I’m a Villain, but I Want to Live a Long Life - Chapter 38

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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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“Lady Meg Clein Belmart, the host of the party, has arrived!”

At the servant’s voice echoing through the vast hall, everyone’s gaze turned toward the entrance.

A young lady wearing a dazzling purple dress with an ornate floral crown on her head was gracefully entering the hall.

In an instant, people flocked around her.

“Oh my, Lady Meg. Your dress is so beautiful today.”

“Really! When I saw you walking from afar, I thought you were a butterfly for a moment!”

The cheerful laughter of the girls spread throughout the hall.

Meg Clein looked around at each of them with a leisurely smile.

“Thank you all so much for visiting my party today.”

Then she continued with sparkling eyes.

“I thought it would be nice to have an opportunity for the flowers of the Empire to gather together before the Thanksgiving Festival, so I arranged this gathering. Have you all been enjoying yourselves?”

“Of course! Who do you think hosted this party?”

“The hall decorations are so beautiful that I spent quite a while admiring them!”

As if they had been waiting, artificial responses burst out from here and there. Meg enjoyed this and smiled calmly.

“Thank you all. Actually, my grandfather put a lot of effort into this as well.”

“Oh my, I heard rumors that Duke Belmart adores you greatly! But to decorate the hall so beautifully!”

“I’m so envious!”

Meg tilted her head slightly and smiled with curved eyes.

She was the only granddaughter of the Belmart family, which was the Empress’s maternal relatives, and was actually cousins with Prince Xenon.

“What are you saying, when you ladies also have wonderful fathers and grandfathers!”

When Meg spoke in a bright voice, the ladies laughed cheerfully and picked up their teacups.

Each of them was busy hiding their true feelings completely while putting on fabricated smiles.

This was the Empire’s small social circle and a gathering place for tremendous influential figures.

But among them, Meg spotted someone and quickly moved toward that direction with sparkling eyes.

“Lady Estelin, you came!”

Estelin, who had been sitting and absorbed in something, looked up.

“…Oh, Lady Meg. I’m sorry, I was thinking about something else for a moment and didn’t see you come in.”

Meg shook her head with a smile as if it wasn’t a problem at all.

Estelin was currently the daughter of Duke Laurent, who was receiving the Emperor’s full trust in the Empire.

The reason for hosting this party today was entirely to become genuinely close with her and several other young ladies from prestigious families.

Until now, she had often been abroad following her mother and hadn’t been able to build proper connections within the Empire.

Meg, skillfully hiding her excited expression, spoke in an affectionate voice.

“When you’re deep in thought, that can happen anytime. But the reason you were here alone was…”

Meg tilted her head. Estelin kept glancing toward the door.

Estelin answered with an awkward smile.

“Actually, that’s…”

Just then, the head servant’s voice echoed through the hall.

“Lady Seleneae of the Tigris Ducal House has arrived!”

Meg unconsciously turned her head and stared toward the entrance.

‘Seleneae?’

Meg’s brow furrowed slightly as she traced through her hazy memories.

…Ah, I remember now.

Seleneae Tigris was one of the people she had debated until the last moment whether to send an invitation to.

Her family was Tigris, one of the Four Dukes, but Meg remembered the conversation her parents had about him a few months ago.

‘Duke Tigris did something foolish again.’

‘He urgently requested an audience with His Majesty and then suddenly said he wanted to leave the Empire.’

‘That man really doesn’t seem to fear His Majesty the Emperor.’

‘Exactly. What does he think the Imperial Court is, something trivial?’

‘Well, he’s probably acting that way trusting in his military power and current position… but if he keeps making enemies like that, it’ll be hard for him to survive.’

The image of her mother shaking her head in dismay after finishing those words was still vividly etched in her memory.

Moreover…

‘Seleneae Tigris rarely shows herself in social circles.’

Ah, there were a few times though. Meg traced her hazy memories to recall Seleneae.

‘Right. The one who used to bother Lady Estelin at every turn…’

Just a few months ago, didn’t she cause a scene at Estelin’s birthday party and then collapse from anemia in a ridiculous display?

A sneer appeared at the corner of Meg’s lips.

‘So that’s why Estelin Laurent kept looking toward the door.’

She was afraid that Seleneae might come to bother her again!

Meg quickly erased the smile from her face and stepped forward with a deliberately worried expression.

“Oh dear… Lady, I was thoughtless. I shouldn’t have invited Lady Seleneae today. But don’t worry. I’ll persuade Lady Seleneae properly and send her back…”

But the next moment, Meg could only freeze in place, dumbfounded.

