"Lady Elizabeth, you look beautiful as always."
"Oh, you flatter me. You're also well-dressed, my lady."
In the reception room, there were several children who seemed to be my age.
"Lucy-!"
One of the jovially chatting noble ladies greeted me warmly upon seeing me.
Elizabeth Frontal.
A lady from the Frontal family, who operated a trade guild in the north, and in the original story, she was a childhood friend who defended Luciana until the end.
And now, she was clinging to me.
Yes, to me, not the Luciana she adored so much.
'I feel sick to my stomach…'
Despite it being my own doing, I couldn't help but sigh.
Inpimyeong–The tool commonly used by criminals in the west to hide their identity worked flawlessly.
It even changed my voice and physique, thanks to the thief's disguise skills.
Elizabeth, sticking close to me, chattered like a canary.
What would happen if she knew the true identity of the Luciana she was earnestly looking for – just a man wearing an Inpimyeong, indulging the young lady's whims.
-Tsk. I trusted you, but you're useless.
-Ignoring my advice again, the young lady did as she pleased. I must report this to the Duke.
-I'm sorry, but you're fired.
A chill ran down my spine at the thought of these words.
"Back off, Liza."
"But it's been so long! Didn't you miss me?"
Despite my cold tone, she clung to me, flaunting her closeness.
"Right, I heard about your coming-of-age ceremony. You caught a direwolf? That's impressive!"
What would Luciana have said?
Despite being on a deviation, she was a character with strong loyalty and a sense of belonging to her family…
"It's nothing. Just doing my duty as a member of the Speda Ducal family."
"Humble as ever, that's just like you."
Luckily, she didn't suspect my fabricated response. She quickly turned and led me to the group she was originally talking with. I continued the conversation, nodding or responding briefly in line with Luciana's typically taciturn nature.
Just two more hours to endure until the social event ends.
-Everything's full of praise here. I still don't get it, though.
But as always, things don't always go as expected. A man at the opposite table stood up abruptly, looking dissatisfied. He was noticeably taller than the others of his age, and someone I recognized.
-Dmitry Baltrion, the man to be most wary of.
A person Luciana detested, the most repulsive figure.
Just like Elizabeth, he was from a powerful family in the north, the Baltrion earls. I recalled briefly.
-Not just in the north, but in any region, there are two factions. The Imperial faction, which respects central authority, and the Noble faction, which prioritizes personal and familial interests.
I remembered this from my lessons with Yegor. The Speda Ducal family, being engaged to the Crown Prince, would be considered part of the Imperial faction.
On the other hand, the Baltrion earls were part of the Noble faction. Though their title was lower than that of the Speda Ducal family, they were one of the few families who could boldly counterbalance them.
"Is that what a true coming-of-age ceremony means?"
He glared at me sharply.
'Yes, that's why Luciana avoided these gatherings.'
So-called social events, but really a battlefield of wit and intrigue among the nobility. Even the future Luciana in the game, though not showing it much, disliked such gatherings.
The same is true now. Great achievements always attract envy and jealousy.
Catching a direwolf, a notorious monster in the north, at the coming-of-age ceremony should have been a celebratory event, but not so welcome news for the Noble faction.
"What are you trying to say?"
Elizabeth, taking offense on my behalf, spoke to him nonchalantly.
"Good question, Frontal. A coming-of-age ceremony is a sacred rite for northern nobility, to be faced alone. We need to scrutinize whether her achievement of bringing soldiers to catch the beast is truly hers alone."
One problem led to another.
From the friendly greeting of a childhood friend to now facing the opposition's scrutiny. For the Noble faction's Dmitry, downplaying Luciana's achievements was a natural strategy.
I pondered for a moment before speaking.
"How distasteful. If you're a guest of our house, at least show some basic manners. I wish you'd refrain from projecting your inferiority complex here, Dmitry Baltrion."
'Luciana would have definitely stood up firmly in such a situation.'
She wouldn't have stayed silent after an insult to herself and her family.
"Inferiority complex?!"
"Well, isn't a direwolf a more valuable prey than my coming-of-age hunt?"
I remembered Yegor's admiration and the event being a rare occurrence in decades.
Dmitry seemed to be upset about something, probably feeling inferior to Luciana's achievements.
"You might as well admit your defeat and stay quiet."
I discreetly covered my mouth with a fan, a lady's accessory, and turned slightly. The message was clear:
-I find you unworthy of my words.
Openly mocking him wasn't befitting of a noble, so I chose to convey my disdain indirectly, as was their custom.
I was amazed amidst this. The fan's feathers were extraordinary – they were from the colorful tail of a peacock from the southern jungles.
Holding it was like holding a mansion in my hand.
"…Desperate to change the topic because you're running out of excuses."
The atmosphere among the noble children was not in Dmitry's favor.
He tried hard to turn it around.
"It doesn't matter what the prey was. Isn't it shameful to tarnish the sacred coming-of-age ceremony by seeking others' help?"
Some people who were half-convinced now started to murmur again.
