Cornelia Sharon was currently in a state remarkably similar to the one Lady Marie Rich had once experienced. However, there were certain differences between them.
Faced with a series of overwhelming, unrealistic events, Marie established a state of ultimate self-defense by convincing herself everything was a dream. Through this escapism, she reached a state of super-optimistic thinking, allowing her to temporarily ignore every troublesome matter.
In contrast, Cornelia did not believe her current situation was a dream; she recognized it clearly as reality. Even so, she had a long-standing habit of deferring matters that were beyond her control to prevent them from exceeding her mental capacity.
A person as mentally resilient as Eris Dia Hamilton might have been able to face a barrage of overwhelming events head-on, even while being tossed about by them. However, Cornelia lacked that level of fortitude and mental power.
Therefore, as a survival tactic, she employed a method of separating what she could handle now from what was beyond her reach, deferring the latter for future processing.
This time, however—her encounter with Kaito, her greeting to Fate, the blessing from Fortune, the appearance of Lilliwood and the Seven Princesses, and the random teleportation into a group with Lilliwood and Fate—too many things happened in too rapid a succession. As a result, before Cornelia could even recognize that she had reached her limit, she surpassed it. This triggered a defensive instinct within her.
By immediately applying her existing habit of deferment, her brain essentially refused to process the stressful events. She fell into a state where she had averted her eyes entirely.
However, unlike Marie, she wasn't in a dreamy daze. She was simply in a state where she could respond using the social skills she had cultivated without feeling any of the stomach pain she normally would. To any observer, she appeared—and indeed was—interacting with Fate and Lilliwood with perfect composure.
Of course, she was essentially piling up unseen debt, so she was destined for a disastrous reckoning once she eventually returned to her senses...
While Cornelia was sprinting toward her figurative doom at full speed thanks to her Invincible State, another group was also far from peaceful.
Indeed, Eris had also ended up in a somewhat troublesome group, and she could feel a cold sweat trickling down her cheek.
"…Ah, so Eta is in the same group as well."
"It seems… that is the case."
The group members other than Eris were Caraway and Eta. There were no problems whatsoever regarding those two.
Although she had never spoken to them directly, Eris understood that they were Kaito’s attendant and maid, and the two of them had greeted Eris as soon as they realized who she was.
"Please excuse the intrusion for a greeting. I am Caraway, serving as Kaito-sama's attendant. While this is the first time we have spoken directly, since fate has brought us into the same group, I look forward to working with you until the end."
"I am the maid, Eta. It is a pleasure to meet you."
"Thank you for the polite greetings. I am Eris Dia Hamilton. I would be grateful if you could treat me not as a noble of the Hamilton Marquis House, but simply as one of Kaito-sama's friends."
Eris returned the greeting with a smile, and for a brief moment, a peaceful atmosphere lingered… but immediately after, the three of them looked in the same direction—at the final person.
A tremendous pressure emanated from her. Standing there with her arms folded silently, her eyes slanted upward… Rosmiel loomed with an aura of intimidation so intense it felt as though a menacing rumble should be echoing through the air.
"…Um, I heard that when I visited Kaito-sama's house before, Nebula was the one who attended to me… I’ve never actually spoken with Lady Rosmiel before. Does she seem… angry for some reason?"
"S-Such intense pressure… It is truly what one would expect of a top-tier Count-class."
"Lady Rosmiel is famous for being quite difficult. There is a possibility that we have inadvertently offended her…"
Involuntarily cowed by Rosmiel’s overwhelming pressure, the three of them whispered among themselves. Indeed, none of the three had ever had a proper conversation with her.
Neither Camilia nor Kaito, who usually served as her translators, were present, and not a single other member of the Seven Princesses was there to help. Rosmiel, who was clearly the highest-ranking member among them, appeared to be in a foul mood from the start, causing anxiety to spread through the other three.
However, Rosmiel, who was emitting such a terrifying sense of intimidation… was actually in a state of complete internal panic.
(A-w-w-w-w-w! I-I'm surrounded by people I've never talked to before! Not one person from the Seven Princesses, not Lilliwood-sama, not Kaito-kun—no one I know is in this group! H-h-h-help, it's so scary... I've never spoken to Elis-chan directly, and it feels like it would take me at least twenty days to get comfortable enough to talk... W-w-w-what do I do... Lia, Kaito-kun... save meeeee!)
Yes, Rosmiel, who suffered from extreme social anxiety, had been thrown into a group with three people she had never spoken to directly and was in a state of mild panic. Because of this, her entire body was frozen stiff, and her immense magical power was leaking out as pure pressure… but there was no one present to explain that.
Serious-senpai: "Meanwhile, over here, we have a chihuahua doing her absolute best to look intimidating!?"
???: "It wouldn't be a problem at all if there were a translator nearby, but not having a single member of the Seven Princesses in the same group is a tragedy... Boy, this wine is delicious, y'know!"