Before the social gathering, Delina exerted unparalleled concentration and finished the lessons with Betty. Betty praised her for catching on really well in a short period, but well, Delina thought that not only herself but any maiden would learn quite well if she looked at Betty’s hand technique a few times.

The day before the social gathering, Delina was finally able to see the animals Duke Bellion had brought. Right in front of the huge bars of the underground dungeon.

“…….”

“Choose.”

While Delina momentarily lost her words looking at the animals in front of her, Duke Bellion spoke. However, Delina couldn’t choose anything.

“So… you want me to choose between a bear, a lion, and a crocodile now?”

Let alone babies, these were grown animals of tremendous size, glaring at Delina as if they would break the iron bars and come out at any moment.

“There are such things when watching a circus performance.”

“……Yes. But I’m not going to a performance, I’m going to a social gathering.”

Since the social gathering was not a place where they would see who could endure the longest with their head in a crocodile’s mouth, Delina desperately shook her head.

“But I can protect you.”

From whom? Whom?

Rather than being protected, she felt like she would be eaten right away. Don’t they see those beasts drooling, ready to eat me? Delina looked at Felic as if asking for help, but Felic avoided Delina’s eyes and played dumb. Delina made a firm resolution.

From now on, she would never entrust important matters to Duke Bellion.

“Miss? It might be somewhat okay. The children are conspicuous in various ways… It can make your first social gathering splendid.”

“Yeah. And make it my last social gathering.”

In the end, Felic tried to somehow fix the situation, but the more he did, the more Delina’s face shadowed. But there was no time to find other animals now. Delina tightly closed her eyes to the terrible reality.

“If you don’t like these, there are wolves too.”

“Your Highness. I really don’t want to say this, but it might be best if you stay quiet now.”

Felic intervened in Duke Bellion’s words that made Delina more desperate.

“Miss. It’s okay. Yes, I mean, I did find out today what animal His Highness prepared, but there’s still one more animal left?”

“Huh. Yeah……. How big is it?”

“No. It’s a very small animal.”

“Really?”

Delina, who seemed to have found hope, looked around beyond the bars, shining her eyes. Then she saw something wriggling in a corner that she thought was empty.

“……?”

To see more closely, Delina approached right in front of the bars and knelt down to meet eyes with it. Then, as if feeling her presence, a small animal slowly came out of the corner. It was a goldenhaired baby monkey.

“A monkey?”

“Yes. A baby monkey, and it’s brought here as it was about to starve to death without its mother.”

It didn’t look like it was starving now. The monkey looked at Delina sharply and approached her step by step.

“In fact, the other animals were also brought from the Count of Diamon’s upper level. But this monkey is a gift to you from Mr. Noah.”

“What?”

At the news that Noah had gifted it, Delina instinctively backed away from the monkey.

“Yes. Where would you find an animal that fits a social gathering this much, he said.”

“……I didn’t know that a monkey was such a good animal for social gatherings…….”

‘I understand the intention of the gift.’

Delina, recalling Noah’s smiling face as he gifted the monkey, trembled with anger. But there were no other options now.

“……Hey, hello?”

Through the iron bars, Delina slowly reached out to the monkey. Maybe because she heard it had lost its mother and been alone. Delina smiled at the monkey, feeling it somehow overlapped with her own appearance.

“Would you like this banana?”

The monkey approached chirpingly at the sight of the banana Delina was holding, and in no time, it came right in front of Delina. As the monkey approached obediently, Delina’s face brightened, and Felic also smiled warmly.

“Yeah. Come closer……, Ah!”

“Squeak!”
The monkey, coming closer, would have prolonged the warm atmosphere if it hadn’t slapped Delina’s cheek.

“Hey, hey……”

The monkey that slapped Delina’s cheek and stole only the banana laughed mockingly as it returned to its original corner.

Delina’s whole body trembled as she held her slapped cheek. Of course, it wasn’t painful, but she was furious at the thought of being made a fool by a monkey.

“You won’t come right now? My cheek, my cheek……!”

“Kee, kee, kee!”

As the furious Delina shook her hand between the bars, the monkey ate the banana, laughing keekee.

Duke Bellion, who was beside her, watched as if watching a spectacle, and Felik behind her shook his shoulders repeatedly, holding back his laughter. Meanwhile, Delina’s cry of anger resonated in the underground dungeon.

(This is a time separator.)

“We’ve arrived, Miss.”

Finally, the day of the social gathering had come.