The Bad Ending of an Otome

The Prince who held his sister’s hand was ordinary.

His blonde hair, which looked like the queen’s, made him stand out a bit, but the brooch, which he had worked hard to make look royal, was so big that it made his small shoulders look sad.

As she watched the scene, I noticed that the countess had a very sharp eye. 

As soon as the short dance between the royal siblings was over and the doors to the waiting rooms on either side opened, other couples started to come in.

“… and Lady… enters!”

Cheers and echoes made it hard to hear what was going on. 

Cassio Brahamdorf stood by the door and again put his hand out to me to let me know that it was almost our turn. 

I gave him my hand with a flutter in my chest. 

A long, smooth hall where you could fall just by walking welcomed me. 

The middle of the hall, where people would usually be, was completely empty.

“Lady Emilia Clare and Sir Cassio Brahamdorf from the Clare and Brahamdorf families are coming in!”

When couples entered the hall to dance their first dance, greetings were usually short to show that everyone was equal. 

I felt the man who had my hand tighten his grip on it, so I raised my head. 

The countess, Lady McGinty, patted me on the shoulder in a way that seemed to encourage me. He was easy to follow. 

As soon as we walked into the hall, everyone was looking at us.

Strangers were interested in looking at me and the man next to me. 

We had to stand in the middle of the room, hold hands, say our greetings, and move toward other people. 

It seemed like nothing, but I couldn’t stop getting tense. 

Cassio Brahamdorf whispered to me as he put one arm on my shoulder as if to help me,

“Are you feeling nervous?”

At first look, it might have seemed like a sweet whisper between lovers, but it had a strange tone. 

I really opened my eyes. 

Behind his back, I could see the people who had already walked in.

A lady is standing nervously while holding the hand of a prince while she stood there with a height that barely reached his chest.

Thousands of people watching… 

After the formal welcome, which seemed to go by in a split second, we left the center of the hall. 

A loud sound could be heard.

“Lady Elodie Diantha of the Diantha family and Sir Raretis Hope from the Hope family!”

I know how it feels when your blood stops moving for a moment. 

My body turned cold right away. 

I had to look behind me, so I turned around. 

It didn’t even come as a surprise. 

My partner slowly pulled my arm, as if to lead me. 

When I turned around, a very pretty couple was standing there.

Elodie smiled a little awkwardly, perhaps because she doesn’t go to many busy places. 

And Raretis, seemed to be taking care of her by moving her slowly. 

As soon as I saw her icy silver hair, I instinctively tightened my grip. 

I had to give my legs strength because I might fall.

I smiled, but my lips became stiff. 

I didn’t have a choice. 

Even though I knew I needed to look away, I couldn’t. 

As usual, Raretis’s face was hard to figure out at first look. 

He was wearing a dark blue suit. 

His dark violet eyes looked around the hall without much thought until they saw me. 

I had never seen those violet eyes shake so hard before or after that, and I never will again.

‘Emilia.’

It sounded like he said it with his mouth. 

Likely it was a mistake on my part. 

My fingers automatically curled around Cassio’s hand. 

Cassio looked at me with a face that was too blank. 

His face couldn’t be read. 

The man just grabbed my hand tightly and led me as if to show me the way.

The man rarely did anything but smile and act cocky in public. 

His eyes were grey and looked like dead glass orbs. 

As the couple in the middle of the hall greeted everyone, a wave of enthusiastic cheers went up. Some people cheered. 

They were ready for it. 

The man and woman were the most beautiful people I had ever seen. 

I should have seen it coming. 

It did not come as a surprise. 

A few more couples came in one at a time, and soon everyone was dancing.

All of the new couples from this year came together for the first and last dances. 

After the dance, the people who had been staying away from the edges and the new people were going to talk to each other. 

It was just a simple dance. 

I shook with nerves as I held Cassio’s hand and danced. 

As we turned, my skirt’s length grew, touched the clothes of other people, and then moved away. 

The man said,

“Emilia.”

“…”

“Five times now, you’ve stepped on my foot.”

I tried to make myself calm.

“I guess I should have worn shoes with lower heels.”

“I could have also worn shoes with steel toes.”

“I see you’re not even trying to act like it doesn’t hurt.”

“You said my dear partner doesn’t like words that mean nothing.”

From the outside, we might have looked like we liked each other a lot. 

I tried to keep my emotions in check. 

I saw Cassio Brahamdorf’s face, which was as kind and beautiful as usual. 

I never had faith in him. 

I just had no option. 

Ophelia wrote something about my debut in her letter. 

He had to keep it safe. 

Even so, no one could know what he was really up to.

“What do you think?”

“I’ve never been to the palace before, and the hall is very big. I guess it has to be, since most of the nobles meet there at least twice a year.”

“The palace isn’t open to the public except for the New Year’s ball and the debutantes’ ball. Maybe on the birthday or anniversary of a royal… Even so, only nobles who have been invited and can pay for it can go to the ball.”

We moved apart because of the music, but then we came back together. 

Almost all of the dancers had left. 

Our arms touched.

“Are you trying to escape?”

The man’s voice was like the voice of the devil.

“Do you want to leave this place?”

At first, I could have. 

Most likely, I would have.