Estelin suddenly jumped up from her seat and rushed past her toward the entrance like a bullet.

“Seleneae!”

And then she threw her arms around Seleneae Tigris.

Everyone in the hall’s expressions turned to shock.

Seleneae, embraced by Estelin, hesitated with a surprised expression for a moment, then smiled awkwardly and gently pushed Estelin away as if soothing her.

‘Like, like pushing away a puppy…’

Just as Meg opened her lips in shock, Seleneae’s warm voice could be heard.

“Estelin, have you been well?”

“Of course! I’ve been counting the days until today ever since you sent me that letter.”

‘Letter?’

The eyes of the ladies gathered in the hall, including Meg, grew even wider.

“Were those two exchanging letters?”

“That’s what I’m saying. I don’t really understand what’s happening right now either…”

Their reaction was natural. Seleneae’s reputation in the Empire was extremely simple.

Either ‘the wicked lady who bothers Estelin’ or ‘the burden of the Tigris Ducal House.’

But from what they could see now, it was as if…

“You don’t know how hard it was to leave Eria behind. She followed me all the way to the front gate crying, saying she wanted to see Lady Seleneae too.”

“Lady Eria did that?”

“Yes! She even screamed loud enough to shake the manor, telling me to bring you back after the party ends.”

Sighs of various sizes burst out from here and there in the hall.

Meg glared disapprovingly at Estelin and Seleneae, who were looking at each other and smiling brightly.

‘How did Seleneae Tigris become close with Lady Estelin…’

Her plan had been to have an intimate conversation with Estelin and grow closer to her.

But not only had she lost Estelin to an unexpected uninvited guest who suddenly appeared…

“If it’s Lady Tigris, then the one from that temple…”

“I heard that rumor too. Something about some strange priest brainwashing the lady?”

“Oh my, was that true?”

The guests in the hall were now all talking about Seleneae.

‘What is this situation…!’

Meg secretly bit her lip and glared at Seleneae.

Because of her sudden appearance, the protagonist of the party had been completely switched.

But Meg soon hid her expression. She knew that she shouldn’t openly show her displeasure at such a gathering.

She slowly approached Estelin and Seleneae.

Then she smiled warmly and greeted them first.

“Nice to see you, Lady Seleneae.”

Only then did the blue eyes turn toward Meg. Upon spotting Meg, Seleneae smiled brightly and extended her hand.

“Ah, Lady Meg. Thank you for inviting me. The hall is very beautiful.”

Meg nodded with an awkward smile and looked Selene up and down carefully.

She had flowing platinum hair cascading down her back and wore a necklace with mysterious patterns around her neck.

The dress she was wearing also looked quite expensive in its own way.

‘So this is what it’s like being Duke Tigris’s only daughter.’

Meg let out a low sneer inwardly.

‘Even so, she doesn’t even get along well with the Duke.’

She didn’t believe any of the rumors circulating around the estate about Selene lately.

Why would the Temple bother having a priest brainwash a burdensome young lady with no real influence?

‘Getting involved in strange affairs and then dragging the Temple into it.’

She was truly shameless beyond measure. Just as Meg was secretly glaring at Selene with cold eyes.

“Selene?”

Someone else appeared from the entrance.

The servant who spotted him stammered.

“Uh, from House Grimaldi…”

The young ladies’ gazes turned toward him.

But the servant just kept moving his lips while looking at the newly appeared young lady.

From his expression, it seemed he didn’t know her name.

Then Selene glanced at him and muttered coldly.

“Rosette.”

“…”

“Rosette of Grimaldi.”

The startled servant finally shouted hurriedly.

“L-Lady Rosette of House Grimaldi has arrived!”

Meg finally recognized Rosette’s face and widened her eyes.

House Grimaldi had many young lords and ladies. Perhaps because of this, they would send different children to the annual thanksgiving festival each year.

‘But Rosette Grimaldi…’

She had never appeared at a thanksgiving festival before and was said to be a fool with nothing but pride.

Meg frowned. But she was the host and protagonist of this party.

She couldn’t carelessly show her emotions.

‘I shouldn’t have left writing the invitations to that stupid Peony.’

Meg clenched her fists, thinking of the maid who had helped her with her work.

However, she soon smiled brightly like before and approached Rosette.

After all, she had to fulfill her duties as a host.

But when she greeted first with her fabricated smile.

“Nice to meet you, Lady Rosette. Thank you for coming to my party today…”

“Selene! You really…!!”

Rosette instantly passed right by her and moved away.

Meg, left alone, froze stiff.

A cold wind blew whoosh- once again in front of her now empty space.

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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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