CH 11

How to naturally get along with the male lead (6)

When I arrived at the cathedral in my dress, my mouth naturally widened at the sight of its enormous size.

‘What is all this?’

The people there already seemed to be friends and were talking with each other. Suddenly, I felt left out. Why did my mother send me here all alone? I went inside the cathedral where the music played and passed through the crowd. How do I build relationships here?….It was awkward to wander around aimlessly.

In the end, I leant against the wall with a glass of wine and observed the crowd. I already arrived anyway, so I couldn’t just leave. While I was thinking about returning to the dormitory after killing some time, I felt someone tapped me. I turned my head to see a man I didn’t recognise.

“Who…..?”

I observed the man who had tapped me. He appeared to be a noble with his neat look. The man stood with a bright smile on his face. His hair covered his forehead, white skin void of any blemishes, and was dressed neatly in a black attire. He had firm shoulders and toned arm muscles, perhaps because he was a swordsman.

“Hello, miss. Pardon me, but may I ask for your name?”

“It’s Briseis Pierre.”

“Miss Pierre. May I call you that?”

When I nodded, he smiled widely.

“I’m Ray, a former member of the Imperial Knights.”

“Pleasure to meet you, Sir Ray.”

If he was an Imperial Knight, he would at least be someone with a baron title or even higher. Why is such a high-ranked person here……? While I stared at him motionlessly, Sir Ray laughed loudly, probably noticing my gaze.

“It’s nothing, but may I escort you?”

“……Oh.”

“I believe it’s your first time attending a ball, but I-”

When Sir Ray took a step closer to me and held out his hand, someone grabbed my shoulders.

“I’m afraid I can’t let you, Sir Ray.”

When I turned around, my tension was relieved when I saw a familiar face.

It was Kazen. He appeared in a neat suit, unlike how I saw him at the academy. He smiled and pulled me towards him, then opened his mouth while looking at the embarrassed Sir Ray.

“I requested to be her escort first.”

“Adelis…..”

“Good day, then.”

Kazen dragged me before Sir Ray could say anything more.

“Kazen?”

“That could’ve been dangerous.”

He said with a smile on his face.

“Huh?”

“That kid is infamous. He only searches for pretty women at the ball, introduces himself, then attracts them to bed. Especially with new people like you, who don’t know anything about the ball.”

Please do not repost our translations. Read only at Dropped Inks.

Oh, so I almost got entangled with a weird person. If I was targeted by a person like that, it appeared they already knew it was my first time at the ball. If it weren’t for Kazen, I would have struggled to refuse and could not escape from him after getting escorted. I patted my chest out of relief.

“Where are we going?”

“Escorting. I did say I was going to do so.”

This is not escorting……Aren’t you just leading me outside?

My wrist, which Kazen was gripping firmly, slowly began to hurt. He dragged me towards the fountain outside the cathedral. Fortunately, there was no one around but I was still conflicted. He placed me by the fountain before releasing his grip on my wrist.

“I’m sorry, I forcefully dragged you here.”

He apologised, belatedly.

“It’s alright, you saved me.”

“You have to be careful. Although this is a place to build connections, there are still many strange people around.”

“Then, can I trust you?”

When I asked jokingly, Kazen stayed still before bursting into laughter and stared at me.

“Am I not trustworthy?”

He was genuinely…..good looking. He had an assuring face. He seemed like a boy who didn’t fit to be in the R19 Horror novel <How to Recognise a Murderer>. As I shook my head, Kazen sat beside me and gently touched my red wrist. 

“Oh no, I must have gripped you too tightly.”

“It’s fine.”

Kazen scanned my wrist with an apologetic face.

“It hurts, doesn’t it?”

“It doesn’t hurt. I can even spin a windmill with this hand.”

At my words, Kazen smiled pleasantly. How could a smile be so pretty? While I was lost in thoughts as I stared at Kazen, a man approached him. He appeared to be an attendant. When he whispered at Kazen, Kazen’s face gradually hardened.

“Please excuse me, Bree.”

I’ve seen Leto’s hardened face before, but it was my first time witnessing Kazen’s. It even felt a little creepy. After the attendant had left, his smile returned as if his expression had never turned cold.

“Sorry, I think my mother is calling me.”

“You must be busy, so just go ahead.”

