Page 115 of The Fifth Life of Alicia
I believed everyone when they said it. They had no reason to lie—and even if they did, it wasn’t worth the risk of being found out.
He surely wasn’t upset that I’d gotten along with his father so well, so it had to be a drunken slip of the tongue that had offended him.
Grr.
If only he’d tell me what I’d done.
How was I supposed to go to this stupid welcome ball tonight wearing matching outfits and pretending to be the happiest woman in this world when it was like this?
Stupid Kalon.
Stupid ball.
Stupid fancy noble life I hadn’t even asked for.
If I ever met the power that brought me here, I was going to punch it in the face.
Hmph.
“I can’t decide what colour you look best in, my lady,” Annie said, pressing her hands to her cheeks. “Blue and green suit you so well.”
She wasn’t wrong. When I first woke up in this body, I’d been afraid that I would never find anything in this strange world that suited me, but I was pleasantly surprised to find it wasn’t the case.
Maybe it was plot armour. All the antagonists in novels I’d read in my past life were hot as hell, after all.
“Here we are, my lady,” Bella said, adding one last diamond decoration to the back of my head. “You look beautiful. His Highness has wonderful taste in jewellery.”
Annie nodded her head emphatically. “I can’t believe he designed that necklace all by himself!”
Yes, yes. The man was a prodigy who should be worshipped by all.
Whatever.
“Let’s get this over with,” I said, standing up.
“My lady, are you all right?” Bella asked, looking at me with concern. “You haven’t seemed yourself all day.”
Nothing got past her, did it?
“I’m a bit tired. It’s been a busy few days, that’s all.” I smiled. “Please don’t worry yourself over me, Bella.”
“That’s my job.”
“I’m changing your job description then,” I quipped.
“Um, m-my lady.” Annie wrung her hands in front of her. “Could it also be that you’re not looking forward to seeing your family?”
Ah.
There was that, too. I had no idea if the hunt was an exception to Sophia’s socialisation ban but given that it was an Imperial Order to attend, something told me she’d be here for the next few days.
And she’d make the most of it.
I wasn’t foolish enough to believe that our reunion would be pleasant.
“Not really,” I admitted, patting her shoulder. “But don’t fret, Annie. As long as I stay by the Grand Duke’s side, neither my stepmother nor Sophia can hurt me.”
It was the truth. No matter how much they despised my existence, they would never do anything to get on Kalon’s bad side. I was pretty sure that only I knew how much of a softie was hidden beneath his cold exterior and the harsh rumours, so nobody would go out of their way to piss him off.
