Since When Were You The Villain?

Chapter 62.  

   

As she made a firm resolution, a pang of uneasiness gripped one side of her chest.  

This was all because of the engagement.  

It was her conscience that bothered her—playing around with another man while leaving her fiancé behind.  

‘Don’t let your heart weaken…!’  

He was a man who seemed to care so little about Sophia that he hadn’t even contacted her after their kiss.  

But why would she fuss over such a trivially arranged engagement?  

An engagement can be broken, and a new relationship can be established.   

It wasn’t even a love engagement in the first place.  

Sophia decided to clear her mind of these thoughts.  

After all, she had come out here to enjoy the national festival in the world of romance novels. She shouldn’t let other thoughts ruin her mood.  

She focused her attention on the dartboard right in front of her.  

The shop owner handed Sophia and Mikhail three darts each.  

The two of them stood in front of the modest dartboard.  

Numbers from 1 to 9 were scattered and written on the dartboard.  

The rules of the couple’s dart game weren’t significantly different from a regular dart game.  

However, there was one additional rule: if both players hit darts in the same score section, the score of all darts in that section would be multiplied by 1.5.  

For instance, if Sophia and Mikhail both hit the 9-point section, each of their scores would be multiplied by 1.5, resulting in a total of 27 points.  

“If the combined score of both of you is 50 points or more, you’ll receive a prize!” the shop owner announced.  

’50 points? Is that even possible?’  

Sophia and Mikhail would have to consistently hit 8 to 9 points or obtain the couple’s multiplier in high-scoring sections to reach that number.  

In response, Mikhail graciously yielded his turn to Sophia, indicating that she should throw first.  

It seemed that he intended to match the section Sophia hit as closely as possible when it was his turn.  

Nodding her head, Sophia stood before the dartboard and picked up one of the darts.  

With unwavering focus, she aimed at the scores on the dartboard and threw the dart with all her strength.  

Then came the sound of a “thud,” followed by the dart pin clattering onto the floor.  

‘It didn’t even hit the dartboard?!’  

Due to the dart pin hitting the side at an angle, it didn’t stick to the board and fell to the ground.  

“Oh no! It’s a 0 point, miss!” the booth owner chuckled, kindly informing her of the score.  

‘But I felt like I hit the 5-point section on the dartboard…!’  

Embarrassed, Sophia glanced at Mihail standing beside her.  

“It’s okay. Stay calm and try again. Imagine extending your arm straight when you throw the pin,” Mikhail reassured her with a smile, despite her disappointing score.  

Gathering herself, Sophia picked up the second dart pin.  

‘Just like Mikhail advised, I should throw the pin straight….’  

Sophia carefully threw the dart pin, using all her senses. Unexpectedly, the pin flew straight downward, barely catching onto the edge of the dartboard, contrary to her anticipation.  

“Haha, it’s a close call, but let’s count it as 2 points!”  

One could say it was a stroke of luck. If it had deviated by just 1 millimetre, she wouldn’t have scored any points.  

Among the dartboard’s edges, there were only 2 points higher than the lowest score of 1 point.  

And Sophia had one throw left.  

‘Even though I’ve probably lost the chance to get 50 points…’  

Sophia felt like she had messed up the game.  

‘Because of me, even the crown prince couldn’t receive a present.’ 

As Sophia’s spirits sank, she looked at Mikhail, who was approaching her.  

“Don’t be too tense. Your arm had too much force, that’s why.”  

Mikhail smiled and gently wrapped his arm around Sophia’s heavily tensed shoulders, helping her relax.  

“Since the distance isn’t far, place the dart pin horizontally like this.” 

Mikhail adjusted her hand shape to make it easier to throw the pin.  

He raised her arm slightly higher and adjusted her wrist for a more comfortable throwing position.  

“When you throw, don’t bring your arm down but extend it forward as if reaching out, and put strong force into your fingertips as well.”  

His voice, guiding her posture as she looked at the target, tickled her ears.  

“Lastly, don’t worry too much. It’s meant to be fun, so it’s pointless if you do it with such a serious face, right?”  

Mikhail’s words were correct.  

Honestly, the prize from a dart game was probably something useless to Mikhail. Perhaps a cheap toy or easily breakable household item.  

So, there was no need for her to worry and be so nervous about not winning the prize.  

“Enjoy it, Sophia.”  

Mikhail stepped back from her after letting go of her hand, then nodded as if encouraging her to throw.  

In response to his encouragement, Sophia grinned and nodded.  

“Yeah, let’s have fun even if I’ve already messed up!”  

Following Mikhail’s guidance, Sophia stood still and carefully threw the dart.  

The last dart, released from her hand.  

With its sharp metal tip glinting in the air, the red-feathered dart flew straight ahead.  

A cheerful sound echoed in Sophia’s ears.  

“Wow! That’s 8 points. Your… Mikhail!”  

The red dart was lodged near the center.  

Almost blurting out ‘Your Highness’ in her excitement, Sophia quickly changed her words.  

