Isn’t Being A Wicked Woman Much Better? - Chapter 134

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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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Chapter 134
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I gasped inwardly.
‘Ugh! How cold!’
Without warning, the area around my thigh grew damp. The silk fabric of my pale lavender dress was thoroughly soaked with cold champagne, clinging uncomfortably to my skin.
“Oh my, I’ve made a terrible mistake with such a beautiful lady.”
The motion of pouring the champagne was clearly deliberate, yet the man before me—presumed to be the Third Prince—raised his eyebrows and feigned surprise.
“A mistake…?”
At my murmur, the man’s eyes narrowed subtly.
“Yes. It seems you’re upset by my mistake, and I’m sorry for that. Of course, I’ll compensate you generously for ruining your dress.”
He spilled the drink on purpose, then claimed regret rather than genuine apology.
“I’ll have a servant bring you a dress from a more renowned designer than the one you’re wearing now…”
Before he could finish, I grabbed the tablecloth and yanked it downward. Immediately, the champagne and finger food plates on the table cascaded onto the Third Prince’s left leg, and white cream splattered across his black formal trousers before dropping away.
“…”
A brief silence fell over the Tea Room.
“My hand slipped by accident. I’m terribly sorry. Allow me to send you an expensive formal outfit as compensation.”
I spoke with perfect composure.
“…”
“Phew, the smell is quite pungent.”
I murmured in a cold tone while brushing off my alcohol-soaked clothes.
‘Since I was talking to myself, technically it wasn’t disrespectful speech.’
I deliberately spoke even more brazenly than the Third Prince, recalling a troublesome older brother from my previous life in the same department.
“Everyone makes a mistake or two in life. Anyway, you’re always so perfectionist.”
When the other person glossed over their misconduct as a simple mistake, my past self would fumble and let it slide without proper response. But in situations like this, it’s only natural to make the other person feel equally flustered as you do.
Moreover, I acted this way because I was certain Isidore would unconditionally support my words.
“Just as the rumors say. Utterly shameless.”
The Third Prince suddenly bared his teeth in a vicious smile, and I took a sip of the champagne in my hand.
“So I’m famous enough to have rumors about me. I have no idea who you are, but if that was a mistake, you might need to see a doctor…”
I deduced he was the Third Prince from his resemblance to the Fourth Empress and his navy-blue hair, but I pretended ignorance. After all, we had never been formally introduced.
According to the novel’s setting, the Third Prince was a figure with almost no presence among the numerous imperial family members. I might have seen him at imperial events in the past, but since he had spent considerable time in the Northern Region, his appearance could have changed. I could simply insist I didn’t recognize him.
“A doctor?”
“Such severe tremors that you can’t even hold a champagne glass properly—that’s a serious illness. It’s serious enough that your father should reconsider the succession rights more carefully…”
I subtly jabbed at the Third Prince’s distant position from the throne. Just as I intended, cracks began to form on his face.
“This person is the Third Prince, and he has tremors?!”
Young-sik, the foolish man who had been rejected when he asked me to dance earlier, burst forward indignantly.
“You’ve been disrespectful from the start. Where did you learn such manners, interrupting while your betters are conversing?”
Isidore cut off Young-sik with a cold tone.
‘His speech is rougher than usual. Could Isidore be… angry?’
Young-sik flinched at the chill emanating from Isidore. The composed Isidore then turned his gaze toward the Third Prince.
“You’re well aware that you deliberately committed conduct unbecoming of the imperial family just now.”
“Ha, are you lecturing me now? A fledgling duke daring to do what even the Emperor himself refrains from?”
“No. I’m merely pointing out the obvious. Demanding a direct introduction would have appeared far less pathetic than this.”
Isidore’s sharp observation made me finally understand why the Third Prince had deliberately spilled champagne on me.
Among the Imperial Family, it was customary to seek introductions through mutual acquaintances rather than approaching someone directly. But there was no suitable nobleman to bridge the gap between the Third Prince and me.
The Third Prince wanted to speak with me while preserving his dignity, so he simply doused me with champagne. Had I not overturned the situation, he likely would have used compensation as a pretext to subtly steer things his way.
‘But why is he doing this to me? Please, just go talk extensively with Miya, the actual heroine.’
As I internally marveled at the absurdity, the Third Prince’s lips twisted, his face draining of color at the word “pathetic.”
“Duke Visconti. You’ll come to regret running your mouth so carelessly.”
It was the quintessential line of a villain running out of ammunition.
“I look forward to it.”
Isidore narrowed his eyes like a fox and removed his formal coat, then suddenly draped it over my shoulders.
“It’s fortunate you prepared multiple evening gowns. They all suited you so well that choosing just one was difficult.”
