Adopting the Male Protagonist Changed the Genre - Chapter 65

The complexion of Lord Hamel turned pale in an instant.

With trembling hands, he downed the contents of the wine glass in one go.

Julia watched in astonishment as Lord Hamel’s face flushed red and his eyes became hazy.

To think that a single glass could knock out even a grown man.

‘If I had unknowingly drunk that…’

Julia’s face turned white at the thought she didn’t even want to imagine.

“Where do these cockroach-like things lay eggs and crawl out from every year?”

Belinda clicked her tongue shortly and tapped the center of Lord Hamel’s forehead with the tip of her fan as he staggered to and fro, unable to keep his balance.

It was a gesture as if she was squashing a bug, but her voice was as sweet as a dream.

“Sweet dreams, young lord. When you wake up, the worst day will be waiting for you.”

Crash!

Lord Hamel collapsed, noisily pushing aside a nearby tea food table.

The nobles, who had been pretending not to notice the commotion, began to openly gossip while glancing at Belinda.

Even with the eyes of people hidden behind fans, Belinda did not change her expression and looked down at Lord Hamel before turning her head to Julia.

Though her appearance seemed impossible to get used to, once the initial shock wore off, Julia could finally notice Belinda’s sharp gaze and the menacing curve of her lips.

Julia froze like a frog caught in the coils of a snake.

“Young lady.”

“…Yes, yes, yes, yes?”

“Answer only once.”

“Yes.”

Belinda looked at Julia like a viper examining its prey, then lifted Julia’s chin with the tip of her fan as she unconsciously flinched.

“With your head bowed like a flower beaten by the rain, no wonder these bugs cling to you. How about spreading a rumor that you’re a wallflower instead?”

At Belinda’s blunt words, the people around them gasped.

Belinda, however, paid no mind and turned away with a sneer on her lips.

“Julia! My goodness, are you alright?”

Julia’s aunt, who had belatedly grasped the situation, rushed over to check on her niece.

“Yes… I’m fine…”

With a half-dazed look, Julia couldn’t take her eyes off Belinda’s back as she walked leisurely through the crowd that parted like the Red Sea.

‘That lady is Lady Blanche. The unwritten rule of the social world…’

Julia finally understood the true meaning of the unwritten rule.

The poisonous mushroom of the social world.

The golden rose with poisonous thorns.

All the nicknames referring to her were nothing short of menacing.

However, the reason such an unwritten rule spread among debutantes was not because of her wicked temperament.

It was because of that splendor, which Julia confirmed with her own eyes.

Even Lady Reina praised as this year’s pearl, would seem as plain as a wildflower compared to Belinda.

Thinking that way, she suddenly felt foolish for standing quietly in a corner, intimidated by just one dress.

No matter how beautiful the dress she wore, it would still be insignificant in front of that lady.

“Aunt.”

“Yes?”

“Please introduce me to as many young masters as your connections allow.”

Julia straightened her back, maintaining the angle of her chin that Belinda had lifted.

“At least I want to improve my eye for people at this ball.”

* * *

‘You need stamina to be vicious.’

The realization I gained in just one hour at the ball was precisely that.

Wearing high heels and strutting around causing trouble consumed more energy than I thought.

“My lord, you haven’t changed a bit.”

“Haha, what is there for me to change?”

“I thought your face might have improved since you dared to send me a proposal. Turns out you just grew a thicker skin. I’m greatly disappointed.”

“…”

After driving away the young masters clinging to me like a swarm of buzzing mosquitoes, the surroundings finally quieted down a bit.

The kind-hearted young ladies seemed to lose their enthusiasm when they saw me kindly explaining to Lord Hamel’s fiancée that “Lord Hamel is a complete bastard.”

Because of that, the hunt ended earlier than I expected.

I rolled my eyes to check the synchronization rate.

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The result was incomparable to the slow progress I made at the mansion.

Good, I’m still hungry!

‘Synchronization… I need to increase the synchronization…’

Is there any easy prey around?

