Chapter 476 Political Plotting Against Me?



You know... I was hoping that the party would just pass by without any incidents... But it seems like incidents always have a way to find me...

After I finished my dance with the Princess, I received several invitations to dance with the other nobles and their children as well.

Seems like pretty much everyone was waiting for me to finish the first dance with the Princess since that would allow them to approach me afterwards.n/(O/-V--e./l-.B.-1))n

I knew that as per etiquette, it was customary for something like this to happen so I couldn't exactly turn them down without making it seem like an insult.

Not that I'm that worried about insulting them but more that I didn't want problematic rumours to start which might affect Tiara down the road.

The good thing was that I practised for both roles for the dance so I could dance with both the girls and the boys.

As for why this is a problem... Well... Almost everyone who approached me for a dance had some agenda in mind.

Right now I'm dancing with some second son from a Count Family that I forgot the name of and he's been trying to make himself look like a 'great' partner by forcefully pulling me along with his dance pace.

"So what do you think, Lady Nilm? I'm sure a husband like myself will be a good choice. You would not even need to worry about managing the House, I can do it all for you while you just bear my children for me and take care of them!"

"Ufufu~ That sounds nice, but there's just one problem though..." I giggled.

"Oh? What is it, Lady Nilm?"

I used my superior strength to pull at his arm, disrupting his pace to force him into mine as I spun him around, completely changing his role of the one leading the dance to the one being led instead.

He looked at me in shock when I forced him into a dip where he occupied the role of the one being dipped instead of me.

"I prefer being the one to impregnate others instead of being impregnated~"

He actually shuddered and I felt his thighs squeeze together after he heard that declaration from me.

I pulled him back on his feet and maintained my smile, "So, can you get impregnated?"

He gulped, "Umm... No?"

"Ufufu~ Then I'm afraid I'm not interested in you at all~"

I then curtsied before turning my back on him, walking back to the side of the hall without looking back.

Before I could even take the time to relax, a young lady had come up to me and curtsied, "Lady Nilm, I am Niaris from the Lymson Family. May I have the honour of the next dance?"

Ugh... Another one... Fine.

I returned her curtsy with one of my own, "Of course, Lady Niaris."

She extended her hand to me and I took it, guiding her back to the dance floor just as the next song started.

I took the lead and guided her in our slow waltz along the floor, making sure to avoid colliding into any of the other dancers around us.

She waited until we were at least a minute into the dance before she spoke to me.

"Lady Nilm, please accept my apologies... I know you are tired but I had no choice..."

Eh? That's definitely a different response than all the others I've gotten so far.

I tilted my head slightly to the side, "What do you mean, Lady Niaris?"

"I mean the fact that you have to put up with all the invitations you have received so far, Lady Nilm. Surely you would have preferred that everyone simply left you alone?"

"Ufufu~ That's surprising considering you're also one of those who approached me. Let me guess, your family made you do this?"

"As expected of Lady Nilm, you are quite perceptive."

I mean, that's already kind of obvious if you consider our current situation, especially when all the others who approached me basically wanted the same thing or were in the same situation as well.

Pretty much everyone wanted to form a connection with the Nilm Family through me. While some of them were content with just being acquaintances, others outright wanted to either join my harem or convince me that I was better off joining theirs somehow.

At least this girl is the first one out of everyone who seems to be genuinely reluctant to follow what their family had instructed her to do.

I giggled, "Ufufu~ It's alright. I can understand your plight so you can relax. Let's just enjoy the dance, alright?"

She looked up at me, "Lady Nilm is certainly quite considerate of others... No one would complain if you were to just stop here and walk away from me right now, you know?"

"Oh? But that would land you in trouble with your family right? I'm not that cruel so don't worry."

"I see... Then may I offer Lady Nilm some advice?"

"Hmm? What is it?"

"It would be best not to be so trusting of others, especially those that you've just met..."

She suddenly slipped her hand out from my grasp and reached for my mask, her other hand holding on to my back to prevent me from backing away from her.

I recoiled in surprise and I felt her fingers slip under my mask.

I only then realised she was trying to take off my mask to reveal my actual face in front of everyone in this hall.

My hand was already reaching up to stop her but there was a wet 'squelch' right before my hand reached her wrist, making me a little confused when I ended up grabbing empty air.

Both Niaris and I looked down to see her hand was now missing and had been reduced to a stump that had been cut off and cauterised to prevent blood from spraying out.

She let out a gasp right before Katsuki appeared above her, kicking her across the face mercilessly before she stabbed her dagger through her arm and twisted it behind the girl's back.

Niaris was then forced to the ground and cried out in pain, my Inugami maid showing her no mercy as she twisted her arm even further to dislocate her shoulder.

I reached up and felt my mask, sighing in relief when I found that it was still properly in place which meant that my face should not have been revealed.

"What is going on here?!" Someone shouted from within the stunned crowd.

A balding man pushed past everyone and stopped when he saw Niaris pinned to the ground by Katsuki.

"Yo... You... How dare you?! What do you think you're doing to my daughter?!" The man roared, stomping towards Katsuki.

Mother appeared in front of him, barring his way, "Ara, ara~ Baron Lymson~ How nice of you to join us~ I wonder... Were you the one who instigated that? Or did someone tell you to make your daughter do that to my precious child?"

Her sudden appearance took the wind out from his sails and he took a step back, "What... What are you talking about?! Don't... Don't think you can just bully others because of your position!"

Mother leaned forward slightly, "Ara? I don't usually do this, but if I were to bully you, what are you going to do about it?"

"Don't... Don't think you can get away with that! Do you think you can stand against all the other Noble Houses in this Kingdom if you were to act arrogantly now?!"

Mother straightened herself, "Ara? Ufufufu~ I see, I see~ Let's put aside the fact that you were the one who attacked my dearest child first and answer that little question of yours... Yes. Yes, I can stand against all the Noble Houses here. In fact, you would find that most of them would side with me, Baron Lymson~ It seems like you did not do your homework~"

Mother poked his chest with a finger before pushing forward with surprising strength, causing the Baron to fall onto his haunches with a loud thump.

She then lifted up her foot and stepped on his chest, pushing him until his back was pressed against the floor with her heels piercing through his skin and drawing blood.

Mother leaned her weight onto the foot that was stepping on him, causing the man to let out a gasp of pain.

He tried to grab her leg but two of our maids suddenly appeared out of nowhere and held his arms down by his sides, preventing him from moving.

Mother didn't even acknowledge his struggles and simply continued, "Baron Lymson~ You inherited that noble title from your father after poisoning your father and assassinating your brothers~ You were not content with staying a Baron so when you were promised an opportunity to rise up in rank just by having your daughter get close to my little one and remove her mask, you did not hesitate to accept the request, am I right?"

Judging by the surprised look on his face, I would say Mother hit the nail right on the head.

She covered her mouth with the back of her hand, "But because you had spent all this time plotting against your father and brothers, you neglected studying up on the other Noble Houses and you have no idea who we are, do you? Ufufufu~ How unfortunate~"

Mother lifted her foot from his chest and Mary literally appeared from a portal beside her, kneeling down to wipe Mother's foot with a towel with practised grace while Mother removed the glove from the hand she had used to touch the Baron.

She then passed the gloves over to Mary who promptly gave her another pair to replace them, the Trasif maid disappearing back through the portal she made without a word.

"I shall be demanding compensation for this, Baron~ So look forward to it~ In the meantime... Ufufufu~ I wonder if the instigators of this would step forward themselves?"

...

What did I just get caught up in?