NMRJKM Chapter 106

 

I did my best to maintain a neutral expression as I carefully descended the stairs. Carlothian’s arm, supporting me, felt strong and steady.

Yes, I am not alone here. Carlothian is with me.

We reached the bottom of the stairs and confidently walked across the center of the hall. Carlothian seemed very familiar with the surroundings, but I was not, and my legs beneath the dress were trembling.

Carlothian slightly lowered his head and whispered in my ear.

“Don’t be too nervous.”

I lifted my head and whispered back the same.

“How can I not be nervous here?”

Carlothian looked down at me quietly, then soon grabbed my waist and moved us away from the central path towards the wall. There were already many nobles settled there, and as we approached, they parted like the Red Sea.

It could be said that it was a collaboration between the infamous duke and the infamous villainess. Let’s think of it as being because of me.

“Ha…”

Fortunately, just moving away from the center eased my tension a bit. The gazes of the people were still glued to us, though.

“It will start soon.”

Carlothian checked the time. Literally, there was not much time left until the banquet began.

“Countess Dubre and Sir Siron are entering!”

After a few more entrances, the doors soon closed. It meant all the nobles had arrived.

The whispers of the people still did not stop. It must be about me and Carlothian.

After some time had passed, the doors swung open once more. The reopening of the doors after all the nobles had arrived meant only one thing.

“Her Imperial Highness, the First Princess of the Empire, Yermondi Volovichya, has arrived!”

The entrance of the royal family. She was entering with a line of maids behind her, dressed in a pure white gown. Though she had no partner, her beauty was so striking that it overshadowed that fact.

The white dress lightly revealed her white ankles, and the shawl, seemingly made of chiffon, made her look like a fairy.

Her pink hair, curled adorably, and her eyes, blue like the sea on a cloudless day, added to her charm.

With a smile that curved her eyes, she looked like an angel.

But beneath that exterior.

I quietly observed her. She passed through the central path and ascended to the highest seat, soon turning to face the nobles.

“I truly appreciate everyone participating in my birthday celebration. For all those who have joined, there is a special gift prepared, so please make sure to receive it before you leave.”

She even prepared gifts for the guests. The people smiled at her thoughtful consideration.

However, only Carlothian and I rolled our eyes. I wondered how she had managed to prepare all this. Princess Yermondi.

I looked around. Then I noticed something strange.

Huh? No matter how much it’s the princess’s birthday celebration, isn’t there an excessive number of palace knights? Suspicious, very suspicious.

I immediately nudged Carlothian’s side and asked.

“How many knights from the Duke of Denaves are participating in today’s banquet?”

“About fifteen.”

Hearing that, I counted the visible number of palace knights. There seemed to be at least thirty. It was clearly lacking in numbers. I rubbed my tongue against my canine teeth and soon smiled. Because.

“Ariadeline!”

As soon as the princess descended from the highest seat, she looked for me. I greeted her with a bright smile, just like hers.

“Thank you so much for the invitation, Princess Yermondi.”

“No, it’s only natural to invite you since you’re in the capital.”

The princess spoke casually, saying,

“I’ve heard that you repented of your sins and that Her Highness, Princess Dorothea, personally forgave you. How could I pretend not to know?”

Oh my, look at this. At first glance, it might sound like she’s saying it’s enough to be forgiven, but in reality, it was closer to emphasizing that I was a sinner.

“I’m grateful that you think so. By the way, isn’t Princess Dorothea attending here? I wanted to pay my respects.”

And I responded with, “Dorothea, you made her like that, didn’t you?” To others, it might just sound like casual conversation, but to Yermondi, who had directly defeated Dorothea, it would have a different meaning.

“I heard that Her Highness, the Crown Princess Dorothea, is unwell today and cannot attend.”

“Oh my, I hope she recovers quickly.”

As we continued our conversation, wearing masks on our faces, the eyes of the people kept gathering towards us.

The sun outside was slowly setting. It was a season with particularly beautiful sunsets, but no one had time to look out the window. Something far too interesting was happening right here.

“Well then, I must go see the other guests who have joined the banquet, so I’ll take my leave here. I hope you have a delightful evening.”

