(3rd person pov)
It was speculated that the only thing she was good at was swordsmanship, so she would try to prove herself too hard with it.
"It's been a while since I've seen a commoner properly."
The empress lifted a glass of wine and happily whispered to Carlon next to her.
"You've been patient for a long time because of the common people's human rights and other things."
Carlon also smiled and replied.
"In addition, even His Majesty is getting more and more aware of the common people."
"Yeah. He was even looking forward to it today."
The empress glanced at the emperor talking to Robert from afar and said in disapproval.
"He's going to meet the second-best swordsmen of the Empire at the banquet in person. He must have wanted to call her and see her in person, but held it in."
"His Majesty admires swordsmen so much."
"Even Ian Wade doesn't attend banquets often. He's not coming again this time, so he wants to hear about swordsmanship while watching Annabelle Rainfield."
It was then.
The voice of a servant, who announced new people coming in, rang throughout the banquet hall.
"Prince Ian Wade is coming in!"
Everyone in the banquet hall, as well as the empress and Carlon, was surprised.
Ian did not come to the Imperial Palace banquet even if he had attended other events well.
Everyone was speculating that he was influenced by Leslie, who rarely came to such a place because she was a commoner.
"…I can't believe he's here at Robert's birthday banquet that he has never attended before…"
Carlon muttered, grinding his teeth.
"From now on, it's like he declared that he'll be on Robert's side properly."
Still, it had remained neutral in shape, but it seemed that he had decided to quit it now.
However, the continued announcement of the servant was even more surprising.
"Annabelle Rainfield is coming in!"
Speaking in a row like this meant being escorted.
Naturally, everyone saw Robert already in the banquet hall and expected Annabelle to go alone.
So people were surprised twice by the sight in front of them.
What surprised them first was that Annabelle was being escorted by Ian.
But Annabelle was a woman other than his mother who Ian brought to the banquet while escorting.
"What's happening now?"
"How can she be escorted by Ian Wade?"
Everyone was agitated by the unimaginable combination.
And the second reason people were surprised was because she was noticeably beautiful.
"…You said the Rainfield dressing room was closed, right? Was it closed to make that dress?"
"She's tall and has perfect posture… Oh my! What am I talking about?"
Robert approached Annabelle directly and smiled deeply among the whispering people.
"You're here, Annabelle. You look very pretty today."
"Thank you, Prince."
Annabelle greeted lightly, naturally moving her hand from Ian to Robert.
Of course, Ian's expression was slightly wrinkled, but others did not notice because he had a stiff face from the beginning.
So those who were ordered by the empress failed first.
As soon as Annabelle came in, they were going to kill her with a look of "how dare you," but they missed that moment.
Ian's appearance was amazing, and the most beautiful dress also played a part.
"So… When will Rainfield's wardrobe reopen?"
"I think we should make a reservation first. Can I call the Wade craftsman?"
"I heard that she became the exclusive stylist of Duchess Wade… Is there anyone else she's close to?"
Even those who were roughly trying to jump on the atmosphere were distracted by Annabelle's dress.
So Annabelle walked around the banquet hall comfortably without any sense of incompatibility.
"It's okay."
The empress said, biting her nails.
"There will be many things to insult in the future. Where would the commoner have learned to dance properly now?"
"Hmm."
The empress hurriedly replied to Carlon's disapproval.
"From what I found out, Robert didn't seem to have given her a dance teacher."
The first dance to open the door to the banquet began in earnest.
The first song was a simple waltz, and of course Robert, the main character of the banquet, and Annabelle, his partner, led the atmosphere and danced.
After the first dance, those who opened their dagger-like eyes and tried to find gaps were forced to smile in vain.
It was a dance that anyone could see was so good that they couldn't find fault.
They were originally preparing hard for lines to embarrass Annabelle.
"You can't help but be a commoner." or "You ruined the banquet atmosphere," or "I won't talk about the luck of ordinary people attending the banquet when I see this in the common people's council."
However, it all became useless.
Even the movement of the body under the sparkling lights was so smooth that everyone admired the fine dance lines.
