An engagement ceremony isn’t anything special. It’s just another type of banquet where the protagonist occurs. After a ceremony that’s close to mere formality, it’s a simple event of exchanging rings.
“Please exchange rings with each other.”
With those words from a man who looked like a priest, I turned to Adele. She seemed so tense that her face looked like a cyborg.
I really wanted to pull her cheeks to snap her back to reality, but I held back. Instead, I gently tugged her hand.
‘Cold.’
Her hand was pale to the point of looking completely white. Well, considering this engagement ceremony was a grand banquet attended by all the nobles, it would be weirder if she wasn’t nervous.
I slowly slipped the ring onto her left ring finger. Meanwhile, I could feel my hand trembling like a patient with essential tremor, trying hard to suppress a smile. Then I slowly moved closer to Adele.
I subtly took her right hand and gently placed the ring on her finger. At that moment, a small “kyah!” echoed from afar. It was likely the sound coming from the young ladies who seemed very much interested in romance.
“What are you doing?”
Shh.
When I put on a slightly cheeky smile, Adele let out a nervous laugh before she realized it. Thanks to that, her tense expression softened a bit.
“It’s your turn, Adele.”
“..Alright.”
Although her hand shook a little, she successfully placed the ring on my left ring finger. I wondered why we were so nervous about a simple ring exchange, but I figured it was just the way things were.
As I finished that thought, the priest continued speaking.
“May God’s blessings be upon your future.”
As he finished that sentence, a divine light descended from the sky. I barely managed to hold back from grimacing at the feeling of the priest’s unique blessing permeating my body.
Though he spoke of divine blessings, it bore many similarities to the Emperor’s power.
“Once again, congratulations on your engagement.”
As the ceremony concluded, as always, a ball began. And at the center of it were Adele and I, holding hands and gazing at each other.
Maybe it was the weight of various gazes directed at us, but she was still moving stiffly like a robot.
I couldn’t believe she was still not in her right mind. At this point, it seemed like a strong remedy was necessary. As I smiled, I noticed Adele’s puzzled expression in response.
“Would you do me the honor of dancing with me, Adele?”
Saying so, I dropped to one knee and softly kissed her hand. For a brief moment, Adele seemed stunned by the natural gesture, then her face turned bright red.
“W-what?”
We held each other’s hands and began to dance. Unlike when I semi-forced her to follow earlier, I now matched my steps to hers.
A brief moment of disbelief crossed Adele’s face. I had to stifle a smile at the sight.
“No need to be nervous; you’re my fiancée.”
As I whispered that into her ear, she momentarily bit her lip, then slightly nodded. With that, she slowly began to lead the dance in sync with my steps.
Unlike before, I was pleasantly surprised to see that Adele’s dancing had improved quite a bit.
After all, her friend Allen had promised she’d practiced a lot since I last embarrassed her with my dancing, claiming she’d want me to look forward to it, and indeed her skills had advanced significantly.
“You’ve improved a lot.”
“That’s because you dance so well. As your fiancée, I need to keep up, right?”
“Well done.”
I complimented her briefly, and her face flushed slightly. At this point, I could call her a blushing young lady. That thought made me smirk.
“So even a young lady has her cute sides. I didn’t realize you’d be so weak to compliments.”
“…Shut up. Focus on the dance.”
The music of the ball was reaching its peak. The musicians were playing their instruments tirelessly, maintaining the atmosphere. I and Adele, standing at the center, were capturing everyone’s attention as we danced the waltz.
The interest of the crowd wasn’t exactly welcome, but it was a necessity for gossip to become reality.
Look, even now the young ladies are fanning their faces and squealing “kyah.” They should be getting tired by now, yet the sparkle in their eyes showed no signs of fading.
I wondered how much time had passed.
The ball was nearing its end, and it was time for the banquet. The tedious cycle of congratulations and bribery from those who came from the countryside began.
It was a bit much to call it bribery, as it would actually be more rude to come to such a grand banquet without a gift.
