# Chapter 32. Debutante (5)
“Kyaaaaah!!”
The sudden scream began to draw everyone’s attention.
Upon hearing the scream, the gathered nobles soon realized I was at the center of the commotion, reacting with gasps and tut-tutting.
The servants, panic-stricken, rushed off to call the Marquis, their employer, to settle the situation.
Still, it was a bittersweet reality that no one tried to stop me.
Anyway, I had already caused one incident during this gathering, so my plan was to draw attention to myself instead of Ria. When Lady Enbi, known as a notorious scandalmonger, started berating both Cecilia and me, I decided to use this as a trigger to fake an explosive display of anger.
Actually, it didn’t bother me much as no insult was aimed directly at me, but when Enbi hurled her insults directly at Cecilia, I did feel a little agitated and ended up overacting a bit.
In any case, completely ignoring Lady Enbi, who was shedding tears with her hair being pulled, I glanced wildly with frenzied eyes at the group of followers surrounding her.
Even those who had been following Enbi found it impossible to intervene. They hesitated, intimidated by both the rumors of my unruly nature and their fear of the scandal that would erupt if anyone stopped such a wild act in the Marquis’s mansion.
“You! Are you not afraid of the consequences?!”
Lady Enbi, who had been crying, suddenly raised her tearful eyes and glared at me.
Although not from one of the most powerful families, she wasn’t without influence either. She clearly realized her usual behavior had gained her favor among the upper nobility, which emboldened her to push harder.
“Will you really get away with this? No matter how rich you are, once I tell my father, you’re finished! Do you even know who’s behind me? I’ll have all your family’s trading routes closed down—!”
“Shut your mouth.”
Bang!
“Kyaaaaaaaaah!!!”
Interrupting her threats, I grabbed her by her hair and slammed her into the table.
Though capable of shattering her face into pieces if I unleashed my full strength, I carefully controlled my force. Fortunately, it ended with just her nose breaking, causing her to bleed.
“Cough, Cough! Wha-?!”
“Oi.”
I twisted her hair, forcing her to meet my eyes. Her earlier audacity had dimmed but traces of defiance still lingered in her gaze.
Thinking about a way to completely destroy her spirit, I decided on fabricating a tale.
“Long ago, there was a girl named Emily in one of the red-light districts. She was a real beauty. If she’d been from a noble family, she could have been married off to a decent family pretty quickly?”
Confused at the out-of-the-blue story, everyone looked skeptical, but I simply continued as though I didn’t notice.
“I often hung out with her. She clung to me since she knew I had money. It was a win-win: I partied with a pretty girl, and she got a decent income. Then one day, carried away by the atmosphere, I tried to ravish her. However, the girl who enjoyed following me around, even letting me touch her—when I asked her to sleep with me, she panicked. Isn’t it infuriating when you feel like cutting somebody who acts like that? When I tried to force her anyway, she scratched my face with her nails. A long mark appeared on my cheek… Do you know what happened to her?”
Bang!
I shattered the empty wine bottle she was lying beneath and pressed the sharp shards against her cheek.
“I ripped her left cheek in revenge, just as she’d scratched mine. The funny part? Now, whenever the girl opens her mouth to eat, food drops out because I carved a hole in her cheek, exposing her gums and jawbone! Hahaha…”
As I chuckled like a madman and calmly narrated the horrifying tale, Enbi’s previously yelling face turned deathly pale, and she began trembling.
An ordinary person might have dismissed it as a crazy guy’s wild tale, but since it was me—a former troublemaker—telling the story, it seemed to ring true to everyone.
The other ladies and nobles lurking at the doorway turned ghostly white, and an eerie silence filled the room.
‘A lie they fully believe. This is why a reputation matters.’
Lrab never was as audacious as someone who’d commit such crazy actions without hesitation.
He used to hang out with local delinquents, pretending to be their friend while extorting money from them, causing disturbances when drunk, and occasionally engaging in vile sexual harassment—but he wasn’t exactly the brightest guy, more a thug than a true troublemaker.
Certainly, if this body had been possessed by the Evil God during some prior turn, even worse deeds might have transpired.
Sighing internally, I gently moved the sharp glass fragment closer to Lady Enbi’s cheek.
Just in case, I covered the shard with mana, ensuring no real harm would come from the sharp edge, though it might draw blood.
“Wouldn’t it be nice if I could turn you into an accidental soup server? Or, I could just peel this freckle off your face! Women are always so interested in their skin, aren’t they? If I tear off the flesh around this freckle, your face will look much cleaner, huh?”
As I tapped the sharp piece near her freckle while speaking like a psycho killer, a strange smell started creeping through the air.
Looking down, I saw a puddle forming beneath Lady Enbi, soaking the carpet in real-time.
“Oh dear! You should have asked to use the restroom! You know, if you had just said so, I could have lent you this glass instead of smashing it.”
