CH 1.1

Chapter 1: Stop Calling People Ugly. Everyone Has a Reason

Part 1

An elegant melodic music resonated under the blue sapphire chandelier.

Soft instrumental sounds filled the hall, accompanied by a guttural gurgling sound like a whirlwind, which rose and fell with a woman’s movement.

She was making her way through the hustle and bustle of paired men and women. Or rather, it would seem like people are avoiding her. A mauve-haired woman, dressed in an out-of-season furry purple silk bustle dress, gently waved a matching furry fan and stomped over to a table of food.

The young lady who had almost collided with the woman right before her hurriedly lowered her head and covered her mouth in surprise.

“Ouch.”

“Are you okay, my lady? Your face is pale. Let me take you to the lounge room.”

“Thank you so much, ugh.”

The lady covered her mouth again and gagged.

“Lady Angela!”

Startled, the man wrapped his arms around the lady’s angled shoulders and held her staggering body firmly.

Feeling the man’s warm touch, the lady spoke in a delicate, birdlike voice.

“Lord Ento is really kind. I’m so shocked you’d look at ‘something ugly’…”

Oh my.

‘If they want to flirt with each other, then flirt. Why are they tripping over me like this?’

Roughly touching her mauve frizzy hair, Lila, the woman in question, whimpered to herself.

But her thoughts were interrupted by a feast of desserts she normally couldn’t eat.

‘Mmm, I suppose we should start with the mildest flavors. Like this crepe cake.’

Lila endured this commotion to eat a dessert not often eaten at the baron’s house.

No, she wanted the fuss.

She cut into the crepe cake, popped it into her mouth, and Lila squealed with delight.

‘Mmm! It’s so soft! Yummy!’

As she sat down near the table where the food was displayed, people bowed their heads and watched as she happily ate her dessert.

“Really… How is she allowed to attend the imperial ball dressed like that, shouldn’t she be stopped?”

A beautiful young lady in a form-fitting evening gown of black lace and cream silk whispered as she gently waved her fan. The other young lady beside her nodded in affirmation.

“Perhaps I should speak to her cousin, Baron Este.”

“But…”

The other young lady hesitated at her words.

“Well, Baron Este is also a bit…”

The lady left the rest unsaid. Lila glanced over at another figure, who had taken a seat across from her and was shoveling food into her mouth.

“Ugh, who’s going to pass the word? I definitely can’t.”

“Me neither… a bit.”

“I’d be so grateful if the brave lord would speak for me…”

You’d think they were talking in hushed tones, but Lila could hear everything.

They were whispering right next to her, so if she can’t hear it, her ears are weird.

By any means, this is a high society thing…

Lila nodded her small head and smiled inwardly at the now familiar scene of socialization.

However, the people who saw her smile either turned away in disgust or moved away…

“Ugh.”

She gagged again.

Instead of being disgusted or humiliated by the sound, Lala shivered……

‘Ah, I’m so proud! I’m a woman! A great woman! That’s good, Cho Yoon Seol!’

She patted herself on the back and moved on to the next cake. The surrounding nobles frowned as they watched Lila grinning from ear to ear as she held up the chocolate mousse.

Lila’s ugly face was one thing, but she was dressed in a way that people feared seeing in their dreams.

The purple dress that went up to her neck was feathered at her waist. Feathers buried in the overlapping waist fluttered and fell.

Her face wasn’t even worth looking at more than her outfit.

Her wispy mauve hair was twisted into an odd shape, and her face was a mess of freckles that covered her ears.

There was a large mole next to her small but high nose, and if you look closely enough, you could see long hairs growing from the mole, making it hideous.

Her chocolate mousse-covered lips were puckered and thick, and the back of her hands was dotted with strange spots like age spots.

People would break out in a strange cold sweat when they see her eyes that were so slender one couldn’t tell if they were open or not.

Occasionally, she would scratch her fingers through her hair as if to itch it, and they would stumble backward and away from her.

It was because of the idea that if they looked at her or get close to her, they would become ugly themselves.

Lila gave a faint smile as she watched the horde of young ladies move away from her.

‘All right, I did one thing. I have to go back today. I’m getting tired.’

Five cakes later, she had no more regrets.

There was a collective sigh of relief as Lila turned toward the exit, and only then did the people let out a hearty laugh.

It was too early for the party to end, so she didn’t run into anyone as she made her way to the exit where the carriage was parked.

She climbed into the baron’s shabby carriage and breathed a deep sigh of relief at the sound of it pulling away.

She removed all the pins that were making her head ache and opened her ever-present pouch.

“Hairbrush.”

As she spoke, a large, thick, bristly hairbrush popped out of the pouch. She hummed as she swept it through her frizzy mauve hair.

She brushed her hair for a while until her dull locks shined. Running her fingers through her silky locks, Lila muttered,

“The main character buff is really scary.”

She had spent more than an hour to make her hair look dull, and it had taken her less than five minutes to get it back to her shiny locks.

“Haa…”

With a deep sigh, Lila closed her eyes. Even after all these years, thinking about it made her angry.

Why was she doing this to herself? Straining her eyes, Lila cursed under her breath.

It’s all because of that stupid grim reaper, no, it’s because of that damned Jin Yura.

Lila, or rather, Yoon Seol, grimaced as she remembered how she had come to this place.