Chapter 10 - Do You Know My Name?

Chapter 10 – Do You Know My Name?

“You know, I’m not close to Lady Dorothea,” she explained. “No, technically speaking, we don’t get along that well…”

No, wait. So she wanted to get along with me? I blinked my eyes in surprise. This original work was truly destroyed. I had planned to tear apart the story and forge it with my own hands, but I never knew it would start here.

“Of course, you might not regard me as closely as Lady Dorothea—”

“N-no!” I blurted out. To be honest, I didn’t hate her; in fact, I liked her a lot. “I never thought that way, Lady Odeletta!” I protested. “I like you too!”

“Really?” Odeletta’s face lit up in an instant, and I quickly nodded.

“Of course. Would I lie about this?” I replied.

“So…can we be friends starting from today?”

“If that is what you wish.”

That was what a friend was. That didn’t matter to people like Dorothea. Odeletta suddenly grabbed my hand. Hey, isn’t that too fast?

“I’m so happy, Lady Maristella!”

“Oh, thank you, Lady Odeletta. I’m happy too.”

I always thought of Lady Odeletta as a cold beauty; perhaps I should toss away that image.

***

Some of Lady Odeletta’s acquaintances came up to converse with her, and I was easily able to slip away. Now I had to find the real Dorothea and keep an eye on her. I was worried that Dorothea had already met with the Crown Prince while I was talking with Odeletta.

‘That was more than just a surprise.’

Lady Odeletta. I didn’t even know that Odeletta had these feelings for Maristella, and it was my first time hearing of Maristella’s favor towards her.

‘The novel is the problem anyway. The author wrote the story in a totally biased manner.’

I was walking on my own when I suddenly bumped into someone. The banquet was crowded, so I apologized first without thinking.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” I said automatically, then walked forward. Suddenly, a voice called to me from behind.

“Young Lady. Please wait.”

I turned back around, and what I saw made my breath catch.

‘He looks too beautiful to be real.’

I could let out a swear at how handsome this young man was. He was looking at me. Was he that one I bumped into? Oh my God!

I tried to relax my stiffened face and swallowed dryly. I’ve never seen a man like this in my life. Was that really a human face? He looked more like an ancient Greek sculpture come to life, as cliche as that sounded.

“What…what is it?” My voice trembled for the first time since I came here. I thought I would never see a face like that, but there were many assumptions today being destroyed.

“This fell,” the young man said. He approached me and lifted up something to my face. My heart trembled in a frenetic dance at his proximity. If you could believe it, he looked even more handsome up close.

“Oh, thank you.” I accepted the tiny object the man held out. Looking closely, it appeared to be one of the small diamonds from my shoulder. It must have fallen off when we accidentally ran into each other.

The young man spoke politely. “I think it’s from when we bumped into each other earlier. If you want, I’ll pay you back…”

Pay me back? It was compensation enough to see his nice face, and I laughed as if nothing had happened.

“A-ah no. Well, it could be…”

My eyes suddenly widened when I noticed a large red stain, and I pointed at his cream-colored jacket in alarm.

“There’s something on your jacket…”

At the same time, I noticed the cocktail glass in his hand. It didn’t have much liquid in it left, but anyone could tell…it must have spilled when we bumped into each other. Once I realized that, my face turned red for a different reason.

“I-I’m sorry! Please forgive me—”

“Not at all, My Lady. It’s fine,” the man said in a reassuring voice, but from my point of view it was not fine at all. I tearfully wracked my brain on what to do, when I remembered the handkerchief I received from Odeletta. Oh, that was it! I quickly pulled out the handkerchief and attempted to wipe his jacket.

“What are you doing?” the man asked in a flustered voice, but I kept wiping the man’s jacket without concern.

“Just wait a moment,” I said, “I’ll get it off with my handkerchief as soon as possible—”

“But then your handkerchief will get dirty. It’s white, so the red stain won’t come off easily.”

“It’s alright, it’s cheap!”

