CH 87

The words made me laugh mindlessly.

Now I understand why Michael was kind.

“Is that why you’ve been nice to me lately?”

He held my hand when going up and down the carriage, asked about my condition every morning, and ran to give me a hug at night when I had nightmares.

While the rest of the family left for the Western Continent, Michael was very kind to me.

Now I realized, his actions were not due to Alan’s orders or guilt.

“You were nice to Lilieta, not me.”

Because he thought I had become a member of the Bauner family, the real Lily.

Michael lowered his eyes without answering.

It was getting more and more ridiculous.

‘Why are you making that face?’

Michael looked sad for some reason when he didn’t even admit his fault.

“I will never regret it.”

He clenched his fist and emphasized it. The firm tone of voice sounded like an assurance to himself.

“If I hadn’t done that, you would have run away and be beheaded.”

“…….”

What Michael said was true to some extent.

I was alive until now because he told me the truth.

Otherwise, I would have dug my own grave, thinking I had deceived Alan.

‘…Still, you’re not the one to say that.’

The person you made a mistake to was me. Not Lily.

Everyone in this castle was in love with Lilietta, not me, but you were different.

“Michael, it seems there is nothing you can’t do for the Bauner family.”

I shot angrily.

I was just stating the obvious, but there was a ripple, like a drop of water into a puddle of blood, in Michael’s red eyes.

I shook off his hand that was still holding me, turned around, and left.

Michael stood still in the middle of the hallway until I disappeared.

‘It’s better this way. If Michael apologized now, I would have more regrets here.’

Returning to my original purpose, I headed to Alan’s office.

After confirming that Alan was not there, I walked straight to his desk.

A picture frame full of jewels stood on a rustic work desk.

It was a painting of Alan and I, done by ourselves. The more I looked at the clumsily painted figures of the two of us, the more affection I felt.

I shook my head, trying not to get lost in emotion.

‘I don’t have time for this.’

I carefully opened the back of the frame.

This was the safest hiding place where I could hide the letter until I left.

When cleaning, they usually do not open the inside of the frame.

Moreover, since this painting was Alan’s favorite, none of his servants would have the courage to touch it.

I put the letter for Alan behind the picture and closed the back plate.

With this, all preparations to escape were complete.

‘…….’

I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t sad. There were times when I thought of trusting Alan and telling him everything.

But thanks to Michael, I definitely realized it.

‘People do not change easily.’

Therefore, Alan, who killed me in the original story, wouldn’t have changed either.

The determination to run away became as hard as the ground after the rain.

***

Michael, who was nervously hovering around the academy hallway, kicked the wall without realizing it.

A passing wizard tried to warn him, but he felt a terrifying aura and slipped away.

Michael ruffled his hair. His bright blond hair was messed up like a bird’s nest.

He couldn’t calm down

The facial expression of the fake princess he had just seen did not leave his mind.

That look that showed she was not going to expect anything from him now.

“…….”

Michael took a deep breath and moved forward.

He expected to be despised.

He didn’t want to even say anything because he wasn’t going to be forgiven with a single apology anyway.

However, every single word she said kept scratching the side of his chest harshly.

“…It seems there is nothing you can’t do for the Bauner family.”

That’s right. Everything Michael did was for the Bauner family.

But why did words of denial pop out to the top of his throat the moment he heard them?

‘I have no regrets.’

Michael repeated the same thought as if he had sworn to himself.

He didn’t regret it.

Even if he went back, he would tell the fake princess the truth. He would threaten her to not even dream of running away.

However,

‘For what?’

As he left the academy building, the bright sunlight warmed his face.

Michael, who reflexively covered his eyes, stood still.

‘The fake princess must live as Lilietta.’

That thought has not changed since then.

But…

‘Was it… to stabilize the Bauner family?’

At some point, the reason for trying to tie the fake princess to this castle faded.

When he looked back on his memory, the first thing that came to mind was the body temperature of the girl who tied a splint to his arm.

It was confusing.

Michael took a step back. He couldn’t stand the sunlight.

“…It doesn’t matter.”

He grinded his teeth to the point it made a loud sound.

Michael’s wish was always the same.

‘The fake princess lives forever here.’

Michael could do anything for that.

***

Busy days followed. The Duke’s Castle was noisy every day.

This was because, as if celebrating the recapture of the Western Continent, groups of nobles visited, aiming for an opportunity to flatter, not missing a single day.

Occasionally, Alan greeted the guests, but most of them were kicked out without even crossing the gate of the Duke’s Castle.

