“Wow…”
“Woooow…”
After a long journey, the two siblings finally arrived at the imperial palace in the capital. As soon as they got out of the carriage, they forgot all the fatigue they had felt during the ride and simultaneously exclaimed in admiration.
“We’re really going in there, right?”
“Heh. Oppa, you’re not so surprised that you’ve forgotten all our plans, have you?”
“Why don’t you stop your legs from shaking before you talk?”
“Huh?! Th, this is…! It’s because I just got up after sitting for so long!”
“Sure, sure.”
When they first saw the mansion in their territory in this world, they were incredibly amazed by its size and splendor.
The academy was also magnificent.
But the imperial palace was on a different scale altogether.
No matter how far they turned their heads, they couldn’t see the end of the walls, and the brilliantly shining palace beyond clearly screamed, “This is where ‘important people’ live.”
“Children, listen carefully.”
As the two siblings bickered with each other, Freya approached from behind and opened her mouth.
“Right now, the imperial palace will be very interested in our family, so don’t be flustered even if you receive excessive attention.”
“Well, we’ve had our fill of that at the academy.”
“And, daughter? You know what to do, right?”
“Of course.”
“Honey, no drinking this time. Stay by my side.”
“…Sigh.”
Before entering the ballroom where the New Year’s party would be held, she gave her family a reminder once again, not forgetting to put a leash on Dariann.
“Then… let’s go in.”
With that brief conversation, the Evergarden family, led by Freya, proceeded into the ballroom.
Clack-clack-
“Th, that’s…!”
“Isn’t that the Evergarden baronetcy?”
“They’re the ones from the rumors…”
As they ascended the stairs and walked into the ballroom, gazes and whispers were immediately directed at them.
“They made a fortune with that Elixir, didn’t they?”
“I heard the eldest son made it?”
“On top of that, I heard he’s a hero who solved the problems at the academy.”
“Hehe.”
“Annoying.”
Among them, Felix was naturally the most talked about.
His achievements at the academy and his widely known status as the creator of the Elixir made him a hot topic in aristocratic society.
And Rosaria found Felix, who was pretending not to notice but subtly raising his shoulders, extremely irritating.
“That good-for-nothing? Wonders never cease.”
“…So they say. Good-for-nothing? Pfft!”
“…Hmph.”
Of course, those who had heard the rumors couldn’t hide their surprise, muttering about the disgraceful behavior he had displayed before his achievements.
“Is that child the youngest daughter?”
“I heard she’s an academy student like her older brother?”
“Huh?”
Rosaria’s ears perked up as her name began to be mentioned.
“I heard she has a terrible temper, unlike other young ladies.”
“It seems she doesn’t hesitate to throw punches?”
“How unrefined…”
“Those bastards…!”
They lowered their voices to whisper among themselves so that she wouldn’t hear them talking behind her back, but Rosaria’s sensitive ears picked out those parts and made her grind her teeth.
“How does it feel to be the academy’s official thug?”
“Zzzzzzzzzzz…!”
Felix, not missing the chance, paid her back for the teasing she had just inflicted on him, making Rosaria clench her fists involuntarily.
“Oh my, you’ve arrived?”
At that moment, a figure approached the Evergarden family, who were attracting everyone’s attention as they moved through the ballroom.
“Has it been a week? How have you been?”
It was the nobles who had visited the Evergarden territory to purchase magical beasts before they came to the capital.
On the surface, it seemed like they were simply greeting familiar faces, but it was also a tactic to let those around them know that they had already built a friendly relationship with the Evergarden baronetcy, which was currently buzzing with hot rumors.
“Oh, Baron. It’s been a while. I hope you had a pleasant trip to the capital.”
“Baroness, your attire is absolutely stunning! You look much more beautiful than when I saw you at your mansion~”
As others made the first move, countless nobles rushed towards the Evergarden family, eager to get in on the action.
Thus, the Evergarden family’s dazzling debut in the capital began.
“Ugh, so chaotic.”
Rosaria, unable to withstand the swarm of nobles, let out a sigh of relief as she escaped the crowd.
“By the way, don’t these people care about eating?”
Rosaria took a moment to relax and looked around the ballroom.
Various elaborate dishes were prepared along the edges of the ballroom, but the nobles were too busy socializing to pay attention to the food, at most holding a wine glass in their hands without actually eating anything.
They didn’t want to be seen as greedy and low-class in front of the other nobles.
“Eating is what matters, honestly. Oh? This looks delicious?”
But Rosaria didn’t care about such concerns at all, and with a delighted expression, she grabbed a plate and looked at the food in front of her.
“Hehe, I’ve piled it up nicely.”
With a satisfied smile, Rosaria looked at the plate, which was piled high with food, barely avoiding overflowing.
“Now, where is everyone…? Ah, found them.”
Rosaria, with her plate full of food, finally searched for her family again and waved her hand when she saw Felix’s familiar face.
“Hey, this looks really delicious, doesn’t i—”
“Felix-nim!”
