The Main Character Is A Villainess - Chapter 3

“Weren’t you rejected?”

When she asked, Havern shrugged and smiled slyly. The boyish beauty of the past was glimpsed in the unique mischievousness permeating his smiling face.

“The two of us exchanged hearts.”

Those who didn’t know anything were likely to misunderstand. Before Elysia could say anything, he brought her close from her stance on the side of the road and dusted her off, adding,

“I didn’t expect to see each other again, but I didn’t expect to become family even more. You should call me elder brother, would that be fine? How could you only see me as a brother?”

He asked about the Emperor’s remarriage as if he had heard the news. Elysia, thinking it wasn’t worthy of replying to his playful face, swept past him. Right, as he said, no matter the past they were meant to be a family in the future. If her mother marries the Emperor, they, their children, would be step-brother and sister.

“Now that we are family, don’t be too cold-hearted. This older brother may be by your side for the rest of your life.”

Elysia, concerned about the word family, turned and looked at him. He was much taller than when he graduated from the academy, so she had to look up.

“It seems that Your Highness still has strange lingering feelings. Don’t be fooled as His Highness said, we will become a family. My family doesn’t stick around like this.”

Leaving a reply that was as cold as the blowing wind, Havern smiled as if he couldn’t help it and looked at her.

“Yeah. What if I still find my not-yet younger sister attractive? What if my eyes are drawn to you and I accidentally end up breaking our father’s marriage party?”

From the day he first felt curiosity, the gaze that never fell once, was fixed in her back.

* * * 

The first day of the Foundation Festival arrived. Elysia chose sapphire as her main jewelry, which highlighted her light gold hair, and a black-based dress with diamonds to match Conrad’s suit.

“Milady, you are perfect. You are probably the most beautiful girl in the Empire today, no, in the whole world.”

When the maid, who had been with her since she was little, praised to the fullest, her rigid back stiffened even more.

Knock knock- “Prince Rayden has arrived.”

If it were a normal party, she could have loosened the lace comfortably and wouldn’t need an escort, but since she planned to walk the streets at the festival she had to adjust the hem of her dress to walk alone. When she went down the stairwell of the mansion, as always, Conrad was waiting for her in a neat banquet outfit.

“Have you waited long?”

While heading to the carriage, it was strange that he didn’t talk to her first or make eye contact as usual, so Elysia naturally folded her arms and asked.

“Oh, no. The dress is beautiful.”

When Conrad gave a formal compliment, Elysia nodded and gave a formal reply.

“Because I matched my dress with my fiancé as per the dress code. I would like to consult with you in advance. Because sometimes there are dresses in other colors I want to wear.”

Normally, he would have said something about her nagging starting again, but even after the wagon departed, Conrad was quietly preoccupied.

“Conrad?”

At her call, he hurriedly turned his head from the carriage window and looked at her. Elysia felt an unknown feeling. It was a strange, uncomfortable feeling that she had never felt before.

“Gloves. I said before, it’s polite not to show your hand in public.” At her words, Conrad rummaged through his inner pocket and nervously tucked his hand into his glove.

“It’s a festival, can’t we have some fun? On a day like today, even if it’s a bit messy, no one will point it out. You’re too obsessive. It suffocates me more than this cravat that is strangling me right now.”

Elysia stared at him, his response was more nervous than usual.

“Those eyes! Those eyes, too. I’m not in a position to learn from you, so why do you look like that? Elysia, I’m your fiancé, not a student you should teach!”

She didn’t know why Conrad was acting more sensitively than usual. Her taking care of things like this was something he had agreed with and thanked her.

“If you were a student, I wouldn’t have taught you. Because you don’t have anything to teach to those who can fix themselves but don’t. I’m saying this because I’m your fianceé, if someone other than me points this out, it would be a disgrace to you, so I’m just forestalling it before it happens.”

The moment he opened his mouth with a tearful face, the carriage stopped.

“We have arrived at the plaza, would you like to get debark?” When the coachman asked politely, Conrad let out a long sigh and stepped down first. Elysia naturally held out her feet, thinking he would be waiting to escort her, but he had already walked far away. She couldn’t even call out to him. If she drew attention, everyone would know this situation. One of the guards tactfully escorted Elysia.

“Thanks.”

