Sister, I Hit You Because There Was a Ghost Behind You - Chapter 23

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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 23. The Dress Code for This Party is “Trap”
The day of the final confrontation had finally arrived.
The Eberhardt Mansion bustled with activity from early morning. The Empire’s Founding Day celebration—dozens of servants moved in perfect synchronization to raise the curtain on this grand spectacle.
The Garden was carpeted with magical lanterns like stars, and the Banquet Hall overflowed with the finest silks and fresh flowers.
I stood by the window, gazing down at the scene and murmuring to myself.
“The preparations are complete.”
Behind me, Maria, the head maid, approached with a dress in hand and spoke.
“Countess, it is time for you to change into your gown.”
I nodded and turned around. My secret weapon prepared for this night. It was neither a pristine white dress nor dazzling jewels.
As night fell, the mansion’s entrance became a procession of carriages. The Empire’s most distinguished nobles filed in one by one, donning masks.
“My, who is that?”
“With the mask, I can’t tell.”
“I never expected the Countess to host a masquerade. How bold of her.”
People murmured, speculating about each other’s identities. This was precisely the effect I had orchestrated—chaos and anonymity. Within that confusion, Crown Prince Oscar’s anxiety was plainly visible.
Oscar, adorned in an ornate peacock mask, wandered through the Banquet Hall. He gripped a champagne flute tightly in his hand. Inside it lay the problematic drug that Shadow had warned me about. Oscar asked his Attendant in an irritated voice.
“Damn it, where is Violetta? Hasn’t she appeared yet? The hostess shouldn’t be this late.”
The Attendant stammered in response.
“She will be arriving shortly, sir.”
That was when it happened. The lights in the Banquet Hall extinguished all at once. The murmuring crowd fell silent in an instant. A single spotlight pierced through the darkness, illuminating the Spiral Staircase above.
Click, click.
With each footstep, the protagonist revealed herself. Gasps erupted from the crowd.
“Ah…!”
There stood a woman in a dress the color of blood. A mermaid silhouette clung to her form from neck to heel. Her back was daringly exposed, revealing smooth, elegant curves, and a black corset cinched her waist to emphasize its delicate contours. Upon her face rested a crimson butterfly mask. It was I, Violetta Eberhardt.
I descended the staircase with grace, my fan held before my lips. At my entrance, the nobility parted like the Red Sea. Oscar’s eyes gleamed with avarice.
‘That’s her. That’s the woman.’
He swallowed hard and approached me. Oscar spoke in an oily tone.
“I’ve been waiting for you, my Countess.”
I feigned ignorance and tilted my head with a puzzled expression.
“Who might you be? Your mask is so extravagant that I cannot recognize you. Are you perhaps a circus master?”
Oscar’s face contorted behind his mask.
“…Your jest has gone too far. It is I, Crown Prince Oscar.”
“Ah, Your Highness! Forgive me for not recognizing you. The peacock suits you so well that I mistook you for an actual bird.”
Stifled laughter rippled through the surrounding crowd. Oscar cleared his throat, attempting to regain control of the moment.
“Tonight, you are truly beautiful. Like the red rose of this Empire.”
“You flatter me too much.”
“By custom, you shall grant me the first dance, yes?”
Oscar extended his hand. An offer that could not be refused. Yet I flicked his hand away with my fan.
“I’m afraid not, Your Highness.”
Oscar’s eyebrows twitched.
“…Are you refusing me?”
“No. I’d like to change the order a bit. My throat is parched. What do you say we start with a toast?”
I spoke with a smile playing at the corners of my eyes. Oscar’s eyes widened. This was the flow he’d been hoping for.
“Oh, of course! A party without alcohol is unthinkable. I’ve prepared a special wine just for you.”
Oscar gestured toward the Attendant. The Attendant I’d already bought off approached with a tray bearing two glasses of wine. One was ordinary wine, the other… a glass tinged with a faint purple hue, laced with poison. Oscar naturally picked up the poisoned glass and handed it to me, speaking smoothly.
“Here, take it. To the future of us both.”
I accepted the glass. With my spiritual sight, I could see black toxins writhing like serpents within it.
‘If I drink this, I’ll lose consciousness and be dragged to your bedchamber.’
It was an incredibly crude and predictable scheme.
I brought the glass to my lips. Oscar’s mouth twitched upward in a smile.
‘Drink it. The moment you do, you’re mine.’
His true thoughts rang clearly in my ears. I pretended to bring the glass to my lips, then hesitated.
“Oh my.”
At my exclamation, Oscar asked in surprise.
“What, what’s wrong?”
“There’s dust on the glass. I’ll need a fresh one. You know how I am, don’t you? I have a bit of a cleanliness obsession.”
I frowned and set the glass down.
“Y-you can just drink it as is…!”
Oscar tried to stop me urgently, but I was resolute.
“I can’t. It bothers me. Look, here’s a fresh glass…”
That was when a deep, heavy voice came from somewhere.
“Would it be permissible for me to drink that wine?”
