However, people’s gazes didn’t last long.
It was because, at the same time as my father—who was standing beside me—had scanned our surroundings with a sharp look, everyone turned their attention elsewhere.
After all, at this moment, the duke in front of them was more fearsome than the monsters far away.
Following that, a deep and calm voice came from beside me.
“There’s no need to pay attention to meaningless interest.”
It was a clumsy but somewhat caring consolation.
I smiled and nodded.
“Yes, that’s right.”
Descending the stairs from the entrance to the ballroom, I looked through the crowd, searching for those with substantial interest amid the insincere attention.
The ones I was looking for were easily noticeable.
It was inevitable.
People were flocking around them.
Duke Carter and his wife, standing with Leo.
And, beside Duke Freesia, Daniel—or rather…
Urien.
They, too, casually turned their gaze and nodded their heads as if confirming our arrival.
Meeting the red and blue eyes that stood out even from a distance, I smiled.
Despite the chilling atmosphere, the smile seemed rather convincing.
Suddenly, I recalled the conversation I had with Alicia on the night of New Year’s Eve.
After discussing the secret of our birth, I asked Alicia how she came to know about this secret.
Before the time loop—in other words, in the original work—Alicia couldn’t have possibly come across this secret in the slightest. She probably didn’t even have any suspicions in the first place.
In that case, how did Alicia discover this secret?
Of course, there was one expected possibility.
The source could be the one other existence who was like a misaligned cogwheel in this world.
‘Urien.’
After hesitating for a moment, Alicia began to talk about the ‘dream’ in which, after the hunting festival, she had been plagued by strange nightmares.
In those nightmares, it was revealed that we had been switched at birth.
And everyone in the dream resented her to the fullest, which was so, so terrifying for her.
“I know it sounds unbelievable that I started suspecting it because of a mere dream, but… the dream was too vivid to ignore.”
Alicia’s face, saying this, turned pale, and I had to grind my teeth at that.
‘That bastard.’
As soon as I heard about the nightmares, I could easily tell that it was Urien’s doing.
Dreams were a common medium he used when brainwashing people.
After all, a dream was a mirror to a person’s subconscious.
By showing repeated content to the subconscious, it was a way to control and manipulate people in the direction I wanted.
‘I don’t know how he figured out that Alicia and I swapped places, but….’
This confirmed that it was Urien’s doing.
“By any chance, do you often contact either Young Duke Freesia or Young Duke Carter?”
At the subtly posed question, Alicia blinked. Then, she slowly shook her head.
“No.”
Her voice trembled a bit, revealing her unease, but given the circumstances, it was only natural for her to be nervous.
I looked at Alicia for a moment and then hugged her, urging her.
“In the future, don’t get too close to those two.”
“Why?”
When she asked why, there was no answer to give.
I wanted to say they were dangerous people, but if I did, Alicia might be too obvious in guarding against those two.
So, instead of explaining the reason, I hugged Alicia tighter.
“I’ll tell you later. But promise me. Keep some distance from those two…”
It might sound like forcing it, but Alicia nodded obediently.
“Alright, Sister.”
With an affectionate touch, she faced me.
However, the promise of that night didn’t have much effect in the end.
No matter how much we tried to avoid it, what had to happen eventually happened.
Of course, that was a matter for a bit later.
* * *
And now, back to the present.
At some point, the doorkeeper at the entrance of the banquet hall stopped announcing people’s entrances.
The imperial family, including the emperor, appeared and delivered a brief greeting.
“Although there was an unfortunate incident a few months ago, let us congratulate the emerging youth of the Empire and have an enjoyable time today.”
After the greetings and the thunderous applause that swept through the hall, the Coming-of-Age Ball officially began.
The Coming-of-Age Ball was, as the name suggests, a ball for young individuals who were either coming of age, had come of age, or were coming to congratulate those who came of age.
Unlike other social events where parents with their children led the atmosphere, young nobles took the initiative in greeting and conversing with each other.
As intervening in such affairs was considered very tactless for older individuals, the great hall seemed to have an invisible barrier dividing the young from the not-so-young.
