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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 92
Chapter Title: The Playboy Act
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Just in case, before she left, Lellia brewed and drank a potion from an Alchemy Lottery recipe to change the tone of her voice.
A sense of calm washed over her as she adjusted her voice to be slightly lower than usual.
Yesterday, the party had been large, so she hadn't needed to speak much. Just short answers.
‘But a small party will probably require more conversation.’
After checking her slightly deeper voice several times, Lellia picked up the bouquet she had asked a servant to prepare and made her way to Princess Yuriana’s palace.
‘This is magnificent.’
Princess Yuriana’s residence was a newly constructed building in the west palace, and it was incredibly luxurious.
The exterior alone was enough to leave one speechless, but the interior decorations were even more so.
‘It might be even more extravagant than the main palace.’
Lellia felt herself shrinking for no reason.
She nearly stumbled backward when she saw the large crystal statue at the entrance of the hall.
It was a statue of a knight holding a sword, likely a symbol guarding Princess Yuriana’s palace.
For some reason, Lellia felt a sense of dread, as if the knight statue’s eyes were glaring menacingly at her.
It was probably designed with that intention.
“This way, please.”
The servant guided Lellia to a glass conservatory in the garden. It was smaller than the Crystal House where the last tea party was held, but it had a cozier feel.
“Oh, you’ve arrived.”
As she opened the door and stepped inside, Princess Yuriana and her ladies-in-waiting greeted her.
A wave of nervousness washed over her as she saw them gathered around a beautiful tea table.
‘She said it was a very private, small tea party…’
Excluding Princess Yuriana, there were three other ladies-in-waiting.
She glanced behind her, just in case, but it seemed no one else had been invited.
She, in the guise of ‘Raymond,’ was the only man invited to this tea party.
The realization made her mouth go dry.
“Welcome, Sir Raymond. Please, come and have a seat.”
Cecil, the lady who had come to find Lellia earlier, showed her to a seat.
Hiding her nervous expression, Lellia walked over with an awkward smile.
As she sat down, she felt as if the air had been knocked out of her lungs.
“……”
The four women sitting at the large, round tea table were all staring at her.
As Lellia’s eyes darted around, unsure of where to look, the ladies-in-waiting twitched their lips, suppressing their laughter.
Princess Yuriana, a smile gracing her lips, spoke in an elegant tone.
“Thank you for accepting my invitation, Sir Raymond.”
“The honor is all mine.”
“I heard my brother Cedric was a bit rude to you. I invited you here to apologize on his behalf.”
“Ah… Not at all.”
Lellia said this, but she scoffed inwardly.
This was clearly an excuse.
Yuriana thanked her for being so understanding before formally introducing her ladies-in-waiting one by one.
“We greeted each other earlier, didn’t we? I am Cecil.”
The blonde-haired young lady was the daughter of a count.
“I am Cordelia.”
The short, purple-haired young lady sitting next to Lellia was the daughter of a marquis.
“My name is Dorothy.”
Finally, the brown-haired young lady introduced herself as the daughter of a viscount.
They were all young ladies from respectable families.
Watching their elegant demeanor, Lellia suddenly felt embarrassed to be sitting there disguised as a man.
‘I need to get a grip. I’ll just think about the sacred relic that can heal Calix.’
After calmly counting to ten in her head, she felt her composure return.
Come to think of it, the red-haired young lady she had seen at yesterday’s tea party was not present.
She was the one who had asked Lellia so many questions. They had all seemed close.
Hoping to lighten the mood, she asked about the young lady, but the air suddenly turned frigid.
“……”
Yuriana and her ladies-in-waiting exchanged troubled glances.
‘What, was that a tactless question?’
As Lellia blinked, not understanding what was wrong, Yuriana smiled and said.
“Unfortunately, that young lady is not feeling well. She was unable to come today.”
“Ah, I see.”
At that moment, a hesitant Miss Cecil asked cautiously.
“By any chance, Sir Raymond, were you interested in her?”
“Ah, no. I was simply curious.”
“Miss Grace does tend to stand out a bit…”
Cecil pouted her lips cutely.
Just then, Yuriana abruptly clapped her hands and changed the subject.
“Let’s not talk about such things and have a pleasant conversation. Sir Raymond, how did you spend your time in your hometown? Are there many parties there as well?”
“…Yes. Parties were not an uncommon occurrence. Though not as frequent as in the capital, of course.”
Lellia was glad she had asked Romeo more about ‘Parmenia’ yesterday, just in case.
“Parmenia is a city with a great many mines. It’s particularly famous for its rubies and diamonds.”
Romeo had told her that Parmenia was one of the regions in the Rosebery Empire with the most mines.
