I May Be A Villainess, But I Won't Live My Life That Way - Chapter 88

Chapter 88

“Welcome, Lady Bianca.”

Maria greeted me through clenched teeth, her voice almost like a ventriloquist’s.

“I’m surprised you came, considering how busy you are.”

“Of course, Lady Maria. How could I not come after receiving your invitation?”

I responded with a bright smile, and Maria bit her upper lip this time.

What she was really saying was, “Why are you here? Who invited you?” which was understandable since I smiled back.

“I don’t recall inviting Lady Bianca among my esteemed guests.”

Maria glared at me, and I simply lifted my chin slightly, looking down at her with a gaze that said, “You know exactly who I came with.”

As we stared each other down, the surrounding noise of people exchanging greetings fell into a tense silence.

The lively chatter that had filled the air before I arrived had vanished. 

Everyone had fallen silent, their eyes sparkling with anticipation as they watched the atmosphere between Maria and me swell like a balloon about to burst.

“Bianca.”

The tension deflated with a quiet hiss at the sound of a calm voice.

“Lord Ricardo!”

“Ricardo.”

The moment the two women simultaneously uttered his name as he approached me, the atmosphere shifted dramatically.

The eyes of those pretending not to notice us now shone with even more curiosity.

“You may not have invited me, but you did invite my fiancée. A husband and wife are one in spirit, so it’s as good as if I were invited too.”

With an even broader smile, I moved closer to Ricardo, standing so close that the bare skin of my back touched his shoulder.

Maria bit her lip again as she watched me make a show of my closeness to him.

“Thank you for inviting us to such a meaningful charity ball,” Ricardo said as Maria relaxed her bitten lip and forced a warm smile.

“Not at all. Thank you for coming and gracing us with your presence…”

“Oh, there’s Earl Llewellyn over there. Let’s go say hello, Ricardo.”

Before Maria could finish her sentence, I linked my arm with Ricardo’s and pulled him away. Maria’s smile quickly faded again.

As Ricardo allowed himself to be led away by me, I wore a triumphant smile as we left the spot.

“How was that?” I whispered quietly to Ricardo as I glanced back at him.

“She’s glaring.”

“And the others?”

“They’re whispering among themselves.”

“Everything’s going according to plan. Oh! Lord Llewellyn, it’s been a while!”

While I had been smiling slightly, I now turned to the young earl before me and bloomed with a radiant smile like a flower.

“Honestly, I was a bit surprised.”

After sweeping across the dance floor with one song, Ricardo and I naturally moved to the periphery.

It had been a while since I danced, and I enjoyed it regardless of how the others were watching us.

After taking a sip of champagne to calm my breathing, I whispered softly to Ricardo beside me.

“I didn’t expect Lady Maria to act so well.”

“Actually, neither did I. Maybe Miss Maria has a talent for it.”

Ricardo whispered back, looking at Maria in the distance.

“Thanks to Lady Maria’s talent, the Viscount of Wensbury won’t suspect anything between us. Neither will anyone else here.”

Maria was mingling well with the nobles invited to the ball.

It was only natural. Everyone who was invited and willingly attended this event must have an open heart towards Maria or the Wensbury family.

At least within a certain circle of the Sprendo social scene, Maria had been accepted.

“So, we’ve made it safely to the heart of enemy territory. What do you plan to do next?”

Ricardo spoke as if he were a knight awaiting orders.

“If this were a real battle, what would you do?”

“It depends on the strategy, but usually, the objective is clear: charge at the enemy and claim the head of their leader.”

Ricardo took a sip of champagne and casually glanced around. His gaze stopped when he spotted the Viscount of Wensbury in the distance.

At that moment, Ricardo’s eyes sharpened, and an eerie aura seemed to emanate from him.

“Ricardo.”

I quietly called his name and grabbed his arm, causing him to close his eyes slowly.

“This is difficult.”

His low voice carried a hint of frustration.

“It would be easier to be on horseback, wielding a sword. Having to smile and watch while the enemy is right in front of you…”

It wasn’t just a hint of frustration; it was outright lamentation.

“Do you know those people over there?” I asked, subtly gesturing with my chin.

They were a group that had a slightly different vibe from the usual nobles. All of them were tall and had solid builds.

