Finally. It's the day of the imperial ball. Or was it a banquet?

I honestly couldn't care less but this was the day I was going to ruin whatever was left of my reputation and break of your engagement.

"You look like you're in a good mood today, my lady." Ardeat commented as she brushed my hair.

"Of course! I'll be meeting my dear fiancé today after all!" I sent Ardeat a chilled smile, but she had already gotten used to my creepy behavior by now.

I expected the duke to send over a few more maids to get me ready since this was the imperial ball we were talking about and the first time I would be having a proper conversation with Anartis as Sovine.

But I guess not. Well, it's not like someone as beautiful as Sovine needs any of this anyway.

Plus, Ardeat seemed to already be quite skilled in this field anyway. It didn't really matter to me how I looked.

'I doubt I could look bad with this kind of face anyway.' The issue now was to get to the imperial palace without being seen by the grand duke or any of the brothers.

"My lady. It's of course fine if you do it around me but please refrain from doing that creepy smile at the imperial palace."

"..."

That too.

-----

So turns out the brothers went in a different speed carriage charged with magic so I didn't have to worry about them seeing me in this dress made with things that everyone knows Anartis despises.

What I did have to worry about now, was the fact that now I'd have to go through the same hell I went through in chapter 4 all over again.

Simply because those jerks probably couldn't be bothered enough to also prepare a proper speed carriage even though the imperial palace is so damn far from the duchy.

Or so I thought, thankfully. Turns out that Luden, the one in charge of making the preparations, did have enough decency to send me a proper carriage instead of the shabby one I had to go in last time.

Well, he wasn't exactly the one who prepared the carriage last time. The butler was.

'Hold up... Wasn't the butler one of the only servants in the grand duchy that somewhat respected Sovine?' I realized as I stepped into the carriage.

But I knew Ardeat wouldn't lie to me about something like that. However, that would be a different case if someone else lied to her about it and gave her misinformation.

"Hey, Ardeat. Who was it that you informed of our departure the day we visited the capital again?" I finally decided to ask her anyway though it didn't really matter to me all that much.

Might as well learn who my enemies are right now.

"Ah, It was- Wah!" The carriage suddenly took a tough bounce and screeched to a stop as both Ardeat and I tumbled around the carriage before finally managing to grab onto a seat and not get a concussion.

"Are you still alive, Ardeat?" I sighed managing to force myself up to my feet after spending a few moments getting over my dizziness and nausea and dusted my dress.

"Ugh... Yes... My lady..." Ardeat groaned, she hadn't managed to grab onto something and ended up tumbling about in the carriage for three more minutes than you did.

"Uh... You get some rest, I'll go in first." I mounted off the carriage as Ardeat nodded in response, I was planning on shrugging this off as an unfortunate accident even though it was strange.

How does someone manage to keep a carriage bouncing for a whole five minutes straight in the first place?

Also, I could swear I heard a slight snicker escape the coachman's lips as I was dismounting the carriage.

'There's no way that was an accident. Whatever, I can deal with it once I return back to the grand duchy.' I decided to let it be for now and deal with it once I had returned to the duchy.

I already had a long night ahead of me anyway and did not need any additional nuisance to be added to my list. I was already going to get a pretty lengthy warning from the Duke after what I did today.

'Luden probably won't shut up about it either.' I realized at the last minute, as I suddenly heard a familiar voice call out to me.

"Sovine, you're late." I turned to see that it was the duke with the other three brothers eight behind him, Avis, fortunately, made it without getting an acne attack.

"Ah, right. We ran into a bit of trouble on the road." I informed as an exhausted, exasperated, exaggerated sigh escaped Luden's lips.

"Just admit you took an unnecessarily long time to get ready, Sovine. We've already gotten used to it." Luden spoke up, sharing his unwanted opinion on what he thought really happened.

"You. Shut up. That's not the reason I came late, it was because of a bumpy road and a whole five minutes of tumbling, no exaggeration added." I argued before as Luden's brows knitted into a frown.

"And even if that was the reason, you can't blame me cause you only sent me one fucking maid to get me ready." I concluded as the irritated look on Luden's face slowly turned into one of confusion.

