Chapter 137 – The Noble Society Clearly Isn’t Equipped to Handle This!

The next several days felt like a surreal dream, especially for Ann.

After her identity was settled, and the adoption of herself, Faye, and Fina was finalized, everything moved with dizzying speed.

Ann could only follow along, as if she was a player clicking through the dialogues and events happening in the game she was playing.

 

To her surprise, she discovered that this world bore some jarring similarities to the modern one.

Although technology and urbanization weren’t as developed as back on Earth, rumors, scandals, and sensational news spread with terrifying speed—thanks to a thriving culture of word-of-mouth and obviously, journalism.

Ann would only know this fact after they finished dropping the huge bomb of announcement in a random noble ball, inviting most of the prominent nobles and figures in the Siegcrest kingdom.

 

They started the ball by releasing one shocking announcement after another.

Summed up, the announcement was as follows… ‘The previous king’s faction has begun showing open signs of rebellion!’

‘They claim the previous king’s daughter is still alive and is his heir?!’

‘Duke Allen Schwartzen’s wife, Arlea Pristine Claritianta, is actually the missing royal daughter?!’

‘Apparently, the real Arlea Pristine Claritianta has passed away as a child due to her illness.’

‘The Claritianta family was a two-faced noble family all along. Their true loyalty is with the previous king’s faction. That’s why the previous king’s faction decided to make the previous king’s daughter take the identity of Arlea Pristine Claritianta.’

‘Oh, but actually, the child they claimed to be Princess Anne was actually not Princess Anne!’

‘Duke Allen’s wife is actually an orphan of a fallen noble family whose real name and whose family name is hidden for safety measures. She was taken in and manipulated by the previous king!’

‘Not wanting to play her part anymore, the said orphan confessed and helped in thwarting the previous king’s faction’s scheme!’

At least that was how it played in Ann’s mind.

 

Ann even had to join the ‘press release’ announcement, standing in front of the nobles in a ball where the king made the announcement. 

While the narration unfolded and gasps echoed through the ballroom, all she could think was…

Damn. This king has a knack for drama.

He’d make a killer journalist. No—an influencer!

She already knew the content of the speech, and yet she was still impressed!

So how must it have felt for those completely in the dark?

 

She happened to lock eyes with two familiar faces in the crowd.

The Rubennhelsch siblings—Naia and Norrad—were frozen in place, their faces blank and drained of reason.

Mouths agape. Eyes vacant.

Yep. That’s the look of someone whose entire understanding of reality had been steadily dismantled, until they no longer knew what was true anymore.

At this point, if someone told them their family pet was actually a royal spy in disguise, they might just accept it.

 

“Onee-sama… Does that mean Arlea-neechan isn’t Arlea-neechan? How should we call her now?” Norrad innocently asked Naia once he snapped out of his shock and had started to digest the information.

T-that should be the least of your worries, Norrad…

Naia felt her stomach twist with concern for her brother’s ability to process reality.

“They seem to address her as Ann… But that should be the least of your worry. I mean, being an orphan from a fallen noble family means that she is technically a commoner… Her identity being fraud means she is no longer the duke’s wife… The marriage’s annulled. But… that means she is just a commoner and…,” Naia didn’t have the heart to continue.

But Norrad seemed to quickly understand what his sister was hinting at.

His sister hated nobles who were cocky just because they were nobles–the types to think that commoners were just livestock.

How could he not understand Naia’s concern for their new friend, who was about to lose her status as a noble and would be a commoner, after deceiving the whole nobility?

 

And yet…

Naia’s thoughts shifted.

It all made sense now.

Why Ann had acted like such a villainess at first—cold, cruel, untouchable.

Then suddenly did a complete one-eighty.

Was she under pressure to play the role?

Or… was she trying to distance everyone so they wouldn’t get dragged into the scheme?

Knowing the kind of person she was now, Naia realized—it was likely the latter.

Once she saw an escape route, she dropped the act.

That must have taken enormous courage.

Of course… Naia never imagined the real reason for the shift was that the soul inside the body had been changed…

 

Ann could see the siblings’ worried gaze at her, so she could only weakly smile to reassure them, before she approached the royal family and Allen.

Yes, she had been called to testify.

The walk was short, but every step felt like a thousand.

She was so nervous her thoughts tangled themselves. Despite rehearsing countless times, her mind blanked. 

This is similar to how I pulled an all-nighter for an important exam at school, only to have my mind drawing blanks during the exams… I… I need help!

She then mumbled inaudibly, ‘Dialogue option window, open.’

 

A semi-transparent window box that only she could see finally popped open in front of her, following her every step.

[SAVING THE KINGDOM, SNATCHING THE BEAUTY~

Select an option:

> “HA! PREPOSTEROUS! I AM THE PRINCESS, ANNE!”

> “Actually, I am the rightful heir to the throne, Arnestianne Lacey du Ermengilde.”

> “Bow down before the rightful princess, peasants!”]

 

“…”

Ann decided to close the dialogue option window and vow to never, ever try to open it again.

She was so sure now that the feature was trying to do its job: correct the anomaly and drive the plot back as per the original game.