Geez, what was up with Odeletta and this guy uselessly worrying about handkerchiefs?

I ignored the puzzled young man’s voice and kept wiping his man’s jacket. Unfortunately, however much I rubbed the stain, it refused to come out. I ignored the man’s bewildered noises and continued to clean him up as best I could. Unfortunately, the jacket did not return to its original state despite my best efforts.

“I’m sorry, good sir. I’ve made such a big mistake.” I couldn’t believe that I had done this to a handsome man. I continued repentantly. “I’m so sorry. That jacket looks expensive. I’ll make it up to you.”

I didn’t know much about the Bellafleur’s wealth, but I should be able to make up for this jacket, right? The man nodded, looking even more perplexed than I did.

“It’s alright, My Lady. You needn’t worry too much,” he said reassuringly.

“But your clothes are completely stained.”

“I’m fine. I’m more worried about your handkerchief.”

“Really, it’s nothing!” I cried. “So don’t worry about it too much.”

“Then if you don’t mind, I’d like to give you a gift.”

“…Huh?” That was an unexpected windfall. I blinked my eyes dazedly, and the man fixed his gaze on me.

“May I ask your name?”

“Uh…” I was too stunned to answer immediately. However, I didn’t think there was any reason not to tell him. “My name is Maristella Janice La Bellafleur.”

I thought it would be rude not to ask him likewise, and so I did so. “What’s your name?”

“Ah.” The man’s eyebrows lifted at me. “You don’t know my name?”

“…What?” How could I know his name? This was the first time I saw him today. I shook my head, and the young man seemed even more confused by my response.

“O-oh. You may not know,” he muttered. “My name is—”

“Marie!”

The last voice that I wanted to hear burst out at this moment. I turned my head sideways, and saw Dorothea staring at me with a dark expression. Why was she here all of a sudden?

“Dorothea?” I asked with a puzzled expression.

“Marie, what on earth is the meaning of this?” Dorothea’s voice quivered as she strode over to me with an expression of disbelief.

“What’s wrong, Dorothea?”

“What’s wrong with you?” Dorothea shot back coldly. “How dare you be with the Crown Prince?”

…What? 

“The Crown Prince?”

N-no way! No way! I stared at the man in front of me with rounded eyes. The man’s face was blank with emotion and he said nothing, but I came to stunned realization as soon as I saw his face.

‘There really are several surprises today.’

It seemed that the person whose cocktail I accidentally knocked over was the male protagonist, Crown Prince Xavier. I never even considered this possibility. I looked at him numbly for a moment, and confirmed my answer. Yes, I was right.

‘Silver hair resembling the full moon and blue eyes resembling the deep sea.’

Why didn’t I look at him more carefully than before? I flushed in shame. Well, it was common sense for a lady who attended several parties to recognize the Crown Prince, so what excuse could I make? No, would anyone even believe it? This was even more embarrassing than when Odeletta asked me why I hung around with Dorothea.

I stared at Xavier with a bewildered look, while he looked back with the same emotionless face. Was he mad because I didn’t recognize him? Or did he think I was joking? The silence stretched on, only adding to my anxiety.

“Marie.”

“…”

“Marie!” Dorothea shouted at me. “How dare you be with the Crown Prince.”

“…What?” Wait a minute. What did she just say? I looked back at her with a more foolish expression than before.

Dare to? Dare to?

I was dumbfounded. Why would she say that when I was with the Crown Prince? Maristella was a noble, wasn’t she? And Dorothea was a noble as well, and our fathers were both counts, right? I wasn’t being impudent in this situation, was I?

I was about to snap back at Dorothea, but someone spoke before I did.

“My Lady.” It was Xavier’s voice. I turned to him, and he was looking rather dazed. However, his eyes were on Dorothea, not me. I quickly summed up the situation. If this young man really was the Crown Prince of the empire…then…

‘I’m in a situation where the original female lead and original male lead met!’

No! I screamed inwardly. The situation I wanted to prevent was unfolding in front of me right now.