But Why Are You the One Freaking Out?
“Alright, Lily. Hand.”
“Young master treats his escort like a pet, doesn't he?”
Ah, a roast after all this time.
Well, yeah. “Hand” does kinda sound like something you'd say to a dog.
Anyway, we'd arrived at the imperial ballroom.
I took Lily's hand and slowly walked her toward the entrance.
Man, this is more nerve-wracking than I thought.
It wasn't tension about the ball or anything stupid like that.
Why would I care about some fancy dance party?
No, the reason I was still on edge was the girl walking beside me.
I can't even look her straight in the face.
Lily looked... well, “pretty” didn't even cut it tonight. She was on another level.
Clothes make the woman? Nah, that'd just be crediting the dress.
The whole package was glowing.
Hell, even her unsteady steps in those unfamiliar heels stabbed right at my heart.
Am I the only one feeling this? Nah.
“Ah! This is the ballroom. Please state your identity!”
“Edrick von Heiden of the Heiden Grand Duchy.”
“Confirmed. And the lady beside you... whoa!”
Ah, so I'm not the only one.
The two guards at the entrance had their eyes bug out when they saw Lily.
You punks. First time seeing a girl this stunning, huh?
They must've seen hundreds of pretty noble ladies pass through today.
Yet they gawked at Lily like that?
Made my nose feel a little higher.
Is this the vibe when your girl's a knockout and you stroll around with her? Not that I've ever had a girlfriend.
“Please enter!”
“Mm. Keep up the good work.”
I patted their shoulders like I do with our territory soldiers and headed inside with Lily.
As we pushed open the massive doors to the ballroom...
The guard who'd heard my name bellowed out.
“The second son of the Northern Heiden Grand Duchy, Lord Edrick von Heiden, enters!!”
Whoa, this feels official.
I strode in confidently, and every eye in the ballroom turned to me and Lily.
Oof. Super awkward.
And the moment I stepped in, I knew.
This place is not for me. Confirmed.
I hate this vibe.
Sucks that Lily spent three hours getting dolled up for nothing, but whatever.
Let's wrap up the main business quick and bail. It was necessary to get in, so no big loss.
Everyone was still staring anyway.
I figured it was the perfect moment and shouted from the center.
“Anyone from the Helios Grand Duchy here? Raise your hand.”
“……”
“……”
What the hell? Did these people eat manners for breakfast?
When someone's asking a question, you answer it...
Poke poke!!
Lily jabbed my side and whispered in my ear.
“This is a ballroom! You can't just talk like you're back in the territory!”
“Uh... is that bad?”
“That's part of what I like about you... but you're an idiot.”
Her last words were so quiet, like a mumble. Probably just to herself.
Anyway, yeah, that tone was probably off on second thought.
So, like this?
Ahem, ahem. “I've come here looking for someone. If you're connected to the Helios Grand Duchy, let's have a frank talk.”
“……”
“……”
“……”
“……”
Still no answers.
Lily, this isn't about my wording, right?
Right as I thought that...
“Kyaaah!!”
“The knight on the white horse came to save Lady Katarina!!”
“O-over there! Lord Edrick, I'm Semele of the Nigel Viscountcy. What's your relationship with Lady Katarina?”
“I'm Arte of the Lapan Earldom! Introduce your partner to everyone, Lord Edrick!”
“Whoa whoa... why are you all coming at me...”
Dresses swirled as girls swarmed us, squealing.
What the actual fuck??
I seriously don't get this.
I just walked in and said, “Anyone from the Western Grand Duchy, show yourself quick!”
Why are all these girls glomming onto me??
Lily was just as flustered, clinging tight to my arm and squeezing her eyes shut against the barrage of questions.
Squish.
Ahh, can't even enjoy a moment like this.
We were surrounded, speechless, for a while when...
Suddenly, some guy yelled from across the room.
“Everyone, quiet!! My partner has been insulted! I want to continue that story!!”
“Crown Prince...”
“Aah... it's a battlefield.”
“I-I'll never forget this night.”
“The night is just beginning!! Let's all watch closely! See where it takes us by the end!!”
...Are these people okay in the head?
That guy's pissed and yelling, but the girls around me are thrilled watching it?
Are balls only for the mentally unstable?
Wait. More importantly...
That punk looks familiar. From the webtoon, right?
Got it.
Flashy outfit that stands out more than anyone else's, golden blond hair on a pretty boy.
That's Crown Prince Claude from I Reincarnated as the Villainess, So I'll Live Happily.
Full name: Claude Elysion.
Apparently, in romance fantasies, imperial names skip the fancy middles like “de” or “von.”
No real reason—his sister said it's to set the royals apart since they're special.