The Rosebery Empire itself was famous for its gem production.
“So it wasn’t the countryside after all! I thought so, given how refined your appearance and attire are, Sir Raymond.”
“That’s right!”
Lellia smiled faintly at the young ladies who were so sweetly agreeing with her.
Being with women her own age reminded her of Becky, the maid she had left back at the estate.
Was Becky doing well right now?
Perhaps because of the fond smile that unknowingly appeared on her face, the young ladies exchanged slightly surprised glances.
The one named Cecil blushed.
“Could it be…”
“Speaking of your hometown brings such a wonderful smile to your face. You don’t happen to have a lover you left back home, do you?”
Just as Miss Cecil was about to say something, Yuriana cut in, asking playfully.
For a moment, Miss Cecil’s expression darkened slightly.
Lellia watched her for a moment before snapping back to her senses.
Yuriana and the ladies-in-waiting were looking at her with sparkling eyes, eagerly awaiting her answer.
‘This is my chance.’
A chance to portray herself as a playboy.
“Yes, well. Though it’s not just one or two.”
As Lellia spoke nonchalantly, the young ladies’ eyes widened in surprise before they burst into peals of laughter.
“I knew it! Someone as beautiful as you, Sir Raymond, couldn’t possibly be without a lover. I just didn’t expect there to be several.”
“You seemed so shy, I thought you wouldn’t have a lover at all! But to have several!”
Cordelia and Dorothy chimed in, and Lellia managed the most natural smile she could.
Then, Cecil spoke in a sullen tone.
“B-But how can you have multiple lovers? If my lover were to see another woman, I don’t think I could stand it…”
Lellia thought for a moment before replying.
“I used to think that way as well… but one day, they came to me and said they had agreed to share me, and asked me to accept. I couldn’t refuse. They are all such lovely young ladies.”
“……!”
Everyone’s jaws dropped at Lellia’s outrageous statement.
‘Ugh. I feel sick.’
Even though she was the one who said it, she sounded absolutely despicable.
At this rate, the young ladies before her would surely think she was a scummy playboy.
However, for some reason, the faces of Cordelia and Dorothy flushed a deep red.
Cecil, on the other hand, looked as if she were about to cry, and Yuriana frowned.
Lellia seized the opportunity and continued.
“Ah, but Sir Lute, who accompanied me to the party, is different. He swore to devote his life to a single woman… unlike me. The same goes for His Highness Prince Romeo and Sir Calix, of course.”
Lellia boldly asserted, ‘I’m the only scoundrel here.’
This should be enough, right?
She would become the world’s most despicable man… but that was fine. As long as she could obtain the sacred relic.
With that, Lellia began to rattle off a series of compliments about Lute.
Making up facts and fabricating strengths, she managed to pique everyone’s curiosity.
“I never knew Sir Lute had such a side to him.”
“Sir Lute is truly a wonderful gentleman.”
When she started hearing such responses, Lellia cheered inwardly.
She couldn’t leave out her friends, either.
If she could, Lellia wanted to tell the whole world how wonderful her friends were.
“Prince Romeo is a very kind person. And he doesn’t have a lover, of course.”
“Oh, is that so.”
“And Sir Calix, despite his appearance, is a very delicate person.”
“I see.”
“And what about Sir Oscar and Sir Griffith, who have returned to their home country for a while?”
Lellia excitedly praised them.
The ladies-in-waiting nodded along without any real interest.
In truth, their words went in one ear and out the other as they stared intently at Lellia.
Frankly, if ‘Sir Raymond’ were not sitting before them, they would have shown interest in Romeo, Calix, or Lute first.
But as it stood, the tastes of most noblewomen in the capital had long been shaped by ‘Donatelli’s’ paintings.
The ladies-in-waiting were mesmerized by the handsome man before them, who looked as if he had just stepped out of a painting.
Even his calm voice and polite manner of speaking were charming.
Unaware of this, Lellia went on excitedly, heaping praise upon Lute.
Yuriana, however, simply watched Lellia in silence.
‘Why has he been praising only Lute and the other men?’
Yuriana wondered to herself.
And that sudden confession about being a playboy with multiple lovers.
He seemed like a completely different person from yesterday.
Of course, it could be because he was more relaxed… but honestly, he didn’t seem like a playboy.
Though with his stunning looks, it could be true.
Perhaps portraits of handsome men by the artist Donatelli were popular in Parmenia as well.
In any case, it was a little strange.
‘I have a feeling this is because of me.’
Yuriana smiled, the corners of her lips turning up slightly.
His intentions were so transparent, it was amusing.
It was so unexpected that she found it rather cute.
