Mistaken for a Wicked Woman!

“Hello.”

The Marquis of Bright smiled and waved as I entered the flowery auspices. Amidst the blooming flowers, the Marquis looked even more beautiful and handsome than usual. I wondered if my mother was overly impressed with his appearance.

The thought suddenly crossed my mind.

“Come, come. Sit down here.”

Beside the Marquis sat the Duke of Bright, just as Sophie had said.

His face was still as stern as ever.

“It’s been a long time, Your Grace,” I said politely, and the Duke of Bright’s thick eyebrows wiggled at the polite greeting.

“Iris… Stop being polite, he’s your grandfather.”

The Marquis of Bright fidgeted and glanced at the Duke, but I acted like I didn’t notice, and sat back down. I couldn’t even call the Marquis as father yet, so why should I call the Duke, whom I didn’t like, my grandfather?

“You’re early today.”

“Hmm.”

The Marquis smiled wryly, “I finished a little early today.”

I looked at the circles under his eyes and picked up the teacup.

“It’s delicious.”

“Do you like it?”

“Yes.”

“I’m glad.” Marquis Bright looked relieved when I responded positively.

“The butler told me that you’ve applied for the selection test for the Imperial Knights.”

“That’s the reason why I came to the capital in the first place.”

“I didn’t know you had aspirations to become a knight. How long have you been learning to use a sword?”

“A little over ten years ago.”

“Wendy was a very good martial artist.”

I wondered if he was thinking of my mother. The Marquis of Bright’s face grew wistful.

“Archie, like me, was never very good with a sword, so Wendy’s talent must have been inherited by you.”

“I have a long way to go before I can match her.”

The Duke of Bright didn’t say a word as I and the Marquis had our conversation, but I could tell he was focusing all his attention on us.

“The first test is next month, isn’t it?”

“That’s right.”

There were a total of three tests scheduled to select members of the Imperial Knights. If we were lucky enough to make it to the final round, we would be in the capital by summer.

“The Knight selection would have to be in the Debutante season. I’ve heard that the final selection may be postponed until summer due to the overlap.”

“What? The exams are being postponed. What the—?”

‘What the hell are you talking about?’

I was so surprised by the unexpected words that I almost cursed out for a moment.

“Why is that?”

As the Marquis said, an imperial knight is a little different than a knight from a noble or military family. Imperial knights could become officers without having to attend a military academy, which meant that they could also become generals leading armies, depending on their abilities.

Therefore, unlike ordinary knights, imperial knights could only apply from nobles with titles, knights, and military families that had been in the military for generations.

“Apparently, since the majority of the applicants are noblemen and ladies, there are reports that it is too burdensome to hold the… Debutante Parties and the selection examination at the same time, so it is said that the first and second examinations will be held as they are, but the third, and the final examination, will be held after the summer.”

‘What—’

“They said it’s because many of the applicants are scheduled to take the Debutante this year.”

Marquis Bright said, while smiling guiltily, “And since the selection exams aren’t held every year, everyone is in favor of it.”

“Nonsense!”

I would have understood if they’d said it had to be rescheduled because of the influx of applicants from all over the Empire. But to postpone it for the sake of their own socializing?

This is ridiculous, utter rubbish!

“If we must take the test, we can always take the Debutante next year!”

“Iris, calm down.”

My reaction was more intense than I thought, and Marquis Bright calmed me down with a puzzled look on his face.

“What kind of situation?”

“Originally, we were planning to recruit knights at the end of this year or the beginning of next year. However, His Majesty suddenly ordered us to select them this year, so we were forced to reschedule…”

“Even so, you can’t just change the schedule now!”

“If you were not a noble based in the capital, it wouldn’t hurt you to change the schedule, but I’m from the provinces.”

“I think I was wrong. I shouldn’t have said it, it’s not a sure thing yet, so just calm down, okay?”

“Hah”

I took a deep breath and tried to calm my irritation. He was right, it wasn’t a done deal yet, so there was no point in getting worked up.

“That being said….”

I took a sip of my tea to cool down my angry stomach, and Marquis Bright paused, as if about to say something, then opened his mouth cautiously.

“Have you ever thought of making a debutante?”

“Cough!”

This time the case was taken.

“Cough, Ack, Cough!”

“Ah, dear.”

Startled by the harsh coughing, the Marquis panicked and held out his handkerchief. He covered the corners of my mouth with the dirty handkerchief and I coughed a few more times into it, and then soon calmed down. I can’t believe what he just said. So I asked him.

