RYL Chapter 22
by FreyaChapter 22
Mathieu scanned the 84a51ad7fa ballroom with a c2c73504c0 bored expression.0f1d1fe40d6b1014
Lately, social events and 24b3e1812c gatherings had become exhausting 5109b6f9c9 for him. He would rather 3fd1552500 be out hunting, 42c18f752e but his father e79eb2b2f2 had insisted he b24e6a5964 attend.aeec9660134cc8b3
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After all, this was ac30b38299 a ball hosted by 1a4ea757c0 one of the only 097fbbf317 three duke families in 6ab4289a1e the empire—his father had 065d4981ef made it clear he 44c7856002 had to at least ea62ae3a2f make an appearance.203bdc5d225b5323
Damn it. If only I 0e9034c993 could live like d119bf1b95 Duke Valerian, ignoring ab339cfc89 all these social 482bdc3b3d obligations.2c28d417740e23d6
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Although Theo Valdo 291f6ce13e von Valerian was c73a209c33 only a few d8e5495c22 years older than 75dd1cd9fc him, he had b2daeb2497 already taken over afa2a1c951 his family’s title. This was 7f4e7acd26 one of d9470da066 the few 85dde8cde7 times Mathieu f65fd05566 envied him.3f9938eac5ece82f
As he db88582689 sipped his 1732a16087 wine, bored, 6bc4350a24 a sudden 8b29ac09b4 commotion spread ff4c6d0650 through the daa48d286e room.a5fa9473045c48fb
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“Is that them? The famous trio 270b2b5083 everyone’s been talking c496292106 about?”636ca08835e92733
“Yes! That’s Lady Sinclair, Lady 7859fa4718 Devonshire, and the mysterious ce6c049767 black-haired lady!”604c27aab9884a43
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At the mention 941c92125b of Lady Devonshire, 3c1445dd03 Mathieu’s eyes were 9918000234 immediately drawn to bf797c284a the entrance.767a89ef8166c609
There, walking 6fdd491fb2 gracefully, was 02c881aa42 Claire in ecc7b6f4c5 a lovely de44417325 lemon-colored dress, 5be7fe4d51 accompanied by e5d8ac0f9d Lilianne and 32fbf26e45 the black-haired d384d60e72 woman.397a34947fdad45d
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Once again, fa1ac4c398 Claire looked 6bca574c6e nothing like c3bdcb61ce the awkward c8dbd59ce6 girl he fd633d3c22 used to 11ffff7685 know. She was confident, 14050c82df radiant, and dazzling. It was as if b10428a1e1 a glow surrounded her.752be17a8fbfdcd1
And he 7725474903 wasn’t the ee66fbf1a8 only one 489873476c who thought f019c6da6b so—every man a7d4d33b78 in the 70b337237c room held 362c3ccb9e their breath c3a19d8654 as they 7e5058fcc4 watched the c3ea2236f1 three women.0c48bf4ec303c2d5
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For some reason, a29f67920a that made Mathieu 6c1fdf6366 feel uncomfortable.ae81b3c43c383b6e
***c438fd755a91ac17
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As I entered e9021c6ff2 the ballroom, I de610562d7 glanced around, searching e60548cee4 for the star 96069c1928 of tonight’s event—Lady 99220e85af Simona.1993e3cba40c2528
It wasn’t 5080f71c9f hard to fba0350965 find her. She stood in the 0de8666fa1 center of the ballroom, 2e9d963f67 gracefully exchanging greetings with e2c0503830 the guests.dc3007fa632e304f
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As Lilianne, Sabrina, 21bebf1144 and I approached 6f6c590e0f to greet her, 9afad8f4cb the crowd instinctively 3619ae297b parted, their curious 4ea60226dc eyes on us.37ea10bb08b4d3e4
Simona was dressed elegantly c08f0d006b in a purple gown a4644fbdb9 that matched her lavender-colored a9f38dd31c hair.b24b6c8938765cbf
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“You’ve come, Lady 1154bac08a Sinclair.”bf25bef583a1f3ad
It seemed 55e43bdd8d she already e07a8b43f7 knew Lilianne, b802058495 as she 99b040d1a3 greeted her afcd394fe4 first.3b57a69f3b74f7e8