'He's getting too emotional.'
I looked at him with narrowed eyes.
Despite our factions being different, he's also a northern noble. Being outright called a loser based on the hunt must have wounded his pride.
'But his point is quite sharp.'
It's a great achievement, but there's no incontrovertible evidence like a crystal ball recording. And everyone knew I went hunting with the ducal soldiers on my coming-of-age day.
Any response would lead to a tedious debate.
"Why aren't you responding? Do you, as a noble, have a conscience that's ashamed to make excuses?"
"It's laughable. I thought you weren't worth responding to, but fine. What do you want? Proof to satisfy you?"
"Ha! I'm not sure how trustworthy your evidence will be, but it'll be amusing to see and judge it."
Dmitry, smirking confidently.
He was shamelessly ready to find fault, no matter what I presented.
"Just wait. I'll bring the proof you're so eagerly demanding."
After freeing myself from Elizabeth's grasp, I stood up and headed towards the door. The looks I met were a mix of doubt and belief.
'I wish a quest would pop up now.'
That would be incredibly helpful.
I forced myself to stop smiling. Imagining Luciana giggling helped me regain composure.
Counter propaganda with propaganda,
Adding more sensational information to counteract provocative news – a Korean virtue.
"Look at this."
Returning to the reception room, I held a small white bundle of fur.
"Did you bring a pet as your evidence?"
"Tsk. Clearly inexperienced. Don't you understand?"
I clicked my tongue and lifted the bundle high for everyone to see.
"It's a direwolf pup. If the strictly rule-abiding stewards and knights had seen it, they would never have let me bring it alive – my hunting dog."
I wasn't sure if the Speda ducal knights really prioritized rules that much.
But that minor detail was insignificant in front of the captivating element of a direwolf pup.
Reactions varied greatly upon accepting it.
"A direwolf pup?"
"Wow. I've seen wolf pups, but a direwolf is new."
From mere curiosity to
"Isn't that dangerous?"
"How could you bring one of the northern three great monsters inside…"
Fear and astonishment. Quite a diverse human landscape. No one doubted it was a direwolf pup. Its unique, jewel-like, silver-tinted white fur under the chandelier was undeniable.
"…This can't be considered proof!"
"I went along with your game, and this is how you respond. How petty."
Dmitry, still not giving up on challenging Luciana, was technically not wrong. It was all circumstantial evidence, not conclusive.
'But he's losing even his own faction's interest now. Continuing to say that makes him look oblivious.'
"I've provided the evidence you wanted. What more do you expect?"
There's a timing for checks and balances.
Overdoing it often backfires.
Luciana, if she were watching from the other side of the screen, would have seized this opportunity to sharply corner Dmitry. Her intuition was second to none.
"To my eyes, you appear to be causing disruption with your thoughtless criticism fueled by jealousy."
"But, that's not true! I was just trying to reveal the truth!"
Despite his defense, the surrounding gazes were icy cold.
"Even if we assume you're right for a moment, what can you really do about it?"
Snap!
I closed my fan and showed my face, deliberately frowning to express my annoyance.
"A mere count, and that too an heir who hasn't even inherited his title yet, dares to question my achievements announced by the Speda Ducal family?"
"..."
"It's ridiculous. As an heir, you can't even formally protest family against family. The best you can do is spread petty rumors in a social gathering like this. Quite laughable."
I asserted my authority with ease.
Being from a Ducal family isn't for nothing. Backed by the most influential nobility in the north, there was no reason not to use it.
"I can't stand to see you anymore. If you have complaints, prove them in the sacred way you keep talking about. If you're not thinking of a duel, then understand your place and leave."
Dmitry's options were limited. As a leader of the noble faction, admitting fault would be too damaging to his pride.
A duel over something like this?
"Excuse me."
Without another word, I decided to simply leave my seat.
Elizabeth, approaching me, expressed her admiration, followed quietly by other young ladies.
"Wow… Lucy, that was impressive! To make that muscle-bound snob retreat on his own. I thought you'd just ignore him as usual."
"Until now, I did it for the unity of all northern nobility, but this time it was too much, so I had to be a bit harsh."
"Can I touch it?"
"Feel free. But be gentle, Friede might get scared."
After he left, the hostile atmosphere turned into a genuine social gathering as if by magic.
"Kyaa! So cute!"
"Even a ferocious direwolf has such an adorable puppy phase…"
These were still children, not yet adults. Regardless of being from the noble or imperial faction, they couldn't resist something as cute as puppies or kittens.
It was a bit noisy, but I tolerated it graciously.
With Friede attracting all the attention, my role was to quietly blend in and then leave.
My goal was just compensation for this overtime work.
[Quest Condition Completed]
[Luciana's Favorability Updated.]
[Exceeded Target Achievement]
[NPC 'Luciana Speda's' current psychological state is additionally revealed.]
As I enjoyed a moment of respite, leaving Friede to entertain, the system notified me of the quest completion.
An unexpected bonus included.