And yeah, the imperial surname is obviously the empire's name: Elysion Empire.
I'd never paid much attention before, but that's the gist.
As I mulled that over, a long-haired greasy dude stepped out from behind the prince.
“Quite right. Rival though I am, tonight I agree with His Highness.”
That butter-dripping face—yep, him.
Southern Grand Duke, Lavian de Delacroix.
What, all the spineless eunuchs gathered today?
Next up, please.
“A vulgar brute who wouldn't know the first thing about magic.”
“If you're a knight, act like one!”
Right on cue.
The blue-haired snotty kid ranting about magic: Magic Tower successor, Caerus Eterno.
The redhead yapping about knights: Leonhardt von Tern, the young Imperial Knight Commander.
All of 'em showed up. Buncha eunuchs I can't stand.
Oh, there's one more, but he met my eyes and looked away.
“……”
Who else? Our own Heiden family disgrace, current Northern Grand Duke Cedric.
At least he has the decency not to pipe up.
The four eunuchs lined up front and center, and hearts popped in the girls' eyes around me.
Don't fall for it, ladies. They've got issues downstairs. You'd get nothing fun out of them.
Anyway, no point tangling with eunuchs—I'd just end up lumped in. Back to business.
“Is that so? Then comfort your insulted partner yourself. So, no one from Helios Grand Duchy? Come talk to me.”
“You!! Mocking me, are you?!”
...?
Why's this punk picking a fight with me?
“Let's both be on our way. We're both busy looking for people.”
“You mentioned the Helios family name!! Do you not know that woman over there—the one who insulted my partner—is Katarina de Helios?!”
“...?? How the hell would I know that?”
What a fucking moron.
Why would I know that?
Wait a sec.
Katarina??
Her? The crown prince's fiancée. The villainess who gets publicly shamed in the judgment event.
Right!!
Her last name's Helios.
And suddenly, all the puzzle pieces clicked.
Foundational Festival ball... it was nagging at me. This is the villainess judgment event day!
Did I just barge into the middle of the judgment event??
I was still sorting my thoughts, glaring at the prince, when...
A woman with overwhelming presence strode toward me.
Ah. There she is. Katarina de Helios.
Pale, translucent platinum blonde.
Her full hair swept up high into a grand, classical updo.
Sharp cat-like eyes with upturned corners, a slender pointed chin like a veil.
Delicate nose and lips—everything screamed “highborn lady.”
Put simply: a stunning, glamorous beauty.
But...
She looks every bit the screaming villainess.
All those perfect features twisted into a perpetual scowl made her seem like a total bitch.
How does someone born looking that much like a villainess even exist?
Katarina de Helios click-clacked right up to me...
Whoosh.
...and hid straight behind my back.
“...? Excuse me?”
Why hide without a word?
The prince saw it and roared in fury.
“Katarina de Helios!! Make your excuses! Or I'll expose your vile deeds to everyone here!!”
Ah, smack in the middle of the judgment event, huh.
But how did it go exactly?
She splashes Miliela's face with water like some morning soap opera, then her crimes get aired out and she's disowned by her family?
Her fate after was even worse in my memory.
Sold off to some creepy old noble in the boonies, probably.
Typical romance fantasy—villains who slander the heroine get brutal revenge endings. Girls love that shit.
As I thought that, something tugged lightly at my clothes from behind.
“What?”
I turned, and...
She's trembling.
Her usual sharp, villainess-like glare made it hard to tell, but...
Her whole body quivering betrayed how she was barely holding it together.
Well, yeah. Villainess or not...
She's just eighteen—an average Korean high school girl age.
She confronts her cheating boyfriend, and suddenly a pack of burly guys surrounds her.
Now, in front of this crowd, they're saying, “We're about to humiliate you for life.”
She must be terrified enough to faint.
Something about this rubs me wrong.
Sure, she's the villainess.
Probably did shady shit behind the scenes, like the novel says.
But...
Is it worth publicly slaughtering a young girl like this over?
Come to think of it, even in the original, this scene never felt like sweet justice to me.
I picked up the thick stack of papers Knight Commander Leonhardt had thrown on the floor a few steps away.
I skimmed it slowly, and the prince smirked, shouting at me.
“Yes! You'll see what that wretched woman has done behind the scenes.”
Hmm.
Exactly the crimes from the novel.
Tampering with Miliela's carriage wheel, luring monsters, that stuff.
Naturally, my honest reaction slipped out.
“What a bitch.”
“Right! That slut... huh?”
The prince tilted his head, thrown by my blunt agreement.
To that pretty-boy face, I gave my even more honest take.
“But why are you freaking out?”