“Yumina, hand me the thing~”
Elea reached out toward the twin-tailed maid.
“Eh? Oh…okay!”
The red-haired maid was slightly stunned, then handed over the long, stick-shaped object wrapped in black cloth from her back to her young lady.
“You take Veil downstairs to eat something. I’ll go check it out.”
Elea pointed upstairs.
Before Yumina could object, Elea had already started walking upward.
“Eh?! Young Lady…”
Though Yumina wanted to follow, she was afraid of ruining her lady’s plans.
In the end, she could only stand bewildered on the staircase between the first and second floors, watching her young lady’s figure disappear.
Ugh, the Young Lady is too willful…
What do I do now?!
“Hey~ Yumina, let’s go eat~ I’m starving…”
Just as she was panicking, Veil, standing beside her, suddenly tugged at her sleeve.
“You…how can you only think about…”
Turning to see Veil’s pure, dark eyes, the twin-tailed maid swallowed the scolding words she was about to say.
These two, these two are just…
She instinctively rubbed her temples, unsure whether it was her who was abnormal or those two.
Stepping onto the second floor, Elea’s red eyes scanned the surroundings.
She quickly spotted the waiter who had guided them earlier.
She didn’t say a word, and the waiter, clearly unable to recognize the veiled Elea, merely bowed slightly and led her toward the room where the baron’s second son had gone.
As expected.
Though Elea’s decision to rush upstairs seemed impulsive, she had some confidence in her judgment.
Earlier, the second son of the Curry family hadn’t bothered hiding his identity in the mercenary guild’s gathering area.
Only when he went upstairs did he put on a mask, suggesting…
He didn’t care much about being exposed.
The mask was likely just a condition of entry or a simple rule here.
And now, the waiter was leading her to the room just because she was wearing a veil.
“What a lax group~”
Elea muttered under her breath, following the waiter into the room without drawing attention.
Inside the dimly lit room, the first thing she saw was a large round table.
The table had about fifty seats, many of which were already occupied by people wearing veils or masks, whispering to one another.
Elea’s arrival only drew brief glances from a few people at the front, causing no significant stir.
The young lady casually found a seat and sat down naturally.
There was no food on the round table—understandably, since everyone was wearing masks or veils, eating would be impossible.
What is this…an anonymous chat group?
“Hm? Haven’t seen you before. New here?”
A girl wearing a cat-like mask suddenly spoke to Elea.
“Mm~”
Elea nodded with a smile.
After all, she didn’t even know what this place was for.
It felt like sneaking into a banquet without knowing whether it was a wedding or a funeral, just sitting down at a table.
But the young lady’s composure was exceptional (or rather, her face was thick), and she sat with her arms crossed, her heart completely unruffled.
“I see~ No wonder. Meeting here must be fate. I’m Jenny Bess, the third daughter of the Bess Knight family~”
The cat-masked girl had no intention of hiding her identity.
Her words made it clear: She was here to make friends and expand her network.
The Bess Knight family, though insignificant, without a title or land, was still considered part of the nobility.
In a bustling city like the Crystal Capital, nobles of this level were a dime a dozen—essentially the middle class of this era.
But…
The second son of a baron family, the third daughter of a knight family…
Is this a gathering of marginal nobles?
As this thought crossed her mind, Elea’s brows furrowed slightly.
No, no, no, looking down on people like this is wrong~
“I’m Rickwood Dingzhen, the second daughter of the Litang Baron.”
Elea casually fabricated an identity, responding politely.
“Litang Baron…Oh, my apologies!”
The girl named Jenny was clearly thrown off by the name.
As the third daughter born to a concubine of the Bess Knight family, Jenny’s status at home was quite precarious.
Her value to her father and brothers came from her social skills.
Those skills, of course, weren’t innate.
To avoid offending powerful figures and bringing trouble to her family, Jenny diligently gathered gossip about the nobles of the Eastern County and practiced her etiquette daily.
This knowledge not only helped her hold her own in these “invisible battlefields” of social gatherings but also allowed someone of her modest status to navigate them with ease.
But…
Litang Baron?
Which fiefdom was that?
And Dingzhen…what family was that?
She’d never heard of them.
But…that didn’t matter!
Now she knew, didn’t she~
A baron, though the lowest rank of high nobility, was still high nobility!
They had their own fiefdom, far more prestigious than knights or lords of lower nobility.
“Since we’ve met here, it’s fate. I’m something of a veteran at these gatherings, so if you have any questions, feel free to ask~”
Jenny said with a light laugh, leaning closer to Elea’s ear.
“Actually, there’s an unwritten rule here about seating~”
She subtly pointed toward the people seated at the front.
At the fourth seat from the head of the table, Elea spotted the second son of the Curry Baron family, who had just entered.
Elea’s eyes lingered on the second son of the Curry Baron family, seated prominently near the head of the table.
His posture was relaxed, almost arrogant, as if he believed his status elevated him above the others in this peculiar gathering.
The faint murmur of conversations filled the room, a mix of cautious whispers and bold declarations, each masked figure carefully balancing anonymity with the desire to be noticed.
Jenny, the cat-masked girl, continued in a hushed tone, her voice brimming with the excitement of someone sharing insider knowledge.
“See those seats up front? They’re reserved for the ones with a bit more…influence. Not official titles, mind you, but the ones who’ve got connections or secrets worth trading. The closer to the head, the more they think they matter.”
She giggled softly, as if the whole affair was a game she’d mastered.
Elea tilted her head, her veil shifting slightly as she processed Jenny’s words.
So, it’s a hierarchy even among the marginal nobles.
A pecking order hidden behind masks.
She suppressed a smirk.
This was exactly the kind of place where someone like her—a supposed villainess reincarnated with a knack for turning situations to her advantage—could thrive.
“And what exactly do they trade here?”
Elea asked, her voice low and deliberately casual, as if she were only mildly curious.
Jenny leaned in closer, her cat mask glinting faintly in the dim light.
“Oh, everything! Gossip, favors, information about trade routes, scandals…even whispers about the royal court, if you’re lucky. It’s all anonymous, so people speak more freely than they would at a proper ball. But you’ve got to be careful—say too much, and someone might piece together who you are.”
Elea nodded, her mind already racing.
This wasn’t just a gathering of low-tier nobles bemoaning their lack of status—it was a marketplace of secrets, a shadow network where the ambitious could climb if they played their cards right.
And Elea, or rather, “Rickwood Dingzhen,” had no intention of leaving empty-handed.