RYL Chapter 24

Chapter 24

As soon as I entered the banquet hall, I quickly looked around for Lilianne and Sabrina.

Sabrina must have already told Lilianne about the Crown Prince, right?

While anxiously scanning the room, someone suddenly grabbed my arm from behind.

Startled, I turned around to see none other than Sabrina.

“Where’s Lilianne? Did you tell her the Crown Prince is here?”

“I did. But that’s not what’s important right now!”

“Then what is?” I asked, confused.

Instead of answering, Sabrina pulled me along urgently.

“Where are we going? And where’s Lilianne?”

“We don’t have time to explain! Lady Simona is looking for you!”

My eyes widened in surprise.

“She’s looking for me?”

Could it be that the message I sent through Marquise Beuclard has already reached her?

Before I could think any further, Sabrina led me toward an elegant door inside the banquet hall.

It was a private lounge set up for the event—a place where noble ladies could escape the noise of the party to rest and enjoy refreshments.

When we reached the door, Sabrina gave me a serious look.

“Lilianne is already inside.”

It seemed she couldn’t enter since she was a maid.

I swallowed hard but nodded at her reassuringly before pushing open the door.

As I stepped inside, the eyes of many noble ladies turned to me.

At the center of the room sat Simona, the star of this banquet, exuding elegance.

“You’re here, Lady Devonshire. I’ve been waiting for you,” she said smoothly.

I glanced around and spotted Lilianne sitting quietly across from Simona.

Keeping my composure, I walked toward the empty seat beside Lilianne.

Even though Simona was smiling elegantly, the walk to my seat felt like walking on thin ice.

Ignoring the many gazes piercing into me, I held my head high and sat down.

Under the table, Lilianne gently squeezed my hand.

When I looked at her, she smiled warmly, easing my tension a little.

“Now that we’re all gathered, shall we have some tea?” Simona said.

As soon as she spoke, the maids swiftly set the table with tea and refreshments.

The ladies in the room were all unmarried noblewomen in their late teens or early twenties from prestigious families.

Among them, Simona, the daughter of the powerful Belfour Duke, was undoubtedly the highest-ranked lady in high society.

And right now, I felt like a piece of meat thrown into a den of wolves.

I swallowed nervously.

“I haven’t had the chance to get close to Lady Sinclair before, so I’m glad to finally meet you,” Simona said, looking at Lilianne.

Lilianne remained perfectly composed, lifting her teacup gracefully.

“The feeling is mutual. It’s an honor to build a connection with you, Lady Simona,” she replied smoothly.

As expected of Lilianne.

She wasn’t the least bit intimidated by Simona, the infamous villainess.

Then, Simona’s gaze shifted to me.

“Felix spoke to me about you, Lady Claire. He said you were an intelligent and well-mannered young lady.”

Felix was Marquise Beuclard’s name.

It seemed my efforts behind the scenes had paid off faster than expected.

“I’m grateful that he thinks so highly of me,” I replied with a polite smile.

“It’s rare for Felix to praise someone like that. I must have misjudged you at first.”

Her words were cryptic.

I kept my expression calm as I asked, “May I ask what kind of first impression I gave you?”

Simona took a sip of her tea before elegantly crossing her legs.

“Let’s see… A stray cat sneaking into someone else’s house to steal fish?”

The room fell silent.

A heavy tension filled the air, but before I could respond, Lilianne spoke up first.

“Lady Simona, what do you mean by that?”

Under the table, I pressed Lilianne’s hand firmly, signaling her to stop.

She frowned but remained silent.

I appreciated her stepping in, but this was a conversation I needed to handle myself.

“Why did you think that?” I asked calmly.

Simona sipped her tea again before answering.

“Oh, it’s nothing. You know how rumors work. They get exaggerated and twisted if you don’t see things for yourself.”

Her words were vague, making it hard to read her true intentions.

As I processed her response, Simona put down her teacup and looked at me directly.

“But tell me, Lady Claire. Why did you approach Felix?”

Her eyes held clear hostility.

In the original novel, Simona had cleverly harassed the heroine and ruined her reputation in high society.

Now, that same gaze was directed at me.

Where did things go wrong?

Or had she disliked me from the beginning?

Was I too naive to think I could befriend a villainess?

If I tried to explain myself now, it might only make her more suspicious of me.

After a moment of thought, I met her gaze and spoke clearly.

“Because I wanted to be friends with you, Lady Simona.”

For a moment, Simona looked stunned, as if she hadn’t expected my answer.

“I will apologize to Marquise Beuclard, but I got close to him because I wanted to be friends with you, Lady Simona.”

The room fell into silence again at my rather bold statement.

I could feel Lilianne’s anxious gaze on me.

I had just openly admitted to using the Marquise, Simona’s beloved cousin, for my own purposes.

But from what I knew about Simona’s personality through the novel, I figured facing her head-on would be a better approach than trying to be subtle.

The noble ladies around us whispered to each other. They were probably mocking me.

Then suddenly, Simona covered her mouth with her hand.

“Pfft—”

Everyone turned to her, confused.

And then, out of nowhere, she burst into laughter.

“HAHAHAHAHAHA!”

Her laughter was loud and unrestrained—far from the refined giggle expected from a high-ranking noble lady.

She even teared up from laughing so hard, leaving everyone in shock.

Not knowing what to think of her response, even I was surprised.

After wiping the corners of her eyes, Simona looked at me with a wide grin.

“You really are an interesting young lady, Claire.”

Resting her chin on her hand, she studied me intently.

“I like interesting things. No one has ever spoken to me so directly before.”

Then, she playfully winked at me.

“Poor Felix. I’ve stolen Claire from him, haven’t I?”

With a mischievous smile, she lifted her teacup toward me.

“Let’s meet often from now on, Claire.”

…Wait. Did that actually work?

***

“Do you really think Lady Simona wants to be friends with us?”

Lilianne asked as we rode home in the Devonshire carriage after the banquet.

“Simona was always hard to read in the novel, so it’s impossible to predict what she’s thinking,” Sabrina added.

I smiled.

“We don’t need to know her true feelings. What matters is that we’ve established a public connection. Our goal was achieved.”

I turned to look out the carriage window.

We were almost there—I could see the building in the distance.

It was a property I had received as part of my broken engagement settlement, located on the outskirts of the capital.

As soon as the carriage stopped, I stepped out and looked at the building with satisfaction.

It was an old, three-story building that hadn’t been used in years.

With its run-down appearance, it looked like the kind of place where ghosts might lurk.

Lilianne, looking worried, hesitantly asked,

“Are you really planning to open a salon here…?”