Lord Baby Runs A Romance Fantasy With Cash [EN]: Chapter 98

☆ Chapter 99 ☆

“That, that is…….”

“Ah, you couldn’t possibly not know. Even in your territory, I’m sure they came to me with conditions, begging for the cure.”

‘Actually, I don’t know which family it was for sure, but is there any noble who wouldn’t do that to me?’ I thought.

“What, did Lady Brante know the whole story and deliberately pick a fight over nothing?”

“That’s just her personality. A bit.”

“And to think she wanted the cure distributed for free nationwide. Even the Imperial Family wouldn’t do that… There’s a limit to shamelessness.”

“Then why have hereditary lords? They should dispatch officials from the central government like neighboring countries. Rights come with responsibilities. If they pass the responsibility to Paeraton, they should give their rights to Paeraton too, right?”

The face of the lady who had been most vocal in criticizing me trembled at the murmuring.

‘Ah, it was the Brante family?’ I realized.

Good to know.

“Actually, I’m not blaming those who tried to get the cure faster and in greater quantities by offering conditions. I think it was a reasonable decision. They were acting to protect their territories, I suppose.”

The ladies nodded at those words.

Most of them seemed subtly concerned, being from families that had made deals with me.

“But, sometimes there were people who offered conditions that I just couldn’t understand.”

I lifted my head and met Lady Brante’s eyes.

“For example, offering four times the conditions offered by a territory with bad relations, just to get the cure going to that territory for themselves.”

“……!”

A shocked silence.

And then, an enormous wave of repercussions.

“Wh, what!”

“Isn’t that like killing another territory with the Black Death?!”

“Good heavens, even if they don’t get along, to resort to such cruel and dirty tactics!”

“They don’t care if innocent territory citizens die from the Black Death? To commit such inhumane and barbaric acts.”

I waited for the uproar to subside before asking Lady Brante.

“Now that we’re talking like this, I don’t even know who you are. How rude of me. Which family are you from?”

Lady Brante trembled, her face pale at my question.

Her eyes, looking at me, were full of confusion and fear.

‘Lady Brante probably doesn’t know what conditions Count Brante offered me,’ I thought.

If she did, she wouldn’t have confidently picked a fight with me like this.

Because I could expose it.

‘Count Brante, having his deal rejected, must have badmouthed me a lot. So his daughter, that young lady, must have hated me. Makes sense.’

“Lady?”

At my prompting, Lady Brante opened her trembling lips.

“I, I am Leona from the Brante County.”

“Ah, I remember now. I remember what conditions the Brante County offered me.”

“C, Consort.”

“Of course, I have no intention of revealing the stories between families. Please give my regards to the Count. And to those who came as envoys back then.”

“Yes, yes…….”

Lady Brante nodded frantically.

Her attitude was clearly different from her earlier arrogance.

“And wouldn’t it be good to apologize to the ladies here too?”

“Ap, apologize?”

Lady Brante’s gaze briefly turned to the ladies sitting next to me.

It seemed her pride was hurt by having to bow her head to people she had openly insulted and looked down upon.

“You said they were fawning and being servile, wasn’t it? How rude is that?”

“Those words weren’t mine…….”

Lady Brante looked to the side as if feeling wronged, then turned back.

‘Don’t worry. I’m going to make the person who said those words apologize too,’ I thought.

I shrugged with a bright smile.

Even if it wasn’t her words, what could she do?

It didn’t change the fact that she had ignored and ridiculed me and the ladies around me.

Lady Brante, glancing at me, lowered her head.

“I’m sorry, ladies. I was careless.”

She probably hadn’t expected to actually hear an apology.

The ladies next to me looked at Lady Brante with somewhat surprised eyes, then looked at me.

Their eyes sparkled with excitement and joy.

‘Judging from the other ladies’ words, the Brante lady’s gang must have bullied the other ladies quite a bit,’ I mused.

Okay, then shall we try to smooth things over now?

It’s good to make a mess and end it, but this is a competition after all.

“Oh dear, I didn’t mean to attract attention. I’m worried that I might have disturbed your pleasant tea time by causing a stir.”

I stood up and spoke to those around me who had been watching us since earlier.

“As you all know, this is my first time in high society. So it’s unfamiliar and awkward for me.”

The ladies’ expressions varied.

Some responded with smiles, but others were anxious, and some were displeased with the commotion itself.

