I bent down and picked up the little vial.
I instinctively wanted to check what kind of medicine it was,
but the startled noblewoman snatched the vial away as if catching something.
“Th-thank you for picking that up.”
Then she hurried off like she was fleeing.
I was left standing awkwardly, scratching the back of my head, and muttered to myself, “It’s nothing.”
After that I went back to the banquet hall and picked at some dessert because I had nothing else to do.
After a while it started to get boring.
No one talks to me so I’m bored to death,
and the people who did speak to me were all troublemakers.
I glanced around and spotted a slightly open terrace, so I walked toward it.
I should get some fresh air.
* * *
Aizen met the nobles in the guest room connected to the banquet hall.
Jena was standing defiantly in the hall, so Aizen and the ducal family had no choice but to hide inside.
Instead, he would occasionally part the curtain guarding the guest room entrance to check on the banquet.
Jena, who had been pretending to be a merchant promoting tea leaves and perfumes, couldn’t blend in when the main festivities began and wandered around like a solitary island.
Good. She’ll stay isolated until the end,
he thought.
He didn’t want her overhearing anything said about them if she mingled with the other nobles.
He found the proud, territorial nature of northern nobility strangely reassuring at that moment.
Aizen felt genuine relief.
But that feeling changed little by little.
Every time he looked out into the hall, he saw Jena being ignored or lingering like an outcast near the tables.
Some nobles even deliberately treated Jena like a servant, asking her to bring water.
Of course, she didn’t comply.
…Isn’t that going too far?
Aizen’s jaw tightened as he watched from afar.
The curtain tore a little where he was gripping it too tightly.
“Get them out.”
he told Ralph in a low voice as he glared at the noble who had been spewing slander behind Jena’s back.
“Yes, Your Grace.”
Aizen clicked his tongue at the audacity of such behavior in his own hosted banquet.
He scanned for Jena again and noticed she had disappeared toward the terrace.
Her shoulders had seemed drooped when she left, and the sight was nagging at him.
If something happens out of my sight, that would be a problem,
he reasoned, and followed her out to the garden connected to the terrace.
Where did she go?
He searched until he found her sitting by the fountain with her head slightly bowed.
Moonlight caught the tears hanging from her long, dense eyelashes like little beads.
Is she crying?
Was it because of the humiliation she’d suffered in the hall?
The thought made his mouth move before he could stop himself.
“Madam.”
He realized his mistake the moment he called, but Jena had already heard him and looked up.
“Gasp, husband?!”
“…….”
“Am I seeing things? How are you here? You said attending the banquet would be difficult.”
Jena sprang up and scurried over, poking Aizen’s arm with quick jabs.
Damn it. He forced down a rising sigh and offered a clumsy explanation.
“I was worried about you, and I wanted to see you.”
“Really?”
His vague answer made Jena’s eyes sparkle like stars, her eyes curved like moons, and her lips opened into a bright, full smile.
It was the most radiant smile he had seen so far.
The sudden brightness made Aizen stiffen for an instant.
“I’m so happy.”
Her simple, sincere words sent a strange flutter through him.
He felt something like a feather tickle and clenched his hand.
Jena linked her arm through his and glanced at his outfit.
“Do you have clothes like this? They look so luxurious—does your face just make them look good?”
“What? Ah…”
Aizen quickly looked himself over.
Fortunately his outer coat was off, and Jena didn’t notice that he was dressed the same as the Duke of Calard.
“I borrowed them to come here.”
“Is that so? Good job. Honestly, you’d look handsome even in straw clothes.”
“You flatter me.”
Aizen gave a dry laugh as he glanced at Jena, whose tearful eyes had already dried.
“…You looked like you were crying earlier. Did something happen?”
“Me? Cry?”
Jena widened her eyes in genuine puzzlement, then clapped her hands.
“Ah! Maybe you saw me yawning!”
“…….”
“The banquet was a bit dull so I got sleepy, that’s why I came outside.”
…That was anticlimactic.
Aizen let out a small laugh at how foolish he felt for mistaking yawning tears for real tears.
Oddly, he didn’t feel as bad as before.
“I was a little lonely, so I’m really glad you came.”
Jena rested her head on Aizen’s shoulder.
From the banquet hall came the sound of musical instruments.
“Huh? What’s that?”
“It’s a waltz. They probably called a small ensemble so people could dance briefly in the hall.”
“Oh, a waltz!”
Jena looked up toward the hall with wide eyes.
Aizen worried she might ask him to dance, and began furiously calculating how to refuse.
Unexpectedly, she relaxed again against him and lost interest in the idea.
“It sounds fun, but I can’t dance.”
“……”
“I’ve always dreamed of dancing at a place like this…”
Her voice carried a deep wistfulness.
Like someone nudging him, Aizen found himself saying without meaning to,
“Then dance with me.”
“Here?”
Jena’s blue eyes widened in surprise, and Aizen simply smiled without answering.
“I really can’t dance.”
“I know how.”
Unable to resist, Jena took his hand and stood.
Aizen placed his right hand on Jena’s back.
She set her left hand on his shoulder and their other hands clasped.
They moved slowly as he led, drifting to the faint melody as if carried by a whisper of music.
Contrary to his worries, Jena didn’t step on Aizen’s feet—until—
Crack!
“Oh! Sorry!”
“It’s fine.”
“Oh my! I’m really sorry!”
“…It’s okay.”
“Ah! Sorry, husband!”
“…….”
By that point his toes had gone numb.
Worried he might injure something, Aizen grabbed Jena’s waist.
“…!”
He lifted her and spun once.
Though she looked small and slight, she was surprisingly light to lift.
When he set her down, Jena twisted an ankle and fell into his broad arms.
Aizen hugged her before he could think.
Moonlight washed over their shoulders and heads.
The music ended and the leaves whispered in the night breeze.
The quiet garden felt as if time had slowed, and neither of them moved.
They both glowed faintly with color in their ears.
4. Charge! Into society!
The Duke of Calard’s banquet came to an end.
My goal of promoting my product had succeeded, and at last my tea leaves and perfume began to sell.
I would be rich soon!
-Not really,
I did make more than I invested.
I made 250 gold.
It wasn’t a loss, but it wasn’t exactly a triumph either.
After subtracting the initial investment, the net profit was 150 gold, bringing the family funds to a total of 250 gold—only fifty more than the previous 200 gold.
We’ll still be out on the street in six months.
…Honestly, I thought I’d get rich the moment I started a business.
Other heroines always make it look easy, don’t they?
Maybe I expected too much after being reincarnated as a nameless noblewoman in some random novel.
A month after the banquet, sales dropped sharply and it became a real problem.
Why did it only sell this much? What else can I do to sell more?
After obsessively analyzing the situation, I found two reasons.
First, although I’d escaped the rank of complete nobility nobody, I still lacked fame.
Second, some people who disliked me after the banquet were quietly using their influence.
So the nobles who bought my goods used them in secret instead of spreading word.
The Miss Hoffman who argued with me and the rude Count Noel who asked for water are minor powers in the north.
They caused the problem and now they act like it’s my fault?
Ugh, it made me angry.
I was thinking about how to fix the situation when Greta entered the room and reported to me.
