Celebrity Lady - Chapter 1

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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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Celebrity Lady
Episode 1
“The Young Lady of House of Diolus has arrived!”
The doors of the Imperial Ball Hall swung open, where Debutante presentations were in full swing—the grand social debut of noble young ladies.
Dazzling light cascaded beneath an ornate chandelier, walls framed by gold and jewels, and a luxurious red carpet stretched across the floor.
Every eye in the lavish hall turned toward me as I stepped inside with complete confidence.
“Gasp…….”
“What? Who is that?”
Just as I’d expected, their faces were filled with shock.
“Wait, House of Diolus has two young ladies, doesn’t it? Which one are they announcing?”
“Look—Lillia Diolus is already here. They must mean Rubetrya Diolus.”
“No, I think the attendants made a mistake. I heard Rubetrya Diolus was incredibly overweight with red hair.”
“The hair color matches, though?”
“Come on, surely that beautiful woman isn’t…?”
“Could that be Rubetrya Diolus?”
Whispers reached my ears from every corner as people failed to recognize me.
When I smiled at the young nobles who openly flushed and stared at me, they quickly began quarreling among themselves about who had caught my eye.
I was in the best mood.
I took a deep breath and surveyed the ballroom more carefully. A few faces stood out—those who seemed to recognize the new me.
‘The expressions on their faces are priceless.’
Lillia Diolus and her circle, their eyes so wide they might pop out of their sockets.
Her foolish friends blushing stupidly at the sight of me, and among them, Ricky Diolus, equally stunned with his mouth hanging open.
Even the Fifth Princess, raising her wine glass in greeting while regarding me with keen interest…….
All those eyes fixed on me, frozen as if time had stopped—I absolutely loved it.
This was the life of a Celebrity!
“I-Is that really her, Lillia? Is that really Rubetrya?”
“S-Surely not…… right?”
“It’s impossible.”
Lillia and her group continued their murmuring.
Click, click, click.
I deliberately walked toward them first, my heels clicking sharply against the floor—heels I’d never dared to wear when I was overweight, for fear of twisting my ankle.
“Hello, Lillia.”
Standing before the trembling Lillia, I offered her my brightest smile.
‘Bet you’re seething, aren’t you? Must be eating you alive?’
The family’s ugly duckling, the one they’d tormented freely, had transformed into a swan and returned. Of course she’d be furious.
Feeling rather smug, I arrogantly lifted my chin and snapped open the fan I’d been holding, using it to cover my mouth as I smiled with only my eyes.
“M-Might you be the Young Lady Rubetrya?”
“That’s right. I’m Rubetrya. It’s been what, two years since we last saw each other? At the Dessert Shop, when you were buying macarons? What was it you said to me back then?”
Pelcan, the young noble standing beside Lillia, flushed as the memory from two years ago came back to her.
“Oh my, you’re always at the Dessert Shop whenever we meet. You keep stuffing your face with sweets every chance you get, no wonder your cheeks balloon out and you pile on the weight like that.”
She’d been the one who, riding on her friendship with Lillia, had dared to speak so rudely to me—a Duke’s daughter.
Timid Rubetrya hadn’t been able to say a word back then…….
‘But I’m different now.’
The person inside Rubetrya now had lived a glittering life from birth.
Everyone had envied my existence, and I’d never been looked down upon by anyone. Perhaps I was a bit arrogant and aloof because of it.
“I’m afraid I don’t remember much—it’s been so long. But I’m happy to see you again. Why don’t we have tea together sometime?”
“Ah, y-yes. Of course. Th-thank you.”
Gracious as I was, I let her slip away from the comment she’d made two years ago, and she nodded, embarrassed and flustered.
These girls, barely fifteen or sixteen, quickly gazed at me with admiration in their eyes at my completely transformed confidence.
“R-Rubetrya, is that dress you’re wearing……?”
“Yes, you noticed? When I mentioned I’d be making up for my delayed Debutante, Madam Becky personally sent me this dress.”
“Really? Is that true?”
“Heavens…….”
The noble young ladies gasped in envy while Lillia, standing among them, went rigid with shock. I could barely suppress a laugh at her expression.
The Black Evening Dress I was wearing was a custom creation by Madam Becky, the renowned tailor of the realm.
The dresses of this proud artisan, who crafted according to her own principles, were something even the Empire’s princesses had to wait an entire year to wear.
‘I know exactly how desperately you wanted to wear one of Becky’s dresses.’
I was well aware that Lillia had tried to place orders multiple times and been turned down.
And here I was, wearing one of those dresses—me, of all people. Her insides must be absolutely seething.
“You’ve lost so much weight while we were apart, haven’t you, Rubetrya?”
“Mm, I’m not sure I’d call it weight loss so much as finally reaching a healthy state? Really, it’s all thanks to you, Lillia. Thank you.”
More accurately, it was thanks to relentlessly working to avoid being tormented by you and your mother for the rest of my life.
“Thanks for wh-what…… haha…… you look, you look so much b-better now…….”
At my shameless greeting, Lillia’s lips trembled as she barely managed to smile.