My comment made her beet-red face flush anew, and she began shedding tears once again.
Of course, it’s only natural to feel terrified seeing someone grab your hair and slam your face into a table in full view of everyone, and then press a shard of glass against your cheek looking ready to tear your skin apart.
Although my original plan was not to bring myself to this level of disgrace, I let it slide, considering it as her karma.
But just as I was about to deliver one more line:
“What is this commotion?”
The Marquis Altero, the organizer of this event, entered the room.
Fitting his background as a skilled warrior and commander, the presence he exuded from the doorway sent shivers down everyone’s spines.
Distinguished by his short sports hairstyle that contrasted with the usual elaborate looks typical of nobles, his massive, muscular build further intensified the atmosphere as he stepped into the room, freezing everyone.
If I were “fear,” this man was “intimidation,” I guessed.
By the time the Marquis reached me, he was glaring down at me, though he was taller.
“Meet the head of the House of Altero, the shield of the Empire—”
“Lord Altero. What is the meaning of this?”
The Marquis easily brushed aside my bowing.
No one here dared to question his lack of etiquette.
“You’ve always been known to lack wisdom, but I had no idea you could go this far. Was it too hard for your brain to comprehend the simple instruction to come quietly, behave yourself, and leave quietly, little Earl?”
“Then you’re saying I should simply stand by and watch as noble ladies viciously attack my fiancée with their sharp tongues?”
“What are you talking about?”
From this situation, one might have thought I was just a lunatic, but the moment I exposed the private affairs these women had been conducting in this room, I transformed into a lunatic with a cause.
Moreover, the Marquis being a former soldier, a man of justice and integrity, would despise the idea of backbiting and one-sided bullying—this being exactly what Ria was suffering.
“While I stepped away temporarily, I couldn’t find my fiancée where she ought to have been. As I went to search, I overheard conversations here. They were… quite open in mocking me and your daughter, going so far as to suggest a divorce from me and suggesting that the young Lord Butai could be a good alternative. How could I just sit back and do nothing after witnessing my still-naive fiancée being verbally tortured?”
“…”
“And furthermore, we all know Lord Butai is an idiot. A dirty pervert as well. Imagine being introduced to someone who licks the virgin blood of women after a divorce! Any man who remained silent upon hearing such a suggestion would be better off dying on the spot.”
On top of that:
“I’ve heard before that Lady Enbi’s sharp tongue has hurt many sensitive young women. If we let her be, another victim might emerge—perhaps even the heroine of today’s celebration?”
“!!”
As mentioned earlier, the Marquis of House Altero is a notorious daddy’s boy.
By presenting myself as the one who punished someone on behalf of his precious daughter, the Marquis would find it difficult to openly punish me.
Of course, the children are not fools; they likely wouldn’t dare touch his daughter, but there’s always a chance, right?
Lost in thought for a moment, the Marquis turned to one of the accompanying ladies and asked to confirm the truth of my words.
“Is what Lord Lrab says true?”
“T, that is…”
“Remember, I am not in a good mood. You’ve turned a celebration for my daughter into chaos. If you dare to lie, you will bear the full brunt of my wrath. Tell me, were your slanderous comments responsible for Lord Lrab’s anger?”
Shivering under his piercing gaze, the young lady alternated glances between me and Lady Enbi.
Witnessing the contrast between my composed yet daring posture in front of the Marquis and Lady Enbi lying on the floor, crying and with makeup smeared all over—a picture of grotesque absurdity—it didn’t take her long to decide.
“…Yes, it is true. Under Lady Enbi’s lead, we were… tormenting your daughter.”
Without being prompted, she began recounting every last word, creating a perfect harmony of the Marquis’ expression shifting into fury and the other attendants’ shocked faces.
Realizing her impending doom, Lady Enbi collapsed on the floor, unable to stand up.
Approaching Ria, I gently held her hand and helped her to her feet.
I had been worried that my sudden outburst might cause her disillusionment, but to my surprise, she looked remarkably calm.
Did she have a stronger heart than I imagined?
Holding Ria’s hand, I approached the Marquis and pulled a small wooden box from my chest pouch, offering it to him.
“What is this?”
“This is an object of apology for disturbing the glorious debut of your daughter. Please pass it along to Lady Altero; she might appreciate it.”
The Marquis glanced inside the box and widened his eyes with an expression of shock I’d never seen before.
Of course.
The item was an exclusive necklace of natural red and blue diamonds, mined in exceedingly limited quantities from our domain.
A treasure exclusively reserved for royalty—it would naturally astonish him.
“I have selected jewelry that suits Lady Altero. With this, we shall take our leave.”
With the utmost politeness, I offered my farewells to the Marquis and, passing the still stunned man, exited the Marquis’s residence, leading Ria.
