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Chapter 31
The first thought that crossed my mind when I saw her was something else entirely.
Rhino?
With her wide gray skirt flaring as she snorted through her nose, she reminded me of a rhinoceros.
The one approaching was Elena Royce, the precious daughter of the Royce family and the younger sister of Jaise Royce.
Still, seeing her in person, she’s kind of cute.
Ah, just by looking at Elena, my foresight triggered again.
No matter how common this scene is, isn’t it way too cliche?
Even in her high heels, she charged forward with the force of a rhino, snatched the wine from the table, and lifted it high.
“How dare you!”
The moment she tried to throw it at me—
Shh—
I quickly dodged to the side.
Instead of me, an unsuspecting noble behind me received the wine baptism.
“Uwaagh!”
The young man yelped, frantically shaking off his soaked clothes.
“What on earth is this!”
For him, it was more than enough reason to be angry and complain.
Elena shot me a sharp glare before folding her arms and sweeping her eyes over the drenched noble.
“Well, my apologies.”
Watching her offer such a prim apology, I clicked my tongue inwardly.
Wow, she’s something else too. Then why was Amelia painted as the ultimate villainess?
Of course, I already knew the answer.
Because Amelia was still a tier above Elena.
And Amelia was entangled with the male lead, even killing him in the end, so her role in the story carried far more weight.
Besides, the Royce family sided with the Imperial faction, while the Wentworth family belonged to the Noble faction, placing Amelia directly opposite the male lead.
That sealed her fate as the true villainess.
Anyway, there was no way that nameless young man would accept Elena’s prim, insincere apology.
He had clearly dressed with care for this event, and now she had ruined it.
His face flushed red, then blue, before he burst out at her.
“Do you think a mere apology will do? What about my clothes, what will you do about these!”
I stepped back, pretending to be uninvolved.
Nibbling on a canape from the table, I watched the scene unfold.
“And what do you expect me to do? Ah, fine. I’ll pay for your outfit.
Not that your old rags could be worth much.”
“Lady!”
The man shouted furiously.
And then, Elena—who seemed incapable of losing—suddenly broke into fragile sobs.
“Sniff… I-I’m so sorry… It was an accident. Please forgive me… sniff.”
“Wha—what? Why are you suddenly crying…?”
Her sudden shift caught the wine-soaked noble completely off guard.
And right then, Jaise Royce appeared.
Ahh.
Now I understood why Elena had changed her tune so quickly.
Jaise Royce was notorious for his sister complex.
“What happened, Elena? Why are you crying?”
“Brother, it’s just that…”
Elena pointed at the soaked noble, sniffling as she whispered to Jaise.
Her tears worked wonders.
Jaise’s face hardened as he looked at the man as though he would rip him apart.
“You made my Elena cry?”
“Now see here, Lord Royce.
Do you not see the state I’m in?
It was Lady Elena who threw wine on me, and I’ve yet to receive even a proper apology.”
“People make mistakes.
If you shout at a girl with such frail health and she collapses, do you think I’d let you walk away alive?”
Speaking in that peculiar way of starting polite and ending threatening, Jaise strode straight up to the young man.
With his tanned skin, wild reddish-brown hair, and towering build, Jaise’s presence alone was enough to make the other man shrink.
Whoever he was, he couldn’t possibly outrank the Duke of Royce’s household.
There was no way he could win.
Well, to be fair, there’s only one person at this party who could stand toe-to-toe with Jaise Royce.
Speaking of which, where was my handsome partner?
I rose on tiptoe to peek through the crowd and found him, still shining like a star among the pebbles.
Mm, he’s doing fine.
Relieved, I turned back to the drama between Jaise and the wine-soaked noble.
The outcome was obvious.
The young man, pressured by Jaise, would slink home in defeat.
And sure enough, I even caught sight of the Royce butler chasing after him, pressing a few coins into his hand.
Jaise turned back to Elena, his face full of worry.
“Why are you out here when you’re unwell?”
“Huh? I-I’m fine…”
“Come on, let’s get you inside before you catch a cold.”
“Just a moment, brother.”
“Elena, be good, won’t you?
Listen to me.
Butler, escort Lady Elena to her room.”
Wow, that was some extreme overprotection.
She didn’t look sick in the slightest.
I dredged up Amelia’s shallow memories.
Elena had been ill often as a child.
That was why Jaise coddled and shielded her so relentlessly.
His overprotection was both the root of her arrogance and the chains that bound her.
Even Elena couldn’t resist when Jaise forced her away under the guise of care.
Sipping strawberry juice, I watched the siblings with amusement.
“Haa…”
Once Elena left, Jaise’s sigh rang louder than expected.
But it didn’t sound like pure worry.
As he swept back his hair, his expression looked almost relieved—like he had just gotten rid of a nuisance.
Ah, so he knows exactly what his sister is like and locks her away under the pretense of concern?
Now this is fun.
Digging out hidden truths beyond the text and Amelia’s fragments of memory.
By the way, this strawberry juice is delicious. Any more around?
I looked about, and suddenly felt a cold glass pressed into my hand.
Startled, I turned to see Jaise himself had approached, handing me another glass.
“Here. It’s good, isn’t it?”
“Ah, yes. Thank you.”
“The Royce lands are famous for strawberries, you know.”
“Mmm, is that so.”
As I sipped, Jaise stared at me intently, eyes gleaming with intrigue.
Something about that gaze sent a prickling instinct through me.
I drained the last mouthful of juice, but before I could turn away, Jaise plucked the empty glass from my hand.
And then he held out his own hand.
“So, how about it?”
I stared at the hand he offered.
Just then, the music shifted into a dance tune.
Couples began to gather on the central lawn.
Come to think of it, this wasn’t Amelia’s first time dancing with Jaise.
It happened now and then.
Not out of affection, but to rescue Vincent from Amelia’s relentless pursuit.
After all, if you weren’t of Jaise’s rank, Amelia usually wouldn’t even spare you a glance.
And Jaise was one of the few handsome enough in this place.
“Lady?”
Hmph.
Recalling all this, his offered hand suddenly felt irritating.
But I couldn’t leave him hanging.
Just as I was about to accept, another hand intercepted mine.
Startled, I turned to find Vincent at my side.
“I almost missed my chance.
Shall we?”
“Eh?”
Vincent pulled me with him onto the lawn.
I caught a glimpse of Jaise standing frozen, staring after us in disbelief.
And who could blame him?
This wasn’t a formal occasion, and yet Vincent had publicly asked Amelia to dance first.
But I knew why.
*After his regression, Vincent stays kind to Amelia until the heroine appears.
With a few exceptions, of course.*
Because his mission was to raise Amelia to happiness—only to drag her down into ruin.
Facing him now, I had to admit something.
What I’d said earlier about Jaise being handsome—forget it.
Looking at Vincent again, it was obvious I’d been mistaken.
Even if he was fated to kill me, my partner was the most handsome of all.
No wonder Amelia chased him to death.
The elegant strings rose, and Vincent moved in perfect rhythm.
I followed, my steps flowing smoothly.
I’d worried I might stumble, but thankfully Amelia
’s body remembered the steps.
Up close, my gaze met his.
The moment I thought his emerald eyes were beautiful, he hastily looked away.
