The Return of Lilietta - Chapter 40

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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 40

Inside the rattling carriage, Hanna chattered excitedly. Lindsey Dyce followed up with a cynical remark.

“It’s unusual for royalty, especially the Crown Prince himself, to personally attend a mere noble lady’s debutante ball. Of course, calling Raskail ‘mere nobility’ would be inappropriate. It seems the royal family is paying attention since your debutante ball is essentially the Raskail Ducal House’s declaration of return.”

Rita, who had been leaning against the carriage window, let out a small sigh and asked.

“The Crown Prince… The hospitality and security work must have multiplied several times over. What should I be careful of?”

“If you just follow proper etiquette, there’s nothing particular to worry about, but there is one major problem.”

“What is it?”

“You’ll have to dance your first dance with His Highness the Crown Prince.”

“…Why? I was supposed to dance with Leon!”

“That was before His Highness the Crown Prince decided to attend. Traditionally, the debutante dances her first dance with the highest-ranking unmarried man among the attendees.”

“Ah, since the Crown Prince outranks my brother who’s a young duke, it naturally becomes… Damn it.”

“You should conduct yourself like a lady, my lady.”

“It’s just you and Hanna here.”

Rita pressed her throbbing head.

Even though she had learned most etiquette in an accelerated manner, the one thing she had given up on was dancing. She had memorized all the sequences and movements, but she couldn’t help her body stiffening up from being on guard.

“This really won’t work, Princess. Just give up and somehow get through the first dance. After that, make excuses about sore feet or being tired and refuse all dance requests.”

That was the etiquette teacher’s advice.

The debutante’s first dance was a symbol of her debut, so it couldn’t be skipped. Unless she pretended to be sick and canceled the entire debutante ball.

She had been somewhat relieved that Leonhardt, being family and thus triggering less instinctive wariness, would be her first dance partner according to custom.

‘Why would someone as important as the Crown Prince come to a debutante ball!’

His name being similar to Gid’s already made her think of him and not want to meet him.

‘At least I won’t have to call him by name since he’s the Crown Prince… Though having to dance the first dance with him is unfortunate.’

If the returned duke’s daughter stepped on the Crown Prince’s feet, slapped his hands away, or kneed him in the solar plexus at her first ball after returning, high society would be ablaze with gossip. The royal family would be in chaos too.

Even Rita, who had lived far from noble society since age 10, could predict that much.

‘If I discuss this with my parents, they’ll probably say not to push myself and just cancel the debutante ball.’

The ducal couple were people who valued their barely recovered youngest daughter’s peace far more than family honor or losses from canceling the event. Rita knew this well.

‘…They already said they didn’t care about directly opposing Duke Adickl and told us to continue investigating Hanna’s father.’

In some ways, it was a temperament unsuited for great nobility. But because her parents were like this, Lili had grown up receiving complete love.

Her parents had even set a special dress code for her debutante ball. Using the irises in the Raskail family crest as an excuse, they had requested that attendees only wear iris-scented perfume.

It was a decision made in case she might suffer from the currently fashionable patchouli scent.

‘So I need to handle this problem myself somehow.’

Lillieta resolved to solve the dancing problem on her own within the remaining 5 days until the ball.

‘I need to train myself to lower my guard while dancing with strangers. But completely unknown people won’t work from the start, so someone I’m somewhat acquainted with but still unfamiliar would be good…’

They were on their way to the fashion atelier for the final fitting of the debutante dress the Countess had commissioned a month ago.

The moment Rita continued pondering and got out of the carriage to enter the atelier, a sharp girl’s voice could be heard.

“I said this isn’t right!”

The sound of something being thrown followed with a crash. The employee guiding Lillieta startled and hurriedly apologized.

“I’m sorry, Princess. The customer who arrived earlier is running over their appointment time… Could you wait just a moment? I’ll guide you to another room.”

While Rita accepted this naturally, Hanna’s eyes narrowed to triangles beside her.

“Excuse me? Are you saying our lady has to wait because of another customer who isn’t even keeping their appointment time?”