I was prowling like a lioness released into the savanna, searching for my next prey.

“Lady Blanche, the dance will start soon. Surely, you didn’t come without a partner?”

Alright, whoever you are, you picked the wrong person.

Just as I was about to sink my cold sneer into the neck of the person in front of me.

“It seems you’re being too harsh on my partner, who is attending the ball for the first time in a while, Lady.”

Someone gently admonished the woman in front of me before I could.

And with that low voice, I could feel all eyes in the ballroom turning towards us.

If a voice had a scent, it would have filled the ballroom, heavy and profound like mist.

It has come.

With that sense of foreboding, I turned around.

My premonition was not wrong.

“Greetings to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince.”

Starting with my light curtsy, everyone in the ballroom bowed to the Crown Prince like falling dominoes.

I lowered my eyes, took a deep breath, and hid my tension.

For a moment, the image of the Crown Prince from my nightmares surged like a wave, but I desperately reminded myself why I was here.

“Raise your head.”

I took the Crown Prince’s hand extended in front of me, stood up, and finally took in the person who might one day behead me.

“I hope I’m not too late.”

“Not at all. You arrived just as the dance is about to begin.”

Despite my calm voice, my gaze never left the Crown Prince for a moment.

A face I had seen countless times in the illustrations of <Hirome>.

Unlike with Leo, it felt strangely unfamiliar, as if I were meeting someone for the first time in my life.

Perhaps it’s because no masterpiece can fully capture the unique aura a person possesses.

Hair the color of honey blonde, as if melted from pure gold.

Eyes the color of fresh green grass, like the buds that would one day become the foundation of a rich and ancient forest.

Most striking of all was the natural elegance that exuded from a simple gesture or a single step.

Belinda and Sir Penadel had a certain elegance.

But the Crown Prince’s elegance was, how should I put it, inherently magnetic.

‘I used to think elegance started with silk clothes.’

Seeing the Crown Prince made me realize how wrong that thought was.

Even if the Crown Prince wore the most insignificant clothes in the world, anyone would recognize his extraordinary lineage.

“Then Lady Blanche, would you grant me the honor of the first dance?”

“It would be my honor.”

Momentarily forgetting my fear, I took his hand, mesmerized by the Crown Prince’s gentle demeanor.

As I stepped onto the stage adorned with a chandelier that seemed to have stars from the night sky attached to it, I took a deep breath once again.

Soon, the elegant melody of the dance music began to fill the ballroom.

* * *

There was no difficulty matching Lord Penadel’s steps, but unlike then, this place is a ballroom where everyone’s gaze is focused on me, and my partner is the crown prince.

I was secretly worried about what would happen if I made a mistake.

However, as soon as I took my first step in time with the music, I instinctively felt it.

Belinda’s body was very familiar with moving in sync with the crown prince.

My first dance was with Lord Penadel, but Belinda’s first dance was surely with the crown prince.

It was a very peculiar sensation.

The dance with Lord Penadel was merely polite and respectful, like the only footprints carved in the middle of a vast desert.

All I had to do was follow the footprints he had left and find the oasis.

But dancing with the Crown Prince felt like running a three-legged race side by side rather than following someone else’s footsteps.

“I was worried because it had been so long since we danced together. But it seems my worries were unfounded.”

The Crown Prince whispered softly as he spun me around.

Every time my body turned with the support of his hand; the ornate decorations of the ballroom sparkled like the remnants of shooting stars.

I had plenty of time to respond to him, but I deliberately chose not to.

There is a gap between his memories and mine.

What I know about him is only from the first fragment of Belinda’s memories and what I saw through the ending of <Hirome>.

Eventually, the dance music that flowed naturally like water came to an end.

As I lightly shrugged my shoulders to catch my breath, the crown prince asked me with a worried expression.

“Lady, would you like to step outside for a moment and get some air?”

Perhaps the Crown Prince had sent me the invitation for this very moment.

Feeling such a premonition, I nodded.

“Alright.”