She opened a wide parasol to cover herself and walked. She tried to catch up with him, but his stride was too much. Knowing that she would never catch up with him with her heels, Conrad seemed to be walking vigorously.

“Melanie.”

Elysia called a close maid and asked,

“Am I doing something wrong now? Is there anything unreasonable?”

The maid shook her head.

“No, Milady. After all, when you’ve been together for a long time, sometimes you don’t understand each other, so I think that’s something the Young Master is experiencing.”

As she had always learned, Elysia pulled her chin and slightly lowered gaze upright, and straightened her back.

“Yeah. That’s probably it.”

She thought it was due to his tendency of being like a loose cannon. As he learned, he would go in the right direction. She slowly walked down the street trying to find him, but couldn’t find her missing fiancé due to the large crowd.

“Milady, how about having a cup of tea at the cafe? I will find the Young Master and bring him to you.”

No matter how much her guards protected her, it wasn’t easy to walk around the large crowd.

“Okay, Melanie. You’re working hard.”

Elysia moved to the luxury cafeteria indicated by her maid. As it is one of the most famous places from where you can watch various parades, there were hardly any seats, but that was no problem for the Lady of the Hellen family. It was because the investment made by the Hellen household was considerably large, so they could be treated to VIP seats whenever they went.

“My Lady! The Young Lady also came to enjoy the festival?”

At the owner’s words, Elysia nodded her head slightly.

“There are a lot of people this year. I guess I’ll have to stay here until sunset because the sun is hot.”

The store owner agreed with Elysia and led her through the crowded terrace seats on the first floor and up the stairs. Unlike the noisy downstairs, the second floor was calm and quiet.

“I left your favorite window seat empty because I thought the young lady would come. You like to watch the sunset from here.”

As she thanked him for his consideration, the owner, who smiled shyly, looked around.

“By the way, the Young Master…”

Elysia, who had been smiling all the time, hardened her face, yet it was so slight that he didn’t notice it, and she quickly answered with a smile.

“I lost him in the crowd. If I wait here, he’ll come. You know each festival we come here, so I’m sure he’ll come for me.”

The owner, after nodding and greeting her, stepped back. Alone, Elysia sat quietly and looked out the noisy window. It was strange to be alone in the midst of so much noise, but it wasn’t bad.

“Milady, I prepared the tea you always drink. And this is a cookie made by our store, please taste it. It won’t be too much. Anyway, I wanted you to taste it once.”

The owner of the store, who laughed loudly, was the same as when he was the owner of a small local dessert shop. It was here that Elysia, who recognized his true worth, rolled out personal capital for the first time, so she had a deep history with him.

“Thank you. I will enjoy it for sure. You know my taste better than anyone.”

When Elysia lifted the teacup, the owner who finished all the settings stepped down. It was not to disturb her time.

“The wind is nice…”

She enjoyed this quiet and relaxing time. Actually, it’s like that for everything. It would be fun to get caught in that crowd and wander around, but if you take a step back, your vision will widen and you will see things that you can’t see at that time. For example…

My fiancé whispering too closely with an unknown woman…

The guard noticed that Elysia’s eyes stopped in one place and said after looking in the same direction.

“Shall I bring him?”

They looked friendly. To those who didn’t know, they even looked like an engaged couple. Elysia was curious. She knew Conrad’s schedule and all his acquaintances. ‘But when did he find someone I don’t know?’

“How does it look to you? Don’t you think it’s rather too friendly?”

The knight didn’t respond, yet, he waited for his Master’s command.

“I asked a difficult question. What should I do…”

It was a difficult decision.

‘Should I go and humiliate both of us in front of everyone, or should I let it slide and pretend I didn’t see anything?’

Her face hardened at the moment she saw the woman smiling and leaning on Conrad’s shoulder, and his acceptance of her.

“I’ll bring him with me.”

The knight moved swiftly as if he had read his Master’s mind.

“No. I have to go.”

As Elysia stepped out, the knight looked at her with a worried face. The people of the mansion cared for her as much as she valued the residence and household.

“But, My Lady, you have many eyes around.”

“It’s okay. I won’t make a fuss.”

Realizing that he couldn’t stop her, the knight took the lead, followed by Elysia.

——

Happy holidays to everyone and Merry Christmas to those who celebrate it~!