"Wait, what the hell are you wearing?" Avis realized the dress that I was currently wearing was the definition of Anartis's dislikes.

"Clothes, of course," I responded as Avis's brows furrowed together into a deep frown, I did not do all that skincare on him just for him to ruin it with wrinkles.

"I know that-" "That's enough. It's time to enter, be on your best behavior, everyone." The duke decided to interfere as he gave us all a firm warning before holding his arm out to you.

'Yeah... Sorry, but that's not happening.' I grabbed hold of the duke's arm as the guards began announcing our names while we stepped into the, what I now knew, was the banquet hall.

I had mistaken this as a ball due to the mindset of a modern-age person who had no idea whatsoever what the difference between a ball and a banquet was. They both had food, no?

"His grace, Grand Duke Divinus and Lady Sovine Divinus have arrived!" The announcements began.

"Young lord, Luden Divinus has arrived!"

"Young masters, Avis Divinus and Vidoro Divinus have arrived!"

Usually, I would have been announced last but since the Grand Duke was escorting me today, my name was announced significantly earlier than it usually wold have been.

But that didn't mean I'd be treated any differently than Sovine usually was. Literally two seconds after we had entered the banquet hall, the duke and all the brothers scrambled off to different corners of the room.

Leaving me alone in the center of the banquet hall while knowing full well how greatly Sovine's infamous reputation served her. Inconsiderate bastards.

Things would have been different if only I had attained the desired results of the tea party. I had expected the ladies to be send many invitations all at once after the tea party.

But it seems that I underestimated Lady Versutas's influence over the social circle. Though it was true that her reputation along with the rest of the Allisun mansion did take quite a hit from the tea party.

But I guess the act wasn't entirely a waste. Sure, now I looked like a totally naive fool who had no sense of self-respect, but isn't exactly what I was going for to break off my engagement with Anartis?

'Speaking of Anartis, just where the hell is he?' I searched through the crowd of people for my blue shiny long-haired, tyrannical, fiance. Who would probably be with Avis right about now.

"Oi. What are you waddling about like a lost baby chick for?" Speak of the devil, just as I was thinking of him, Avis appeared behind me with his usual furrowed brows expression.

"I was looking for a terrance to escape and spend the rest of the banquet in." I said with the first reasonable lie that came to mind, Avis was an idiot and thus seemed to believe it.

"Haa... I know you're not interested in meeting him, but father told me to take you to him anyway. So follow me." Avis sigh in annoyance as he turned his back to me and began walking away.

"Meet who?" I raised a brow at Avis in curiosity but did as I was told anyway since it was not like I had anything better to do as another irritated sigh escaped his lips.

"Who else? Your fiance." Avis responded as I suddenly froze in response while my brain struggled to process this newfound information, Avis had grown used to this kind of brain freeze.

In the past two days when I would go over to his and drag Vidoro with me to do his skincare, he noticed that usually, whenever I asked him what happened for every forming pimple he had.

And he responded with a ridiculously stupid and shocking answer, my brain would freeze, and then I'd start cursing him out for being so irresponsible and torturing his skin like this.

Vidoro even lent him his huge vault to lock himself into at one point but then I brought that "Devil's instrument", or that's what Avis and Vidoro called Teehee.

And he had even learned to wait for the brain finish processing whatever information it had just leatbed, aka patience. What a miracle.

"Hold up- What?" I asked after my brain had finally managed to finish processing what he had just said.

"Father wants you to meet your fiance, so he told me to fetch you." Avis repeated as I nudged him forward.

"Well, what are you waiting for?! Lead the way!" I exclaimed as Avis shot me a confused look, after what he overheard in the duke's office the other day, he was sure I'd be dreading meeting Anartis.

But he decided to do as I had said anyway since this was preferable to dealing with my whining about how I didn't want this engagement and all. I would've never whined in the first place.

Sovine would though.

-----

"Father, I've brought her." Avis practically announced as we stepped onto the terrace with me a few steps behind him.

Right beside my father, was the man I was now engaged to, though I did hate the fact that I had to get engaged to him, I couldn't lie that this bitch was really damn hot.

He didn't have his hair put in a braid and tossed over his shoulder today like he always did in the game and casual events, but I wasn't complaining.

