“Thank you for the invitation. My father was busy, so I came instead.”

Daphne stared at Deraon, who was just speaking to her while standing in her way.

Verdette, the Verdette Marquisate.

‘She’s from the family that was the center of northern society.’

She sent an invitation out of courtesy, but she thought they wouldn’t come.

She didn’t expect the second daughter of Marquis Verdette to come.

‘Wait a minute.’

No way.

Daphne’s eyes narrowed.

‘I heard that one of the children of the Verdette family openly suggested copying my hot spring.’

Of course, it would be phrased more kindly.

However, not only did they put dried herbs and flowers, but they also copied the interior decoration along with a similar name.

Therefore, there were some ridiculous cases in which the nobles were mistaken and booked Verdette Hot Spring, and they were disappointed and protested against Viscount Acmel.

‘Could it be her?’

“I really wanted to meet the Grand Duchess.”

It was her.

Daphne was convinced by the arrogant, contemptuous gaze that looked down on her.

‘I thought I’d just move on because I was busy, but I shouldn’t.’

Daphne’s eyes narrowed.

Deraon’s eyes narrowed when she looked at Daphne.

‘Don’t be rude.’

Even though Deraon greeted her now, instead of accepting it, she raised her head and looked at her blatantly.

‘On the subject of a trifling commoner.’

Deraon gnashed her teeth inside.

The ball was perfect, and the people were responding well.

And she was so angry that she couldn’t bear that this commoner would take her place in the future.

‘I’m going to humiliate you.’

She would firmly humiliate her on this occasion.

Deraon made eye contact with Daphne, who was still looking at her with her head firmly raised.

And she was going to say this.

‘No way, could it be that the Grand Duchess hasn’t properly learned about greeting etiquette yet?’

“No way, could it be that the young lady of Marquis Verdette hasn’t properly learned about greeting etiquette yet?”

Deraon’s eyes widened. Daphne recited exactly what she was going to say.

But what was more surprising than that was that Daphne pointed out Deraon’s manners.

Her head that was already full of anger Bang! was shocked.

“…Were you pointing me out just now?”

“Yes.”

Daphne answered right away and scanned Deraon up and down.

“It seems that the manners of Marquis Verdette’s lady is very lacking.”

Deraon’s face turned red.

She has received severe etiquette lessons since she was very young.

Thanks to that, wherever she went, she was praised for being perfect.

She couldn’t believe such a commoner, who only learned etiquette for just a few months, would point her out.

“The Grand Duchess is ever so severely talkative! Are you looking down on us, the Verdette Marquisate?”

“The severe thing is the young lady’s manners.”

Daphne replied flatly.

“I am Grand Duchess of Bertrand, and you are the young lady of Verdette Marquisate. Isn’t it?”

Originally, Deraon could not talk to Daphne first.

Because Daphne, the princess and the grand duchess, was in a much higher position than Deraon, the young lady of a marquis.

In such an official occasion, a high-ranking person had to talk to her first before they could have a conversation.

But Deraon ignored it and acted as she pleased, and Daphne pointed it out.

“…Th-that.”

Deraon hesitated while trying to make an excuse.

‘No.’

Rather, this was an opportunity. Deraon laughed inwardly.

There was one greeting that a person who learned etiquette by attribute would never know.

She would never know that.

“I’m sorry, Grand Duchess.”

Deraon, who changed her plan, burst into tears.

“I’ve offended the Grand Duchess because I was lacking.”

Saying that, Deraon politely bowed twice.

‘Look at this?’

Daphne clicked her tongue inwardly.

Deraon’s behavior now seemed like a very polite apology on the surface.

But it wasn’t real.

Holding the hem of the dress and bowing twice.

It was a way of greeting the dead.

“Ha.”

Daphne’s lips went up slightly. It exceeded the level of being able to move on nicely.

“Is the Verdette Marquisate declaring an all-out war against the Bertrand Grand Duchy right now?”

“Pardon?”

Startled, Deraon raised her head.

All-out war, an all-out war?

