62. The Protagonist of This Ball
2023.12.01.
“It’s only because she clung on that I had no choice but to accept. What’s so great about him? Our Regina could’ve found someone much better.”
Priscilla muttered discontentedly, resentful that Bollonico had been rejected because Dreykub had requested escort duties first.
The Count didn’t even glance toward his wife, and he ignored Regina, who also looked displeased, instead peering toward the opposite window.
“Looking for crows?”
Regina asked, arms crossed, staring straight at her father.
“Every time you come and go from the palace, you keep glancing around like a first-timer. I thought maybe you were searching for crows.”
“You. Never speak of crows in front of Yuan again.”
The Count scolded more sternly than usual.
This time, Priscilla straightened like a fighting cock and glared at him.
He looked back and forth between his daughter and wife, warning them both severely.
“If Yuan ever returns home, you are never to utter such words again. The moment you do, I won’t hold back at all.”
Priscilla gaped at her husband, who was openly defending Yuan, then quickly grew furious.
“Return home? How dare she? That’s absurd! Maybe in the past, but now she’d have to repay the betrothal money! Absolutely not! Don’t even think about it!”
Regina, too, nearly burst out in anger, wanting to scream how could that girl who had already left the house take sides—but she quickly calmed herself and checked her face in a hand mirror instead.
As if she’d return anywhere, she sniffed disdainfully.
She was certain that no matter how much her father defended Yuan now, the moment he saw that dull, pitiful figure suffering humiliation and pity beside a monster, he’d abandon his niece just as he had before.
“Wow—”
That was when it happened.
A strange silence followed by low exclamations erupted from outside.
Regina, stepping out through the open carriage door, reluctantly took the hand of Dreykub Treloni, who had just abruptly appeared, leaving behind her parents, who were growling at each other like they were about to fight.
The exclamations grew louder, until finally a chorus of “Oh my god—” spread around like a chant.
Regina, bored, glanced toward the source of the noise, wondering if some grotesquely ornate carriage had passed by.
“She’s called a monster, but she’s not like that at all!”
At the end of a familiar young girl’s voice—
Yuan Pelliese, who should have been nothing but dull, oppressive darkness itself, appeared alongside a man so beautiful it stirred her heart.
“What is that?”
As if she were the true protagonist of this ball.
***
The Crown Prince Clade Euphris still wore his mask. Only a few additional decorations had been added to the half-black mask.
But the dark skin that couldn’t be fully concealed and the bloodshot eyes were completely gone.
“Lady Regina? This is nothing like what Lady Regina described.”
“You said she was ‘hideous beyond concealment,’ didn’t you?”
“And the gloomy cousin? This radiant, beautiful person?”
A few young noblewomen, who had firmly believed they were on her side and had planted rumors in advance due to her not being Bollonico’s partner, now glared and whispered.
But right now, Regina didn’t even hear the voices of these petty noblewomen.
Yuan, entering like the protagonist, wearing a shimmering dress that drew countless gazes.
Tiny, dainty shoes peeking out with every step.
An amethyst necklace gently adorning her exposed collarbone.
The Crown Prince, mysterious and beautiful, quietly looking down at Yuan’s awkward smile, faithfully fulfilling his role as her partner.
And First Prince Bollonico, spreading both arms wide at the entrance as if he’d been waiting, welcoming Yuan with open arms.
It was exactly the royal debut ball Regina had dreamed of since childhood.
To be dressed so beautifully, flaunting enviable connections, standing at the center while people around her parted like the Red Sea, mouths agape in awe.
This had been one of the top items on Regina Pelliese’s life bucket list!
“Miss Regina. Say something, please.”
“Did you really meet the Crown Prince before?”
“And it’s true you attended that wedding party in Roxenhardt, where only His Majesty’s closest attendants were present?”
The noblewomen surrounding Regina, too hesitant to approach the high-ranking guests, began pestering her from behind the crowd rushing forward.
“You’ve put me in an awkward position too. I repeated what you said at a tea party among noble ladies. What do you think they’ll think when they see this?”
“Same here. I told my family and fiancé. My fiancé will definitely think I’m some foolish girl spreading baseless rumors.”
