.jpeg)
Left alone, the coachman standing awkwardly before Yevgenia spoke, unsure what to do.
"Um, Your Grace, shall I at least escort you...?"
"No, it's fine. I'll get down alone."
Yevgenia carefully descended one step at a time and let out a sigh of relief.
She was so dumbfounded that she didn't even feel angry.
She was just curious why Raymond was acting like that.
'Has he finally lost his mind?'
As Raymond himself had said, as long as his name was on Yevgenia's shoulder, annulment was impossible.
In such a situation, openly bringing his future mistress to a banquet was not something she could understand with common sense.
'Could it be that he thinks my talk of annulment is just a bluff?'
Though she said she wanted to annul the engagement, the wedding ceremony was proceeding without any issues, so it was plausible to think she was just making empty threats.
If he was under that misconception, she could roughly guess why Raymond was acting like a madman.
'He probably thinks I'm putting on a strong front to deliberately make him break up with Stella.'
Before realizing her past life, she had done such things several times.
Threatening to jump if he didn't come back immediately, or ordering the entire capital's dress shops to block Stella's entry if he didn't go on a date with her...
In other words, she had pulled all sorts of outrageous stunts to get Raymond's attention.
'Thinking my nonsense about wanting him to look back at me was just meant to provoke him...'
Perhaps that was the extent of the goodwill Raymond could muster.
As if saying, if he gave her this much freedom, he might look her way once in a while.
But unfortunately, Yevgenia was someone who wanted to run as far away as possible from that 'goodwill of his.'
'I'm not even sure if such behavior can be packaged as goodwill in the first place...'
Tsk. Clicking her tongue softly, Yevgenia muttered.
"I think I need to make things clear to Raymond."
Your love? I fully support it.
So, how should she phrase it to sound sincere—that she'll go her own way, and he should go his?
Lost in thought as she walked, she soon found herself at the entrance to the hall.
She gave a slight nod, and the doorman opened the door, announcing loudly.
"Lady Yevgenia Martir, the legitimate daughter of Duke Martir, is entering!"
The warmth of the banquet hall rushed out, causing Yevgenia's red hair to flutter.
Simultaneously, the cheerful atmosphere of the venue froze coldly.
Eyes that had been quickly stealing glances at Raymond's suit and the dresses of Yevgenia and Stella narrowed thinly.
Snickering, low laughter and rapidly fluttering fans.
Yevgenia knew better than anyone what that meant.
"Hah. How dare they...?"
Before she became the crazy woman of the Artlux Empire's social scene, and after.
No one dared to mock her.
Gossiping behind her back, cutting her down—well, as they say, people curse even the king in his absence, so that was understandable.
But mocking her right to her face? That couldn't be allowed.
'They've been quiet for about a month, and now they've lost their senses.'
How could grown adults be so short-sighted?
Scowling, Yevgenia defiantly widened her eyes and looked at each pair of eyes behind the fans.
Those who hurriedly averted their gaze the moment they met her eyes were amateurs.
Those who flinched, trembled, and then pretended not to be startled, slowly turning their gaze away, were intermediates.
And the one who stared back at her even more brazenly was...
"...Lady Nagelsmann. Long time no see?"
"Oh my, indeed. The last time we met was... at the tea party hosted by the Count Giovanni family, wasn't it?"
A reply clearly intended to provoke Yevgenia.
First of all, the last time Yevgenia and Lady Nagelsmann had seen each other was two months ago, and the tea party at the Count Giovanni family was four months ago.
There was no way she didn't know that, so the reason she deliberately brought up that day was obvious.
'That day, I harassed Stella because Raymond didn't escort me, accidentally spilled tea on Stella, and then Raymond miraculously appeared and escorted Stella away.'
For Yevgenia, it was a humiliation; for those present, it was like watching a play.
Twisting her lips into a smile, Yevgenia said.
