this chapter is brought to you by mio
as translator, proofreader and editor!
Periot soon came down from the platform. For a moment, I was worried that he would come over in my direction, but thankfully, he didn’t leave from the place the attendant had guided him to. Perhaps that was simply the proper etiquette.
It was only then that I let out a secret sigh. Unlike earlier, he wouldn’t be able to see me standing behind all these people here.
Sure enough, the next to appear after Periot was the Holy Knights of Ecretus.
All of the knights stood ramrod straight without even the slightest disorder, all of them wearing kind smiles with kind eyes. Perhaps that was why. That upright and vigour full of strength seemed to be even more prominent amongst them.
After that, the praises continued to pour out, one after another.
Rather than being boring to me, that time seemed like a whole different world.
After all the recognition ceremonies were over, the emperor and empress gave one last congratulatory speech and then led their entourage to a special banquet hall to meet with the foreign delegation.
The banquet hall was once again filled with joyous laughter and music.
Periot, who I spotted in the distance, was unexpectedly surrounded by various people.
I had watched him be alone everyday, as if he were a proud crow, but now, seeing him being bombarded with questions from other people gave off a weird feeling.
Leonon had also been tied up in the same way.
Although he had asked for their understanding and was making his way toward me, he didn’t get very far before he was once again stopped in his tracks as other people came rushing over to greet him.
I shot Leonon a quick smile and then exited the hall.
To be honest, I was worried about the incident at the lakeside being repeated once more.
Although there was no guarantee that the two people would come toward me at the same time, I still wanted to nip in the bud anything that could cause the slightest bit of trouble.
It wasn’t that I was delusional. In any case, these two people already didn’t seem to get along very well, so after going through something like that, wouldn’t it be natural if things didn’t end well?
Not to mention, I also wanted to make sure that my accessories and clothes hadn’t become messy. Due to my anxiety, I had also been sweating, so I was worried that my mascara had smudged and made me look like a panda.
“I heard that there was a powder room one floor up where the maids’ quarters are.”
Following the information given to me by Countess Lewen, I spotted a staircase with red carpet next to it outside.
It was when I was climbing up the stairs while holding the hem of my purple skirt that swept abundantly with each step.
“…She seems even more shameless from up close.”
The sound of giggling could be heard coming from someplace.
“She didn’t divorce the Duke, rather, it was the Duke who one-sidedly divorced her, right? Not to mention, just look at how vulgar red hair! Gosh, how tacky can she be?”
What?
A conversation that I couldn’t just ignore suddenly caught my attention.
As I turned around slowly, I caught sight of a group of people sipping wine while standing at a tall decorative table near the stairs.
As soon our eyes met, they all quietly shut their mouths. However, all of them had sinister smiles on their lips, as if they had made a promise together to do that.
As if I couldn’t tell that they were talking about me.
Seeing as there was talk about the divorce, it seemed like they had successfully found out about me being the Duchess. Perhaps there was even someone among them who attended the wedding two years ago.
“What’s the matter? Can I help you with anything?”
Perhaps due to my persistent staring, one of them spoke up in a hateful voice. There was a blatant disregard and contempt for me in her eyes.
At that moment, a sudden thought flashed through my mind.
Oh! Is it perhaps something like that?
The appearance of ‘brats that don’t know their place and are fruitless in their acting up’ that always appear at least once during balls or banquets.
I couldn’t believe I was witnessing a scene where the author was shaking their head thinking that there wasn’t anything for them to write in this episode.
As I thought about that, my mind started to spin in the other direction.
‘Could I perhaps sell some shares because of this?’
It reminded me of ‘a mansour in cider’, who gave a huge hit to Sable Lilly. Thanks to their blatantly obvious name, it was impossible not to know what they wanted.
‘But I don’t think I’ll be able to sell a lot though…’
Since there was a limit of ‘cider’ that could be given right now. Since it was such a common scene, the impact might be a bit weak. Even I would have thought ‘seems like the author has nothing else to write about’.
cider interchangeable with satisfaction
Selling around 10 shares would already count as a lot. Still, it was better than nothing.
‘Then, should I try and sell some first?’
As I was standing still and saying nothing, a vicious sound of laughter rang out.
“Oh my, you poor thing.”
“Pathetic. No sense of shame, no sense of pride either.”
“Looks like all she knows how to do is be coquettish. But it seems like she couldn’t even do that properly, seeing as she ended up like this.”
Far from feeling hurt, I clenched my fists and shouted loudly in my heart.
‘Yes, that’s right. Please swear at me even more! You have to swear so viciously that people will say it’s cheap, even if it’s right.’
First of all, I planned to let them talk as much as they wanted, and then when they reached their peak, I would give them a grand beating(?). Of course, I only planned to do so with words, not fists.
Although I wanted to smash their head in straight away, I couldn’t do it in a place like this. Since I was a main character candidate who must always maintain their dignity.
“A pathetic person that doesn’t even know their place…”
However, at that moment when they turned toward me, their chatter suddenly stopped.
At the same time, the complexions of those people who had been laughing at me turned pale.
“We should get going now!”
