Chapter 12
“Lu, Lucy…! Stop!”
Lucy pulled the corset strings wrapped tightly around my waist with all her strength, veins popping on her neck.
“Stop? Please endure it a little, my lady. For a beautiful dress, you must endure this level of pain. It’s been so long since we had a party like this. It’s the Imperial Princess’s birthday banquet—young nobles from top families will be lining up. You need to make a good impression!”
“What do I need to impress them for? And pain has limits. At this rate, I’m going to be squeezed to death before I even wear the dress. Huh?”
But despite my pleading eyes, Lucy firmly shook her head.
“What do you mean why? Of course, my lady is of age now, so you must get married!”
“Marriage? Honestly, I’m fine not doing it at all. Or rather, living peacefully in the viscount house with Father for the rest of my life sounds better…”
Before I could even finish, Lucy pulled the corset tighter again, as if telling me not to think such useless thoughts.
“Alright, it’s done. Phew.”
After a few painful cries, Lucy finally let go of me.
The pain that felt like my ribs were about to break reminded me once again why I hated parties so much.
Sigh. If it weren’t for Aiden, I wouldn’t be going through this trouble.
“Even now, it’s truly beautiful.”
Lucy, holding the custom-made dress ordered from Madam Boura for today’s party, kept admiring it as she unfolded it.
“Madam Boura’s reputation wasn’t for nothing. How did she make something that suits you so perfectly…”
I nodded in agreement with Lucy’s words.
Even someone like me, who had no interest in fashion, couldn’t stop looking at it.
It was that beautiful.
If I had to say one regret, it was that the dress I originally wanted was the second design Madam Boura had recommended.
It was a red dress.
The deep neckline was a bit bold, but it perfectly matched the seductive design I had always dreamed of.
However, Aiden had frowned deeply and strongly opposed it.
He said things like it made my waist look thicker, or it didn’t match my skin tone, criticizing it so bluntly that I couldn’t even insist on it.
The only relief was that I avoided the last dress Aiden had strongly recommended.
That strange dress that looked like a priest’s robe.
While recalling what happened at the boutique, my face suddenly grew hot.
I remembered what happened with Aiden in the fitting room.
The feeling of his large hands brushing against my skin was still vivid.
It kept coming back whenever I tried to forget it.
Seriously, I’m going crazy.
“Miss? Your face is completely red. You haven’t been eating properly lately… are you catching a cold?”
“No. I’m just a bit stuffy from the corset. Lucy, can you bring me some ice water?”
After gulping down the cold water, my messy thoughts became a little clearer.
I just got carried away by the atmosphere. There’s nothing strange about me. It was all because of that narrow enclosed space.
Yes! Maybe I should just lock Aiden and Agnes in some storage room or something.
If they stayed together all night…
Ah, what am I even thinking?
I had over-explained things to myself so much that my thoughts had gone too far.
I took another sip of ice water and regained my senses.
Anyway, I came to this conclusion about that embarrassing incident.
I wasn’t feeling anything strange toward Aiden—it was just an illusion caused by the cramped space.
Feeling much calmer, I changed into my dress and quickly boarded the carriage heading to the imperial palace.
* * *
The carriage barely moved, so I looked outside the window.
At the palace gate, a long line of carriages stretched endlessly like rush-hour traffic.
It seemed the guest list was huge, fitting for the Imperial Princess, whom even the Emperor treasured deeply.
While waiting for the carriage to reach the entrance, I reviewed the original story and organized today’s plan.
The Imperial Princess’s birthday party was one of many events where Aiden accumulated his “karma points.”
At the party, it was usually the man’s role to ask for a dance, but Agnes broke tradition and bravely invited Aiden first.
“Um, Aiden… would you dance the first song with me?”
But who was Aiden?
The textbook regretful male lead who steadily built up his “karma points,” Aiden coldly rejected Agnes in front of everyone.
“Why should I? What do you think you are to me?”
On top of that, the Imperial Princess, who had feelings for Aiden, mocked her as well.
“Thanks to you, I saw something quite entertaining today. That was the best gift. Let’s all give a round of applause to Lady Agnes for making us laugh.”
Agnes, humiliated, left the banquet hall, and later even got slapped by Count Carnarvon for disgracing the family.
Later, Aiden, who realized his feelings too late, became consumed with ugly jealousy when he saw Agnes dancing closely with Felix.
At the same time, he deeply regretted rejecting her request.
Seriously. You should’ve treated her better when you had the chance.
Agnes would, as in the original story, ask Aiden for a dance today.
And as expected, Aiden would try to refuse coldly.
That was when I would quickly cover Aiden’s mouth.
That was my first plan.
Ironically, Aiden realizing his feelings for Agnes also happened during their first dance.
So my second plan was this:
Make sure Aiden dances with Agnes.
Honestly, I had considered many methods, but nothing concrete came to mind.
But as they say, when the sky falls, there’s always a hole to escape through.
If needed, I’d just push things forward by force.
Just then, the carriage finally arrived.
“If it doesn’t work, make it work!”
Strengthening my resolve with the family motto, I stepped down from the carriage—
“Why are you so late?”
A voice suddenly came from the right.
I turned my head, and saw a face I wasn’t happy to see.
“I’ve been waiting for a long time.”
Felix Gray.
“Marquis…?”
Why is he here?
Strange. In the original story, Felix didn’t appear at this time.
No, wait. Why is he walking closer to me?
“Why are you here? If you came to the party, why aren’t you going inside?”
I asked hesitantly.
Felix lifted one corner of his mouth into a faint smile and replied.
“Why else? Obviously… I’m here because of you.”
