The Circumstances of Being Chosen as the Villainess’s Favorite - Chapter 228

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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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Special Side Story 41
At that very moment, a tremendous roar erupted from the crowd.
Waaaaah—!
Irene turned to look behind her.
All the nobles rose from their seats, applauding her with fervent enthusiasm.
The Emperor, Endymion, spoke first on their behalf, his voice warm and measured.
“I pray that you will bring light to every corner of the Empire from this day forward.”
A benediction offered not merely as a father, but as sovereign.
Irene lifted the hem of her dress and executed a graceful, reverent curtsy.
“Your Majesty’s words, I shall treasure them in my heart.”
In that same breath, congratulations poured in from all sides.
“Your Highness the Crown Princess, we humbly celebrate your coronation.”
“Now that a small sun has risen, the Empire’s future shall shine bright for generations to come.”
Listening to those countless words of blessing, Irene broke into a radiant smile.
Though the future ahead as Crown Princess carried its weight of responsibility, it was bearable.
For Irene had a family that cherished and cared for her.
* * *
And so, with the coronation ceremony concluded, the celebration began in earnest.
The most sought-after person at the gathering was undoubtedly Irene.
She commanded the attention of High Society as its most exalted lily of the valley.
With beauty rivaling even Evangeline and the status of Crown Princess, she commanded utterly overwhelming popularity.
“Your Highness the Crown Princess, might I have the great honor of claiming your first dance this evening?”
“Your Highness, if it pleases you, might I—”
Countless young gentlemen had surrounded Irene.
All of them gathered in hopes of receiving even a single glance from her.
Endymion’s eyes blazed as he glared at those suitors with barely restrained fury.
“Those ruffians…! This won’t do—ugh.”
Unable to bear it any longer, Endymion began moving toward Irene’s side.
In that same instant, Evangeline pinched her husband’s ribs without a sound.
Endymion let out a stifled whimper and turned to her with a wounded expression.
“Eva?”
“Just leave her be.”
Evangeline’s eyes narrowed as she fixed him with a sidelong look.
“Irene looks thoroughly delighted right now, doesn’t she?”
“Well, yes, but—”
“From this point forward, Irene must establish herself not as a mere princess, but as the Crown Princess destined to inherit the throne.”
Evangeline’s voice took on a firm, resolute edge.
“If you keep fussing over her here, she’ll never learn to stand on her own feet in noble society. Do you understand?”
Endymion’s expression shifted to one of chastened realization.
For a moment, there was silence.
“…You’re right, Eva.”
Endymion nodded, then broke into a faint smile.
“My wife is truly wise, I must say.”
“…”
The sudden praise caught Evangeline off guard, and her face flushed crimson in an instant.
She turned sharply away, her voice cool and measured.
“I was merely speaking common sense. Besides—”
In that moment, her blue eyes flashed with sudden sharpness.
Evangeline continued with unmistakable pride.
“If my daughter doesn’t reign as the flower of High Society, well, that would simply be unacceptable.”
“Eva?”
“Where else would you find a child so beautiful and accomplished as ours? Wouldn’t you agree?”
She spoke as matter-of-factly as one might say the sun rises in the east and sets in the west.
And in truth, Endymion found himself in complete agreement.
There existed nowhere in this world a daughter as perfect as Irene.
She alone held that distinction.
But then, in that very moment—
Irene, who had been glancing about the room, spoke up in a bright, cheerful voice.
“Oh, you’ve arrived?”
At her words, the gathered crowd stirred quietly.
A certain lady was making her way through the crowd toward us with an elegant, measured stride.
I’d never seen this lady before in all my time in High Society.
The reason she stood out so remarkably was simply that her beauty was dazzling.
Her deep navy hair was arranged gracefully atop her head, finished with ornaments of silver and pearl.
Her bare nape was sleek as a doe’s.
Add to that a pale cream Dress that accentuated her slender waist.
