Please Bully Me, Miss Villainess!

Chapter 146 : An Unexpected Encounter and Hiding 1

"Aaaah~~!! This is so infuriating!!"

The red-haired young lady lifted her cumbersome skirt, wishing she could blow away all the frustration in her heart through her nose. She walked briskly on the palace's porcelain tiles, her high heels making a clicking sound against the tiles. Several attendant maids followed behind her.

"Young lady, please don't be angry. You are the daughter of the Bernalson family—at times like these, you must always maintain your composure—"

The maids behind her tried to soothe their mistress, who had entered a state of extreme agitation, with gentle words of consolation.

"That's right, if you fall ill from anger, who will be there to support His Highness the Prince as a worthy wife in the future?"

"Hmph... that's true."

Hearing these words, the red-haired noble girl's mood improved somewhat.

"Now that the Smollett family is out of the picture, and the Leinster family has no daughter, it naturally falls to us Bernalsons—this is a great opportunity."

"Although that's true... but..."

She herself was supposed to be the Prince's fiancée... that's how it was supposed to be, but His Highness wouldn't even spare her a glance!

"He'd rather receive two untitled commoner mages than meet his own fiancée?? What on earth is His Highness thinking—"

At this point, Maritise's face was almost contorted with anger.

"Speaking of which, I heard those aren't ordinary mages—"

"...What do you mean?"

One of the attendant maids whispered in Miss Maritise's ear, revealing the information she had gathered.

After hearing it, Maritise's expression changed dramatically,

"...Is it true?? Are you sure you didn't see wrong??"

She was shocked because...

One of the visiting mages was actually His Highness's former fiancée—the daughter of the rebellious Smollett family!!

"This isn't right... I thought she was exiled? It was His Highness who actively broke off the engagement with her... why now, after all this time...?"

Mentioning the name of her rival's daughter, Maritise appeared quite shaken.

"I've heard that His Highness and the Smollett young lady have known each other since childhood. There might be some hidden circumstances we don't know about."

"Yes, even though His Majesty exiled their family, so much time has passed since the rebellion incident, yet he didn't completely strip them of their noble titles, nor did he put them to death... It seems they were still given a chance..."

This quarter's financial report from North Kalos was promising. If they continue to be left unchecked like this, the Smollett family might even regain their noble title—

Even after committing such a treasonous act, His Majesty still remembered old ties and gave them a way out. He even pointed out a path for promotion. If it were any other family name, they probably would have long ago...

Regardless, the fact that she was a 'replacement fiancée' always made her feel very agitated.

Moreover, although everyone knew she was about to become the next fiancée, until today, she still hadn't been able to complete the engagement ceremony with His Highness.

If at this time, that woman called Yvonne were to rekindle old feelings with His Highness, they might even renew their engagement—

Just thinking about this made Maritise want to cry with anger.

Why did it have to be her who encountered this situation...

In terms of appearance, knowledge, and prospects... it would be hard to find anyone more excellent than His Highness Michel.

For the glory of the family, marrying such a prince was the lifelong wish of many young ladies from noble families.

She thought everything would go smoothly, but why had things turned out like this??

"Young lady, don't worry! We've arranged for the Bernalson family guards to guard all exits. We absolutely won't let that shameless cat slip away."

"That's right—now she's just a commoner without a title. Hehehe... As an exile, since she dares to shamelessly appear in such a place, we don't need to show her any mercy."

"...You're right."

Maritise hesitated, but finally nodded in agreement with her maids' actions.

Although she felt it was somewhat improper, for the sake of the family's honor... she had to eliminate all obstacles.

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—We need to leave here quickly.

"Evie... what's wrong?"

Despite wearing high heels, her footsteps made no sound. What kind of terrifying walking technique was this?

Yvonne's face was pale, looking very uneasy. At this moment, she was pulling Elsa along, moving quickly through the corridor.

"Miscalculation—I didn't expect today to be the day of 'audience'!!"

"...'Audience'?"

Elsa blinked in confusion, repeating the word she had said.

The so-called audience is held once a month.

It's when all the nobles and royals enter the palace to have an audience with the king and report on their work.

Being able to directly meet the king was already a great honor for many nobles, but many people were not content with just this.

Of course, commoners would only be granted this 'honor' if their rank and position reached a certain level. In her father's case, writing a report letter was sufficient; he didn't need to come in person.

At least a count or above could attend.

Moreover, it wasn't just to see His Majesty. The day of 'audience' was also an excellent opportunity for these nobles to engage in social interaction once a month.

It was precisely because on this day they could meet many other powerful nobles that many nobles would choose to announce important matters on this day—

"My son is about to marry the second daughter of the Oliver family—!!"

"Ohhh—!! Congratulations, Lord Marquis!!"

For example, whose child was going to marry into which family... and so on...

