"Wh-what do you think you're doing? I'm in the middle of talking with Lady Sara here, and you waltz in from the sidelines like you own the place!"
"Did you not hear what I said just now? I made a proper appointment and came to visit Sara at her home. The one who waltzed in without permission was you, barging in on a day that was already booked."
Clyde strained to get his words out, trying not to be swallowed by the aura Katia was radiating, but without missing a beat, she cut him down coldly.
If anything, her icy gaze shifted toward Illumina.
"Since that's the case, I would think the proper response would be to turn away uninvited guests first, wouldn't you? Why did you let him in? — Don't tell me you're going to say something absurd like you didn't know I was coming."
"!"
Illumina's shoulders trembled as she broke into a fresh wave of cold sweat and fell silent. It was a reaction that anyone could tell was a direct hit.
She didn't know — no, even if she had known, Illumina had been so consumed with Sara's matchmaking prospects that the moment Clyde showed up, any such schedule had completely slipped from her mind. Or perhaps she hadn't known about Katia's visit and had planned to use Clyde's position to forcibly brush her off if it came to that.
Either way, it was incredibly foolish.
"E-even so!"
In the brief silence as Katia considered how best to press the attack, Clyde's voice interjected once more.
"Even if there was an unfortunate miscommunication, that doesn't give you the right to barge in by force! That matter will receive a formal apology from the Hartman family later — but that's no excuse for interrupting what I was saying!"
…In a way, I respect that.
The sheer audacity of shelving his own unauthorized visit as naturally as breathing, then turning around and acting as though we were the ones at fault. And the skill with which he neatly pinned all the blame on the Hartman family, missing nothing.
One thing, however — Katia sighed.
This man was abnormally skilled at these kinds of on-the-spot excuses. If she pointed out the contradiction, he'd undoubtedly produce yet another excuse, and it would devolve into an endless game of cat and mouse.
— And so.
If she was going to do this, she had to strike at the root of the issue.
"…Fine, whatever. So, your aim is pretty obviously to poach Sara, drag Class B down once more, and if you're lucky, secure an engagement with this girl — which is all pretty clear from what I overheard."
Clyde was relieved that the questioning had stopped, but Katya was never going to let him catch his breath.
"Setting aside whether that's even feasible, are you sure about this?"
The faintest curl touched the corner of her lips.
Having read the situation perfectly, she played the card she'd been holding in reserve.
"Should that come to pass — you,
the Trakia family,
would come under our banner."
"...I'm sorry, what?"
"You don't understand? Well, it was only discussed yesterday, so I suppose that's forgivable."
As Clyde wore the expression of someone completely blindsided, Katya pressed on without pause and laid out the details.
"It was decided yesterday during the meeting between the heads of our houses. 'The Hartmann family will come under the Trakia family's banner' — officially, that is."
Clyde, who was after all the heir to a marquis house, understood the implications perfectly.
Between houses without backing, talk of marriage and the like was purely a private matter between those two families.
But when vassalage was involved — when faction politics entered the picture — things were different.
From the Trakia family's perspective, Sara's marriage meant offering up a daughter from a family within their faction.
Naturally, the family on the receiving end had every right to demand appropriate compensation. The most typical example being — having the other family also join their faction, among other things.
Regardless of what the individuals involved actually wanted, that was how things had to be on paper. That was how major matters in aristocratic society worked.
"Don't be ridiculous!"
And of course, Clyde — someone who had been treating Katya as his sworn enemy — was never going to concede a point like that.
"What are you even talking about? Don't spout nonsense! The matter of where the Hartmann family stands hasn't been settled yet —!"
"Yes, it was a stalemate with multiple families locked in a standoff. The number of marriage proposals Sarah received was likely a result of that. The Trakia family had held off until now, thinking that forcibly snatching her away would invite unnecessary conflict — but"
In response to Clyde's objection, Katya first gave a precise explanation of the situation surrounding the Hartmann family.
She then smiled softly, walked over to Sarah, and gently looped her arms around her from behind, pulling her close.
"I told my father. I said, 'No matter what,
this girl
is the one I want.'"
"Wh—!?"
"No—!"
