The Conspiracy Hidden Behind Cowardice

"I apologize, miss." Mise released her hand, bowed slightly, and offered a sincere apology.

"I'm fine... thank you..." the girl said. She hesitated for a moment, and Mise could see the nervousness in her eyes.

Perhaps due to his upbringing, or perhaps infected by the girl's anxiety, Mise couldn't help but ask, "Do you need any help... Miss Wisdom?"

"How did you... oh, excuse me." The young lady of the Wisdom family was startled at first, but realizing her reaction was improper, she quickly corrected herself. "Hello... I... I am Fatenai Wisdom."

Mise's suspicions were confirmed, and he watched as Fatenai's smile deepened slightly. "Hello, I am Mise Rudells. Do you need any help, Miss Wisdom?"

"Me? Oh, that... I... I want to go to..." Fatenai looked like a startled fawn, though she seemed to be trying hard to hide her panic.

"Are you looking for the banquet hall? Who did you come with? Shall I take you there?" Mise was very patient. Seeing that Fatenai was about the same age as his younger sister, he spoke to her just as he would to her.

The girl's eyes brightened, and she nodded. "Yes, I'm going to the banquet hall!"

Mise smiled and led the way, though a sliver of doubt lingered in his mind.

Fatenai of the Wisdom family was the Duke's only daughter. Although she hadn't officially entered high-society social circles, those who had encountered her considered her calm and precocious. Yet, this girl was completely different. Mise reflected on their conversation as they walked.

She didn't even seem to know basic noble etiquette.

The banquet hall was already crowded. Young ladies from across the kingdom and their chaperones held glasses, chatting and laughing. It was the lively scene unique to the social season. After Mise brought Fatenai over, he turned to see the girl looking surprised, as if she were genuinely amazed by the spectacle.

"Miss Wisdom," Mise said.

"Ah? What... what is it?" Fatenai was startled.

Mise took two glasses of wine from a passing servant and offered one to her. "I heard the Duchess is an excellent horsewoman, but my sister is completely hopeless in that regard. I wonder if the Duchess might write a letter to teach her?"

"Of course!" Fatenai said. She hesitated, but seeing Mise's firm gesture, she took the glass.

"Well then, I hope you have a pleasant evening." Mise smiled and extended his glass, as if to toast.

Fatenai nodded, clinked her glass against his, and walked straight inside. As she passed, Mise could have sworn he heard her let out a sigh of relief.

Mise kept his expression neutral. As he turned to leave the banquet hall, he beckoned to a butler in a tuxedo.

"Find out who came with Miss Wisdom. Also, have the servants keep an eye on her; something is wrong," Mise said.

"Very well, Your Highness." The butler didn't ask questions and simply acknowledged the order.

Mise looked back at the banquet hall with a meaningful gaze. The Duchess Wisdom had always been frail and sickly; how could she possibly be skilled at horseback riding?

And the way she toasted was wrong, too.

The girl in the white dress walked through the banquet hall. Because she was so young, she quickly became the focus of attention. Nobles glanced at her intentionally or otherwise, whispering about her to those nearby.

"Who is that? Such a young girl..."

"It's the young lady of the Wisdom family... the one who is to marry into the Arrenieu family."

"Isn't that family a bunch of upstarts? She's truly pitiful. Has the Duke lost his mind?"

"But it was declared at her awakening ceremony that she had no mana usage ability... that's what's so strange..."

Fatenai seemed unable to handle the whispers and stares. Her movements grew awkward, appearing to the nobles like a child who hadn't yet grown up. Finally, as if she couldn't take it anymore, she took a large gulp of wine and immediately choked.

"Cough, cough, cough..." Because so many people were watching her, the coughing fit was highly conspicuous. The nobles looked at her with a hint of disdain.

"Look at her behavior... simply vulgar..." The voice was faint, but it reached Fatenai's ears, turning her face deathly pale.

A servant nearby saw this and stepped forward to offer her a handkerchief. Just then, she looked up.

"Are Miss Wisdom's eyes... brown?"

"Lady Gabrielle." In the Royal Palace, Lelia held a wine glass. She was surrounded by noblewomen dressed in white gowns just like her own. Amidst the crowd, she appeared noble and cold. When she looked up, she realized the person speaking to her was a middle-aged man in a suit—she recognized him as the palace butler.

"Is something the matter?" Lelia asked.

As she asked, her mind was still on Fatenai—Fatenai had been acting strange these past few days...

