Chapter 15 – Her Highness, the Crown Princess; Stella
Translator: Lioness
“How can she have no shame at all?”
“You’re right.”
“Can you look at that shameless face after making such a fuss at the last banquet?”
“How did she seduce the Duke of Littenverk?”
Stella laughed at the whispered words and interjected.
“What kind of stories make you have that much joy?”
“Your Highness.”
Stella looked down on the people who were paying respects to her as royalty. Now that the original story has been completed, she doesn’t need to hide her true identity. Stella was determined to throw off her mask of innocence and show her true self.
‘I even cried while acting out of character in order to have a happy ending, and I deserve that happiness after the ending.’
Another person whose soul possessed Stella’s body. At first, she was very puzzled by the situation but eventually found out that she was the female protagonist and moved on.
‘Because I also have my own side of story.’
Originally, she was only a mere reader of the novel, but she found it difficult to remember the story once she finished it. So, whenever she got stuck, she would visit the temple and talk to God, and that was the end of the story. The gods of this world guided her through the story.
‘Now I’m going to do it my way, but who the hell is she? Extras should be stuck somewhere else.’
She didn’t know where the young lady came from, but she was an embarrassing extra who slapped her on the cheek at the end of the story. She knew through God that such a person existed.
In the last episode of the story, there was a Young Lady who slapped her cheek, which she had to endure unconditionally. After that, even when she told she didn’t care what the Young Lady did to her, the Young Lady appeared with the Duke of Littenverk.
‘Annoying.’
Stella felt annoyed at Alice, who even caught Karus’s attention. She thought that now that she had become the Crown Princess, she would be able to wield all the power at will, but the Crown Prince was a scarecrow with a good appearance. Actually, it was Karus who had the power to run the state affairs. Following the original story, she pretended to like the Crown prince, but she gave her coy eyes to Karus, whom she actually had in her heart.
‘It’s all right.’
She was the heroine in this world, loved by everyone, thus her she was confident on getting Karus.
‘Let’s deal with him first.’
Stella, who had decided to win Karus’s heart after making Alice disappear before her eyes, spoke the chattering aristocratic ladies.
“Miss Alice is really amazing.”
“She is great?”
“It’s to the extent that all the high-ranking people in this banquet hall pay attention to her.”
It was a slippery word, but she was heard by all the young ladies present. Stella was confident that all she had to do was wait now that she could see the expressions of the young ladies who had changed in an instant.
‘I don’t need to get my hands dirty since everyone else does it for me stead.’
This was the taste of power while staring at the two, Duke of Littenverk and Alice, who were dancing in the distance.
****
Alice shivered at the gaze that fell on her back.
“Your enemies have increased.”
His voice who was teasing her smirked, making fun of his feet. Alice wanted to step on his foot but he knew it and dodged every time.
Losing her target, Alice sprained and was about to fall, but he wrapped one hand around her waist. As her back was thrown back, he whirled her around. A voice of admiration came from behind her, but Alice could not hide her stern expression.
“It hurts.”
“You tried to step on me foot.”
“If a woman wants to step on your foot, you must be stepped on! Isn’t that being a gentleman?”
“I am not a gentleman; yet a duke.”
(TN: Makes sense.)
His low whispered words reached her ears.
“Move closer.”
“If you stick closer, the young ladies will harass you more.”
“Are you going to be like this?”
She hated Lawrence for making fun of her while the Diamond of the Abyss was still in her hand. Isn’t that why she even turned the Young Ladies into enemies?
‘Oh, wasn’t it?’
She even beat up Stella, the crown princess, and asked Lawrence to escort her, too. Come to think of it, it wasn’t Lawrence’s fault, but hers. But Alice, who didn’t want to admit it, raised her chin.
‘Her posture has changed.’
Alice’s demeanor changed, and the mood quickly shifted. He was leading the dance, and now she was the one leading it. It was a subtle change, but the nobles in the ballroom noticed at once. There was no way that the nobles around the ballroom didn’t notice what Lawrence had noticed.
‘She is the daughter of the Marquis Hamilton.’
She was a woman who know enough to dance. It didn’t make sense that a woman like her couldn’t dance properly. So, he provoked her deliberately.