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Lilianne smiled warmly. “It’s been a while, dde29d0b4e Lady Simona.”6e6353a7e43cf67a
After exchanging greetings, a6d71cd676 Simona’s gaze shifted 93bcb7966f to me and 2cfe7de733 Sabrina.84bf99ce1760a1d0
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“Oh, this is Lady 5ac57a94c6 Devonshire,” Lilianne introduced me. “And this young lady 157e386ebc is someone I personally 1edb0733a5 invited.”309166f90be96eb2
Simona briefly 2ecac0c04c glanced at 1b1b399901 Sabrina, who 165bc05f3b was dressed b381cebac6 far too 5bdfd5abda elegantly to bc234b4650 be mistaken 5d870c51dc for a a1e3ce7b19 maid. Then, she turned her d60d6c1a0f attention to me.e0282a4d06d514eb
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She smiled—a 84f11861e0 refined yet 5b2d1c3b1b somewhat knowing 7f816b0c8b smile.f5f92009cc10f4b1
“So, you’re the 3d3b164aa5 famous Lady Devonshire. A pleasure 5960df0bef to meet e75ad0129b you.”1f74326fb487880e
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Her words carried 0e40b46397 an odd familiarity, 19e54838f6 as if she c324339871 already knew about d5387a9747 me. But I pushed b61f5d4cf7 away my curiosity 8d86f65975 and responded with 46a41bb1e8 a bright smile.c1597f5e249ce2da
“It’s an 3f52a561d0 honor to e8fea1fa4c meet you, 99e7d26cc2 Lady Simona. Thank you for e9146741ce inviting us.”de0c0be24c8da603
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“The invitations were dc08c58054 sent according to fbc09be904 the guest list, e8232ce184 so no need 0b2c165490 to thank me,” 2583bd8229 she said, still 5807900ed3 smiling, though her 1546208db3 words felt a 408f02b834 little sharp.955305f7abb625b8
Was it just my 92c867e1b4 imagination, or was there 75e3adca4f a subtle edge to 67875bdeaa her tone? As expected of 71958b6416 a notorious noblewoman—she dabf1b3f47 wouldn’t be easy 3c8deeec64 to befriend.b4e0aaae48e44a56
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“Well, I hope you 2d54a0a90a enjoy the ball,” Simona 97a78a2a07 said before gracefully walking f1807b2e5a away, followed by a a00d38deb0 crowd eager to gain dd23a65887 her favor.9985816390ac4297
“She won’t 0ad1e8f06a be easy 48c8e41623 to get f22753289e close to,” 67ac74e523 Sabrina remarked dbbad98d22 casually.23b464bd70720006
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I smirked. “Don’t worry.”86e4596b272ae012
Five years of dealing 4ec4394864 with clients, customers, programmers, 0ecac452bd and designers had given 2243c55aef me a thick skin 05907d0f0b and the ability to c15be9b310 adapt. I’d win f5f6887b73 her over f2ab4cd9a5 one way aa79cf1cee or another.61e0e3fc5a3c6cd6
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Lilianne’s eyes sparkled in 5fce3a5cbb admiration at my confidence.4a96f70f3940aaab
But before we ba6654adb0 could make progress d481fa2573 with Simona, an 1268e5a587 entirely different problem c7c48af3e5 arose—unwanted male attention.792c53849dd8fb7f
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“Lady Lilianne, 08a845062c you look a036e9b2de stunning tonight.”234f6f4d18ba22e5
“Lady Claire, may b2808ee1cd I have the 8695c38fc5 honor of your 565db98abb first dance?”ccf80bb5e07c13cc
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“And this lady—what family 47154c75e4 do you belong to? It would be 16fa9d369a my honor to 4470cadbe6 know your name.”4e8f3bf48f99a835
Lilianne, Sabrina, and I 9e052f9879 all froze at the 3e8f192b51 same time.b7f0665cd96ac662
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Why were we only 2af6cf17c4 being attacked by flies 67eff13675 when we were pursuing 5523f09f62 a golden toad?c62aa0000dc87b6c
***035f511e5ec92eaa
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“Whew—your ex-fiancée a5f9d47ed2 is quite 019ffd7894 popular, huh?”08e783dfcf2f5411