Her own engagement was decided in this way,

Yvonne still remembered when she was 4 years old, still eating snacks, she was sent to the young prince's side and it was announced that she would become the prince's wife. Although it was long ago and many details were unclear, the only thing she remembered clearly was the feeling of almost choking on her snack at that time.

"So such things happened before... But Evie, why are you being so careful?"

"You fool—I told you before, among the four ducal families, there are two watching us like tigers eyeing their prey—If we run into their people, they'll certainly make things difficult for us."

"Don't worry, Evie—"

Elsa patted her neat chest,

"—With me here, I absolutely won't let anyone bully you!"

"Although I'm happy you say that... we should still try to avoid such situations as much as possible."

The fact that she, who was supposed to be exiled, suddenly appeared here was already a guilty matter. If she were forcibly accused of some crime, it would be impossible to explain.

"...Evie, are you sure this won't expose us?"

"Of course not. Oh my? Look, isn't this suitable—"

Looking at Elsa, who had already changed into a white maid uniform with ruffled edges, Yvonne couldn't help but exclaim in admiration. Although she knew now wasn't the time for such things, she still couldn't help but look a few more times.

She always seemed to suit this kind of maid's outfit.

Wearing maid's clothes, the two moved among the guests.

In this way, the two successfully avoided the crowd and reached the city gate,

Yvonne breathed a sigh of relief and was about to step forward when Elsa pulled her back.

"Evie, wait—"

The sharp-eyed Elsa noticed something amiss,

Unlike the ordinary soldiers guarding the royal city, these guards had emblems imprinted on them.

She had seen similar patterns on the flags hanging on the walls of the palace. The style was identical to the Bernalson family crest she had seen before.

"They weren't here just now..."

Yvonne quickly realized as well,

"...Indeed, our whereabouts have been exposed."

Yvonne hid behind a bush, her face not looking good, analyzing the current situation in a low voice.

"If it really doesn't work... Elsa, you should leave me and go first. I'll find another way—"

"I'm not listening, I'm not listening—nonsense!!"

She covered her ears, shaking her head like a rattle drum, her face puffing up like an inflated balloon.

"—Why do you have to shoulder everything alone?!"

"But this is a grudge between our families, it has nothing to do with you, Elsa—Ow!!"

"Evie, how can you start this again—"

She was a bit angry and pinched both sides of Yvonne's cheeks with her hands,

Imitating what Yvonne often did to her, she applied a little force and gently pulled outwards.

"Ouch, ouch—let go!"

Completely unexpected that she would use her own method against her, Yvonne painfully covered her cheeks,

"You want to distance yourself from me when it comes to troublesome things? Didn't we agree that I would become part of Evie's family? What kind of family abandons each other when faced with difficulties!"

"There must be another way."

"Should we go back and ask His Highness Michel for help? With her authority, she should be able to help us get through this difficulty, right?"

The solution Elsa proposed was currently the most reliable and easily achievable, but this kind of aversion...

"No, in this situation... it's most likely that woman has come."

Yvonne had already guessed the likely identity of the person who had created this situation.

"Most likely that woman..."

"Who—? Evie, please explain more clearly~~!"

"If I'm not mistaken, it should be the eldest daughter of the Bernalson family."

Yvonne estimated that after her exile, according to the order of succession, it should be that young lady who would be engaged to Michel.

The heir to the royal family must marry the heir of one of the four families... This was a rule passed down from long ago.

She didn't know if it was her imagination, but whenever she heard topics related to marriage, Elsa would always fall into silence like this.

"...What's wrong?"

"I'm a bit envious..."

"What's there to envy about this kind of forced engagement..."

"Even if it's half-forced, I still feel envious..."

She pouted and replied.

If it were a man and a woman, would they be able to complete their vows under everyone's blessings?

Although she knew it wasn't the time to think about these things, Elsa couldn't help but think about the future of the two of them.

According to Evie, in the world she used to exist in, some countries had already passed same-sex marriage laws.

Which means, girls could marry girls.

But for this world, it was really too difficult to make society recognize love between the same sex.

Compared to how easily men and women could establish engagements, Elsa couldn't help but feel extremely envious.

But for this other world with more conservative customs, it was indeed too difficult to make everyone accept same-sex engagements.

The feelings between two girls would not be recognized.

Thinking of this, Elsa's mood became particularly complex.

"If... I were a boy... would the situation be different?"

She looked at Yvonne seriously, and Yvonne finally realized the feelings hidden in her words.

"...Don't think too much."

Putting down the tray, Yvonne patted her back to comfort her,

"This kind of thing, I had already considered it all when I agreed to become your lover back then."

"Evie..."

Quite moved, Elsa made a somewhat off-topic proposal,

"Why don't I... try dressing up as a boy next time?"

She said half-jokingly,

Imagining her dressed as a boy, Yvonne burst out laughing.

"No, no... it absolutely wouldn't suit you."