The music stopped.
Conversations stopped.
Even the wine glasses on the waiters’ trays forgot to clink.
Hundreds of eyes stared blankly at the ball of fat cowering in the corner, then, as if seeing a ghost, turned to the girl standing in the center of the venue.
No one felt sorry for the old man who had been beaten.
The cold light of the crystal chandelier poured down.
Standing there, Orange Quiet Forest came back to her senses a little.
She just wanted that uncle to shut up.
Since reasoning with him didn’t work, she’d use physical methods to silence him.
Orange Quiet Forest breathed a little heavily.
Her right hand, which had done the beating, slowly lowered.
The moon-white hem of her dress had split slightly from that high kick, revealing a section of her long legs wrapped in pantyhose.
She stared coldly at the mess in the corner.
Umi and Miho hid behind her, hands covering their mouths.
But Orange Quiet Forest came back to her senses.
She suddenly realized a fatal problem.
The surroundings… were too quiet.
Across the table, Orange Peach, the wine glass in her hand tilted, spilled expensive red wine onto the tablecloth.
Several granduncles from the Orange Main House had their mouths wide open, their dentures nearly falling out.
The relatives from the Kujū family were trembling in fear.
“…”
‘Holy crap.’
‘Bad.’
‘I was just enjoying myself too much. I completely forgot this was a banquet… How am I supposed to end this?’
“Ahem…”
In the dead silence, Orange Quiet Forest forced a lady-like smile and broke the silence dryly.
“I… I’m actually drunk too. I don’t know anything.”
*
Luckily, in the end, Orange Quiet Forest’s punching didn’t cause any major problems.
But there were other issues.
It was just… a thin, black-haired, straight-long young lady, whose arm was only half as thick as that man’s.
How could she have sent a fat middle-aged man flying?
I mean… even carrying a 200-pound heavy guy is exhausting, okay? And Orange Quiet Forest punched him flying and kicked him into the corner.
Although he was indeed at fault first, and Orange Quiet Forest stopped his evil deed at the critical moment.
In the end, neither side said she had made a big mistake.
But that didn’t mean everyone had forgotten her violent side.
This had caused her to be labeled a “strong girl” in the eyes of both families.
When the banquet dispersed, the most direct manifestation arrived.
Earlier, when they first entered, those relatives from the Orange family who didn’t speak openly but always looked at Orange Quiet Forest with a “Tsk, tsk, widowed so young” snide attitude—now every single one of them turned into mutes.
Orange Quiet Forest held the slightly split moon-white hem and walked toward the main entrance in high heels.
Although seeing them cower was a bit satisfying, Orange Quiet Forest wasn’t that much of a monster, right?
Ah.
Wasn’t this a special situation?
To fully vent her anger, Orange Quiet Forest deliberately stopped, turned around, and looked at the gossiping relatives.
She folded her hands in front of her, put on a standard gentle young lady’s smile, and nodded politely.
“Oh my, Uncle, Aunt, are you all ready to go back? Please be very careful on the road. Even though I’m married, I still care about my family’s safety.”
As she spoke, Orange Quiet Forest, with her arm hanging down, quietly clenched her fist.
Only an idiot wouldn’t notice.
And if she hadn’t smiled, it might have been fine, but this smile made them all shudder.
The main thing was…
Even if he was just flabby, that uncle with all that fat was really sent flying by her in two moves.
Was this really the shut-in girl who, according to rumors, almost never left the house?
Even for an adult male, it wouldn’t be easy to kick a 200-pound fat man into the air.
Those usually snooty relatives trembled in fear.
They actually changed their attitude completely.
Not only did they reply politely, but the named uncle even unconsciously bent down, sweat glistening on his forehead under the crystal light:
“Oh, Quiet Forest, take your time too. We’re going home now.”
Watching their fleeing backs, Orange Quiet Forest laughed wildly in her heart.
‘Gwa ha ha ha! So satisfying! Meow meow!’
‘Look at you pretending.’
Orange Quiet Forest had endured them for a long time.
If she could hit people without reason, she would have struck long ago.
Today she had a good reason to show these people her little fists.
She couldn’t beat professionals, but beating relatives was no problem.
No one would ever dare to use that pitying, gloating tone behind her back to sarcastically call her a “widow.”
‘Widow my ass!’
‘This doesn’t even count as a marriage, okay! It’s just these people with sour grapes psychology; seeing that I was spoiled from a young age and too good-looking, jealousy drives them, and when they see an opportunity, they want to step on me. How boring.’
After confirming that the two Kujū sisters had gotten into the car, Orange Quiet Forest looked around.
Under a streetlamp not far away, Orange Peach, Orange Berry, and her own usually invisible old father were chatting beside the family’s main car.
Although they seemed to be talking, Orange Peach kept glancing at Orange Quiet Forest from time to time, probably still worried about her daughter who had just caused trouble.
She had already smoothed things over with the family head, but trouble still broke out.
But Orange Peach couldn’t blame her daughter.
After all, her daughter hadn’t been the one to pick a fight.
Rather, if that guy, after insulting the Kujū sisters’ family, had gone on a drunken rant and verbally abused her own daughter, hmph.
Even if Orange Quiet Forest chose to endure it, Orange Peach wouldn’t.
She was protective and hot-tempered.
Anyway, after sending the Kujū sisters home, Orange Quiet Forest would come home too.
Nothing big.
Thinking this, Orange Peach actually felt a little melancholy.
When she saw Orange Quiet Forest walk over to the black sedan belonging to the Kujū family and prepare to open the door, Orange Peach’s heart ached.
Even though her daughter wasn’t really married, even though it was just a showy dinner within the two families… watching her sit in someone else’s car, Orange Peach’s heart felt like it had suddenly lost a piece.
‘Maybe I should keep her home for a few more years. The younger daughter has her cuteness. Even if she slacks off as much as before, I’ll accept it.’
Orange Quiet Forest opened the passenger door and waved to her family before leaving.
“Everyone, I’m off first!”
Orange Quiet Forest pulled open the passenger door, turned around, and waved vigorously toward her family.
Her smile was so bright in the night that it was hard to look away.
Miho gently poked Orange Quiet Forest, who was in the front seat.
Orange Quiet Forest turned back to look at Miho softly.
“What is it?”
Miho looked up at Orange Quiet Forest, her eyes sparkling.
“Thank you, sister, for protecting us today.”
Kunomi Umi also seized the chance to thank her.
“Thank you, Quiet Forest.”
Orange Quiet Forest looked at the two of them and smiled gently.
“What’s the big deal? We’re friends. Being humiliated like that and not fighting back would be weirder, wouldn’t it?”