As Sophia beamed, Mikhail also smiled.  

“It’s impressive to see immediate results after being taught.”  

“Because the teacher taught me well!”  

Sophia was also amazed.  

Especially in the 8-point section of the dartboard where Sophia hit, it was a particularly small space.  

If it had been slightly off, her score would have dropped significantly. She was lucky.  

“You did well, Sophia.”  

As Sophia stepped back with a proud face, Mikhail playfully flicked his thumb up and went to the dartboard.  

“If you do well, you might win a prize.”  

Mikhail smiled brightly as he picked up his dart.  

Huh? I only got 10 points by myself, how can he…  

Even if Mihail gets all 9 points, it’s still only 27 points, so even if you add it up, it’s only 37 points.  

That’s why Sophia had completely given up on winning a prize.  

“It’s a couple’s dart game.”  

With a relaxed smile, he confirmed the position of the score section Sophia had hit, then lightly threw the dart into it.  

With a clean sound, his score was 8 points. It was even the same section that Sophia had hit.  

The rule of the couple’s dart game is that when a couple hits the same section, the score is multiplied by 1.5.  

“This way, I have 12 points, and Sophia’s dart also has 12 points, right?”  

“But still…”  

Now it’s 24 points. Even if he hits the remaining dart with 9 points, they would barely cross 40 points.  

However, Mikhail shook his head.  

Then Mikhail threw the remaining two darts, both landing precisely in that 8-point section.  

Without a hint of error, the darts landed perfectly in the same spot. Four darts were tightly clustered in the small space of that 8-point section, as if there was no other place left for them to stick.  

‘Indeed, the male lead is different, after all!’  

Sophia’s eyes sparkled like stars at his playful dart skills.  

“Like this, according to the couple’s rule, my score would all be 12 points, right?”  

Mikhail glanced at the game booth owner.  

If that were the case, with all four of Mikhail’s darts adding up to 12 points, and adding Sophia’s hard-earned 2 points, they would have exactly 50 points.  

But then the stingy booth owner urgently shook his head.  

“No, the 1.5 multiplier rule applies only once.”  

He said that he would only apply the 1.5 multiplier to one of the three darts Mikhail had thrown.  

At that, Mikhail pointed at a panel that displayed the rules.  

The panel clearly read, ‘If all darts are in the same section, their scores are multiplied by 1.5.’  

“Ahem…”  

Faced with an undeniable rule, the booth owner couldn’t argue any further.  

Finally, the owner disappeared behind the dartboard and returned with prizes in hand.  

“Here you go.”  

He offered them stuffed animal hats, one with pink rabbit ears and the other with brown bear ears.  

They might have looked cheap, but Sophia loved them. They were perfect as festival souvenirs, and, more importantly, the thought of putting these animal hats on Mihail was already making her happy.  

“You can choose first, Mikhail.”  

“Well, I’m fine, so Lady Sophia can have both.”  

Mikhail seemed a bit embarrassed to wear the hats, so he generously offered them to Sophia.  

But she couldn’t miss the chance to put an animal hat on the original male lead!  

“Still, you’ve earned the prizes, so you should take one.”  

“I’m already wearing a hat, so…”  

“It’s a festival, and you won’t wear it…?”  

Sophia teased, and Mikhail chuckled.  

Sophia looked up at him with a pout.  

Mikhail just chuckled, as if there was no way around it.  

“I think I’d prefer the bear ears over the rabbit ones.”  

He picked up the brown bear hat.  

“Shall I put it on for you?”  

“Do I really have to wear it right now…?”  

“If you don’t wear it now, when are you planning to wear it? Tomorrow at the ball?”  

Sophia gave him a mischievous look.  

“I really can’t win against you, lady.” 

Mikhail laughed lightly and took off the hat he was wearing.  

“I’ll help you with that hat!”  

Sophia enthusiastically assisted Mikhail in putting on the bear hat.  

After handing her the hat, Mikhail hesitated for a moment before finally putting on the bear hat. Although it was designed for children and was a bit small, it surprisingly fit Mikhail’s head well.  

On top of his vibrant blonde hair sat the fluffy bear hat with its round ears perked up.  

‘Just as adorable as I expected!’  

As expected, the male protagonist managed to look cute and cool even while wearing such a cheap animal hat.  

“How does it look…?”  

“It’s incredibly cute!”  

Sophia reacted enthusiastically with a slightly raised voice, not unlike any other audience member’s response. Seeing her reaction, Mikhail awkwardly smoothed his hat-clad head.  

Mikhail glanced at his reflection in a small mirror nearby.   

With such a reaction from Sophia, it seemed not so bad after all. Even though he wouldn’t have worn a hat like this under normal circumstances, today it didn’t seem like a bad idea for a little escapade.  

He felt a bit uneasy about who among the people he knew might see him, but since the hair on the hat is so shaggy, it seems to have a disguise function equivalent to wearing a brim hat. 

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