‘He wants me to be jealous.’
It seemed that everything—from claiming to have many lovers back home to suddenly praising Lute—was all for her sake.
She had been unsure at first, but she couldn’t miss the way Sir Raymond kept sneaking glances at her.
If not for that, there would be no reason for him to be so conscious of her.
‘He’s quite a cute person.’
In return, Yuriana gave Sir Raymond a bright smile.
But seeing that smile, Sir Raymond—Lellia—had a different thought.
‘It worked!’
The praise for Lute had worked. Yuriana’s mind must be filled with thoughts of Lute right now.
Even the other ladies-in-waiting were murmuring about how wonderful Lute was, which said it all.
As the tea party was drawing to a close, Princess Yuriana spoke.
“Oh, by the way. I’m hosting a ball in a few days. All the young ladies of the capital must attend, so I hope you will grace the occasion with your presence as well.”
“Ah, in that case, may I attend with Sir Lute?”
“Of course.”
With that, Lellia bid Yuriana and her ladies-in-waiting a polite farewell and returned to her quarters.
The moment she was back in her room, the strength drained from her legs.
Lellia collapsed onto the drawing-room sofa.
‘Still, it was a success.’
After a short rest, she would go find Lute and give him a little push, and he would surely confess to Yuriana.
‘But still…’
Lellia recalled something that had been bothering her throughout the tea party.
What she found unsettling was Yuriana’s attitude.
‘Is it because she was raised with so much privilege…?’
In the original novel, Yuriana was raised like the most precious of jewels.
Emperor Perseus was an obsessive doting father, and the Empress was the same.
And Cedric and Damian were beyond words. In some ways, they were even worse than Emperor Perseus.
Perhaps because of that, Yuriana seemed to be the type of person who was only satisfied when everything revolved around her.
She had noticed it every time they talked—Yuriana would frequently interrupt her ladies-in-waiting. Of course, it didn’t feel malicious.
It reminded her of the son of the Creek family from the Superion estate, who had been spoiled rotten. Of course, Yuriana was much kinder than him…
The Emperor and Empress had even raised Yuriana by constantly telling her things like this since she was a child.
“Everyone in the world loves you, my dear.”
“There is no one in this world who will not love you.”
While this certainly contributed to her pure and positive nature, it must have had some negative effects, whether she knew it or not.
Well, in the novel, everyone did actually like Yuriana.
Lellia shook her head.
She had to stop thinking about this.
What was important now was Lute’s quest.
‘Anyway, my act as a playboy was a success.’
Now that it had come to this, she would have to maintain that persona at the ball. They would get suspicious if her words and actions didn’t match.
‘I’ll have to flirt with all the young ladies. Should I wink?’
She was pondering various things.
‘Oh, right.’
A sudden thought made Lellia open her inventory window.
She had forgotten about it with everything else going on, but she needed to check the rewards she received yesterday.
∙ Lv. ? Random Gift Box x1
Perhaps it was because of the question mark, but she had a feeling she might get something good.
As she whispered the word ‘Open’ in her mind, an image of a gift box appeared.
After a brief pause, the gift box burst open with a *pop!* revealing an item.
A glittering gold item appeared.
‘What’s this?’
She didn’t know what it was, but it looked like a good item at first glance.
[Try out the ‘Help Mode’ from Alchemie, the mascot of the Alchemy Lottery! (｡•̀ᴗ-)✧ Alchemie will be your ultimate guide, starting right now! ٩(•̤̀ᵕ•̤́๑)૭✧]
‘Hmm…’
Alchemie referred to the alchemy tool that was the main mascot of the ‘Alchemy Lottery’ game.
That very alchemy tool that would constantly push aside the system window and take over every notification pop-up.
When she activated the small ‘Craft’ button in the bottom right corner, a large magic pot appeared.
The alchemy tool was brewing a bright blue magic potion, smiling cheerfully.
Now, just looking at that alchemy tool made her blood boil with annoyance, but in her past life, she too had thought it was cute.
Game users had also found it adorable, calling it ‘Alchemie.’
‘Help mode, a guide…’
It was a system she had never experienced before, so she couldn't guess what it was.
But judging by the glittering gold name of the item, it had to be good.
There was no way it could be bad.
‘Whatever, let’s just use it.’
[Would you like to use this item? (•̀ᴗ•́)و ̑̑]
‘Yes.’
As she gave the command in her mind, a small window appeared.
[system : Optimizing for item use.]
Along with the message, a long loading bar showed the optimization in progress.
‘It’s taking a while.’
It seemed like it would take longer than she thought, so she stood up to go find Lute.
But Lute found her first.
