How to Survive as That Villainess - Chapter 32

Chapter 4: A Party, or Rather, a Chaotic Mess (9)

Soft music filled the ballroom. Before the party could officially begin, today’s swordsmanship tournament winner was to choose the “Goddess.” The winner, Kailon Raven, had yet to arrive at the party, so the event couldn’t start.

“Ooh, pastries.”

Back inside the ballroom, I wandered around, nibbling on desserts and sipping on drinks to fill my stomach. Huan was taking longer than expected to arrive. While I was relieved, a small part of me worried something might have happened to him. I wondered if someone who admired Huan had perhaps kidnapped or imprisoned him. The thought alone made me feel uneasy, so I decided to soothe my nerves with a refreshing drink…

“Radel Karel, finally found you.”

…or so I thought, until Huan suddenly appeared behind me, startling me.

Suddenly appearing must be the trend these days. I tried to calm my racing heart and greeted Huan as naturally as possible.

“…Oh, hi.”

Natural? Not at all. Honestly, I was terrified. Huan’s face was twisted in anger, making me instinctively shrink back. Yet, even in his anger, the sight of Huan in his tailcoat was dazzling. I glanced away and fidgeted with my fingers, feeling guilt for what I had done. I wanted to apologize, but facing an enraged Huan left me at a loss for words.

“Follow me.”

“…Huh?”

“I can’t show my anger here.”

Huan gestured subtly towards the numerous nobles present in the ballroom. If Huan were to lose his temper in front of them, it could damage his reputation.

“Wait up!”

I quickly followed behind Huan as he strode ahead without a word. He led me down a secluded hallway, not saying anything during the walk. Despite knowing I had done something wrong, his cold demeanor still stung.

“Huan, are you really mad?”

“…”

“Come on, say something…”

When someone’s angry, the best approach is usually to appease them. Shoulders slumped, I cautiously tried to engage Huan, but he remained silent.

“Huan?”

“Just, be quiet.”

Huan turned to look at me, growling lowly. His eyes had hardened as he glared directly at me.

“How dare you make me sing?”

“You sang really well…”

I immediately regretted my words and covered my mouth with both hands. Unable to bear the sight of Huan’s increasingly dark expression, I hung my head low. Even when I had played mischievous pranks on him before, Huan would usually just raise his voice but never truly got angry.

‘I wish he would just yell…’

It was terrifying to be met with nothing but his silent, intense anger. I now understood why they say quiet anger is scarier. Nervously, I stole a glance at Huan as I tried to gauge his mood.

“I didn’t think I made such a big mistake…”  

“What?”  

“I have committed a grievous sin.”

My head hung low, as if it would sink into the ground. I was fidgeting like a guilty person when I noticed something on Huan’s hand—specifically, the back of it.

“Uh…”  

A long, red scratch. It looked fresh, with a bit of blood pooling in the wound. Given Huan’s fair skin, the injury was glaringly obvious. I’m not squeamish, but I don’t particularly like the sight of blood, so I frowned. The scratch didn’t seem too deep, likely caused by something like a fingernail.

“Who did this to you?”  

I hurriedly took Huan’s hand and brought it closer to my face. Upon closer inspection, the area around the wound was slightly swollen and red.  

It must have hurt. As I examined the injury, I bit my lip in concern. Someone had dared to leave a mark on Huan’s delicate skin—unforgivable.  

“What are you doing?” Huan protested, his voice tinged with surprise.

Even though Huan was now flustered, I paid no attention to his protest. His face turned bright red as he tried to pull his hand away. Clearly, physical contact still made him uncomfortable. He seemed to have forgotten his anger as he focused on freeing his hand. Worried that I might aggravate the wound, I reluctantly let go of his hand.

“Tell me, what happened to your hand?”  

“…It got scratched.”

Huan replied nonchalantly, but I could tell he was trying to downplay it. I, on the other hand, was far more concerned. I wanted to find out who had marred his pristine skin, so I persisted, questioning him. In a reversal of roles, Huan now avoided my gaze, his head lowered.

“I knew I shouldn’t have bothered with singing,” Huan muttered.

After much coaxing and persistence, Huan finally relayed what had happened. Apparently, quite a few female students had witnessed his performance on stage. The serene and refined image he presented caused his popularity to skyrocket, and soon after, Huan found himself surrounded by a swarm of admirers. 

