The moment the curse slipped out of my mouth, the atmosphere in the banquet hall became eerily silent.

On the surface, it was a situation where a noble lady had cursed at a prince. To those who knew that I was merely the daughter of a baron, it was practically a declaration of suicide.

‘This is bad.’

I had prepared a proper response in my mind, but as soon as I opened my mouth, a reflexive reaction came out instead. But honestly, how could I not be disgusted by him?

His gaze was blatantly fixated on my chest without even trying to hide it, and he acted all sweet while being a philanderer with the noble ladies. There was no way anything nice could come out of my mouth.

If only Mechart had been the only one to hear it, I might have managed to bluff my way out of it. Unfortunately, the words that slipped out of my mouth weren’t exactly quiet.

It was clear that at least the noble ladies following this disgusting prince had heard what I said.

“Y-You…! Did you just curse at Prince Mechart?!”

“How could you do such a thing! Do you think you can get away with anything just because you have a pretty face?!”

“Do you think just because you have a large chest, you have the right to speak so shamelessly?!”

‘Damn it, seriously.’

As if it wasn’t bad enough that I had to face this repulsive golden-haired prince, now his fangirls were chiming in one after another.

And why the hell do both men and women feel the need to comment on someone’s physical features? It’s not like I wanted to reincarnate into a character with such a large chest.

I barely managed to resist the urge to reach for the dagger hidden inside my dress as I quietly waited for Mechart’s response.

Although the tense atmosphere was due to my initial slip of the tongue, the man in front of me was undeniably one of the main villains in Luminor Academy.

It wouldn’t have been surprising if he drew his sword right then and accused me of disrespecting the royal family. I remained vigilant, ready to defend myself at any moment.

“You’re a bold lady.”

“…What?”

“I apologize. If my lack of skill in winning a lady’s heart has upset you, I sincerely apologize. Now, if you’ll excuse me.”

“Oh, um… sure…”

Contrary to my expectations, Mechart stepped back with an unexpectedly refreshing expression.

He withdrew so suddenly that I didn’t even have time to apologize for my slip of the tongue.

“Y-You! Just because you have a handsome face, you think you can act all… W-Wait, Prince Mechart!”

“Prince, why would you bow your head to a woman like that…?”

Moreover, the group of noble ladies who had been glaring at me with venomous eyes quickly followed him and disappeared. I was left bewildered, unsure of what had just happened, when Ethan spoke to me from my right.

“Are you okay, Lily?”

“Oh, Ed. Yes, I’m fine, but…”

“It’s alright. You didn’t do anything wrong, Lily. That lecher… I mean, Prince Mechart was the one at fault.”

Ethan used some pretty strong language to describe the prince, but he was defending me.

Well, technically, it was true that Mechart was in the wrong.

It’s common courtesy in social circles not to approach someone who is already with a partner, and the way he stared at my chest without even bothering to hide it was downright lecherous.

If an ordinary nobleman behaved like that in society, they’d be the subject of gossip behind their back.

It was only because Mechart had his looks and family background to support him that he hadn’t faced any backlash from the noble ladies. In fact, there were probably plenty of women who would willingly show him more if he just glanced at their chest.

But even considering all that, I couldn’t deny that I was the one in the wrong for cursing at a prince right to his face.

“I agree with you, Ed, but I still think it was my mistake this time.”

“Huh?”

“I had prepared a proper response, but I was so flustered that something else just came out. I should apologize to Prince Mechart later.”

“Something else…? So that wasn’t how you really felt?”

“No, I did feel disgusted. But even if it’s true, it’s still a crime to say it out loud.”

“…Then it’s fine, Lily.”

Ethan seemed oddly relieved when I admitted that I was genuinely disgusted.

Seeing his reaction, I could guess why he had been worried, so I smiled slyly and asked him.

“What’s wrong, Ed? Were you worried that I might develop some strange feelings for him?”

“…….”

“Don’t worry. As I’ve said before, I’ve never considered dating or marrying anyone other than you.”

“R-Right… Sorry for thinking something weird, Lily…”

Ethan, who had been on guard, was relieved to hear that I hadn’t developed any feelings for Mechart, and teasing him about it was oddly satisfying.

It was enough to make me forget, at least for a moment, about the trouble I’d have to deal with because of the curse I’d blurted out at Mechart.

“Seriously, though. Do you really think I’d fall for such an indecent man who drags women around with him? He might have a handsome face, but he spouts nonsense he thinks is seductive. I nearly gagged just…”

But my time teasing Ethan didn’t last long. From a distance, two figures were quickly approaching us.

“Hey, hey! Are you out of your mind…?!”

“Oh, Miss Agnes.”

“What were you thinking saying something like that?! Do you even know where he is in the line of succession?! Or even if we forget about that, how could you…!”

“…Yeah, I wasn’t thinking straight.”

“This isn’t something you can just brush off with an excuse like that…!”

Agnes grabbed my shoulders and shook me with a serious expression on her face.

It felt like she was the one being shaken more than I was, probably due to the difference in our center of gravity.

But what could I do? The words were already out, and the damage was done.

A moment later, unlike Agnes, who had abandoned her noble demeanor to rush over to me, another figure approached me slowly and cautiously spoke.

“Miss Lillis, what were you thinking when you made such a dangerous statement…?”

“…I apologize, Princess Seraphine.”

“While it’s true that our fourth brother is quite… interested in women, wasn’t it a bit risky to… curse at him to his face?”

“It was a mistake. I had planned to greet him politely, but it just slipped out…”

“I don’t particularly like Mechart’s behavior either, so I understand how you feel, Miss Lillis, but…”

Princess Seraphine’s reaction was one of concern over my disrespectful words towards a royal family member.

While she was worried, she surprisingly agreed with my criticism of her brother.

Once again, it became clear that the Valtoria royal family was a dysfunctional one, with siblings who didn’t get along, despite sharing the same blood.

There might have been a time when the royal children maintained a façade of harmony, but after the death of the first prince, Philipson, the royal family had essentially fractured.

‘And it was Mechart who was involved in the first prince’s death.’

The fact that the first prince wasn’t exactly fit to be the next emperor wasn’t important. What mattered was that his death had caused the royal family to splinter.

On top of that, Mechart’s connections to demons left no room for leniency.

In that sense, my actions might have been the better course. If I had gotten involved with him, it would have only led to mutual destruction.

It might have been more reasonable to cut ties decisively rather than leaving things ambiguous and risk getting entangled.

Besides, Mechart, with his obsession with women, hadn’t managed to build a proper power base, so he wasn’t much of a political threat either.

“I’m sorry to say this, Princess Seraphine, but I believe Lillis made the right decision. Even if he is a prince, I didn’t appreciate the way he openly addressed my fiancée… while I was right there.”

“…I’m not criticizing her. I just hope you’ll be more cautious in the future. While Prince Mechart isn’t particularly dangerous, if you show such behavior to my other siblings, I might not be able to protect you. I’m just concerned.”

“I’m not saying Lillis did anything wrong either. I don’t like him either.”

After my outburst, it seemed like we had formed an impromptu “anti-Mechart alliance.” Agnes and Seraphine didn’t like the fourth prince in the original story either, so it made sense.

“Thank you for your concern, Princess Seraphine. I’ll be more careful in the future.”

“…Please do. Be careful, Miss Lillis.”

As Mechart and the group of noble ladies disappeared to the other side of the banquet hall, Agnes and Seraphine eventually returned to where Bolt and Celesta were, and the banquet seemed to resume its peaceful course.

In the end, the curse I spat at Mechart turned out to be a minor incident.

…Especially since something much more disruptive happened later during the banquet.