CH 88

“Look at that, Princess!”

Yuria made a fuss as she peered into the ballroom through the lines of the waiting room.

“Margrave Barsaro has arrived. He is the one I told you last time!”

Nearby, a tall and handsome nobleman was chatting with other guests.

In the eyes of Yuria, who was looking for a groom, he was like a shining golden statue of wealth and fame.

‘If I’m a Princess, can I marry a man like that?’

Yuria glanced at the princess sitting on the sofa with envy.

It wasn’t a look of jealousy. She wasn’t a fool to look at a tree she couldn’t climb.

She was just a greedy person hoping to get the crumbs.

(TL/N: Hope to get something out of Lily’s happiness)

“If it’s the Margrave, he will also have a noble as an attendant, right? Since we are in the same position, there will be many opportunities to get to know me…”

“Hmm… I guess so.”

Unlike Yuria, who was excited, Princess Lilietta only looked at the other side.

It was strange.

She was the one who asked her to find out about margrave.

“Princess, what’s wrong? Ah, are you leaning towards the Crown Prince? He sends roses to the Princess every day.”

“Thanks to tha, I almost suffocated from the flowers. Absolutely not.”

Lilietta shook her head as if she was not really interested in the crown prince.

Yuria didn’t understand her when she behaved like that.

Although Duke Bauner’s recapture of the Western Continent increased the prestige of the ducal house’s nobility, a man of the imperial family was still the number one groom in the marriage market.

‘Is it burdensome?’

‘Indeed, if it’s the crown prince, that’s understandable.’

Yuria came to her own conclusions and sat down on a nearby couch.

“The Margrave may be the perfect match as the Princess’ marriage partner. If you marry someone from a slightly lower family level, he will serve the Princess for the rest of your life.”

Lilietta, whose eyes were cold no matter what Yuria said, suddenly turned her head as if interested.

“Hmm, that’s nice.”

“Right? I have an eye for it.”

“Yuria, I’m a little shy to approach him first. So….”

Lilietta looked around once, lowered her voice and whispered.

“Would you like to talk to Margrave first?”

It was nice to hear.

It would be even easier to take a look at his servants if she approached the margrave using the princess’ orders as an excuse.

“Yes! Trust me!”

Yuria rushed out of the room.

Just before the waiting room door closed, Lilietta waved her hand and said,

“If possible, ask a lot of things. It’s okay even if it takes a long time.”

The princess’ emerald eyes went cold again as soon as her companion left.

Yuria went out to the ballroom and raised a glass of champagne, enjoying the smiles of the gentlemen passing by.

As she walked under the colorful lights of the chandelier, she felt drunk even though she had not drank alcohol.

Suddenly, the side window of the waiting room where the princess was located caught her eyes.

As soon as she left, she couldn’t see anything inside.

‘Aren’t you curious about the outside? If I were you, I would be a little sore because I wanted to come out quickly.’

Lilietta was the main character of a splendid debutante, but she was not very excited.

She held her chin and was lost in thought the entire time she was killing time in the waiting room. As if waiting for someone.

‘Well, it wouldn’t come as a surprise for the Princess to have a banquet like this.’

Just because she was Yuria, it didn’t mean she would flirt in a rustic way. 

She was obsessed with money and men, but she knew all too well that showing it would make her look pathetic.

If she had been born into a good family like Lilietta, she would have been able to relax.

When she saw the pile of presents piled up in front of the stairs, she’d think, ‘I didn’t even want this…’ or be naively surprised.

‘But I wasn’t born like that.’

Yuria looked away from the stack of presents.

She was not born into a wealthy family. However, it was not that she had a dream that she wanted to achieve.

Her only desire was to be full and to be lazy.

If she had met good parents like Lilietta, there would have been no problem, but since she was not, she had to find a way on her own.

Among them, the easiest way was to marry a decent noble family.

‘Will my life get better now?’

Still, Yuria was lucky compared to other young girls in the same situation.

As the princess was at the center of the topic, her position as a companion also aroused the curiosity of wonderful men.

‘Let’s not make a mistake.’

In the distance, Margrave Barsaro could be seen.

She was trying to straighten her hair and approach him, when a sudden explosion pierced her ears.

Bang!

It was a sound from outside the ballroom. Soon, there was a commotion as loud as a roar.

“What, what?”

“It sounds like something is exploding.”

