Chapter 59

The cutlery clattered loudly onto the plate. Before the sound had even faded, Lady Kate stood up abruptly.

"That guy!! Don't mess around!!"

"Lady Kate"

"Wait!! I'll bring real food right away――――"

"Lady Kate!! Please wait!!"

She grabbed Lady Kate's arm as she was about to leave the dining hall.

"What are you doing?! Let go!!"

"Please calm down. First, sit down――――"

"This isn't the time!! Get out of my way!!"

"Kyaa?!"

Thrown off balance by her forceful push, I stumbled.

Lady Kate and I are about the same size, but as a beast person, she has higher physical abilities than a human.

The strength difference between our races is significant, and I lost my balance, but it was an act.

I really was pushed away, but the dramatic stumble and scream were a performance.

It was almost exaggerated, but Lady Kate was startled and quickly grabbed my arm to support me.

Her firm grip hurt, but I could feel her concern.

Even though I was a human and we had just met, she tried to help me when she saw me about to get hurt.

Her spontaneous kindness seemed genuine, and thanks to her, I successfully stopped Lady Kate.

"Lady Kate, thank you."

"……I'm sorry for trying to push you away."

She looked embarrassed but apologized properly, which I think is a good quality.

Her tone had slightly broken due to her haste, revealing her true self.

"I'm the one who should apologize for trying to stop you so forcefully. But, I need you to wait a moment."

"……Why? Even Lady Letizia couldn't eat that overly salty meat, right?"

"Yes, it was very delicious."

"Eh?"

Lady Kate looked bewildered.

"Are you serious? Even I, who usually eat a lot of salt, couldn't eat it."

"But it was delicious. Lady Iriena must have thought so too."

"Hehe, it was very salty but delicious, wasn't it?"

Lady Iriena joined in, apparently following the same strategy as me.

"Are both of your tongues okay? Could it be that you're sick and can't taste anything………?"

Confused and concerned, Lady Kate, I decided to explain our intention.

"Let's pretend it was delicious, shall we? There was no overly salty dish that made us want to gag. Such a dish wouldn't be appropriate for the occasion you and Lady Iriena invited us to."

"That's………true."

Lady Kate seemed to understand our intention.

If a dish that couldn't be eaten was served at a reception, it would be a severe insult.

No matter what the underlying reasons were, the reputation of the hosts, Lady Kate and Lady Iriena, would surely suffer.

That's why I proposed to pretend that there was no overly salty dish.

I stopped Lady Kate from leaving the dining hall to prevent the situation from escalating.

While I was angry at the culprit, from Lady Kate's reaction, it seemed she was also involved.

If Lady Kate's actions were all an act, she would be a great actress.

She had no apparent motive to serve overly salty food, so I ruled out that possibility.

"……Lady Letizia, thank you. I almost made things worse by losing my temper."

Her cat ears drooped, and she looked dejected.

She seemed to be ashamed of her emotional nature.

"Thanks to you, I was saved. The culprit………at least the direct culprit, will be caught and punished."

"Lady Kate, may I ask one favor?"

"……What is it?"

"Can I meet Lady Siena――――Lady Kate's younger sister?"

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"Excuse me, I'm Siena."

The young lady who entered the room had cat ears and a light brown tail.

She walked gracefully and smiled softly.

She was Lady Kate's half-sister, and they didn't look much alike.

"It's a great honor to meet Lady Letizia today."

Without waiting for an introduction from Lady Kate, who was the host of today's dinner party, Lady Siena turned to me.

Her attitude suggested that she considered herself the true mistress of this palace.

"I'm glad to meet you. Thank you for coming despite the sudden call."

"I heard it was at Lady Letizia's request. I was staying in this palace to help my sister, so it's fortunate."

"Help your sister? Don't joke with me!"

Lady Kate, visibly angry.

However, Lady Siena remained calm and only smiled.

"Lady Siena, as a token of our acquaintance, I have something I'd like to give you. Is that okay?"

"Yes, of course! It would be an honor――――"

Lady Siena's expression tensed.

Her tail puffed up.

In front of her was a plate of overly salty meat, from which I had carefully removed the part I had touched.

"Lady Letizia? Is this some kind of joke? This dish was prepared for today's dinner party, right?"

"Yes, that's correct. It was very delicious, so would you like to try a bite, Lady Siena?"

"……I'll pass. My stomach is a bit upset today."

Lady Siena shook her head gently.

She had been called suddenly and offered a guest dish.

It was understandable for her to refuse, but it seemed there was more to it.

The moment she saw the meat dish I offered, Lady Siena's expression showed not just confusion but also a clear look of disgust, as if to say, "There's no way I can eat such a terrible thing."

Her reaction to being offered the dish was unnatural.

Most likely, Lady Siena knew that the dish was overly salty.

In other words, she was one of the people who had ordered the dish to be prepared that way.

Lady Kate seemed to realize this and confronted her half-sister with raised fur.

"Siena!! You were the culprit after all!!"

"Big sister, don't shout suddenly. What are you talking about?"

"The culprit who made that overly salty dish!! You were trying to sabotage me, weren't you?!"

"What are you saying all of a sudden? If you're going to accuse someone, do you have any evidence?"

