I replied with a bright smile. It was a calculated remark. The only way to be more dazzling than this would be to wear peacock feathers on your head. That would make you utterly ridiculous. There would be no need for a clown.

“…Hmm, is that so? You make a fair point.”

“…?”

But Evangelin seemed to take my opinion seriously. No, why…? I took my seat dumbfoundedly at the place Evangelin had guided me to.

Evangelin summoned a maid and gave some instructions, then reappeared wearing larger diamond earrings than before. …Is that okay? It looks like her ears might tear.

“You might not know much else, but you do have good taste. Now, how about it? Don’t I look more dazzling?”

“…”

It seemed that Evangelin wanted to flaunt her flamboyance to me, who was relatively plain in comparison.

Come to think of it, if I were ‘Gloria’, I would have been extremely jealous of Evangelin. After all, Gloria had the same taste as these people.

But I’m not. You all look like… clowns on stage. I forced a smile.

“You look very dazzling, sister.”

“Ho ho. You should dress up too, what’s that about?”

Evangelin seemed to misinterpret my awkward smile as jealousy. Well, think whatever you want… I picked up the teacup in front of me with a somewhat detached feeling. …The tea isn’t poisoned, is it?

“Oh, right, Siren?”

At that moment, Evangelin called someone who was standing far away. The person who approached the table… was peculiarly wearing a black hood. He didn’t look like a guest at this party, nor like one of Evangelin’s maids.

‘Who is that?’

For some reason, I had a very strange feeling about this person. When Evangelin whispered something in her ear, this ‘Siren’ took something out of his sleeve and handed it to Evangelin.

It was a small black box. After the polite ‘Siren’ stepped back, Evangelin handed me the box with a generous smile.

“It’s a gift from me. It’s nothing special, just an amulet that gives you good dreams.”

“Oh… Thank you, sister.”

Although I had a bad feeling, I accepted it for the time being. This wasn’t the right time or place to refuse.

“Thank you indeed. I should thank you. Thanks to you leaving Siren in the palace, I’m using him well as my wizard.”

‘…A wizard?’

I was startled by the unexpected information. Come to think of it, the villagers in the droughtstricken village had talked about Gloria’s wizard. Is that wizard… this person called Siren?

“Siren is very useful. I can see why you always took care of him and kept him by your side. Ho ho… And by the way, didn’t you go to the village that you cursed with a drought using Siren’s power a while ago?”

Evangelin, who took a sip of her tea, finally touched on the main issue. I wondered why she didn’t talk about it. Captivated by the strange feelings about Siren, I quickly regained my senses and replied.

“Yes, something like that happened. Thinking about it, I think I went a little too far.”

“You even think about things like that. In any case, is it true that you summoned spirits in the form of butterflies in that village?”

Evangelin’s eyes sparkled sharply as she asked that question. At first glance, it was not a question in a good sense. I feigned ignorance and beat around the bush.

“Butterflyshaped spirits…? What are those?”

“…”

When I deliberately made a stupid expression, Evangelin squinted her eyes and looked at me. Just as I expected. Evangelin used to greatly despise Gloria’s stupidity.

“There’s a rumor that you summoned a spirit in that village.”

“Me? Really?”

I laughed as if I was truly surprised. Evangelin’s face twisted more viciously. As if I was crying with laughter, I wiped the corner of my eyes and extended my hand to speak.

“Sister, I couldn’t possibly have made a contract with a spirit! Of course, I wish I had that kind of ability…”

“…Really? What about the spirits that appeared in the village? Do you know something about them?”

Evangeline scrutinized me as she asked. She was likely trying to discern if I was lying. I responded as naturally as I could, recalling Gloria’s original manner of speaking.

“I’m not sure myself. However, the Duke of Salisbury was with us at the time. Perhaps there was a spirit mage among those he was leading.”

I snickered in a “what would I know” sort of tone, picking up a cookie and eating it. It was a performance boasting an astounding sync rate with the original Gloria! Well done, me!

“Duke Salisbury is your husband, isn’t he? But you talk about him as if he’s another man. You didn’t even know there was a spirit mage among his people?”

Evangeline asked with an incredulous tone. It was about time to show a bit of indignation. I replied, forcing a wronged expression onto my face.

“That man and I are not truly husband and wife. We are no different than strangers, planning to divorce soon.”

“…Really?”

“You know, don’t you, sister? I have a deep hatred for beastmen.”

I shrugged as if disgusted, but saying such things without feeling them was quite strange. I don’t hate beastmen, and Grayan… I think he’s a very good person.

“I know you hate beastmen. We all do, don’t we? Beastmen belong in the slave class. It’s laughable that these monsters, mixed with animals, try to live like humans.”

“No, beastmen are not mixed with animals, but humans who have taken on the form of animals…”

That was the truth, but most people in the Ainstern Kingdom believed in the rumor that “beastmen are monsters mixed with animals.” It was as if they were trying to justify their use of beastmen as slaves.

And here was Evangeline… notorious for her horrific abuse of beastman slaves.

“It seems the spirits that appeared in the village indeed have nothing to do with you. I was just curious, don’t mind it.”

Evangeline, with a faint smile, clapped her hands as she stood up. Attendants rushed to her side, bowing their heads. Evangeline issued orders in a gentle voice.

“Bring the beastman slaves. We should officially start the entertainment for today’s party. …Ah, we also have a wolf beastman we brought in recently, don’t we? My sister must have suffered a lot living among a pack of wolves, so we should help her relax today.”

Evangeline turned towards me, her smile spreading as if she were bestowing a benevolence. It was a vibrant smile, like a red rose, but cruel like a demon torturing souls in hell.

“Enjoy yourself to your heart’s content today, Gloria.”

Evangeline handed me the whip she received from an attendant. On the spiked whip, someone’s fresh bloodstains remained distinctly.