I May Be A Villainess, But I Won't Live My Life That Way - Chapter 52

Chapter 52

Maria spoke in a confident voice,

“I want the most expensive and best dress in this store.”

Perhaps the Countess didn’t give her much money to spend, hence she was wearing a dull and shabby dress. Maybe the best dress she owned was the one I gifted her for her debutante ball. And perhaps wearing it was something Maria’s pride wouldn’t allow.

Perhaps that dress had already been burned to ashes.

“Pfft!”

“Oh, what’s that supposed to mean?”

“It’s not even funny.”

Upon hearing Maria’s words, the Conwell’s young ladies smirked as if they had been waiting to mock her. It was truly reminiscent of a scene from a book.

Casting a glance in their direction, Maria subtly raised one corner of her mouth. It was as if she was saying that the real joke was on them.

It was nothing like a scene from a book.

“I’ve been invited to the royal reception.”

With that single sentence from Maria, the eyes of the young ladies widened.

“What, that bastard was invited to the royal reception?”

Kate muttered in disbelief. And while she didn’t say it out loud, I was equally surprised.

Attending the royal reception was not something anyone could do. Held once a season, it was an event attended only by a select few upper nobility.

While it was outwardly aimed at promoting goodwill and camaraderie among the royalty and nobility, judging by the guests, it was clear that the purpose of the hostess, the Empress, was quite evident.

It was nothing short of seeking favor with Prince Asel. Being invited to this reception was akin to being considered a candidate for the crown princess.

But even though she was a noble from the prestigious Wensbury estate, nominating a bastard for the Crown Princess in the strict-blooded Sprendo was truly astonishing.

“Hmph! Where did you hear such lies?”

Kate exclaimed in disbelief. In an instant, Maria now deemed a liar, turned her head to glare at Kate.

And then she turned to glare at me.

Why me?

While I was surprised, I didn’t think Maria was lying.

She wasn’t vain enough to make up such lies, nor was she foolish enough to not know that impersonating royalty was a serious offense.

So being dragged into this mess alongside her was unjust.

“Are you saying I’m lying?”

Maria stepped forward challengingly, facing Kate.

“Would her Majesty the Empress consort with someone as insignificant as a bastard? That’s highly unlikely.”

“The way you put it, I’m guessing you weren’t invited to the tea party that the lowly bastard was invited to?”

“Me?”

“I’ve been trying to adapt quickly to Sprendo’s social circles, so I haven’t bothered remembering the names of unimportant nobles like you.”

“What?”

Kate, now deemed a noble not worth remembering, flushed red in an instant.

“That, that, that incompetent bastard!”

As Kate couldn’t bear it anymore, she stepped forward defiantly. Maria calmly pulled out a piece of paper from her bag and confidently held it up like a shield in front of her.

“This, this is!”

“Oh my, it bears the royal seal.”

“That luxurious gilding! It’s clearly a royal invitation!”

“Goodness! You really were invited to the royal reception?”

The situation had suddenly turned around. The young ladies, who had treated Maria as a liar, were now flustered and murmuring among themselves in confusion in the face of concrete evidence.

“Hmph!”

With a clear snort, Maria tucked the invitation back into her handbag. Then, she glanced back at us once more.

Her eyes seemed to say, ‘See?’

If you were to ask what I saw, I certainly saw the invitation, and I recognized it as genuine because I had attended such receptions myself.

However, I couldn’t understand why she was showing it off to me so proudly. Was it such a great accomplishment to sip tea with the Empress and Prince Asel?

“Miss Kate.”

“Oh, yes!”

Feeling exhausted from the confrontation with Maria, I called out to Kate, who was still glaring at Maria.

“Here, take this dress…….”

“I’ll take that one.”

I was about to remind her of the blue dress I had selected earlier and suggested we pay and leave when Maria’s voice interrupted us. As she spoke confidently, her finger pointed between us.

More precisely, the blue dress in my hand.

“Hmm…”

Honestly, this dress wasn’t suitable for Maria.

The bluish hue didn’t compliment her fiery red hair or her green eyes. With Maria’s slightly tanned skin, this color would undoubtedly look tacky on her.

Furthermore, while it might look elegant on tall Kate, it wouldn’t suit petite and slender Maria. A more charming design would suit her better, not this dress.

