Miel only shook his head and closed the door, letting a maid entourage walk Artie towards the dining hall. He arranged for each maid there to be knowledgeable and aware enough about Artie's situation. They didn't know she was an angel, but they knew her as a country bumpkin.
Artie Shen only sighed with a smile as she prepared for the incoming battle.
[You have unlocked 'Miel's Secret Story 1'!]
[Miel Ellis, the eldest among the children of the archduke. He was separated from his father at the age of three and from his mother at the age of four. He lived in the streets of the capital city Talcum until five years ago. Despite saying otherwise, he continued to yearn for the family he had lost.]
[Engage in more conversations to unlock more chapters of 'Miel's Secret Story'!]
[You have accomplished a secret task: Unlock a secret story chapter of any personality! Veneration + 1! Total meter points: 1; Veneration 1, Apostasy 0.]
[Reward obtained!]
[You have unlocked the first transmutation: Hideous Brown Rat!]
[Trouble is a friend of an angel, be it venerable or apostate. When in danger, feel free to turn into a brown rat and run away. You can stay in this form for twenty-four hours without a cooldown.]
The series of dings in her head made Artie a little dizzy, but she was happy and sad about them. Happy because she was indeed advancing in whatever she was supposed to do; sad because that meant what was happening wasn't a dream at all. Moreover, she would turn into a hideous brown rat?
How disgusting. Then again, if she could ride on Lord Ellis's shoulders like a cat and disgust him as well, then it might not be as bad as she thought it was.
Chuckles were kept for another time as Artie Shen arrived in the dining hall. There, she saw a very big table with all sorts of food on it. A lot of people were having loud conversations while the archduke was only quietly eating at the head of the table. When Artie walked in, all eyes were inevitably on her.
Lord Ellis looked up and had a shadow of a smile. He brought his utensils down and waited for Artie to sit down on the vacant seat to his right. "You seem to take your time."
"I'm sorry I took so long." Artie smiled brightly and modestly as if she was not that woman squealing like a pig earlier in the waiting room. She then turned to the people at the dining table. "Please don't mind me. It'd be more interesting to have a joyous conversation over a feast, wouldn't it be?"
"Ah, you seemed to have picked a good little bride, Larkin. I'm impressed." One of the loudest dukes laughed out as he took several looks at Artie. "Where'd you find her? She must be very hard to take from her parents. Look at that kind of care they all placed on her."
"Hm, you'd say the same for the seneschal, and yet he's a street child before." A duchess giggled with a vicious gaze, staring Artie down just because she was younger.
Lord Ellis didn't pay attention to any of them as if making a sound from time to time was enough. Miel had mentioned to Artie that this feast was held on the archduke's own accord, but he didn't have the initiative to speak. It was like this as well, back in the trial. Could it be that Lord Ellis wasn't interested?
Was he bored, enough to host these people for show?
Artie Shen almost ate in the same manner, in complete silence. She was only watching Lord Ellis the entire time she ate cleanly as if she was someone who knew how to do fine dining so well. The only strange thing was that she could hear the others speaking badly about the archduke right at his table.
"Isn't she a little too young for him? She seemed to be around the same age as the seneschal..."
"What are you talking about? Men his age would always want to have young, beautiful wives. They bear the prettiest and healthiest children after all."
"More children? Is he trying to raise an army?"
Artie Shen turned to the direction of the women speaking as if she couldn't hear them—as if the archduke himself couldn't hear them. Even if she was a pretend-wife and that he wasn't really her husband—in-game or in real life, those talks were certainly bad behavior in her books.
She then noticed that their wine glasses were not full anymore. She turned to the maids and gestured to one and asked for a bottle. Upon receiving the wine bottle, she got up and walked to the women and offered to fill their glasses… almost in a servile manner.
"Are you having fun? Let me fill your glasses. This is His Grace's dinner party, and so let me do this as a very welcoming host." Artie kept her head low and her tone very polite. The women even visibly sneered as she started filling up the glasses…
Only to tip the full glass down to the woman who wore the gown with the lightest color.
In a feigned shocked expression, Artie pulled back to avoid the screaming woman, the spilling wine, and breaking the wine bottle in her arms. "Oh, no! I'm so sorry! Let me try to clean that up!"
She pulled on a table napkin and made the other glasses tumble down on the other two women. "Oh, gosh! I didn't mean it! I really didn't mean it!"
"Stop!" The first woman doused by the wine grabbed Artie's hand and glared at her. "What do you think you're doing?! Do you know who you are humiliating?!"
"Do YOU know who you are trying to humiliate?" Artie's gaze sharpened all of a sudden, making the woman gasp in sudden fear. "Don't you dare eat at someone's table and insult him while doing so. Do you think you're needed here?"
Artie didn't train herself to take insults with nonchalance. There were words to be let go, and there were those which shouldn't be left alone. 'I might be an angel, but I'm not going to stand for this!'
The women pursed their lips, gathered their ladies-in-waiting, and exited the dining hall without another word. Maids went towards Artie and checked up on her if she got her gown stained. Upon making sure Artie only had a reddened wrist, the maids tended to the mess.
When Artie sat down on her seat again, she could feel the mixed glares and amused looks given by those who were watching. What she didn't see coming was Lord Ellis's hand. He reached out towards her and caressed her head once, letting her stray bangs and frame drape from his retracting hand.
She then turned to look at him, but he wasn't even looking at her. For some reason, her heart jumped and tumbled in her chest upon realizing that she was being praised.
[You have gained a sliver of trust! Active task completion: 3%. Apostasy + 7. Total meter points: 8; Veneration 1, Apostasy 7.]