Father and Brother were deeply concerned about leaving only me and Alicia there.
Alicia was, by far, secluded from the public eye until now, and I was the main character of some provocative rumors.
“If you want, we can just go home now.”
Since we had already entered and shown our faces, Father’s opinion was that we had done enough.
It sounded absurd, but his expression was serious.
I smiled and pushed him away.
“If we go back now, it might look like we’re running away. And in a way, this might be a good thing. We can distinguish between those who are swayed by baseless rumors and those who are not right here.”
In times of crisis, opportunities to choose companions by one’s side often arise.
Father and Brother, perhaps agreeing with this opinion, nodded slowly and distanced themselves.
“Are you sure you’re alright, Sister?”
Watching the two men move away, Alicia asked quietly.
Worries were written all over her face.
Cute.
“Don’t worry. I really am fine. And…”
I slowly looked around.
I could feel people’s gazes occasionally, but it wasn’t too severe.
There were other topics of interest that could attract people’s attention besides me.
It was a large social event held for the first time since the hunting festival, after all.
For example, the revival of the struggling Riddle family.
After the hunting festival, House Riddle gradually expanded its size.
The slowly growing influence eventually revealed its presence, and when people noticed it, House Riddle had already become a noble family that achieved wealth through their booming business.
Of course, there was my financial support and Blancas’s generous assistance behind it all, but how could people know that?
In the eyes of the public, the Riddles were just a prosperous and self-sufficient family that had overcome adversity and regained wealth.
Nobles were interested in how House Riddle managed to revive, but the Riddles never responded to any invitations.
However, today.
They finally revealed themselves to the crowd.
‘Of course, this was also part of my plan.’
While I didn’t need a grand event like a birthday party, the Coming-of-Age Ball was unavoidable due to Cassion’s matter and other reasons.
I needed something else that could divert attention from me, and I assigned that role to House Riddle.
Lady Riddle and Count Riddle himself were surrounded by people, wearing relaxed smiles.
When our eyes met from a distance, Lady Riddle widened her eyes for a moment.
Then, she blinked and smiled. I did the same, and we both turned our heads as if we had made some unspoken agreement.
That was the extent of our greetings. Since we decided to keep our relationship a secret, this was all that we could exchange for now.
‘And, the other distractions are…’
I greeted some approaching individuals and glanced at the main characters of the other topic to distract the others.
Daniel and Leo.
Whether it was a coincidence or fate, excluding Riddle and me, the two of them were the biggest spectacles at the ball.
Well, it certainly wouldn’t be a coincidence.
A few days before the Coming-of-Age Ball, the Freesia family delivered a piece of news to the imperial family.
It was none other than the news that Daniel had been chosen by the ‘Mirror of Revelation’.
The imperial family congratulated the rare appearance of the mirror’s owner, and the rumor spread like wildfire, reaching most of the empire’s nobles.
“Congratulations on becoming the owner of a relic.”
“It’s been a while since the owner of a relic was born. Truly remarkable.”
“Did the Mirror of Revelation already give a prophecy?”
Congratulations and curious questions endlessly poured out. Daniel consistently smiled it off—a truly disgusting sight.
In any case.
‘Around this time, about Daniel becoming the owner of his household’s sacred relic…’
I had no recollections of it at all.
Not even from before this timeline.
There was a high probability that Daniel, from both this timeline and the previous one, would become the owner of his household’s sacred relic, but I couldn’t remember hearing about something like this until the day that I had died.
Perhaps, this was one of the changes that occurred this time around.
‘Or is this also Urien’s doing?’
But manipulating even Daniel becoming the owner of a relic seemed absurd.
If sacred relics were just something a mere human could manipulate, they couldn’t be called a gift from the gods.
This meant that he truly had been chosen by the relic.
‘Hah. Is god really favoring him?”
Granting him an unbelievable power, and now, even a relic?
Really. That cursed god.
I muttered blasphemy in my mind and turned my gaze to another side.
Yet another main character of the night.
Leo Carter.
No, more precisely, towards Duke Carter, who was standing precariously by his side.