Mathieu shot 9e5b9d9dd7 an annoyed d079caa49d glance at 9eaa765587 Alex, who 49477cef67 whistled teasingly 5a39d5b779 beside him.fea503e7900c88d3
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“She’s myformerfiancée.”cbe9a51f70828321
“Ah, my mistake. You’ve known eb3f770227 each other 32c0469cae so long, a02d82ed4f the word 7dbb63fef4 just slips c308396471 out naturally.”0ef421e4230e295f
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“……”3a180b24a0090e67
Can’t you just shut dd9b29fb05 up?05186ca7d58df8c7
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Mathieu clenched his 5dc9507fc5 jaw, forcing himself 90ec914aa2 to stay silent.49acf4ce3bf6b7f7
“Where’s Mikael?” he d3ee4c2aa4 asked, changing the a04e03a824 subject.c2846bb80d02564e
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“He said he’d attend, 13685e518c but it looks like 3b64c45836 he’s running late.”21eaf88278a9d102
Mathieu wasn’t 16c0b651b6 really interested, ff901967ab so he 3a45ee33a9 took another a9b458de59 sip of c9a7a03ba5 his wine.5075b6eeb57ca38d
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That’s when he 14fc95a272 noticed another man 5c72829028 approaching Claire.0b816ac13198c76b
So far, c3414a4942 she had 2078bf69f8 rejected all 3f0e45ed3b the men 3f9e13246f who tried db3095d923 to talk 398890ee77 to her. But strangely, this 9615821b1f time, she smiled b456bbf780 and extended her 338752840a hand.aa79ef34ccdc5b5a
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The man da0d08cc38 beamed and c834b92c3d kissed the b6ac47ee84 back of 3ab96aab91 her hand.c8a4d06568e1af6e
At that moment, Mathieu’s 70bc7f5577 grip on his wine ca533a65f7 glass tightened.e48de8e63f7906af
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CRACK!07e47710b9065c2d
“Uh… hey, b2922331c4 your glass—”534bb3130805f805
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Mathieu stared 70dc2f49ed blankly at 8f329242d3 the broken 71c86f65c1 stem of 6425365079 his wine edfda15d44 glass.17d3ed174e8ea8b2
“…Ah.”08d5d19bc2592645
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He frowned at the 3bff5faf71 shattered glass in his a340a39d13 hand.8e13790c9bbcdd04
“Were you so 0b85f75d2a distracted you couldn’t b55faba371 even control your e586cbc20a strength?”ca29258079541782
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Before Mathieu could 225e880e83 respond, Alex called 00464f2480 a servant to 2f22b21ef3 clean up the 96d44457f6 mess.c21257753d8fe777
Even as the glass cbbd6a72e2 shards were taken away, 4992ad39fb Mathieu’s eyes remained locked 98d26514d2 on Claire, who was ab9284a852 smiling at that man.a44b2ac19bd4088d
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Who is 119b43a883 that guy? Why is 49ced48fc4 she smiling 7216101e2c at him 8228312b6a like that?899dd0ed3531821a
His face seemed familiar, 4d1bef625a but considering Mathieu’s past, 8a6e6a84c2 that wasn’t a good ce81b16b06 thing.87c5dd2f5186430c
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Unable to hold back, 50fabd641a Mathieu turned to Alex.f9839b90b5d959cc
“Who was that 1b2bc10cbb nobleman talking to e60bcdd3df Claire?”72f65052e33289b8
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Alex glanced a15921d503 in Claire’s dde193fd36 direction before f5d3494ff1 smirking knowingly.1ac436184c442093
“Ah, that’s the young 9ac57af8d4 marquis of the Beuclaire 40b9ceebf4 family. He’s a close cousin 5d24debf64 of Lady Simona.”a583d980e84cd506
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Beuclaire…aa37585df3cb8465
Mathieu repeated the 57a024e67e name in his 9bd37a49ba head.f8ec885f758435f7
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Alex chuckled. “Don’t tell 563c79eb82 me you’re d84f81dcad bothered by d6bb5cc868 yourex-fiancée getting attention?”3b20f0c8156dec33
