The Main Heroines are Trying to Kill Me
Chapter 480: Side Story - The Social Gathering (4)

“Uh, um… so… uh…”

“Yes, go ahead.”

What in the world is happening?

Frey Raon Starlight, the Great Hero himself is sitting right in front of me.

Yes,theFrey Raon Starlight.

The Second Hero who ended the Frozen Sea War and currently the most influential person in the world.

Also, in the secret popularity polls conducted among noble ladies, he always ranked first, even when he was playing the villain.

In a recent magazine, the number one wish of the noble ladies was to have a cup of tea with that Frey.

Right? Probably.

Not to mention, with his recently revealed noble and heart-fluttering actions, his popularity has skyrocketed to new heights.

I heard that commoners have already formed some kind of fan club?

And among certain noble ladies, secret romance novels starring him were being passed around.

“Ah, umm… Ahh…”

I’m so nervous that I can barely breathe, let alone speak.

But I can’t help it.

Is there a noble lady who hasn’t imagined dating Lord Frey, or at least holding his hand?

And I’m no exception, of course.

Now that I see him again, he’s really handsome.

Even when Lord Frey was acting as the villain, there were foolish noble ladies who kept applying to work as maids for the Starlight family each year.

I can understand why now.

Though, for some reason, the Starlight family only accepted commoners.

I actually secretly applied myself once, but my application was rejected. Perhaps because of my noble lineage.

“Excuse me.”

“Eek!”

I was lost in thought when his voice startled me, and I looked up in a panic.

“Why are you trembling so much?”

“W-Well, um, it’s just… a bit c-cold today.”

Because I was so nervous, I gave the dumbest answer ever when he asked me a question.

Dumb Trisha! It’s the middle of summer, how could it possibly be cold?

“Ah, yes, I suppose.”

“…?”

Yet for some reason, Lord Frey glanced to his left, nodded as if he understood, and accepted my ridiculous answer.

What was that about?

Actually… it does feel a little cold…

- Swish…

“Ah.”

As I rubbed my arms, Lord Frey suddenly stood up from his seat and approached me.

“Wh-What are you…”

I stammered, unable to finish my question, when Lord Frey draped a white coat over me.

“You’re shivering. Warm yourself up.”

He smiled brightly as he said that, and his expression was so dazzling that it was hard to even look at him.

“H-Huh?”

“Mm.”

“…”

But strangely, the chill in the air seemed to grow stronger.

I wanted to take the coat off immediately, but when I saw Lord Frey smiling contentedly as he returned to his seat, I couldn’t bring myself to do it.

It smells so nice…

And besides, his warmth was still lingering on the coat…

“…Sigh.”

I quietly sniffed the coat, my head lowered, when suddenly I heard a cold sigh from the front.

It was Lord Frey’s butler.

Of course, she’s someone of high status, being one of Lord Frey’s closest attendants.

But still, I’m a noble lady from a marquis family.

I shouldn’t be getting cold looks from a mere butler…

“Hey, what’s your—“

I was about to snap at her for giving me that cold look when I immediately clamped my mouth shut and lowered my gaze.

“…What?”

“Oh…”

As someone who has spent her life being taught the strictest noble etiquette, I could sense it.

“No… It’s nothing…”

No matter what, this black-clad butler was not someone I should mess with.

So… s-scary…

Every instinct in my body screamed at me to stay silent.

And it wasn’t just her cold stare that made me freeze.

I could also feel the intense gazes of the powerful figures sitting at the left bearing down on me.

I want to go home…

I considered getting up and leaving, but I couldn’t.

I had already served my purpose.

Once you’re branded by the noble ladies, it’s nearly impossible to recover your reputation.

No matter how hard you try, you’ll only become a laughingstock.

So, even if I go home, the only thing waiting for me is being thrown out.

And that will be my future without the coat that’s covering me right now.

“Ugh…”

Clutching the coat tighter, I felt tears welling up in my eyes.

“W-Why is she crying?”

“I don’t know.”

I could hear them talking in front of me, but it didn’t matter anymore.

“Come to think of it, I think I’ve seen those ladies somewhere before…”

“Should I investigate? I sense a presence nearby.”

“Yeah, while you’re at it, look into the girl crying in front of us too.”

Whatever happens, my life is over now.

“…Sniff.”

I continued crying uncontrollably for a while before I raised my head and saw Frey staring at me with a concerned look.

“I’m sorry.”

“Haha…”

As I apologized and lowered my head, one thought suddenly flashed through my mind.

If this is the end, I might as well fulfill one last wish.

That wish was to try to win over Lord Frey, the person standing before me.

“Um, excuse me…!”

Honestly, that wasn’t really my wish.

It was a foolish, impulsive, and reckless idea that came from my manic state—a thought I wouldn’t have dared entertain in normal circumstances.

But now, I had nothing to lose.

“I-I like you.”

“What?”

Desperate times call for desperate measures!

“P-Please go out with me!”

“…I’m sorry, but I can’t.”

Ah.

“I’m really sorry…”

Now I truly am finished.

.

.

.

.

.

“So, in conclusion… all nobles are idiots.”

“Hmm.”

Now, I’m just rambling lifelessly to Lord Frey, my eyes devoid of any hope.

“All they ever learn is useless etiquette. They waste time and energy on mind games and petty feuds, pretending it’s some kind of noble tradition… And yet they’re so full of themselves…”

Frey had asked me a question earlier, probably to change the atmosphere.

He wanted to know my opinion on the current noble system.

“In the end, they’re just mindless drones, their heads full of nothing but gold and wine.”

“I see…”

“We should purge them all. Abolish all these social events and tea parties, and uproot every single faction. Crush them into dust…”

In truth, my real opinion is the complete opposite of what I’m saying now.

