Brelin: The Writer Lives the Life of a Time Limited Villain - Chapter 22

When Brelin and Redross returned to the banquet hall, a lot of eyes, about twice the gaze they had when they first entered, were stinging.

After James ran out of the room, his eyes were stained black. How many people would have noticed the sight of him running across the banquet hall with his face covered?

Everyone is watching the two of them with interest to see how things are going. The affair between the newly married duke and duchess, there can be no other gossip as fun as this.

People were busy talking and interpreting the situation as they wished.

However, neither Redross nor Brelin seem to be bound by such gazes at all. The two walked slowly toward the center of the banquet hall while keeping their shoulders and dignity intact.

Like it or not, it was a banquet in the name of celebrating their marriage. It was impossible to be stuck in a corner.

With each step they took, a contemptuous glance followed Brelin’s back, and the whispering voices grew louder.

“Look at that girl. Just seeing how her attitude changed like that just because she became the duke’s lady. As if she really is from a noble family.”

“That’s what I’m saying. It’s hard to walk around with such a brazen face after being with another man.”

“When taking in an uneducated woman, wouldn’t this kind of thing be obvious to happen?”

“Even if my family’s money runs out, I wouldn’t spend money on a woman from a family without tradition, right? Of course, not only when it comes to women, but also when bringing in a man.”

The voices whispered as if to listen were soft and mellow, but they were thorns firmly embedded in them.

Redross didn’t really care about the gossips who were making a fuss out of nothing.

More than it looks, the banquet itself was like a battlefield. Here,  allies and enemy troops are separated, and friendship is formed. Those who talk a lot are just being immature or not their own allies.

Instead of paying attention to that, he noticed the people who rushed to him and Brelin to congratulate him on the wedding.

The Vermont family was still one of the most influential families in the kingdom’s history, even though it suffered from the worst financial situation for a moment and stumbled. Many families with whom they had been close for several generations came to celebrate the discovery of the Tree Ice Flower.

Brelin looked up at him several times, wondering why Redross wasn’t questioning her, but Redross was just throwing his eyes somewhere else while waiting for the appearance of the first prince who hosted this banquet.

I thought he would ask me why I came to the banquet with a hidden dagger.

Or, usually… When something like this happens, no matter how careful a woman is, there are many stupid men who blame women for what happened, so I thought they would say that it was just the two of us without being careful. But what about not asking any questions?

Brelin managed to pull her gaze away from his handsome side face and his sharp jawline.

Well, maybe it’s because he’s not interested. She went around meeting this guy and that guy anyway, to the point of getting strange letters even after getting married, because she’s a woman who makes scandals like crazy. He must think it’s not weird no matter what. Besides, she’s only a temporary wife at best.

chaeng chaeng!

At that moment, a sound of tapping the glass rang out to draw everyone’s attention. She sighed inside, glad she was able to break this uncomfortable silence.

The servant was knocking on the glass, and the first prince and his wife were smiling happily next to him.

Oh, the first prince and his wife looked like that.

It has always been one of the pleasures of seeing the character’s direct appearance. Even from the moment Brelin entered this banquet hall, she noticed that there were several things as she described in the many lines, and that there were so many servants and foods they carried that she did not describe, she admired inwardly.

It was a pleasure to see the faces of the first princes and other people she knew by name.

The first prince, who had a slightly split middle and an impressive angled chin, was a person who was not able to take over the throne later because he was a weak person compared to his fierce temper.

It was a well-known fact that Prince Frederick, a typical figure who was an inferior complex of other people’s success, held a banquet to celebrate the Duke and Duchess of Vermont’s marriage, although his status was inevitable, he was happy because it was a ridiculous marriage.

“I have prepared this place to congratulate you once again for the successful wedding of the Duke of Vermont with the blessing of the spirits. I would like to express my gratitude to all of you  for coming all the way here.”

