RYL Chapter 22

Chapter 22

Mathieu scanned the ballroom with a bored expression.

Lately, social events and gatherings had become exhausting for him. He would rather be out hunting, but his father had insisted he attend.

After all, this was a ball hosted by one of the only three duke families in the empire—his father had made it clear he had to at least make an appearance.

Damn it. If only I could live like Duke Valerian, ignoring all these social obligations.

Although Theo Valdo von Valerian was only a few years older than him, he had already taken over his family’s title. This was one of the few times Mathieu envied him.

As he sipped his wine, bored, a sudden commotion spread through the room.

“Is that them? The famous trio everyone’s been talking about?”

“Yes! That’s Lady Sinclair, Lady Devonshire, and the mysterious black-haired lady!”

At the mention of Lady Devonshire, Mathieu’s eyes were immediately drawn to the entrance.

There, walking gracefully, was Claire in a lovely lemon-colored dress, accompanied by Lilianne and the black-haired woman.

Once again, Claire looked nothing like the awkward girl he used to know. She was confident, radiant, and dazzling. It was as if a glow surrounded her.

And he wasn’t the only one who thought so—every man in the room held their breath as they watched the three women.

For some reason, that made Mathieu feel uncomfortable.

***

As I entered the ballroom, I glanced around, searching for the star of tonight’s event—Lady Simona.

It wasn’t hard to find her. She stood in the center of the ballroom, gracefully exchanging greetings with the guests.

As Lilianne, Sabrina, and I approached to greet her, the crowd instinctively parted, their curious eyes on us.

Simona was dressed elegantly in a purple gown that matched her lavender-colored hair.

“You’ve come, Lady Sinclair.”

It seemed she already knew Lilianne, as she greeted her first.

Lilianne smiled warmly. “It’s been a while, Lady Simona.”

After exchanging greetings, Simona’s gaze shifted to me and Sabrina.

“Oh, this is Lady Devonshire,” Lilianne introduced me. “And this young lady is someone I personally invited.”

Simona briefly glanced at Sabrina, who was dressed far too elegantly to be mistaken for a maid. Then, she turned her attention to me.

She smiled—a refined yet somewhat knowing smile.

“So, you’re the famous Lady Devonshire. A pleasure to meet you.”

Her words carried an odd familiarity, as if she already knew about me. But I pushed away my curiosity and responded with a bright smile.

“It’s an honor to meet you, Lady Simona. Thank you for inviting us.”

“The invitations were sent according to the guest list, so no need to thank me,” she said, still smiling, though her words felt a little sharp.

Was it just my imagination, or was there a subtle edge to her tone? As expected of a notorious noblewoman—she wouldn’t be easy to befriend.

“Well, I hope you enjoy the ball,” Simona said before gracefully walking away, followed by a crowd eager to gain her favor.

“She won’t be easy to get close to,” Sabrina remarked casually.

I smirked. “Don’t worry.”

Five years of dealing with clients, customers, programmers, and designers had given me a thick skin and the ability to adapt. I’d win her over one way or another.

Lilianne’s eyes sparkled in admiration at my confidence.

But before we could make progress with Simona, an entirely different problem arose—unwanted male attention.

“Lady Lilianne, you look stunning tonight.”

“Lady Claire, may I have the honor of your first dance?”

“And this lady—what family do you belong to? It would be my honor to know your name.”

Lilianne, Sabrina, and I all froze at the same time.

Why were we only being attacked by flies when we were pursuing a golden toad?

 ***

“Whew—your ex-fiancée is quite popular, huh?”

Mathieu shot an annoyed glance at Alex, who whistled teasingly beside him.

“She’s my former fiancée.”

“Ah, my mistake. You’ve known each other so long, the word just slips out naturally.”

“……”

Can’t you just shut up?

Mathieu clenched his jaw, forcing himself to stay silent.

“Where’s Mikael?” he asked, changing the subject.

“He said he’d attend, but it looks like he’s running late.”

Mathieu wasn’t really interested, so he took another sip of his wine.

That’s when he noticed another man approaching Claire.

So far, she had rejected all the men who tried to talk to her. But strangely, this time, she smiled and extended her hand.

The man beamed and kissed the back of her hand.

At that moment, Mathieu’s grip on his wine glass tightened.

CRACK!

“Uh… hey, your glass—”

Mathieu stared blankly at the broken stem of his wine glass.

“…Ah.”

He frowned at the shattered glass in his hand.

“Were you so distracted you couldn’t even control your strength?”

Before Mathieu could respond, Alex called a servant to clean up the mess.

Even as the glass shards were taken away, Mathieu’s eyes remained locked on Claire, who was smiling at that man.

Who is that guy? Why is she smiling at him like that?

His face seemed familiar, but considering Mathieu’s past, that wasn’t a good thing.

Unable to hold back, Mathieu turned to Alex.

“Who was that nobleman talking to Claire?”

Alex glanced in Claire’s direction before smirking knowingly.

“Ah, that’s the young marquis of the Beuclaire family. He’s a close cousin of Lady Simona.”

Beuclaire…

Mathieu repeated the name in his head.

Alex chuckled. “Don’t tell me you’re bothered by your ex-fiancée getting attention?”

Mathieu stiffened and looked away.

“Ridiculous.”

Alex’s grin widened.

“Just don’t take your frustration out on another wine glass.”

“The glass was flimsy.”

“That? Made by the finest glass artisan of the Belfour Dukedom? I doubt it.”

“……”

Ignoring Alex’s teasing, Mathieu scowled and turned away.

“Wine isn’t strong enough. I need brandy.”

As he moved toward the bar, Alex followed, shaking his head.

***

After forcing myself to smile for what felt like an eternity, I finally managed to escape the ballroom.

The young marquis of Beuclaire had been clinging to me persistently, but I managed to slip away with the excuse of going to the powder room.

Of course, I had no intention of going back.

I had already done enough groundwork for now.

I already knew from the novel that the young Marquis of Beuclaire was a close cousin of Lady Simona.

That’s why I deliberately allowed him to approach me—I planned to use him to get closer to Simona.

This was a skill I had mastered as a project planner for five years!

A classic strategy: win over the target’s close acquaintances first to gain access to the main objective.

Of course, the young marquis had no idea about my intentions. He openly revealed his feelings for me, which made things quite exhausting.

Feeling relieved, I removed the itchy hair accessory and let out a deep breath as the cool night air touched my skin.

Just then, I heard someone’s voice.

“Lilianne…?”

I turned around and saw Crown Prince Mikael standing inside the open terrace doors.

Come to think of it, Lilianne often wore dresses in shades of yellow.

It seemed that because of my dress color, he had mistaken me for her.