Though I hate to admit it, he looked gorgeous with his long hair straight pastel blue hair let down, especially with that white hair clip with purple gems pulling back a side of his parted bangs.

He thankfully wasn't wearing black and instead was wearing the total opposite, he was wearing a white blouse with a bluish-gray vest on top with silver vine patterns on the vest.

A silver-framed, purple gem brooch attached to the collar with three chains leading to the purple, one-shouldered cape on which there was a similar star-shaped pin.

'... Now I get why he's so popular despite his personality.' I honestly already knew, I was just accepting it now.

But the moment Anartis's eyes landed on me, his face twisted up into one of disgust and hatred. Of course, I knew exactly.

It was because Anartis has always hated the color combination of dark green and black for whatever reason there maybe. Which were both the exact colors my dress was made off.

He also despised things that were too lavish, frivolous, and glamorous and brushed them off as useless and a waste.

And the reason my dress was legit sparkling was because I smashed up one of Sovine's necklaces, had Avis grind it, and stuck it onto my dress, with A LOT of effort.

And finally, Anartis loathed PEARLS. And my gown had a LOT of pearls.

"Well, then. We'll leave you two alone now to get to know each other." The duke suddenly declared seeming to have finished his endless introducing which I was definitely not listening to.

'Bitch what-' And just like that, he had already taken Avis and left me alone on the terrance with the tyrant who was supposed to be my executor and was very much disgusted by me right now.

'No... This is exactly why I spent all that time making this dress by hand...' That didn't make it any less scary though.

But I decided to continue with the act in light of all the time and effort I spent on this anyway. All I had to was act insanely in love with him and yeah, creep him out.

'Hold up- What am I supposed to call him...?' I spent all that time planning that night but forgot to ask just what the hell I was supposed to call him.

'Narry? Anar? Tissy? No, I don't think there's any possible pet name I can give this dude.' At least not a decent one, who the hell names their child "Anartis" anyway?

'Well, the longer I stay silent, the stupider I look, and the less efficient my plan is.' So I'll just call him your grace! He is the second grand duke of this empire anyway.

"Ah... Your grace, I apologize for my rude behavior from the other day." I at last turned away from the door to face the man who was now supposed to be my fiance.

"You mean when I came to visit your brother and you decided it would be a pleasant surprise to leave me to wait outside and even slammed the door in my face when you saw me?" Anartis questioned raising a brow at me as he crossed his arms over his chest.

'You don't have to rub it in you jerk.' But I couldn't really say that since it was true and because it would only ruin my whole plan.

"I... I suppose I just felt a bit shy after seeing your radiant beauty..." I brought my hand up to my cheek and made the most shy and timid face I could.

As I had practiced so many times in front of the bathroom mirror.

"... Pardon?" Anartis was grandly taken aback by this response, which made total sense. After all, we had never properly met before. But given his looks it was believable.

"You looked like an angel (devil) straight from heaven (hell), how could I not be taken aback by such beauty (I'd like to call you ugly but that would be a lie)? If only I had the heart (chance) to have been able to take in such beauty (without worrying about you killing me), I might not have run away back then... Alas, it can't helped that you're so (tyrannically) beautiful, but I have committed a very rude act against you that I deeply (do not) regret."

And so I continued reciting the lines I had memorized prior to this occasion. It was a very long and descriptive explanation of how beautiful he was.

And he was clearly weirded out by it by how we was starting to back away every time I showed any sign of coming closer to him now.

"Well, then." I glanced over to the tray which held two glasses on wine in it after I had completed my rambling.

I had previously asked Avis to bring this over and sneak it onto the side railing of the terrance after informing him of what had happened.

And he surprising agreed to do so. Why? Beats me. Do I care? Nope.

I glanced outside to see if the duke and Avis were watching as I had hoped they would be, and fortunately, they were. They probably also heard everything from the grossed-out look on Avis's face.

"How about a toast to show that we've made up- Augh!"I suddenly tripped on air as I was in the process of bringing the glass of wine to Anartis and "accidentally" spilled the wine on him.

"Accidentally". All over his white attire.

"..."

To be continued...

It's here! As promised 👍

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