“Your Highness the Crown Princess, it is an honor.”
Chloe curtseyed gracefully toward Irene.
Irene, beaming as she accepted the greeting, linked her arm through Chloe’s and spoke in a bright voice.
“This is Chloe. She’s my Secretary!”
At that moment, the young noblemen exchanged glances with practiced speed.
Chloe.
Though she rarely showed her face in public, and her appearance had remained largely unknown.
Yet Chloe was something of a celebrity nonetheless.
She had surpassed Lord Claudius himself to enter the Royal Lester Academy as the top student, then graduated top of her class—a prodigy by any measure.
Moreover, rumors had whispered that she and the young lord shared a mutual affection.
‘Oh, that’s surely just gossip.’
‘Could a commoner really have been in a romance with the young lord?’
The young noblemen assessed the situation swiftly.
And just as quickly, they decided on their course of action.
A Secretary so favored that the Crown Princess herself had introduced her as ‘my Secretary’—such standing was remarkable.
And her beauty was equally striking.
In that case, perhaps a dance or two to deepen their acquaintance wouldn’t be amiss.
“Miss Chloe, if I may be so bold as to ask—would you do me the honor of granting me the first dance with you…?”
One quick-thinking young nobleman made his approach to Chloe.
But his words were, regrettably, cut short mid-sentence.
“I’m afraid that won’t be possible. Chloe is my dance partner this evening.”
A quiet voice had interjected softly into the conversation.
Luca, young lord of House Claudius.
He had long since set many a lady’s heart aflutter, yet he had never cultivated an intimate connection with any of them—the ‘greatest matrimonial prospect in the Empire.’
‘That’ young lord now stood before Chloe.
With a face flushed with the nervous tension of a boy experiencing first love, he extended his hand toward her.
“Miss Chloe, might you grant me the honor of this first dance with you?”
Chloe smiled broadly and placed her hand in Luca’s.
“With pleasure.”
The two of them walked hand in hand onto the dance floor.
As if on cue, the orchestra began to play a lively melody.
It was an elegant Waltz.
The two of them stepped in unison to the rhythm.
And yet.
‘Something feels off.’
Chloe’s brow furrowed slightly.
For Luca had been gazing at her the entire time with a vacant, abstracted expression, as if his mind were elsewhere.
“Luca.”
…….
“Luca!”
Unable to bear it any longer, Chloe called out to him.
Snapping back to awareness, he struggled to affect an air of nonchalance.
“Oh—yes? You called?”
“What’s wrong?”
“Wrong with what?”
“You’ve been spacing out like that since earlier.”
Her reproach was fleeting.
Chloe’s expression immediately shifted to one of concern.
“Is something the matter? Are you unwell?”
At that question, Luca’s shoulders grew taut.
His face had taken on the look of someone deeply struck by something.
“Ah, well…”
“Well…?”
“The thing is…”
Lucas trailed off mid-sentence, his gaze slipping away with sudden shyness.
His ears flushed crimson before he mumbled softly, almost to himself.
“It’s just… you’re so beautiful.”
……
“That’s why.”
So it was.
Aided by the palace women’s scheme—that grand plan to surprise Lucas—Chloe’s dress had been kept under absolute lock and key.
In fact, she’d worn her Secretary Uniform to the Crown Princess Coronation Ceremony itself.
To attend Irene.
That was why Lucas had naturally assumed she’d arrive at the celebration dressed in uniform as well.
“I mean, I’ve seen you in a dress before, a handful of times…….”
As he spoke, Lucas stole a sidelong glance at her.
Chloe stood before him like a fine porcelain figurine crafted with meticulous care—polished to perfection from crown to heel.
From the moment she’d stepped into the ballroom, Lucas’s eyes had held no one else.
In a world rendered black and white, only Chloe shimmered with radiant color, dazzling in every shade.
“I never knew you could look this lovely.”

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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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