“Otherwise, what is your intention to offer me condolences for the dead, Lady Verdette?”

Deraon’s complexion turned white.

‘Oh, did you know that?’

She didn’t expect her to know this.

This greeting was used only by aristocrats, and it was also difficult to know unless you attended an aristocratic funeral.

So she was convinced that the commoner who was locked up in the imperial palace and spent only a few months in the grand duchy wouldn’t know about it.

No way, she knew.

And an all-out war?

‘The Bertrand Knights are knights who keep even the emperor in check!’

The history of the Bertrand Knights who dealt with demons was also famous throughout the empire.

Dealing with such knights.

It was nonsense.

As soon as the all-out war began, it was clear that the Verdette Marquisate would collapse.

“Seeing that there is no answer, you seem to be serious.”

Daphne’s eyes shone coldly.

“Sir Wessler, right now—!”

“No!!”

Deraon grabbed the skirt of Daphne’s dress and shook her head.

“Never, that’s not what I meant. Grand Duchess!”

“If you didn’t mean that, why did you do such a greeting?”

“That.”

Deraon, whose face was flushed with shame, bit her lip tightly.

People who were concentrating on their conversation were talking noisily while watching the two.

Deraon’s eyes quickly scanned the surroundings.

Several of her acquaintances were also present.

Wouldn’t it be possible to move on if they help her?

‘Please!’

But Deraon did not get any help.

As soon as their eyes met, people quickly turned their heads.

No one wanted to face the Bertrand Knights.

In the end, Deraon’s head dropped down gradually.

“I…”

Deraon’s hands trembled as she gripped the hem of her dress.

“I, I haven’t learned much yet, because I haven’t learned enough… I made a m-mistake.”

In the end, Deraon admitted her inadequacies.

Because it was the only way to avoid an all-out war.

It happened to be when the music stopped. The large hall fell silent.

“That’s all right, Lady Verdette.”

As if Daphne was fine, she patted Deraon on the shoulder, who was completely bent down.

“No one is born perfect, right? And there is no shame in ignorance!”

Daphne smiled brightly as she said so.

“If Lady Verdette learns, you will be able to fill your shortcomings in no time. I will cheer for you!”

Tears welled up in Deraon’s eyes at Daphne’s bright voice.

“E-Excuse me, I’m not feeling well.”

After that sentence ended, Deraon left the ballroom crying.

‘Tsk, what a waste of time.’

Daphne brushed off her hands and lightly clicked her tongue.

And whispered quietly to the butler who was passing by.

“Butler. Speak to the orchestra and ask them to play a fast-tempo piece.”

“Yes, Milady.”

The atmosphere of the hall completely subsided due to Deraon, and it needed to be brought back up again.

The atmosphere gradually revived when the orchestra changed the music and started playing a fast-tempo song that has recently become popular in the capital.

On the surface, it seemed that the immature young lady’s mistakes ended.

But it wasn’t on the inside. The Verdette Marquisate had been the center of northern society.

But Daphne stepped on the center.

‘I got attention because of something pointless.’

Daphne clicked her tongue inwardly. It was not the time to draw attention yet.

‘Well, it’s done.’

From now on, there would be a lot of gossip and the like to bury these trivial things.

Daphne grabbed a drink and pretended to be exhausted, approached the sofa against the wall, and sat down.

“There was a commotion.”

It was the Marchioness of Elmyre who spoke to Daphne.

The madam with a glass of wine sat next to Daphne.

“I should have treated the young lady more gently, I regret it.”

Daphne clenched her drink glass and laughed bitterly.

Then she looked up at the madam and tilted her head slightly.

“The young lady wasn’t hurt, was she?”

“Even so, it was necessary.”

The marchioness said firmly.

“The young lady of Marquis Verdette was disrespectful. The Grand Duchess was just doing her job as a superior.”

The marchioness’s eyes were full of satisfaction, as if she liked Daphne’s handling very much.

“I’m glad you liked it, madam.”

Daphne smiled, her eyes crinkling as she sipped her drink.

