Chapter 58
by Jessie@AFNCCI Became the Maid of the Lout Prince – Chapter 58 [Masquerade Ball (5)]
In my previous life, there was a saying that circulated in online communities:
Compared to the past, people in the modern age donât get hit at home or at school, so their attitudes have gotten worse in proportion.
If you realize thereâs a possibility of getting hit anywhere at any time, youâre bound to develop some manners. Conversely, if you donât need to worry about getting hit, your personality goes wild.
Looking back now, that saying was half right and half wrong.
I somewhat agree that modern attitudes have gotten worse because people donât get physically disciplined anymore. S~eaÊáŽh the NĂŽvelFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.
âŠBut now, I donât think it only applies to modern people.
âYou bumped into me! What are you going to do about this?!â
ââŠâŠâ
Whether modern or medieval times, a brat raised without the fear of being hit just had no manners.
I was witnessing that eternal truth unfold right before my eyes.
The crazy girl brazenly bumped into me and then played the victim. All sorts of curses rose up to my throat.
Thankfully, right away, the good Lilith Rosewood inside me popped out and calmed the delinquent Lilithâs personality.
âEndure it, endure. If I stand out here for no reason, itâll just become more troublesome.â
I had already gotten Ethanâs attention by doing something unnecessary as soon as I entered the Imperial Palace tonight.
If I couldnât endure it here and confronted her angrily, it would feel refreshing in that moment, but the ensuing results would be obvious.
Rather than causing a scene, it was easier to just put up with it and move on.
If, by any chance, the other party revealed her status and persistently pressed me, it would be disadvantageous for me as a commoner.
Although it was impossible to force someone to reveal their status inside the masquerade ball, if a noble was really determined, finding out was easier than drinking cold soup.
âIf something happens, expecting Ethanâs help⊠would probably be difficult.â
If I were really Ethanâs fiancĂ©e and this kind of argument occurred after rudely clashing, it wouldnât be impossible to conversely pressure the other party using the Blackwood familyâs status.
The problem was, I wasnât actually his fiancĂ©e right now; I was just pretending to be his.
Also, I had already finished calculating that Ethan likely wouldnât actively protect me if a slightly more troublesome situation occurred.
No matter how exclusive of a maid she was, in the end, Lilith was just a commoner maid subordinate to the family.
He probably wouldnât want to cause a rift with another noble family just to cover for one maid.
Especially if he couldnât be sure of the other partyâs exact rank and position.
Unless Ethan truly had deep feelings of affection for me, it was hard to expect him to feel close to an exclusive maid who had tried to strangle him to death in his childhood.
Having clearly judged my position and rank in that short moment, I quickly gathered as much information as I could with my eyes about the brazen girl in front of me.
That is, just in case this girl was a major character from Luminor Academy or someone related to it.
âShe has the aura of nobility but doesnât seem like she was raised in a strict household. Judging by her hair color, she doesnât appear to be from a major family either.â
In Luminor Academy, the nobles called âmajor familiesâ usually had distinct characteristics or hair colors that made them easy to differentiate.
For example, those with Blackwood blood mostly had black hair and black eyes, fitting their name.
âŠAnd if there were a major noble family with sky-blue hair like that girl, she would probably be from the Azeria or August families.
For now, though, it was a bit difficult to assume the girl in front of me was from either of those two families.
First off, Azeria was a noble of the Serendia Kingdom, not the Argentian Empire, so there was no way theyâd attend Princess Seraphineâs birthday party.
The August family only had a few famous figures, and as they were villains, I knew each of their faces one by one.
âIt strangely feels like Iâve seen her somewhere before, thoughâŠâ
Of course, if it didnât clearly remain in the memory of someone who played for 2000 hours like me, she was probably at the level of a supporting or extra character at best.
In other words, to summarize, this girl herself wasnât that high-ranking of a noble.
Of course, whether the opposing nobleâs rank was high or low, just the fact that they were nobility was immense pressure for Lilith, so it didnât really matter.
âNo matter how low-ranking among nobles, theyâre still incomparably higher than commoners.â
Glossing over it as much as possible and ending this disturbance without revealing family names or given names would be the most amicable solution.
Knowing who was more wrong and who suffered more damage werenât very important factors in this worldâs judgments.
The most important thing when determining what was right and wrong in a medieval fantasy world was power and, usually, wealth or force, after that.
I had neither of those three as a commoner maid with debt.
At best, if they were people of similar status, things like who was more at fault could be used to discern right and wrong, but it wasnât a method I could use in my current situation.
Having grasped the situation in that split second, I began my âpersuasionâ to the noble young lady, spewing words with a brazen expression, suppressing my emotions as much as possible.
âShâŠ.â
ââŠ?â
âŠOops, my bad.
ââŠM-Miss, Iâm sorry for startling you. My shoulder bumped into your hand, ruining your pretty gloves with the cocktail.â
âYou brought your hand to my shoulder and have the audacity to act so self-righteous.â
âI was just about to tell you somethingâŠ.â
âBut since the cocktail that spilled from your hand also stained my dress, how about we consider this both our faults and just let it go rather than making a fuss?â
âI suffered more damage, but letâs not attract attention in an ugly way and just resolve it peacefully.â
âNo, but you justâŠâ
âAlso, if a young noble lady raises her voice carelessly outside, her refinement may be doubted. If a fight broke out at a wonderful party like Princess Seraphineâs birthday, imagine how sad Her Highness would be.â
âDonât yell loudly like a bumpkin outside with no manners. You think the princess would be thrilled to see the spectacle of her guests fighting at her own birthday party?â
I conveyed what I wanted to say in the most roundabout way possible, holding back my true feelings.