However, people’s gazes didn’t last long.
It was because, at the same time as my father—who was standing beside me—had scanned our surroundings with a sharp look, everyone turned their attention elsewhere.
After all, at this moment, the duke in front of them was more fearsome than the monsters far away.
Following that, a deep and calm voice came from beside me.
“There’s no need to pay attention to meaningless interest.”
It was a clumsy but somewhat caring consolation.
I smiled and nodded.
“Yes, that’s right.”
Descending the stairs from the entrance to the ballroom, I looked through the crowd, searching for those with substantial interest amid the insincere attention.
The ones I was looking for were easily noticeable.
It was inevitable.
People were flocking around them.
Duke Carter and his wife, standing with Leo.
And, beside Duke Freesia, Daniel—or rather…
Urien.
They, too, casually turned their gaze and nodded their heads as if confirming our arrival.
Meeting the red and blue eyes that stood out even from a distance, I smiled.
Despite the chilling atmosphere, the smile seemed rather convincing.
Suddenly, I recalled the conversation I had with Alicia on the night of New Year’s Eve.
After discussing the secret of our birth, I asked Alicia how she came to know about this secret.
Before the time loop—in other words, in the original work—Alicia couldn’t have possibly come across this secret in the slightest. She probably didn’t even have any suspicions in the first place.
In that case, how did Alicia discover this secret?
Of course, there was one expected possibility.
The source could be the one other existence who was like a misaligned cogwheel in this world.
‘Urien.’
After hesitating for a moment, Alicia began to talk about the ‘dream’ in which, after the hunting festival, she had been plagued by strange nightmares.
In those nightmares, it was revealed that we had been switched at birth.
And everyone in the dream resented her to the fullest, which was so, so terrifying for her.
“I know it sounds unbelievable that I started suspecting it because of a mere dream, but… the dream was too vivid to ignore.”
Alicia’s face, saying this, turned pale, and I had to grind my teeth at that.
‘That bastard.’
As soon as I heard about the nightmares, I could easily tell that it was Urien’s doing.
Dreams were a common medium he used when brainwashing people.
After all, a dream was a mirror to a person’s subconscious.
By showing repeated content to the subconscious, it was a way to control and manipulate people in the direction I wanted.
‘I don’t know how he figured out that Alicia and I swapped places, but….’
This confirmed that it was Urien’s doing.
“By any chance, do you often contact either Young Duke Freesia or Young Duke Carter?”
At the subtly posed question, Alicia blinked. Then, she slowly shook her head.
“No.”
Her voice trembled a bit, revealing her unease, but given the circumstances, it was only natural for her to be nervous.
I looked at Alicia for a moment and then hugged her, urging her.
“In the future, don’t get too close to those two.”
“Why?”
When she asked why, there was no answer to give.
I wanted to say they were dangerous people, but if I did, Alicia might be too obvious in guarding against those two.
So, instead of explaining the reason, I hugged Alicia tighter.
“I’ll tell you later. But promise me. Keep some distance from those two…”
It might sound like forcing it, but Alicia nodded obediently.
“Alright, Sister.”
With an affectionate touch, she faced me.
However, the promise of that night didn’t have much effect in the end.
No matter how much we tried to avoid it, what had to happen eventually happened.
Of course, that was a matter for a bit later.
* * *
And now, back to the present.
At some point, the doorkeeper at the entrance of the banquet hall stopped announcing people’s entrances.
The imperial family, including the emperor, appeared and delivered a brief greeting.
“Although there was an unfortunate incident a few months ago, let us congratulate the emerging youth of the Empire and have an enjoyable time today.”
After the greetings and the thunderous applause that swept through the hall, the Coming-of-Age Ball officially began.
The Coming-of-Age Ball was, as the name suggests, a ball for young individuals who were either coming of age, had come of age, or were coming to congratulate those who came of age.
Unlike other social events where parents with their children led the atmosphere, young nobles took the initiative in greeting and conversing with each other.
As intervening in such affairs was considered very tactless for older individuals, the great hall seemed to have an invisible barrier dividing the young from the not-so-young.