<Humans really are frightening. Do they normally say things they don’t mean while smiling like that?>
Right on cue, a voice echoed in my mind.
It was the voice of Wisht, Rubetrya’s Contracted Spirit—the architect of all of this, and now my dear friend.
<Just sit back and enjoy. This is exactly the moment Rubetrya wished for so badly.>
Wisht seemed satisfied with the reply I sent back through our mental link and laughed.
“But Rubetrya, you couldn’t find a partner? Surely you didn’t come alone to a once-in-a-lifetime Debutante ball?”
Of course. If Lillia just sat there taking it, she wouldn’t be herself.
She’d already donned an air of ease and asked with deliberate provocation, shrugging her shoulders.
At that moment, someone approached Lillia’s side. A handsome man with an impressive height, deep brown hair, and striking blue eyes—none other than Cedric, the Young Duke Lyzer.
This was the man that Rubetrya, ever since she was a toothless eight-year-old girl, had been utterly smitten with and had followed everywhere like a shadow.
“Oh my, Young Duke Cedric. How have you been?”
“……Yes, it’s been a while.”
Cedric, too, gazed at my transformed appearance as if mesmerized.
Lillia, seizing the chance before her fickle partner could be distracted, hooked her arm through his and gently pressed her cheek against his shoulder.
“How could you come to a place like this alone? Why didn’t you ask Ricky to be your partner?”
Ricky Diolus—Lillia’s twin brother, and technically my uncle.
As if I’d ever pair myself with that idiot.
I let out a bemused laugh and snapped my fan shut.
“Ricky? Absolutely not. He’s far too unimpressive to stand beside me. Don’t you think he looks rather shabby?”
“W-What did you just say? What did you say?”
“Lillia, I appreciate your concern, but I didn’t come alone. My partner couldn’t enter the hall with me because of his position, so we arranged to arrive separately.”
“His position is too high to enter together?”
Pelcan, listening in, quickly asked the question.
“Ah yes, apparently according to Imperial protocol, the party host cannot use the main entrance where guests come and go.”
“The party host?”
“What do you mean?”
Confusion flickered across the faces of the young ladies as they tilted their heads.
“You mean the host of the Debutante ball? That would be…….”
Lillia murmured, narrowing her eyes as she pieced together my words.
At that precise moment.
“His Highness the Crown Prince, Lark van Rashmark Dekard, has arrived!”
The hall attendant announced the arrival in a loud voice.
And then, directly opposite the entrance used by the noble guests, a magnificent door swung open.
A door that only those who hosted the imperial party—the royal family of the Dekard Empire itself—were permitted to use.
Lillia’s face, which I caught a glimpse of, had gone deathly pale.
“The Crown Prince!”
“We are honored to behold the Empire’s shining jewel!”
Lark van Rashmark Dekard, the Crown Prince of this nation and the most powerful figure in the Empire at present, waved dismissively at the nobles who rushed to greet him, then quickly turned his head to search for someone.
The moment his gaze found me, Lark smiled warmly and began walking toward me with long, confident strides.
Like the parting of the Red Sea, the nobles blocking Lark’s path made way for him, and he came to stand directly before me.
The young noble ladies, seeing the Crown Prince’s face up close for perhaps the first time, all lost themselves in staring at him.
‘If I’m to be with anyone, it should be someone of this caliber.’
Silver hair swept back cleanly from a face of striking strength. Those sharp eyes were overflowing with dignity, and his high cheekbones and lips were sculpted with an almost artistic fluidity.
This man, beautiful as if painted, gazed at me alone with eyes that gleamed like molten gold, a radiant smile on his face.
His affectionate gaze, the kind one reserves for a beloved, was truly masterful acting!
‘Perfect awareness, perfect timing, perfect acting! Truly, my ideal business partner!’
“Y-Your Highness the Crown Prince!”
“Your Highness the Crown Prince!”
The young ladies around me, who had been mesmerized by Lark’s beauty, belatedly snapped to attention and bowed respectfully.
I was the only one standing rigidly upright with my head held high. It was incredibly rude behavior, but Lark didn’t seem to mind, smiling warmly as he extended his hand toward me.
“Forgive me for making you enter alone, when I’m supposed to be your partner.”
“It’s fine. I understand, of course.”
I placed my hand over his extended one, speaking with perfect composure.
Lark then chuckled softly and brought my hand to his lips, pressing a kiss to the back of it—and the entire room gasped.
‘Ah…….’
Lillia, who had tormented me relentlessly my entire life.
The noble young ladies who had mocked me arrogantly while backing Lillia.
Cedric, who had toyed with my sincere affections.
And all the others—every hateful creature in House Diolus who had chewed me up, torn me down, savored my misery, and enjoyed my suffering as the family’s ugly duckling…….
They were all staring at me now with eyes full of jealousy, admiration, and raw desire.
‘Truly…….’
The protagonist of this moment was none other than me.
As of today, the Celebrity of the Dekard Empire!
Rubetrya Diolus!
At last transformed into a beautiful swan, I beamed brightly at all the slack-jawed fools before me.
‘I’m in the best mood of my life!’

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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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