"No, the last time was the Imperial Palace spring party two months ago. To already have your memory mixed up, how... You do remember your own name, right?"
"W-what did you say?"
"I've heard there's a doctor who specializes in treating memory loss. Shall I inquire for you? With the power of the Duke Martir family, we should be able to find that doctor before your condition worsens."
It wasn't that Lady Nagelsmann didn't understand her words and was just listening blankly.
Rather, she understood them too well and couldn't find a response.
Between absurdity and bewilderment, Yevgenia gently patted the shoulder of the woman who stood with her mouth agape, unable to close it, and curved her eyes prettily.
"You seem fine now, but if you were to go for a night stroll and get kidnapped without a trace, abandoned on a remote island with no people or anything, wouldn't your condition worsen?"
"...K-kidnapped? Lady Martir! What on earth...!"
Yevgenia quietly observed Lady Nagelsmann's pale face before bursting into laughter.
Ahaha. Haha, ha.
A clear laugh erupted, drawing the attention of others in an instant.
Being the center of attention was very familiar to Yevgenia.
Curiosity, lowly interest, or fear.
Enjoying the mixed gazes for a moment, Yevgenia shook her head.
"It's just a hypothetical, a hypothetical. Why are you so startled?"
Her face still wore a smile.
But the golden eyes visible between her curved eyelids were as cold as ice.
Lightly grabbing Lady Nagelsmann's shoulder, Yevgenia added as if joking.
"...Well, I won't deny that the Duke Martir family has the power to make that 'hypothetical' a reality."
"...!"
"Act appropriately, to an extent I can tolerate. Understood?"
Yevgenia had never pushed Lady Nagelsmann like this before.
The reason was simple.
Because she was Raymond's cousin.
But that was only important to the past Yevgenia who clung to Raymond.
For the current her, it wasn't an issue at all.
'I wish she'd run to Raymond right now and curse me out, demanding an annulment. Should I act like this in front of Duke Larsen and his wife too...?'
Releasing the thoroughly frightened Lady Nagelsmann, Yevgenia accepted a wine glass from a server.
Sipping her drink, she was looking for a good spot to kill time when the smoothly flowing music abruptly stopped.
"What's going on? The music suddenly stopped..."
"Lady Nagelsmann must have prepared something again. She always hosts such new events, no wonder her banquets are so popular."
"Stopping the music entirely instead of just changing it—she must have prepared something truly spectacular."
For nobles who constantly chased novelty and trends, such events were nothing short of a dopamine-fueled festival.
Amid the murmurs that began to bubble up, a sense of bewilderment mixed with undeniable excitement could be felt.
Tap— tap—
Lady Nagelsmann appeared, flaunting the lavish hem of her dress, but her face didn't seem particularly bright.
As if she wasn't doing this of her own volition.
"Everyone, today I have prepared a very... enjoyable event. It is..."
Taking a short breath, Lady Nagelsmann forced a smile.
She snapped her fingers with a sharp sound, and two burly men ascended from below the stairs where she stood.
The two handsome men were dressed quite provocatively.
Without shirts or anything, just jackets draped over their bare torsos, standing on either side of Lady Nagelsmann, looking exactly like...
'Hmm, they don't look like people engaged in very respectable work.'
Observing them with an awkward gaze, a belated realization dawned.
The jackets of the two men matched the color combination of Lady Nagelsmann's dress perfectly.
Despite wearing different outfits, the fact that they were made from the same fabric subtly hinted at a couple's, no, a triple look.
The moment she realized this, an inexplicable sense of foreboding began to creep up.
'...Surely not?'
After I even gave her a warning, surely she wouldn't ignore my kindness.
Surely not.
"I have selected the two people wearing the most 'couple-like' attire at today's banquet... and would like to grant them the right to spend the summer at a seaside villa located in the Nagelsmann March... ."
...It seemed Lady Nagelsmann truly had early-onset dementia.
And an acute case at that.
.jpeg)