I Don’t Want to Be a Lady

“We’ve arrived.”

The carriage quickly arrived at the theater. It was because our mansion was located in the center of the capital, which was the most expensive land. How long did it take to get here when it was this close? I, who shed a self-help smile, was once again immersed in emotion.

The carriage door opened, and Charter got down first, then held out his hand to me. I grabbed his hand and stepped out of the carriage. Unlike my father, he supported me well so I wouldn’t fall.  He is really likable in many ways.

Whoa.

The theater I saw after getting out of the carriage was magnificent and elegant as I had heard.  The exterior, made of white marble, was lined with long, thick round columns, and the walls under the roof were decorated with non-excessive decorations and sculptures.

While I was absorbed observing the theater, Charter naturally stretched out his arm.

Is he asking me to cross our arms?

When I looked at him in doubt, he looked at me with a face asking what I was doing without linking our arms.

Pft. I laughed without realizing it. There was no reason to refuse the favor, so I put my hand on his arm and entered the building. The theater lobby was already crowded with people.

“We will start entering soon, so please wait a moment!”

The theater staff was shouting in a polite yet bold voice.

I immediately turned my eyes away because I wasn’t interested in what others did. My head turned to see what the inside of the theater looked like, which I had only heard about.

When I looked around to find out why it suddenly became quiet… At that moment, I noticed everyone in the theater was looking at me.

The cause of the silence… Was it me?

After a moment of silence, a loud murmur was heard incomparable to the previous one.

“Oh my gosh! Isn’t that Duke Kaien?”

“You’re right. But who is the lady next to him?”

“Oh my! That person looks like Lady Bornes, right? Her atmosphere is slightly different from the last time I saw her at the banquet, but it’s clearly her.”

“Then why those two together?”

There was an uproar over Charter and me. It must be because Duke Kaien, the iron-blooded man famous for neglecting women, appeared with a beautiful woman. The young ladies there said they couldn’t believe it and kept fanning themselves as if they were going to pass out immediately.

Wh-What?

I was momentarily taken aback by the gaze and reaction of people I had never expected. I expected to a certain extent but didn’t expect this much.  In their gaze, strong curiosity, suspicion, and hostility were felt to the extent that it stings my skin.

Who are you standing next to Duke Kaien? What the hell are you doing with your arms crossed?

Half of them were startled, and the other was gossiping, rolling their eyes.

Although I was determined to show the others, I was a little surprised because it was the first time in my life that I had received the attention of so many people. By the way,

Huh?

I looked at him. As if all these commotions were natural, the face of Charter remains calm.

I’m really unfortunate. Even though I’m already beautiful, I chose a gorgeous man.

Thanks to that, my surprised heart calmed down.

“Manager, show me the seats.”

At the right time, Charter called the theater manager to escort us to our seats. It was the consideration of Charter who noticed my uncomfortable expression.

We were guided to the VIP seats on the second floor. After all, Duke Kaien also gets the best seat among other VIPs. Eight seats were in the room, four in the front, two in the middle, and two in the front row.

When I entered the VIP room, I quickly regained my smile as if I was annoyed. Moments later, while the staff pushed carts with drinks and refreshments and took orders, I was frantically busy observing the inside of the theater.

“Arianne, what would you like to drink?”

“Anything.”

The drinks aren’t important right now. I’ve come to the place I’ve dreamed of for the past few years, a place where I wondered if one day I would come there.

The theater was beautiful from the outside, but the inside was truly the pinnacle of splendor. The mansion I lived in was gorgeous, but it was different from the splendor of the theater. If the mansion was just showy splendor covered in expensive decorations and furnishings, the theater was truly elegant splendor.

The dazzling gold ornament doesn’t look excessive at all. It’s… really fascinating.

It took a while after the two of us sat down, and people started to sit on the first floor. After a while, the performance began. And it was the first performance I watched in my life…

“Perfect.”

I had nothing else to say other than that.

Arianne was so immersed in the performance that she couldn’t even feel Charter’s gaze upon her in the middle of the performance.

I can swear that this is the happiest moment of my life. After the performance of the first part, which I hoped would never end, a short break came. Perhaps it was because I was more nervous than I thought, so I spoke to him.

“Hey, I’m going to check my makeup for a while.”

I rose from my seat with a metaphorical expression that I was going to the bathroom. Charter instructed Dale, a knight, who was standing behind him.

“Guide the Lady.”

“You don’t need to do that. I saw it on the way in a while ago, so I know where it is. It’s not far, so I will go there alone.”

