In that case, my intention of deliberately choosing strong words in my rejection seems to have worked well.

“…Fine.”

The more Lumie is impatient, the better for me.

I vowed to handle Lumie well. If I do it right, things might be resolved easily.

The night was thick with darkness. I completely hid my blonde hair inside the hat and wrapped a thick scarf around my face before going outside.

In a situation where I couldn’t disguise myself as a woman, I did my best to conceal my face in my own way.

I came outside the palace and glanced around for a moment. The maid I saw during the day soon caught my eye.

“…!”

As soon as our eyes met, she gestured slightly and called me without saying a word. I followed her without a word.

Not long after, a luxurious carriage appeared. I quickly got on after confirming that there was no tail.

“Long time no see, Jini.”

Lumie inside the carriage greeted me, lifting the hood. I replied as I loosened my scarf.

“Yeah, Lumie. It’s been a long time, hasn’t it?”
Considering it was the first time meeting in a while, the atmosphere was somewhat tense. It wasn’t a situation where we could laugh and talk casually. But I must never forget: take control of the situation.

Boldly, I opened the conversation, “This time, too, you didn’t get along well with the leading role, right?”

Lumie stared at me with a stiff, rigid face. “Enough with the teasing. Tell me what the problem is.”

“I clearly told you. The reason the heroine could captivate the leading role was that they communicated well. So, I provided you with materials to enable you to engage in a conversation on topics the leading role would like.”

I spoke with a voice devoid of any hint of laughter. “Yeah, I did receive that pile of paper.”

His gray eyes sparkled coldly. “But you know, Jini, that method takes too long. The story keeps progressing, and when do you expect me to memorize and sit down for all that?”

“Even if it feels like it takes a long time, it’s the fastest way. So, did it work well for you when you did it your way? Honestly, it wasn’t great.”

I countered firmly.

Facing Lumie, who had become Elfriede, the strategy was simple: never bow down and push forward relentlessly.

Sure enough, as I approached assertively, Lumie flinched.

“Your point makes sense, but I don’t have time.”

“Whose idea was the reception, anyway? Marquis Mecklinger’s?”

Instead of sympathizing with Lumie’s sigh, I asked sharply.

Rolling his eyes, Lumie hesitated before answering. “I just told Father that I wanted to do more significant relief work than serving meals. He suggested, why not simply distribute money instead of complicating things?”

I inwardly scoffed. Father, huh? It felt like I had become the daughter of the real Marquis Mecklinger while borrowing Elfriede’s body.

Lumie continued with a sigh. “Since I’m doing it, I wanted to do it noisily. And it turned out splendidly. You saw it too, didn’t you?”

“Did you also prepare that speech?”

I didn’t echo Lumie’s words but directly threw another question.

Lumie let out a dry laugh. “Ha, someone might think I’m giving a lecture. Yes, Father drafted it, and I revised it to suit my language. Satisfied?”

“First, let me talk about a crucial mistake you made. That day, your speech made the leading role extremely uncomfortable.”

“…!”

Lumie widened his eyes and stared at me.

“If you went to the trouble of bringing him as your partner, you should have at least considered what kind of words he would like. Revealing the Mecklinger’s prestige so blatantly in front of the imperial family doesn’t make a good impression.”

“I thought he would like it!”

Lumie’s patience reached its limit.

“I was doing something the imperial family couldn’t. Who among the empire’s nobles would try to give away 1,000 kroons each to the needy without any strings attached? Shouldn’t it be applauded that I’m willing to give money to those who don’t have it?”