I’m Sick of the Kind Protagonist, so I Might as Well Just Die - Chapter 2

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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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#02
【Training Stage】
ID : EMPIRE_ROMANCE_003
Genre : Romance Fantasy
Major Event : Empress Selection Ball
Objective:
Death by becoming entangled in an assassination attempt targeting the Female Lead who will become Empress
I stood before an enormous mirror, staring at the incomprehensible English letters floating in the void.
I had been watching Perenustus’s smug face distort slowly, yet in the blink of an eye, I found myself standing in an unfamiliar place—a fact I couldn’t quite accept.
‘What on earth does Perenustus want from me? What’s this Empress Selection Ball all of a sudden?’
Unable to shake off the indescribable strangeness of it all, I tried desperately to adapt to the reality thrust upon me.
‘I’ve only experienced balls while being treated as a hero, enduring them for about four or five days… what is he asking me to repay with my body?’
Bewildered as I gazed at my reflection in the mirror, I soon shook my head vigorously and began preparing for what was to come.
‘I fell into this place right after being cursed by Silverdragoon. Since I can’t even guess what hardships await me… I’ll just face it head-on.’
With a simple and crude resolve, I faced forward.
In the mirror stood a woman with brown hair hastily pinned up, wearing a modest dress.
‘How unfamiliar.’
In this space filled entirely with strangeness, my face—unable to hide the tension—seemed to be the current ‘me’.
Only my appearance and the large Erba leaves swaying beyond the window provided small comfort to my bewildered mind.
‘My face is unfamiliar, but the clothes, buildings, and plants aren’t so different. At least that’s something.’
I was finding peace of mind, recalling the dense Erba Forest that flourished around my home.
【Meriel von Evergreen】
Suddenly, a single line of a name appeared above the mirror.
‘…that’s quite an unprincipled name. They’ve attached a maid’s name to some distant Empire-style noble surname.’
I mumbled the name—clearly lacking sincerity, bordering on mockery—under my breath. As if that were some kind of signal, long and short sentences began forcibly injecting themselves into my mind.
Meriel von Evergreen. Age 23. Female.
Third daughter of a humble marquis house in the remote frontier of the Empire.
Death by becoming entangled in an assassination attempt targeting the Female Lead who will become Empress.
‘The setting is incredibly half-baked too. Don’t most nobles marry before they turn twenty?’
I shook my head, retracing the information of this world seeping into my mind.
‘I’ve been cursed to live a petty, monotonous life that drives me crazy, so it’s certain I’m not an important figure… hmm.’
In that case, Meriel’s role would be nothing more than highlighting the magnificence of the elaborately dressed noble ladies.
‘Ah. My objective is to die by becoming entangled in an assassination attempt targeting the Female Lead who will become Empress, right?’
Looking at the ordinary face in the mirror, I soon found my own answer and slapped my knee. So I’m just supposed to quietly surrender my life for the sake of this world or whatever.
‘This is ridiculous. If he’s going to throw me into a world where death is the purpose, why did he hold my hand so tenderly?’
In any case, he was a strange man.
I couldn’t even imagine what Perenustus would gain from doing this to me.
‘Since I don’t understand, I might as well die quickly. Given that it says “Training Stage,” it seems my existence won’t disappear even if I die here. So after I die, I’ll meet Perenustus and ask him about it.’
“Miss Maria, are you ready?”
A strange woman’s voice came from outside the door. I didn’t even feel like correcting her—it’s Meriel, not Maria.
I didn’t bother responding. Instead, I simply smoothed out the wrinkles of my modest dress with a light tap and left the room.
The woman waiting at the door frowned slightly upon seeing me, then silently guided me forward without a word.
Shadows cast by Erba leaves swayed slowly through the narrow corridor where only the Maid’s footsteps and mine echoed. How long had we been walking like this?
A ballroom so dazzlingly ornate it was blinding suddenly came into view.
‘Wow… seeing this Ball Hall really shows me how pathetic my hero’s welcome ceremony was.’
Columns decorated with colorful jewels atop thinly applied gold, chandeliers gleaming with transparent crystal, and noblewomen adorned so elaborately they could barely move….
I glanced down at my modest dress. Everything around me screamed that someone like me had no right to be here.
Entering from the back entrance of the ballroom without even being announced, preceded only by a single Maid, my appearance was particularly shabby compared to the other ladies.
‘Actually, this is better. This way I can stay quietly in a corner without drawing attention, whether I’m poisoned or strangled.’
I heard snickering and sidelong glances from all directions. Behind their fans, I caught fragments of my name being mispronounced amid their giggles.
Even being reborn, I still couldn’t comprehend the nobility’s way of thinking.
‘If you really want to despise someone, shouldn’t you ignore them entirely? These ladies certainly go to great lengths to show their contempt.’
Shaking my head slightly, I pressed myself behind a curtain that hung meaninglessly along the ballroom wall.
After experiencing four full days of banquets while being treated as a hero, I’d certainly mastered the skill of deftly snatching food from the passing servers.
