I Became the Villain’s Master - Chapter 116

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Chapter 116

A blonde, blue-eyed lady, snapping open her fan, addressed another. “Lady Emilia, who have you brought as your partner this year?”

“Haven’t you heard?” Emilia replied, shoulders back and a captivating smile playing on her lips. “I’ve come with the young Lord Noctis of House Noctis.” She was immensely pleased. Being partnered with the highly sought-after Lord Noctis was a triumph. Marriage talks were already underway between their families, and she relished the opportunity to deflate the haughty Lady Clementi.

“Oh my, is that so?” Contrary to Emilia’s expectations, the atmosphere shifted. Lady Clementi blinked several times, her eyes wide, before a bright, almost unsettling smile spread across her face. “I thought he might have come with another lady… Oh dear, I’ve misspoken. Rumors are just rumors, aren’t they?”

“…What are you…?” Emilia stammered, her face flushing crimson. Clementi, calmly observing her reaction, continued, “I heard he was enjoying a secret rendezvous with Lady Olivia… Oh, but I shouldn’t gossip. It’s probably just idle chatter.”

Emilia’s lips trembled as she pressed them together. “Who spread such a rumor? I haven’t heard anything of the sort.”

“Well, the young Lord Noctis is quite accomplished, you see. He’s very popular amongst the ladies.” The surrounding noblewomen chimed in, adding their own barbs. “Indeed. He hardly glances at Lady Clementi, so wouldn’t he be too much for Lady Emilia?”

“Even so, Lord Noctis chose Lady Emilia as his partner. I’m so envious.”

Emilia, her face pale, stood abruptly and fled, unable to bear the thinly veiled insults disguised as compliments.

The young women watched her go, giggling amongst themselves. “She seemed to be in such good spirits lately. What a pity.”

“Isn’t it? Well, she never truly belonged with us anyway.” At the center of the group, Clementi elegantly closed her fan. “Don’t be too harsh. I was merely stating the facts.”

“Oh, Lady Clementi, you’re so kind.” Clementi suppressed a triumphant smile as the praise washed over her. The thrill of crushing those who dared to climb above their station was intoxicating. Backed by the prestige of her marquis family, she wouldn’t tolerate sharing the spotlight. She still remembered the shock of hearing that some orphan had been adopted into the ducal family at the imperial banquet.

“I hear Princess Aria will be attending this year as well.”

“Such a shame. It’s her first Holy Festival; what if she doesn’t know the proper etiquette?”

“Don’t worry. Surely the daughter of the Eckart ducal family wouldn’t be ignorant of proper decorum,” Clementi said loftily, and the other noblewomen nodded in agreement.

“Even though she’s from an orphanage, she might be a quick learner.”

“Of course.” A sudden tension rippled through the air as the ladies laughed and chatted. The abrupt silence startled them, but only for a moment. Clementi’s gaze was drawn to a figure radiating an undeniable presence.

“That is…” a young woman beside her murmured, her eyes wide. Clementi, too, stared, captivated. Stylishly arranged silver hair caught her eye first, followed by intense red eyes that commanded attention.

“It’s the Tower Lord. And his partner… Have we seen her before?” All eyes turned to the young woman in a crimson dress that complemented her light blue dress. Brown hair, blue eyes…

“Now that I look, I think her dress matches her eyes,” one of the sharper-eyed ladies observed. Clementi chewed on her lip. She’d never seen this young woman before. She knew the lineage of every noble family, every face in the social circles… yet this woman was a stranger. And this stranger was the Tower Lord’s partner.

‘Who is she?’

Clementi gripped her fan tightly, trying to compose herself. It galled her that the admiring gazes she was accustomed to were now directed at this unknown woman. Everything she had considered hers felt like an illusion. She caught the eye of the young woman, who was looking around with what Clementi perceived as a foolish, naive curiosity, as if this were her first Holy Festival. The woman’s smile, as if she held Clementi in no regard, felt like a deliberate taunt.

‘I don’t know who you are, but how dare you look down on me?’

An inexplicable sense of inferiority began to bloom within her, fueled by that innocent smile.