Regina wanted to brush these petty noblewomen aside immediately, but then she froze, spotting a group laughing at her from afar—because she hadn’t arrived with Bollonico.
It was the clique of Lady Celentina.
She had deliberately invited a few of her followers to the last tea party, so they must have heard her statements too.
Regina’s eyes darted quickly.
“Oh no.”
Tasha Kimfri’s face, someone she especially wanted to befriend, was twisted in pity and contempt.
“Of course.”
“She knew it was a lie.”
Lips moved rapidly, clearly forming those words.
Beautiful eyes, cruelly curved around Lady Celentina, stabbed into Regina’s face like knives.
Regina alternated her gaze between Dreykub Treloni, whom she had briefly parted from at the entrance, and the Crown Prince couple now heading toward the Emperor’s high seat, grinding her teeth in silence.
“How unpleasant.”
“What?”
“Is this truly the extent of your trust in me, Regina Pelliese?”
There was no real trust to begin with.
The halo of the Pelliese Count’s family.
The curiosity around being the hidden lover of First Prince Bollonico.
The intrigue of offering gossip about the unknown Crown Prince.
What else did Regina Pelliese possess beyond these?
Her beautiful appearance, which anyone might glance at once, could be considered an advantage—but were there really no replacements? Of course not.
Right now, the Empire already had Ariesta, the Grand Duchess, its most renowned beauty.
Empress Marilyn was also famed as a peerless beauty, and noble houses were overflowing with radiant young ladies polished by wealth and devotion.
Thus, the girls clinging to Regina quickly realized the halo of the Pelliese family now extended not just to her, but to the Crown Princess ascending to the high seat.
Moreover, First Prince Bollonico wasn’t by Regina’s side, and the rumored Crown Prince was already right before their eyes—so there was nothing entertaining left to hear from Regina.
In short, they now had nothing to lose.
“It’s Lady Regina who betrayed our trust!”
“When you were so eager to gossip about the Crown Prince, why get angry when it doesn’t match reality?”
“That’s right. If you feel wronged, prove it.”
You nobodies, your only weapon is your loud mouth……!
Regina silently fumed, now catching snippets of conversation from the Crown Prince couple heading to the high seat, and others openly whispering while staring at them.
“Can such a monster even exist? I can’t trust newspapers these days.”
“The royal family is just being cautious, of course. They’re trembling, afraid that if they praise a runaway royal too highly, they might be branded traitors and lose their heads. Cowards.”
“Was she the daughter of Count Pelliese? That Gerret Pelliese’s…? Ah, the late one. Of course, that makes sense.”
“If you mean the late Philip Pelliese, I knew him well. A truly admirable man.”
“She looks beautiful and dignified. A well-matched pair.”
“Where’s Gerret Pelliese’s daughter?”
“Over there. In the back. Earlier, I saw she came with the third son of the Treloni family.”
“Treloni? Ah, that horse-headed count’s family.”
“Shh! They might hear. Hehe.”
Regina clenched her trembling fists tightly.
A filthy sensation, as if her and Yuan’s fates had been swapped, flowed through her body, unbearable.
“Are you listening, Miss Regina? If you have a mouth, try making an excuse.”
“I’ll prove it. Watch closely.”
Celentina, who always looked down on her, grinned twistedly from afar, provoking the trembling girl.
This was the limit.
“I’ll prove my words weren’t lies. And when I do, prepare to kneel before me and apologize.”
“What? Kneel? How can you even say such a thing—”
-Thud!
Regina shoved through, forcefully pushing aside the girls’ shoulders, and headed straight toward the spot where the Crown Prince couple had just finished bowing to the Emperor and stood.
***
The Emperor stared down at the Crown Prince couple, personally invited by Bollonico.
They stood before him, each flanked by women who shamelessly exposed half their chests in a gathering of young girls.
The Crown Princess, seemingly unsure where to look, kept her gaze lowered, while Clade Euphris bowed with an emotionless face.
Emperor Igor’s eyes sparkled with interest at the appearance of Crown Prince Clade, but soon shifted toward his own son who had brought them here.
Bollonico’s proud, beautiful face sent a persistent gaze, as if gauging the Emperor’s reaction.
