MPBAGS Chapter 99

"Shall we take a break?"

My legs are killing me. My neck hurts too, and my facial muscles are strained from forcing smiles constantly. Gabriel said he invited Mrs. Totten as a chaperone because of his excellent connections, and it wasn't an exaggeration - we kept running into Mrs. Totten's acquaintances just by walking around, so I've been greeting people like a machine.

I don't want to introduce myself anymore... I'm not even Evangeline, but I've said the name so many times I think I'm going to experience gestalt collapse. Did Gabriel know this would happen and run away alone? No... he did go to work. But he said he'd be back soon - when is he coming back?

"Are you tired too, Mrs. Totten?"

Looking closer, it wasn't just me - Mrs. Totten seemed exhausted too. Mrs. Totten had been dragged here to play chaperone without properly holding her son's funeral, so it was understandable. Moreover, because the marquis house would fall if Ryder's death became known, she had to act as if her son was fine as usual, which must have made her fatigue even worse.

This would be impossible with a clear head. Just then, a maid was serving wine, so I quickly grabbed a wine glass. I offered Mrs. Totten a glass too, clinked glasses with her in a toast-like gesture, and downed the wine. This is legal doping.

I returned the empty glass and sent the maid away, saying it was delicious. Looking at other nobles, they just carried their wine glasses around, but that was because they still had wine in them. Since I downed mine in one shot, they collected it on the spot. The serving maid looked at me strangely. What, first time seeing someone down wine in one shot? Right? It probably would be the first time.

"Your scarf is pretty."

Compliments are best when things are awkward. But it seemed the listener didn't appreciate it. After hearing my compliment, the maid's face scrunched up for a moment, then she quickly composed her expression, bowed, and disappeared. Even the maids in the imperial palace had elegant gaits.

"She didn't seem to like my compliment."

I guess even maids don't want to hear compliments from a villainess. That's a bit hurtful...

"I'd like to hear one."

With a coquettish voice, an unfamiliar face suddenly popped up in front of me. Wavy golden hair flowed down, sparkling as it mixed with the chandelier's light. When our eyes met, his eyes and cheeks flushed as his eyes curved into crescents.

Wow, wow... That's crazy? Is this a human face? I thought Oratorio was a gorgeous handsome man, but he couldn't even compare. From his clothes, he seemed to be a palace attendant, but I was dumbfounded that such a handsome attendant could exist.

"Please compliment me all you want."

You're, you're very handsome. I was afraid I'd start gushing, so I just smiled back. The handsome attendant waited for his compliment, but when I didn't say anything, he lowered his eyes in disappointment.

"Don't tell me you don't find my appearance appealing?"

As if. I can say with certainty that his beauty transcended the realm of personal preference.

"I like it."

Only after hearing my brief answer did the handsome attendant smile brightly, seemingly satisfied.

"I was worried, but that's a relief. Oh, Lady Evangeline, you'll drink the wine I offer you too, right?"

I just downed one? But when I came to my senses, I found another glass of wine in my hand. So this is what they mean by being enchanted by a face. The attendant watched me put the wine to my lips with satisfaction, then disappeared as if his job was done.

I was watching people while slightly tipsy from drinking two glasses of wine when I suddenly made eye contact with the Count. The Count frowned deeply and kept pointing with his finger toward where Duke Hosaquin was.

Oh my, sir... Even if you don't rush me, I'll approach him well on my own, you know? We have a deal, so I at least need to show that I'm approaching Duke Hosaquin.

"Mrs. Totten, how about we greet my grandfather now?"

It's definitely not because the Count is rushing me, but because there are few people around Duke Hosaquin right now, so the timing is perfect. Mrs. Totten nodded, seemingly thinking it was fine.

Mrs. Totten said it would be more comfortable to talk through someone else rather than approaching Duke Hosaquin directly. The person currently stuck to the Duke was Baron Whikel, who was notorious for being nosy and tactless, and Mrs. Totten explained that he would approach us on his own just by us passing nearby.

"Well, who do we have here! Mrs. Totten, long time no see!"

"Baron Whikel."

Wow. This planning is no joke. Just as Mrs. Totten predicted, Baron Whikel grabbed her as she passed by and started talking. Even though he must know about the relationship between Duke Hosaquin and me, appealing to us, who were at the center of attention at the gathering, was more important than reading the room.

Doesn't the piercing glare from Duke Hosaquin beside him feel hot?

"When I sent you an invitation last week, you didn't respond, which is quite disappointing."

"Oh my, I don't remember receiving a letter... The butler must have made a mistake. If I had confirmed the Baron's invitation, I would have naturally responded. I'll scold the butler severely when I return, so please forgive me."