With a smile plastered on my face, I mechanically expressed my gratitude: “Thank you, thank you for coming, thank you for your gift,” mixing and repeating such sentiments. This is why I didn’t want to come to engagements or balls.
‘So exhausting.’
Even in my past life, I was introverted, awkwardly navigating through MT or such events. Although I reincarnated with good looks and powerful magic, it seemed my essence hadn’t changed.
As I drifted in thought, a slightly familiar face caught my eye.
With her mystical silver hair and shimmering golden eyes, it was Estelle von Louis, the sole young lady of the Louis Marquis family and the original protagonist of the work “The Villainess Turns Time Back Today.”
And beside her was… a face I didn’t know.
However, a sense of foreboding washed over me.
“It’s been a while. I am Estelle von Louis.”
“…Luna von Aite.”
With a graceful bow, her hands holding the ends of her dress, I felt Adele’s hand tremble slightly. I could only assume that in the original story, she had a rough encounter trying to get close to Estelle.
Seeing that moment of turmoil sparked a bit of sympathy in me, and I took her trembling hand.
“…Nice to meet you again. I am Adele von Este.”
Bowing slightly, Adele offered her respects toward Estelle. Perhaps steadied by our clasped hands, she spoke with a slightly more stable voice.
“I sincerely congratulate both of you on your engagement, Lady Este.”
“Thank you.”
The face of Luna, who had just introduced herself, slightly contorted. She was white-knuckling her wine glass, and I feared she might act as I imagined. I mean, I was a Duke in this Empire.
Hoping she wouldn’t make a foolish decision, it seemed she wanted to direct the wine glass my way. Adele, it appeared, was too absorbed in her small talk with Estelle to even notice Luna’s expression.
‘This is why I dislike the otome game world.’
I raised my opposite arm and blocked Adele’s path. The wine never even made it close to her face but instead splattered across my pristine uniform. Adele’s eyes widened in surprise at the sudden turn of events.
Despite the continuing music, the chatter abruptly ceased. In the suffocating silence, Lady Aite’s face turned pale.
I didn’t know her intentions for such an act. Perhaps she was blinded by the ridiculous rules of the otome game world.
However, this situation was far too simple to overlook.
“Lady Aite.”
“…Hic.”
The sound of Lady Aite hiccoughing in response to my voice left Estelle, standing beside her, momentarily shocked, mouth agape.
Well, in the original, she wasn’t particularly a villain, so she likely had no say in this.
“You know what you should do, right?”
“Sorry! I’m so sorry!”
She promptly bent down to apologize. Meanwhile, Adele stood there, drenched in cold sweat, dazed. And strangely, I didn’t like that expression.
“What shall we do, Adele?”
“I… I’m…”
In front of her, who still trembled while bowing low, Adele slightly pursed her lips. Had it been a recognized villainess, there would be no hesitation; she would have threatened Lady Aite without a second thought.
Either physically or verbally. But the one standing here was the protagonist, Adele.
“…I’ll forgive you. Please don’t do this again.”
Estelle’s eyes widened in a different sense of surprise. It seemed she was about to gawk but hurriedly closed her mouth.
Perhaps due to most nobility being from the countryside, surprised reactions to Adele’s actions weren’t that common.
“Thank you! Thank you, Lady Este!”
“Step back.”
As soon as the words left my mouth, Lady Aite hurriedly retreated. While she might have escaped for now, she would surely recognize the weight of her actions here.
‘…The major currents surely never change.’
In the original, the act just committed was by another young lady. I couldn’t remember her name, but I distinctly remembered that the one just now was not her.
Is it true that what is destined to happen eventually does?
“Are you alright?”
“…Yes.”
She didn’t seem alright.
Well, facing someone’s malice directly like this wouldn’t be something she’d become accustomed to just yet. Perhaps that was a good thing. The Adele from the original was terrifyingly cold, having been dulled by malice.
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