61. What a Fool

2023.11.30.

After meeting Yuan in person.

Bollonico’s mood had remained poor ever since.

This was because he never imagined that a woman living such a pitiful life would dare to reject his proposal.

But Regina, unaware of his visit to that place and the deep resentment it had caused, looked at Bollonico, absorbed in the play, as if he had lost everything in the world.

“What do you mean by that—?”

“Lady Regina. Do you know what’s worse than an uninteresting story?”

Bollonico’s gaze remained fixed on the stage below where the play was unfolding.

Yet his cold voice flowed directly toward Regina seated beside him.

“Insufficient and incorrect information. What a fool.”

—“What a fool— what a fool—.”

The parrot Lorenzo repeated Bollonico’s muttered words, striking Regina’s back of the head sharply.

Regina’s delicate eyebrows twisted sharply.

“Insufficient and incorrect information? Your Highness, I merely relayed to you exactly what I heard.”

“You were lacking information about Yuan Pelliese. What kind of woman she is. What she likes and dislikes. What captivates her.”

“I told you she’s an extremely selfish girl who only thinks of herself? A calculating girl who would willingly abandon and ignore her entire family just to live comfortably on her own.”

“Exactly. Insufficient and incorrect information.”

—“Insufficient— insufficient—.”

“You’ve probably noticed, but Bollonico has some use for Yuan Pelliese, Lady Regina’s cousin.”

When Regina’s eyes trembled uneasily, Bollonico finally glanced sideways at her and smoothly smiled to soothe her.

“Oh. An experiment, yes—an experiment. The kind your father conducts in his laboratory. I don’t mean to take her away, so rest assured.”

Beyond Bollonico’s sharp, arrogant nose, the yellow elephant Regina had seen before in his palace moved slowly, playing with a ball.

The beast, kept in that palace where all manner of strange experiments and amusements took place, had its neck tightly bound by chains and occasionally looked up toward Bollonico’s private box with deeply resentful eyes.

As if it were capable of thought.

“I simply wish to conduct an experiment myself to see if any of the many legends about the Pelliese family I’ve heard from Lady Regina hold true. Though we are both Pelliese, Bollonico cannot possibly harm Lady Regina. A ‘deformed’ crown princess, perhaps, would be different.”

Regina’s eyes, filled with injustice, softened slightly.

“Then why are you refusing to be my debutante partner?”

“People are far more envious than you think, Lady Regina. Why do you suppose Princess Ariesta never ended up with Bollonico?”

“!”

“Just appearing at a few official events makes you a target for countless others. Especially families like yours. It’s simply too early. Bollonico doesn’t wish to throw Lady Regina into uncertain circumstances. You deserve protection. Instead, I’ll dance the first dance with you. How about that?”

Regina’s face, which had frozen momentarily, brightened halfway.

But only for a moment.

‘Now who exactly am I supposed to bring as my partner?’

***

The first person who came to mind was the easiest target—Dreykub Treloni.

The Count Pelliese had been away from home for quite some time and was now back, determined to make a big impression at Regina’s debutante ball. More importantly, if she had boasted about bringing a remarkable man—specifically, Crown Prince Bollonico—and ended up bringing only her brother Frederic or her overweight father, how humiliating would that be?

Though it wounded her pride greatly to reverse her previous indifferent behavior, she had no choice.

Any man of decent standing she could possibly choose would already have secured a partner suited to his level and be eagerly counting down the days to the debutante ball.

Regina quietly wrote a letter designed to stir Dreykub Treloni’s emotions, stating she had intended to attend the debutante ball holding her brother Frederic Pelliese’s hand, but because she had once shared feelings with Dreykub, she couldn’t help writing.

This was the complete opposite of her lukewarm responses to his passionate love letters.

Poor Dreykub Treloni refused to believe the rumors that Regina was Bollonico’s secret lover.

In fact, he boldly declared he would silence anyone spreading such baseless rumors. He was utterly in love.

And because Regina had allowed him to remain under this illusion until now, she was able to secure a new partner at the last moment.

‘Good thing I didn’t completely discard Dreykub after all.’

The letter she sent in the morning received a reply before lunch, filled with lengthy sentences expressing his eager desire to attend together.

‘But does no other woman even glance at Dreykub?’

Thus, she had turned what could have been a complete humiliation into mere embarrassment. Yet seeing Dreykub’s response—still seemingly without any other partner even with only two days left until the event—made Regina’s heart grow slightly sharper.

‘A perfectly healthy man. Belonging to a family of such standing. And yet so unpopular.’