I was on my second glass of a bluish beverage that seemed to be made from pressed Erba leaves.
“All participants, please come forward.”
An elderly man’s voice echoed through the hall. I unhurriedly followed the other ladies who stepped forward, positioning myself in an inconspicuous corner—neither too far back nor too far forward—and swept my eyes across the surroundings.
‘I was told I’d die caught up in an assassination attempt targeting the Female Lead.’
If these delicate ladies who looked like they’d blow away with a tap were to kill someone, they’d almost certainly use poison.
I narrowed my eyes and searched through my knowledge of poisoning.
‘I don’t think I’ve ever read a book about that…’
Almost all the miscellaneous knowledge I possessed came from adventurers who had come to my Village to hunt dragons. More precisely, the books they’d abandoned after reading partway through became my teachers.
Unfortunately, the adventurers who visited my neighborhood hadn’t read any books about nobility’s poisoning methods. That meant I had absolutely no countermeasures against whatever outlandish tricks these ladies might employ.
‘Probably the easiest method would be tampering with food, or maybe coating something on those feather fans they all carry.’
I was studying objects that seemed like possibilities.
My eyes met those of a lady among the arrogant-looking group who was staring at me with particular sharpness. Without any intention of looking away, I held her gaze steadily, and she snorted disdainfully before turning her head.
‘She’s incredibly beautiful. She must be the Female Lead.’
Incidents typically occur around the protagonist. Should I position myself near that woman? As I was pondering this, the elderly man’s voice rang out once more.
“His Imperial Majesty, the Emperor, is present!”
A grand trumpet fanfare sounded as enormous doors swung open.
I wondered why this Emperor had lived without an Empress until now, and the moment I stole a quick glance, I found myself involuntarily catching my breath.
Tall stature, muscular build, hands marked with calluses—he looked like an adventurer who frequented my Village, not a nobleman raised delicately in the Palace.
His body, covered in taut muscle, was wrapped in a pitch-black uniform, and the harmony between that dark clothing and his equally dark hair combined with his blazing crimson eyes was striking.
His sharp, humorless gaze made his stubborn jawline stand out even more prominently.
‘He’s so handsome—why hasn’t he married until now? Usually, royalty gets bound by marriage between families from birth.’
I was tilting my head at this practical question.
The Emperor furrowed his brow. A beautiful man pressing his fingertips against the hollowed shadows beneath his eyes—with just that simple gesture, several fragile-looking noblewomen began to collapse.
The sensual weariness of his masculine beauty and the subtle mist that settled around him created quite a mystical and fantastical effect, but I shook my head.
‘If it were me, I wouldn’t have added mist for this entrance timing.’
A man who looked like that would be magnificent whether mist, water, or anything else surrounded him.
‘He looks incredibly imposing and sharp. For an Emperor, this delicate silver mist seems rather… wait. Silver mist?’
Suddenly, goosebumps erupted down my spine.
I quickly covered my nose and mouth, scanning my surroundings frantically.
‘Insane. Just as I thought…!’
Silver liquid was shimmering in the decorative magical fountains placed on both sides of the Emperor’s entrance.
It was perfectly identical to the liquid that had dripped from Silverdragoon’s neck. If that was truly Silverdragoon’s blood, the situation would become extraordinarily dangerous.
‘That’s deadly poison!’
I bit my lip hard, glancing at the collapsed ladies and the swaying figures around me. Right. No matter how devastatingly handsome the Emperor was, people couldn’t simply faint from looking at him.
‘What do I do now?’
All I could manage was to grip my already wrinkled dress tighter, creating even more creases.
‘I just wanted to stay quiet and unnoticed, and then die.’
As I hesitated, I furrowed my brow and lifted my head. No matter how pathetic my predetermined goal was, I couldn’t simply stand by and watch what was unfolding before my eyes.
“Everyone! Cover your mouths! Don’t breathe this vapor!”
I shouted urgently and snatched a drink pitcher from one of the servers. Then, taking advantage of everyone’s confusion, I splashed it directly onto the faces of the collapsed ladies.
“You knights over there! Stop standing around uselessly and cover your mouths with your cloaks! Check those fountains immediately!”
The Maid, who had been standing apart pretending not to know anything, rushed over with a panicked expression and called my name.
“Maria! What are you doing!”
“No time to explain! Open all the windows and doors! Quickly, soak any cloth in Erba extract and distribute it to everyone! Look, another person is collapsing over there!”
Before my words even finished, the woman who had been glaring at me staggered and collapsed. I clicked my tongue and tore my skirt hem to cover the fallen woman’s nose and mouth.
“Hey, you idiots! I said check the fountains, so what are you doing!”
“Who dares cause a disturbance at my banquet and call my knights idiots-”
“Stop with the bluster and just give orders! Aren’t you the one pressing your forehead right now because you’re dizzy too?!”
The Emperor’s low, threatening voice cut off abruptly.

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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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