“De–Debutante?”

“Yes.”

I looked at the Marquis, dumbfounded. He gave me a cool look.

“Once you become a member of the Imperial Knights. If you’re going to be in the capital for the foreseeable future, I thought it would be a good idea to take this opportunity to have your debutante celebration.”

‘Isn’t he getting way too ahead of himself?’

“You know? I might fail the first round of the exam.”

“What do you mean, with your skills, you must be number one!”

“You’ve never seen me use a sword.”

“That’s true, but…”

At my pointing out the obvious, the Marquis of Bright made an awkward sound, then, the Duke of Bright, who had been quiet until now, suddenly interjected angrily.

“I’m in favor, too.”

“An imperial knight’s primary duty is to serve and escort the royal family. When you become a knight, you attend banquets and hunting tournaments, so it’s a good idea to make a few connections beforehand through a Debutante.”

The Duke didn’t look in my direction. He spoke almost as if he were pouring words continuously. Then he coughed awkwardly.

“Your grandfather is right, Iris.”

The Marquis of Bright nodded fervently in agreement with the Duke.

“That’s not all, I heard that the last time you went to register for your exams, there was a commotion caused by a receptionist who mistook you for Archie.”

“How did you know?”

“The head of the Knight’s Order came to apologize for his subordinate’s rudeness.”

The Marquis of Bright looked at me, his face full of concern. Affection, regret, pity… Were mixed in his eyes as he looked at me.

“It was nothing,” I said.

“I heard that if His Highness the Crown Prince hadn’t helped you, you would have been in trouble.”

The Marquis stopped sipping his tea at the Duke of Bright’s words. “It was just a small altercation with the receptionist.”

“Anyway, it could happen again if you keep staying in the capital, the newspapers are bad these days.”

Marquis Bright said in a worried throaty voice. Nowadays, there are several newspapers that have been writing about the return of the Marquis of Bright, saying that it’s a scoop, an exclusive, and so on, but if my identity is revealed, it will be annoying in another sense. I’m already tired just thinking about it.

“I don’t care what those paper-wasting scumbags say.”

The Duke of Bright said with a stern face as he set down his search glass harshly. He gritted his teeth, his anger rising at the mere thought of it.

“They’re all scums, these journalists, and they’re not worthy of my respect. They’re a bunch of wastrels. I’ll slit their wrists if they so much as lay their eyes on me…!”

“Father!”

With a snap, the handle of the teacup was snatched from the Duke’s bloodied hand.

“Master, are you all right?” the startled butler asked, quickly cleaning up the shattered teacup.

“Father, are you all right?” said the Marquis of Bright, as he anxiously examined the Duke’s hand.

“I am.”

I could see red droplets of blood dripping onto the table.

“Wretched bastards.”

The Duke muttered as he smashed his teacup again, seemingly unable to let go of his frustration. The sight of them made me feel better, somehow.

It wasn’t just Young Lady Bright who had been hurt by those roque newspapers after all, in the end, the entire Bright family had been affected.

“My dear, I’m sorry I scared you. Your grandfather has a bit of a fiery temper.” Apologized the Marquis, who had handed the duke over to the family doctor, who had been frantically running around after being contacted by the butler.

“It’s nothing..”

“Hmm, anyway, I was wondering if it would be a good idea to have your debutante and make people recognize you so they don’t mistake you for Archie, what do you think?”

“Do you think that would work?”

To be honest, I was skeptical of Marquis Bright’s idea. At first I thought there must be at least one person who still had normal eyes, but not anymore.

I’d been casually being mistaken as Young Lady Bright for a while now, the Marquis didn’t even recognize that I wasn’t her at first glance, nor her ex-fiancé, and that orange head who was supposed to be a close friend of hers did not recognize it.

I no longer had any hope that anyone would be able to distinguish between me and Young Lady Bright.

How many could recognize me? Hmm, the only one who I was sure was His Highness the Crown Prince, who said that Young Lady Bright and I had different body scents.

“If you’re worried about the cost of the debutante, you don’t have to worry. I’ve done nothing for you as a
So let me do something.”

“But like… I think it’s a little late to start preparing now.”

He was right, I didn’t want to be indebted to him, but I also thought it was too late to start preparing now. To get the dress or jewelry right. Even procuring cavaliers and chaperons was something that usually had to be arranged half a year in advance at the latest.

“No, there is plenty of time. There are many merchants connected to our family,”

I said that, but the Marquis of Bright was not easily dissuaded. He tried to persuade me somehow. It seemed like this would never end.