That Piece Of Trash Was Me - Chapter 152

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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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Chapter 152

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“So the young lady was Tulia Frazier. Rise.”

 

“Thank you.”

 

As I straightened my back, I realized something anew in my mind.

 

‘I see. He’s really pretending we’re meeting for the first time.’

 

We’ve never met in an official setting before.

 

All I had was seeing him get slapped by the Empress in the secluded garden of the White Tower long ago.

 

Ferdinand looked like a boy back then, and he still looks like a boy now.

 

Even though I’ve grown this much, he hasn’t changed at all.

 

“Do you have something to say to me?”

 

“No, I do not.”

 

At his cold voice, I realized I had been unconsciously staring and observing Ferdinand.

 

What I had just done was clearly rude, so I immediately bowed my head lightly.

 

Fortunately, Ferdinand didn’t say anything more.

 

“Brother. Why don’t you go see Mother? You’ve returned after so long, and there’s also the pleasure of looking down upon the fine young men and women of the Briyang Empire celebrating their debutante today…”

 

Put nicely, it meant that Ferdinand, being a person of high status as the Crown Prince, should sit comfortably on the throne on the platform. Put badly, it meant this wasn’t a place for him to interfere, so he should get lost.

 

‘He’s also royalty through and through.’

 

Just as I was inwardly looking down on Dave, I had that thought.

 

“Dave.”

 

Ferdinand withdrew his gaze from me and looked at that Dave bastard.

 

“Today is your debutante day, I heard?”

 

“Yes? Yes. That’s correct, Brother.”

 

At Dave’s answer, Ferdinand silently removed the gloves he was wearing.

 

Yes, in front of Ferdinand, this terrifying male lead, I kept recognizing things a beat too late.

 

“So that’s why His Imperial Majesty told me to go to the Grand Banquet Hall. I should also start having my debutante soon.”

 

Eros disease, Cupid syndrome. Divine power excess syndrome.

 

Unlike his hair color that looked as sweet as fragrant cocoa, this boy whose eyes were as cold as northern seawater.

 

The fact that he was unusually wearing formal attire today.

 

“First, you’ll dance the first dance with me, Dave.”

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

“Was a debutante originally such an interesting place?”

 

“Our grandmother said she was tired of watching the debutante every year and didn’t come this year, but she’ll be beating the ground in regret.”

 

“That’s what I’m saying. Oh my, look at Empress Carmi’s expression. Heavens, how can there be such a difference in appearance even among the same royal family?”

 

“Well, that’s because the late Empress Olivia was a great beauty. Empress Carmi, rather than appearance, has that unique atmosphere of comforting His Majesty the Emperor’s heart…”

 

“Just listening to it, she sounds exactly like a mistress.”

 

“Shh! She’ll hear!”

 

The nobles who had been whispering hurriedly scattered.

 

It was because Empress Carmi’s gaze had turned in their direction.

 

Of course, since over a thousand nobles participated in today’s debutante, they were able to safely escape the Empress’s gaze.

 

Moreover, only one pair was dancing on the floor.

 

Crown Prince Ferdinand and Second Prince Dave.

 

All the nobles except for them, even distant relatives with imperial blood, were positioned outside the floor, watching those two like spectators.

 

But Empress Carmi knew.

 

The fact that the majority, no, almost everyone was looking at the Crown Prince, not Dave.

 

The fact that half of them were staring blankly at Ferdinand’s face alone.

 

It was a terrifyingly beautiful face.

 

Perhaps it was better when he was a boy who grew like a flower in the greenhouse within the Imperial Palace.

 

Over the upright shadow of the boy who had stubbornly survived and returned from the battlefield, even the brilliant honor unique to knights who had cut down countless deaths was added.

 

It was like a pure white diamond taking on blood and gaining new enchantment.

 

“Looking at them like this, the two brothers seem quite similar.”

 

Empress Carmi spoke.

 

Unlike her cold gaze, her voice was full of the benevolent laughter befitting a loving Empress.

 

The ladies-in-waiting and close noble ladies who had been watching the Empress’s mood hurriedly tried to please her.

 

“Of course, Your Majesty the Empress.”

 

“Both are brothers who inherited His Majesty the Emperor’s blood, so it’s natural they resemble each other.”

 

Empress Carmi made a regretful expression.

 

“I had forgotten that the Crown Prince skipped his debutante.”

 

“You couldn’t help but forget, couldn’t you?”

 

“That’s right, Your Majesty the Empress.”

 

“After all, His Highness the Crown Prince is…”

 

The intentional voices also contained some mockery.

 

The reason why the Crown Prince, despite having that great bloodline, justification, and support from the Grand Temple, couldn’t secure a firm position.

 

The reason why he had to endure Empress Carmi’s constant interference and even take the daughter of an insignificant retainer as his fiancée lay in that unchanging ‘disability.’

 

“To return safely from the battlefield with that young appearance. Truly admirable as His Majesty’s son.”

 

Empress Carmi’s words were praise on the surface, but inwardly contained her intention never to acknowledge him as her son.

