I approached my father with steady steps. Mikael, who stood next to him, glanced at me with clenched fists.

“I know it’s not true.”

“Yeah, thanks.”
Dad pulled my shoulder. I leaned comfortably on his leg, looking leisurely at Aesilwood Jajak.

“L-Lady! Please, speak up! Did you steal my magical stone? Yes?”

“Jajak, that mouth of yours can’t distinguish between what to say and what not.”

“Y-Your Grace! Please believe me just once! Please check Lady’s bag!”

“My daughter’s bag?”

“Yes! Th-That’s right!”

Even though visibly frightened, Aesilwood Jajak persisted in making such a request to my father.

It seemed like he got the courage from the gazes of surrounding nobles.

“Come to think of it, Lady has been carrying that bag from the beginning.”

“Well, who brings a bag to a party?”

The mutterings of capital nobles reached my ears.

Suddenly, I felt a chill down my spine. When I looked up, my father’s face had solidified to an extreme.

‘Danger signal, danger signal!’

Feeling seriously concerned about the lives of the nobles around me for a moment, I grabbed his clothes to draw his attention.

“Dad, Dad! If I show you my bag, would Jajak’s suspicion disappear?”

Upon my words, my father let out a deep sigh.

“Fine, show it once.”

“Yes!”

I took out my belongings one by one from the bag.

“In my bag, there are… cookies for snacks, my favorite toys, and flowers I picked from the garden…”

I presented each item, and even showed the empty bag.

“That’s it!”

Naturally, there were no magical stones in my bag. Aesilwood Jajak yelled in disbelief, his face expressing utter incredulity.

“T-This can’t be! You’ve hidden it somewhere else! I clearly saw it…”

“You saw me stealing it?”

I widened my eyes and asked Jajak. He realized his mistake and hastily shut his mouth.

“I-I mean, if I may say something.”

Miguela, who stood by my side, carefully raised her hand and spoke.

“Diagne Yeongae was with us all the time, playing at the gazebo. Isn’t that reason enough not to suspect Diagne Yeongae?”

“Wh-What nonsense! A-Are you in cahoots? I can’t believe that girl’s words! It’s just the ramblings of a mere teenager…!”

“Aesilwood Jajak! What did you just say to my daughter?!”

Upon Jajak’s words, Viscountess Jabel snapped and stepped forward.

As Jabel took a stand, other capital nobles, who had some rapport with him, also spoke up.

“Aesilwood Jajak, stop your excessive behavior. You’re ruining everything in this gathered joyful atmosphere.”

“Jajak, you’ve probably lost it since you came here. Don’t unjustly suspect innocent girls.”

“True words. In the old saying, isn’t it said that the sin of the one who lost is the greatest?”

Aesilwood Jajak could assert himself this far probably because the capital nobles were standing behind me, supporting me.
However, one by one, people turned their backs on him, and Jajak looked bewildered, not knowing what to do.

“T-That’s not it. I clearly saw it! I definitely…!”

Jajak bit his lips, looking very unjust.

‘Well, he must feel unfairly treated.’

Jajak knows that I stole his magical stone. However, to reveal that fact, it needed to be clarified that the magical stone I gifted to my father had a tracking spell on it.

‘It’s impossible to do that.’

Having a tracking spell on the gift would have raised suspicions of attempting harm against my father, even though there’s no way that was the case.

In other words, Aesilwood Jajak has nothing he can do.

“I… I may have been mistaken.”

In the end, Aesilwood Jajak stepped back.

Another reason I could stand confidently was this. I have a perfect alibi.

‘Well, I didn’t steal the magical stone; it was Eunbae.’

Of course, I arrived at the gazebo the latest. However, since it was a very short time, all the young ones at the gazebo supported me.

Especially Miguela, who bravely stood up for me first, I was very grateful to her.

“Thank you for helping earlier, Miguela.”

“I just stated the facts.”

Miguela blushed slightly at my gratitude. The other young ones beside me also comforted me.

“Yeongae, you must have been shocked a lot. Really, Jajak went too far this time.”

“That’s right. Why would he suddenly doubt Yeongae, who was with us all the time?”

“He did admit it was a mistake at the end. I’m fine. Thank you all for worrying.”

“He just said it was a mistake; he didn’t apologize! It’s really annoying, you know? If he misunderstood, he should apologize!”

Miguela still clenched her fists with an angry expression.

‘Well, that’s true.’

Even after causing such a commotion at someone else’s party, Aesilwood Jajak didn’t apologize to me or my family.

I wasn’t bothered, but I worried that my father or brothers might say something to him.

Still, perhaps because there were many witnesses, no one said anything to him at the party.

Of course, when Daebyeon dragged me to the lounge later, he was excited, saying he would kill him right away, and Clemens also mentioned that he had untraceable poison. But my father mediated them.

‘It’s a common rule that those who don’t know their place are the first to be preyed upon. So everyone calm down.’

…Although my father’s words were too harsh to be called mediation.

Anyway, the question was, why did Jajak put a tracking spell on me?

‘To put a tracking spell, he needs to be able to manipulate magic, but he can’t do that either, right?’
Deep in thought, Miguela approached me cautiously.

“Yeongae, I know it’s a bit late to say this, but…”

“Yes, go ahead.”

“To be honest, there have been quite unfavorable rumors about Aesilwood Jajak. But, for some reason, those rumors have disappeared recently.”

“What kind of rumors were there?”

Miguela quickly scanned the surrounding young ladies before leaning in and whispering to my ear.

“Well, it’s not as much nowadays, but there were quite a few rumors for a while. People who know would be aware. About how Aesilwood Jajak behaved poorly and revealed his true nature with women…”