Isn’t Being A Wicked Woman Much Better? - Chapter 90

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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 90
‘Oh, this is killing me. I shouldn’t be laughing.’
So the person I’d mistaken for a child was Isidore.
“Pfft!”
I’d tried desperately not to disturb him, holding back with all my might, but that enormous back of his was far too serious—I couldn’t help but let out a loud laugh. It was truly beyond my control.
“What?”
Isidore turned around with a slightly displeased expression, then looked startled when he saw me bursting into laughter.
“How long have you been here?”
“Just now, Knight Isidore, but it was so funny… I couldn’t help it… *snort*, ahahaha!”
I finally couldn’t hold back any longer and dissolved into giggles.
“….”
His eyelids widened dramatically, and his emerald eyes wavered with bewilderment. Though I could feel his confusion vividly, it had been so long since I’d laughed this hard that the laughter wouldn’t stop.
Perhaps because Isidore was so perfect in every other way, his piano skills—which resembled those of a five-year-old—were truly unexpected.
‘Wait, isn’t that an insult to five-year-olds?’
I finally composed myself, breathing heavily as I barely managed to move my lips.
“I’m not mocking your playing… I just never expected Knight Isidore to be so tone-deaf and rhythmically challenged.”
“It’s because I haven’t played in a long time. My hands aren’t used to the sheet music and keys yet! You know from dancing together at the ball, don’t you?”
He pouted slightly and spoke in a sulky tone.
“Still, even if your hands get used to the keys, I doubt you’ll play particularly well.”
“How well does Princess Deborah play to be so confident?”
Since I wouldn’t stop smiling, he provoked me.
“I play ten times better than Knight Isidore.”
No matter who came, they’d probably play better than this man. And I’d mastered Beyer and Czerny back in kindergarten, I’ll have you know.
“Can you prove it?”
“Sure.”
I confidently sat beside him and placed my hands on the keys, only to realize the downside of early education. I could only remember a single piece.
“Does Princess Deborah play piano with just two fingers?”
Isidore seemed to be holding back laughter, his lips twitching.
“Just listen. Don’t make fun of me.”
I began playing the only piece I could perform without sheet music—the Chopsticks march. When I pressed the keys with just two fingers, Isidore initially looked dismissive, but soon became fascinated.
“It’s remarkable how beautiful music can emerge from such a technique. It’s lively and charming.”
Not long after, he acknowledged the superior musicality of the Chopsticks march and smiled softly.
“Where did you learn that piece? It’s fun.”
At his question, I felt a twinge of embarrassment and changed the subject.
“It is fun, right? Knight Isidore, you try it too. As you can see, it’s much easier than the piece you were playing, and originally this song is meant to be played by two people.”
“Who taught you that two people play it?”
“I did.”
“What a wonderful teacher…you are.”
After hesitating briefly, Isidore awkwardly mimicked the way I pressed the keys. Since the piece was so simple, he picked it up quickly. His white-gloved hands moved with such grace that the appearance was quite convincing. One might even call him a pianist.
‘It’s even funnier because only his hands look impressive.’
I quickly began accompanying his march. A close friend from my school days loved playing this piece during breaks, so I was confident in the accompaniment.
“Ah, I made a mistake.”
Isidore stumbled at a section similar to where my friend always did, and that familiarity struck me oddly. He appeared so flawless that a single prick wouldn’t draw blood, yet in that moment, my preconceptions and fixed notions about him began to crumble.
“This piece gets progressively faster.”
A mischievous impulse surged through me, like when I was younger. As I struck the keys more rapidly and recklessly, Isidore’s fingers moved about somewhat distractedly. Then his firm arm brushed against mine, and our hands collided sharply above the piano.
“…!”
Isidore’s hand suddenly recoiled from the contact, causing him to press the wrong key.
“Why didn’t you play the next one?”
He, who had been keeping his hand still, suddenly flinched and sprang to his feet.
“What? It wasn’t that hard of a collision.”
“…It was sufficient. Perhaps not for Princess Deborah Simour, but.”
What nonsense. The guy’s just clumsy.
“Are you being dramatic now? Finish the piece. With your current skill level, Knight Isidore, this is probably the only piece you can play.”
As he suddenly tried to leave the Music Room, I spoke with a slightly bewildered tone. He exhaled sharply with his back to me, then turned his head to glare at me with sharp, keen eyes.
Until moments ago, he had seemed docile and affectionate, but now his face was rebellious like a moody wolf. He adjusted his gloves and reached toward the Knight Order uniform coat hanging on the rack.
