In the banquet hall, the nobles from the vicinity of Count Hetel’s house were gathered.

They cast sidelong glances at Minister Orteca, who attended the banquet, and us, particularly focusing on me.

‘They must have been curious.’

The admiration of the male nobles caught my ear.

“Why did Duke Blanche get married? Her appearance is truly…”

“Duke Blanche is a man after all. I thought he had no interest in women…”

The murmurings didn’t stop until everyone took their seats.

‘My head is dizzy.’

I should be getting used to it, but I still can’t get used to the feeling of being the center of attention among many nobles.

Johan, sitting next to me, held my hand resting on his knee.

“Shall I tear all those mouths?”

“…Huh?”

“But I must endure, since my wife is by my side.”

Firm fingers pressed between mine, knuckle by knuckle.

“But, my wife. You don’t have to worry about anything. I’ll take care of everything.”

“What?”

“You used honorifics just now.”

“Ah, it’s hard to change overnight.”

When I exclaimed in surprise, Johan lifted the corner of his mouth, holding his chin with one hand.

“Then, perhaps it would be better to punish you every time you use honorifics.”

“…Why do you keep wanting to punish me? Do you want to punish me, Johan?”

“I wonder.”

Johan added pressure to my hand and stared at me, a glance that made me feel shy.

“I can’t help but want to make my wife cry.”

“…”

“My wife’s crying face, it’s very thrilling.”

A very terrifying, villainous way of thinking.

I pulled my hand out of Johan’s grip in dissatisfaction.

“But I would be very upset if someone other than me made you cry.”

He looked at me as if I were cute, his red eyes shining, and whispered,

“So tell me anything. I can do anything for you.”

“What?”

“Anything. After all, there’s no one who can oppose me.”

Johan’s voice felt a bit ominous.

‘He’s not scheming something again, is he?’

Ding– the bell rang at 9 o’clock.

I quickly scanned the door. Betty, who peeked out her head, nodded and disappeared. It seems she had managed the worrisome matter well.

Count and Countess Hetel stood up.

Count Hetel raised a glass of champagne and shouted cheerfully,

“Welcome everyone, noble guests, to Hetel Count’s house!”

“Especially, it is a great honor that our precious guests have graced our gathering.”

Countess Hetel lightly raised her glass, following her husband.

“Then for the empire–”

The attending nobles were about to follow Countess Hetel’s lead, lifting their glasses.

Countess Hetel, who had been smiling, shed a thin tear.

“Ah, I shouldn’t be like this.”

(This is a time separator.)

Countess Hetel bowed her head politely to the guests.

“I apologize for spoiling the mood. I will continue with the toast.”

“Margarita, is something wrong?”

A noblewoman who seemed particularly close to Countess Hetel asked with concern.

“No. I cannot say it in front of the guests.”

“My dear, it might be better to speak.”

Count Hetel began to soothe his wife.

“It might be better to bring it up in front of everyone.”

The surrounding nobles chimed in.

“Feel free to talk, Margarita.”

“Yes. It seems difficult for you, you can rest and continue later if needed.”

Countess Hetel reluctantly nodded and carefully opened her mouth.

“You all must know well that our Hetel Count’s house has been financially struggling. You believe it’s due to my husband’s business failure.”

Countess Hetel dabbed her tearful eyes with a white handkerchief.

“But the reason the Hetel Count’s house has been struggling is because of someone who didn’t repay the Count’s money.”

“Didn’t repay the money?”

“That person is…”

In the end, Countess Hetel’s gaze landed on one spot.

Where Estelle was.

Estelle, whose eyes met with Countess Hetel’s, blinked her pale blue eyes in surprise.

“Are you talking about me now?”

“…Yes, Duchess Blanche. Why haven’t you repaid Hetel Count’s house’s money?”

Estelle was flustered.

Countess Hetel looked at Estelle with a triumphant smile.
‘Dare you make a fool of me?’

A wicked woman who not only attracted the attention of Orteca, the greatly desired chancellor of the Hetel family, but also ruined her daughter’s marriage prospects.

“Duchess, this amount might not be large for you, but it’s a huge sum for our Hetel family. You don’t need to pay interest, just please return the principal.”

“I’m sorry, but I never borrowed money from the Hetel family.”

Everyone nodded at Estelle’s response.

“Didn’t Duchess Blanchet rarely leave her home?”

The story that Estelle rarely left the mansion was quite famous.

‘How can I lend money to an adopted child of Libertan? It’s difficult to meet such a person in the first place.’

So a lady grabbed the sleeve of Countess Hetel with a worried voice.

“Did Duchess Blanchet really borrow money? And even if you met, without clear evidence…”

“That doubt is understandable. Fortunately, we have documents to prove our words.”

Countess Hetel ordered a maid to bring an envelope marked confidential from the office.

The maid quickly returned with the envelope.