“Of course. Anytime.”

With that, Princess Yermondi left, and most of the people followed her, joining her group. However, there were still some who stayed near Carlothian and me.

“It seems Princess Yermondi is taking care of Ariadeline more than expected? Even though she’s a sinner.”

“Is it because she received forgiveness directly from Crown Princess Dorothea?”

“Well, there are rumors that she’s deeply repenting for her sins.”

“I heard that in Anrize, they even mistook her for a saint.”

The public opinion wasn’t too bad. But amidst that, something began to spread quietly.

“Still, isn’t she someone who used black magic and is unforgivable?”

“If being forgiven means that sins disappear, then why is she still a sinner?”

“If she tried to kill someone, shouldn’t she live in repentance?”

These were words that I would normally brush off without a second thought, but there was something oddly contrived about them. Just as cautious words in my favor started to surface, aggressive remarks quickly followed.

I glanced up at Carlothian. Our eyes met immediately, as if he had been watching me the whole time.

“I can’t believe she’s gotten closer to Duke Carlothian.”

“Isn’t she just trying to gain sympathy and cling to him?”

They were busy tearing me down.

It was likely that Yermondi’s followers started it, but as time passed, those who had held grudges against me also began to speak up.

Carlothian frowned, as if he could hear their words. I reached out to him, urging him not to react, and rubbed his furrowed brow.

“Carlothian, could you go somewhere for a bit?”

“Why should I?”

“If you’re with me, you’ll keep hearing bad things about yourself.”

He frowned even more, as if my gesture had no meaning.

“How is that a bad thing about me? They’re all insulting you.”

“Well, whatever the case, as long as I haven’t cleared my name, there’s no need for you to be dragged into it and talked about as well.”

At that, Carlothian pulled me tightly against him.

“I tried to endure since you put so much effort on your lips.”

“Carlothian, wait a moment. No way.”

Before I could finish my sentence, he suddenly pressed his lips against mine. The surroundings fell silent in an instant. I couldn’t help but feel my face burn, and I pushed against his shoulder forcefully.

But no matter how much strength I put into his shoulders, I couldn’t push him away at all. Whenever I turned my head to the side, he followed and bit my lips again.

Stop it, stop! You lecher!

He only released my waist after my face had turned bright red. When I looked at him, panting with my lips covered, he smiled with a satisfied expression.

And, of course, he had smeared my lipstick all over his lips.

“I… I can’t live like this…”

“Can’t live? You have to live well.”

Saying that, he brought his face close to mine once more.

“What is it?”

“Wipe my lips.”

“…You’re so shameless.”

I whispered as I rubbed his lips to clean them. Carlothian, hearing that, lightly bit my thumb that was wiping his lips and whispered back.

“You know I can be even more shameless elsewhere.”

“Elsewhere?”

Where else? Where is he the most shameless? Is he talking about the mansion? Especially in the room…

I couldn’t even figure out how to calm my flushed face and hit his shoulder hard to push him away. He obediently straightened up.

The surroundings, which had been quite noisy, were still quiet. Should I be thankful for this or not?

“Let’s stay apart for a bit.”

“Sure.”

“You were trying not to separate earlier.”

“Now they won’t say any nonsense related to you.”

Carlothian said that and moved away from me. After all, he had to receive a report from the knights.

Left alone, I stood against the wall and looked around. Aside from the noticeably large number of palace knights, nothing seemed unusual.

‘There must be something.’

I closed my eyes for a moment and focused.

‘An object that will manifest the curse.’

It must be somewhere in this hall.

They say you can’t feel anything until just before black magic is activated, the last doll was the same. If I, holding the holy relic, got closer, I might sense something strange. I tightly gripped the pendant containing the holy artifact.

As I tried to concentrate a bit more, someone spoke to me.

“Oh, it’s been so long. Ariadeline.”

I opened my eyes. A few noblewomen were speaking to me. I recognized all of them. So, it was…

“I thought I wouldn’t see you again after you became a sinner, but here we are in such a place.”

The noblewomen who had followed me. It was them.