Celebrity Lady

Chapter 43

Chapter 43

The second floor of the villa, Grace Hall.

The Roland Theater Company, invited for today’s party, presented the play in full swing.

I looked far ahead and swallowed my laughter.

‘Go flirt, you punk.’

Ricky’s blonde head was seen sitting next to Lisbeth.

Even if we didn’t open it, it was clear that the note left was Lucifer’s Choice.

Ricky, who had been trying to kick Lisbeth out, suddenly had to be her partner throughout the party.

“Simon...! My sun!”

In the meantime, the play reached its climax.

Sarah’s voice, who played the female lead, Helga, filled the quiet hall.

All the aristocrats focused on her performance and couldn’t take their eyes off her and held their breath.

“Don’t you think the actress’s outfit looks great today?”

“You’re right. The original one was a bit too flashy. The new costume fits the mood of the play much more.”

Two young noble ladies in front of me whispered.

“The dress Sarah Hugo wore before going on stage was similar in design.”

“Oh, you’ve seen it too, Young Lady Seaton?”

“It was my first time seeing the design, so I couldn’t help but notice it.”

“It’s an elegant and mature style, so I keep seeing it repeatedly. It looks very slim and-”

The two whispering girls turned back furtively.

I was the only one who wore a dress with the same design as Sarah’s, so they couldn’t help but wonder.

I ignored the gazes of the two girls observing my dress with hawk eyes.

“Rubette.”

Then someone quietly approached me and sat down next to me.

It was Lillia.

“Are you crazy? What the hell’s wrong with you?”

“Shh.”

I put my index finger over her lips, telling her to be quiet as she tried to raise her voice with an angry face.

“Keep your manners when you watch a play.”

“You-! Hmph!”

Lillia, grinding her teeth, eventually stuck her lips close to my ear and whispered.

“Why are you doing this to Ricky?”

“Oh, what did I do to Ricky?”

“Do you want to play innocent? Didn’t you know that Ricky deliberately didn’t want to invite Princess Lisbeth?”

“Oh? I didn’t know.”

“How funny. You purposely stole an invitation to bring her back, and you interrupted when we were about to send her home!”

“Hmm, well...”

“Did you think of Ricky as your enemy?”

Without taking my eyes off the stage, I chuckled. “I didn’t know, but I can answer that ridiculous question.”

“...”

“Of course he’s my enemy. When I think of all the things I’ve been hurt by the two of you up until now, I’ll wake up even from my sleep.”

At that moment, Lillia was startled by my momentum as I glared at her.

Blinking in embarrassment, she soon burst into laughter.

“Well, so what, are you going to take revenge? Are you so childish?”

“Childish?”

“I don’t touch you these days because I think you’re upset. My mom also told me not to fight with you. You should be satisfied with what you’ve got and stop bothering Ricky.”

“Pft.”

Oh, this is a real comedy.

I swept my cheek with a sigh of laughter.

“Hey.”

In an instant, Lillia’s smiling face hardened, and she froze.

I put my face close to her and whispered in her ear, “Since you think I’m childish, I’ll feed you water in a tremendous way that graduates from the level of children’s pranks.”

“Wh-what?”

“And don’t worry. Ricky is the only one who’s going to get beaten. You are among those who will drink water.”

“...”

I smiled softly at Lillia, who was frozen and embarrassed.

Now she would’ve known for sure whether I was still an idiot who only suffered through bullying or a mad dog who had changed 180 degrees after surviving.

Until now, my vague stance must have been confusing...

“What?”

I slipped while running.

“Oh, dear.”

Tak—!

Lark quickly grabbed me, who was about to fall, by the arm.

“Be careful.”

“What are you talking about all of a sudden? Why would I like seeing Kedrick’s face?”

Lark shrugged.

“Because you like him.”

“What?”

“I heard you’ve been in a crush for seven years.”

I see. It’s Victor.

I swallowed my anger at my brother, who had a light mouth.

‘When can I get rid of this one-sided love tag?’

It wasn’t me who was chasing after Kedrick, but Rubette.

‘I can’t deny that I’m Rubette and Rubette is me, though...’

I said quietly with a sigh.

“Yes. But now it’s over.”

“Really?”

“I wasn’t going to say this because it’s embarrassing, but I still like Kedrick in the future until I die. So 45 years of life.”

Lark was surprised. His eyes widened as he said, “Oh...” and stood firm for a while.

“Don’t you understand? It looks weird, right? I’ve been following someone who doesn’t like me all my life.”

“Well...”

“It would have been impossible, but do you know what Kedrick always said every time I tried to give up?”

“What did he say?”

“‘Sometimes I get excited about you, I don’t even know who I like, I keep thinking of you before I go to bed, I’m sorry for speaking harshly...’”

So it wasn’t Rubette’s delusion; it was clearly Kedrick’s ‘fishing management’.

“Of course it was all a lie. To Kedrick, I’m a little... I must have been that kind of woman he doesn’t want to have but isn’t willing to throw away. ‘It’d be a pity if I can’t see her in front of my eyes’.”

“What trash.”

I was startled by Lark’s harsh reaction but then burst into laughter.

“Anyway, if you’ve seen all of that miserable future, won’t you feel discouraged and exhausted? Well, looking back, I didn’t like him. I-”

I added, spreading my shoulders, “... I have this kind of taste for men.”

“I see.”

Lark patted his chin and nodded, playfully exposing his chest.

“Pu ha ha ha...!”

I laughed and patted him on the shoulder, “I know you’re in good shape even if you don’t do that.”

“I wasn’t joking.”

“Oh, it’s funny...”

I was about to shed tears thanks to Lark, who had a good sense of humor, but he soon raised one eyebrow and asked, “So, are you sure you’ve made up your mind now?”

“Stop talking. Stop talking. Now, just looking at that face makes me shudder.”

Kedrick, Kedrick, Kedrick.

I gritted my teeth while recalling the memories of the shithead that was deeply embedded in Rubette’s 45 years of memories.

“If I collect only the tears that were shed because of him, it will probably be enough to fill the Lake Gratia in Prague.”

Although she had already turned back time, I felt sad for Rubette’s feelings for Kedrick, so I became depressed again.

“...”

As I lowered my gaze, I could feel Lark’s gaze on my face.

Then, suddenly, his gently stretched hand caressed under my left eye.

“...?”

As he had his back against the moonlight, he looked up. Lark’s expression was strange.

“There’s tearstain. It seems that you’ve cried a lot.”

“Aah...”

As his hand touched the corner of my eye-

‘Mm?’

It reminded me of the first meeting with Kedrick at a mask festival, which had made Rubette develop a lifelong crush on him.

“There’s tearstain. It seems that you’ve cried a lot.”

There was a terrifying sense of dread.

I glanced at Lark, startled.