I smiled gently.

“Nevertheless, I have heard of the reputations of the families of those here.”

My ears were naturally open.

Before the Adersen ladies approached, I watched the surroundings alone and identified the names of several ladies who were the center of attention.

“The Michellouin family is educating numerous talents and preparing for the future through the Chevron Academy.”

Lady Michellouin glanced at me.

“The Fabnel family is strengthening the empire’s power by running a knight academy.”

Lady Taisel, a member of the Fabnel family, winked at me with a proud face.

Oh, I’m a little excited.

“Also, the Esheltain family is constantly compiling magic books to make magic, which was only passed down through the magic tower, more accessible to more people.”

“It’s a sad thing for someone with magical talent to live an ordinary life without discovering that talent. For the individual and for the country.”

Lady Esheltain smiled and took my words.

I smiled back and looked around.

“Besides that, each family does many great things. I was very excited to enter the Imperial Palace today because you are all children of families I respect.”

There were far more friendly gazes than before.

I changed my expression.

“But I couldn’t stand it when they criticized such people.”

“Excuse me?”

“Criticism……?”

The ladies who had been responding to me looked at me with puzzled expressions.

“They didn’t volunteer for free. They received compensation. So their purity is questioned, and in the end, they are just merchants.”

“…….”

“Isn’t this ultimately an insult to all of us?”

“……!”

The moment they realized the meaning of my words, the expressions of the ladies sitting at Lady Brante’s table turned grim.

“The tuition at Chevron Academy is by no means cheap. I think it’s unavoidable for the sake of quality education.”

A crack appeared on the face of Lady Michellouin, who had been expressionless.

“But according to those words, the Michellouin family is just making money with the academy and pretending to foster future generations.”

“……Indeed.”

Lady Michellouin glared at Lady Brante’s group with cold eyes.

“What about the Fabnel family’s knight academy? Are they shamelessly claiming to contribute to the empire while receiving money for knight training?”

“I want to apply for a duel right now.”

“What about the achievements of the Asheltain family? Are they ultimately just selling books and acting proud of contributing to the spread of magic?”

“If you don’t like our family getting paid for magic books, we may not supply magic books to the Brante, Selando, Ifrel, and Kansen families.”

Lady Asheltain smiled at them.

“Tell me. I didn’t know you didn’t like our family getting money for magic books so much.”

Good.

The atmosphere picked up rapidly as the ladies showed interest and agreed with my words.

“You were Lady Selando.”

I spoke to the lady next to Lady Brante who was making a rotten expression.

“I’m curious, Lady. Are the words you said to me earlier the opinion of Count Selando, or just your own thoughts?”

“Does that matter?”

Lady Selando reacted very aggressively and sharply.

This was a common reaction when faced with such a situation, a kind of defense mechanism.

‘Well, Count Selando didn’t offer a strange deal like Count Brante,’ I thought.

It seems that my mention of Count Selando made her think in that direction.

But that’s completely off.

“The Selando family owns the largest hospital in the system, Selando Hospital. I heard that it saves many patients and contributes to the development of the medical community. And they are respected for it.”

Lady Selando’s eyes wavered.

This young lady seems to have finally realized what I’m saying.

“I’m wondering, why doesn’t Selando Hospital treat patients for free? Isn’t that, as you and Lady Brante said, taking everything you can get and showing off?”

“Th, that’s…….”

“And are the other ladies who praise the Selando family being servile and fawning? I didn’t know you were looking at your friends that way.”

The ladies sitting at the same table turned bright red.

The center of that table was Lady Brante and Lady Selando, and the other ladies were those who agreed with them.

Those two were the ones who spoke to me directly.

“Oh my, I didn’t know at all. I shouldn’t say anything about Selando’s medical achievements in the future. I’m worried that you’ll say I’m being servile and fawning.”

Lady Asheltain chuckled and added.

She seemed to find this situation very amusing.

She’s quite an eccentric lady.

“Hmm, then can we look forward to the Selando Hospital being free in the future?”

When even Lady Michellouin joined in, Lady Selando seemed to realize that she could no longer hold out.

She looked around and bit her lip.

“I’m sorry. I spoke carelessly. It seems I was carried away by the atmosphere of the dawn festival.”

Lady Selando stood up and bowed to me.

“I apologize to Consort Paeraton and the other ladies. I’m sorry.”