Alice’s gait and behavior were that of a properly educated noblewoman. But she acted deliberately lax. Even though she walked according to manners, she intentionally messed up her steps and he confirmed something.
‘It means everything was planned.’
Realizing that every one of her actions, every move she made, was intentional, Lawrence was completely taken aback. Elegance was essential for a noble lady. There were also manners that fit the etiquette. But why would he act to ruin her own reputation?
Other nobles noticed that Alice was not just an immature child, but a noble lady who could gracefully perform her dances. In addition, as the wealth of the Hamilton family increased, she came as a pretty attractive young lady.
“Hmm, indeed she is a Hamilton.”
“That’s right.”
“Her personality is not yet that elegant, but she was still young, isn’t she?”
“Yes. It may change later.”
“Anyway, isn’t that duke going back to his empire?”
The words of one of the Young Ladies came to the ears of the men of the nobility inside the party hall. Hamilton’s power was so mighty that no nobility could follow. The one and only. The place where the emperor went was Hamilton. The family’s only successor is Alice.
She’d had an unfortunate run-in with the Crown Princess, but it could have been chalked up to a mistake at the first ball. The eyes of the male aristocrats turned to stare at their tempting prey. Lawrence, quick to recognize the change in mood, narrowed his eyes.
“Duke?”
Her eyes widened at him who hadn’t let go of her hand when the song was finished. His emotionless eyes met hers to which she involuntarily held her breath. Since the song was done, it was time for them to bow at each other however he didn’t move.
“No, nothing.”
Shaking his head slightly, he bent her back toward her Alice. Alice also responded to the most elegant greeting. Alice, left alone, moved slowly as he went around the banquet hall and disappeared among the other nobles.
“Miss Alice? Pleased to meet you. I am Vesena, Marquise of Mialle.”
“Hello.”
Vesena stepped closer and greeted her, and Alice returned the favor.
“The atmosphere in the ballroom is a little off, wasn’t it?”
“What?”
“A lot of people didn’t like you, didn’t they?”
‘I also don’t know.’
She will leave soon so it doesn’t matter if people here hated or liked her. Rather, she was amused why Vesena approached her.
“Didn’t Miss Vesena hate me?”
“Did you forget?”
“Pardon?”
“The Marquis of Mialle.”
“Ah.”
Only then did I realize The Marquess of Mialle was the closest family to the House of Hamilton. He was also a business partner and had a personal acquaintance with the Marquis. Alice, too, was visited from time to time by the Marquis of Mialle, and he had seen him drinking with the Marquis of Hamilton.
‘He said he had only one daughter.’
She finally remembered the words the Marquis told her to come and play at the Marquis Mialle’s house sometime. The look of the girl who was the only one in that house, looking at her was pitiful. Alice smiled brightly at the face of Vesena, who looked exactly like the Marquis of Mialle.
“I guess you do remember now.”
“Yes, the Marquis of Mialle came to our house from time to time.”
“My dad asked me to tell Miss Alice if ever you don’t know.”
“Am I? It’s not.”
“Was that on purpose? The last time?”
Referring to the incident that made Stella cry, Vesena whispered in her ear.
“She’s really a seductress. Was it possible that a baroness like her, who pretended to be pitiful while being pretty like her, became the Crown Princess?”
‘That was not really the case, but…’
Alice remembered that there were quite a few of the young ladies who liked the Crown prince, stared at Vesena. She had a smile in her eyes. She genuinely seemed to like Alice.
‘Was she saying this only to say Stella only has a pretty face?’
“You were close before.”
“There’s nothing good about being close to them.”
“Who cares, my family can afford them.”
How much money did she bring to the imperial family and how much did she think of taking a woman like that as the crown princess? She heard that in order Vesena to become crown princess, Marquis Mialle investes a lot of money, but when Stella became the crown princess, their relationship with the imperial family was slightly strained.
“Dad says it’s okay, but I’m not.”
The look in the woman’s eyes, wounded by her pride, was menacing. Facing her eyes directly, Alice shook her shoulders. It was best for her not to get involved in the love fight. At that moment, she suddenly heard a voice in Alice’s ear.
“Were you here?”
