The Circumstances of Being Chosen as the Villainess’s Favorite - Chapter 3

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Chapter 3

‘That was it!’

The first day Seraphina and I debuted in high society.

The reason why my fiancé Gregory danced the first dance with Seraphina instead of me at the debutante party.

“Lari, we’re best friends. You’ll understand, right?”

The reason Seraphina always bossed me around without a single apology!

‘Wow, this is absolutely infuriating?’

I was so angry that my hands were trembling.

And what made my eyes roll back was.

‘What is this?’

Seraphina’s shoelaces were properly tied!

‘She definitely said her shoelaces were untied?’

I stared at the shoelaces tied in a perfect ribbon shape with disbelief, then raised my head.

Just then, Seraphina, who had been chattering with Gregory, glanced down at me with an amused look.

It was clearly a look that regarded me as beneath her.

‘Ah, I see.’

At that moment.

As if ice water had been poured over me from head to toe, I snapped to my senses.

‘The shoelaces were just an excuse, she just wanted to make me kneel at her feet.’

Recommending that tacky dress that didn’t even fit properly, under the pretense that it suited me well.

Personally applying that blotchy makeup to my face.

Always keeping me by her side at every picnic and banquet.

Showing off to others how I groveled before Seraphina.

Just as stars shine more beautifully when there’s darkness, and flowers stand out more when there’s a calyx.

That’s what I was to Seraphina.

…A role that existed solely to make Seraphina shine.

‘So that’s how it was?’

I gritted my teeth.

I had always felt out of place.

Like I was forcing myself into a world that revolved around Seraphina.

Until now, I had been desperate not to be cast out from it.

My closest friend.

My fiancé arranged between families.

Those two people were my entire social circle.

So I had been terrified of being hated by them…

‘Like I care about that anymore?!’

I reached out and yanked Seraphina’s ankle.

“Kyaah!”

Seraphina’s scream magnificently pierced the sky.

And.

Thud!

Seraphina fell backward with her chair, looking up at the sky in bewilderment.

The sight reminded me of a frog flipped over after being hit by a stone.

It was quite a ridiculous sight, completely unlike Seraphina’s usual refined demeanor.

“Oh my, Lady Lopez… Pfft.”

“Are you alri, pffft…”

The people who had rushed to ask about Seraphina’s well-being couldn’t help but burst into suppressed laughter.

Seraphina’s face turned red like a ripe tomato.

“Larite!”

Gregory jumped up from his seat in shock.

Surprisingly, while everyone else was desperately trying to hold back their laughter, Gregory alone wasn’t laughing.

Was that how deep his true love was?

Really, not funny at all.

“What do you think you’re doing?!”

Gregory raised his voice with wide eyes and carefully helped Seraphina up from her seat.

His gaze toward Seraphina was quite tender.

“Sera! Are you okay?!”

“Ah…”

Seraphina staggered to her feet with Gregory’s support.

Trembling like a newborn fawn, she leaned against Gregory’s chest.

Then she moistened her eyes and muttered audibly.

“My goodness, Gregory. I was so startled…”

My eyebrows twitched and stiffened.

How should I put it, it was impressive how she managed to maintain her pure and pitiful image even in this situation.

I hadn’t even pulled that hard.

“I feel dizzy too, and my heart is pounding so much…”

“A doctor! We need to call a doctor!”

Gregory made a fuss in panic.

“No, I can’t ruin the picnic atmosphere because of me.”

Seraphina shook her head pitifully with downcast eyes.

“Larite, how exactly are you going to take responsibility for this?!”

Gregory, who had been looking down at Seraphina with sympathetic eyes, immediately pointed accusingly at me.

“What if Sera had been seriously hurt! Huh?!”

Even in this situation, his persistence in calling Seraphina by the pet name ‘Sera’ while calling me, his fiancée, by my full name ‘Larite’ was admirable.

“Pl… please don’t worry too much, Gusto Youngshik.”

Just then, Lady Johansen joined the conversation with an uncomfortable expression.

“I’ve made thorough preparations to ensure our precious guests don’t get hurt…”

“What, thorough preparations with just a carpet?!”

Gregory exploded in anger.

“Sera has a delicate constitution! She could be seriously injured by even the slightest shock!”

“…”

“…”

The atmosphere instantly turned cold.

Wow, just a carpet.

To openly insult the host like that?

I couldn’t hide my appalled expression.

‘Does Gregory have no sense of the situation?’

Today’s picnic host was Lady Johansen.

And Lady Johansen had put all kinds of effort into today’s picnic.

The carefully tended grass was as soft as a cotton blanket, with thick carpets laid on top.

Moreover.

“Isn’t that a bit excessive?”

One of the noble ladies muttered in dissatisfaction.

“Look at all those cushions piled up behind Lady Lopez.”

“That’s right. Gusto Youngshik took all the cushions so no one else could use them.”

“Exactly, there’s no way she could get hurt even if she tried.”

That was right.

Seraphina was currently completely surrounded by cushions that Gregory had arranged…

To exaggerate a bit, with cushions arranged like that, she’d be fine even if she fell from the second floor?

Clicking my tongue inwardly, I glanced sideways at Lady Johansen.

‘If word spreads that a guest was injured at the picnic, it would tarnish the host’s reputation as well.’

Of course, since I was the one who tripped Seraphina, the arrows of blame would primarily be aimed at me first.

Even so, subtle rumors would remain.

‘My goodness, I heard Lady Lopez was injured at the Countess’s picnic this time?’

‘Shouldn’t the Countess, as the host, have managed things better?’

Something like that.

But Gregory, who had absolutely no sense of the situation, looked ready to scoop up Seraphina and rush to find a doctor immediately.

Lady Johansen’s face was turning red and blue in real time.

In that case.

‘I should show the opposite behavior from Gregory.’

I politely bowed my head to Lady Johansen.

“I’m sorry, Lady Johansen. My hand slipped due to my mistake, causing you concern.”

First, I sent a sincere apology to the Countess who got caught up in this unnecessarily.

Then I put on a guilty expression toward Seraphina.

“And I’m sorry to you too, Seraphina. I didn’t know you would fall like that.”

“Why would Sera fall when you’re just tying her shoelaces?!”

Gregory still raised his voice loudly,

‘Oh yes, you said exactly what I wanted.’

I covered my mouth with my hand, pretending to be flustered.

“Oh, well. The shoelaces were tied perfectly fine.”

Instantly, people looked back and forth between me and Seraphina with suspicious faces.

“Hmm… didn’t Lady Lopez say her shoelaces had come undone earlier?”

“That’s right, I definitely heard that too.”

Especially Lady Johansen, who was upset by this incident, became sharp.

“Lady Lopez, surely you didn’t deliberately make Lady Ansi kneel?”

At the Countess’s sharp question, now highly sensitive, the people around quickly waved their hands dismissively.

“Oh, surely not.”

“There must have been some misunderstanding.”

People generally seemed inclined not to believe my words.

But well, I’m satisfied even now.

Seraphina had always maintained such a kind and lovely image.

Just making someone say ‘she deliberately made her friend kneel’ about such a Seraphina was enough.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————