush rising between them was quite lovely.

It was a face so beautiful that anyone who saw her would agree she was lovely.

But strangely, the moment I met Lillian’s eyes, my insides began to twist again.

Negative emotions slowly rose in my mind.

A bright person who never wavers in any situation, always maintaining a dignified attitude.

A person who believes the world is ultimately beautiful and firmly believes that a good world will come someday.

Lillian’s ideology is the complete opposite of mine.

I want to deny her.

Moreover, a desire to shatter her ideology into pieces was rising in my heart.

But as if completely unaware of my feelings, Lillian’s expression remained unnecessarily bright and clear.

“I wanted to thank you for what happened back then.”

“…Thank you?”

An unexpected word brought a wave of confusion. I hadn’t done anything worthy of thanks, so what was she grateful for?

“Thanks to you, Young Lady, I realized how reckless I was. If it weren’t for you, I would have continued to act shamefully.”

Eyes filled with sincerity, free from any pretense.

Lillian was genuinely reflecting on herself and showing gratitude towards me.

“…Is that so?”

She’s just like the Lillian I saw in the game.

When she makes a mistake, she acknowledges it and uses it as a stepping stone to improve. While doing so, she captivates people’s hearts and turns everyone to her side.

Unlike the ugly me, Lillian is an upright person.

[Disgusting.]

Disgust whispered in my heart. That emotion, along with jealousy, slowly spread towards Lillian.

What’s so great about her that she’s smiling like that?

She didn’t live a wealthy life, lost her parents at a young age, and didn’t even receive family love. What’s so great about her that she acts so confidently?

I couldn’t do that.

‘Why are you…’

Endless questions and anger rose within my suppressed emotions.

“Young Lady? You don’t look well.”

Lillian looked at me with puzzled eyes.

In her pure eyes, I immediately touched my own mouth.

My stiff lips weren’t forming a smile.

What expression am I making now?

This is the social circle.

Not being able to even smile properly at a banquet made me angry at myself.

“My apologies, Saintess. I was surprised to see you here.”

I forced a smile and looked at Lillian with harmless eyes.

At my somewhat bright voice, Lillian took a step closer with a relieved expression.

“Since we’ve met like this, if it’s alright with you, would you like to be friends?”

“…Friends?”

“Yes, I’ve heard a lot about you, Young Lady. I really wanted to be friends.”

“…Rumors.”

What rumors had she heard about me?

An obedient and harmless pet?

A cute doll for the high and mighty?

Or perhaps.

A whore who flatters others to survive despite having no abilities.

That thought made my heart grow cold.

“If it’s alright with you, Young Lady of the Blanchard family-”

“Are you pitying me now?”

“Huh?”

I took a step closer to the bewildered Lillian.

I looked into her eyes.

My eyes reflected in her bright pink eyes were as hollow and gloomy as a rotten fish.

I gently wrapped my arm around Lillian’s waist and pulled her into my embrace.

“Eek!”

Lillian, suddenly in my arms, trembled in response.

I glanced around and whispered very softly into Lillian’s ear.

“So, Saintess, do you want me to flatter you too?”

“Huh?!”

“Do you want to make me your pet like the others?”

“Huh? No, that’s not what I meant… I just wanted to say you’re very charming-”

“Wake up, commoner.”

“Huh?”

I pulled away slightly and looked at her.

Lillian’s bright eyes had dimmed a little.

That fact gave me a perverse sense of satisfaction.

“I only flatter others because I truly ‘love’ them.”

“…”

I smiled beautifully and whispered one last thing into her ear.

“I would never flatter a worthless commoner like you, so don’t even think about climbing up.”

With a voice full of mockery, Lillian remained frozen for a while.

※

Artasha Blanchard here!

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