The alcohol had soaked only my skirt hem and thighs, yet somehow it felt as though my entire upper body was drenched.
“I’ll catch a cold.”
Just then, a group of nobles entered the Tea Room and froze at the sight of me wearing Isidore’s formal coat. Seeing my skirt reeking of alcohol, they immediately assumed I’d caused some sort of incident.
“What happened all of a sudden?”
But their suspicious glances soon shifted.
“One might get excited and overindulge after a title promotion, but…”
Isidore, dropping a meaningful remark while observing the Third Prince’s entourage, quickly ushered me out of the Tea Room. Once we’d left them behind, he flicked his fingers lightly, just as he did in Blanche.
Crash!
A tremendous sound of shattering glass erupted from behind us. I immediately realized the chaos was Isidore’s handiwork—created through spatial magic.
“What on earth happened?”
“It seems a drunk noble made a careless mistake.”
Someone seamlessly translated Isidore’s insinuation into fact.
“Good heavens…”
The elderly nobles who had stopped by for refreshments fled the Tea Room as if escaping, their tongues clicking in disapproval at the overwhelming stench of wine and champagne.
“The reception has barely begun, yet someone’s already so drunk they’ve made such a spectacle.”
“No matter how delighted one is about a title promotion, this is far too shameless and rowdy.”
Watching Isidore turn the situation entirely in my favor in an instant, I couldn’t help but silently admire his cunning.
I changed out of my soaked dress into the fresh gown Isidore had sent, then returned to the hall alone. Isidore had been receiving congratulations from the nobles, but he immediately excused himself when I approached.
“Don’t you need to say more?”
“Who would dare speak against a duke? Unless they lack all sense.”
“That’s an abuse of power.”
“To protect it, one must grow stronger.”
He murmured something meaningful under his breath.
“What?”
“In a moment, let’s go out for a walk together.”
But the Fifth Princess soon approached with champagne in both hands, and I found myself detained by her for some time.
* * *
The Third Prince irritably brushed back the navy hair falling across his forehead.
The moment I entered the hall, that foolish Northern marquis Young-sik, who had been sipping wine continuously, suddenly toppled over a long table bar lined with wine bottles, and as the tables fell like dominoes, the Tea Room interior became an irredeemable mess.
Because of those shameless, uncouth provincial fools, I ended up looking like an idiot who had arrived in the Capital and immediately gotten drunk with excitement.
‘Damn this alcohol stench.’
After leaving the Grand Hall, I roughly threw my black formal attire to the floor.
The more I thought about it, the more my blood boiled. I had believed my mother’s words with absolute certainty—that when I returned after struggling in the Northern Region, the situation would have shifted in my favor.
I had endured the black mage’s nagging that Mother had assigned me in that tedious, frigid place while gathering my forces, yet when I returned to the Central Capital, there were others already plucking the sweet fruits.
‘That woman with no presence being called a saint—what nonsense.’
I recalled Miya, whom Mother had briefly introduced, and clicked my tongue sharply. Rather than that dull woman, it felt far more stimulating to steal the princess from the Visconti Duke and bend her beneath me.
Among everyone at today’s gathering, the one who caught my eye most frequently was Deborah Simour. Of course, there were many beautiful young ladies, but true to the rumors of her being a villainess, Deborah Simour possessed a cold yet bewitching beauty that stirred hidden desires.
‘Simour acting so superior. How dare they before Imperial royalty.’
The Third Prince’s lips twisted as I recalled those crimson eyes that had looked down on me mockingly. Every time I saw those who should have been crawling beneath me holding their heads high, my pride was scratched. This sensation never became familiar.
“Habi. Why have you come out already? Couldn’t you continue talking inside?”
Habi was a nickname for Habier. His mother, the Fourth Empress, approached and gently brushed her hand across her son’s gaunt face with a pitying expression.
“Habi. What is this alcohol smell? It’s too early to be intoxicated….”
Irritation flickered across his dark eyes.
“Should I have abstained instead?”
“Why are you angry?”
“The impressive title of war hero was taken by Rozard Simour, and that Isidore, who recently seized the Visconti dukedom, is close with the Crown Prince—there’s probably not a single noble who doesn’t know this.”
“….”
“I suffered so much in the Northern Region and came back, yet I’m being continuously pushed out of the Central Social Circle. I did everything exactly as you said!”
“Calm yourself, my son.”
She gazed at her son, who resembled me so perfectly that even her eyes wouldn’t ache looking at him, and her eyes gleamed like an abyss.
“Everything will unfold according to your wishes. Do not worry.”
Yet Habier roughly pushed her away, gritted his teeth, and walked quickly toward the Autumn Palace where his quarters were located. The Fourth Empress watched her son’s retreating figure with dark eyes for a long while, biting her lips so hard that blood beaded.

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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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