 

And among those present here, there was no fool who couldn’t grasp the Empress’s true meaning.

 

Also.

 

“I should tell His Majesty that we should hold the royal wedding as soon as the Crown Prince comes of age.”

 

Instantly, the eyes of the nobles surrounding the Empress sparkled.

 

‘Regardless of her origins,’ wasn’t it wonderful that he would marry Frazier’s daughter, it was the Crown Prince’s good fortune to welcome a bride from the Frazier family ‘regardless of her origins,’ and so on.

 

Those who were trying their best to lift Empress Carmi’s mood were.

 

“Y-Your Majesty the Empress.”

 

At some point speaking in trembling voices.

 

Empress Carmi followed the nobles’ shocked gazes toward the floor.

 

In an instant.

 

“…!”

 

She shot up from her seat.

 

“His Highness the Second Prince!”

 

“G-goodness. Hasn’t he fainted?!”

 

Her beloved son Dave was being carried away by an attendant with his eyes rolled back.

 

“What on earth…”

 

Surely just moments ago, whenever she glanced at the floor, Dave had been dancing with the Crown Prince.

 

The first dance that must be danced with the same sex, according to debutante custom!

 

“What on earth happened to my son?!”

 

At Empress Carmi’s sharp voice, the head maid who had been watching the floor the entire time hurriedly spoke.

 

“Nothing happened, Your Majesty the Empress.”

 

“Then why did Dave faint?! The Crown Prince…”

 

Had that damned spawn of Olivia thrown some kind of threat at her son?!

 

Empress Carmi could never voice these words.

 

No matter how much she was the Empress, sitting in the highest position, and surrounded entirely by her own close associates!

 

This was a public setting, and countless nobles were watching!

 

Carmi was skilled at hiding her expressions. Long before she betrayed Olivia.

 

She forcibly changed her rising anger into a surprised expression, then anxiously waited for the palace physician who had examined Dave to come up.

 

If Dave had fainted from receiving some kind of ‘severe shock,’ she swore she would definitely link it to the Crown Prince and damage his honor beyond repair…

 

“Your Majesty the Empress.”

 

Breaking out in cold sweat, the Imperial Physician hurriedly came up. It had been less than three minutes since Dave was carried away.

 

“What on earth happened?!”

 

“His Highness the Second Prince was dancing when His Highness the Crown Prince stepped on his feet a few times, and he couldn’t bear the pain and fainted. I’ve applied medicinal salve, so he should wake up soon.”

 

“….”

 

“….”

 

“….”

 

For a moment, the nobles silently exchanged glances with each other.

 

The music had stopped long ago when the Second Prince was carried away, and the other nobles were also keeping their mouths shut and only looking upward, reading the atmosphere.

 

The Grand Banquet Hall was structured so that sounds from the platform would echo well throughout, in order to carry the Emperor’s voice effectively.

 

Therefore, the Imperial Physician’s words also spread clearly to every corner of the Grand Banquet Hall.

 

At debutante balls, men were naturally expected to have their feet stepped on.

 

It was an unavoidable occurrence.

 

No matter how diligently a lady had learned to dance, or how naturally graceful she was, she would make repeated mistakes due to nervousness at her debutante ball.

 

That’s why the young nobles attending debutante balls wore special shoes with thick cotton padding on top.

 

Making a scene about having one’s feet stepped on by a lady while dancing was truly unseemly behavior. In some cases, it would even earn looks of contempt.

 

Even if one’s foot bones were displaced, gritting one’s teeth and enduring it was a gentleman’s virtue.

 

Of course, the other party wasn’t a lady, but the Crown Prince.

 

But wasn’t he still in the form of a boy?

 

Moreover, a boy who appeared excessively beautiful and as sacred as an archangel with divine power gently emanating from him.

 

For the Second Prince to faint from having his feet stepped on a few times by such a Crown Prince…

 

If he hadn’t been of imperial blood, but merely the heir of a duke, snickers would have burst out from here and there.

 

However, due to Empress Carmi’s stern expression as she sat there, the nobles couldn’t bring themselves to release the laughter they had inhaled.

 

They could only press one finger repeatedly with their nail, trying to suppress this laughter.

 

“…The child has been overexerting himself for months because of the debutante ball, and his body finally couldn’t take it. Have the palace physician apply the medicine properly.”

 

At Empress Carmi’s words, spoken after barely regaining her composure, the quick-witted musicians began playing gentle music again.

 

The nobles too, knowing this wasn’t something to laugh about, were just about to resume chatting in small groups as if nothing had happened.

 

This time, Empress Carmi’s gaze hardened like a blade.

 

Similarly, the nobles who had been casually glancing at the dance floor gasped and inhaled sharply.

 

“Lady Tulia Frazier.”

 

Ferdinand Cassel Evichkait.

 

That boy Crown Prince had approached the young lady of House Frazier, who had been standing there blankly, and extended his hand.

 

“Would you grant me the honor of sharing your first dance?”

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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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