I shook my head and refused to be escorted. It was because I thought I didn’t have to be escorted just to go to the bathroom. And since this was the floor for the VIP, the security would be tight.

“Would that be all right?”

“Of course. What will happen in just a few steps?”

When Charter asked, I smiled and hurried out, saying he didn’t need to worry.

I saw it on the way here, so it will be slightly to the right.

I’m in a hurry~

I couldn’t even take a few steps. As soon as someone blocked my front, I felt the tip of something sharp on my side. Then,

Oh my god. Now? Why now?

In just a few steps when I said before what could happen there, something happened.

I’m being kidnapped.

* * *

“Follow me quietly.”

The sound of vigorous breathing pierced my ears. My brows furrowed automatically.

He’s quite sweaty, smelly, and made me feel… dirty.

First of all, I had to follow him quietly in the current situation. Because I didn’t want my side to be pierced.

The man opened the door in the corner of the second floor and pushed me in.

“Ouch!”

I, who was pushed by the man, slammed my back somewhere.

Thud. The door closed, and the space was soon engulfed in darkness. The only light was the thin yellow line that penetrated through the gap below the door.

“Why are you doing something that can be resolved with words? This could cause a bruise on my back.”

“Finally, I can get revenge.”

“What?”

I pondered. Who wanted to get revenge on me?

Is it Jenne? Or Louise? If it’s not them… While I looked back at the servants who had been kicked out of the mansion, the man talked.

“Silver hair and purple eyes. You’re really the daughter of Count Bornes.”

I let out a sigh with an exhausted face.

Ha. After all, he’s my father’s enemy. Those shit flies…

It was natural for shit flies to get tangled around my stinky father, and they must be targeting me because I was his daughter.

Haa. I should get out of here before that stinky smell gets in my body.

“If you want to blame, blame your father.”

What’s he saying?

I spilled poisonous words.

“Why? Didn’t you beg my father to lend you some money?”

“T-That’s not it!”

As expected, he was also a bad guy. Blaming others for his sins. Moreover, he was trying to relieve his anger by kidnapping someone who had absolutely nothing to do with his resentment. A cowardly person who chose a weaker opponent than him, just on behalf of his opponent that he can’t do something.

“You even get down on your knees and beg for a loan, and now you feel it’s unfair to pay him back?”

“Shut up! He’s a punk with ridiculous interest. He’s garbage that eats other people’s lives day by day!”

I nodded my head naturally.

That’s right. But don’t you know that you’re a shit flies who rushed to that kind of garbage?

First of all, I admit what I have to admit.

“Didn’t you still borrow it even though you already knew? You have to be responsible for your choices. Borrowing other people’s money is easy, but you don’t want to pay it back? Is there even something free in this world? Do you know that you’re the one who wants to live easily right now?”

“Urg!”

The man just huffed as if he was speechless.

I looked around. As my eyes got used to the darkness, I began to see the surroundings dimly. The chairs were stacked on top of each other, and it looked like a warehouse with miscellaneous items piled up here and there. It seemed the only way out was the door I dragged in. That means I have to knock this guy down somehow and get through.

That means we have to knock this guy down somehow.

“You fucking bitch. Let’s see where you can keep messing around. You can pay me back with your body.”

The man said, lifting the knife. He was trying to intimidate me with a knife. I smiled bitterly.

I wasn’t the same Arianne in the old days, who trembled with fear and could not do anything. Since the kidnapping, I have learned various self-defense techniques and shooting in case of unexpected events under my father’s instructions. I could handle one or two men on my own. Among them, I was particularly confident that I wouldn’t lose to anyone in the shooting.

“You know, today is a really happy day. It was such a perfect day.”

“What are you talking about?”

The man asked as if I was talking nonsense.

“You ruined my perfect day. So, everything that’s happening from now on, it’s, all, your, fault.”

“What are you talking about? Cheeky girls like you need to be taught to get their act together!”

He took a step closer to me, holding out a knife in one hand and reaching out to the other. At that moment, I quickly pulled my skirt upside down and stretched out my legs to kick his dick.

Puk.

With a dull sound, he dropped his knife. He covered his dick with his two hands as he couldn’t even scream at the excruciating pain.

I originally intended to end it here. But when I thought about how he dared to rape me and that he had ruined my perfect day, my anger soared. I reached out my hand and slammed his head with the object I was holding near me.

Ariane felt his hand and hit him on the head with an object he was holding nearby.

Puk.

A second blow was heard, and he slowly fell forward. I slipped away from the direction in which he fell.

Thud. I opened the door after confirming that he had fallen.

“I’m fussing over nothing.”