“So how are you going to report this to His Majesty the Emperor?”

“…..!”

The madam paused. But it was very momentary.

“I don’t know what the Grand Duchess is talking about.”

The marchioness smiled softly at Daphne.

‘Liar.’

Just by looking at her expression, she was so perfect that even Daphne could be fooled.

However, the wine in her hand caused ripples, clearly showing that she was agitated.

“Madam, I am.”

Daphne tapped her glass and continued.

“I am sure that His Majesty the Emperor will not put Lady Elmyre in the marquis seat.”

Even the madam’s perfect expression was shattered by Daphne’s words this time.

Since the original work was old, the setting itself was an old-fashioned era.

It was an era when women could not receive titles, could not do politics, could not step forward, and could not be knights.

The Grand Duchy of Bertrand was possible because of its autonomy, and the curse made it possible for women to become head of the family because blood was scarce.

‘And because of the cold weather, there were fewer young people, so there were female knights, but not outside.’

One step outside, you could feel the old-fashioned era as it was.

However, there were bound to be women who were desperate outside of the territory.

And the representative of those people was Adele Elmyre right in front of her.

‘She has remarkable capability, but she couldn’t have dreamed of it because it was a more old-fashioned era.’

But now there’s a precedent called Retina.

The first is hard, but the second is easy.

The emperor must have enticed Adele like that.

‘I understand why the marchioness fell for that temptation.’

This was due to the recent deterioration of Marquis Elmyre’s health.

Well, he didn’t die and overcame the crisis well, but right now, he had to worry about his successor.

But the Marquis of Elmyre only had one daughter.

There was no son to inherit the title.

In this situation, the title and all the property of the marquis would be inherited by a male relative who was the nephew of the marquis.

‘In other words, if the marquis dies, neither the marquis’s wife nor the marquis’s esteemed daughter will have a place to go.’

If a relative as close as a nephew showed mercy, they would just manage to live in a mediocre mansion.

Or, the young lady of Marquis Elmyre had no choice but to marry anyone.

The marquis would go to his nephew, though.

‘And Adele is not the kind of person to stand by.’

Adele was a person who got a taste of power by manipulating Marquis Elmyre her way.

Would such a person ever want to let go of it?

The answer was no.

“…How do you know?”

Adele said in a wary voice.

“Well, I don’t know much.”

Daphne rolled her eyes this way and that with an innocent look and folded her fingers.

“It’s just that His Majesty the Emperor won’t keep his promise and that the marquisate will be handed over to his nephew as scheduled?”

Adele bit her lip.

It would be a waste, it would be unfair.

Adele and her daughter, who resembled Adele, were capable.

No, rather, the young lady’s competence was superior to that of the man who was scheduled to receive the title.

“His Majesty the Emperor has promised me.”

“Has he ever kept a promise properly?”

Daphne smiled brightly.

“The first empress also believed in his promise.”

But what was the result?

As soon as he ascended the throne, the emperor abandoned the empress in front of Alan and destroyed the family.

After being used up, it was abandoned as it was.

And Daphne in front of her, too, was a chess piece that would be used by the hands of the emperor and then thrown away.

The emperor showed the sweet fruit, but never held it in his hand.

He wasn’t the one to share that.

“Madam knows it all too well.”

It was Adele who knew the whole process of the downfall of the first empress and her family.

The emperor took too much credit for himself.

Nevertheless, there was only one way for a woman to become a family head, so there would have been no choice.

“I can make it a reality.”

But now there were two paths for Adele.

One was the emperor who would definitely not keep his promise.

The other was Daphne, who was risky but still had the potential to keep her promise.

“……”

The marchioness hesitated to answer.

It was a given. It would be difficult to blindly trust Daphne, no matter how likely it was.

“I can understand your hesitation. Then how about this?”

“What do you mean?”

“I’m thinking about going back to the capital soon, right? It’s almost that season.”

Daphne swung her legs and rested her chin. Her eyes looked up at the madam.

“I’m thinking of taking victory with His Grace there.”

Why don’t you look at it and decide, madam?