As the refusal of admittance was repeated several times, people were more eager to get their name on the list of invited guests to the debutante than to come to the castle.

According to Nike, there were a few carts of letters asking for invitations.

All the people of the empire were paying attention to my debutante.

I was busy preparing for the banquet day and night, so I had little chance to meet Benny.

If Benny lived nearby, I would have gone to see his face, but he was living on the outskirts of the Duke’s Castle, where I had to call a carriage to go there.

Because of this, it was impossible to meet him secretly unless Benny came to see me.

‘Hugo’s plan worked.’

It was Hugo who gave Benny a secluded mansion and forced him to move.

He said it was a gift for a war hero, but when I looked at it closely, it was a plan to separate me and Benny.

‘Now that he has become a hero, I thought Hugo might recognize Benny a little bit…’

On the contrary, as time passed, Hugo became even more wary of Benny.

He seemed to be terrified that I might be interested in Benny, who was becoming more and more handsome.

‘Is there a partner that Hugo likes? He seems to want to live alone for the rest of his life.’

Hugo was especially responsible for his deliberate carelessness right after Benny returned.

If we showed friendly faces, he would set up surveillance to tear us apart.

‘…Well, it’s not a useless worry.’

Hugo’s concerns were exactly right.

He probably didn’t know that I was the one who would take his sister away from him.

(TL/N: as she takes over her dead sister’s place)

As I reflected on my escape plan, a month had passed.

***

“Princess, may I come in?”

Politely, Verney knocked on the dressing room door.

Sitting in front of the mirror on a stool, I replied loudly.

“Yes.”

Verney’s eyes widened as she entered the room.

I got up slowly and raised the skirt awkwardly.

The dress that the larks helped me wear spread out like a soft carpet.

“Is it weird?”

“…No way. You are so beautiful.”

A faint smile spread across the face of the head-maid, who had always been blunt.

At that moment, Yuria poked her face from behind Verney. I almost didn’t recognize her for a second because she was wearing more glamorous makeup than usual.

“Princess, you are so very beautiful!”

Yuria ran to my side and clasped my hands tightly.

Even as Verney frowned, she did not stop rubbing my hands.

“All the potential young men gathered today will fall in love with the Princess!”

“What do you mean potential young men?”

“I researched everything from their financial resources to family history. If you like someone, just tell me!”

Fighting spirit burned in Yuria’s blue eyes.

Being overly ambitious, she seemed to have searched for her own groom while she was looking for my groom.

“Yuria, don’t make a fuss.”

Verney approached, kicking her tongue.

She looked over my hair decorations and put her hand on my shoulders as if to tidy it up again.

I turned back along the touch.

A surprisingly pretty girl was reflected in the gold-rimmed full-body mirror.

Red hair in braids, a tiara as delicate as a sugar cookie, and a gorgeous yet elegant dress.

White roses were embroidered on long gloves that went up to the forearm, and the same rose corsage was attached to the chiffon skirt.

Ruby, intermittently embedded in tightly woven silver thread, surprisingly matched the assemble.

The more I saw it, the more fascinating it was.

It was to the point where I almost didn’t recognize myself.

I shook my skirt slightly as my hair was firmly fixed.

Numerous jewels swayed like a cherry tree in the rain.

It must have been processed by magic, as despite the numerous decorations, my body was light as if I was wearing butterfly wings.

“The issue of marriage is up to the Duke and the Princess.”

Verney sternly talked to Yuria, who was smiling widely.

At that moment, the larks that entered the room burst into laughter.

“Oh my, Sister. It is true that there are many handsome young men.”

The four maids wandered around me gently. Covering their mouths with pink fans that looked alike, they were like nymphs in human clothes.

“Even you guys…”

Verney pointed to her forehead as if she was dizzy. The larks became more excited and grinned.

“Princess, what kind of man do you like?”

“We will ask like birds.”

“During the Debutante, it’s good to fall in love peacefully, Men without the finest suits can’t even enter the ballroom.”

“That means that no matter who you pick, he will be above average.”

“Everyone, don’t bother Princess, get out of the way.”

Verney let out a sigh and took her hand off my head.

Even though it was only slightly smoothed, the position of the tiara was surprisingly balanced.

Verney smiled proudly and led me out the door.

“Let’s go. Today’s star is the Princess.”

Inhaling a deep breath, I took a step.

I smiled whenever I made eye contact with the people around me, but in fact, what filled my heart was anxiety, not excitement.

Today was the day of the Debutante Ball.

It was Lily’s 14th birthday.