“S-Sounds good…! We seem to have been gone for too long.”
Like people who had suddenly seen a ghost, they all left the place in a hurry and started running one by one.
Huh…?
Where are you going?! My shares!
I stretched out my hand desperately, but the table in front of me quickly became empty.
But for some reason, I also felt a tingling sensation at the back of my head. I swallowed my anxiety and slowly turned around.
“Oh.”
The person behind me, leaning against the wall, was Periot.
Periot, who had been glaring at the place where they disappeared, muttered in a chilly voice, “…How dare they.”
With an expression so terrifying that a child would have burst into tears if they had seen it.
“Ah, my shares,” a lament flowed from my mouth at the same time.
“What?”
“No, it’s nothing…”
When I shook my head weakly, he clicked his tongue briefly and walked next to me. Then, he spoke in a stern voice, “Why did you just listen to them say that to you? How uncharacteristic of you.”
I did it all because I had my own thoughts, but what do you know…
“Next time, just swear or yell at them like you did to me. Since I’ll handle everything else.”
“Yeah… Thank you so much…”
A low cough burst from Periot’s mouth at my soulless answer.
“To be thankful just for this. You don’t need to be for such trivial things.”
He lifted his chin slightly and ran a hand through his hair. It seemed like he was somehow proud, which actually made me even more upset.
‘Damn it, what a waste!’
Although I thought that it wouldn’t sell for very long, it was still disappointing to miss such an opportunity. Even if it was only 10 shares, where am I going to dig to find it again?!
In any case, he wasn’t any help at all.
I glanced at Periot with resentful eyes and slowly climbed up the stairs. Receiving my cold gaze, he just stood still.
“Wait a minute, Lorella.”
It was around the time I reached the hallway on the second floor. Periot called my name and followed me quickly with his long legs.
“What?”
“I have a question.”
“What is it?”
For some reason, he didn’t say anything for a while even after he had called out to me and stopped me.
Finally, after a while, a rather unexpected question flowed from between his open lips, “Other than diamonds… what else do you like?”
“What are you talking about?”
“Tell me everything that you like. Like your favourite colour or your favourite style of dresses.”
No, why should I?
After a moment of confusion, I noticed that his eyes were focused on my head piece. Thanks to that, I was able to understand immediately what the current situation was.
“Wait. Did those clothes really come from you?”
“Then besides me, who else could’ve sent those clothes to you?” Periot shrugged his shoulders lightly as if it were obvious and continued speaking, “It would be good if you could tell me what specific style you prefer. Since I need to keep it in mind when filling out the dressing room in the mansion.”
“W-What did you say?!”
I was so bewildered even my eyelids started twitching.
“No way, don’t tell me, the mansion you’re talking about… is the Duke’s residence…”
“Of course, if you want, I’ll fill that one up too.”
Seeing Periot interrupting my words with a calm and collected face made me feel dizzy all over again.
A voice from that day, telling me not to think that this would be the last time, kept ringing in my head.
At the same time, a deep feeling of regret came over me.
This all happened because of the hair piece.
No matter how much Joy tried to stop me, I should’ve just not put anything in…!
“Do you like anything else? This is my first time giving something like this as a gift, so there could’ve been some mistakes. However, the next time will be perfect.”
Unlike me, who held my forehead in embarrassment at his absurd words, he remained confident until the end.
As if even that wasn’t enough.
Ding dong!
「‘Trying a taste of the obsessive maniac’ buys 2,000 shares.」
「The first gift in his life. Super tasty.」
「‘That bastard isn’t the male lead right?’ buys 2,000 shares suppressing their churning stomach.」
「Bleh. I’ll definitely have an upset stomach if I eat this.」
Ding dong!
「‘Trying a taste of the obsessive maniac’ flies into a rage and purchases an additional 1,000 shares.」
「Hey, could you please give me a little bit of respect?^^」
「‘That bastard isn’t the male lead, right?’ snorts and purchases an additional 1,000 shares.」
「Oops, my bad. I get nauseous when I see something I can’t eat.^^」
There was a subtle war of nerves going on inside the system window.
The constant ringing of the notifications had all my nerves unconsciously focused on it.
Although the purchase of a lot of shares as if they were competing was a good thing for me, they weren’t actually fighting, right?
“Are you alright, Lorella?”
However, a firm yet calm voice was soon heard.
“Why are you staring blankly off into space? Are you feeling hurt anywhere?”
When I suddenly came to my senses, I was met with affectionate black eyes staring worriedly at my face.
…I must have gone crazy. Just what had I just been thinking about?
Affectionate? To think that his eyes, which had always been cold and harsh, would suddenly feel affectionate! Periot’s face came even closer to mine, as if to further examine my complexion.
My heart started to beat uncontrollably.
‘No, why is it like this again!’
In any case, I suddenly had the thought of going to the powder room to quickly take a break under the pretence of fixing my makeup.
“A-Anyway, I’m not hurt anywhere. Then, I’ll head off now!”
With that single thought in mind, I hurriedly tried to turn around…
A bright laugh came from under the stairs. As I reflexively turned my gaze, I saw several young ladies coming up towards me.