Father and Brother were deeply concerned about leaving only me and Alicia there.
Alicia was, by far, secluded from the public eye until now, and I was the main character of some provocative rumors.
“If you want, we can just go home now.”
Since we had already entered and shown our faces, Father’s opinion was that we had done enough.
It sounded absurd, but his expression was serious.
I smiled and pushed him away.
“If we go back now, it might look like we’re running away. And in a way, this might be a good thing. We can distinguish between those who are swayed by baseless rumors and those who are not right here.”
In times of crisis, opportunities to choose companions by one’s side often arise.
Father and Brother, perhaps agreeing with this opinion, nodded slowly and distanced themselves.
“Are you sure you’re alright, Sister?”
Watching the two men move away, Alicia asked quietly.
Worries were written all over her face.
Cute.
“Don’t worry. I really am fine. And…”
I slowly looked around.
I could feel people’s gazes occasionally, but it wasn’t too severe.
There were other topics of interest that could attract people’s attention besides me.
It was a large social event held for the first time since the hunting festival, after all.
For example, the revival of the struggling Riddle family.
After the hunting festival, House Riddle gradually expanded its size.
The slowly growing influence eventually revealed its presence, and when people noticed it, House Riddle had already become a noble family that achieved wealth through their booming business.
Of course, there was my financial support and Blancas’s generous assistance behind it all, but how could people know that?
In the eyes of the public, the Riddles were just a prosperous and self-sufficient family that had overcome adversity and regained wealth.
Nobles were interested in how House Riddle managed to revive, but the Riddles never responded to any invitations.
However, today.
They finally revealed themselves to the crowd.
‘Of course, this was also part of my plan.’
While I didn’t need a grand event like a birthday party, the Coming-of-Age Ball was unavoidable due to Cassion’s matter and other reasons.
I needed something else that could divert attention from me, and I assigned that role to House Riddle.
Lady Riddle and Count Riddle himself were surrounded by people, wearing relaxed smiles.
When our eyes met from a distance, Lady Riddle widened her eyes for a moment.
Then, she blinked and smiled. I did the same, and we both turned our heads as if we had made some unspoken agreement.
That was the extent of our greetings. Since we decided to keep our relationship a secret, this was all that we could exchange for now.
‘And, the other distractions are…’
I greeted some approaching individuals and glanced at the main characters of the other topic to distract the others.
Daniel and Leo.
Whether it was a coincidence or fate, excluding Riddle and me, the two of them were the biggest spectacles at the ball.
Well, it certainly wouldn’t be a coincidence.
A few days before the Coming-of-Age Ball, the Freesia family delivered a piece of news to the imperial family.
It was none other than the news that Daniel had been chosen by the ‘Mirror of Revelation’.
The imperial family congratulated the rare appearance of the mirror’s owner, and the rumor spread like wildfire, reaching most of the empire’s nobles.
“Congratulations on becoming the owner of a relic.”
“It’s been a while since the owner of a relic was born. Truly remarkable.”
“Did the Mirror of Revelation already give a prophecy?”
Congratulations and curious questions endlessly poured out. Daniel consistently smiled it off—a truly disgusting sight.
In any case.
‘Around this time, about Daniel becoming the owner of his household’s sacred relic…’
I had no recollections of it at all.
Not even from before this timeline.
There was a high probability that Daniel, from both this timeline and the previous one, would become the owner of his household’s sacred relic, but I couldn’t remember hearing about something like this until the day that I had died.
Perhaps, this was one of the changes that occurred this time around.
‘Or is this also Urien’s doing?’
But manipulating even Daniel becoming the owner of a relic seemed absurd.
If sacred relics were just something a mere human could manipulate, they couldn’t be called a gift from the gods.
This meant that he truly had been chosen by the relic.
‘Hah. Is god really favoring him?”
Granting him an unbelievable power, and now, even a relic?
Really. That cursed god.
I muttered blasphemy in my mind and turned my gaze to another side.
Yet another main character of the night.
Leo Carter.
No, more precisely, towards Duke Carter, who was standing precariously by his side.
