The Villainess’ Beloved Plan: The Struggles to Avoid a Doomed End

Keira Glastona nearly broke the fan she was holding.

Keira was wearing the latest fashionable dress, with her golden hair tied up in a high ponytail and adorned with pearls, and she was ecstatic, monopolizing the attention of everyone in the venue.

Everyone praised her for her beauty, and when she blushed, they praised her for looking like an angel. Keira knew what impression her appearance made on everyone, and she also knew what expression would captivate everyone’s hearts.

She believed she was the star of the night. Keira had no doubt about it, and in fact, many men lined up in front of her, wanting to ask her to dance.

However…

“This is the first time I’ve seen Lady Sophia at a party.”

“I could only see her from afar at the wedding, but she’s so beautiful.”

“She dances so lightly it’s like she’s flying.”

“Next to Duke Voltio, they look like a painting.”

As the nearby ladies whispered, Keira turned her head and held her breath. To her surprise, it was Sophia who was joyfully dancing in the ballroom.

Keira knew that Sophia would be attending the party with Randall today, but she thought that she would stand out and be laughed at because she was raised among commoners.

In fact, many of the young ladies who were close to Keira’s age looked down on Sophia as a “commoner.” That’s why Keira never expected Sophia to attract attention.

(Even though she is just Sophia…!)

When she heard that Sophia was going to marry Randall, Keira got angry. Randall was a tall and handsome proud cousin of Keira’s. She couldn’t forgive him for becoming Sophia’s. Keira immediately went to complain to her mother, the Queen, but it seemed that no matter how angry the Queen was, the King would not give in.

Keira bit her lip when she saw Sophia about to dance another song.

(Watch this…!)

When Sophia was living in the castle, Keira asked her mother to dismiss her instructor many times. She had hardly received any training in dance. She didn’t know what kind of magic she used to be able to dance, but her flaws would soon be exposed.

Keira avoided the men who were lining up to ask her to dance and approached the band that was playing music.

(It serves you right!)

Keira grabbed the man conducting the band and gave him some instructions.

* * *

The tune suddenly changed, and Sophia felt a little anxious.

A slow-tempo waltz had been playing up until a moment ago, but the tempo suddenly increased.

Randall also seemed to feel uneasy about the sudden change in melody, but he didn’t panic. He adjusted his steps to match the song, but it was Sophia who was in trouble.

Sophia had only practiced the slow-tempo waltz!

It was a mistake to get carried away and try to dance two songs in a row. She was so happy to be stuck with Randall that she grabbed his hand as he tried to leave the dance hall after the first song ended and forced him into the second song.

(What should I do? My legs are getting tangled…!)

She desperately tried to keep up with Randall, but the steps hidden under her dress gradually became increasingly messy.

As tears threatened to fall, she looked up at Randall. It seemed he noticed Sophia’s discomfort, and he pulled her closer to the waist.

“Don’t fall. Leave your weight on me and move your feet as best you can. I’ll figure something out.”

Even Randall, as expected, doesn’t seem to want to let his wife fall here.

Sophia, without the mental bandwidth to feel anything other than panic, clung desperately to Randall and did as he said.

When Sophia almost fell, Randall used both hands to lift her waist and turned her around to avoid falling, and they managed to dance until the song ended. Sophia then moved her trembling legs towards the wall.

“Are you okay?”

Randall took a light alcoholic drink from the waiter and handed it to her.

“I-I might not be okay…”

Her legs were still shaking and her heart was pounding loudly. She was anxious. She was scared. She thought she was going to fall.

(Dancing is scary…!)

Thanks to Randall, she was able to escape the disaster, but she hated herself for getting carried away.

As she trembled, Randall laughed softly, and Sophia looked up in surprise.

“I must say, your desperate face just now was quite amusing.”

(He laughed!)

Randall laughed. It was the first time he’d laughed in front of Sophia!

Sophia nearly dropped the glass she was holding.

While the suddenly changing tempo and fast steps in the dance made her break into a cold sweat, she was happy to see Randall smile. If she could get his smile, then all the struggle was worth it.

(Why the hell aren’t there cameras in this world to capture this moment?!)

Sophia felt like she was about to cry with emotion. If only there was a camera, she could preserve this moment forever. Ah, so precious.

Lost in emotion, shen Randall was called away and left, Sophia stayed by the wall, leaning against it, drinking her cocktail as she thought to herself, “I’ll brag to Orion later!”

Since Randall told her to behave as he left, Sophia obediently leaned against the wall and drank her cocktail when suddenly someone called out to her.

She looked up and saw a young lady with dark brown hair and a pink dress standing nearby.

Who could it be?

Not to brag, but Sophia doesn’t know the names or faces of the nobles.

She assumed she was a noble lady from somewhere since she was here, but from what she saw, she was close in age to Sophia. Many young ladies of this age were part of Keira’s entourage. So Sophia was a little wary. She recalled Orion telling her to be careful because she never knew what might happen.

(I can’t let my guard down.)

As the villainess, Sophia always had to be vigilant. This world may be a game world, but it’s not a game. There were no do-overs.Mistakes in choices mattered.

The young lady introduced herself as Alina. Alina Legato. She seemed to be the daughter of Count Legato. She was 16 years old, just like Sophia.

What on earth could the daughter of a count want from Sophia? Sophia was puzzled, but Alina stood next to her and started making small talk.

“Though it’s a little late, congratulations on your marriage, Lady Sophia.”

“Oh, thank you for your kindness.”

“How is your married life going?”

“Well, everyone is kind and everything is going smoothly.”

“Is that so? And is Duke Voltio also kind to you?”

“Yes, he is quite kind.”

Randall was not kind at all, but she couldn’t answer honestly, so Sophia nodded, but Alina seemed surprised.

“I see… The Duke is very kind.”

“… What about my husband?”

Sophia tried to remember if Alina was a character in “The Snows of Glastona”, but she couldn’t recall her appearing in the game.

(Is this some kind of flag?)

The game world hadn’t really started yet. Additionally, a different story from the game was unfolding. The encounter and conversation with her might not be without pitfalls.

Alina took a champagne glass from a passing servant and smiled gently as she sipped it.

“No, it’s nothing.”

(… Something’s bothering me.)

Sophia wondered shy Alina, a young lady of the same age, was approaching her since they usually stayed away due to Keira’s presence. As she pondered, Alina, wearing a surprised expression, looked up.

Wondering what was going on, Sophia followed her gaze and started to see Randall approaching her with an angry look on his face.

(Huh? What? I was just behaving as I was told…)

All she did was chat with Alina. She wasn’t told not to.

Randall walked up to Sophia with a grim expression and asked in a hushed voice, “Why did you splash red wine on Keira’s dress?”

Sophia was taken aback.

 

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