Given his aversion to physical contact and discomfort around women, Huan tried to escape the situation. But the crowd of students, more aggressive than he anticipated, ended up scratching and jostling him in their fervor.

“It was hell.”

Huan concluded with a short but heartfelt summary. The sincerity in his words was unmistakable.

Now, I understood why Huan had been late to the party and why he had been so angry with me. In short, my impulsive decision to make him sing had led to all of this. I really had committed a grave mistake…

“I’m sorry.”

I said, finally understanding the ordeal he had gone through. It must have been horrible, especially knowing the reputation of Huan’s fan club, notorious for their fanatic behavior. They probably didn’t hesitate to touch him or even cling to him. Just as he said, it must have been hell.

I stared at the injury on his hand, worried that it might leave a scar. I hesitated, fearing he might get angry if I brought it up, but eventually, I managed to speak.

“You should get that wound treated.”

“…It’s fine. It’s not a big injury.”

Huan responded, quickly hiding his hand. It was clear that no amount of persuasion would change his mind.

“Sigh…”

I heard a sigh and looked up at Huan. His complexion didn’t look good—he must have been exhausted from dealing with all those girls. I realized that I had often touched Huan playfully in the past, not thinking much of it, but now I felt guilty. 

“I promise I won’t touch you anymore.”

I declared, making a firm resolution. Huan looked down at me with a serious expression before subtly covering his mouth with his hand.

“Radel.”

“…What?”

“There’s something I realized when I was surrounded by those girls.”

What could he have realized in such a situation? I tilted my head, wondering.

“The overwhelming smell of makeup, the touch of their hands—it was all horrible,”

Huan said, shuddering slightly as if recalling the memory. He took a deep breath before continuing,

“But when I thought about it, I realized that you… you were okay.”

“…Huh?”

I blinked in confusion. What did he mean by that? So, I’m… okay? But in what way?

“Hmm,” Huan hummed.

“What are you talking about all of a sudden!”

I said, perplexed by his words. Just to test things out, I grabbed his hand firmly. As expected, Huan’s face turned bright red almost instantly. He didn’t seem okay at all! I looked at him, completely puzzled, and Huan added,

“I mean, compared to other girls, you’re better.”

“Well, that’s an honor,”

What the… Still, it doesn’t change the fact that I feel bad. With this, I became a female friend who can be close without feeling anything, except for Seria. I wandered down the hallway, unable to shake off the uneasy feeling.

“’But hey, I put on makeup today. Does it look okay?”

“It’s bearable.”

She was a partner I had to pay a lot of attention to in many ways. Still, it was a relief. It seems that, while talking about various things, she forgot that she was angry. I let out a sigh of relief.

“Hey, from now on, I’ll protect you.”

“That’s not necessary.”

But still, for Huan, who was harmed because of me, I decided to become his bodyguard. Huan disliked it with all his might, but my resolve didn’t waver.

“Leave it to me. I’ll make sure you don’t get harassed by women anymore.”

“Oh, that sounds good.”

Huan responded positively. It seems my words were more persuasive than I thought. He crossed his arms and slowly nodded his head, then his eyes sparkled… It seems the shock of being surrounded earlier was too much.

“Radel! What are you doing over there!”

“Oh, Dia!”

Dia was running towards us, her sky-blue hair fluttering. She was wearing a blue dress, with what seemed to be a sapphire embedded in the center. Even at a glance, it was clear that the dress was no ordinary one.

“Ah, wait!”

Before Dia could reach me, I hurriedly tried to hide Huan behind my back. Since Huan was much taller than me, he wasn’t hidden at all, but I still did my best to cover him. Whew, protecting him is harder than I thought.

Huan watched my actions blankly and then calmly said,

“It’s okay, Dia is an exception.”

“’That somehow makes me feel bad.”

As soon as they met, they started growling at each other again. I watched their tiresome quarrel for a while before asking Dia,

“Dia, what’s going on?”

“Oh, right. The event is about to start soon.”

“Is it already time?”

I glanced at the clock hanging in the hallway and slowly began to walk. I didn’t care whether the special event to choose the goddess was starting or not. I already knew that the winner would be Kyle and that the goddess would undoubtedly be Seria. Watching those two get all lovey-dovey would be pretty annoying, but I couldn’t skip it just because I didn’t want to see it.