I Will Become the Villain’s Childhood Friend - Chapter 74

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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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74

The Queen, Princess, Countess, and Darius—the four of them took their seats.

Seated on the sofa at the head table reserved for royalty, they began discussing something in earnest.

That group of people and this ominous atmosphere….

‘Gasp. Is a political marriage being arranged? Already?’

Along with an ominous premonition, the contents of 【Golden Vow】 came flooding back to me.

While Darius and Adel were in the midst of their romantic tension, Darius faces the crisis of becoming engaged to the Princess, who is the Queen’s youngest granddaughter.

The fact that the Princess had been admiring and chasing after Darius had been a widespread rumor—no, an established fact—for several years now.

The Queen had finally rolled up her sleeves and stepped forward for the sake of that Princess.

Darius, who already held Adel in his heart, would try his best to delay or indirectly refuse the engagement, but it wouldn’t be easy since his opponent was royalty.

The influence of his mother, the Countess, was also formidable.

Meanwhile, the precarious push-and-pull with Adel would reach its peak and Darius’s internal conflict would gradually intensify.

…That was the original story up to that point.

I tensed my eyelids and glared at the four people conversing in the distance.

Judging by how she couldn’t take her eyes off Darius with flushed cheeks, the Princess seemed to be just like in the original work.

“That guy Darius might soon get engaged to the Princess.”

At Brother’s casually spoken words, my insides dropped with a thud.

“…Even if Brother Darius doesn’t want it?”

“Marriage between nobles is a transaction between families. Individual opinions are meaningless.”

I frowned at Brother’s stuffy words.

“Well, still, it would be better if it were with someone he had feelings for.”

Seeing my sharp gaze, Brother added as if doing me a favor. Then he scratched the back of his head and asked.

“…So you’d really be okay with it?”

“With what?”

“If Darius marries the Princess.”

“What wouldn’t be okay about it! I’ve told you five hundred times that I don’t have romantic feelings for Brother Darius?!”

I almost said I wouldn’t be okay with it, but caught myself and changed my words.

The reason I wouldn’t be okay with it was purely because of Adel.

“At this rate, that guy will accept the engagement, won’t he? He’s someone with a sense of responsibility as the heir to the Count title.”

“I told you no, how many times!”

After smacking his side, I cast my gaze toward them again.

I couldn’t read the thoughts of Darius, who was dealing with the Princess’s group while wearing the mask of a kind gentleman.

Originally, he should have looked very uncomfortable and anxious at this time. But he didn’t seem particularly distressed.

‘This won’t do.’

Because the romance with Adel had been delayed, the timing of the political marriage pressure was different from the original work.

I was worried that at this rate, Darius and the Princess would get engaged, and I wouldn’t be able to see his romance with Adel.

I should have been more careful about checking the situation after returning the vase to its original position.

I had been complacent.

I was so busy with business and debutante preparations that I was sleep-deprived and didn’t have time to pay attention.

What if nothing had happened between him and Adel even until now?

‘I can’t just burst in saying “I absolutely oppose this marriage!”‘

Of course, even if Darius married the Princess, I would continue to support and watch over him, but our Adel…!

As I was blaming myself for not being able to protect the female lead, my eyes met directly with Darius’s.

Darius looked like he was dying to convey something to me.

What could make him act like that?

“Let’s finish touring the banquet hall. There are still many people we haven’t greeted.”

Brother grabbed my shoulder and urged me on.

Little did he know about my anxious heart over Darius and Adel’s romance going awry.

I wanted to just stand there and wait for Darius, but the conversation disguised as a formal meeting seemed to be dragging on quite long.

“Haah…. Fine….”

I let out a deep sigh and received Brother’s fierce glare.

“If you’re tired, you can sit and rest, Rieze.”

Father, who had disappeared at some point, grabbed my arm worriedly and handed me a glass of lemonade.

“I’m fine. I can’t do that already….”

The sun was still high in the sky.

