The Return of Lilietta - Chapter 42

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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 42

Annemarie, who had been holding her forehead while watching Lavinia lift her chin and turn her head away with a huff, approached Lillieta and apologized once more.

“Lili, I’m really sorry. Lavinia showed interest in you, so I thought this would be a good opportunity for her to become friends with you and learn from you… I didn’t expect her to act like this as soon as we arrived. I should have somehow left her behind.”

“It’s fine. I’m the one who asked for your help. Thank you for coming to help me even though time is short.”

“Don’t mention it. Oh, this is Anton, the younger brother I told you about. It’s the first time since you were children, right?”

As Annemarie stepped aside, a gentle-looking boy with dark brown hair who looked exactly like her came into view. He was frozen, staring at Lillieta with his neck flushed bright red.

“Anton? What are you doing? You should greet her.”

Flustered, Annemarie scolded him while lightly hitting her brother’s forearm. Only then did he wake from his dazed state and stammer out a greeting.

“I-I’m Anton Deden Du-Duirebourg Everett. May you we-welcome the refreshing spring…”

“Why are you suddenly… ah.”

Annemarie, who had been frowning and about to scold her brother, suddenly looked back at Lillieta and gave a bitter smile.

“Sorry, Lili. You’re so beautiful that he can’t think straight. Somehow I keep having to apologize.”

“Sister!”

“Yes, are you coming to your senses now?”

“Aaaah…”

Anton, his face completely on fire, let out a strange groan and buried his head in both hands. Rita just laughed.

‘I couldn’t adapt at first either.’

Though she’d gotten somewhat used to it after more than a month since returning, she still sometimes got startled when looking in mirrors. It felt like looking at a portrait or photograph of a great beauty rather than a mirror.

It was probably because growing up in a different body made her feel less like it was her own face. She still unconsciously pictured ‘Rita Pascal’s’ appearance when imagining herself.

Lillieta moved to the ballroom with Annemarie, the red-faced Anton, and the sulking Lavinia. She had prepared here, judging that practicing in the place where the debutante ball would be held would be helpful.

‘Training should always be done at the actual venue.’

Lindsey, who had followed, quietly moved for the secondary purpose of this training, while Hanna, who had been waiting in advance, set up the gramophone.

Rita stood facing Anton in front of the watching Annemarie.

‘Hmm… he can’t even make eye contact. His confusion is obvious.’

She thought she might have seen him a few times at the villa when they were children, but honestly couldn’t remember properly.

Still, he wasn’t completely unfamiliar, and seeing his flustered state naturally lowered her guard. The fact that Anton showed no signs of combat training also helped. He looked harmless in many ways.

‘At this level, I probably won’t want to twist his arm even if his hand touches my back.’

Contrary to Rita’s relaxed state, Anton was in a condition where he didn’t know where to look in front of this beauty he’d never seen before. The boy felt wronged.

‘I mean, I thought she was really pretty even as a child, but… this is cheating. At this level, you should have given me a warning, sister!’

Noble boys and girls debut in society at 15 at the earliest, or by 18 at the latest.

Anton, who was 19, had debuted two years ago and was quite active in social activities among his peers.

Besides his second sister Annemarie, he had an eldest sister who would inherit the family, and as the youngest without any particular talent to find a profession, his life goal was to marry into a decent family.

Therefore, he could dance basic ballroom dances like the waltz with his eyes closed.

The fact that he put excessive force into the hand placed on his partner’s back while dancing was merely an unintended mistake caused by nervousness due to his partner being too beautiful.

But the result of that mistake was disastrous.

The moment Rita felt the fingertips of another person’s hand on her back tense up, she immediately hooked Anton’s leg, pulled him down to kneel, then twisted his arm back and subdued him.

“Kyaaaah!”

Anton’s scream overlaid the waltz flowing from the gramophone.

After subduing him expressionlessly and looking around to check if there were more enemies, Rita finally came to her senses upon seeing Annemarie’s wide eyes, Lavinia’s gaping mouth, and Hanna covering her face with one hand.

“S-sorry, sorry, I’m really sorry.”

She hastily let go and apologized.

