Chapter 9 Part 3
Since it would be a home where I might someday live after leaving Laté, I couldn’t ask a maid to look into it—it was something I had to do myself.
“Perhaps it’s because I have a lot of money, but there are many suitable houses. For now… should I buy one here?”
There were plenty of beautiful residences facing the sea, just as I had imagined before.
After looking through catalogs, I decided to purchase a small villa in a suitable location and promptly sent real estate contracts discreetly.
After that, until the party, I spent several days handling work and passing languid time.
In between, Abel’s letters came almost daily without signs of tiring, and I spent considerable time rejecting each one.
Without even checking, they were all probably about being partners for the Artine family’s party. After this many rejections, he should understand, but he’s really persistent.
Of course, I know that among Abel’s protagonist keywords is #obsessivemalelead, but this is too much even by those standards…
“My lady, His Highness has sent another letter today… what should we do?”
“We’ll meet at the party soon anyway, so he’s being impatient. Throw it away.”
“Yes.”
Even the maids and Lynn now knew that I wasn’t on good terms with Abel, so they no longer tried to pair me with him.
Of course, that didn’t mean they supported my relationship with Hyle either.
The servants of Laté were Laté through and through.
“Then, my lady, your partner for this party will be…”
“A carriage will come from Feros in the morning on the day of the party, like last time.”
“Ah, I see. Understood.”
Given that, keeping distance from the Feros, whose nature was the exact opposite of Laté’s, was perhaps natural for them.
But their mistress—me—was openly meeting with Feros, so they couldn’t exactly forbid it or welcome it.
After how much tedious time had passed?
Finally, the day of the party hosted by the Artine family arrived.
“My lady, a carriage from Feros has arrived.”
As scheduled, on the day of the party, Hyle once again arrived early at the Laté mansion.
Coming here must be disagreeable for him, yet seeing him come to pick me up every time without complaint…
“How admirable, never being late once.”
I had already finished preparations.
The dark scarlet dress, a shade deeper than my hair color, seemed to suit me especially well today.
Antoinette’s excited introduction of this dress as a masterpiece created with particular care didn’t seem to be just empty talk after all.
However, I had briefly struggled when the maids tried to attach a large black rose brooch, insisting I needed to be adorned in a manner befitting my “Black Rose” title.
Don’t you think being called the Black Rose is a bit much now? I haven’t shown my face in social circles unless necessary for quite some time…
In any case, after my adamant refusal, I fortunately ended up with an ordinary pink rose pin.
More than that… as I looked in the mirror, I could clearly feel that I wasn’t the image of a female protagonist.
Objectively speaking, I appeared quite sharp, not at all capable of speaking the kind words typical of common novel heroines.
“Hmm, I think I look a bit fierce today… Lynn, what do you think?”
“Well? To my eyes, you’re just the most beautiful in Pendium. From the beginning, that hard-to-approach, mysterious aura is precisely your charm, my lady!”
Even a cat would probably look gentler than me. But smoothing my impression with frivolous smiles didn’t suit me, so it couldn’t be helped.
Above all, I had decided to go on strike as a villainess, not declared that I would live kindly, so it didn’t matter either way.
“But the Young Marquis Feros is really remarkable. Since I’m not a holy power user, I don’t know, but I’ve heard that those with holy power flowing in their bodies find contact with magical power extremely unpleasant. Especially the closer they are to high priests…”
“…Hmm, is that so?”
Those who handle holy power find even contact with magical power unpleasant… this was the first time I’d heard this.
Of course, since I couldn’t remember the original work 100%, it might have been mentioned there… but since I couldn’t recall, it was essentially new information to me.
As someone who uses magical power, I only avoided holy power because it left red scars like before, not because I found it particularly unpleasant.
Therefore, I had never considered the opposite perspective… does that mean Hyle felt displeasure every time he touched me?
Wow… this suddenly makes me feel very sorry.
All the more so because Hyle had never once shown any sign of displeasure during our meetings.
Even inadvertently, he could have shown some sign of dislike, but Hyle, until now, truly not even once…
“Lynn. Is that true?”
“Yes, I have a friend who works at the temple. Though not a priest, having worked there for a long time, they know quite a bit.”
It’s not even a rumor but a fact… this is even more troubling.
That means Hyle is experiencing all kinds of discomfort even at this moment, standing at the entrance of the mansion?
“Right, let’s hurry.”
“Yes!”
As I quickly moved outside, my mouth felt strangely parched.
I’d had two cups of tea this morning, but somehow I felt dehydrated again.
Fortunately, today I was able to leave the mansion directly without encountering Fergio or Mattio.
Meeting them every time was a great misfortune and weariness for me, so this was quite a good start to the day.
Ah, of course, except for the fact that I became uncomfortable thanks to learning a new fact.
If I hadn’t known, I would have faced Hyle with my usual brazen face… but knowing the truth, I strangely didn’t want to have more contact with him than necessary.
Still, having a conscience toward the one who saved my life, acting the same as when I didn’t know would be disrespectful to him. I don’t have that thick a skin either.
“Rosiel.”
“Hello, Hyle.”
Hyle turned his head, sensing my presence.
The black uniform with an emerald-green brooch suited him perfectly.
The pure white lace cravat inside his uniform was extremely elaborate, but sadly, it was completely overshadowed by Hyle’s even more extraordinary beauty.
Perhaps it was due to his careful attention to appearance in keeping with the strongly classical atmosphere of the Artine family’s party. Today, Hyle looked particularly good.
No matter that he was merely the secondary male lead, he was indeed a male protagonist in his own right.
Meanwhile, Hyle’s green eyes, as deep as an abyss, seemed particularly subdued compared to usual.
What’s this, is he in a bad mood today?
Hmm, that’s possible. Just touching me would make him feel bad, and on top of that, being in a place full of demonic power… managing his expression must be quite challenging.
This was something I needed to understand. The only consideration I could offer him now was to leave this place as quickly as possible.
With that resolve, I completely ignored Hyle’s outstretched hand and boarded the carriage.
I didn’t want to waste time on polite formalities like handshaking.
“What are you doing? Get in quickly.”
When I gestured for him to hurry up as he stared at me blankly, he slowly entered the carriage with somewhat puzzled eyes.
Once the carriage departed, I positioned myself as far from him as possible—that is, at the absolute edge of the seat.
Then I pressed myself against the wall, so close that my cheek almost touched the window.
Anyway, if he realized that I knew the truth, Hyle might feel unnecessarily uncomfortable too, so I was determined to keep him from knowing, doing my best in my own way.
For that, I needed to act naturally as usual. Let’s see… would a compliment about his attire sound natural?
“You look pretty today. You must have put in some effort.”
“…Shouldn’t I be the one saying that?”
Hmm, is this not working? The response is quite lackluster.
“Feel free to say it if you want. I won’t refuse.”
As I answered with a shrug, Hyle opened his eyes drowsily.
Through his half-lidded eyes, pale green pupils were examining me meticulously.
What’s with that expression? Does it mean the discomfort hasn’t dissipated despite this distance?
This is the best I can do in a carriage. Would it be more comfortable if I opened a window?
“Hey, I’m going to open the window.”
“Wait, Rosiel! If you open it now…!”
