In the dimly lit hall,
Nora sat alone in the corner, watching the people on the dance floor with envy.
Of course, she also wanted to be like them—resting her hands on the Boss's shoulders, held by his waist, moving effortlessly with the rhythm and steps of the dance.
But the moment she imagined making a mistake, embarrassing herself, or causing the Boss to lose face, she couldn't muster the courage.
She even found herself thinking—if it were Miss Eileen, she would surely match perfectly with the Boss, right?
…Sigh.
She had clearly been trying so hard to catch up to him, yet she still couldn't keep pace.
Even though she could now help him with some small matters, the truth was—those same tasks could be done just as well by someone else.
She wasn't irreplaceable at all.
Everyone around the Boss was so outstanding.
Edith and Illya, the Saintesses of the Elven race; Harper, who excelled in experiments; Guy, who handled all kinds of business; Kiel, who specialized in Element Cards; Sister Sylvie, a sixth-tier mage; and Lyle, along with Princess Mia and Miss Eileen, who managed the hot pot restaurant.
Aside from the junior employees at the flower shop, everyone else far surpassed her.
Only the little girl Yuna could offer her some mutual comfort.
But at least Yuna could mix drinks—even if most of them didn't taste very good…
Of course, Nora had no idea that Yuna was actually the strongest one by Ron's side in terms of raw strength—especially after obtaining two life-sized puppets.
Nora clenched her small hands tightly on her lap, lowering her head as she silently encouraged herself.
She had never been someone to give up.
Having survived years of wandering, she had never bowed to hardship.
It was just that these days, living by the Boss's side had indeed made her a little… softer.
But she believed that as long as she kept working hard, one day she would truly be able to help him.
Just then, a man and a woman stepped off the dance floor.
As they passed by Nora, the dim lighting caused both of them to pay little attention to their footing.
Meanwhile, Nora had her head lowered, not paying attention to the people coming and going.
As a result, when the noble lady in a long dress walked past, she accidentally tripped over Nora's foot. Her body pitched forward, and instinctively, she reached out to grab something for support.
"Ah!" the noble lady cried out sharply.
Her left hand grabbed her partner's arm, while her right hand reached out—and by sheer coincidence, grabbed Nora's wide-brimmed hat.
"Ah!" Nora felt a sudden chill on her head. She instinctively reached up to grab the hat—but caught nothing.
Her pale black cat ears were instantly exposed to the air.
Rip—
The noble lady dropped to one knee, having stepped on her own dress. A large tear split open along the left side of her skirt.
Her right hand still clutched the white, wide-brimmed hat, pressing it against the floor for support.
"Maple! Are you alright?" Her male companion quickly helped her up.
Mapel frowned, glanced at her torn dress, then turned toward the culprit on her right.
"I-I'm sorry… I didn't notice… A-Are you alright…? C-Could you please return my hat first?" Nora's timid voice came from beside her.
Mapel had initially intended to accept the apology, leave quickly to change her dress, and check her slightly twisted ankle.
After all, the lighting was dim—it clearly wasn't intentional.
And in a place like this, throwing a stone could hit the descendants of several powerful figures. She didn't want to cause trouble for herself.
But just then, the purplish-red ambient lighting swept across the three of them—
revealing Nora's delicate face… and her pale black cat ears.
"A—A half-beast!?"
Mapel exclaimed instinctively.
That single cry immediately drew the attention of nearby people.
"A half-beast?"
"Is that a catgirl?"
"Damn, who's bold enough to bring a half-beast here?"
"Hey… isn't that His Highness Ron's companion?"
"Shh, keep it down."
"So His Highness Ron is into that?"
"We're all men—you get it."
The surrounding whispers swirled around Nora like a nightmare.
She couldn't make out what they were saying—but that only made her more panicked.
Her face turned pale instantly. Frozen in place, she didn't know what to do. She quickly covered her cat ears, glancing nervously around before pleading softly:
"I-I'm sorry… C-Could you please return my hat…?"
Mapel subconsciously moved to hand it back, but her companion stopped her.
"Chester, what's wrong?"
"A half-beast sneaking into the banquet—there must be something wrong," Chester said with a dark expression. Clearly, he didn't know Nora's background and hadn't caught the surrounding whispers.
"Where did you come from? Do you even know what place this is?"
"This is the palace's Winter Food Festival banquet—not somewhere a lowly person like you should enter!"
"Who brought you in? Have them come out! Letting beast blood pollute this place is utterly disgraceful!"
Chester seemed to harbor deep hatred toward beastfolk. The moment he saw a half-beast, something within him snapped.
Seeing more and more people looking over, Mapel grew anxious and quickly grabbed Chester's arm.
"Let it go… my dress is torn. I should leave and change first…"
"Everyone's watching… it won't look good if this escalates…"
"Let go." Chester frowned. "How can something as sacred as the Winter Food Festival banquet tolerate a stain like this?"
"Since I've discovered it, it's my responsibility to drive her out!"
He shook off Mapel's hand, his gaze filled with hostility as he stared at Nora.
"Why aren't you speaking?"
"Who brought you in?"
"Didn't you see the award ceremony earlier?"
"Those were warriors who slaughtered countless beastfolk, their bodies stained with beastfolk blood!"
"And you—a half-beast—were you applauding down there as well?"
"Ridiculous!"
"Answer me. Then get out."
Chester's words struck Nora like blades, draining all color from her face.
Her lips trembled as she hesitated—should she say the Boss's name?
From his tone, bringing a half-beast to the banquet seemed like something extremely serious.
But when she arrived, Princess Mia and Miss Eileen hadn't stopped her…
If the Boss didn't know, that would be one thing—but how could even Princess Mia not know?
Nora clutched her head, her heart filled with helplessness and grievance.
"Sorry, I'm the one who brought her in."
A cold voice suddenly sounded from the side.