Chapter 67
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 67
Besides, the diary was written in the first person, so names were never even mentioned. It wasn’t as if Evangeline’s mother had scrawled “Amaranth” right across the cover.
“Are you going to keep this up?”
“Don’t worry, Father. Once we’re at the Imperial Palace, I’ll behave exactly as you’ve instructed.”
The Count, who had been about to say something more, snapped his mouth shut.
“You should be more careful yourself, Father. Shouldn’t you at least pretend to pity your sickly, amnesiac daughter?”
Honestly, I thought the Count was the bigger problem. His complete indifference toward his own daughter was what allowed all those strange rumors to run wild in the first place. It only fueled the gossip, with people whispering that she was a villainess abandoned by her own father.
Perhaps the jab hit too close to home, because the Count remained silent.
“Well, I’ll be going now.”
There was no point in talking to him any further. Besides, Misha had told me to come back early to prepare for the debutante ball, so I needed to head back.
The moment I returned, however, I immediately regretted it.
“You’re late!”
Misha was waiting for me, her eyes practically blazing.
The second I walked through the door, I was seized and fussed over from head to toe. “Fussed over” is a polite way of putting it—I was practically assaulted. Since possessing Evangeline, I had never been handled so intensely by anyone. The most I’d ever done with Gabriel, the male lead, was hold hands and receive a kiss on the back of my hand! During the massage, they poured so much scented oil on me that I reeked of flowers.
Under Misha’s strict supervision, Daisy and Hena got to work on my makeup and hair. Canna, who lacked a delicate touch, was banished by Misha and could only watch glumly from a corner.
My hair was dusted with gold and silver powder, styled to enhance its natural curls, and then set in place. It was amazing how, instead of clumping, the curls felt incredibly soft and silky. This had to be the work of a true master.
The dress had also undergone some minor alterations. I thought it was completely finished last time, but apparently, they’d found more things to adjust after the fitting. It was like dealing with a file named `final_final_v2_really_final`.
While the subtle alterations were hard to spot, one change was glaringly obvious: the dress was now adorned with red rubies. And not just any rubies—they were intricately carved into the shape of flowers. Traditionally, debutantes carried bouquets, but the trend had recently shifted toward simpler floral corsages or hair ornaments.
“Wearing fresh flowers is especially trendy right now,” Misha explained.
Since fresh flowers inevitably withered over the course of a long event, some ladies even brought a dedicated maid just to swap out the dying blossoms.
“Of course, fresh flowers would suit you beautifully, my lady. But since you are much more mature than the other young ladies, I wanted to set you apart.”
Misha had politely phrased it as “mature,” but she really meant I was older. Girls usually made their debut around sixteen, which made Evangeline four years past the typical age. I felt like a college senior working on a graduation thesis among a crowd of bright-eyed freshmen. In that case, I definitely shouldn’t be wearing fresh flowers like the other girls.
Fortunately, the ruby-carved flowers suited Evangeline far better than real ones. The deep red perfectly matched her eyes. As I admired the gems, running my fingers over them, Misha gave me a sly wink.
“And about those jewels… I wasn’t the one who prepared them. It was Sir Gabriel.”
Gabriel did this? Suddenly, the jewels felt incredibly heavy. I was the one stringing him along, so why was he going out of his way to prepare something like this? It made me feel so guilty…
Finally, the preparations concluded with me pulling on a pair of white lace gloves. When I noticed they felt unusually warm, I was told that Canna had been holding them the entire time to warm them up. She shyly explained her reasoning.
“It’s raining outside. What if you get cold, my lady?”
“The young lady catching a cold?” Misha asked, intrigued.
“Yes! Because my lady is very sickly.”
“Ah… Miss Canna, you truly do worry about the young lady a great deal.”
Misha looked impressed. I felt my chest swell with pride. You don’t have a ‘sunshine female lead’ in your house, do you? This is what a true sunshine character looks like. Rain or shine, her only concern was me. Though dark clouds filled the sky outside, it felt like warm sunlight was beaming down in my heart. Suppressing the grin that threatened to spread across my face, I offered my thanks.
“Thank you.”
“It’s nothing, my lady. You look absolutely beautiful!”
Just as Canna said, all dolled up like this, I looked insanely gorgeous. My cascading hair looked like spun silver, and with more color on my lips and cheeks than usual, I looked like a living doll. Yes, indeed. To play the part of a RoFan villainess, you needed this level of visual impact. It was truly a face capable of bewitching the female lead and turning the male lead into a complete sucker.
Was everything ready? Misha took one last look at me, closed her eyes in sheer satisfaction, and began to sway. I don’t mean that metaphorically—she literally wobbled on her feet.
“I can die happy now…”
“What? Madame Artemisia? Pull yourself together!”
Daisy barely managed to catch Misha as she collapsed. Did she seriously just faint? Worried, I leaned in to check on her, only to hear soft, rhythmic snores.
“It seems she collapsed from sheer exhaustion.”
Just how tired did you have to be to fall asleep while standing up? The dress had been a rush order, and she had been working without sleep, so her fatigue must have been off the charts. I would definitely have to give Misha a massive bonus.