“Hey! Where is the Duke!”

Since the barriers of the stadium were broken four years ago, loud noises were traumatic for all northerners.

It was the same with Yuria.

She stiffened in place and trembled like she would drop her glass of champagne at any moment.

“Calm down, everyone! It’s not a big deal!”

From the top of the central staircase, the duke’s aide, Nike, appeared.

“The firecrackers we had prepared for the fireworks just exploded accidentally. Rest assured that we are putting out the fire now!”

The nobles breathed a sigh of relief.

Yuria patted her chest at the same time, and then put down her champagne glass.

Now was not the time to flirt with Margrave Barsaro.

‘The Princess must be surprised too. I heard that she saw the barriers of the stadium collapse in person…’

So, if she comforted her now, would she score points?

She had a lot of fun thinking about other things.

Princess Lilietta had not yet opened her heart to Yuria.

She must still bear the rudeness she committed four years ago in her mind.

‘If not, there is no good reason. I’ve never done anything bad to anyone in my life. Well, although I’ve watched the bad guys from the side… But I had no choice.’

Despite the princess’ cold attitude, Yuria did not give up.

If she lived like a friend, one day she would soften her heart…

‘And she might provide a good wedding venue for me too!’

Yuria rushed into the waiting room. The room with the curtains down was quite dark.

“Princess, are you okay?”

Yuria, who looked around the waiting room, stiffened on the spot.

Even when she rubbed her eyes, the scene in front of her was the same.

The princess disappeared without a trace. She had no idea where she had gone.

Yuria was even more startled than when she heard the explosion.

If the duke finds out about this, she would be scorned for failing to fulfill her duty as a companion.

She screamed in astonishment.

“Princess?!”

“Why?”

Lilietta replied casually from behind Yuria.

***

“Princess. I’m surprised you disappeared all of a sudden!”

I roughly calmed Yuria down, who was twisting her feet, and sat down on the sofa.

It was a sluggish period.

The guests were chatting happily in the hall, but I, the main character of the birthday party, had to kill time in a dimly lit waiting room, waiting for the moment to appear nicely.

‘I don’t know who made the rule that the main character appears late. I don’t think it’ll be the main character.’

I shook the glass I just brought.

The pearl-decorated glass contained rose-scented juice.

“I went to get some drinks.”

“You should’ve asked me to do that…”

“It was in front of me. It’s more annoying to call you again.”

I crossed my legs and sipped the juice by the entrance of the waiting room.

Sweet and sour, it was my favorite.

‘Come to think of it, I heard that all the food at this party was prepared according to my taste. Really… it’s supreme sincerity.’

I shuffled around and looked out at the central staircase.

Soon, it would be time for Alan to make his opening remarks.

“They said I can come out when Dad introduced me, right?”

As I practiced a smiling expression by stroking my cheeks, Yuria looked at me in confusion.

“Princess, somehow… you’re not nervous at all.”

“Huh?”

“It’s your debut in the social world. In front of such nobles… if it were me, my heart would be beating so fast that I would vomit.”

“…Is it that bad?”

Thinking of the debutante full of the smell of vomit made me feel a bit uncomfortable.

“Of course. This one party will determine the future of your social world!”

“Isn’t that something that doesn’t apply to princesses?”

“O, of course, but… above all…”

Yuria brought her head closer to mine and lowered her voice.

“You should also consider the threat of assassination.”

“Huh?”

“Being poisoned by alcohol, or something like that. I heard that it happens often in the social circles of high-ranking nobles.”

“…….”

Yuria had a tendency to think arbitrarily about smart subjects and high-ranking people.

It was all because of the socialite news that only spreaded gossip.

‘Yuria really liked it.’

I nodded my head moderately and brought my gaze through the curtains.

The ballroom was full of people.

Slowly, I became nervous. What I was worried about was not poisoning.

This was the first banquet where outsiders were invited since the masquerade four years ago.

Countless people wandered around the Duke’s Castle.

If any of them stepped on my tail, my escape plan would be disrupted.

My once calm heart was pounding and trembling.

‘It’s okay.’

I smoothed the hem of the dress and consoled myself.

‘If everything goes according to plan, everything will be fine… huh?’

Then I found a familiar face.

I brought my face closer to the window, doubting my eyes.

This was an unexpected situation.

“Why is he here?”

To be continued…