“Th-that is, I’m sorry, please understand—”

“You should be asking for understanding from that troublemaker, I mean, the customer causing problems, not our lady! Why aren’t you telling that customer to leave since they’re late, but asking our lady to wait? Is that customer difficult while our lady is kind and reasonable, so you think she’s easy to push around?”

Hanna fired off questions rapidly without giving Rita a chance to speak. The employee’s face instantly turned pale.

“No, easy to push around, that’s not it at all! That’s absolutely not what I meant, it’s just that the person inside is a bit…”

“So you’re scared to tell the customer inside that their time is up and they should leave, but it’s easy to ask our lady who arrived on time to wait! How is that different from thinking she’s easy to push around!”

Hanna, getting worked up, huffed and pressed the employee. Lindsey, standing behind them, commented in a flat voice.

“Oh, our Hanna is capable.”

“Our Hanna…?”

“She’s on our side right now.”

Lindsey replied with a silent smile to Rita’s question. It was a pointed remark.

Depending on how the investigation into Hanna’s father concluded and how she accepted it, both Hanna’s status and her relationship with Lillieta would change.

‘Since the day she apologized to me, Hanna has truly been devoted…’

If not for her complicated background and concerns about Pascal, they would have grown closer. She would have treated her completely as her person, like Lindsey.

‘I’m not good at pretending to trust people while staying guarded like this.’

It was something Gid had done well, but it wasn’t easy for her. If she was going to trust someone, she’d trust them completely, or else exclude them cleanly – that suited her personality much better.

‘It really isn’t as easy as Gid made it look. Maybe I should just honestly ask for cooperation… Even after thoroughly investigating, nothing came up about Hanna herself. Only her bloodline is the problem.’

While Rita was briefly troubled, Hanna was grilling the employee. The employee, who had turned pale with fear of being accused of insulting the Raskail Princess, finally said they would go inside and ask the earlier customer to leave.

And not long after that employee went in, the fitting room door burst open.

“Who is it? Huh? Who exactly dares tell me to leave?”

“Please, Lavinia, please…”

What emerged was a pink-haired girl with fiercely glaring eyes, and a brown-haired woman desperately trying to restrain her.

At the same time, Lillieta vaguely recognized one of them.

‘The villa sister?’

The one with neatly flowing brown hair who was making a tearful face.

The face of the girl who had shyly smiled while handing her a rabbit doll made of yarn in childhood remained intact in that face.

It was definitely Anne-Marie den Duirleborg Everett, Leonhardt’s former fiancée.

Unlike Lillieta who recognized her immediately, Anne-Marie had no mental capacity to notice other people as she was busy trying to dissuade the cotton candy pink-haired girl.

“Lavinia, that’s enough now, okay? They said they’d fix everything, so let’s go back, please.”

“What do you mean enough? How can I trust them to fix it when they ignore what I say like this? I absolutely can’t go back until I see them fix it with my own eyes! No, I won’t go!”

The girl called Lavinia shouted, shook off Anne-Marie’s arm, and whipped her head toward Lillieta.

“Who are you to dare…”

Lavinia’s words trailed off. The girl opened her round light green eyes wide and stared at Lillieta with a dazed expression before opening her mouth.

“Wow… You’re annoyingly pretty.”

“Lavinia! How rude!”

Anne-Marie was horrified and hurriedly bowed her head to Lillieta.

“I’m sorry, my sister is still young…”

“Anne, why are you apologizing? I told you not to bow your head carelessly when you’re with me! It makes me look ridiculous too! Who do you think I am!”

Then, as if she had never been dazed, Lavinia flew into a rage and roughly pulled Anne-Marie. Though she was startled when Anne-Marie staggered backward and fell on her bottom, instead of apologizing, she immediately shouted.

“Ah! Really! Even falling down embarrassingly! Get up right now!”

Rita, who had been quietly watching the commotion unfold before her eyes, tilted her head toward Lindsey behind her and asked quietly.

“Who is she?”

“…Lavinia del Eiser Duirleborg, the only daughter of Duke Duirleborg. Though she hasn’t officially received the title of young duchess yet, as an only child, she’s certain to be the next duke.”

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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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