The Genius âIncompetentâ Woman Wants to be a Villainess - CHapter 51
By Antoinette Vanessa February 25, 2023
âThus, the wedding preparations ensued.
âLord Dylan, could you please check the guest list? Iâve arranged for the invitations to be sent, so I need your signature here. As for the menu for the following banquet, it follows the traditions of the Duke of Lancester. The Marquis Brandner family will be singing the hymn. Before the toast will come His Highness Lawrenceâs congratulatory speech.â
ââŠWow, youâre impressive.â
Whoops.
Only after seeing Dylanâs awestruck expression did Avril realize sheâd gone too far, and her gaze swum.
After all, back in the Count of Allingham household, Avril was the sole person responsible for hosting tea parties and dinners. Hence why, she became good at it. But to respect the conventional image of a villainess, some corrections seemed necessary.
âI, Iâve never hosted a wedding before, but Iâm used to arranging parties!â
âIt seems that the masquerade balls Avril envisioned were quite sophisticated.â
âHuh?â
âNo, never mindâŠâ
Dylan smiled with his eyes, while Chris could be seen holding his laughter from behind him. At last, she found out the reason why, but as of the moment, she couldnât afford to pay attention to it. As such, she had no choice but to carry on.
Collecting herself, Avril turned her gaze to the list of invited guests.
âThe Count of Allingham family is included on the list of guests. Iâm sure my parents will ask you about the preparation money. Once that happens, please tell them that youâve handed the money directly to Avril.â
âWell, about thatâŠÂ Under normal circumstances, inviting your parents would be a given, but Iâm thinking of removing them from the list?â
âMay I ask why?â
âConsidering what I heard about them from you, their crimes are simply too heavy.â
âOh myâŠâ
Avril didnât expect that.
Lord Dylan is truly kindâŠ! For someone to get angry for my sakeâŠ! That makes me so happyâŠ! Iâm truly gratefulâŠ!
Then, the door of the dining room opened, revealing her maidâGrace.
âMy Lord, Lady Avril, the carriage is ready.â
âI understand. Iâll be right there.â
Dylan escorted Avril to the carriage.
That day, they were off to see a tailor for the wedding dress.
Thus, at the best dress shop in the royal capitalâ
âAvril, who was led to a gorgeous V.I.P room for customers, let her gaze wander.
How amazingâŠ! There are a lot of expensive-looking fabricsâŠ! But, the cost of the dress itself will be deducted from the preparation fund, no? While I canât afford to tarnish the dignity of the Duke of Lancester, Iâd like to save as much as possibleâŠ
Just as she secretly made up her mind, Dylan spoke from beside her.
âApparently, youâre needlessly worrying once again⊠Let me tell you in advance; you donât have to worry about the cost of the dress.â
âWell, is that so? But itâs customary for the bride to prepare her own dress.â
âAlright, letâs do it this way. If Avril is happy with her current life, you may design the dress as you see fit. Then, Iâll give it to you as a present.â
âA-a present, is it?â
âThatâs right. Iâll be looking forward to seeing you in that dress.â
A present⊠a present⊠Which means, a gift?
After contemplating Dylanâs words, Avril finally understood the meaning and her cheeks were dyed red.
Ever since she entered the family of the Duke of Lancester, Avril had received many gifts from Dylan.
Most of them were personal belongingsâsuch as dresses and jewelry selected by the servants. By the way, that also included the most expensive piece of jewelry that Avril unintentionally and was coerced to buy at the royal capital right after arriving.
At the time, Avril understood it as an effort for appearances sake as she was the fiancĂ©e of a ducal family. She didnât have anything to her name, after all. But this time, she understood that it was different, even more so when she was supposed to prepare the wedding gown herself.
Back in her parentsâ house, lavish gifts from birthdays and celebrations were only reserved for Corinna. Perhaps, there was a period in her childhood where she was saddened by it, but before she knew it, she no longer cared. Hence why, the word âgiftâ surprised herâthe word that used to have nothing to do with her.
âŠIt feels like a really special gift. Iâm so happyâŠ!
She couldnât help but think so. Forgetting that she was in public, she exclaimed to Dylan who sat beside herâ
ââLord Dylan, what kind of dress do you think would suit me!?â
Dylan was somewhat taken aback by her question.
ââŠIt may be a present from me, but you donât have to worry about my opinions. Choose whatever you like.â
âStill, Iâd like to hear Lord Dylanâs preferences.â
âMy preferences?â
âThatâs rightâŠ!â
At her energetic response, there was a look of bewilderment on Dylanâs handsome face. However, rather than being troubled, he seemed somewhat embarrassed. Then, Chrisâ voice could be heard from behind.
âGood job. Please do your best.â
âKeep silent, Chris.â
Dylan tried to shoo Chris away, but Avril was still ecstatic.
âWould you like me to consult with Chris?â
âWell, if youâre alright with meââ
ââNo, it isnât. Go away.â
ââAs you can see, thatâs how it is. Itâs alright, the two of you may relax.â
Chris left with a suspicious grin. After seeing him off somewhat quizzically, Avril was received her answer from a hesitant Dylan.
âI believe Avril will look beautiful in a delicately embroidered dress. I believe that traditional yet elegant designs are better than flashy decorations.â
***T/N: Iâm, Iâm just glad it didnât get to the point where Avril is asking, âMarriage? Whose marriage?â