The Villain is Being Suspiciously Kind - Chapter 39

Lady Citrina Foluin.
On the day when the green is fresh, the blue is beautiful and the wind is refreshing,
We invite you to the Imperial Palace’s Summer Ball held at the Lection Pavilion.
Please, embroider the ball with your beauty.
A certain day of the month of summer gathering.
From The Palace Banquet.
>—-<It was an invitation from the banquet room inside the palace, stamped with the emperor’s seal.Citrina looked at the invitation. No matter how much she looks at it, it doesn’t seem to be fake.‘Did I break the unwritten rule of the Lection Pavilion before I knew about it? That can’t be right.’Citrina leans slowly against the wall. In that moment, the one who was quietly holding his breath revealed itself.-Citrina, isn’t this all thanks to me?-Why do you think so, Gemma?-Isn’t everyone doing this so that they could actually see the great one in person? Even if there are rumours that you’re an alchemist, it doesn’t mean you’ve revealed yourself yet.-There were actually rumours that I’m an alchemist?Citrina stared at the invitation. Although the self-praise was high, this is not a pointless statement.There were few elementals or alchemists in the empire, so they were guaranteed a certain level of status.‘No one knows the existence of the spirit yet. She might know about alchemy, but… ‘Citrina did not tell anyone except Oslo that she had awakened a jewel spirit. As a dwarf’s disciple, he knows a little bit about alchemy, but he didn’t say he knew how to do alchemy.‘What… exactly is going on?’In confusion, Citrina shook her head several times. Gemma was looking at her with warm eyes.-It’s all thanks to me! I will be the lucky charm in our future!-Yeah, I will be counting on you.Citrina laughed a little.Before going to the summer ball, she had to send a letter to Count Haley.She glanced towards the bedroom. She can already imagine Adilak’s reaction at the back of her mind when she’d talk about the summer ball.The Imperial Palace’s Summer Ball was held at Lection Palace, one of the most beautiful flower gardens in the empire. This is a place where only the most beautiful flowers in the world were collected and displayed, and the place where magic was applied to create an eternal flower garden. The Lection Pavilion.By the passing of different emperors up to now, the garden had become more perfect.This generated a greater importance to the Summer Ball than how it was before. It was established as a venue for connection and entertainment involving all high-ranking aristocrats under the emperor.The young lady of a Baron’s house, Citrina Foluin, stepped into the ‘Lection Pavilion’, where even the lower nobles were not allowed to enter. She had a lot of doubts in her head. Even having this dazzling dress as a present(1).’No matter how she thinks about it, the emperor’s action doesn’t make sense, but she just couldn’t decline the invitation from the palace.‘There should be no rumors about my jewelry business so soon.’Since the business was still in the process of establishing itself.Even though her name was slowly circulating in the social world, and her business is set to thrive soon…‘But that’s not sufficient for the emperor to invite me. Something’s weird.’Even if the emperor is just Duke Pietro’s puppet, he is still the emperor. It means that as a young lady of a Baron, she has no authority to decline despite all the questions and doubts running in her head.Citrina is quick to understand the situation after all.“Let’s just eat a lot of delicious things.”Citrina, muttering to herself quietly, gently lifted her dress. The touch on her fingertips was smooth and silky.The elegant silk dress, woven from fine silver threads, perfectly matched her figure.She tried not to pay attention to the sparkling diamonds embroidered around the seam from her waistline to her shoulders. It’s too bothersome to pay attention to that.Still, the Lection Pavilion is moderately crowded. Fortunately or not, Citrina arrived a little late.She stood in front of the food table that was stationed in the middle. When she saw the desserts in front of her, her appetite surged. When she ate the finger sized food, the taste of sweetness spread in her mouth.‘Oh, it’s sweet.’She could hear voices near her as while enjoying the delight in her mouth,“Hey, who is that lady?”“This is the first time I’ve seen her.”“There is no one I don’t know among the ladies above the title of Marquis.”The lively conversation between these young ladies and young masters caught Citrina’s ears. The subject seemed to be her.‘I’m curious too, why was I called?’She decided to cool down her nerves with the cocktail she was offered. Not too strong and not too mild, and with a fruity scent.“Thank you very much.”“You’re welcome, beautiful young lady.” The server smiled as he walked away.The cocktail was surprisingly perfect for her taste as she savors the sweet taste of her drink, she could hear the conversation behind her.“Wait. Wait a minute.”“What?”“The dress that lady is wearing… Isn’t that a dress that was made by an elf, where only one of its designs was made?”“Isn’t that the dress the elf made where only one was produced?”“Really?”Their conversation was getting harder to ignore as it grew louder.It was then.The knight in front of the entrance shouted with a trembling voice.“The Duke of the House Pietro. Duke Desian Pietro.”“The Duke of Petro, Sir Desian Pietro is entering!”“Ugh.”“Oh my God, Did I hear it wrong?…”“The Duke?”A young lady screamed.The men stopped talking with their faces pale. There were also people who stepped back slightly.