“…Why would you say something like that if you’re not going to let me go?”

Did he want me to be this way? 

Did he bring me here because of that?

“I’m not going to leave.”

Even while I was moving, the scene around me caught my attention. 

I knew what the people who had come together were hoping for. 

Her silver hair was easy to see with just a look. 

Her hemline looks like flower leaves flapping. 

The man who is escorting her has the best stance of anyone. 

Yes, I left the Marquis’s house because I didn’t want to see this type of scenario. 

I didn’t want someone who looked like the child I loved to get all of her stuff. 

It’d be fine if I left before I was left alone. 

It would be fine if I left before I got really unhappy. 

As I closed my eyes to hide the rush of feelings that were coming over me, Cassio Brahamdorf’s face was still too mysterious to figure out. 

The dance ended when he looked at me like he was going to say something and licked his lips.

The couples who finished the first dance at the debutante ball got a lot of loud praise. 

As I held Cassio Brahamdorf’s hand and bowed again, I thought about what would happen to the praise that was raining down on my head. 

The tornado would start as soon as the dance was over. 

Like a blade or a north wind.

I knew from the start that I couldn’t stop that tornado. 

If I did something wrong, I would vanish without a trace. 

If no one ever said anything good or bad about me, I would die with nothing to show for my life. Holding the hand of a man who didn’t care about me or feel sorry for me, I slowly stepped on the floor, which was as smooth and shiny as glass. 

Bright colors, like the spring flowers that fell on her coffin, lit up the sky.

* * *

“I can’t believe that Countess McGinty chaperoned for someone.”

Countess Betty was shocked. 

I smiled in a way that wasn’t real. 

Having Countess McGinty chaperoning me was worth the while

More than half of the women’s intense looks at me, like lionesses who have just caught their prey, were blocked out. 

The reason Countess Betty is talking at all is probably because she is friends with Countess McGinty. 

Cassio Brahamdorf, who was standing next to me, also kept his place and was strangely quiet about it.

“I did push her a little.”

“Good heavens, Lord Brahamdorf, you did?”

Countess Betty put her hands over her mouth to make it look like she was shocked. 

But since she was close to the Windroses, it didn’t look so convincing to me. 

She must know that the last name I wear on my back comes from an empty noble family that doesn’t even own land.

“Oh, Emilia, my. It looks like Lord Brahamdorf really likes you. Even though he got a lot of offers, he never became anyone’s cavalier.”

“It’s way too much for me.”

“Being too humble is a flaw in society, you know?”

She wants us to stop being shy and tell her how we got to know each other. 

Countess McGinty, who had been quiet until now, spoke up,

“Every day, my body gets heavier and my eyesight gets worse, so I thought I’d hear rumors that I was becoming less popular, so I went down to watch my niblings play. Still, that annoying nephew found something for me to do.”

“It’s crazy to say that Countess McGinty is no longer popular.”

“When you get to be my age, the small talk of the social world starts to get to you, and everyone wants to find a raw diamond that they can hold in their hands. Being as calm as I am, I thought I wouldn’t lose my shine no matter where I stood, so this old woman got a little greedy.”

“I get what Countess McGinty is going through. I feel jealous every time I see Lady Windrose.”

My body jerked on its own. 

Countess McGinty looked at me briefly and then said something in a casual way,

“I know you’ve been sick for a long time, so I’m glad to see you’re feeling better.”

“Indeed. I got up as if I had never been sick. Since you’re here, you must have seen it today. I’m talking about that Elodie girl.”

She talked in a way that sounded like she was proud of herself. 

She didn’t forget to watch how I responded. 

I looked down in a quiet way. 

Right. 

She also knew ‘Ophelia.’ 

The woman and her daughter were just like everyone else. (I didn’t get much context about this but I think this is talking about Countess Betty and her daughter.)

They all started to love her like they were longing for a way out of their normal lives. 

Right. 

She was the one who secretly felt bad for me because I was ‘normal’ but Ophelia’s only friend.

“Not everyone from the country is a bumpkin, but who would have thought that such a gem was hiding in plain sight? You should have seen how excited those young guys were. That’s what it’s like to be young, isn’t it? Whoohoo. Emilia’s calm attitude is great, but they are all at their best right now. How can they be so shy and cute at the same time?”

She gently pointed out that I wasn’t acting like a debutante by refusing to dance with other people and staying close to my chaperone. 

That’s right. 

On the day of the debut, it is common for many men to ask the girl to dance. 

It’s important that the chaperone is there, but it’s not a good idea to always follow behind them. 

If I was left alone, there are probably a lot of people who would get red eyes trying to get close to me.

“You’re right. I only saw her from a distance, but she was a very lively and pretty young woman.”

“Oh, no! Does Countess McGinty agree?”

“She must be like a firefly and be the center of attention for a while. When a woman like this is around, the social scene gets more lively. Whether she remains as steadfast as Her Highness the Princess, or keep calm and collected as Lady Emilia, they’ll just be a topic of gossip for someone like me.”

The look on Countess Betty’s face changed. 

It was because Countess McGinty said something strange. 

Princess Alosia and Prince Alexis did have their first dance together, but after that, they didn’t do much together. 

Prince Alexis left early, and the princess and the queen were talking with a number of nobles.