“Now, today is the day we select the team members to prepare for the party together, right?”

Madam Zanev was smiling brightly, but a subtle tension was lingering in the garden. The young ladies gathered were all glancing at Countess Lamira and me, exchanging glances with each other.

“As we have done every year, we will decide by playing rockpaperscissors. I’m sure the young ladies will do well on any team.”

Only Madam Zanev seemed oblivious to this tension, smiling innocently.

“Now, Lady, Countess Lamira, please come forward.”

I slowly got up, peeking at the lush street trees. Countess Lamira stared at me with her chin lifted, her eyes slightly narrowed.

“The winner will pick one person each.”

We faced each other and assumed our positions. I felt Countess Lamira staring at me with all her might, but I was busy staring at the trees.

As Madam Zanev’s signal dropped, I quickly drew paper.

“The first round is won by Lady Reina.”

Countess Lamira’s face, who had chosen rock, was ruthlessly crumpled.

I immediately pointed at Esmeralda.

“I will choose the Marquis’s young lady.”

Countess Lamira’s face turned even more vicious. She must have thought that I had stolen a young lady from one of the few highranking noble families.

As the signal for the next round started, Countess Lamira focused with her brow furrowed. I looked at the trees again, feeling somewhat at ease.

And I immediately chose scissors.

“This time, the win goes to Countess Lamira.”

Countess Lamira, who had chosen rock again, proudly picked a young lady.

“Count Andover’s young lady. Will you join me?”

Count Andover’s young lady blinked as if surprised but soon nodded her head.

It was only natural since Countess Lamira left those she usually hung out with and picked a young lady with whom she had a lukewarm relationship as the first team member.

But no one was greatly surprised. Rumors that Count Andover’s recent business was thriving had already spread in social circles, and nothing was more important than money at a party.

I looked at the two young ladies that Countess Lamira usually hung out with. They looked slightly annoyed, but they seemed to accept it.

Countess Lamira liked to play queen bee, always picking young ladies of lower rank than her to hang out with.

After that, I began to lose.

“Ohoho. What should I do, I’m sorry?”

Countess Lamira laughed, shaking her hand that held scissors.

“I’ve won until the last round.”

“Yes.”

When I smiled faintly, Countess Lamira seemed to cool down a little, slightly furrowing her brows.

I smiled triumphantly to myself.

Countess Lamira will never know. That I deliberately won only the first round and then lost on purpose.

I already knew that Countess Lamira would desperately try to secure young ladies from wealthy families, and unlike Countess Lamira, money was not important to me.

Rather, I preferred young ladies from small families or the countryside.

That said, if I won the game and picked young ladies with little influence in social circles, I would certainly arouse suspicion. So, I had to lose on purpose.

I winked at the tree as a sign of gratitude. Kirian waved his hand slightly from behind the tree.

Thanks to Kirian, I could predict all the moves Countess Lamira would make.

When Kirian first offered to signal in advance, I was skeptical.

“How are you going to predict Countess Lamira’s moves? Are you going to use mindreading magic?”

When I asked, Kirian just shrugged.

“I just see it?”

That was it. Kirian’s kinetic vision was not just excellent but frightening. He could see through everything Countess Lamira was about to do, even if she just flinched a little.

I vowed never to play a betting game with Kirian and accepted his offer.

“Okay. If you help, I’ll let you stay a few more days.”

“Until the party.”
Kirian closed his eyes prettily and spoke.

“Please have a party.”

It meant having to endure discomfort for an extended period, but in the end, I nodded my head.

“Then I will choose the last team member.”

After briefly thinking about last night’s events, I nodded my head with a smile at Lady Lamira’s declaration.

Lady Lamira began to search the remaining ladies diligently as if looking at goods displayed in a mart, seemingly unaware of my gaze.

Due to Lady Lamira’s choosing only the rich ladies, the remaining ones were almost all from nearly destitute noble families.

Among them was also a lady who usually hung around with Lady Lamira.

Surely the last lady would be one of her friends?

Lady Lamira’s friend, too, seemed confident she would be chosen, wearing a confident smile.

I waited comfortably for Lady Lamira to pick her friend last with a composed mind.

“Lady Countess Mirena!”

However, the name Lady Lamira called was not that of a close friend, but another lady.

“I, I, me?”

Lady Countess Mirena twitched in her chair with surprise. Her thick glasses fell from her nose as she moved abruptly as if in convulsion.