The Emperor smiled, as if indulging a cute puppy’s antics, then turned his eyes to Clade, standing stiffly beside Bollonico.
“It’s been a while since you’ve come home. At least pretend to look around a bit.”
“…Home is out of the question.”
“My dear Bollonico simply couldn’t distinguish between public and private matters and threw a tantrum. Ever since childhood, he’s been trailing after his cousin like a puppy.”
Bollonico’s handsome face darkened instantly.
At this, the Emperor chuckled deeply and turned his gaze toward the Crown Princess, arriving late for her debut ball.
Indecent, vulgar whispers poured from the women flanking the Emperor.
“Oh my. How adorable.”
“Now I understand why His Majesty sang for the Crown Princess—Crown Princess—. Perhaps it’s because her skin is so delicate, so tender… one might want to bite—.”
When Yuan blushed deeply in shame, they grew even more excited, raising their voices.
This rudeness wasn’t directed only at Yuan. It was inflicted upon every young girl who had come forward to greet the Emperor and make their presence known.
Yuan, having overheard fragments while waiting her turn, desperately tried to think of anything else, just wishing this moment would pass quickly.
“I’ve come a long way and don’t feel well. May I withdraw first?”
Clade Euphris asked, looking straight up at the Emperor, as the verbal torment reached its peak.
Ex-husband Wants Reconciliation
One-line summary: Chasing the wife to the crematorium (making an effort to attract someone who has become indifferent), the female lead doesn’t look back, the second male lead takes the position.
Intro:
To repay the kindness of the older generation, Su Mu crossed into a female-dominated world and became a live-in daughter-in-law of the Yan family, single-handedly saving the Yan family from fire and water.
But her husband, Yan Jiyue, the eldest son of the Yan family, treated her with sarcasm and never showed her a good face.
It wasn’t until after Su Mu’s death that this pampered and arrogant young master shed a few fake tears and pretended to want to die for love.
This life’s kindness was enough. If there was a next life, she would definitely kick Yan Jiyue away.
Who knew that the heavens would be so kind as to allow her to be reborn, returning to the time when she had just married into the Yan family.
Su Mu glanced at the Yan eldest son, who still spoke coldly to her, and threw a divorce letter in front of him.
“Let’s divorce!”
***
Yan Jiyue never imagined that he would be reborn. He happily went to find Su Mu, wanting to make up for the mistakes he had made in his ignorant youth.
Wasn’t the reason the heavens allowed him to be reborn to let him reconcile with Su Mu?
But when he pushed open the door to Su Mu’s room, the person lying on the bed was another man.
Su Mu’s personal attendant, Xie Yi.
Yan Jiyue hated him so much that his teeth itched. In front of Su Mu, Xie Yi was a gentle and considerate whisperer of sweet nothings, but in reality, he was vicious-hearted and deliberately sabotaged their husband and wife relationship.
In the previous life, it was he who secretly hid in Su Mu’s coffin and committed suicide, stealing a step ahead of him to be buried with Su Mu.
Yan Jiyue’s eyes were filled with hatred as he cursed, “What kind of thing are you? Your background is lowly, what right do you have to occupy Su Mu?”
Xie Yi looked at the sleeping Su Mu and no longer pretended to be a whisperer of sweet nothings.
He proudly stuck out his belly, “I have the right because my belly is capable of giving the Wife-master a daughter.”
***
Yan Jiyue was consumed with jealousy. He spread rumors that Xie Yi had once been branded with the mark of a “harlot” on his chest.
But on the night Xie Yi cut off the flesh bearing that mark, Su Mu suddenly realized something was amiss.
“How did you know the exact moment I was poisoned? And why did you show up a month early?”
Xie Yi remained silent, blood from his wound soaking through his robes. His sapphire eyes brimmed with anguish – or was it just a flawless act?
Between a once-arrogant husband now seeking redemption, and a gentle soul willing to die for her – who truly held the darkest secrets? And could it be that Su Mu and Yan Jiyue weren’t the only ones given a second chance at life…?
[Reading Guide]
1. True divorce, chasing the wife to the crematorium, the female lead doesn’t look back, the male lead is Xie Yi.
2. The ex-husband did not cheat, he just realized too late and didn’t realize that he liked the female lead.
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