I May Be A Villainess, But I Won't Live My Life That Way - Chapter 29

Chapter 29

“Welcome.”

As the maid opened the door, the face that appeared belonged to Ricardo.

“If everything is ready, shall we go out?”

“Yes, everything is ready.”

I stepped aside a bit and glanced at Maria, who was waiting. With a look that said, “This is the lady you’ll be escorting tonight.

“You…?”

Ricardo recognized Maria, even though they had only met once.

Seeing Ricardo recognize her, Maria blushed.

Perhaps her face from earlier hadn’t returned to its usual color yet.

“Never thought we’d meet here.”

“I-I didn’t either.”

Ricardo seemed a bit surprised by Maria’s transformation.

He must have been amazed to see the ordinary Maria from the market turn into a magically beautiful lady.

“I was surprised. I didn’t know you were acquainted with Lady Bianca.”

Was that really surprising? Was it her beauty or the fact that the girl from the market was acquainted with me that was more astonishing?

“Yes, I’ve received a lot of help from Lady Bianca.”

“I heard about that.”

“…”

“…”

And that was the end of the conversation.

Ricardo calmly looked at Maria, and Maria just blushed shyly.

“Ricardo, you should escort tonight’s lady.”

So, I had to intervene.

“How is she? Very beautiful, isn’t she?”

“That’s true.”

“And the dress matches her beautiful green eyes, doesn’t it?”

“Indeed.”

“…”

It was better not to say more, so I just closed my mouth. No matter what I said about Maria, Ricardo responded indifferently, not even sparing a glance at her.

“I’ll head down first. The guests are waiting.”

Today’s charity ball was held in Croft House. The hall was already bustling with guests. As the host, I came upstairs briefly to check on Maria.

“Perhaps the two of you… should come out together later.”

I said to them with the intention of creating an opportunity for them to be alone. It might be a bit awkward, but being alone in a room with a man might evoke certain feelings.

“Why?”

“Because today is not only a charity ball but also Maria’s debutante ball. A bit of dramatic entrance would be nice. The protagonist always appears late, right?”

That’s right. The protagonists of this story were Riccardo and Maria.

Now, it was time for me to leave.

“The two of you… look good together.”

With a sly smile, I left the room. It was a fairly decent timing, and I thought my lines were pretty good.

At least, I believed it would make Maria excited, and Ricardo would reconsider his thoughts about her.

But the moment I walked out the door, I felt weird.

“Something… something was off.

I couldn’t define this feeling I was experiencing for the first time in my life.

My heart was pounding, and it felt like someone was pulling at the back of my head, making me constantly turn around.

Behind me was the door, and beyond that door were Ricardo and Maria.

My mouth felt dry for no reason, and I moistened my lips by sticking out my tongue. It should be okay since no one was watching.

It was somewhat similar to tension, but it was also a slightly different feeling.

“It will go well.”

Trying to push away this strange feeling to the tip of my tongue, I mumbled to myself. But it was futile.

From my fingertips, the tip of my tongue, and my throat, an inexplicable emotion kept welling up.

“Bianca!”

As soon as I arrived at the hall where today’s ball would take place, a voice called out to me.

“Good evening, Your Royal Highness.”

“Asel.”

With a glass of champagne in one hand, Asel smoothly pronounced his name with his lips. Almost as if telling me to follow suit.

“Yes, Prince Aselbrant.”

“Quite meticulous.”

As if winning, Asel tilted his head and casually grabbed a glass of champagne from a passing server.

“Okay. We should synchronize our steps. My dear Bianca Croft, today’s ball is as splendid as you are.”

Extending a new glass of champagne to me, Asel spoke with considerable courtesy.

“If your highness is attending, the venue must shine brightly. Moreover, thank you for coming personally despite your busy schedule.”

Accepting the offered glass of champagne, I responded with an elegant smile.

“If it’s Lady Bianca’s invitation, I must attend. Besides, isn’t this a good opportunity? Thank you for your efforts on behalf of the future Sprendo Imperial citizens.”

Asel, raising his champagne glass slightly, displayed a very princely smile along with princely words.

Without the nonsense, Asel appeared quite refined.

Maybe if he didn’t talk nonsense, Asel could be quite a sophisticated man…

“Why did you fall in love with my seriousness?”

…Never mind. Asel, after all, was Asel.

Leaning his finger against his chin, he laughed with a ‘hmph!’ sound, holding the weight. I quickly erased the thoughts I had just had.

“Thank you for brightening the occasion with your presence. I hope you enjoy the remaining time even more.”

“Oh! Wait a moment!”

Interrupting my businesslike smile and discreetly withdrawing, Asel urgently grabbed my arm.

“I have something for you.”

Asel pulled out an envelope from his pocket.

“A gift.”

As I accepted it, Asel smiled slyly. From his laughter, I had a good idea of what this was about.”

“Thank you, Your Highness.”

“Are you greeting me without even opening it? How do you know what’s inside?”

“It’s probably paperwork from the orphanage, and it’s already approved.”

At my response, Asel’s eyes widened briefly, then he chuckled.

“Indeed. I said something foolish to a clever person like you.”

I responded with a small smile, forgiving his foolish remark as a gesture of generosity.

