How to Live as the Terminally Ill Younger Sister of the Villain - Chapter 75

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“Haah……”

Upon returning to her room, Angelina let out the sigh she had been holding back.

“Kyu?”

Pudding, who had been left in the room since he couldn’t be taken to meet Aiden, came running and snuggled up to her.

The maids must have bathed him while Angelina was away, as his fur was fluffy and soft.

Usually, Angelina would have shed all her worries in that softness, but not this time. She frowned while pressing her temples.

“If you’re very uncomfortable, should I suggest we return?”

Laura asked, worried about Angelina’s stressed appearance. However, Angelina shook her head.

“It’s fine. The situation has already unfolded.”

From the moment he knew Blake was here, any action would have been wrong.

“Kyung?”

Pudding whined as though curious about what situation she meant, but Angelina put him down on the sofa and walked to the wardrobe.

“First, bring me the clothes.”

Angelina quickly changed into the clothes Laura brought out.

And just as she finished dressing, Haley, who had been sent on an errand, returned with a knock.

“Miss, the Duke has arrived.”

“Tell him to come in.”

Angelina, who had just put on her shawl, greeted him as he entered the room.

“You heard the news?”

“Yes. That he saw me in the garden.”

“Yes, so the situation has become complicated.”

Angelina pressed her throbbing temples.

“I thought we should align our stories before going in.”

In truth, Angelina didn’t need to change clothes. She had bought time to convey the situation to Blake and devise a strategy.

However, since she couldn’t return to wearing the same clothes, she really changed into different ones.

“We shouldn’t keep him waiting too long, or it’ll be suspicious, so let’s just align the basics and go.”

Angelina added while checking her wristwatch, which matched her outfit and coordination.

“Should we say it was just a sick visit?”

Angelina, who had brought up the easiest excuse, quickly shook her head.

“No. Since there’s no connection between the Duke’s family and the Marquis family, that would sound too far-fetched.”

Unless they had been acquainted before, the two were officially meeting for the first time.

Aiden knew they had accidentally met on the way to the magic tower, but as far as he knew, they had just gone their separate ways without incident.

A sudden sick visit would be too random.

“I’m not very creative in this area, so I can’t think of anything else. Do you have any ideas, Duke?”

“Hasn’t Aiden asked why I came here yet?”

“No.”

“That’s strange.”

“What is?”

“That should have been his first curiosity, but he didn’t ask…”

He must have deliberately held back.

The Aiden that Blake knew was someone who never hesitated to get what he wanted. Few nobles could match his decisiveness.

“Could it be that he’s waiting for us to come up with an aligned story?”

“We can’t rule out that possibility.”

“Haah……”

Either way, it meant they had fallen into his trap, and a groan escaped involuntarily from her complicated feelings.

“Still, as Lady Flaubert said, it would be better to align our stories first, even if it’s flimsy.”

“You think so?”

Angelina nodded, feeling somewhat relieved at Blake’s agreement.

“I’ll follow your judgment. You’ve met His Highness the Crown Prince more often than I have.”

“That was all when we were young, and I’m not very good at this sort of thing either, so…”

Blake, who was shaking his head while speaking, trailed off. It seemed something had occurred to him.

“Did you think of something?”

“No.”

“It looked like you did.”

“No.”

“What is it? Please tell me.”

“I don’t think this would work. It would be discovered immediately.”

“Just tell me first. If it doesn’t work, we can think of something else and build on that if it’s suitable.”

Under Angelina’s persistent questioning, Blake bit his lower lip firmly. He seemed to regret showing any hint.

“My mind is completely blank right now. I can’t think of anything. But if I hear your idea, it might spark something.”

However, Angelina, who didn’t have time to worry about such minor details, urged him.

“Well…”

He hesitated a bit more before letting out a small sigh and finally speaking up.

“I’m talking about the ball celebrating His Majesty the Emperor’s birthday that will be held in two months.”

“I know. What about it?”

“Would you go with me?”

“What?”

Suddenly?

Why is he suddenly inviting me to a ball while we were making up excuses to deceive the Crown Prince?

“I know. Asking like this goes against etiquette.”

When Angelina looked at him with a bewildered face, he hastily started adding words.

“Even though I couldn’t send a formal proposal with a seal, to make such an ill-mannered nonsense without even flowers, well, considering our situation, I thought this would be most appropriate, but what I just said wasn’t completely thoughtless and was somewhat sincere, no, that’s not it, what I mean is…”

His face turned so red from embarrassment, and his gaze was so lost it seemed somewhat chaotic. He spoke so quickly that you could feel the rhythm.

“I thought this might be the only thing Aiden would find acceptable for my reason for being here. I don’t have any other intentions, it’s just an idea I came up with to smooth over the current situation. But thinking about it again, it seems I was too rude. And without a formal proposal, the lie would be discovered anyway…”

“Pfft.”

Angelina, who had been watching him with surprised eyes, burst into laughter.

What was he explaining so urgently about?

She couldn’t help but laugh at how it contrasted with Blake’s usual serious and proper demeanor.

She bit her lips, trying not to laugh in case he might feel bad, but it was useless.

“Puhehe.”

Silly sounds kept escaping.

So she quickly covered her face with both hands and tried holding her breath, but it backfired. Giggling sounds kept flowing out.

“Ahck, what do I do…!”

Unable to stop the burst of laughter, Angelina eventually collapsed into her seat.

Meanwhile, Blake, who had been making excuses, was struck speechless at her reaction.

She was bowing her head deeply, trying not to laugh. But the more she tried to hold it in, her shaking shoulders revealed just how much she was laughing.

Blake was perplexed.

Why… is she laughing?

Then slowly, he recalled the words he had blurted out and belatedly realized how ridiculous his rushed, incoherent appearance must have been.

His already red face burned even more.

He quickly covered his mouth with his fist. However, the nonsense that had already come out couldn’t be taken back.

“So I’m saying it doesn’t seem right…”

He added quietly in a voice that seemed to reproach her for making him speak. But such a timid protest only made his face hotter.

“Heehee.”

Angelina was now letting out laughter that was so muffled it was impossible to tell if she was crying or laughing.

Her laughter finally subsided after a while, and eventually, she raised her head.

Seeing Blake standing awkwardly in front of her like someone who had committed a crime, she almost burst out laughing again, but managed to hold it in by biting her rolled-in lips.

Finally, she opened her mouth.

“Let’s go with that.”

“…Pardon?”

“That you came here because you had something to ask me about the ball.”

There was still laughter in Angelina’s voice.

“Even if it’s not a partner proposal, there are various topics related to the ball, right? So it seems like a good excuse. Let’s go with that.”

Angelina spoke in a cheerful voice with the brightest smile he had ever seen from her.

And Blake was momentarily entranced by this fresh side of her he had never seen before.

The face he had seen of her until now was mostly expressionless, showing little emotional fluctuation.

Sometimes she would smile slightly and often fall into deep thought with a serious face. She could show infinitely gentle eyes, and at times have completely unreadable, empty eyes.

But everything was always calm.

She seemed like a woman who wouldn’t show much reaction even if the world ended, just sighing once and accepting fate, as her emotions didn’t vary much.

But now her joy was clearly visible, and it was a different kind of brightness from when she talked about her brother.

And that image was strongly imprinted in Blake’s mind.

After staring blankly for a moment, he smiled back and extended his hand.

“Your clothes will get dirty.”

“That would be troublesome.”

Angelina took his hand and stood up. As she lightly patted her skirt, Laura, who was behind her, came forward and properly arranged it.

“Shall we go then?”

This time, Angelina extended her hand, and Blake offered his arm to guide her.