In a couple of hours, when the evening glow began to set, the ball would begin in earnest and I’d have to keep dancing, so now was the only chance to interact with many people.

After downing the lemonade in one shot, I pulled myself together.

First, let me set aside my worries about Darius. Thinking coldly about it, an alliance between the royal family and the Count’s family wouldn’t be concluded overnight.

After that, I went around with my family, inputting information about the big shots of high society they introduced me to into my head.

I made special efforts to leave a good impression on adults who gave off the scent of businesspeople, investors, or tycoons, and I proactively approached young noblewomen and young nobles who could become potential customers.

‘I am an extrovert. I am an extrovert….’

Repeatedly brainwashing my introverted self.

Fortunately, perhaps because Brother was quite a well-known celebrity, most people showed goodwill toward me.

After going around the banquet hall like conveyor belt sushi for a while, I spotted Kien in the distance.

How delightful this was.

Just as I was about to rush toward her, I suddenly remembered the matter I had promised her before.

‘I had promised to formally introduce her to Brother.’

Glancing over, I saw that Father was immersed in nostalgia, chatting with an old friend he had run into by chance.

Perfect timing.

I quickly grabbed Brother and lowered my voice volume.

“Brother, you know my friend Kien, right?”

“I know her.”

“Kien also made her debut today.”

“I saw. She went out in the order before you.”

He smiled and linked arms with me.

“Later, Brother, ask Kien for the first dance.”

“What?”

At my order to dance with Kien, Brother raised his eyebrows high.

As if asking why he should do such a thing.

“What. Is a baron’s daughter not good enough for Brother?”

The Rastin Family was a fairly prestigious family. Even if they weren’t high nobility, the family itself had a good reputation.

“That’s not it, but… why.”

Brother asked with a furrowed brow.

“I owe Kien a lot. She helped tremendously with my debutante preparations too. I want to repay the favor.”

“….”

Simon’s hand tapped his chin. I could hear the sound of his brain working from here.

As Brother had emphasized with his own mouth earlier, the first dance partner at a debutante ball was extremely important.

One’s status was determined by who their first dance partner was.

If you danced with a star, interest in that person would immediately soar.

On the other hand, if you didn’t receive a dance invitation, you had to stick to the wall and just watch while twiddling your thumbs, which was tantamount to a death sentence in high society.

It really was an annoying and shitty culture.

Anyway, this annoying blood relative of mine was, unbelievably, a popular figure in high society.

Not as much as Darius, but he seemed to be ranked around the top 3 desirable grooms. I really couldn’t understand it at all.

If Kien danced the first dance with such a brother, her stock would skyrocket.

Kien would be happy in many ways, and I would be repaying my debt to her.

Most importantly, if she soared in high society, it would be favorable for our business!

“Dance with her. Someone in Brother’s position wouldn’t lose much by dancing once or twice with a young noblewoman who debuted today.”

I know you’ve been calculating and mingling with various young noblewomen until now. Annoying bastard.

When I urged him on, knowing full well he was obviously pounding a calculator in his brain, he smiled serenely.

“Sure.”

Oh, what’s this? This materialist agreeing so easily?

Is it because he acknowledges that I owe Kien a debt?

Anyway, great!

“Then let’s go greet Kien together!”

I stepped toward Kien with satisfaction.

Brother, who had been following beside me, tapped my shoulder as he passed by.

“In exchange, you have to dance the first dance with Darius. That’s the condition.”

“What?”

“I’ll tell him to ask you for a dance later. I’ve looked high and low, and there’s no one better than him.”

I stopped in my tracks, dumbfounded by Brother’s unreasonable demand.

“…But didn’t you say Brother Darius would probably get engaged to the Princess!”

“He hasn’t yet, has he?”

With a snicker, Brother left me behind and walked straight toward Kien.

‘What! Why are you making such an absurd deal on your own!’

Before I could even collect myself from the shock, Brother stood before Kien and bowed gracefully at the waist.

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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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