“Do you really want this?”

“Yes.”

I asked again, and Maria replied as if she was determined to take it from me.

If it had been me in the past, that is, if I had been more favorably disposed towards Maria, I would have definitely discouraged her. Because I felt this dress would look dreadful on her.

However, it wasn’t like that now. Maria, adorned with a large ribbon in a garish shade of pink and wearing a dress with green lace, didn’t make me feel the need to comment, even though Kate insisted.

“Ah… well……”

“But Bianca chose this first!”

I was about to hand it over to Maria without any fuss, but Kate intervened, unnecessarily.

“Look for something else!”

“I don’t want to. I like this. Please calculate with this.”

Maria handed her checkbook to the clerk, seemingly forcing the Wensbury Marchioness to reluctantly give in, perhaps to avoid any embarrassment in the imperial gathering.

“Oh, um…”

The clerk looked unsure, glancing between me and Maria.

I smiled at the clerk as if to reassure her and casually tossed the dress I had been holding to the side. There was no need to make her uncomfortable.

The distressed clerk hurried over, ignoring Kate and the other girls’ glares, and finally took the dress.

Maria, now in possession of the dress, looked at me with a triumphant expression, lifting one corner of her mouth in a somewhat unlucky smile.

I couldn’t understand it at all. That dress wouldn’t really suit Maria, would it?

“Hey, mischievous girl!”

After Maria paid and disappeared, Kate shouted in frustration.

“She really doesn’t understand anything! How dare she snatch a dress from Bianca’s hands!”

Another girl chimed in. And another one nodded in agreement, as if confirming the righteousness of their words.

Why are these people like this again?

“Why are you all so worked up?”

“How can we not be! That bastard took Bianca’s dress!”

Suddenly, the dress became mine.

Certainly, it was a dress that would look good on me, but I had clearly chosen it as Kate’s dress.

“This is really infuriating!”

“Daring to compete with Bianca! Even among marchionesses, there’s a heaven-and-earth difference between her and Bianca!”

“Calm down. There are plenty of dresses.”

“But!”

“I don’t mind if it’s not that dress.”

I said quietly, sincerely. The dress wasn’t important. My face, body, and attitude were far more important than the dress. And I had a perfect face, a perfect body, and a perfect attitude. The dress was just a minor decoration.

“Oh, how broad-minded Lady Bianca is.”

“Really! I’m angrier watching this than she is!”

But I couldn’t honestly tell them my true feelings. So, what could I do? I had to give them the warm and gentle smile they wanted to see.

***
“Goodness?”

The surprised voice of Panya came as she opened the carriage door. Her body obstructed my view, so I couldn’t see what was happening inside the carriage.

“What’s wrong?”

“There’s something inside the carriage.”

Turning around, Panya held a letter envelope in her hand. It was completely blank, devoid of any sender’s name or family crest—a truly blank envelope.

I glanced around, but there was no one suspiciously watching us.

“It’s best to get into the carriage for now.”

“Yes, miss.”

We got into the carriage, and I instructed the driver to start towards home. I cracked the window open slightly and looked outside again, but there was no sign of any mysterious shadows.

“Shall we open it?”

Panya asked me, holding up the envelope.

“Put this on and then open it.”

Just to be cautious, I handed her my gloves. Taken aback, Panya accepted the gloves and put them on, even managing a slightly embarrassed smile.

With a rustling sound, Panya opened the envelope and pulled out a white piece of paper.

The paper was also entirely ordinary, with no markings whatsoever. It was so ordinary that it was impossible to tell who had sent it.

“Read it.”

“Yes, miss. What?”

Panya’s gaze shifted to the letter, her expression once again slightly surprised as she widened her eyes and looked at me.

“Read it, Panya.”

“Don’t dig any deeper. Otherwise, only death awaits you.”

The content, read in Panya’s innocent voice, didn’t match the menacing tone of the letter at all.

“What, what is this? What does it mean?”

Panya, clueless, looked at me with a frightened expression. But to me, it was rather a welcome letter, with implications I could guess.

I understood immediately not to dig any deeper. There was only one thing I was currently delving into.

The death of Megi.

So, undoubtedly, the person who sent this threatening letter was Megi’s murderer.

“How dare someone order me around?”

I gritted my teeth.

“Smile Love”