An Abandoned Noble in a Reverse World

They arrived late - half past fashionably late. Victoria had gone through the trouble of making them the focal point. A grand entrance, a small way to convey their gratitude. 

And it was grand. Beyond what the men had hoped for. The training for this moment had been intense, but the benefits were obvious. Stepping into the room, it had been effortless to slip into their personas. The feeling of sharpness and power amplified by the clear awe the room held for them. 

It was a nice moment. Reaching the bottom of the stairs there was a qualitative change in the atmosphere. It was harder to breathe, the air thickened. There was a general intent to destroy, the only difference between the men and the bastard born being how they intended to enact it. 

In a couple of corners of the ballroom there were lounge areas set up. Equipped with couches, chairs, and an intricate carpet. The group easily occupied a vacant one: the crowd parted for them. For now, they kept the unspoken truce.

It was easy to fall into their places once they arrived, the setting similar to their own living room at home. Teddy sat on the stiff couch, a queen surrounded by her loyal servants. 

To her right Yoongi lounged at her feet. His posture relaxed with his right leg bent, right arm draped over it. Head tilted back as he watched the room with a half-lidded gaze.

Reaching out with his left hand, he slowly slid it up her leg until it rested behind her knee. His role tonight was to keep everyone healthy, right now he was checking her popliteal artery getting a feel for her base pulse. 

Of course that is not how it looked to others. It was a movement of seduction - a challenge. A provocation many were eager to answer. 

Taehyung sat to her left, back against her left shoulder as he played with the fingers of her right hand. 

Seokjin and Jimin were dismissed on the pretext of food and drink. Both knew their real task was to do some reconnaissance.

Between Seokjin's knowledge of high society, Jimin's knowledge of human psychology and their magnetic personalities, there would be few "secrets" left unknown by the end of the evening. 

If food and drink were actually needed, Hoseok was waiting behind her. Leaning over the back of the couch, he whispered funny anecdotes about the behind-the-scenes of how the seven men had prepared.

The story of Seokjin's horror when Jungkook had requested he get his ears pierced and Yoongi's grumpy fussing causing her to burst into childish giggles. His own laugh sounded right beside her. Neither of them saw a certain grump's ears and cheeks flush red. 

Jungkook had always wanted his ears pierced, but putting "holes in your body for vanity" was blasphemous, so until now he didn't have the opportunity. The excuse of wanting to look "pretty" for their debut was flimsy. In the end he got what he wanted so it wasn't that bad.

Jungkoook sat next to Yoongi on the ground, mirroring Yoongi's posture. It didn't take long before he was coaxed onto the couch though since he was constantly craning his neck to throw in his own commentary to the stories. 

Namjoon stood to the side, leaning against the wall. Hands in his pockets, he continued to survey everything and everyone. Silently he watched the interactions of the guests. He kept his mistress and friends in his peripheral vision.

The job of lookout and bodyguard was an honor. However, his main job was to develop strategies to use the information gathered to plot plans with all of their contingencies.

That became easier when half an hour later Seokjin returned, surprising everyone when he actually did bring food and drinks. 

"Look what I brought! Don't these macaroons look delicious?" Seokjin loudly enthused presenting the choices to his mistress.

He hadn't just brought back macarons, but with a touch of his nose in a gesture that meant "fake" she knew why those were the ones mentioned. Everything else on the plate was given or offered by someone else and bore a high risk of being tampered with. 

"I'll have the pink one." Teddy stated with a smile. Jungkook perked up reaching out to grab the soft pink pastry, cupping his hand beneath it to catch any crumbs, he brought it to her lips.

The food hadn't been outright rejected for multiple reasons.

One he was male, any rejection was not a thing women took kindly to and may result in physical altercations, so at the initial offering he had to accept.

Two letting them think their task had been completed easily would only serve as an advantage since the ploys would continue to be seen through.

And last but certainly not least, it was fun to mess with them. They could be kept in constant suspense thinking she was finally going to take a bite of laced desserts. 

Her eyes lit up as the taste hit her tongue. Say what you will about the rich, but having top chefs cater your parties was definitely a positive. But as she finished the treat her gaze met Jungkook's, she watched his throat bob as he swallowed. 

Jungkook's eyes were wide, he didn't know it could feel like this to feed someone else. No wonder Seokjin plied him with food. Her clear pleasure at the taste made him hungry to try the food. But he also felt a different type of hunger and as his eyes flicked to her lips the urge to bite them flared to life. 

When Teddy offered him, and the others, the remaining macaroons, his revelation was brushed aside in favor of flavor. 

"Well if it isn't her royal highness." A beautiful young lady in pastel pink stated. The sweetness of the image marred by the sneer on her lips. 

"Ms. Alexandra Windsor, a pleasure to see you again." Teddy responded an relaxed smile on her lips. 

"No Theodora the pleasure is all mine," She said condescension clear in her voice, "After all it's rare for us to see you, especially now with the rough time you've had." A smirk on her lips.

"I couldn't imagine what its like to abandoned by your own mother, but then again she never was a fan of you was she?" Her brows furrowed as she seemed to ponder old memories, before she shrugged. "Who could blame her though us blue bloods can't stand the stench of commoners."

Teddy resisted the urge to yawn, "And yet despite the revoltion she felt she still managed to f**k my Dad." She paused for dramatic effect, "truly a martyr." The noble young lady froze at the profanity and sputtered a lack luster "indeed" before turning to run away.

Theodora was different, didn't her cousin say she was an easy target? Wasn't she crushed by the weight of her disownment desperate to feel the glamor of high society? 

"You didn't tell me you were so popular, Mistress," Namjoon said his tone only slightly amused. Grinning Teddy looked at him.

She was well aware she invoked strong emotions of righteousness in the young ladies of high society. "You have no idea Joon-bug." Could she have included every person's private vendetta against her in the notes she gave them? Yes, she could've. But she couldn't spoon-feed them everything. 

Yoongi smiled to himself, maybe this evening would be more entertaining than he originally thought. 

"And what did you do to inspire such fervant 'admiration' in the young lady we just saw?" Seokjin questioned a put out sigh leaving his lips. "Surely it wasn't just your existence." 

Teddy leaned forward l squashing her cheeks with her palms and adopted a pitying tone, "Such innocence," an exaggerated sigh escaping her, "Have you seen me? One look and the 'admiration' just comes." Jin glared at her as she finally released his cheeks. 

Namjoon raised an eyebrow "Really?" She smiled at him innocence shining in her eyes "Well there may have been an instance where she tripped almost 'accidently" spilling wine on my pure white dress." She tilted her head to the side continuing, "I simply redirected it on instinct, she was quite soaked after." 

"That's it?" Jungkook questioned in confusion. There was a twinkle in Teddy's eyes as she responded "Not quite, the incident had been caught on film. Of course, the person had deleted it, not wanting to embarrass Ms. Windsor." Her attempt to look innocent began to fall as she reached the last part of the story, "Somehow, though the clip made its way online, spreading like wildfire."

"Somehow." Yoongi murmured. It didn't take a genius to figure out who had recovered the video. 

After a moment of mutual pride in their mistress, Seokjin began to explain the general atmosphere towards them. He also overheard a couple hints as to the plans made for them. 

Teddy was surprised by how tame everything had been for the past half hour, but with darling Ms. Windsor making the first foray and the tampered sweets things were bound to escalate.