“We can’t just leave her like this. Let’s move her to a room.”
“Yes, my lady.”
Hena and Daisy supported Misha from either side and led her out of the room. Since Misha was taller than both of them, her feet dragged along the floor. Surely there was a better way to carry her.
“A corpse was carried out of the young lady’s room…!”
“She’s still alive,” Hena’s voice drifted back from the hallway.
Unfortunately, there must have been other people outside. Since the door was open, I could hear everything. But… Hena, saying she’s still alive made it sound like she was going to die eventually, didn’t it? Well, technically everyone dies, but still…
“She fainted from exhaustion. Could you please take her to her room?”
“Y-Yes…”
Since it was too much for the two of them to carry Misha, they asked the male servants for help. By tomorrow, I was sure another rumor would spread through the mansion claiming that I had knocked Misha unconscious. Technically, she fainted from overworking on my dress, so it wasn’t entirely false.
And so, another rumor was born. As I clutched my head in exasperation, the two maids returned. With Misha asleep and my preparations complete, was it time to leave?
“My lady, shall we depart right away?”
“When does the banquet start?”
“It starts at eight, so we still have about three hours.”
“Really? Then… go ask the Count what time he plans to depart.”
Since I had never been to a banquet before, I wasn’t sure what the appropriate arrival time was. Was I supposed to go early and socialize? Hmm, probably not. The main character is supposed to make a grand, late entrance.
While I was busy recalling RoFan clichés, one of the maids spoke up hesitantly.
“M-My lady, the Count has already departed.”
What?
My preparations hadn’t even taken that long, and he just left without me? There was still plenty of time before the banquet, yet he’d snuck out first? I hadn’t planned on sharing a carriage with him anyway, but it still annoyed me.
Whatever. I’d just take my time. Since Madame Toten still hadn’t contacted me, Bishop Marik would probably have to be my chaperone. Going early would just mean sitting there tensely in front of an exorcist anyway.
To kill as much time as possible, I was playing with Pudding when Jelly, who was looking out the window, suddenly called out to me.
“Master.”
That damn “Master.” Ever since Jelly used that title to tease me in front of Raphaella, he had stubbornly stuck to it. He absolutely refused to listen, even when I told him to just call me Evangeline.
“Someone is coming.”
“Who?”
There shouldn’t be anyone coming to visit. Besides, who would show up in this pouring rain? Could it be Gabriel?
I walked over to Jelly and peered out the window. All I could see were sheets of rain. Then again, Jelly was a beastkin, so his eyesight was far superior to mine. It made sense that I couldn’t see anything yet.
I stared intently in the direction Jelly was looking. After a long moment, a blurry shape materialized, and a horse suddenly burst into view. Ah, it definitely wasn’t Gabriel. The horse he rode was a fine black steed, just like its master.
A figure wrapped in a soaking-wet cloak leaped off the horse. Since the main gates were closed, they couldn’t enter and simply stood waiting outside.
“It’s a presence I don’t recognize… It looks like they have business with you, Master. Shall I bring them in?”
Perhaps because he’d been scolded for dealing with the spies watching me without permission, Jelly hesitantly asked for my approval. When I nodded, his tail wagged excitedly. The whole exchange felt like we were playing fetch, which gave me a strange feeling. Was Jelly a dog instead of a wolf?
“Don’t hurt them. Bring them in gently.”
I quickly added the condition, worried he might bring them back with a broken bone or two. A spy wouldn’t reveal themselves so openly. If it was a knight sent by Gabriel or simply a guest, they shouldn’t be harmed.
“Yeees…” Jelly dragged out his response grumpily before teleporting away.
Before I could even blink, he reappeared right in front of me with the cloaked figure in tow.
No, Jelly! I meant for you to go downstairs and escort them up, not use magic to bypass every normal step and summon them right before my eyes! Why don’t you just write “I’m a mage” on your forehead while you’re at it!
“I brought them back perfectly fine, just as you asked.”
“That’s not what I meant by… No, never mind. Good job, Jelly.”
What more could I expect from him? Suppressing a throbbing headache, I focused on the mysterious figure. The person Jelly had brought was absolutely drenched, their cloak dripping rainwater all over the floor. From beneath the wet hood, an unexpected voice spoke.
“Lady Rohanson…”
“Madame Toten?”
As I carefully pulled back the hood, the face revealed was someone I had never expected to see. Why was Madame Toten here? She hadn’t contacted me at all, and now she shows up dramatically right before the banquet? Was she filming a movie or something? Then again, I supposed a dramatic entrance fit the RoFan genre perfectly.
Madame Toten’s face was pale, likely from the rain. No matter how thick the cloak, fabric couldn’t completely block a torrential downpour. The distance from the Marquis Toten’s estate to my house was considerable even by carriage; riding a horse through this storm meant she couldn’t possibly be in good shape.
Madame Toten, who had been muttering to herself, seemed to snap out of a daze at the sound of my voice. She looked around in confusion, her eyes widening in shock.
“What in the world… I was just outside a moment ago?”