"Haha, Mrs. Totten scolding the butler? You've become quite playful."

That's probably not a lie... That butler is still locked in the basement...

"It's all thanks to being with this young lady. Ah, this is Lady Rohanson, whom I'm chaperoning."

"Nice to meet you. I'm Evangeline Rohan..."

Crash!

Before I could finish my greeting, the sound of glass shattering rang out. The culprit was obvious. Duke Hosaquin, his face bright red, was grinding his teeth and glaring at me with furious eyes.

He must really hate me. Count... you didn't tell me the difficulty would be this high...

The glass shattered because the Duke had thrown his wine glass to the floor. Servants glanced around and began cleaning up the glass fragments. Seeing that reminded me of our house servants - it seems Evangeline's personality really takes after her grandfather.

"Oh right, you two are grandfather and granddaughter!"

Baron Wickel wasn't just tactless; he was so tactless that he ate tactlessness for breakfast, took out loans on it, and went into the negatives. Baron Wickel was smiling cheerfully, but only after receiving Duke Hosaquin's sharp glare did he seem to read the atmosphere. He hiccupped before running away.

"I, I think I drank too much wine, so I'll excuse myself for a moment...!"

To suppress someone just with his gaze - truly befitting a villainess's grandfather.

Baron Whikel ran away, but I still achieved my intended purpose. It's enough for the Count to see that I approached Duke Hosaquin.

Now comes the problem... If I make a wrong move, I might take the family regret route where Duke Hosaquin actually cherishes his real granddaughter and ends up leaving her his inheritance. I need to be careful. Count Rohanson wants to inherit the Duke's estate so badly that I can't let that happen.

Originally in family regret stories, the family gets moved by the character smiling brightly and acting friendly without any ulterior motives, even when treated coldly. I should act the complete opposite, right? I should make it obvious that I'm approaching with ulterior motives, and I shouldn't smile innocently either.

"Grandfather, nice to meet you."

Is it really the first time we're meeting? The Countess said she was cut off from when she married. Or what does it matter - I have the trump card of memory loss.

"Who says I'm your grandfather!"

"Does Your Grace no longer consider my mother your daughter?"

As if. I could tell at a glance that Duke Hosaquin was a patriarchal tsundere. He probably wanted to be kind to his daughter, but always ended up yelling angrily, so by now only regret and lingering feelings would remain. As if my guess was correct, Duke Hosaquin seemed struck speechless by the direct hit.

"That's too much. Mother always misses grandfather."

"...Amaranth?"

Ah, he's softened a bit. Duke Hosaquin looked at my face with strange eyes. As the Count said, Evangeline looked exactly like the deceased Countess, as if copied and pasted. Surely he wouldn't see the resemblance and start regretting, then leave me his inheritance? That won't do... I have no choice but to cross the line a bit.

"Yes. She said married life was hard and she wanted to run away, but her estranged father wouldn't take her back, so she missed and longed for you every day, feeling sad and lonely."

I lowered my voice so others wouldn't hear. Though it was like stabbing the Duke who lost his daughter with a knife, I wasn't lying, and honestly, I wanted to criticize the Duke too. Instead of treating her coldly as an outsider who married out, he should have taken care of his daughter. Reading the Countess's diary, you could vividly feel how sad and lonely she was at the time.

"Why did you do that? Did you hate Mother for not listening to you? Were you spiteful that she eloped with a man you didn't approve of? Is that why you never visited her until she died?"

"You, you..."

Cornered, Duke Hosaquin glared at me fiercely. He was seething with anger like boiling lava, so I fanned the flames enthusiastically.

"Yes. I am Evangeline Rohanson, grandfather's granddaughter."

And when his anger exceeded its limits, Duke Hosaquin lost his reason. He grabbed one of the wine glasses that the servants cleaning up the glass fragments he had broken earlier had temporarily placed on the table. Is he really going to throw it? This isn't a morning drama! And I'm wearing a white dress for my debutante ball!

I stepped back to avoid getting hit by wine, but my body was suddenly pulled back and I fell into someone's embrace. A familiar scent, a familiar warmth. When I looked up slightly, I saw uniquely deep blue eyes. Though darkness had already fallen outside the window, it was still bright afternoon sunlight inside those blue eyes.

He wrapped around me and took the wine in my place, so red liquid dripped from the ends of his black hair. It was a color that didn't suit Gabriel, who was full of blue.

"Sir Gabriel."

"Yes, My Lady. As promised, I returned before the dancing began."

Gabriel smiled, the corners of his eyes crinkling.