At the edge of the forest where the hunting competition was held, there was a small, charming forest.
It seemed to be landscaped so that the women waiting for the participants could enjoy the greenery and socialize.
The long table decorated with flowers in the center was mostly occupied, as the countess had mentioned.
"Everyone!"
The organizer clapped her hands to get everyone's attention.
"Everyone, look here. See who I've brought!"
"Oh my."
"It looks like they've arrived."
The women who saw me enter the venue with Lady Dortea each murmured their impressions.
Many of them spoke with their fans covering their mouths, so it was hard to tell if their reactions were positive.
'Even if they didn't cover their mouths, it would be fine.'
Anyway, no one would recognize me just by looking at my face.
The tea party included a wide range of attendees, from young noblewomen to older matrons.
What was a bit strange was that, unlike me who came alone without Emily, most of them had maids standing behind them.
Moreover, at a glance, no other woman was wearing hunting attire like me.
I had already noticed this earlier, but it felt like I was being targeted for standing out.
'Should I have brought Emily? There was no mention of bringing a maid, so I left her behind.'
I felt a bit regretful.
I was worried that someone might not recognize me and call me a "vulgar and impolite noblewoman."
So I decided to be as cautious as possible with my words.
"Thank you for inviting me."
I bowed my head slightly, not too low to appear overly humble.
Various gazes, filled with unknown intentions, were directed at me.
It was a similar feeling to when Lady Dortea had a strange expression on her face after receiving my greeting earlier.
"Please, sit over here, Lady."
Fortunately, Lady Dortea quickly seated me, showing that she wasn't going to leave me stranded.
It was the seat next to the head table, the most prominent position.
Considering Penelope's reputation, it was a somewhat unexpected treatment.
"Please serve tea to the lady."
Lady Dortea instructed the maid standing behind her.
Steam rose from the yellow tea poured into my cup.
"This is a precious tea leaf that my husband brought back from his mission to Setina. Please try it."
At the gentle lady's invitation, I slowly lifted the teacup.
I, who had been scolded by the duke for not mingling with other nobles, was not particularly interested in such social gatherings.
But sitting in such a setting felt awkward and a bit...
'Lady, I'm a bit nervous.'
I cautiously sniffed the aroma, brought the teacup to my lips, pretended to take a sip, and then put it down.
"The aroma is really nice, Lady."
Actually, it wasn't that good.
Perhaps because it was from a foreign land, there was a faint, unpleasant smell from the tea.
But I knew I shouldn't say that outright in such a setting.
"Is that so? I'm glad you like it, Lady! Everyone, don't you agree?"
Lady Dortea laughed heartily and sought agreement from everyone.
"Indeed."
"What a pleasant surprise."
Again, a few women responded with their fans covering their mouths.
It seemed my first greeting had been well-received, and I secretly sighed in relief.
At that moment,
"Lady! I heard you performed incredibly at the pre-festival event?"
A young noblewoman sitting across from me pulled her chair closer and asked.
She looked to be around fifteen or sixteen.
The young girl's large eyes sparkled with curiosity.
"Ah, well, not that incredible..."
I laughed awkwardly and waved my hand.
'Modesty is a virtue of the nobility.'
I felt proud of myself for being modest.
The young noblewoman, whose name I didn't know, blushed and exclaimed lovingly.
"The palace has been buzzing with Lady's story since yesterday!"
"Oh, really?"
She suddenly looked disappointed and added,
"Yes. I wasn't feeling well and returned to the cabin early, so I missed it..."
"Really, Lady Alice. You missed such a rare scene?"
Before I could respond, a surprised voice asked.
I glanced in that direction.
But with their fans covering their mouths, I couldn't distinguish their faces, so I quickly lost interest.
'...Lady Alice, huh.'
Instead, I silently repeated the name of the young noblewoman who had shown me kindness.
I wanted to remember it to avoid any awkward situations later and to build camaraderie with my peers, as the duke had suggested.