Handing the documents to a passing maid and instructing her to place them in my room, I turned my head. Asel continued to gaze at me.

“Really a shame.”

“What do you mean?”

“You.”

It was a casually thrown remark.

Whether it was sincere or a joke was uncertain.

“Let’s see. As you know, I’m a very busy Crown Prince.”

Asel swiftly finished the champagne in his hand, placed the empty glass on a nearby table, and extended his empty hand toward me.

“Can I dance with you tonight?”

Dancing with him wasn’t difficult, especially today, a ball where I was the host, and Asel was an important guest. Even without that, dancing with the elusive Crown Prince was indeed an honorable thing.

“But the protagonist hasn’t danced the first dance yet.”

However, I declined Asel’s dance invitation with just a smile.

Whether it was sincere or a joke, unlike his casually thrown words, Asel’s eyes weren’t in an ambiguous state. His lilac eyes were a bit different from usual.

It wasn’t the usual Asel, slightly mischievous and always smiling, making it difficult to understand his thoughts.

Through his lilac eyes, his thoughts were clearly revealed.

Tonight, I want to dance with you.

That’s what he truly wished.

“Maybe you can make an appointment.”

“I’m…….”

“I already heard about Ricardo, he’s escorting another lady tonight, right?”

“I was…….”

“And that lady is the young lady who came out of nowhere, the Marquise of Wensbury.”

“You know her well.”

“Of course I do. It’s just that I’ve been busy keeping an eye on what’s going on with our dear Sprendo nobles.”

He spoke casually, but I knew what he meant. He was telling me that the imperial court was keeping tabs on the nobles to keep them in line.

It was nothing new, so I just laughed it off, and Asel, as if anticipating my reaction, just laughed it off as well.

“So the conclusion is that you will have no partner today, and I have the honor of taking your first dance.”

“His Highness the Crown Prince is asking, and I am rather honored.”

“Does that mean you have a reservation?”

I could no longer resist the persistence of Asel’s repeated requests to dance.

I smiled slightly, knowing I had no choice but to accept.

“This is Maria, Marquise of Wensbury, and Ricardo, Duke of Winkaiser.”

I turned at the sound of voices coming from the staircase leading to the second floor.

Sure enough, there they were, standing in the familiar landing of our home.

Riccardo was staring straight ahead, his expression impassive.

And Maria, shyly, rested her hand on one of his.

“You’re a beautiful woman.”

“Yeah, well, I didn’t expect much from a bastard, to be honest.”

I heard chatter to my right.

They were right, today’s Maria was beautiful. She could have stood next to Ricardo.

Ricardo and Maria stood there for a moment, admiring each other, and then slowly started to walk down the stairs.

“Aah!”

Maria was well on her way down when she suddenly fell.

“Oh, my God!”

“Oh my!”

There was still a long way down the stairs, and there were gasps and sighs from people who couldn’t believe they were about to see a young lady making her social debut fall down a flight of stairs. Some even rolled their eyes in fear.

But thankfully, that didn’t happen.

Ricardo, who was holding her hand, quickly tightened his grip, not only stopping her from rolling away, but also wrapping his other hand around the squirming woman and quickly trapping her in his arms.

“Ah…….”

It was a perfect hug.

Maria, who was shorter than I was, returned the favor, even though she was wearing high heels.

With his arm around her waist, he looked very protective, and she looked like a tiny lark in his arms.

It was a perfect match.

“Go, thank you.”

Maria said, stepping back slightly. Ricardo responded with a slight smile, as if it were no big deal, and offered her his hand again.

Maria smiled shyly and placed her hand back in his.

The stairs were still there.

“They look good together.”

Asell muttered beside her.

I had to say something back to him. Or at least smile.

I knew that was the polite thing to do when listening to someone else’s story.

But for some reason, I couldn’t.

“Maria, are you alright?”

As soon as Maria stumbled, Ricardo quickly held her, preventing her from falling down the stairs.

“Oh dear!”

“Goodness!”

The unexpected incident drew a mix of gasps and sighs from the onlookers. Some even closed their eyes, perhaps in fear of witnessing a debutante’s mishap on the stairs.

Maria, blushing with embarrassment, tried to regain her composure. Ricardo, however, remained calm, helping her steady herself.

“Are you hurt, Maria?”

“I-I’m fine, just a bit startled.”

Ricardo and Maria continued their descent, and I couldn’t help but feel a pang of sympathy for Maria. Debuting in society was nerve-wracking enough without such an unfortunate incident.

As they reached the bottom of the stairs, Ricardo still held Maria’s hand. It was a gesture that caught the attention of many, and whispers and murmurs spread through the crowd.

“Looks like an unexpected twist in tonight’s event.”

“I can’t believe she almost fell!”

“Did you see how Ricardo caught her? That was so romantic!”

The unexpected incident added an air of unpredictability to the evening, and the guests were buzzing with excitement. Meanwhile, I exchanged a glance with Asel, who seemed to find the situation rather amusing.

“Shall we, then?”

Asel extended his hand towards me, inviting me to join him for the dance.

“Yes, Your Highness.”

I accepted his hand, and together, we moved toward the center of the grand hall, where the dance floor awaited. As the music began to play, I couldn’t help but wonder how the rest of the night would unfold.

“Smile Love”