Kazen kept on holding me as if he was troubled to leave me behind.

“If anyone strange comes, reject them. I’ll be back soon.”

“Okay!”

“Well, if it gets dangerous, your hero will come anyway…..”

He muttered to himself and stood up.

“Bree.”

“Yes?”

“What I said last time, can I hear your answer now?”

If it was about last time, then he meant the talk about his partner. I had no one else to dance with except Kazen, anyways. The crowd’s gaze might get uncomfortable, but it couldn’t be helped. When I nodded, Kazen was relieved and kissed my hand before following the attendant. And just like that, I was left all alone again.

Please do not repost our translations. Read only at Dropped Inks.

However, I shouldn’t continue to sit by the fountain all day long. I could get caught by a weird person like before if I stayed motionless. I wandered around as much as possible and thought I should also try to join in other people’s chat.

I felt uncomfortable being out of my school uniform and walking around in a fancy dress, but it was still quite fun to see the beautiful cathedral. From the dense patterns painted on the walls to the musical instruments harmonising. I walked around for a little longer, but strangely, there was nothing to do.

‘If I told mum the truth, she would scold me.’

Why didn’t you try to join in? I could clearly predict that my mother would nag me. Eventually, I arrived at the same fountain and sat down foolishly again. I decided to just wait for Kazen to return. Still, I pretended to look as confident as I could, in case someone would approach me if I stayed still like this. I raised my head, folded my arms and arced my mouth awkwardly.

Now, are you scared? I look fearless, don’t I? So don’t approach me.

“Hello, miss.”

….Shit.

This time, three men flocked over me. I immediately loosened my arms and lowered my head.

“H-Hello.”

…..I must be a real idiot. How could I greet them back just because I’m scared?

But, isn’t this kind of scary?

Not one, but three men approached me, so I couldn’t help but be frightened. All of them wore expensive-looking suits and appeared to be noble young masters with their several attendants standing behind them.

“If you have the time, would you like to chat with us?”

They introduced themselves, one by one. Like I predicted, they were young masters of rich families in the Capital. I haven’t given my answer, but they already took a seat next to me and chatted with each other.

“Have you ever been to the sea?”

At that time, unknown guy #1, who had clearly told me his name but I couldn’t recall it for the life of me, asked.

“Yes.”

My house was located in front of the sea. I see the sea every day.

“Is that so? I guess you enjoy travelling, as well. Where have you visited?”

…..When they mention travelling, they obviously meant travelling around the world. But I’ve never been outside of this empire.

“Actually, I couldn’t travel around because of my studies.”

“Studies?”

When the guy asked, I regained my courage. It was because I remembered Bona, whom I met yesterday. Bona….

“The thing is, my father is quite odd.”

He threw his head backwards and laughed out loud. Although my family was small, I still had the pride of being a Lexley Academy student. In order to flaunt it, I talked about my family and how hard I studied.

“I don’t remember how much I’ve studied. I was always buried in the mansion. My father kept on giving me books every day and I’ve been busy reading them.”

I’m sorry, dad.

“My mother even refused to feed me if I didn’t study.”

I’m sorry too, mum.

“Well, because of that, I entered the Lexley Academy.”

From there, I casually mentioned the academy. When I talked about the Lexley Academy, the men’s faces brightened. Wait, why are they getting brighter?!

I thought they would run away, but contrary to my intentions, they stared at me in awe. What, that’s not what I intended…..

“Oh, so you’re a Lexley Academy student.”

“That’s so cool.”

“Miss, you must be really good at studying.”

…..Damn it.

“Actually, I only entered with a high chin. I don’t even study. I doze off during classes every day. I’ve never even been to the library, so I don’t know what it looks like. In fact, I only stayed in the dorm most of the time.”

I hastily added, but it appeared to be too late. The men looked at me with even greater favour and soon approached me closer. Sa-Save me.

“There you are.”

A voice was heard among the men. What do you mean, ‘there you are’?

“…..I’ve been looking for you.”

Huh? A man suddenly appeared, grabbed my arm and dragged me away. Wait, why am I always being dragged around like this? When I was about to remove his hand, I noticed his red hair.

…..Who was this guy? It was a familiar back. His short, red hair was thick and it suited well with his pale skin.

Cold but soft hands. Long eyelashes that could be seen from behind.

“Leah….?”