The clinking of silverware echoed through the grand dining hall like a metronome, marking time in an otherwise suffocating atmosphere. Celeste sat at the far end of the table, a single pair of emerald eyes drawing every ounce of hostility and judgment her way.
Across from her, Lady Mariana Varrow. Her stepmother, daintily sliced into her breakfast pastry as if it were the most important task of the morning. Her lips curled into a small, venomous smile, a clear message: 'I'm watching you.' Beside her, Annalise, Celeste's stepsister, let out a theatrical sigh, drumming her perfectly manicured nails against her porcelain teacup.
"Such a lovely day, isn't it?" Annalise purred, her voice dripping with false sweetness.
Celeste blinked, forcing herself to smile as she buttered her toast. "Quite."
Mariana's eyes flickered toward her. "Though it's a shame some people insist on dampening it with their... unseemly behavior."
There it was. The jab.
Celeste's grip on her knife tightened, the urge to fling it across the table surging in her chest. But no. She couldn't afford to play into their expectations. These women wanted her to snap, to reinforce the rumors swirling about her supposed fits of rage and arrogance.
Instead, she set the knife down gently and dabbed her lips with her napkin. "I couldn't agree more, Stepmother. Maintaining decorum is so important, especially for a family as esteemed as ours."
The slight widening of Mariana's eyes was worth the restraint.
「+5 Reputation with Lady Mariana Varrow. Current Reputation: 5.」
'Oh, shut up,' Celeste thought bitterly as the system's message flashed in her mind. Her stepmother's approval was about as genuine as her smile.
"Speaking of decorum," Annalise began, tossing her blonde curls over one shoulder, "I hear the Crown Prince was rather... displeased with you last night. Whatever did you say to upset him, dear sister?"
Ah, there it was. The knife disguised as concern.
Celeste took a slow sip of her tea, letting the tension build just long enough to make Annalise squirm. Then, she smiled. "Oh, we had a fascinating conversation about growth. Personal and otherwise. He seemed quite... intrigued."
Annalise's face twitched, her composure slipping for a fraction of a second. Celeste mentally high-fived herself.
「+10 Reputation with Annalise Varrow. Current Reputation: 15.」
"Enough," Mariana said, her voice cutting through the room like ice. "Celeste, you're accompanying us to Lady Belmore's tea party this afternoon. I trust you'll manage to conduct yourself appropriately this time?"
Celeste's heart sank. Tea parties in this world weren't quaint social gatherings. They were battlegrounds. Every word, every glance, every bite of cake was a potential weapon. And Lady Belmore's parties were notorious for their cruelty.
"I'll do my best," Celeste replied, keeping her tone as neutral as possible.
Mariana's lips twitched upward. "See that you do. Your reputation. And by extension, ours, is fragile enough as it is."
---
Hours later, Celeste found herself seated in the garden of Lady Belmore's sprawling estate, the sun beating down on a sea of pastel gowns and overly-ornamented hats. The scent of roses and freshly baked scones mingled in the air, masking the underlying tension that permeated the gathering.
She barely had time to sit before the questions began.
"Lady Varrow," cooed a woman with sharp blue eyes and an even sharper tongue, "I heard you had a rather... memorable encounter with His Highness last night."
Celeste forced a smile. "Oh, you know how these things are. Misunderstandings are so common at such formal events. I'm sure the Crown Prince hardly remembers it."
Another woman leaned forward, her fan fluttering like a predatory bird's wings. "But I heard he smiled at you. That's not a misunderstanding, is it?"
The group tittered with laughter, their eyes gleaming with malicious curiosity.
*Play the game,* Celeste reminded herself, clasping her hands tightly in her lap. "Perhaps he did," she said lightly. "Though I suspect it had more to do with the wine than with me."
The laughter grew louder, and while Celeste's words seemed self-deprecating, she knew exactly what she was doing. By deflecting attention onto the Prince's supposed frivolity, she subtly shifted the narrative away from herself.
「+10 Reputation with Noblewomen. Current Reputation: 25.」
But just as she thought she might survive the ordeal, Lady Belmore herself appeared, her hawk-like gaze fixed on Celeste.
"Lady Varrow," she said, her voice dripping with condescension. "How lovely to see you. Tell me, do you still dabble in poetry?"
Celeste froze. In the book, this was one of Celeste Varrow's greatest humiliations. Lady Belmore had once coaxed her into reciting a poem at a gathering, only to ridicule her in front of everyone. The memory bubbled to the surface unbidden, the embarrassment searing through her like a fresh wound.
But this wasn't the same Celeste.
She stood, her heart pounding, and curtsied gracefully. "Why, yes, Lady Belmore. In fact, I've been working on something new. Would you like to hear it?"
The crowd gasped, their interest piqued. Lady Belmore's smile faltered.
"Of course," she said, though her tone suggested she expected a disaster.
Celeste stepped forward, every nerve in her body screaming at her to sit back down. But she took a deep breath and began, reciting a passage from a poem she'd memorized years ago.
Celeste steps forward with a swagger, rolling her shoulders back and planting her feet firmly like she owns the stage.
Her head tilts slightly down, giving off a determined, confident vibe, and her hands rest by her sides, ready.
"Yo, the rose don't bow to no wind, no hail,
Stands tall in the storm, never gonna fail.
Got courage in the core, that's how it's born,
Sharp with the vibe, yeah, strength in the thorn."
"Ain't no breeze gonna break my flow,
Roots in the ground, watch a kingpin grow.
Heart on fire, let the real ones know,
Rose in the hood, got that glow."
Celeste crosses her arms, chin up. She plants her feet shoulder-width apart, ready for applause or a mic drop.
The garden fell silent, the words hanging in the air like a challenge.
Lady Belmore's eyes narrowed. "A bold choice," she said. "But then, you've always been... bold, haven't you?"
Celeste curtsied again, her lips curving into a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. "One must be, in such unpredictable company."
The tension broke as laughter rippled through the crowd, some genuine, some forced. Celeste returned to her seat, her pulse racing.
「+15 Reputation with Noblewomen. Current Reputation: 40.」
---
Back in her room that evening, Celeste collapsed onto her bed, kicking off her heels with a groan.
"Well," she muttered to the ceiling, "that was a nightmare."
The system chimed.
「Progress noted. Current survival probability: 21%.」
Celeste sighed, covering her face with a pillow. "I don't know whether to be relieved or insulted."