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EP.102 [A Woman Who Inherited Imperial Blood.]
"Yes? What do you mean, Jeanne?"
Such a noble presence—Marianne Drsel, the Grand Duchess, looked quite surprised. She looked down at her beloved second daughter, Jeanne Drsel Oblean.
"As I said, Mother... I don't want to go to this social gathering... I'll just stay home and take care of Elisabeth..."
Fidget... fidget... fidget...
Young Jeanne lowered her head and even fidgeted with her fingers as she hesitantly answered her mother's question.
There are many types of noble social gatherings: bazaars, parties, and gatherings exclusively for noblewomen. The latter are not large in scale, but they involve long, intimate emotional exchanges. When attending these, Grand Duchess Marianne usually only brought her second daughter, Jeanne.
As a child, Jeanne was so lively that she was secretly adored by the noble hostesses.
'What's going on? Jeanne used to ask when the next gathering was.'
Marianne tried to keep her expression neutral, but she was quite worried, watching her hesitant daughter closely.
'She always came back from gatherings in a great mood. She was always proactive and got along well with the other children.'
Marianne had her reasons for always bringing Jeanne to these gatherings. She knew her second daughter, sandwiched between a genius eldest and youngest, often suffered from low self-esteem.
Marianne wanted to help with that, so she made sure Jeanne could get plenty of attention and boost her confidence at these events. Jeanne, being so pretty and sociable, would even charm noblewomen she met for the first time, being both bold and full of cute antics. After a gathering, Jeanne would be so happy she would be on cloud nine for a month.
But now, her second daughter was suddenly reacting like this, and even the usually calm and unshakable Marianne was taken aback.
'I can't say it... I can't tell Mother that Vivian and the other girls are bullying and ostracizing me...'
Fidget... fidget... fidget...
Jeanne kept fidgeting and clammed up even more.
At some point, Jeanne had started being ostracized by the other girls at these gatherings. The ringleader was none other than Vivian. Honestly, this had been going on for quite a while. But plucky Jeanne thought it would pass and never showed it to Marianne, acting as usual.
But then, after suffering a particularly deep wound, young Jeanne lost all desire and courage to attend these gatherings.
"That's fine, Jeanne. If you don't want to go, you don't have to. What I want is your happiness. I don't know what made you decide this, but if it's your decision and you think it's for the best, then do as you wish. And someday, you'll be able to tell me the reason, right? We don't keep secrets from each other."
"Um... I'll think about it, Mother..."
"Oh, my second daughter is so cute..."
"Hehe... I love you, Mother..."
Jeanne didn't want to worry her beloved mother, so she never told her about the situation.
'Wow, to see that Vivian here? As a key figure in this important quest??'
About twelve years later, they met again. They had seen each other a handful of times during adolescence, but those encounters weren't significant, so Jeanne just felt uncomfortable, not troubled.
But now, they were meeting in a situation where they were clearly entangled, and Jeanne, who was in a relatively weaker position, felt extremely awkward and annoyed.
"Sir Davis, we didn't get to greet each other properly this morning, did we?"
Vivian shook hands and greeted everyone in the tent.
Jeanne immediately recognized the adult Vivian. As Eugene had said, she wore her signature roll-bun hairstyle, the same as when she was a child. Even though she wasn't dressed in the typical attire of a duke's daughter, Vivian's outfit was still very noble, and she couldn't hide her aristocratic aura.
On the other hand, Vivian didn't seem to recognize Jeanne. She was making eye contact with many people, and Jeanne's appearance had changed a lot since childhood.
"Is this the one? The one with a connection to Commander Antonio?"
"Yes, Miss Vivian. This is my former subordinate and now friend, Advisor Ivan."
"An honor to meet you, Miss Guild Leader. I am Ivan Igor, advisor to the Red Fox Mercenary Band."
"Nice to meet you, Advisor Ivan. I've never met you before, but Commander Antonio praised you so highly that I gave my full support."
After greeting the Iron Cross Knights, Vivian turned to the Red Fox Mercenary Band and shook hands.
'She seems so different from when I saw her on the walking path. Back then, she was the epitome of a picky, ill-tempered noble lady, but now she just seems like a smart, major guild leader. No wonder she runs such a huge guild.'