Anton, clutching his twisted shoulder, shed a few tears. Fortunately, because she had subdued him with Lillieta’s weak body rather than Rita’s trained one, no situation like broken shoulders or dislocated arms occurred.

Annemarie muttered in bewilderment.

“Y-you were dancing so well just now, so I couldn’t understand why you needed practice… L-Lili?”

“…This is, well, um.”

Rita was at a loss for words. Hanna, reading the situation, carefully interjected.

“The young lady… learned combat techniques during the 10 years she doesn’t remember well. Like, um, like the knights. That became ingrained in her body, so when she feels wary, she reacts like that.”

“Combat… techniques?”

Annemarie blinked as if she couldn’t understand the meaning. Lavinia, who had been in the corner, snorted.

“What ridiculous nonsense. Do you think I don’t know what a knight is? A knight who trained for 10 years couldn’t be so delicate and frail! Even female knights all have solid builds! Without a single scar… she probably just learned some self-defense techniques and is pretending to be a knight!”

“Pretending to be a knight?”

Hanna, who had flared up, seemed to forget that her opponent was a Duirebourg noblewoman. She clenched both hands into fists and raised her voice.

“The young lady isn’t pretending anything, she’s real! She’s truly amazing! She can shoot down flying birds with her gun, you know? She even killed a wyvern with a single bullet!”

“Kyahaha, look at this girl. What are you saying?”

Lavinia burst into open laughter, then crossed her arms and lifted her chin.

“You’re just a mere maid who doesn’t know anything, do you? Her shooting down flying birds? Even Sir Fabein, who shoots the bow best in our knight order, said that’s difficult. What complete nonsense!”

“You’re the one who doesn’t know anything! The young lady really—”

“Hanna, calm down.”

Rita sighed and intervened.

“That’s not an important matter.”

“But the young lady is real…”

“I said it’s not particularly important.”

What would it matter whether a noble young lady about to debut had really learned combat techniques or not? Besides, Lillieta didn’t care what Lavinia thought of her.

‘The bigger problem is that I might do the same thing to the Crown Prince at the debutante ball.’

She glanced at Anton, who was still groaning, sighed again, then acted according to the etiquette she had hastily crammed into her head.

“Duirebourg Noblewoman, please forgive my maid’s rudeness. It happened due to excessive loyalty, so I earnestly request your generous clemency.”

At the perfectly proper and polite apology, Lavinia, who had been throwing away all manners and speaking rudely just moments before, flinched. She glanced toward Annemarie, then quickly straightened her posture and puffed out her chest.

“Hmph, well, yes, I’ll forgive the rudeness, Raskail Noblewoman. I am generous, after all.”

“Thank you.”

Hanna’s expression became blank at the sight of Lillieta bowing her head.

She knew that Lillieta had just apologized on her behalf to protect her. Regardless of right and wrong, if Lavinia, a Duirebourg noblewoman, found fault with the fact that a maid had talked back, Hanna would have no choice but to be punished.

‘Young lady…!’

The brief commotion seemed to come to an end with Hanna hanging her head with a tearful expression.

It certainly would have, if only Lavinia hadn’t continued chattering while feeling completely smug.

“A gun, really, there’s no way you could kill a wyvern with such a crude thing. Guns break down all the time, and anyone can use them the same way, right? A knight’s weapon is the sword, and a soldier’s weapons are spears and bows! This much is culture and common sense. Combat techniques with something that knights don’t even treat as a weapon? You should keep your bragging reasonable if you want people to believe it.”

The steps of Lillieta—no, Rita Pascal—who had been approaching Anton, stopped abruptly.

She slowly turned around and looked down at Lavinia expressionlessly.

The pink-haired girl unconsciously flinched and stepped back. Then she tilted her head as if she couldn’t understand why she had stepped back.

Rita asked quietly.

“You can’t kill a wyvern with something like a gun?”

“Uh, huh?”

“Guns are the same no matter who uses them? Not even treated as weapons?”

“Uh, uh…?”

Lavinia stammered at the strange pressure. Rita stared at her like that, then smiled slightly.

“—Is that what you said, Duirebourg Noblewoman?”

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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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