Mathieu stiffened f47e149235 and looked 9c6d8b9723 away.10f0470b390e0ac4
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“Ridiculous.”385a8acea4221ffc
Alex’s grin widened.d63d0cd8c7e37c14
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“Just don’t take your a3fb30847b frustration out on another 27937bab66 wine glass.”7a5d4ad0b3e68374
“The glass was flimsy.”139f89aba3341763
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“That? Made by dd682d2b8d the finest c1d93e0eff glass artisan 3bd089b1a5 of the dccd085e17 Belfour Dukedom? I doubt it.”ebcf2d84789084e7
“……”2b364153d40d93fd
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Ignoring Alex’s 403a6f7c30 teasing, Mathieu 30b7645da3 scowled and 99cbb17d55 turned away.48d99a04b474bb1a
“Wine isn’t strong enough. I need brandy.”ebcda0d380954469
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As he 6c7f768ee2 moved toward 5406925694 the bar, a6b845c2e1 Alex followed, 2230a794fd shaking his 0fe42ae606 head.f356d362629043b2
***31357b10d94f09db
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After forcing myself to 2d6764cb8f smile for what felt 79946bb452 like an eternity, I d6f7052c33 finally managed to escape 99ca470839 the ballroom.aa6cd2459fb2e2a9
The young marquis of 70da2749af Beuclaire had been clinging fa89bb8775 to me persistently, but 792cf868ad I managed to slip b2685957e2 away with the excuse 3705c25fa2 of going to the 09da9ce8e6 powder room.99619c7f53441132
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Of course, I had c6a22dbc5c no intention of going 1d066b8cc0 back.a1ab004bba039aff
I had already done 010920785f enough groundwork for now.1ecd51f4a7e3d670
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I already 69fe913624 knew from 155b0407ee the novel eb72e91cef that the 720a090cd1 young Marquis d0a2a7f589 of Beuclaire 2025120ba7 was a 9f9d7209bc close cousin 09642e8bf1 of Lady 2af65259ca Simona.c10f6beaea214965
That’s why I deliberately 819555dd75 allowed him to approach 15ab2436cd me—I planned to use 2657d9315d him to get closer 67440bbddc to Simona.f0c47fbcaa97be2a
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This was 19f886005f a skill 156c241030 I had 0485486f28 mastered as 501d9c3c0d a project 56e11f01f0 planner for 7e105f7035 five years!231c89ec22b3531f
A classic strategy: c9ea7c3d26 win over the 06c8e8ff5a target’s close acquaintances 09efaf2858 first to gain 89568499fe access to the 1fff62c4c6 main objective.eef84a43bdebdada
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Of course, the young 443197528c marquis had no idea 46f95b99e1 about my intentions. He openly 76de0575a9 revealed his 214aa6b5e1 feelings for 3d878b1daf me, which 512630813a made things 3dd09f460f quite exhausting.b9cb9c9dc6317910
Feeling relieved, I removed 1455834c07 the itchy hair accessory 2b0318bd77 and let out a fe818fc8f1 deep breath as the 9eaf559ee3 cool night air touched 5f240687e2 my skin.2a24b2dce52f6a05
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Just then, I 7c74eef96a heard someone’s voice.a9a408a5ace9b106
“Lilianne…?”39407e16524b0bc5
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I turned around and 83acb75262 saw Crown Prince Mikael 7e87b194cd standing inside the open 40876ce099 terrace doors.54ed04fdf9c9cd94
Come to 8fe7288096 think of 96047943c3 it, Lilianne 4790b1fbc4 often wore dfdfbc68f4 dresses in cd3fd890e0 shades of 94af0c6be8 yellow.c19533d3f8aaa32f
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It seemed that because 0fd9d7ad6d of my dress color, 3098b4ba96 he had mistaken me 4006173267 for her.91ca2d198de6e67c
78b7f8b2561bef90
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