After the banquet started, Davian was finally able to catch her breath after greeting many people. That’s when a group approached her.

“Are you alright? I heard this is your first banquet.”

Turning her head at the concerned question, she saw what appeared to be noble young ladies standing there.

“I’m a bit nervous since it’s my first time.”

“There’s no need for that at all. This banquet is for you, Davian. You look truly beautiful today.”

“Thank you. I, well…”

Seeing Davian’s embarrassed look, one of the young ladies introduced herself as if she had been waiting for the chance.

“Ah, I’m late with introductions. I’m Karan Beiten.”

It was Karan, who had previously picked a fight with Ibnel. Unaware of this fact, Davian momentarily forgot her nervousness and relaxed at the sight of Karan’s eyes full of goodwill.

Karan made no attempt to hide her expression of wanting to become close to Davian. There was nothing to lose in getting close to the most special person in Karies. There were also her father’s instructions.

“I’ve been wanting to meet you as soon as possible, Lady Davian. I’m sure everyone here feels the same.”

“Me? I’m the one who’s honored to be here with all of you.”

“Not at all. That’s what we should be saying.”

The young ladies beside Karan chimed in one by one.

Davian felt like she was dreaming, with everyone treating her so kindly. Noble young ladies saying they wanted to be friends with her. It was a situation she couldn’t have imagined before.

“If it’s alright, I’d like to invite you to a tea party I’m hosting later.”

“I’d love to. Actually, I was worried since I only know Ibnel.”

At the mention of Ibnel’s name from her lips, Karan’s expression momentarily hardened. Ever since fleeing that day, just thinking about Ibnel made her feel sick to her stomach.

Seeing Davian show familiarity with her made Karan feel uneasy for no reason.

“Are you perhaps close with her?”

“Yes, I suppose we are, since we have the same ability.”

“Ah…”

Davian being close to Ibnel was certainly not a good thing for Karan. She had to somehow distance them.

Then she recalled Ibnel’s appearance when she had dressed up for the banquet today. As much as she hated to admit it, she found herself staring blankly without realizing it. It was hard to believe it was the same person she had first met.

“But isn’t it a bit much to show up at an event like this as if she’s the main character?”

At Karan’s signal, the young ladies with her quickly continued the conversation.

“That’s certainly true. This banquet is clearly for Lady Davian, yet she comes dressed like that. Her intentions are so transparent.”

“To be honest, I felt the same way.”

Listening to those words, Davian looked down at the dress she was wearing. In truth, she had felt small when Ibnel appeared. It seemed to highlight the difference between nobles and commoners like herself.

“No, actually. Until just a few days ago, she was saying she wasn’t sure whether to come or not.”

“Then isn’t that even more inconsistent? From what I saw, it looks like she prepared perfectly for today’s banquet in advance.”

“Really?”

When Davian asked in surprise, Karan seized the opportunity to drive a wedge between her and Ibnel.

“You can tell just by looking. When I happened to meet her before, she was in training clothes, so she couldn’t have prepared herself. You know about Lady Ibnel’s circumstances, don’t you?”

“Of course.”

“She must have gotten help from His Majesty. She probably made an unreasonable fuss about having to attend the banquet.”

The other young ladies actively agreed with this opinion. After all, even they could see that what Ibnel was wearing from head to toe were items that were beyond expensive.

The only person capable of providing such things was the Emperor.

“She must have used her ability as an excuse to make demands of His Majesty. There’s a limit to how shameless one can be.”

This was something they could say without knowing that it was Shuher who had suggested she attend the banquet, or that Emil had prepared everything in advance just in case.

Davian, seemingly convinced by those words, recalled the image of Ibnel she had seen so far. Always dressed more plainly than herself, and notably close to Shuher.

‘Is that really true?’

Thinking about it that way, she began to have doubts about Ibnel, just as they said. Whether there might be other motives hidden behind her kind demeanor.

“Oh, look over there.”

Everyone looked to where one young lady urgently pointed, and there was Ibnel, smiling and conversing with Feldin.

“That person is…”

He was familiar to Davian as well. It was the man who had appeared with Shuher when the magical beast escaped that time.

“That’s Duke Feldin Gaer. He’s also close to His Majesty. See, she’s pretending to be friendly with him again because she knows that. Probably hoping to get something else.”

“Her intentions are certainly very transparent.”

Hearing Karan’s words, in Davian’s eyes, the image of Ibnel talking with Feldin overlapped with her conversing with Shuher some time ago.

‘Come to think of it, they already seemed to know each other well back then.’

Seeing her chat comfortably with such an impressive person made Davian feel small.

“Isn’t it ridiculous that she’s even attending this gathering? Not a single person here welcomes her.”

“I wonder if it’s excessive courage or just a lack of awareness.”

