After Linking the Villainess and Male Lead (5 Chapters Left to Complete) - Chapter 30
“It seems there are more people here than at the previous banquet.”
“That does appear to be the case.”
“Kaern is… Ah, right. I’m not supposed to call him Kaern anymore.”
Realizing my slip, I bit my lip slightly and looked up at him.
Suddenly, Kaern stopped walking and gently brushed my lip with his thumb.
“You’ll draw blood if you keep biting like that.”
“…Oh.”
At that moment, a collective gasp from the surrounding crowd reached my ears.
“It—it’s fine!”
Without thinking, my body reflexively stepped back a pace.
“I only bit it a little—it’s truly fine!”
I repeated the words, trying hard to hide my fluster.
“Are you really all right?”
“Yes. Let’s—let’s go inside now.”
I nodded vigorously and quickly led him toward the banquet hall.
My mind was in utter chaos from his unexpected gesture, yet I knew exactly what I needed to do right now.
I had to escape this spot as soon as possible and disappear into the crowd.
There was no better option at the moment.
Shortly after, we stood before the grand doors of the banquet hall.
The doorkeeper, seeing Kaern and me, opened the doors and announced our arrival.
“His Grace Duke Kaern Lavellion and Lady Helena Rosentia, daughter of Viscount Rosentia, enter.”
Just as before, every eye in the banquet hall turned toward us.
I forced a smile as best I could and walked in alongside Kaern.
As soon as people saw Kaern, many gathered around him to offer their greetings.
I stood beside him, exchanging pleasantries and engaging in brief conversations with the guests.
Soon after, the Emperor, Empress, and members of the imperial family entered the hall, and the ceremonial address began.
It was meant to encourage those departing for battle the next day.
Once the Emperor’s speech concluded, it was time for dancing.
Couples began gathering in the center of the hall.
I watched them absentmindedly.
Kaern dancing? I had never once seen him dance at such events.
Just then—
Kaern suddenly stood before me and extended his hand.
Looking up at him in confusion, I heard words I never imagined would come from his lips.
“Lady Helena Rosentia, would you honor me with a dance?”
With utmost gentlemanly grace, he offered me his hand.
Kaern’s sudden move instantly stirred the banquet hall into commotion.
But to my ears, no sound reached anymore.
It felt as though only he and I existed in this vast hall.
That moment felt like a dream—or an illusion.
“Helena.”
He whispered my name softly, so only I could hear.
“Yes? Ah…”
I snapped back to reality.
This wasn’t a dream at all.
He had truly asked me to dance.
None other than Kaern Lavellion himself.
“All right.”
Before I knew it, I had already agreed and placed my hand in his.
Kaern gently clasped my hand and led me toward the center of the hall.
As we moved, people parted with astonished expressions.
At the same moment the beautiful melody filled the hall, Kaern and I began to dance.
He guided me with remarkable naturalness.
“You dance well, Kaern.”
At my admiring words, Kaern let out a soft chuckle.
‘Wow, he smiled again.’
What kind of day was today?
It was almost unbelievable—I’d seen him smile twice.
“You dance well too.”
“Do I? I’m glad it looks that way. Truthfully, I have no real talent for dancing.”
Just as I told him, back at the academy, I always barely scraped by with average marks in dance lessons.
“That’s not true at all.”
“I think it’s because you lead me so well.”
After all, I hadn’t stepped on his foot even once—a stark contrast to how often I’d trodden on my partners’ feet during lessons, proof enough of how skilled he was.
For the first time, I danced without fear of making mistakes.
In that moment, I didn’t care at all about the eyes watching us.
Even as my heart pounded as if ready to burst, I didn’t look away from his gaze.
Nor did he ever take his eyes off me as we danced.
We were completely absorbed in each other as we moved.
After a while, the music changed, and people began switching partners.
‘Should I switch too?’
I didn’t particularly want to dance with anyone other than Kaern.
But he might want to.
If he wished to dance with another lady, I’d have to step aside.
Though it stung a little to imagine watching the man I liked dance with someone else, I quickly scolded myself for such selfish thoughts.
‘I already decided to break off our engagement… I shouldn’t act so selfishly now.’
I had to stay true to that initial resolve.
No matter how kindly he treated me or how close I felt to him, hoping for more would only be greed on my part.
‘Pull yourself together.’
With that thought, I steeled my resolve once more and called out to him.
“Kaern, I’ll step aside now, so—”
As I tried to pull away, he wouldn’t let go of my hand.
Ignoring the expectations of those who’d hoped to dance with him, Kaern kept hold of my hand and led me away from the dance floor.