"You just refused to eat the dish!!"

"Is that all? Do you really think such a baseless accusation will hold up?"

"……!!"

Lady Kate fell silent.

From this, it seemed that Lady Kate's side had some internal issues.

Although chosen as a candidate for the next queen, Lady Kate's family was not united.

She didn't have full control over her subordinates, and she lacked the confidence to definitively determine who had ordered the overly salty dish.

"Lady Siena, please don't blame me for your crimes. The hosts of today's dinner party are you and Lady Iriena. No matter what happens, the responsibility will fall on you two, as Lady Letizia surely thinks."

"Yes, that's true."

I smiled at the shallow but cunning Lady Siena.

"The food today was very delicious. It's all thanks to the hosts, Lady Kate and Lady Iriena."

"……What are you saying?"

"Did I say something strange? The dish that seemed a bit too salty to Lady Kate was just right for me and Lady Iriena."

In other words, I wasn't going to blame Lady Kate.

Lady Siena's face twisted for a moment, as if she understood my intention.

………Ah, really, she's so shallow.

Lady Siena tried to act refined, but perhaps because she shared some blood with Lady Kate, she couldn't hide her emotions completely.

When I offered her the dish, she should have eaten it to avoid suspicion.

By doing so, she could have denied her involvement in the overly salty dish and directly criticized Lady Kate for serving such a dish.

However, Lady Siena refused to eat the overly salty dish, showing an unnatural attitude.

She must have been confident that she wouldn't be caught, but her shallowness was evident.

With Lady Iriena and me on the same page, it would be difficult for Lady Siena to point out that the dish served today was abnormally salty.

Her attempt to embarrass and sabotage her half-sister, Lady Kate, was too clumsy.

………However, against the emotional Lady Kate, such a scheme might have been enough.

I had no obligation to get involved in their sibling quarrels.

Without solid evidence, it would be difficult to accuse Lady Siena, but I decided to keep her on my radar.

I dislike people who use food to harass others.

Lady Siena's attempt to sabotage her half-sister, Lady Kate, using underhanded methods, made it clear that we couldn't get along.

"I will remember Lady Siena's name well."

A simple matter of food seasoning, yet a significant act of harassment.

Since she served a dish she herself couldn't eat, it was a clear act of harassment against me.

I decided to let it go this time, as I didn't have solid evidence and didn't want to make a big fuss, but I warned her that I wouldn't be lenient if it happened again.

"……Thank you. My stomach is upset, so I'll take my leave."

Realizing she had offended me, Lady Siena left hurriedly.

After that, I calmed down the still angry Lady Kate and managed to end the dinner party without any major incidents.

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"Lady Letizia, you did a wonderful job."

As I was about to get into the carriage, Lady Iriena called out to me.

Lady Kate had already left to find the culprit behind the overly salty dish.

"You remained calm despite the taste of the dish and thwarted Siena's attempt to cause a commotion. I was impressed by how well you handled the situation."

"……Thank you. But, you didn't want to cause a commotion either, did you?"

She smiled more deeply when I pointed this out.

I decided to confirm my suspicions.

"Did you predict the overly salty dish, Lady Iriena?"

"What do you mean?"

"I felt your gaze just before I tasted the dish."

"I would have said it was a coincidence……but you are sharp."

Lady Iriena admitted it without trying to hide it.

She must have noticed Siena's suspicious behavior.

While she didn't actively interfere, she probably didn't try to stop it either.

Today's dinner party was a joint effort by Lady Kate and Lady Iriena.

Given their poor relationship, there were likely many conflicts and misunderstandings during the preparations.

Siena probably took advantage of these conflicts, and Lady Kate, being somewhat naive, overlooked her actions.

However, Lady Iriena seemed to have noticed Siena's scheme.

"Lady Letizia, what will you do? Are you angry that I let Siena's scheme go unchecked?"

"……No, I'm not. Considering your position, I think your response was reasonable."

The reasons why Lady Iriena let Siena's scheme go unchecked.

First, even though the dinner party was a joint effort, the main preparations, including the venue and food, were handled by Lady Kate.

If there were any issues with the food, the blame would primarily fall on Lady Kate, and Lady Iriena would suffer minimal damage.

Moreover, Lady Iriena and Lady Kate were political rivals for the position of the next queen.

If Lady Kate was being sabotaged by her own family, it was natural for Lady Iriena to be a bystander.

She had no reason to interfere and risk Siena's resentment.

Additionally, Lady Iriena probably wanted to see how I would handle Siena's harassment.

She wanted to avoid Siena's resentment and observe my reaction.

"Besides, I think you felt somewhat guilty towards me. That's why you didn't avoid the overly salty dish and ate it, right?"

She still had the same gentle smile.

Indeed, Lady Iriena had eaten the overly salty dish.

She might have felt it was unfair to make me eat such a dish alone.

"Oh, I didn't expect you to figure it out so thoroughly. Lady Letizia, you have a keen eye."

I was flattered, but I couldn't be genuinely happy.

Lady Iriena is a fox.

Not just in appearance, but in the metaphorical sense as well, she is a clever and deceptive fox.

She is the opposite of the cat-eared Lady Kate and her sister in many ways.