My eyes suddenly widened at the same time.
“Oh!”
Among the three or four young women dressed in luxurious and elegant dresses, there was one person who caught my eye in particular.
Black hair that was so glossy it would be believable for one to describe it as silk, a nude-coloured dress that gave off a sophisticated yet lively feel, and even long lace gloves with embellishments made of pure white pearls.
It was… her.
My rival, Sable Lilly!
“…Lorella?”
Periot, perhaps noticing the unusual atmosphere, came closer to my side with a slight frown.
But I didn’t have time to think about anything else. As I quickly looked around, I spotted a red curtain hanging between the large pillars like a screen.
“Hurry, this way!”
I quickly hid myself in that direction while desperately holding onto his arm.
* * *
pls do not share this anywhere or u will always stub ur toe when u walk past a door frame !! this translation has been stolen from mioscorner.com, pls only read there i’m begging u :kneels:
Since it was something I had done out of reflex, I soon came to realise something.
The fact that she didn’t know my face so there was simply no reason for me to hide. Is this why they had the saying, the body suffers with a stupid mind…?
However, it was clear that if we went out again now, it would look even weirder.
Although the place behind the curtain was empty – perhaps because it had been where a statue had been placed – it was still extremely cramped.
Thanks to this, my forehead was almost touching Periot’s solid chest. However, regardless of that, my attention was now focused elsewhere.
“Just what is going on…”
“Shh!”
A quiet voice rang softly in the dark space. I brought my index finger to Periot’s lips just in case someone heard.
The sound of the women’s talking came closer and closer.
“Regardless of how skilled they are, to think that you’ll have to wait so long to get another checkup. I hope your father’s condition gets better quickly…”
That was the same voice from that very night that had laughed so chillingly. I got goosebumps before I even knew it.
“That’s what I’m saying. But I’m sure he’ll be up soon. Thank you so much for your concern, Miss Sable.”
“If it’s alright with you, how about I head to the Shassen region and try to find a doctor there? There must be a way to bring him over directly.”
“Pardon? N-No, that’s an extremely dangerous area! That’s why the doctors in that area aren’t able to move around easily either.”
“I have some business to do in Shassen. I’ll be going anyway since I have work to do there, but it’d make me happier if I could also help Lady Lapiche while I’m there as well.”
“Miss Sable…”
There was a cry filled with emotion.
“I’m so grateful…”
“We’re friends. It’s alright not to mention thankfulness amongst friends.”
Her words seemed to be filled with genuine concern for her friend, to the point where I began to doubt whether this was really the same person I had seen on that day.
Maybe Sable was acting like me as well. No, but why was she so good at it? Was she perhaps an actress in her past life?
“In any case, the hour is urgent, so I’ll see if I can move it up the schedule a little more.”
Soon, the sound of soft footsteps rushing forward could be heard.
The remaining women had now stopped near the curtain, each and every one of them busy praising Sable.
“Is there anyone else in the world who resembles an angel more than her?”
“You could probably search the entire continent and not find someone as good as Sable.”
“That’s for sure. Despite having a younger half-sister who stole her fiance, to still be able to get along with her family is really…”
“Shh. We agreed not to bring that up already.”
The ladies who stood chatting for a while eventually passed the curtain and continued walking. Eventually, the sound of footsteps disappeared completely, but I still couldn’t move a muscle.
Wait. What the hell is this again? You’re telling me that villainess still got along with a half-sister that had stolen her fiance?
In addition to the absurdity of it all, I also felt an inexplicable sense of deja vu.
That setting… it seemed like I had seen it a lot before.
“…Lorella.”
But then, a low voice that seemed to be suppressing itself tickled my ears.
When I turned my gaze upward, I saw fluttering short black hair as well as pitch black eyes that were shining in the dark.
The moment his long and prominent fingers slowly approached and grasped my wrist, his lips, which were slightly lifted up, moved gently again, “Am I still not allowed to speak?”
Soft skin along with a shallow breath brushed across my index finger, which was still pressed against his lips.
It was… hot, as if it had been touched by fire.
author’s note
like a black fox…
naver comments
sejin
ding dong-!
[sejin buys 10,000 shares]
[i don’t know about anything else, but unnie is the prettiest in the galaxy]
saebom
regroup commander leonon. countermeasures are needed.
omg am i the only one that finds periot’s shamelessness absolutely hilarious HGSLKDFFSJ
like i know for a fact that i’d be absolutely pissed if i were in lorella’s shoes but it’s so fkn funny to me i had to take a couple of breaks bc i was dying from translating his lines
LMAOFDSFD LIKE WHAT IS MAN PROUD OF WHAT IS THE BASIS OF HIS CONFIDENCE LMAOOOO
also do u guys also think the author has run out of stuff to write whenever there’s a scene of ppl trashtalking mc bc that has never occurred to me before
meanwhile, the war between that bastard isn’t the male lead right and trying a taste of the obsessive maniac reminds me of the i’m the real one ml debates HGSDLKFJ SO MANY PPL GET HEATED ABT THE MALE LEAD (black hair all the way HE DESERVES IT)