It didn’t matter when I heard the gossip, but somehow my cheeks were itchy listening to such a long speech. Did I write this line?

But she soon took her eyes off the 1st Prince. There was no need to get close to someone who was going to collapse this winter. What she was interested in was the second prince who will succeed the throne, but he was nowhere to be seen.

Indeed, I remembered that the second prince originally participated in the banquet, but hid in the corner and secretly enjoyed it. If nothing special happens, there will be no encounter.

Rather than that, the time to show off the dance I learned in a hurry was approaching. Brelin tried to dispel her nervousness, but it had no effect.

The speech passed quickly, and then the music started playing.

Seeing the princes and the couple heading to the floor first, Redross stretched out his arms again. He was annoying, but he couldn’t stay away from it knowing he’s the main character of the banquet. Brelin’s cheeks turned red, and she slowly placed his hand in a silk glove over it. Suddenly he felt that her hands were cold. Her steps towards the floor were also strangely stiff.

Are you nervous?

That’s nonsense.

As if she was somehow absorbed in everything, she acted like a person who didn’t know how to be nervous, but she couldn’t be nervous just over this. All she did was dance with him right after her wedding, but how many dances did she do at the previous banquets?

So it must have been his misunderstanding that Brelin looked tense.

However, as the music gently changed the tone and the full-fledged dance began, that illusion deepened.

However, it was a careful movement of the feet, and it was strangely like someone who was dancing for the first time, as if she was constantly glancing at her face like someone who didn’t know how to handle her gaze and then looking down as if she was looking at her feet. It must also be because I was not distracted by what had happened before.

Even so, soon, Brelin danced like flowing water to see if his skill, which was also called the flower of the famous banquet hall, had not rusted. Her hesitant attitude, which I thought would be stepping on her foot in such a way, quickly returned.

However, her gaze did not seem to know where to look yet. Instead of taking a leisurely look around, he continues to stare at him as if he is checking his movements.

Redross felt it a bit fresh. I had never been conscious of the person holding her body just because I was supposed to dance like this, but the person standing in front of her was so conscious that I came to pay attention to her being close to her without even realizing it.

After the song was over, the two of them took a step back and greeted each other lightly before seeing her shoulders lower.

He must have been really nervous.

A little… Very little, but maybe a little cute.

He sighed, rebuking himself for having a ridiculous idea. He must have drank too much white gin.

After he danced three songs in a row, Brelin looked up at him as if her shoes were starting to hurt.

Redross was a good dancer, and dancing with him was a lot of fun. At first, I couldn’t enjoy it because I was worried that something might be found out, but gradually I started to forget the attention around me because of the fun of moving my body to the music.

Noticing that she raised her head, he moved his feet and lowered his gaze. When their eyes met, he frowned slightly.

“Now the floor is slowly filling up, and it’s okay to stop dancing.”

Brelin nodded her head slightly. It was definitely fun, and it was nice not to have to worry about her friends or acquaintances coming to greet her while dancing, but I thought that if I continued dancing beyond this, other people might notice that it wasn’t the original Brelin.

“Then shall we stop now?”

“Sure.”

Redross gave her a light greeting and skillfully guided her while the song changes. At the bar where her food was lined up, there was a line of sofas that were comfortable to sit on and relax by the table, and the party, who was already resting and talking there, was waving at Redross and her.

Brelin didn’t mind dealing with people who criticized her, but she found it difficult to deal with people she seemed to be familiar with.

She turned her head, wondering what to do, when she saw an old man sitting alone in the corner. The man with gray hair in his purple uniform looked too difficult to approach.

What she noticed was the wand in his hand, a wand with a large jewel on top, something Brelin was familiar with.

Marquis Jasper.

“I have someone to greet me for a moment… I’ll be back.”

Redross glanced in the direction she was looking, but couldn’t tell who she was talking about. It seems that James has already left the banquet hall, and there will be no other disturbances. Probably.

He nodded his head lightly.