I wanted to quietly disappear from the chaos that started with my shoulder being struck.

Was it an attempt to console me? The Duchess came over and placed a hand on my shoulder.

Then she said,

“How harmonious. To stand up like this for your sister and sisterinlaw. Isn’t that right, Elodie?”

Where are you?

There was so much to say that I was at a loss for words.

I looked around at the Ferdia family, a total disaster, with my mouth open.

Yansi and Carlott were competing to see who would take care of the hornheaded nobleman.

That’s when Yansi looked at me and asked,

“Lili, what would you like? You should decide.”

“Um….”

I put my hand to my chin and seriously pondered.

The nobleman looked at me, his face on the verge of tears. Anyone would think I had hit him first.

It was too much to just let him go, even though he had struck me and gotten angry.

But if I said to just let it go, they wouldn’t listen for sure.

‘First, I’ll suggest a harsh punishment, then revise it to something more reasonable.’

At the end of such deep contemplation, I smiled and exclaimed,

“Then, shall we cut off his shoulder?”

“…….”

“…….”

The atmosphere was strange. The family, and even the hornheaded man, looked at me with pale faces.

‘Why? It’s better than burying him using magic.’

Carlott opened his mouth hesitantly, his face flustered.

“Sister, really…? The cleanup wouldn’t be a worry, but….”

“Lili, you don’t need to dirty your hands.”

Yansi awkwardly smiled and spoke.

Then the silent Duke Ferdia of the situation said one word.

“Bring the sword.”

At those words, the nobleman at the center of the commotion fell to his knees with a thud, his face pale.

“Sa, save me!! Waaah!”

This time, not Carlott, but precisely towards me, he pleaded desperately.

“I was wrong, Lady. I will never even step on your shadow again, ah, no, I won’t come within a meter of you. So please, not the shoulder…!”

It seemed like a shame to tell this man, who was sobbing, that he wasn’t sincere.

I, like a true princess of Ferdia, responded nonchalantly.

“Alright. Cutting off the shoulder seems tedious. I hate the splatter of blood.”

“We can do it without the blood splattering.”

“No, Father. I don’t want to cause unnecessary trouble. Let’s just give him a shoulder strike like he did to me.”

Thankfully, no one objected to my clear solution of giving back as good as he got.

“Behave yourself, hornhead.”

Thwack!

And so, Carlott’s shoulder strike brought the agreement to an end.

By the time I sat down in the restaurant, I was already exhausted.
I had almost had a man removed for the mere reason that he touched my shoulder, but I sent him back unharmed, so it turned out as I wished. Still, why does my spirit feel more ragged?

“Never, never go out to eat again.”

I’ll be sick if there’s talk of dining out.

The seats we were guided to looked like the most expensive reservations in the restaurant.

The customers who were already at the restaurant glanced at our family.

It was only natural, as the Ferdia people were so introverted that they rarely left the mansion.

Duke Ferdia only went back and forth between the mansion and the palace, and Yansido was the same.

The Duchess was almost stuck in the greenhouse garden, engaged in poisonmaking, and Carlott lived like a sword fool in the training field.

I wasn’t so healthy either, so I was mostly confined to the annex.

The other family members seemed used to such gazes, but not me.

The looks at the other family members were of envy, but the looks at me were different.

“They’ll be whispering that the bastard child is butting in again, I guess.”

It was when I was ignoring the looks and eating the amusebouche.

“Who is this?”

Someone was plodding towards our table.

The man fiddling with his monocle had a fairly familiar face.

Rodrigo Angelos. That is, Duke Angelos.

Behind Duke Angelos was a man I’d never seen before.

“A magician?”

He was a palefaced man with an unhealthy look. The man with long dark green hair tied to one side was wearing a drab robe.

But there was no emblem anywhere on his clothes to indicate he was affiliated with a magical tower.

A free magician, maybe? Most were affiliated with the magic towers, but occasionally there were magicians who were not.

While I was observing the magician, Duke Angelos greeted Duke Ferdia with a friendly smile.

“I didn’t expect to meet you here, Sylvester. Nice to see you, glad to be here. You’ve come to dine with your family. You seem surprisingly domestic, don’t you?”

Anyone else would have taken it as a real welcome, but since it was Duke Angelos, it was definitely a sarcastic remark.

“You’re acting uncharacteristically funny, this must be what you mean.”

Of course, Duke Ferdia didn’t flinch an eye.

“Yeah.”

At the insincere short reply, Duke Angelos’s eyebrows twitched.

At that moment, the Duchess, who had been gulping wine, folded her eyes and greeted him with a smile.

“It’s been a while, Duke Angelos. How is Dolsinia? I haven’t seen her since the last time we met. Please give her my regards.”

“Heh, my wife is not feeling well and is recuperating. I’ll make sure to convey your greetings.”

Even though she knew why she was not active outside, asking was the Duchess’s provocation.

Of course, the snakelike Duke Angelos was not disturbed at all.

However, the Duchess was persistent.

“Oh my, Dolsinia’s not feeling well. Neither is Dorothea, I guess? Mother and daughter are sick at the same time, I’m worried it might be… an infectious disease?”

At that, Duke Angelos’s eyes widened and he retorted.

“Infectious disease? Watch your words, madam.”

If there were even rumors of an infectious disease, the royal investigation would blow it up, so it was natural for Duke Angelos to jump.

The Duchess calmly replied with a smile.

“Then we’ll be able to meet at the upcoming Ishtar Temple gathering.”

“……Yes.”

Slowly, the skirmish between Duke Angelos and the Duchess seemed to be coming to a close.

‘Another victory for the Duchess today. To pull both mother and daughter to an official event.’

I was admiring when I carelessly looked at the magician standing behind the Duke.

For a moment, I met his dark violet eyes.

And—.

‘…What?’

If it wasn’t my mistake, why did that magician seem to avoid my eyes?