“It was fun and thrilling, but the student asks that the teacher slow down the pace.”
“Hmm, the student followed along so well that we progressed quickly. What a shame.”
“Please teach me more slowly next time.”
Even as he donned his coat, Isidore’s silhouette was composed like a scene from a fashion photoshoot. He glanced down at his pocket watch.
“I should head to the Barracks soon. I only came out during break to practice a bit.”
Ah, it was time for him to return to the Knight Order.
“You’re the Epsilon leader and also the Knight Order’s vice-commander, so you seem busy—why do you practice piano? Is it a new hobby?”
“Let’s say it is.”
“Then just say so. What’s with the ‘let’s say’?”
“You said listening to piano performances is your hobby, didn’t you? Perhaps playing is mine.”
“Who… Ah, Knight Thierry must have mentioned it.”
He skillfully dodged bringing up the Horse Racing Track. His quick wit was truly remarkable.
“Don’t become too close with Thierry. He’s a delinquent friend.”
He spoke in a childishly sullen voice.
“If we’re comparing who’s more of a rogue, isn’t my reputation far greater?”
“Princess…no, never mind.”
“Why did you stop mid-sentence? I’d like to offer you 10 gold.”
A joke that would have made the atmosphere awkward emerged, perhaps because the incident with Master was still on my mind. He looked at me incredulously before breaking into a slight smile.
“Comparing Thierry and the Princess would be unfair.”
“It would be rude to Knight Thierry.”
“It’s more than he deserves. The Princess seems sincere. More than anyone I’ve seen…to the point of overexertion.”
He mumbled the rest quietly, so I only caught the first part.
‘Sincere?’
The thought that Master and Isidore might know each other took root in my mind, making his words sound oddly meaningful.
He and I walked side by side toward the Main Building Entrance. Isidore stood on the Side Path, which carried the atmosphere of early autumn, and waved lightly.
“We’ll be seeing each other often. There are plenty of club activities in autumn. See you again.”
He gently brushed away an early autumn leaf clinging to my shoulder, then disappeared swiftly toward the Side Path. The moment he vanished from sight, a thought suddenly struck me.
‘Wait, he didn’t practice piano just because of me, did he?’
Just like when he entered the Horse Racing Track competition last time, and now…
The more I dwelled on it, the more my chest felt weightless and adrift.
‘Ugh, why is this obsession getting progressively worse?’
Even as I tried to deny it to suppress the turmoil in my heart, the hand that had brushed against his moments ago seemed to throb with warmth. I stood motionless, absently touching my shoulder, then slowly walked toward the Club Room.
* * *
‘I learned it in childhood, so with a little practice, I should be able to play well.’
Isidore had approached piano practice with baseless confidence and stubbornness, but soon realized his actual skill was far more dire than expected, so he decided to increase his practice time. Fortunately, the Frat House and Knights’ Barracks were close by, so he would sneak out during training and tap away at the keys in the Music Room.
‘This is hopeless.’
Now I understood—this wasn’t something a day or two of practice could fix. My hands and the sheet music were completely out of sync.
‘It would be faster to just disband the Piano Club altogether.’
Since Thierry had created it as a one-man club for his hobby, there was justification enough. While I harbored the petty thought of preventing others from playing because my own skill was poor, I heard a mocking laugh from somewhere.
‘Who is that?’
Isidore turned around in irritation, and his heart plummeted sharply before bouncing back up.
“Pffft!”
I had never known that Princess Deborah Simour could laugh so loudly and brightly. Even though she’d caught me in a state I didn’t particularly want to be seen in, I had no time to feel embarrassed because of her radiant smile.
‘Why am I not angry?’
The image of her laughing with abandon, holding her belly, etched itself deeply into my mind. Just like when she had stared endlessly at the fireworks with wide, childlike eyes during the Spring Flower Festival.
Back then too, I found myself unable to tear my gaze away from her, just as I couldn’t now. No—this moment, with her laughing while tears streamed down her cheeks, was far more astonishing.
Perhaps that’s why my heart pounds so heavily. Thump-thump. So loud my ears ring.
She, who usually watched with sharp, alert eyes like a cautious cat, suddenly approached and sat beside me. I found myself thinking it was good that I’d decided to play piano.
“I’m at least ten times better than Knight Isidore.”
She placed two fingers on the keys. At first, I was at a loss seeing her attempt to play with just two fingers, but then an unexpectedly cheerful melody in an unfamiliar rhythm rang out.
She grinned confidently, her lips curving with amusement.

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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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