The Only Way to Break the Curse is Through Contact with You - Chapter 39
…Pardon?
“Ah~ So this is what a stupid face looks like. You’re more ordinary than I thought.”
Wait a minute. My brain is refusing to accept it. Is this woman in front of me really Adelia?
“I was curious about how stupid you have to be to let go of what you have in your hands. Is it because I’ve never been desperate?”
I was shocked to hear Adelia call me stupid three times. Until just a moment ago, I was acting like a proper lady, putting those noblewomen in their place, but now my face must look like a fool.
Adelia let out a small laugh.
“I heard that you’re getting a divorce from Duke Wheaton?”
Who is Adelia, our heroine. She’s a kind-hearted girl who can’t just walk past someone in need, even if she’s lonely or sad, and she brightens up those around her with her warmth and kindness.
But who is this girl in front of me now, shooting me a provocative glare and laughing at me?
Adelia, who had been timidly looking at me from behind the empress just a moment ago, now had a poisonous expression on her face.
“If it were me, I would never let go. Why would I? It’s in my hand. Plus, it’s so tempting.”
Is this really our lovely heroine, Adelia McGregor? Was there a setting in the original where there was a villainess who looked just like Adelia…?
I couldn’t accept reality and Adelia stepped closer to me with one foot. She smirked and spoke.
“You don’t know how hard I struggled to get up here. I’ve never done anything like this before. But you were born lucky as a noble and just let everything slip away so easily. That’s so unfair. What am I supposed to do?”
Adelia glanced at the wine glass in my hand.
“I want to take it away because I’m so angry. Ah, but technically it’s not stealing since you let it go, right? Anyway, he was already a desirable man, but now that he’s gone on his own… well, you saved me the trouble.”
I’ll give you a reward. Adelia whispered softly in my ear.
“I’ll tell you how I got up here.”
Then she looked around and snatched the wine glass from me before throwing it towards the ground.
Crash! A sharp sound echoed as the glass shattered, drawing everyone’s attention in the banquet hall.
“Kyaah!”
Adelia screamed and collapsed on the ground. She trembled and looked up at me.
“Ma, madam….”
People gathered around, wondering what was going on. As I watched the women support Adelia and help her up, I finally understood the situation.
So, Adelia McGregor, who was portrayed as kind, innocent, and lovely in the original work, was actually a bigger villain than me, and now she’s making me look bad in front of all these people?
No, the male lead is a half-assed obsessive man, the sub-male lead is a narcissist, and the female lead is a two-faced person with no backbone? How does that make sense? How did I feel so bad for you between all those choices, only to find out that you’re just like them!
‘Author, why do the characters have such strange personalities? I’m seriously questioning your taste at this point!’
“Lady, are you okay?”
“What happened?”
Adelia, who was supported by the people, turned her head as if she couldn’t bear to look at me with a frightened expression. But I was really the terrified one. She’s too scary!
I rubbed my forehead at the hostile gazes of the people around me. Just a moment ago, I had a conflict with those noblewomen. I avoided the stares of Diart, Jarvis, and Leticia for fear of affecting the story, but I didn’t care what the other nobles saw. Since I don’t know the details, there’s a high probability that I looked like I was being hostile to the ladies.
Roeni, who is notorious for being vicious anyway, is causing trouble again and even causing a commotion with a delicate girl this time. Adelia’s goal is probably that.
‘Oh, shit.’
I’m leaving the country anyway, so it doesn’t matter if I have a bad reputation or whatever, but it’s unacceptable to be unfairly accused like this. Besides, what if Diart sees this?
Knowing how hard he was on Roeni for bullying Adelia in the original, he would have gone crazy. Even though the original work has changed a bit, it was an inevitable fact that Diart and Adelia were connected. It was like stepping on a dead flag.
‘I thought it would be okay as long as I didn’t touch Adelia, but who would have thought it would turn out like this!’
Turns out, it was Adelia’s dual personality that made Roeni so vicious in the original.
‘I’ve been trying so hard to avoid a bad ending so far, but what is this.’
At this rate, I’ll step on the villainess route of the original work in its entirety.
Even if I act good-naturedly, if Adelia still blames me like this, I’ll be helpless and my throat will be cut.
Today, I just wanted to watch Diart and Adelia fall in love at first sight and dance together and go back quietly!
Swallowing hard, I wondered how I was going to get out of this situation. I could see Leticia and Jarvis, who had heard the commotion from far away, approaching in alarm. Should I ask them for help?
I don’t know if the crown prince was infatuated with Adelia, but Leticia is a friend, so I’m sure she’ll take my side. I should ask her to send me asylum in another country as soon as the banquet is over, I thought.
Someone came to stand beside me.
“What’s going on?”
When I turned my head, it was Diart. I was curious about when he came into the hall, but his behavior now was hostile, and it was directed towards Adelia, not me.
I looked at him in a daze. In the original work, he couldn’t have made such a face at Adelia. Besides, this situation clearly looked like my fault. The wine glass that was in my hand was shattered on the ground, and Adelia’s pure white dress was stained red.
To anyone who saw it, it looked like a bastard harassing a naive young lady.
“Are you okay?”
…Did he just talk to me? With Adelia in front of him, who obviously wasn’t okay? Is this some kind of advanced strategy to attract Adelia’s attention?
I was so taken aback that I could only blink.
“Explain.”
Diart asked Adelia. His voice lacked any warmth. Adelia briefly bit her lip before giving a sad smile.
“It’s my fault. I just wanted to comfort the lady because she seemed upset, but instead, I ended up offending her.”
Diart furrowed his eyebrows as if asking what she meant.
“The lady had a quarrel with some other noblewomen…”
Adelia trailed off and rolled her eyes. I could see the noblewomen who had been watching from a distance flinch.
Diart gave them a glance before turning back to Adelia. Then Adelia spoke again.
“I shouldn’t have acted so recklessly…I’m sorry…”
Adelia burst into tears as if she couldn’t bear to stay here any longer. Everyone looked at her with pitiful expressions as the delicate girl shed tears.
Even I wanted to applaud Adelia’s acting skills, which almost fooled me. Is that the same person who laughed at me for being stupid earlier?
Because of Adelia’s tears, the situation looked even more like my fault. I wanted to cry too, but unfortunately, I couldn’t.
Diart didn’t say anything, and I started to feel more and more anxious. I should apply for exile as soon as the party is over…
“Ugh…”
A moment of unbearable pain pierced my neck. I knew this feeling well. It was the curse manifesting itself again.
Why now?
Although it was a bit tight, I thought I could endure it until I returned to the mansion. But it seemed that finding out about Adelia’s true nature had caused me emotional shock.
“Ugh…”
As my legs gave out, everyone’s gaze turned towards me. I held onto my chest and gasped for breath. In the midst of my increasingly hazy consciousness, Diart’s face suddenly felt very close.
The thought of experiencing that excruciating pain again faded, but it might be for the best. After all, I could finally escape this place. With that thought, I lost consciousness.
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