Still, she seemed to have received some mandatory noble education, as she understood what I said to some extent.
ââŠI understand. Th-thereâs no choice, then. Iâll have to mercifully forgive you this time.â
âŠFor now, it seems this disturbance has been quietly suppressed somehow.
Then, I just need to distance myself from this spot as if nothing happened.
The stain on my dress can be wiped off with a handkerchief. Fortunately, since itâs a crimson dress, any stains arenât very noticeable.
Thinking that, I tried to naturally end the conversation and walk away.
ButâŠ
ââŠWhat is the meaning of this behavior before my eyes?â
âŠIt seemed my partner had no intention of just letting this situation go.
âWh-what is it, you?â
âThatâs my line. Iâm asking about your attitude; you not only dirtied my partnerâs clothes but brazenly demanded an apology from her.â
âM-my gloves got dirty too! Because your partner didnât pay proper attention to her surroundingsâŠ!â
âThe one who didnât pay proper attention to her surroundings was you. In a situation where a shoulder and hand collide, of course the hand that can move much more freely is the one at fault for bumping, no? Especially if youâre holding something like a glass with a drink, you should have been extra cautious.â
âTh-thatâsâŠâ
âBesides, your gloves can be easily changed, but my partnerâs only dress was dirtied. Itâs clear that the one who should be apologizing is you, not my partner, but I cannot tolerate such a brazen attitude from you.â
âŠEthan, why are you suddenly acting like that?
I was just about to smoothly clean things up on my end and move past it, so why is he gathering peopleâs attention and causing a scene again?
The atmosphere of the party quickly centered on us due to Ethanâs sudden âpartner protection.â
It seemed I wasnât the only one startled by the focusing gazes.
âWh-whatâŠâ
ââŠâŠâ
âWhat nonsense are you spouting?! I merely graciously accepted the apology your partner already admitted to! What gives you the right to say you can or cannot tolerate me?!â
The sky-blue-haired young lady seemed surprised by the sudden attention but still didnât back down to preserve her pride.
Judging by this attitude, it was certain that she was unaware of Ethanâs identity.
What was truly amazing was her ability to open her mouth so boldly in a situation where she didnât even know the other partyâs identity.
âŠItâs strange; if there was a noble young lady with this personality, she should have appeared at least once or twice even in the game.
I had never seen a character with this appearance, either among the supporting or villainous characters.
Since her voice didnât sound familiar, that meant she didnât even have a voice actress, so she was really a supporting character at best, no matter what.
I could confirm it in detail somehow if she just took off her mask, but it was a pity that I couldnât attempt that in the current situation.
âD-do you even know who I am?! What makes you so rude with such confidence?!â
âEven if I knew who you were, would that change whoâs in the wrong?â
âAt the very least, youâd have to take back the insult you spat at me. Although this is a masquerade party, donât think you can just brush off your actions.â
âŠWell, I think you CAN brush it off.
At most, the only guest at this party with a higher status than Ethan would be Princess Seraphine.
The Blackwood family was quite a powerful noble family, even among other ducal houses.
I donât recall any family with sky-blue hair being more influential than the Blackwoods.
At best, the August family of Marquis status with sky-blue hair held some meaningful power, butâŠ
Even so, the August family appeared as villains in the game.
In other words, even if they make enemies now, it wonât be much of a problem later.
Around the time I was thinking she was probably bluffing, the sky-blue haired young lady continued speaking with more confidence than anyone.
Ethan and I listened to what she blabbered for now, curious about what sheâd say.
âFirst of all, you. Judging by your hairstyle and voice being unfamiliar to me, youâre certainly not from a prominent noble family.â
ââŠâŠâ
âLet me clarify something for you who seems excited to participate in Princess Seraphineâs masquerade ball. Just because itâs a masquerade party where names and identities are hidden, that doesnât mean status holds no meaningâŠâ
ââŠAlthough Iâm seeing you for the first time today, I didnât expect there to be a young lady at this party who could insult the Blackwoodâs partner and even make them beg for forgiveness.â
ââŠBlackâŠwood?â
The moment the family name left Ethanâs mouth, the sky-blue-haired young lady stopped talking and carefully muttered the name Ethan had mentioned.
Judging by that reaction, she clearly hadnât imagined at all that my partner was from the Blackwood family.
ââŠBlackwood, you say?â
âThen that man canât possibly beâŠâ
âHe looks different from the rumorsâŠâ
No, to be precise, it seemed most people here at the party were unaware.
Well, even if I were in those noblesâ positions, I probably wouldnât have thought of it either.
The last known public appearance of Ethan was from about three years ago, right after he got up from being bedridden.
Most people here would only be familiar with the image of Ethan being short and fat.
They probably couldnât immediately connect that the man who had lost weight and even gained some muscle was Ethan Richard Blackwood.
âD-donât pretend to be himâŠ! I heard the Blackwood family only had one sonâŠâ
âYes, just me. My father never took a second wife or concubine after my mother passed away.â
ââŠAnd I heard that only son had quite a lot of body fatâŠâ
âThatâs a shameful part of my foolish days. Itâs a story of my past that I want to forget, so should I take it as an insult to me if you dare mention that?â
ââŠâŠâ
âYou seemed to have quite a lot to say, but suddenly became quiet.â
The young lady, who was cornered the moment Ethan mentioned the Blackwood name, avoided eye contact.
Judging by this situation, it was easy to predict how this argument would end.
At the very least, that âunforgivable actâ she was talking about would occur.
By the way, I feel like Iâve seen that character somewhere before, after all.
Where have I seen herâŠ
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