Even when she had closed off that path forever… 

Tsk, tsk. What use is this cheat power? What a very useless feature! 

I think this isn’t a cheat, this is a useless ability that should be deleted lest it burden my soul!

 

Ann stopped next to Allen. Every nobles present had their eyes on her.

She took a deep breath before deciding to look into the distance, and began testifying.

“What you’ve heard earlier… it’s all true. You can just call me Ann. I apologize for the trouble I’ve caused. I went too far before… And after a near-death experience, I realized how wrong I was. That’s why I decided to work with Duke Allen and the royal family—to stop the previous king’s faction and make amends for my part in their plans. I’ll continue working toward that goal.”

She bowed deeply.

The nobles murmured.

 

Then Saintess Laura stepped forward.

“As the Saintess, I can confirm her words. We met at my rural orphanage years ago, before either of us knew who we were. We became best friends in that short time. I was happy that we could finally reunite again, though our reunion was beyond what we could have imagined.”

Gasps rippled through the crowd.

The Saintess, Laurence Holly Ainsworth, personally vouching for her?

 

Even if Ann were just a mere commoner, being a fallen nobility, being the saintess’ best friend meant the nobles couldn’t treat Ann horribly!

 

Ann scanned the nobles’ expressions. 

She could see that most of them were unsure about Ann’s position now.

Ann could see how the nobles might think she wouldn’t be punished for her deception thanks to her contribution and her connection to the saintess.

Actually, they could add the fact that the kingdom managed to gain a connection with the Imparie tribe, but they decided to keep that a secret, especially since the Imparie tribe wouldn’t like having the fact being publicized and flaunted like a trophy. 

 

Still, the nobles’ shock still continued, because…

“My marriage to Ann is technically annulled due to the legal issue with our registered identities. However,” Allen suddenly announced before he looked at her firmly and continued, “she will continue to be Duchess Schwartzen, after we hold our marriage under our real identities.”

The crowd erupted.

“But…! She is just a commoner!” 

“She is a child from a fallen noble family, her lineage is valid, then!” Another voice opposed.

“She is a child of a fallen noble family, sure… But a fallen noble means she’s a commoner now!” A third voice continued the argument.

Ann was amused at how the nobles reacted just like how they had predicted things to be.

That was why they decided to announce things like this, in order.

 

Hold your braces, prepare for another shock of your lifetime, because…

“Furthermore,” Viscount Jonas stepped forward with his wife, Vanessa, and two young girls in matching dresses, “We, Jonas and Vanessa Doussier, have officially adopted Ann as our eldest daughter, along with the two girls here.”

Gasps exploded across the ballroom.

Everyone noticed immediately. That the girls had small birdlike wings and feathery ears.

Halflings.

“Introducing our daughters,” Viscountess Vanessa announced, calm and cool as ever.

“The eldest, Annette Elaria Doussier. The middle daughter, Lafayette Noémie Doussier. And the youngest, Serafina Mireille Doussier.”

The hall basically exploded like crazy with this final announcement.

 

“No wonder the Doussiers held this ball!”

“I thought it was strange that they’d host one after all these years—and that the royal family and the Saintess would attend!”

“Still, don’t you think they are out of their minds? For adopting the… you know…”

“Shhh! Are you crazy? That’s the Doussier family! Watch your mouth!”

Just as they expected, most nobles still thought that the Doussier couple was mad for adopting three commoners at once. 

Perhaps they could still understand them adopting the eldest, but adopting the two younger ones when they were halflings?

Still—none could object out loud.

Not to the couple who had lost both their sons during the war.

 

Ann wanted to give a standing ovation to the people who had arranged things to be this perfect. And also predicted how the nobles would react. 

Still, she felt odd at getting named at this age…

Annette Elaria Doussier.

The Doussier couple told them that they had wanted to name their daughter ‘Elaria’, should they have a daughter. That was how she got her middle name. And then they modified her first name to fit the full name.

As for Faye and Fina’s names… Fina’s first name needed no alteration. Meanwhile, Faye’s first name was altered in a way that they all agreed on, just like how Ann agreed on the name Annette.

As for their middle names, it was actually the modification of the Doussier couple’s late sons–Noevan Doussier and Mireon Doussier.

Viscount Jonas and Viscountess Vanessa really thought this thoroughly…

 

As for the Claritianta family…

Most of them had been captured. 

A few had fled, likely seeking refuge among the scattered remnants of the old king’s faction.

 

Still, Ann could finally take a breather now that the big announcement was out.

At last, she could look forward to a moment of peace…

 

…or so she thought.

 

She never would’ve imagined that by the next day, her name would dominate the headlines of every major newspaper across the kingdom.

With the reports spreading like wildfire, both in print and by word of mouth… Ann’s popularity skyrocketed. It was no exaggeration to say there wasn’t a single soul in Siegcrest who didn’t know her name by now.

 

Unfortunately, in the midst of it all, Ann had completely forgotten one crucial matter…

Something she still had to face. 

And now that she had become the talk of the kingdom, that matter was bound to erupt into yet another grand affair…