Everyone present — save for the master and her retainer — had their eyes go wide.
The complex situation, with so many families' ambitions all tangled up around the Hartmann household.
She had —
out of selfish desire,
snatched her away,
just like that —
or so she was saying.
"...This was a first. For me to make such a selfish demand."
No one could have seen it coming.
Just as she said — it had never happened before. Katya, taking action like this, prioritizing her own personal desires.
"Of course, I also carefully explained Sarah's value. In the end, he was properly convinced, and a meeting between the heads of both families was held yesterday. That settled things, and here we are."
Clyde was frozen in shock, but she didn't allow even that momentary lapse to slip by. Her voice turning cold once more, she declared:
"Also, Clyde. I've truly reached my limit of patience, so I will be filing a formal protest through my family regarding your behavior."
"Wh—!?"
"Don't even think about claiming you have no idea what I'm talking about. The insult toward El, and the insult toward me. You dismissed every bit of effort El spearheaded in Class B, and I hear you even had a hand in that farce of an interrogation against the teachers. Ten charges wouldn't begin to cover it."
Now that things had reached this point, Clyde finally realized he was backed into a corner. Trying to cover his panic, he shouted.
"D-Don't be ridiculous! School matters should be resolved within the school! Bringing your family into this — don't you have any shame!?"
"You're the one reaching beyond the school right now, aren't you? Pushing your way into Sarah's family like this."
As if she had anticipated that response as well, Katya dismissed it with a cut and took a threatening step closer to Clyde.
"...I've known you ever since you were engaged to Prince Aster. You always wanted to be treated as special. Borrowing the Prince's authority, using it as a shield to do whatever you pleased — you believed only you were entitled to all of that."
"S-Shu—"
"People like you tend to think of it this way. —"
"Using grey"
"means"
"too"
","
"is a privilege"
"belonging only to yourself"
"."
They even take pride in being the ones who employ such methods.
Yet the moment someone else uses the same tools, they cry foul, calling it cowardly and shameless — exactly like right now.
That was precisely why Katya had taken this kind of action this time.
That it could never happen. And that if you were going to play it that way, I wouldn't hold back either.
To drive home the point that everything you've gotten away with up until now was simply because you were being let off the hook.
"…Certainly, I never used such methods before. …I just couldn't bring myself to, no matter what."
Katya was a duke's daughter — and not just any duke, but the daughter of the prestigious House of Trahkea.
Under normal circumstances — if she had ever felt like it, she could have been quite the spoiled brat
and gotten away with it.
That was the kind of position she was in.
And so, she had always kept herself in check.
Because she believed it would be shameless. Her own excessively noble spirit wouldn't allow it.
"But I finally realize it now."
Yet with a look of someone who had broken free of her chains, Katya spoke words of denial.
"I was just running away, that's all. The reason such methods exist is because there are things that can only be protected that way. …I was just keeping up a pretty front while dumping every last bit of that burden onto Father."
The incident with the faculty was no different.
If Yurugen hadn't gathered the evidence ahead of time at the school festival and lobbied the parents and guardians, Ermes might not have been shielded from the teachers' unreasonable interrogation.
And now — even now — her dear friend was about to be ensnared by worthless, despicable desires.
Compared to that, where was any reason to protect her own petty pride?
"So I'm done playing the saint."
And so she decided to pool every ounce of her own strength and power. Whether it meant wielding authoritarian control or being selfish, she would use whatever it took.
From this very moment on — the "Duke's Daughter at Full Power" was hereby unleashed.
"I owe you my thanks, Clyde. Thanks to you, I no longer have any reservations."
First, as a warm-up — this man.
I'd protect my friend by keeping them close, and make him pay for every contemptuous thing he'd ever said.
— Naturally, I had absolutely no intention of letting him off with just that.
"With my deepest gratitude —
with everything I have —
—
I'll crush you.
"
And if I'm going to do it, I'm doing it thoroughly.
The duke's daughter's counterattack — this is where it truly begins.
Being Yurugen's daughter, Lady Katia is quite gifted in these areas as well.
Next time: Awakened Lady Katia, and Ermes will also have a starring role! Stay tuned!