The Circumstances of Being Chosen as the Villainess’s Favorite - Chapter 229

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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 42
“Luca, Luca.”
“I’m really happy to be able to become your lover…”
At those honest words, Chloe’s face flushed crimson as well.
The two of them swayed together in silence, surrendering themselves to the melody.
They stayed that way for quite some time.
Lucas spoke, his voice tinged with nostalgia.
“Come to think of it, I remember something from before, Chloe.”
“From before?”
“Yeah. We danced together for the first time at the End-of-semester Party.”
In an instant, Chloe went rigid.
The End-of-semester Party?
Wait—back then, it was definitely…
Lucas continued, his expression wistful.
“You stepped on my foot about five times that night… Ow!”
In the same moment, Lucas flinched and let out a sharp intake of breath.
Chloe had stomped on his foot again.
And now she fixed him with a smile that was nothing short of menacing.
“Luca?”
“Huh?”
“Don’t you think we shouldn’t bring up memories like that anymore?”
“Y-yes.”
Those eyes were so murderous that Lucas shriveled and answered in a voice barely above a whisper.
‘Really, what terrible timing.’
Why did he have to bring up something so embarrassing right now?
Chloe, mildly sulking, turned her head away with a huffing sound.
Lucas called out to her frantically, his voice urgent and pleading.
“Chloe? Chloe!”
But Chloe’s lips remained sealed until the entire song had ended.
Meanwhile, Larite, sipping champagne from a distance, found herself wearing a bitter smile.
‘She really can’t hide what she’s thinking when Chloe’s around.’
Larite’s flower-pink eyes were fixed on Chloe and Lucas, who were dancing so tenderly together.
To be honest, Dietrich didn’t usually act quite so guileless.
But still, it wasn’t bad at all.
Honesty and genuine care toward the woman you love was far better than putting on airs.
‘I hope the two of them stay affectionate like this going forward.’
But then.
A soft voice descended gently upon Larite’s ear.
“Larite.”
“Oh, Dietrich.”
Larite tilted her head up slightly.
Her husband, Dietrich, stood looking down at her with a gentle smile.
He bent forward at the waist.
Speaking as though divulging a precious secret, Dietrich whispered softly in his wife’s ear.
“Let Chloe and Lucas enjoy the party—shall we slip away a little early?”
His blue eyes curved like crescents, brimming with sweetness.
“I wanted to have you all to myself tonight, you see.”
“……….”
Taken completely off guard by this declaration, Larite blinked blankly.
But only for a moment.
“Oh, what a coincidence.”
Larite replied teasingly in kind.
“I was just thinking I wanted to monopolize you tonight.”
“My, to think our hearts are so perfectly aligned. I’m quite the fortunate man, aren’t I?”
Dietrich, playing along smoothly, offered his wife his arm.
Larite could no longer contain herself and burst out laughing.
A moment later.
With her husband’s courteous escort, she slipped out into the night.
* * *
Late into the evening, as the moon drifted steadily westward.
At last the party had ended.
As people scattered to their carriages and headed home,
Lucas hurried toward Chloe.
“Chloe, wait a moment.”
“Yes?”
“Let me take you home.”
Chloe was currently renting a room in Jedo.
The House of Claudius had offered to help, but Chloe had declined.
She didn’t want to be indebted to them.
“Thank you.”
Chloe nodded readily and smiled brightly.
Lucas gazed at that radiant smile, transfixed.
His chest tightened with emotion.
The old Chloe would have refused such an offer outright.
It was as though a cat that had always kept her distance had finally become companionable—that kind of overwhelming joy.
“Come on, let’s go.”
Lucas escorted Chloe into the carriage.
It bore the crest of House of Claudius.
Rather than protest about receiving special treatment as she normally would, Chloe climbed in without hesitation.
Even that simple fact moved him deeply.
As they rode along in comfortable conversation,
“Hm?”
Chloe’s eyes widened as she glanced absently out the window.
She turned back to Lucas with an alarmed expression.
“Wait—this isn’t where I live!”
Indeed it wasn’t.
The carriage had passed through the well-kept Main Street and was now heading toward one of the Empire’s most prestigious hotels.
In fact, they were nearly there.
In the distance, the hotel’s glittering façade gleamed into view.
“I know.”
Lucas replied, his face tense, darting a careful glance toward Chloe.
“Look, Chloe. The truth is… there’s something I really need to tell you today.”
“To me?”
“Yes. So here’s the thing.”
Lucas swallowed hard.
“Would you spend the night with me?”
At the same moment, Chloe’s crimson eyes trembled visibly.
She was no fool.
Something he had to tell her.
A request to spend time together.
And a hotel counted among the finest in Jedo, no less.
All of it pointed to one thing.
And Chloe…
“Y-yes, I’d like that.”
She swallowed dryly as she answered.
Lucas’s face lit up like a lamp had been lit within it.
* * *
And so the two of them made their way into the hotel.
Indeed.
In the end, Lucas had heeded the advice of both his father and his uncle.
Jewels, roses.
And a special place he’d learned about with a hint from his mother.
Thus the place Lucas had prepared was a suite room adorned with luxurious premium roses.
Atop a table covered with fine lace lay not only all manner of gifts but sweet desserts and light refreshments.
And what set Chloe’s heart racing most of all was
“Will you be engaged to me, Chloe?”
Lucas deftly opened a ring box.
Inside lay a ruby ring that matched the color of Chloe’s eyes perfectly.
“Oh.”
In that instant, Chloe’s eyes welled with tears.
Because I understand how much Lucas cared, how carefully he prepared everything for me.
I couldn’t possibly ignore such tenderness…….
“……Ugh.”
Chloe’s eyes grew wet with tears.
As she tried to hold back her sobs, a startled Lucas clung to her.
“W-wait, Chloe. Are you crying?!”
“No, it’s not that…….”
Chloe shook her head vigorously and broke into a radiant smile.
“I’m just so happy.”
Lucas finally relaxed a little.
But Chloe’s words weren’t finished yet.
“So my answer is…….”
Chloe wrapped both arms around Lucas’s neck.
At the same moment, Lucas’s hair turned snow white.
‘……Is this really Chloe?’
He’d never expected such an eager response from her.
Unable to resist the surge of happiness, stiff as he was, Lucas heard a tender whisper against his ear.
“I want to spend the rest of my life with you, Lucas.”
In that instant.
Unable to hold back any longer, Lucas pulled Chloe close and held her tight.
Their lips met in an eager embrace.
The weight of holding each other in their arms felt so incredibly blissful.
The night of the Engagement.
Beneath the intertwined figures, crushed rose petals unfurled their intoxicatingly sweet fragrance.

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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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