"Your dancing skills are amazing."
Even Robert applauded after the dance was over.
"It wasn't an exaggeration to say the teacher was in the top 10%."
"My teacher is not a person to exaggerate. I don't have that much sense."
Annabelle smiled and looked around slightly as if looking for someone, but the next song soon played.
They danced a few songs in a row, and people couldn't see anything to find fault with.
So when the performance stopped for a while, Annabelle looked very good at the banquet hall.
"What is this? Her face says 'I'm happy to receive attention'."
Carlon thought, feeling his stomach boiling.
'You look like you're the main character.'
Annabelle seemed to be even enjoying the attention focused on her.
She was smiling at people leisurely without showing any shyness.
"There's nothing incredible."
She was even taking it easy.
"I wonder if we have to stop the common people."
And she had someone pouring more oil on that fire.
"Miss Annabelle Rainfield?"
As soon as it was break time, it was the emperor who sneakily approached her.
"I was watching your performance in the swordsmanship competition well."
Annabelle was also surprised that the emperor would talk to her directly.
The emperor continued to speak with a runny nose.
"This swordsmanship competition is just around the corner. I'll look forward to a good match again."
"Thank you, Your Majesty. It's such an honor."
"In particular, I was very impressed with the match in which you defeated Melvod in the last swordsmanship competition. How did you come up with the idea to aim for the back from the start?"
As expected, it was a question like a person who was into swordsmanship.
Carlon quickly winked at Richard.
The longer the emperor's story was, the better Annabelle's mood would be.
Then it would be highly likely that she would not respond to the duel by provoking her. So he had to get to work quickly.
Richard recognized Carlon's wink and nodded.
And he started talking loudly with Elburn, who was right next to him.
"Elburn, do you want to make a bet? The first place winner of this swordsmanship competition."
"I bet on Ian Wade."
"I can't make a bet. Let's make a bet for 2nd place. If you're interested in anyone, you can come and join us."
The young girls and men who had already matched their words came to the sons of the Marquis of Abedes.
And they all recited the words they prepared.
"Oh my! There's a bet for second place too?"
"Hasn't it been Annabelle Rainfield twice in a row? I'm sure it'll be the same this time."
Richard shrugged at the words of the people who played the role.
"Well, I don't know if she'll participate. Because what she was aiming for has disappeared."
He pointed out that she could not be part of the Marquis family even if she won the first prize and was crowned.
"She's not desperate anymore, so her sword skills must have deteriorated a lot. I don't think she can ever come in second this time."
All the people gathered at Richard's words began to whine.
Certainly, Annabelle did not go to Ian as before.
They didn't know about the situation, but Ian, who had a big heart, seemed to have decided to bury Annabelle's fault.
"…There was a reason why she was so immersed in swordsmanship…"
"I think she's going to lose from the preliminary round. It doesn't matter anyway."
Richard opened his eyes thinly and smiled.
"She can just live satisfied in the corner of the commoner's house. Like Aaron Rainfield, who doesn't even participate in the swordsmanship competition at all."
Elburn also responded and giggled.
"That's a perfect ending."
While enjoying the attention, Annabelle's expression, which was relaxed, gradually began to harden.
Not only Richard and Elburn but also Carlon shouted those words.
As expected, it was the sword techniques that touched a swordsman's pride.
No matter how blind she was to the right to inherit and participate in the swordsmanship competition, they openly mocked her, saying, "she would have lost her skills."
In addition, they cursed at Rainfield, so it was abnormal if she stayed still.
Indeed, Annabelle intervened with a firm expression.
"It's bittersweet if you swear like that in front of people."
Her blue eyes slowly blinked.
"It's the same as before that I'm more interested in my sword skills than anyone else. Did you purposely want me to show you that my skills are not rusty?"
The bright atmosphere changed at once, giving off an eerie energy. The noble spirits who tried to help a few more words were discouraged and shut up.
Of course, Richard and Elburn were also momentarily startled and could not respond.
Carlon intervened without missing the time.
"The atmosphere is somewhat… It's my beloved brother's birthday."