Oscar and I turned our heads simultaneously. Standing there was a large man wearing a black wolf mask. His shirt strained against his muscular frame, and his bearing was wild and primal. Anyone could tell it was Kairik von Herzen. But thanks to the mask, officially he was an ‘unidentified gentleman.’
Oscar shot him a look of displeasure.
“Who are you? How dare you interrupt a conversation between the Crown Prince and a Countess?”
Kairik von Herzen’s red eyes gleamed behind the mask as he spoke.
“The wine looked so appetizing, I thought I might beg a glass for myself.”
“Get out of here! You look like a common ruffian.”
Oscar shouted. But Kairik von Herzen didn’t retreat. Instead, he snatched the glass from my hand and sniffed it.
“Hmm. The aroma is quite distinctive. I smell something other than grape—something else entirely.”
Oscar’s face went pale.
“G-give that back! That’s my wine!”
Oscar reached out to snatch the glass back. At that moment, another man appeared from the opposite side. A man in a pristine white deer mask, emanating nobility. It was Demian Lyart. He grasped Oscar’s wrist firmly but gently, speaking with measured courtesy.
“It would be impolite to reclaim wine a gentleman has offered to a lady.”
Oscar felt his body tremble as he took in the piercing gazes and overwhelming physiques of the two masked men. The silhouettes of the Grand Duke and Knight Commander he’d seen before seemed to overlap with theirs, but he suppressed his panic and shouted in a voice thick with resentment.
“Let go of me! How dare you hide behind masks and obstruct the path of your Crown Prince! If you don’t step aside this instant, I’ll have you charged with treason!”
Despite his threats, Kairik von Herzen responded with a voice tinged with mockery.
“Treason, you say? We merely wish to politely escort an intoxicated guest to prevent any disturbance, Your Highness.”
Demian Lyart, still holding Oscar’s arm in a grip of steel, added coldly.
“Ensuring a guest’s safe departure is also part of maintaining order at this banquet. Please conduct yourself with dignity.”
I hid my laughter behind my fan.
The perfect trap had been laid. Now it was time to push him over the cliff. I took the glass from Kairik von Herzen and spoke to Crown Prince Oscar.
“Your Highness, there does seem to be a rather peculiar smell coming from the wine, just as these people mentioned.”
“I-it’s just your imagination! This is the finest wine available!”
“Then… would Your Highness care to taste it first?”
I thrust the glass directly under Crown Prince Oscar’s nose.
“…What?”
“I’m concerned it might be poisoned. Or perhaps laced with an aphrodisiac.”
The moment the word “aphrodisiac” left my lips, Crown Prince Oscar hiccupped.
“Eek!”
The surrounding nobles began to murmur.
“An aphrodisiac?”
“Surely not the Crown Prince?”
Crown Prince Oscar stumbled backward, cold sweat pouring down his face.
“Th-this is slander! I would never do such a thing!”
“Then drink it. If it’s pure, there’s no reason you can’t, is there? If you won’t drink it, that would suggest you have something to hide.”
I pressed him coldly. Crown Prince Oscar found himself in an impossible position. If he drank, he would be ruined; if he refused, he would be admitting guilt. He trembled as he stared at the glass. Then his eyes turned vicious.
He suddenly knocked my hand away.
Crash!
The wine glass shattered against the floor, fragments scattering everywhere. The crimson liquid soaked into the ground.
“Oops, my hand slipped!”
Crown Prince Oscar shouted brazenly. It was destruction of evidence. He smiled with a contemptible grin and spoke.
“What a shame. Such precious wine, wasted because the Countess is far too suspicious.”
The surrounding people whispered among themselves. With the evidence gone, I would appear to be merely a paranoid woman. Crown Prince Oscar, intoxicated with his sense of victory, sneered at me.
“Well then, is the misunderstanding cleared up? There’s no evidence, after all…”
But I was not flustered. Instead, I smiled even more brightly and spoke.
“Oh my, what a pity. But Your Highness, did you know?”
“Kn-know what?”
“The floor of my Mansion has been treated with special magic. It analyzes the composition of spilled liquids and… projects them into the air.”
I winked toward the Second Floor Terrace where Shadow was hiding. At that moment, the magical projector installed in the Banquet Hall’s ceiling activated.
Whirrrr—
The wine residue on the floor transformed into light, etching letters into the air.
「Analysis Result: Narcotic Aphrodisiac ‘Tears of the Nightmare Demon’ Detected」
「Lethal Dose: Permanent mental domination possible with ingestion of 10mL or more」
Stark crimson letters blazed across the Banquet Hall’s ceiling. Silence. Then an explosive scream erupted.
“Kyaaahhh!”
“Good heavens! It really is an aphrodisiac!”
“The Crown Prince tried to drug the Countess!”
Crown Prince Oscar’s face turned ashen.
“Th-this is fabrication! A magical malfunction!”
He thrashed about, but it was already too late. I snapped my fan shut and declared coldly.
“Your Highness, the showtime is over.”
I exchanged glances with Kairik von Herzen and Demian Lyart.
“Tear into him.”
Two beasts cast aside their masks.

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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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