"What made them act like that?" I asked Katsuki, feeling a little perplexed.

Sure, they weren't exactly that friendly when they first approached me just now but we were at least still conversing normally. I would also understand if they got pissed because I insulted them but all I did was tell them that I was the first child of my family!

Was there a rule that I don't know where they can't get along with firstborns or something? What kind of stupid rule is that?

"My apologies, Mistress, but I am not too sure about this either.

"Hmm… Would Mother or Mary know?"

"They would certainly have a higher chance of knowing than I do, Mistress."

I slowly made my way towards Mother while picking up a few more desserts on the way.

I found her speaking to a few other nobles at the side of the hall, though she immediately spotted me when I got close and excused herself from them.

"Ara, ara? Is my little one having fun? Are the sweets to your liking my dear?"

"Yes, Mommy, they are really good. Umm… I wanted to ask something though?"

Mary spoke up from behind her, "If Young Mistress is wondering why those young ladies suddenly turned hostile to you, I can answer that."

Honestly, I'm not even surprised that she knew what I wanted to ask even before I asked.

"Umm… Please do?"

"As Young Mistress already knows, this ball is meant for the third prince to look for more members he could add to his harem. This would present the best opportunity for young noble ladies to obtain a rather easy life ahead of them."

I tilted my head, "But that Lady Koatia is the first daughter of an Earl right? Wouldn't she have a good life ahead of her already?"

Mary shook her head, "While she may be the first daughter of the Loylinga Family, she is not the first born as she has an elder brother ahead of her. He would be the one to inherit the family instead of her."

"So what would happen to her? She won't just be kicked out right?"

"On the contrary, she might be kept around by her brother to be used as a bargaining chip for business deals, a fate that she would of course wish to avoid if possible. Especially when such a fate would usually see her being lowered to the position of a mistress of some other noble who may be of a lower rank than her current family."

"Ah… So if she were to marry the prince, she could at least be assured that she has some kind of position in the noble society?"

"That is correct. Even if the third prince loses the contest for the throne, he would, as she had mentioned, still obtain a title and land to govern over which guarantees at least some form of prosperity for him. Young ladies like her who manage to marry into his harem would be able to share in that prosperity without needing to do anything much."

Ah… So in other words, they want to be able to continue being nobles without needing to put in the effort to do so… Perhaps the only thing they might need to do is spread their legs for the prince from time to time and that's a small price to pay for them.

"But that still doesn't explain why they reacted to me like that?" I pointed out.

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Mary smiled, "Young Mistress. If Madam were to decide to retire, who in this World could inherit the family?"

"Err… Me, I guess?"

The Trasif maid nodded, "Young Mistress would become the head of the family. But for ladies like her, she has no chance of becoming the head of her family. Thus, if they wish to maintain or improve their current standing they would need to marry someone like the prince. But for Young Mistress, you do not need to marry him to get that."

"Ah… I get it… They're upset that even though I do not need to marry him to have a good life, I still showed up here to decrease their chance of getting it anyway, right?"

"That is correct, Young Mistress. In their eyes, you are already more fortunate than they are and yet you still got to have the first dance with the prince himself. It's a given that they would be upset about it especially when they do not even realise who you are."

I sighed, "I'm going to assume they never thought to build their own fortunes with their own two hands?"

Mary gave me a wry smile, "Young Mistress's thinking is quite unique after all."

"Ahh… So I guess maybe it might be better for me if I just stay away from them for the rest of the ball?"

This time it was Mother who spoke up, "Ufufufu~ There's no need to do that, my little one~ Mama shall simply accompany you~ No foolish little girl shall dare look down on my dearest child while in front of me~"

Something tells me that she was waiting for this the entire time…

Oh well, I don't mind spending time with Mother anyway and if that means no one would bother me while I'm eating sweets with her, that'll be even better!

I went up to hug her, "Yayyy! I love you Mommy!!"

She patted my head while giggling, "Ufufufu~ My little one certainly is the cutest~ Shall we go back to the sweets table?"

I nodded at her suggestion quickly, allowing her arm to wrap around mine so that she could escort me back to the buffet table that was piled high with sweets.

Everyone else was still busy conversing with the other nobles or watching the prince so there's literally no one here at all.

Well, that just means more sweets for me so I'm definitely not complaining!

I was just about to start digging in to savour the sweets laid out in front of me when I spotted something odd sticking out from underneath the table cloth.

Looking closely, I realised I was looking at the bottom sole of a shoe.

I reached down and pulled the table cloth up slightly, revealing what appears to be a young Mahun girl who looked around Katsuki's age kneeling on the ground with a plate full of cookies that she was currently enjoying.

The action caused a bit of light to shine under the table which caught her attention.

Turning around, she froze when she saw me looking at her, the cookie in her hands dropping back on her plate.

"Ummm… Hi?" I greeted her, unsure of what I should do.

"Ara, ara? What did my little one find under there?" Mother asked.

The girl panicked and tried to scramble away, her plate of sweets dropping onto the ground in her panic.

Awww… What a waste…

If this was at home, I would have just gone to eat the sweets since it hasn't been three seconds yet, but even I know that's not good to do in a setting like this.

I raised my hands in a placating gesture, "It's alright, we don't mean any harm! I was just surprised to see someone down here!"

The girl tried to huddle herself to the back of the table, but since this table was not placed against the wall, she fell backwards through the other side of the table cloth when she tried to lean on it.

I quickly went to the other side to see if she was alright, finding her rubbing the back of her head while making rather cute groans.

"Are you ok?" I asked.

"Unngghh… I'm ok… Ah!! Wait, no! I don't wanna go back!"

She tried to scurry away from me and almost hit herself against the leg of the table but Mother was there to catch her before she could.

"Ara, ara~ A feisty little one I see~ What is a little one like you doing here?"

The girl struggled against Mother, "Ahhhh!! Noooo! I don't wanna go back yet!"

"Ara, ara? Go back where? Ufufufu~ Worry not little one, we are not here to take you anywhere~"

"You're… You're not?"

"Ufufufu~ Of course not," Mother giggled before placing the young girl back on the ground. "I'm only here to enjoy my time watching over my little one~ I couldn't care less about what happens to others here~"

That's a… Subtle way for you to tell her that you don't care about her, Mother… I was actually half expecting Mother to start gushing over her since she's also still a child. I do remember Mother doing that to Katsuki back when we were younger though…

Mary went ahead to help clean up the mess the little girl made and even presented a new plate of cookies that she helped gather to pass to the girl, that seemed to calm her down somewhat.

"You are… Umm… Guests?" The girl asked, looking quite unsure of herself.

"Ufufufu~ That's right, we are guests here to attend your older brother's ball~ So you don't need to worry about us telling your caretakers that you snuck in here to enjoy the snacks while hiding under the table~"

…

Wait what?

Her older brother's ball?

Doesn't that mean… This girl is a princess?! What the hell is she doing here?