A Painting of the Villainess as a Young Lady
chapter-123

“He’s at one of the balconies?”

“Gut feeling. Ah, someone over there is calling me. You’re not a kid anymore, so you can do well on your own, yes?”

“……”

She turned to look towards the direction where Roen was apparently being called. She narrowed her eyes.

How terribly suspicious, as always…

Thinking that the murmur he heard just now was perhaps just an auditory hallucination of some sort, Roen just laughed it off.

In any case, Violet was good at doing everything by herself, even when she had just been a little girl.

The busy duke’s heir went back to work. After all, socializing amongst the aristocracy was inseparable from political matters. It was inevitable that he was as busy as a bee.

Violet briefly watched as Roen’s back went further and further away, then she turned around and moved towards where she might find Aldin.

No, well, she was about to move towards that direction.

“Oh my, I’m sorry!”

However, she was stopped because of some obvious ruse done upon her.

Each person had their own stage. And for Violet, this banquet was her stage. Right now, she had become a character who couldn’t even walk out of a room without some incident happening to her.

Nevertheless, she was essentially at the top of the hierarchy. Especially in a banquet hall such as this.

‘Such sewer-like behavior.’

With a brief lament passing through her mind, Violet avoided the young noble lady who was just about to ‘accidentally’ bump into her.

Maybe it’s because she had been regularly exercising every morning, but her reflexes were actually good.

Unable to reach her target, the young lady fell straight to the ground as she failed to regain balance.

“Oh my. It’s very crowded here, Your Ladyship, so you have to be careful.”

“……”

The woman blushed instantly as Violet put on a kind front. The glass that the young lady was holding plummeted to the ground as well, its shards splattering across the surface along with the wine that it once carried. Servants rushed in and immediately cleaned up the glass and wine.

“Aren’t you going to stand up?”

With teeth clenched, the lady stood up by herself. The spilt wine was quite obviously reserved for Violet’s new dress, yet as it failed to accomplish its role, it tarnished only its owner’s clothes.

“Goodness. I apologize for the condition of your clothes. This incident would fill you with only sad and painful memories on this good day, wouldn’t it? Do allow me to purchase you a new dress in the name of my household.”

“T-There’s no need for that!”

For each syllable that she uttered, the young lady’s face burned even redder, blushing to the point that she might turn purple even. Her expression showed various changes.

“You look familiar.”

Putting on a false smile, Violet examined the lady’s face more. She’s still quite young.

However, the lady quickly slipped out of the hall. Her ears were significantly red after having been subjected to the attention of so many people.

Watching the lady limping away, Violet clicked her tongue. Malice was bound to return to herself at any time.

Sewer-like behavior, indeed, this trick. Rather than remaining clueless amidst high society, it was much better to act viciously. If viciousness in itself wouldn’t suffice, then take it up a notch and use overwhelming power.

And at the end of it all, cut down the tails of those running away.

Ignoring the prying eyes of everyone around her, Violet languidly looked around the banquet hall.

Actually, Violet was a little interested in knowing the true cause of what had been done to her.

“Heavens, Lady Saoirse was rude, wasn’t she? Are you alright?”

A gently smiling lady with dark blonde hair replaced the lady who ran away just now.

Soon enough, however, Violet realized who these ladies were. She inwardly clicked her tongue.

‘They’re the ones talking smack about me back at the dessert shop.’

Not just a mere small fry, but the final boss herself appeared.

Blonde hair like glistening dark honey, blue eyes resembling a clear sky. And, it was no exaggeration to say that her pale skin was making those colors more noticeable on her—like a beautiful porcelain doll.

Aileen’s prettier though.

Unknowingly, Violet compared this woman to Aileen, though she expertly schooled her features into a neutral mask.

Whether she was actually fearless or maybe just really full of herself, the final boss smiled softly.

What’s the point of doing this? To have herself be compared directly with Violet?

Unwilling to fall for the obvious attempt at manipulation, Violet wordlessly scanned the visage of the Tolofia County’s esteemed daughter.

Hailed widely as the flower of high society, Lady Tolofia boasted the charm of absolute cuteness—truly like a doll. And from just a cursory glance, it was clear that her appearance was heavily maintained by money.

In particular, her already luxurious ball gown was heavily adorned with various embellishments. Apart from that, the shape of her chest, waist and hips looked a little strange.

That’s where the term ‘doll-like beauty’ would be derived from.

With the kind of corset that she was wearing, it’s as if there was no regard for her body to be a human being’s body.

That’s not all that’s making her look like a doll though.

At the end of the day, the corset truly suited her. She looked very good in it. For that, it deserved to be revived.

As neither Violet nor Lady Tolofia spoke, silence was spread subtly all around them. Perhaps it could be called a war of nerves.

Still, it was like a filthy sewage fight of some sort. Violet smiled with her eyes closed into the arcs of crescent moons as she spoke.

“If you’re not going to greet me, then can I leave now? I’m in the middle of looking for someone.”

In other words, greet me first or get out of my way.

It was only natural for the lower-ranking person to express their greetings towards those in higher positions than themselves.

Yet this lady, who considered herself to be the flower of high society, was in ‘her turf’, so the other person should show her courtesy first instead of the other way around.

But of course, Violet did not feel the need to do that, and thus, the situation turned out like this.