The thought that such a worthless man would now enter the debutante ball as none other than Regina Pelliese’s partner—her long-dreamed-of debut—suddenly filled her with rage.

Just imagining herself standing beside Dreykub with his donkey-like face made her fury erupt uncontrollably.

Even though it was she who desperately needed Dreykub right now.

The news that further heightened Regina’s sensitivity came during a hastily arranged tea party held before the debutante ball.

“The deformed crown prince and his wife are attending this year’s debutante ball?”

“Yes. Surely you’ve heard, Lady Regina?”

This gathering was meant to inform everyone of just how desperately Dreykub Treloni wanted Regina.

It was also where the soft-hearted Regina, after Dreykub had come to her mansion and stubbornly waited, eventually pretended to give in and allowed him to escort her.

She had invited noble young ladies she was relatively close to, hoping to avoid public ridicule on the day of the debutante ball.

And it was at this gathering that Regina learned—Yu An would attend the debutante ball at the imperial palace alongside her monstrous husband.

How dare she.

She’s not even a countess of the Pelliese family anymore.

A titleless woman, the wife of a monster—how dare she attend the imperial debutante ball?

For the past ten years, whenever Yu An wore even slightly clean and presentable clothes, Regina had mocked her, saying she’d be lucky to attend such an event. Now, just hearing of Yu An’s attendance made Regina feel utterly disgusted.

“No. Of course I knew. I must’ve momentarily misunderstood.”

But she couldn’t show it.

Regina’s rapidly turning mind finally fabricated a plausible story.

“The truth is, I’ve been keeping something secret. I’ll be attending this debutante ball with Lord Dreykub Treloni.”

“What?!”

“What did you say?”

“It’s because of my cousin.”

Dozens of curious eyes turned sharply toward Regina.

Regina’s previously drooping lips instantly curled upward.

The young noblewomen gathered here lived around the capital but belonged to minor families that hadn’t risen to the ranks of the great aristocracy.

Desperate to latch onto Regina, who had seemingly captured the prince’s heart despite being in the same position, they now hung on her every word.

To them, Regina’s excuse would soon become privileged information, spreading quietly through the ranks.

“Upon hearing that Yu An—my cousin—would attend the debutante ball with the ‘monster’ crown prince, my heart ached deeply. How shameful and humiliating it would be?”

Regina lowered her voice, drawing her eyebrows together sorrowfully.

She carefully ensured her delicate voice carried genuine sorrow between each word.

“If I ignored my cousin’s unfortunate situation and appeared with the beautiful Crown Prince, how stark the contrast would be? How deeply would my cousin’s heart break?”

“Oh my—did you really think of it so carefully?”

“Her Highness should certainly be made aware of Lady Regina’s noble heart!”

“By coincidence, Lord Dreykub Treloni had tearfully pleaded with me, so I specifically informed the Crown Prince myself to ensure my cousin’s misfortune wouldn’t be further highlighted because of me.”

“Oh dear. How disappointed the Crown Prince must have been!”

“He must have been eagerly anticipating appearing with Lady Regina!”

“But His Highness fully understood. As I mentioned before, the deformed crown prince is in such a grotesque state that he cannot possibly appear in public—.”

Regina clicked her tongue, recalling the deformed prince who had never once removed the mask covering half his face.

To the girls staring with curiosity and fascination at another’s misfortune, Regina gladly poured out stories that would let them indulge in pity and petty superiority.

How pitiful Yu An Pelliese was. How unfortunate her marriage. How hideous and repulsive her husband’s face must be beneath that mask.

At the same time, she comforted herself.

She told herself her own situation was far better than Yu An’s, who had to endure stares of pity and contempt while dancing through the ball with a half-faced monster.

Thus, the day of the debutante ball, which Regina and her mother Priscilla had long anticipated, finally arrived.

***

The day of the imperial debutante ball.

Regina, riding in a carriage with her parents, gazed out the window, suppressing her excitement.

The palace gates were already packed with people, and the four-horse carriages arriving were dazzlingly ornate, each straining to outshine the others.

“I’m glad to see you’ve finally come to your senses, Regina.”

Recalling the splendid appearance of their own carriage—funded by Clade’s dowry and her maternal family’s support—Regina turned her attention to a sudden voice that reached her the moment they passed through the gate.

“You chose Dreykub Treloni as your partner? Good choice.”

Good choice, my foot. Regina grew even more upset at her father Gerret Pelliese’s rare praise and turned her gaze back out the window.

Then she spotted a face clearly visible from a distance and frowned.

Dreykub Treloni had just seen the Pelliese carriage and was already waving his hand high in the air.