The Prince reached out, his fingers twitching as if to seize Callista’s shoulder, but Corvina was faster.
She stepped between them, her voluminous skirts acting as a silken barricade.
"Don’t," Corvina warned. "She has made her choice. And unlike you, I know exactly how to handle something so... precious."
She leaned in, her lips brushing against Callista’s ear. "We’re leaving. Now. Before I decide to see if the Prince’s blood is as blue as his coat."
Callista found herself being swept toward the grand exit, her hand firmly locked in Corvina’s iron grip.
As they descended the marble stairs, the whispers of the ton trailed after them like the wake of a sinking ship.
She glanced back one last time to see the Prince standing alone under a billion-kilowatt chandelier, looking like a man who had just realized his entire life was a glitch in someone else’s save file.
[MISSION ACCOMPLISHED]
╔════════════════════╗
[TUTORIAL MISSION: The First Turn]
Scenario: Lady Corvina has initiated a [Public Humiliation] event.
Objective: De-escalate the situation without triggering a [Bad Ending].
Status: SUCCESS
═════════════════════
[REWARDS & GROWTH]
EXP GAINED: +1,000 (Level Up! Level 1 → Level 2)
SKILL LEVEL UP: [Gaslighting] has evolved to Rank C.
NEW PASSIVE: [Audacity of the Underdog] — Increases charisma when logic is absent.
╚════════════════════╝
***
The carriage door swung open, but instead of a graceful exit, Callista received a firm shove.
She tumbled out, landing unceremoniously on her rear.
"Ow!"
By the time she scrambled up, the carriage was already a disappearing mahogany and dust.
Callista stared at the retreating wheels, incredulous.
So much for the "escaping while holding hands" moment. Apparently, romantic tension in this world was always followed by a swift exit and a bruised tailbone.
"M-My Lady Callista! Are you alright?!" A black-haired maid rushed forward, her face a mask of panic as she helped Callista to her feet.
Escorted by a small flock of anxious maids and stone-faced guards, Callista was led toward the Astride estate.
Compared to the Imperial Palace’s blinding gold or the Duke’s fortress-like opulence, this mansion was modest, the kind of "expensive" that shouted ’upper-middle-class noble’ rather than ’world-shattering power.’
As she crossed the threshold, the welcoming committee was already waiting: a man, a woman, and four girls lined up like a firing squad.
"Oh, look," one of the sisters giggled, her voice dripping with artificial sweetness. "If it isn’t the family homewrecker."
The woman beside shot the girl her a sharp, silencing look, though her eyes remained cold.
"My love! My daughter!" Baron Astride broke from the group, sweeping Callista into a suffocating hug.
The family dynamic was straight out of a low-budget Cinderella remake.
She was the long-lost daughter of the Baron’s first wife, a girl who had been missing for years only to reappear as an unwanted guest in her own home.
Now, she was flanked by three jealous sisters and a stepmother who clearly viewed her as a structural defect in their social standing.
"How did it go, my dear?" the Baron asked, pulling back with a beaming, desperate smile.
He was a man of fading vitality, his face a map of soft lines and nervous sweat.
His mustache was groomed precisely and his vibrant waistcoat seemed to be trying and failing to hide the fact that the Baron’s glory days were long behind him.
He looked less like a noble and more like a man trying to sell a bankrupt business.
"Um... I just want to rest," Callista murmured, avoiding his eager eyes.
"For sure, for sure! Maids, lead her the way to her room immediately!"
How was she supposed to explain the night’s festivities?
"Hello, Father. I’ve officially retired from homewrecking for the Prince to stage a hostile takeover of the Villainess’s personal space. We’re basically engaged now. Pass the tea?"
She remained silent, knowing that in a world of magic and gossiping aristocrats, news traveled faster than a high-level teleportation spell.
"You still have to prepare for your first day at the academy tomorrow!" the Baron chirped, oblivious to the social nuclear winter his daughter had just ignited.
The "rest" she had requested suddenly felt like a distant, beautiful dream.
"...What?"