“Please try this!”
“I was here first!”
“How do you like my dress?”
“Ah… Haha! W, well…!”
Just as Rosaria was about to approach Felix, she was blocked by an incredibly solid wall.
It was a wall made of countless young ladies aiming for him.
The eyes of the young ladies rushing to win over Felix, the most eligible bachelor at this ball, were similar to the fierce eyes of hyenas.
“Ooh…”
Normally, she might have felt jealous of Felix being surrounded by so many women, but Rosaria, realizing that the young ladies’ eyes were not those of girls in love, but rather those of beasts eyeing a tempting prey, instead looked at Felix with pity.
“…Ah! Wait a moment. My sister is over there. Rosaria~! Rosaria~!”
Similarly, Felix, seemingly burdened by the young ladies’ onslaught, smiled awkwardly and then, spotting Rosaria looking at him from afar, reached out his hand as if asking her to save him.
However.
“…Sorry.”
“Huh? Wai…! Rosaria…! Opp- Hey, you…!”
Rosaria, not wanting to jump into that battlefield of women, subtly avoided his gaze and turned her back.
‘Sorry. Good luck.’
Rosaria pushed away Felix’s faint voice, which she could hear from afar, and moved forward.
“Oh well, I’ll just eat by myself. Looks delicious, bon appétit~”
Just as she found a secluded spot and was about to pick up her utensils,
“Oh my, isn’t that Lady Rosaria.”
“…Ah.”
Just as Felix was being targeted, young noblemen began to follow her as well.
“That dress… suits you very well. From the moment I first saw you, my gaze has been following only you, Lady Rosaria.”
“Then you should have just kept watching.”
“But my burning heart, fearing that I would have to live with this heartache forever if I missed this opportunity, made me speak to you without thinking.”
“I see, then leave now.”
“Even for a moment is fine, would you mind having a conversation with me?”
“No.”
“Oh my, as expected, beautiful roses have sharp thorns. But one cannot pluck a beautiful rose without being prepared to be pricked by the thorns.”
“….”
Rosaria was in a very bad mood.
In many ways, the Evergarden family had risen to prominence, and she had been receiving constant advances even within the academy.
At first, she liked the attention, but as time went on, she became annoyed and irritated.
She didn’t like how they whispered behind her back, calling her a villain, but then flocked to her as soon as she became a little famous.
At least the guys in her department had become friendly (she had subjugated them) by taking classes together (and treating them like punching bags), but the guys from other departments didn’t know the situation and just approached her as a noblewoman.
On top of that, they had no affection or special feelings for her, and she was even more annoyed because all they were thinking was, “She’s the youngest daughter of the baronetcy, if I marry her, I’ll turn my life around!”
And most of all, what was most annoying was.
‘Ugh, that damn skinny bastard.’
Most of those who were clinging to her were men.
At least Felix was a man, so only young ladies clung to him, but she was a woman, so all sorts of noblemen were putting on all sorts
of airs and spewing out cheesy lines that would make even an American’s arteries clog, which was very annoying.
‘I can’t just punch them. I just wish they would go away.’
“Excuse me.”
“Yes, Lady Rosaria. Have you finally decided to respond to my heart—”
“My food is getting cold, could you please leave?”
“…Pardon?”
“Besides, I don’t even know your name or your face, and you’re spewing out useless words without even introducing yourself,
looking like some kind of beggar, so it’s annoying.”
“Beggar…?! Wh, what?!”
Rosaria, who had been holding back her annoyance, finally spat out those words.
“Hehe, he’s been completely humiliated.”
“Beggar, haha!”
“Kuh…!”
Those who had been eavesdropping on the conversation around them began to ridicule him along with Rosaria’s harsh words.
“How dare you…! A mere youngest daughter who isn’t even the heir…! Insult me? How insolent! You bitch!”
Whether he was truly humiliated by the fact that he had become a laughingstock to so many nobles, the cheesy tone he had been using until just now was nowhere to be found, and the nobleman raised his hand, spewing vulgar curses.
‘Okay, if I get hit first, it’s self-defense.’
And Rosaria, who had been waiting for him to get angry and attack her because she couldn’t hit him first, carefully clenched her fist under the table in preparation for the punch that would follow.
“I’ll teach that glib tongue of yours a lesson!”
Whoosh-
Immediately after, a fist flew towards Rosaria’s face.
‘How should I pretend to be hurt? Or should I tell him that his punch is like a minnow’s?’
The punch looked so weak and pathetic that Rosaria didn’t even think about dodging it, but just stared at the incoming fist, thinking about how she would beat him to a pulp later.
At that moment.
Clack-
“Huh? What’s going on…?”
“Huh?”
A hand that appeared from somewhere grabbed the nobleman’s arm.
A tall height.
Broad shoulders.
Hair as black as the night sky.
“Pleased to meet you. Lady Rosaria. It seems our first meeting has turned out like this.”
That was Rosaria’s first encounter with Jin Boreas.