Davian could also sense those blatantly hostile gazes surrounding Ibnel. It was incomparable to the few words she had briefly heard at the palace.

“So don’t get close to Lady Ibnel. If you’re with her, Lady Davian, you’ll receive those kinds of looks too. Duke Feldin is kind to everyone, so it probably just looks like pity or sympathy.”

‘Me too, like that?’

Images of the past, when she was looked down upon and received contemptuous glares, filled Davian’s mind. When she truly felt like nothing, living a rock-bottom life.

She really hated that. How could she throw away this opportunity she had gained?

“But we have the same ability. I thought it would be good if we could be of help to Karies.”

Though her words seemed to defend Ibnel, she didn’t deny what Karan had said about her.

“You’re too kind-hearted. To care so much for Karies like this.”

“That’s right. I heard you had an awkward experience because of Lady Ibnel last time.”

“What? What do you mean by an awkward experience?”

Davian had no idea what incident they were referring to. But the events of that day had already spread widely among the nobles, beyond the palace walls.

“Are you trying to cover for her again? I heard there was a big commotion at the palace recently when a magical beast escaped.”

“Ah…”

When Karan mentioned that incident, her expression instantly hardened. She would surely blame herself for the mistake. But what followed was truly unexpected.

“Isn’t it too much? Taking Lady Davian to such a frightening place.”

“That’s right. And I heard she even urged her to open the door on purpose. How could she do such a terrifying thing?”

“What?”

Davian was momentarily taken aback by the completely misunderstood story. Opening the door to the magical beast’s cage was her own decision, but how had it become distorted like this?

“Think about it. Knowing there’s a magical beast inside, would anyone open that door without thinking? Even a passing dog in Karies knows how terrifying magical beasts are.”

As Karan continued speaking, Davian’s face grew increasingly pale. With everyone agreeing, she couldn’t bring herself to say it was her mistake.

“Are you alright? You don’t look well.”

“Ah, it’s just… I’m so shocked. This is the first time I’m hearing this story.”

Instead, what came out of her mouth were words that could fan the flames of that rumor.

“Now that you know she tried to put you in danger, don’t be fooled just because she acts nice on the surface.”

Davian decided to leave this place for now. At the moment, she didn’t want it to be known that she was the one who had made the mistake.

“Please excuse me for a moment.”

She hurriedly left, leaving Karan and her group behind. Watching her go, the young ladies all wore sympathetic expressions.

“She must have received a big shock. It’s practically the same as being betrayed by someone she trusted.”

“So that rumor was true after all.”

“After all that talk about a knight’s sacrifice to us last time. It’s really unbelievable, isn’t it?”

“That’s why we need to pay her back properly for that day’s humiliation.”

With those words, Karan turned her head to look where Ibnel was. Now that Feldin wasn’t by her side, it was an opportunity. To thoroughly trample her in front of many people.

Ibnel couldn’t hide her delight at seeing Henea. She had been thinking about wanting to meet her anyway.

“I’m glad I came today. It’s nice to meet you, Lady Henea.”

“Me too.”

Though her voice was still small and monotone, Ibnel could see that Henea was pleased.

“The dress suits you very well.”

“Yours too.”

A navy blue dress similar to her hair color, with jewels adorning it that sparkled like stars. It was a dress that perfectly matched her calm demeanor.

“But I still think you looked much more impressive when I saw you at the mansion.”

Henea smiled softly at Ibnel’s honest, yet sincere response. What she had felt while talking with her at the mansion then wasn’t a mistake.

“To be honest, I was worried about coming here since I don’t know anyone, but I’m glad to have met you.”

“Me too. Actually, I thought this kind of atmosphere didn’t suit me.”

Henea generally didn’t prefer gatherings with so many people. She would rather spend that time inspecting even one more gun than meeting people.

But today was different. Because Ibnel was here. That’s why she had been looking for an opportunity to approach since she was with Feldin.

“It seems we have a lot in common. How have you been doing?”

“I’ve been…”

As they were exchanging greetings and having a pleasant conversation, an uninvited guest interrupted between the two.

“Oh my, we meet again here.”

Thinking the voice wasn’t unfamiliar, she turned her head to find Karan, whom she had met before, standing there. Even the young ladies around her were the same as that day.

From start to finish, it hadn’t been good at all, so Ibnel naturally wasn’t pleased that she had come over deliberately like this. Or perhaps what happened then wasn’t enough.

But Karan approached the two with a relaxed smile.

“I was too flustered to greet you properly then. It’s nice to meet you. I’m Karan Beiten. We met by chance at our palace, didn’t we?”

“It’s been a while. I thought we’d never meet again after you left like that that day.”

When Ibnel mentioned her fleeing first, cracks appeared in Karan’s confident expression. Soon, as her gaze turned to Henea, one corner of her mouth lifted as if she had found good prey.