A Strange But Effective Villainess Life - Chapter 182

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com

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Side Story – Episode 21
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Before the Emperor fell ill with an inexplicable disease, the Imperial Palace served as a gathering place for various nobles. This was hardly surprising, given that the Imperial Palace was vast and magnificent, equipped with numerous facilities.
Long ago, a previous Emperor who had been passionate about theater commissioned a private theater within one wing of the Imperial Palace. As time passed and theatrical trends faded, the theater was eventually opened to noble children rather than the Emperor alone.
Thus a culture emerged where adults attended the Opera Theater to watch operas, while children visited the Imperial Palace Theater to watch puppet shows. Naturally, the Imperial Palace Theater became a social gathering place for children of that age, and the puppet shows became an event that noble youths residing in the Capital attended as a matter of course.
And it was during the year when Edmund and Kiana were fourteen years old. It was the day of a particularly famous puppet show.
“I greet the Crown Prince! My younger sibling actually wished to pay their respects….”
“Your Highness, wasn’t the first act truly magnificent?”
“Wait, everyone step aside. Your Highness, do you perhaps remember me?”
Since it was a puppet show for children, there were frequent and lengthy intermissions. After the first act ended, a crowd of children gathered around Edmund. All of them held carbonated beverages provided during the break in one hand.
“Honestly, I thought it would be childish, but it was so entertaining. What did you think, Your Highness?”
“That line in the middle—wasn’t that ancient Hebril? Surely the Crown Prince can interpret it?”
Edmund responded with appropriate laughter and kindness to the many people surrounding him, all while keeping one eye on Kiana. She was conversing with Judith, her only friend, in the distance.
“Look, Kiana. Honestly, I think you can’t just leave things as they are.”
The girl speaking earnestly to Kiana was Judith Perbis, Lord Rodrigo’s younger sister.
“I brought it up at home, and Rodrigo definitely said he liked you at first. But then Melissa keeps acting friendly, and his heart is wavering. Are you really just going to sit there and let Melissa steal Rodrigo from you?”
Kiana caught her breath and nodded with a determined expression. Then she strode purposefully toward where Melissa and Lord Rodrigo were conversing amicably.
“Oh, Kiana? Are you upset? Your expression doesn’t look good. I’ll step aside…. Since I’m not even a direct descendant, my presence would only make you feel worse….”
The moment Kiana approached, Melissa flinched in surprise and took a step back.
“You’re not upset with me because you think only direct descendants should be here, are you? If that’s the case, I won’t come again. I’m not a direct descendant, and I have commoner blood mixed in, so I thought you might be upset….”
At those words, Lord Rodrigo wrapped an arm around Melissa’s shoulders and spoke with sympathy.
“Don’t say such things, Melissa. After all, you are Prelai.”
“But no matter how many summoned beasts I’ve called forth, I’m still not a direct descendant…. Kiana has every right to hate me.”
Edmund’s eyes widened as he watched the scene unfold. He had noticed from a distance that anger was beginning to flicker in Kiana’s eyes.
After exchanging a few more words, Kiana ultimately poured the carbonated beverage she was holding onto Melissa’s face.
“Kyaaaah!”
【Please be patient, good Melissa. This much is fine, isn’t it?】
The Yellow Warbler summoned beast clicked its tongue sympathetically above Melissa’s head. Kiana lifted her chin and spoke.
“My hand slipped while listening to you, and I couldn’t help it.”
“…It slipped, Princess? At that angle…could such a thing really happen?”
Lord Rodrigo spoke in disbelief, while Melissa sobbed pitifully.
“It’s fine, Kiana…. You might dislike me…. I expected this from the moment I came to the Ducal Residence, which houses only direct descendants. It’s fine. Lord, I’ll go clean this up.”
“Melissa!”
Melissa trudged toward the restroom, and Lord Rodrigo turned to follow her.
“Lord, wait a moment.”
Kiana grabbed Lord Rodrigo’s arm as he turned away. He hesitated briefly before offering her a gentle smile.
“I apologize, Kiana. Right now, it seems best that I be by Melissa’s side. She appears quite hurt, and I can’t leave her alone. I’ll contact you separately later.”