"Miss Fatenai is in the banquet hall, seemingly frightened and alone. She even spilled her wine when she toasted with His Highness Mise earlier," the butler said.

"What did you say?" Lelia thought she had misheard, but seeing the butler's serious expression, a bad premonition washed over her.

Even if Fatenai were nervous, she would never commit such a rude act.

She suddenly remembered that since that day, Fatenai had knocked over her cup several times and apologized to the maids...

Their time together on that journey hadn't been long, but Lelia understood her well. Fatenai was more resilient than most nobles, and as a precocious girl who understood the rules of the aristocracy, she would never apologize to a servant like a commoner.

"Liden, help me call my guards," Lelia said to the servant beside her, then walked toward the banquet hall without looking back.

"Are Miss Wisdom's eyes... brown?"

Following the noble lady's question, the sound of a door slamming open shattered the silence and suspicion of the others. Everyone stared at the intruder. The atmosphere instantly felt like a glass dropped onto a marble floor, shattering with a crisp, sharp sound.

"Who are you?" The woman who had burst in had violet-blue eyes as sharp as a hawk's. She stared at the girl cowering in the corner, followed by guards with swords, looking menacing.

"I don't know... I don't know... don't kill me, I don't know..." Fatenai was terrified. She curled up in the corner, trembling all over. Her plain brown eyes were filled with fear, as if she might faint from fright at any moment.

What on earth was happening?

The nobles retreated one after another. To them, the armed intruders were dangerous, and not knowing the truth, they instinctively wanted to stay away.

"Lady Gabrielle, please calm down." An elegant voice broke the tension. Lelia Wisdom turned to look at the young man who had walked in. Although he still wore a smile, his eyes were filled with authority. "This is the Royal Palace."

Mise's intervention made the situation chaotic. The nobles still wore their masks, but they no longer had the luxury of feigning happiness, watching the scene with vigilance.

More eyes fixed on Fatenai, as if they wanted to see exactly who she was.

"Your Highness... Your Highness! Save me... I don't know... I don't know anything... When I woke up, I was brought here. That person said if I didn't play this role well, he would kill me!" The crowd's gaze made the girl in the corner even more uneasy. It was as if the previous gentle treatment had given Fatenai a sense of trust in the Prince, and she hurried to Mise's side, speaking urgently.

"Who is he?" Lelia narrowed her eyes and closed in on Fatenai.

This matter seemed to truly ignite Lelia's anger. As she walked, the wine glasses on the surrounding tables began to rattle, and wine spilled from them.

"Lady Gabrielle, please have your guards leave the palace first," Mise frowned, reaching out to block Lelia. "Or do you think you are already capable of challenging the authority of the Royal Family?"

The statement was grave. The nobles couldn't help but whisper among themselves. Lelia was forced to suppress her anger. She looked at the Prince of the Kingdom of Luther with a hostile tone. "Your Highness Mise! You can see for yourself—this is a commoner! A commoner impersonating a noble is a capital offense!"

"No, no... Your Highness, save me! I don't know... I don't know anything..." Tears streamed down Fatenai's face, making her look truly pitiful. "I didn't mean to... I just didn't want to die..."

The scene was in total disarray.

"Enough! Who are you? Who put you up to this? Where is Fatenai Wisdom?" Lelia spoke sternly, trying to bypass Mise to grab Fatenai, cutting off her pleas. "I won't kill you in the Royal Palace, but if you don't confess properly, I can't guarantee how many days you'll live!"

"I don't know... I don't know..." Fatenai sobbed, like a shivering cat.

Mise's tone also grew heavier. "Lady Gabrielle, are you planning to start a fight in the Royal Palace?"

"I think you should step aside, Your Highness Mise. That child of the Wisdom family was brought out by me, and I owe my brother a proper explanation," Lelia said, meeting Mise's gaze without yielding. "Yet you are blocking me, preventing me from learning the truth! Or are you, as a member of the commoner faction, trying to let the enemies of the Wisdom family make a mockery of this?"

Although Mise was young, he understood the weight of Lelia's words. He frowned even more frequently. "Lady Gabrielle, do you really think that if I stepped aside, this girl would be able to tell you anything?"

"Make her come over here!" Lelia demanded.

"No... no... I'll be killed!" Fatenai struggled desperately.

The girl looked incredibly fragile, unable to even speak properly, yet she was stubborn in this one regard, clinging tightly to the hem of Mise's coat and refusing to meet Lelia's eyes.