Meanwhile, the women sitting there began to chat about me.
"Lady Ecart shot so well that every time she fired, the monsters fell in a spectacular display!"
"Really? Oh, I wish I could have seen it..."
"That's right. Lady Alice will regret leaving the banquet early for a long time."
"But Lady, how did you improve your archery skills so quickly?"
Most of the speakers were older matrons.
They subtly treated me, who was of higher status than them, with disrespect.
I noticed this immediately but didn't show it.
It was a common form of territorial behavior.
'Given my poor reputation, this is better than I expected.'
There was no need to ruin the atmosphere by showing my displeasure.
So I deflected with a polite laugh.
"With a good teacher and diligent practice, one's crossbow skills will naturally improve quickly."
"Oh my... Who were you aiming to hit this time?"
At that moment, a woman sitting diagonally from me covered her mouth with a gloved hand and muttered.
Her voice was filled with mockery.
"Excuse me?"
I looked at her closely, unsure if I had heard correctly.
She was a noblewoman of my age with striking blue hair.
When our eyes met, she gave me a friendly smile.
'What is this?'
Her face was so gentle that it was hard to believe she was mocking me.
"Ahaha, Lady Kellin, did you see Lady's performance yesterday?"
The organizer smoothly redirected the frozen conversation.
I suddenly felt a sense of déjà vu.
'Lady Kellin? That name sounds familiar...'
Meanwhile, Lady Kellin responded with a bright smile.
"Of course, Lady."
"How was it, Lady? Please tell us in detail!"
Lady Alice eagerly pressed her.
Although it was about me, I felt like I was being sidelined.
But no one else seemed to think so, as they all focused intently on Lady Kellin's lips.
"To be honest, I felt relieved the whole time Lady was shooting the crossbow."
"Relieved in what way?"
"Oh, I remember. Lady Kellin has been praising Lady's archery skills since last year, right?"
The matrons chimed in one after another.
'Praising my archery skills? That's impossible...'
I tilted my head in confusion at the matron's absurd statement.
Then, a realization hit me.
'Oh.'
I finally recognized the blue-haired girl.
I had forgotten about her because it wasn't something I had done and I didn't expect to see her.
'Last year...!'
The girl who became the queen of the hunting festival thanks to Penelope's threat to shoot her with a crossbow.
'I'm in trouble.'
A chill ran down my spine.
I had a bad feeling that this gathering might not be good for Penelope, or rather, for me.
"Seeing Lady's performance reminded me of last year's hunting competition."
As I was internally storming, Lady Kellin, or Kellorin, continued calmly.
"She aimed her crossbow at me, saying she would show me how to catch a mosquito with an arrow."
"Goodness!"
Everyone turned to look at me and gasped in amazement.
"Is that rumor true?"
Lady Dortea asked, feigning surprise.
"I don't know what rumor you're referring to, but Lady never aimed her crossbow at me for any impolite or tasteless reason. Please don't misunderstand. She was being kind, offering to catch a mosquito for me."
The blue-haired girl's smile as she answered was infuriating.
'Hey, just say what you want to say.'
Her skill at twisting the truth in front of everyone was top-notch.
If I was this angry, how furious must Penelope have been last year to threaten to shoot her?
"It's a relief to hear that. I was worried about the bad things being said about Lady after last year's incident."
But the slander didn't stop there.
The blue-haired girl drove the point home by looking at me.
"Yesterday, she aimed at a monster as big as a house, not a small mosquito, so there's no need to worry about hitting the wrong target, right?"
"..."
"Lady isn't blind, after all."
In plain terms, it meant, "Unless you're blind, it's impossible to miss such a large monster."
Why do my bad feelings never turn out to be wrong?
I finally understood why the duke had sent a maid to fetch me early in the morning to participate in this gathering.
'No wonder. Their smiles seemed strange...'
The women, led by the blue-haired girl, had successfully set a trap and were now eagerly stabbing their prey with venomous words.