At his courteous yet gentle tone, Kiana’s cheeks flushed.
Lord Rodrigo withdrew his hand from Kiana’s grasp and rushed after Melissa. And Kiana stood quietly, watching his retreating figure.
“Sigh, there they go again.”
“Lady Kiana really is… sigh, I honestly have no idea why she acts like that.”
“She just sprayed carbonated soda, didn’t she? My goodness, it’s quite cold, isn’t it? I hope Melissa doesn’t catch a cold from this.”
People around Edmund began chiming in with their own comments.
Without realizing it, Edmund took a step toward Kiana.
“Crown Prince?”
“Where are you going?”
“Are you perhaps going to look at that painting over there? I was curious about it myself, so shall we go together?”
He barely moved, yet people swarmed after him like a tide. If he dragged all these people along to Kiana and asked “Are you alright?”, she would undoubtedly answer “No, I’ll be going then” and escape.
That’s when Kiana suddenly spun around and slipped through the opposite door from where Melissa and Lord Rodrigo had disappeared. Edmund hastily poured the carbonated drink he was holding all over his left hand.
“Oh my!”
“Crown Prince!”
“Goodness, are you alright?”
The people surrounding him jumped back in alarm, each taking a step away. Edmund answered with an unbothered smile.
“Ah, I’m fine. My hand just slipped.”
“…I heard you’re about to become a Sword Master too… how is that even possible?”
Someone asked carefully, and Edmund shrugged his shoulders while answering brightly.
“Of course it’s possible. Hands can slip at odd angles anytime.”
And he smiled as he spoke.
“But I should go wash up.”
At those words, people clung to him again like moths to flame.
“Crown Prince, come with me!”
“I was just thinking of going to the restroom myself. Shall we go together?”
Edmund laughed with an awkward expression and shook his head.
“Ah, actually there’s a Royal Family Restroom over there. As you know, I have a cleanliness obsession, so I don’t wash just anywhere.”
The people around him wore stunned expressions for a moment.
A Royal Family Restroom existed? They knew he had a cleanliness obsession, but wasn’t that precisely why he washed eagerly whenever he found the chance, no matter where he was?
There were more than one or two strange things about this, but they couldn’t catch Edmund, who vanished like lightning.
‘This way… is where the Princess ran off to……’
And Edmund, who rushed out hastily, easily spotted Kiana’s retreating figure. She was running with all her might, gasping for breath.
‘As expected, she’s slow. Her athletic ability is terrible. How cute….’
Though he was running at top speed, he was predictably quite slow. Yet she already looked so exhausted that it was obvious she wouldn’t get far. He was about to chase after her when he hesitated. How would Kiana react when he caught up to her?
She would probably flee. Every single time out of a hundred, whenever Edmund spoke to her, Kiana would say “No, I’ll be going then” and escape. While others desperately wanted to exchange even a single word with Edmund, she alone always wore an expression that she absolutely did not want to get close to him.
That’s when a performer in a full-body costume appeared in the distance, waddling along while holding a rabbit head. Clearly a puppet theater actor.
Edmund’s eyes sparkled for a moment.
‘That rabbit died in Act One!’
And the fact that it was wandering around here instead of in the waiting room meant that no matter how strange the story was with the rabbit resurrecting later, it definitely wouldn’t appear in Act Two.
“You there.”
Edmund approached the actor with a grin. The actor startled and bowed his head.
“I greet the Crown Prince. But why are you here without an escort….”
“I don’t really need an escort. Not inside the Imperial Palace, anyway. More importantly, would you do me a favor?”
“Tell me anything you wish, Your Highness!”
“Could I borrow that puppet mask for a moment?”
“…Pardon?”
Edmund had been fastidious since childhood, refusing to wear the same clothes twice once he’d taken them off. Yet now, with his hands still sticky from the carbonated beverage, he was asking to wear a full-body puppet costume that someone else had just been wearing—something he could never have imagined even in his wildest dreams.
But…
“I just want to try it on for a moment. Of course, I realize this is rather peculiar, so I’d appreciate your discretion about it.”
The probability of the Rabbit remaining by her side was considerably higher than the Crown Prince, making it worth attempting.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com

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