The hall was filled with silence.

I felt the ladies looking at me with meaningful eyes and smiled brightly.

“Since you have made a sincere apology, I believe you will definitely be different in the future. I hope that today’s events will not leave any resentment in each other’s hearts.”

Finishing with a show of magnanimity.

I looked around the hall and met Clatie’s eyes.

She was pretending not to, but sparks were about to fly from her eyes looking at me.

Oh, scary.

I chuckled.

‘Do you understand? Pretending to be kind and pitiful to gain sympathy is what incompetent losers do.’

Political socializing, especially in a competition with many eyes watching and evaluating, is done like this.

I know it well because I read a lot of romance novels. Girls like you always get caught up in your own image.”

It was then.

[The ladies participating in the dawn festival are impressed by your social skills!]

[The majority of the ladies are delighted with the cider [refreshing victory] towards the Brante gang!]

[Quiet Genius, Lady Michellouin acknowledges you!]

[Idol of the Ladies, Lady Taisel admires you!]

[Alchemy Heretic, Lady Asheltain is interested in you!]

[You have attracted the attention of the next generation rookies with just one meeting!]

[You have been newly imprinted on the minds of the ladies participating in the dawn festival!]

My eyes widened at the rising notifications.

‘I felt that they were the center of each lady, but what are those titles? They must be more amazing than I thought.’

The most likely candidate for the dawn festival is Clatie.

‘Why Clatie when there are ladies like that?’

Well, whether you are good at alchemy or not has nothing to do with winning the dawn festival.

And since she seemed a little eccentric, she might receive some admiration, but she didn’t have the talent to unite high society and become the center.

‘But it will be of great help in practice. Because she has the technology.’

Winning the favor of such a person was an unexpected gain.

‘Lady Taisel seems to be admired by the ladies because she is a cool knight.’

This side is also far from the center of high society.

‘Lady Michellouin is the most likely…….’

Since she was called a quiet genius, she didn’t seem to be the type to be active in high society.

This type is the type that shows prominence in situations where they reveal their abilities while being quiet.

If Lady Michellouin is aiming for the win, she will be a very strong rival.

To the extent that she cannot be compared to Clatie.

The notification window didn’t end there.

[Count Chessia, Minister of the Interior, who was watching, praises your political socializing skills!]

[The Emperor calculates differently about the Paeraton family!]

[The Empress and Empress Dowager are starting to covet you!]

[The Empress’s desire for you is getting stronger!]

[Congratulations!]

[You have emerged as a strong candidate for the dawn festival!]

[Enjoy the luck of up to 30,000 cash with the exploding influence!]

‘I knew they were watching.’

I knew it.

‘With this much activity, I made a proper debut.’

Shall I rest a little now?

I wanted to chat with my peers while eating delicious cake.

The ladies sitting at the same table were looking at me with shy smiles.

I want to be friends.

That’s what’s written on their faces.

Cute. It’s a complete romance novel world. I’m completely excited.

It was then.

I discovered something flickering outside the window and jumped up.

“Consort Paeraton?”

Lady Lindhal, who was embarrassed, called me.

“Ah, I’m sorry. I’ll be back in a moment…… I’ll go to the lounge.”

Sorrow instantly clouded the faces of the kind ladies.

“Are you feeling unwell? Shall we go with you?”

“No. It’s my first time at a social gathering, so I think I’m a little nervous. I’ll be fine after a short rest.”

“You must have been nervous because it was your first time, but for us…….”

“I wonder if we have become a nuisance to the Consort for no reason.”

They seemed to misunderstand that it was because of the battle with the Brante gang.

“That’s not true. I’m very excited to have made good friends.”

The ladies’ faces lit up at my words.

“Then I’ll be away for a while.”

“Yes, yes. Come back.”

I went out to the hallway.

* * *

“It’s going very interestingly. Even if there is no magic, Paeraton is still Paeraton.”

“There were many speculations that the Consort of Paeraton, who has no magic, would not be the Duke’s biological child.”

“That’s a reasonable guess.”

“But after seeing today’s events, there was no need to doubt it.”

The Emperor nodded at those words.

“She is definitely the biological child of Duke Paeraton. If I had known she was such a smart child, I would have brought her to the Imperial Palace sooner.”

Count Chessia’s eyes lit up at those words.

Which prince are you thinking of as a match?