Their voices were loud enough that even from a distance, their boisterous conversation could be heard. They were throwing around words like swords and duels.

“They’re knights from the Second Order.”

As expected.

“If they were invited here, they must be elite among them, right?”

“Most likely.”

“They’ll probably be tasked with guarding the Viscount of Wensbury or Lord Raintar during the hunting tournament.”

“Perhaps.”

Finally, Ricardo began to take a closer look at them.

“Why don’t you strike up a conversation? The Imperial Hunting Tournament would be a good topic.”

“Alright.”

Ricardo nodded and strode over to them.

I was slightly worried that Ricardo might not blend in with them, but as expected, there wasn’t a knight in the Empire who would refuse to associate with its best swordsman.

As soon as Ricardo approached, they eagerly made room for him and even offered him drinks with enthusiasm.

Now, where is their commander?

I turned my head and spotted him not far away.

“Oh, Lord Raintar.”

Picking up a glass of wine, I approached and saw a man with the same red hair as Maria’s.

“Ah, Lady Bianca.”

Lord Raintar, who turned to look at me, appeared slightly intoxicated.

His eyes were as red as his hair, and my name, which came from his lips, was slightly slurred.

“I didn’t expect you to come.”

“You’re saying the same thing as Lady Maria. Perhaps it’s because you two are siblings?”

I smiled slightly and offered him the wine I had just picked up. Despite being already intoxicated, Lord Raintar didn’t refuse it.

“It feels like it’s been a while. How have you been, Lord Raintar?”

“I haven’t been… well.”

Raintar shook his head, and the expression on his face showed clear signs of distress, as if things had not been going well for him.

“Oh dear, has something happened?”

“It’s not what happened to me, but to you, Lady Bianca.”

Lord Raintar downed his wine in one go and looked straight at me. His lips, stained dark red from the wine, trembled slightly.

“It seems you’ve heard rumors about me.”

“…”

When I calmly met Raintar’s eyes, his gaze wavered greatly before he eventually looked away.

“I’m fine.”

“…”

“Thank you for your concern, Lord Raintar…”

“I want to take responsibility.”

“Pardon?”

“I… I want to take responsibility for you, Lady Bianca.”

Lord Raintar’s voice was trembling as he spoke. In fact, it wasn’t just his voice that was shaking.

Lord Raintar’s hand, holding the empty wine glass, was shaking. His face turned away from me, and his legs, barely holding him up, were trembling.

He was.

Though Lord Raintar seemed a bit tipsy earlier, he wasn’t shaking like this. I had only offered him a single glass of wine.

He was trembling as if isolated in the cold of a harsh winter, like someone who had seen the ghost of a comrade frozen to death in a snowstorm.

“Lord Raintar, are you alright? You’re shaking quite a lot.”

“Lady Bianca, are you worried about me right now?”

“Yes. Seeing you like this makes me a bit concerned. Could you please hand that glass to me? I’m worried you might drop it and hurt yourself with how much you’re shaking.”

“Lady Bianca, you are…”

Even though I was merely offering to take the wine glass, Lord Raintar was so moved that he couldn’t continue speaking.

No matter how much he liked me, this wasn’t a normal reaction.

There was something more.

“And I’ll pretend I didn’t hear what you said earlier. I can’t understand why you would want to take responsibility for me, Lord Raintar.”

I reached out and took the wine glass from his hand. As I did, his hand lightly brushed against mine.

At that moment, Lord Raintar flinched and, unable to bear it any longer, grabbed my hand tightly.

“If there is a reason why I must take responsibility, would you hold me accountable?”

No more shaking from Lord Raintar’s hand.

It seemed he had made a significant decision. He stared at me with his lips firmly pressed together.

“Well…”

I looked at Lord Raintar with what seemed like genuine confusion, but inside, my heart was racing.

Did he know something?

Did he know what his father had done?

If so, I might be able to use Lord Raintar as a witness to accuse the Viscount of Wensbury.

“Lady Bianca, what I meant by saying I would take responsibility for you is…”

In the tension, I unconsciously clenched my fists.

Struggling with his final words, Lord Raintar’s lips slowly parted.

“In truth, the reason for what happened to you is…”

“Lord Raintar!”

A loud voice sharply cut through, interrupting Raintar.