Eugene watched with a slightly surprised expression. There was a clear gap between the Vivian he saw on the walking path and the one now. On the path, she was all sharp edges and noble arrogance; now, she just seemed like a competent businesswoman.
'But Jeanne's expression is worse than I expected.'
Eugene's gaze naturally shifted to Jeanne, remembering her reaction when they talked about Vivian earlier. Jeanne, who had dodged the topic before, now looked pale after recognizing Vivian.
"And this person..."
Vivian stopped in front of someone, her eyes wide, covering her mouth with a fan.
"The first person I met from the Red Fox Mercenary Band, isn't that you, Captain?"
Vivian stopped in front of Eugene, highlighting their special meeting.
"That's right. Let me introduce myself properly. I'm Eugene Caesar, assault captain of the Red Fox Mercenary Band." Eugene greeted her with a dry, reserved expression, not wanting to show more emotion given Jeanne's reaction.
"I thought you'd be more friendly, given our connection. That's unexpected."
Vivian smiled subtly behind her fan.
"Then, the person next to you—"
Vivian turned her head and took a step toward the next person.
"An unusual female mercenary leader..."
It was Jeanne.
"!!!????"
Seeing Jeanne's face up close, Vivian recognized her.
'Jeanne Drsel Oblean?'
Vivian recognized Jeanne's face.
"Yes, I'm Jeanne Oblean, leader of the Red Fox Mercenary Band."
Handshake...!
Vivian's eyes widened, but Jeanne calmly extended her hand for a handshake.
"Shit,"
But after the official meeting, sitting by a pond with Eugene, Jeanne let out a coarse curse.
"Spill the story, I'm really curious. The person you mentioned on the way to Alexandria, the one you had a bad connection with, that's her, right?"
"Yeah."
Still, Jeanne was professional. After the handshake, she didn't show any sign of discomfort during the meeting and focused on the discussion. But Eugene, who had seen her pale face earlier, nudged her about it after the meeting.
Surprisingly, Jeanne admitted it right away. Now, by the pond, she was ready to tell the story.
"Yeah, so much time has passed. And I'm not the same Jeanne as back then. Especially since it's you, I can talk about it."
She had said goodbye to the old Jeanne, who used to bottle everything up. Now, she wanted to share her pent-up feelings with Eugene.
"Wait, ostracized??"
Eugene's eyes widened in shock at Jeanne's story about her past with Vivian.
'Ostracism is on another level. Was it really that bad? I could sense the typical nastiness of noble girls, but I didn't get that vibe from the guild leader.'
Eugene, who even had memories from a previous life, knew how cruel bullying and ostracism could be.
"Honestly, do you think I'd fall apart just because some crazy girls ostracized me? No way. I'm Jeanne."
Eugene's sincere reaction seemed to comfort Jeanne, and she took a deep breath to share more honestly.
Jeanne, who is sensitive and easily hurt in relationships, also has remarkable resilience—a weed-like toughness. She emphasized this, but also hinted that there was a special reason her resilience failed back then.
"The real reason I lost it back then was because Vivian and I used to be really close. When someone close to you betrays you, it completely breaks you."
Vivian and Jeanne had been the closest in that social group. But then, out of nowhere, Vivian started ostracizing Jeanne. Jeanne, who could withstand outside attacks, was completely vulnerable to betrayal from within, and she crumbled.
"Huh..."
Eugene's eyes went from wide to blank. At first, he had half-jokingly assumed Jeanne had made an enemy by being her usual wild self. After all, that's how it was in their family.
But Jeanne only acted that way with Eugene because she wanted his attention; she wasn't like that outside.
Jeanne's story was far more painful than Eugene had expected, and he was at a loss for how to react.
"That bitch... When her father died, I was the one who cried with her the most..."
As Jeanne spoke, her emotions seemed to rise. She muttered with a rather hurt expression.
"Her father? You said Vivian was from a duke's family, so he was a duke?"
A new keyword caught Eugene's attention, and he snapped out of his daze, curiosity piqued.
"He was a duke. But the title wasn't what mattered. He was the current emperor's half-brother. At one time, he was even more likely to become emperor than the emperor himself."
With that, Jeanne shared even more intriguing and dramatic information with Eugene.
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