“You’re leaving too, Kaern?”
“My only partner is you. I have no intention of dancing with anyone else.”
“Oh…”
Hearing those words, I knew I shouldn’t feel happy—but my spirits lifted instantly anyway.
I found my own fickleness amusing, though there was nothing I could do about it.
We returned to our earlier spot and watched others dance.
“Kaern—Ah, I slipped again. Now that I think of it, I kept calling you by your first name while we danced too.”
“Why not just call me however you’re comfortable?”
“No, this is a formal occasion. There are protocols to observe.”
My unusually firm reply made Kaern nod in understanding.
“Do as you please. I’ll follow your lead.”
His words sounded almost like a declaration, and I puzzled over their meaning inwardly.
It was partly because of everything he’d done today—and partly because a faint tension crept over me.
But that lingering unease soon melted away as I focused entirely on him.
Time passed, and the banquet was now well into its second half.
Aside from while dancing, people kept approaching Kaern without pause.
As we chatted with various guests, the Emperor’s steward—the same one I’d seen before—approached us.
“Your Grace, Duke Lavellion. His Majesty the Emperor requests your presence.”
“Go ahead, Your Grace.”
Just like last time, I urged him to go meet the Emperor.
Kaern watched me with an unreadable expression.
“Why do you say that?”
“Did His Majesty ask only for me?”
Instead of answering my question, Kaern turned to the steward.
“No, not at all. He didn’t specify that this time.”
“I see. Then let’s go together.”
“Me too?”
“Yes. Come.”
Without another word, Kaern placed a hand on my back and guided me toward where the Emperor waited.
I couldn’t even refuse—before I knew it, I was following him.
Given my rank, I never expected to meet the Emperor in person.
Yet here I was, suddenly face-to-face with him.
My mind went blank, but I frantically tried to compose myself to avoid committing any breach of etiquette.
After all, I was still Kaern’s official fiancée.
For his sake, I couldn’t afford to look foolish or act thoughtlessly before the Emperor.
“Your Grace…”
I whispered his name so softly only he could hear.
“Should I really be going? I’ve never had a private audience with His Majesty before.”
“It’s fine.”
It’s really not fine.
I’d held a sliver of hope I might escape, but his tone left no room for argument.
“You can act as comfortably as you do when you’re with me.”
Act comfortably before the Emperor? That seemed impossible—but hearing him say that eased my mind somewhat.
As we exchanged a few more words, we soon arrived before the Emperor.
The Empress stood beside him.
“We humbly greet His Majesty the Emperor Benedict Loyden, the shining sun of the Loyden Empire, and Her Majesty the Empress Monica Loyden, the noble moon.”
I bowed respectfully alongside Kaern to the Emperor and Empress.
“Rise.”
“Thank you, Your Majesty.”
At the Emperor’s command, I carefully straightened and looked up at the imperial couple.
When scheming men desperately battle for her favor in the male harem
This one’s also on my reread list! The rivalry, scheming between the men in the imperial harem are just as intense and thrilling as in classic palace drama novels, where concubines fight to the death. Give it a read, girls! I promise you won’t be disappointed.
Synopsis:
“I am not worthy of her… but I still want to be by her side, even if only as a loyal dog…”
Those were the painful whispers of Yue Guanyi – the proud Crown Prince of the Great Qi, who was torn between deep love and a guilty conscience. Despite holding the supreme power of the Imperial Guard, he still could not forget the dark past when he was sold into a brothel.
Fate played a cruel twist when Qiu Shuzhi – a young female official who had just passed the imperial examinations with top honors – stepped into his life. She did not know that she was the one who had saved him from a tragic fate many years ago. And now, her heart was the target of pursuit for both Yue Guanyi and the powerful Empress Dowager Qin Qing.
While Yue Guanyi only dared to silently care for and protect the one he loved from afar, the Empress Dowager Qin Qing openly expressed his feelings and did not hesitate to take advantage of his power to approach Qiu Shuzhi. The covert struggle between the two most powerful forces in the imperial court began…
Trigger warning: All men in this novel are yandere style.
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If there is a person checking these comments. Can you please add a word/letter count to the bottom. Also sometimes the comments don’t stay within the chapter you read but throughout the whole book, please fix that glitch. Another, per book- hour limited to how many comments can earn cookies – it’s better you write that somewhere or give a notification to the commenter about that. The notification about the 3/3 free reads glitch too, sometimes it says 3/1,1/3,1/1 or not work. The cookies glitch sometimes too, id have 10 but when I try to unlock chapter it keeps saying I have none. Love yalls work!
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