I guess the prince must also know that I was not interested in him so he thanked me for the wonderful dance before he let me excuse myself.
Some of the girls from before were giving me dirty looks but I just ignored them since that’s the only thing they could do anyway. What were they going to do? Fight me?
Katsuki was there to greet me when I returned and in her hands was another plate of sweets!!
Ahhhh!! I love you so much, Katsukiiiii!! Marry meeeeee~
Nom nom nom~
I paused for a moment to look around, realising that the party was now in full swing as the girls took turns dancing in the centre of the ballroom with the prince while the adults danced with their own partners.
“Katsuki?” I called out, prompting my Inugami maid’s tail to wag slightly.
“Yes, Mistress?”
“Is there a reason why the prince approached me for the first dance?”
“Would Mistress like to know the real reason?”
Eh? What kind of question is that, Katsuki? Are you going to tell me a fake reason if I said no?
Oh, maybe she was thinking of giving a politically correct answer for his action that won’t offend him?
“The real reason please?”
“The prince knows Mistress is related to the Nilm Family and by letting Mistress have the first dance, he is showing the Madam that he places Mistress in high regard. So even if you are not interested in him, Madam may have a better opinion of him for doing so.”
Oohhh… More politics, basically.
Yeah, in that case not interested. I’ll just be here enjoying my sweets~
Mmm~ This strawberry pudding is delish~
Ohhhh~ They used a little bit of honey mixed with some vanilla to make this! That’s how they get that sweet taste at the back!
I’ll have to tell the other maids to try this recipe next time!
Katsuki seemed to have noted my fascination with that pudding as she asked, “It seems that Mistress really likes that pudding in particular.”
“Oh! How can you tell?”
“It’s the only one that you have eaten more than one of.”
Ah, well… I wanted to try each one at least once and there’s so many of the sweets! Only after I have tried all the sweets here would I go back and taste the ones that I like again.
But this pudding is nice enough for me to want another taste of it right now~
I thought of telling Katsuki about how they made this pudding but the sound of several high heels clacking noisily prompted me to turn my head to see the source of the noise.
A group of six or so young girls were approaching me with a silver haired girl leading the group. She looked to be those typical noble ladies especially when her hair was styled with twin drills too. If she was blonde, she would definitely tick every box for that archetype.
Which was why I wasn’t surprised when she stopped in front of me and assumed a haughty pose, “Hey, I haven’t seen you around before, who are you?”
Eh? Really? She doesn’t know?
Isn’t the fact that I’m wearing this mask that obscures my face enough to tell you that I’m at least related to the Nilm Family? Is she not aware of that?
I turned to Katsuki and she shook her head as though she already knew what I was about to ask, “Not everyone is aware, Mistress. Especially for the lower ranked families, they might neglect teaching their younger children about us since they are of the opinion that they would never get the chance to meet someone related to our Family in their lives.”
Good thing she whispered that to me or I’d think this girl would throw a tantrum about her calling her family a ‘lower ranked’ one.
Hmm… I guess everyone else still believes that the only person related to the Nilm family is Mother and she would be obvious enough that no one will willingly mess with her anyway.
I turned back to the young lady who looked to be around in her late teens, “Good day, I believe it should be common courtesy for one to introduce themselves first before asking for the other person’s name?”
The girl tilted her head up at me, “Hmph! You would do well to remember my name! Koatia Loylinga, first daughter of the Loylinga Earldom!”𝑂𝑽𝒍xt.𝗇𝓔t
I leaned towards Katsuki and she helpfully explained who she was to me, “The Loylinga Family has its roots in Edart Trade City and is a family who had made most of their fortune from their shipping business. They are the owners of the fourth largest shipping company in the city.”
Another merchant family I see…
I placed my plate of sweets aside and curtsied, “Greetings Lady Koatia, it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance. I would introduce myself but I am unfortunately unable to as I was given specific instructions to keep myself anonymous. Although I should be allowed to–“
“What?!” She gasped, interrupting me. “Who do you think you are?! Not only did you steal the first dance with the prince from me, you dare to spout such nonsense? Just so you know, I can make your life quite miserable if I wanted to, so don’t test me!”
Well… I was going to tell you my family name before you butted in just now… But somehow I kind of get the feeling that she might now even know about the Nilm Family even if I told her.
I chanced a look around and surprisingly, no one was paying attention to us since they were more occupied with watching the prince right now. The only people who were even paying attention to me were Mother and Mary.
I cleared my throat, “If you must know… I am from the Nilm Family. Once again, a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Lady Koatia.”
As I had guessed, the girl merely raised an eyebrow at me after hearing my words, “Huh? Nilm Family? Which city are you even from? I have never heard of this ‘Nilm’ Family down at Edart Trade City!”
“That’s probably because my family is based in Crown Capital City instead, Lady Koatia.”
She paused, as though trying to think about something before she tilted her head at me, “Are you… Related to the Royal Family?”
Where did that even come from?
Are there other families out there that have a relation to the Royal Family? Maybe she thought that I was the third prince’s cousin or something which would explain why I got the first dance?
Either way, it doesn’t matter since I was not… At least I don’t think we are related? Actually… Has Mother ever said that we were related to them? For all I know she might be the current King’s aunt or maybe even his older sister… Even if she’s a Meslatar and the Royal Family are Mahuns.
Hey, it’s possible! You never know with these kinds of things!
Just in case, I turned to Katsuki and… She gave me a smile but shook her head.
Ah, I guess we’re not then.
“I am not, Lady Koatia,” I informed the young lady.
She then crossed her arms and huffed, “Hmph! In that case, I shall allow you to join my faction! You are obviously someone interesting since you managed to catch the third prince’s eye, but make no mistake that you will not be the one getting into his harem!”
I raised my hand, “Umm… I’m sorry, but I’m not interested. Also, I’m not trying to get into the prince’s harem in the first place so you can go ahead and join his harem if he accepts you.”
That seemed to knock the wind out of her sails as she gaped at me like I just said that I was an alien.
“Wait… You’re not interested in joining the prince’s harem?”
“Erm… In case you haven’t realised… I was not the one who approached the prince and I would have been content just staying here eating all these sweets if he hadn’t shown up. So no, I am not interested in joining his harem. Actually, why would I?”
“Because it’s the prince! If you were to join his harem, your life would be guaranteed to be an easy one!”
“But… He’s not guaranteed to ascend the throne right? So why would my life be guaranteed to be an easy one if we’re not even sure if he would succeed the throne?”
She looked at me like I had grown a second head, “Even if he doesn’t ascend the throne, he would still be granted at least a plot of land and a noble title so… Wait, why am I even explaining it to you?! Are you even a noble Lady?! How do you not even know something like this?!”
What does that have to do with anything? Is it the norm for noble ladies to know things like this? Why?
I shrugged, “I’m actually a futa if that helps.”
“So what? Ah… Wait a moment… Are you the firstborn of your family?”
“Err… I am indeed, is there a problem?”
Instead of answering me, she just showed me a look of disdain before flipping her hair and walking off. The girls in her group also had the same look of disdain on their faces while they walked away.
One of them even muttered “Shameless” under her breath as she walked past me.
Eh?! What’s with those reactions?! What did I do?!