I Will Become the Villain’s Childhood Friend - Chapter 23

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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23

The conversation naturally flowed to recent social events, eventually reaching the victory commemoration ceremony held at the Royal Palace just yesterday.

Since everyone present were young girls who hadn’t even reached their mid-teens, none had directly participated in the ceremony, but they all seemed to have quickly caught wind of the news.

“At this ceremony, Duke Diern’s son escorted the Countess! Prince Darius!”

“I heard that rumor too!”

When Darius’s name came up, my ears perked up from their previously listless state.

“He was so handsome it was hard to believe, right? They say the harmony of his features was more perfect than a statue of a god!”

“Oh come on, isn’t that too exaggerated?”

“It’s really true! When sunlight touches his hair, it sparkles like golden flames. And what about those eyes that look like they were made from refined pure gold? When my mother encountered the prince, she was so startled that she dropped her fan and froze on the spot!”

Giggles burst out at one young lady’s passionate gushing.

Hmm, it’s all true.

While those who had never seen Darius in person let their imaginations run wild, I nodded vigorously in fierce agreement.

How proud I felt. Like discovering a future global superstar idol during their trainee days?

“…But I heard such a person still doesn’t have a marriage partner decided.”

When another young lady whispered with her voice lowered considerably, their anticipation heated up intensely.

“Then perhaps… one of us could…?”

“That’s ridiculous! We haven’t even had our debutante balls yet. Moreover, would such a person even glance at children like us?”

“You never know. Since he’s still a military academy student, maybe we’ll have a chance in a few years.”

Once again, the squealing sounds of adolescent girls shook the garden.

In the midst of this, I alone felt superior knowing Darius’s future partner and twisted my lips into a smirk.

Girls, sadly that great person is destined to fall into forbidden love with a mere maid.

Then Lady Kien turned her head toward me and suddenly changed the subject.

“Miss Rieze’s brother, Sir Simon, also attends Randerstd Royal Military Academy, doesn’t he? I even heard he’s the top student of his year.”

She glanced toward where Brother had been standing earlier as she asked. Her cheeks turned a reddish color similar to her hair.

“…That’s right.”

Since it wasn’t a particularly interesting topic, I responded briefly.

“Oh my! How impressive.”

“Even though we just met today, he’s tall and has excellent looks.”

The two people sitting across from me leaned forward with excited faces as they joined in.

“That’s right, I exchanged greetings with him earlier and he was very gentle and manly.”

“Right, he was polite even to us who are much younger. Will he be commissioned in the Kingdom’s Army after graduating from the military academy?”

“Well, I suppose so.”

I answered while recalling the contents of 【Golden Oath】.

“Having such a wonderful brother must be so reassuring, Miss Rieze.”

“Mm… Yes. Thank you.”

There was no point in badmouthing Brother here since it would only backfire, so I played along halfheartedly. Praising Darius had been quite pleasant to hear, but now that the subject had shifted to my blood relative, my stomach felt queasy.

“Sir Simon doesn’t have a fiancée yet either, does he?”

“No.”

The young lady who appeared to be the eldest asked a rather direct question with sparkling eyes, and at my indifferent answer, the atmosphere suddenly changed.

From then on, the young ladies asked me various things with bright, eager eyes or tried to flatter me.

“Come to think of it, hasn’t it been quite a long time since the Brante Estate sent out invitations? What an honor to receive such an invitation.”

“That’s right. To think such an excellent family’s heir had been hiding all this time! Miss Rieze, let’s visit each other often from now on.”

“We’ve been rather distant lately, haven’t we? Let’s become close friends from now on.”

Even Kien wagged her tail with a coquettish tone.

“Next time I’ll invite you to our house. We hired a chef who retired from working at the Royal Palace this year.”

The continued bribery offensive made my lip twitch with the effort of suppressing a smirk.

Ah. Now I understand why everyone graciously attended my birthday party despite having no acquaintance with me. They’re more interested in our family and Simon, who will become the heir, than in me as a person.

Once they learned that our brother’s match was undecided, their attitude became uncomfortably friendly.

After all, the position of countess is more realistic than the duchess position, which is like an unclimbable tree.

Even though I knew that social circles and connections were inherently like this, experiencing it firsthand made me feel a bit empty.

Was it because my unconscious hope of making friends with compatible personalities had crumbled? Or was it sad that these young girls were already calculating and weighing benefits?

Even though being welcomed in social circles as an heir from a family with decent standing should be gratifying, I couldn’t fully enjoy it.

When I was playing with Kail, it had been fun as if I’d returned to being a carefree child. All we did was growl at each other while competing, but at least my heart felt at ease.

After becoming close, I didn’t have to put on the mask of a kind noble girl and act coy like this.

Lost in those not-so-distant memories, I shook my head slightly to dispel thoughts of Kail.

“Thank you all. Let’s get along well from now on.”

I smiled and met their expectations.

Right, social life and human relationships are all like this anyway.

Give and take, swallow the sweet and spit out the bitter. What was I expecting?

While exchanging such bland conversation, Milly approached me closely as if to inform me of something.

When I raised my eyebrows and leaned my ear toward her, an unexpected name popped out of Milly’s mouth.

“Miss, a guest has arrived. Prince Darius is…”

…What?

“Really?!”

My voice cracked as it rose due to the name I heard in her whisper.

“Yes. We’ve seated him in the inner reception room for now…”

Milly’s eyes moved rapidly left and right. It meant it wouldn’t be appropriate to call him here.

Everyone stopped talking and looked this way, wondering what was happening. I stood up from my seat and cleared my throat.

“I have some business to attend to, so I’ll go inside the house for a moment. Please enjoy yourselves without me.”

When the birthday girl declared her escape, everyone exchanged confused looks. However, like proper young ladies trained in etiquette, they quickly erased their confusion and told me to go ahead.

As I turned and entered the mansion, Father, who had been watching from a slightly distant position, caught me with a bewildered expression.

“Rieze, what about the party?”

“Brother Darius is here! I’ll be back in a moment.”

After rapid-firing that notification, I ran toward the reception room.

My favorite character came to my birthday party. How could this happen?

My pulse quickened at the surreal situation, and my steps gained speed.

I opened the reception room door and found Darius sitting inside.

“Da, Darius! …Brother.”

Barely managing to collect my stunned mind from the overwhelming emotion and adding the title “Brother,” my favorite character, whom I was reuniting with after about two months, smiled brightly at me.

Aaaah. That smile I haven’t seen in so long is assaulting my heart.

“Are you alright, Miss Rieze? You could have come slowly.”

Thinking I was out of breath from running, Darius stood up from the sofa and approached me apologetically. His dazzling appearance made it hard to look at him properly.

He seems to have gotten even prettier in just two months. Did he get taller? His body seems more robust too…

“Wh, what brings you here…”

“What brings me here? I stubbornly came to personally congratulate you on your birthday.”

Displeasure surged through me at the voice I heard from the side. When I turned my head, I saw that Brother was sitting on the sofa opposite where Darius had been sitting, with his legs crossed, drinking tea.

Since everything except Darius had been blurred out, I didn’t realize he was there. Why is he loafing around here? I want to talk with just the two of us.

Just as I was glaring at the intruder in exasperation, warm warmth touched my knuckles. When I turned my body back to the front, Darius was supporting my hand as if escorting me.

“It’s been a while. Have you been well?”

His song-like gentle voice settled by my ear. I bit my lower lip hard to avoid screaming and nodded my head vigorously.

Darius smiled lightly and led me toward the reception room sofa.

‘I’m so happy I could die…’

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