But who cares?

If I’m going to end up sold to some old nobleman or thrown out onto the streets, I might as well get sent to prison in the Imperial Palace for treason.

“Does that include your family?”

“Huh?”

Lost in my thoughts, I was startled by Lord Frey’s sudden serious question.

“…Yes!”

I didn’t fully understand what he meant, but I decided to just go all in and lose my mind completely.

After all, I’ve had enough of my family starving me and whipping me every other day.

If I’m going to be disowned anyway, why not speak my mind?

“My family should be the first to be purged. I don’t know why they haven’t been wiped out already. They’re busy gathering factions and flaunting themselves around… Honestly, I want to beat them all up.”

As soon as I said it, I felt a strange sense of relief.

My goodness.

I never thought I’d live to see the day when I could speak so bluntly.

“Hmm…”

“Haha… Hahaha…”

But as I watched Lord Frey’s expression stiffen, I began to fear the consequences.

Am I not going to be sent to the Imperial Palace prison?

Will I be buried in some unknown place instead?

“Have you ever thought of ways to reform or improve the system?”

“Ah, y-yes, of course… wait.”

Caught up in my rising panic, I automatically answered his next question without thinking.

“Really?”

“Uh…”

“Could you share them with me?”

What should I say?

My mind went blank, and the only response that came out was completely absurd.

“We, um… we should appoint commoners.”

“…Appoint commoners?”

I hesitated for a moment, realizing how ridiculous my answer was.

But what choice did I have?

I had to follow through with what I said.

“Yes, yes. Let the commoners participate in politics.”

“….”

“Sweep away the useless nobles… and let the commoners take over instead. Haha…”

As I said that, Lord Frey furrowed his brow slightly.

“Without any conditions?”

“Ah, um…”

“That seems… a bit dangerous, isn’t it?”

He looked at me with a disappointed expression.

“No, no! That’s not what I meant!”

“Hmm?”

Terrified that I might actually get executed, I scrambled to explain myself.

“I’m not saying we should get rid of all the nobles… Just the stupid ones, you know? And we wouldn’t appoint commoners without conditions… We’d, um, elect representatives.”

“…Elect them?”

“Yeah, to balance things out with the nobles.”

Lord Frey’s eyes widened in surprise as he listened to my desperate and nonsensical explanation.

Even I realized how absurd it was.

Pitting ignorant, uneducated commoners against highborn, refined nobles?

It’s even worse than what I said before!

Someone, please help me. I don’t want to die yet.

I should have just stayed home today.

“We’d have them keep each other in check. The two factions would compete, and that way, both sides would be motivated to do their best in politics, and… and they’d expose each other’s corruption…”

I kept babbling, driven by nothing but the desire to survive when Lord Frey’s voice interrupted my rambling once again.

“What if things get too heated?”

“Th-then the Imperial Family could intervene? They could mediate and present compromise solutions, or, depending on the situation, take sides…”

“…”

“And that way, the monarchy would naturally grow stronger. The commoners would be loyal because they get to participate in politics, and the nobles would try to curry favor with the Imperial Family to avoid being outdone by the commoners…”

“I see.”

“Y-yes. That’s… that’s my idea.”

Before the conversation could drag on any longer, I hurriedly wrapped things up and sat back, my mind completely blank.

What did I even say…?

I was so panicked that I barely remembered what I just talked about.

The only thing I know for sure is that I probably said something really stupid and dangerous.

“Young Master.”

“Yes?”

As I sat there, sweating nervously, Lord Frey’s butler whispered something into his ear.

- Whisper, whisper…

“…”

But even as he listened, Lord Frey’s starry eyes remained fixed on me.

“So, you’re from the Hollind family?”

“Yes, that’s correct. And also…”

“…Interesting.”

Looks like my life is really over now.

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.

Sometime later…

“I-I’ll be going now…”

“Alright.”

With sunken cheeks, I stood up shakily, and Lord Frey nodded at me with a gentle smile.

“Goodbye, then…”

“Oh, wait a moment.”

I was about to make my escape when Lord Frey called out to me.

“About the opinion you shared earlier.”

“….!”

Frozen in place, I stared at him with a pale expression.

“It’s too soon to apply such ideas to the Empire, and you didn’t mention the potential downsides or areas that need improvement.”

“Ah.”

“And it’s quite a dangerous way of thinking as well.”

Hearing his words, I closed my eyes, accepting the fate that was surely coming.

“I like it.”

“W-what?”

“It’s a new perspective I hadn’t considered… and I like dangerous ideas.”

For some reason, Lord Frey glanced nervously at the left side as he added in a quieter tone,

“…Maybe.”

As a chill ran through the room once more, I couldn’t help but tremble.

“Anyway, it was an interesting conversation.”

“Y-yes… Th-thank you… Now I really must be going…”

“Oh, one more thing.”

I forced a shaky smile and tried to quicken my steps, but then Lord Frey spoke again.

“W-what is it…?”

“Do you have a communication crystal?”

His eyes sparkled as he asked.

“Ah, yes! H-here…”

Without thinking, I pulled out the crystal from my pocket.

- Crackle…

“Huh?”

I watched in disbelief as Lord Frey reached out and touched the crystal.

“W-What are you doing?”

“I’ve inscribed my contact onto it.”

“…?”

Staring at him in confusion, I held the crystal closer.

“…W-what!?”

Moments later, I realized what he meant and clutched the glowing crystal in shock.

“Let’s keep in touch, Miss Trisha.”

Trisha Lye Hollind’s first official appearance in high society was later remembered as the debut of the future leader of the reformist faction, a figure who would stand alongside Serena, the great prime minister during the reign of Frey and Clana.

“W-Why?”

“Hm?”

Trisha’s high-society debut was thus a great success.

***

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