Chapter 69
“Everyone who attended the ball today in their capacity as a soldier is to assemble immediately.”
“Hm? Haha. Why is His Highness saying that? Well, I’m not in the navy, so I should be fine.”
As if in response to Marco’s flippant remark, a harsh voice rang out from the magic microphone.
“Regardless of which branch you belong to—everyone. If your rank is lower than mine, then no matter the unit, all of you assemble at once.”
“Haah… What terrible timing…”
The potato muttered irritably, then sighed as if he had no choice.
“If His Highness is suddenly calling people, it must mean some calamity has occurred. Go on, I’ll wait for you at the terrace.”
Odette, however, knew from her past life’s memories that no such calamity had happened.
Still, she let Marco go. Since things had come to this, she also needed some time to think and calculate.
After sending Marco off, Odette headed straight for the terrace, which was conveniently empty. It was about one and a half stories high, overlooking a pretty fountain of wine directly below. Perfect.
‘The place is good for talking. And if I need to strike back, this terrace is the best spot.’
She checked the width of the railing.
‘That potato bastard—he was pretty cocky, wasn’t he?’
Most imperial citizens feared Odette. The reputation of being a villainess, the only daughter adored by a count who couldn’t live without her, and the empire’s sole purifier.
They feared her far more than they ever feared the kindly count.
But Marco carried himself with the confidence of someone who believed his father stood above her.
It even slipped out subtly in the way he spoke—as if he knew Odette was under her father’s control.
‘Since he also managed the detention camp, it’s probably true he’s Father’s right-hand man. If he’s a C-rank transcendent, Father would value him highly and keep him close.’
That would explain why, despite being C-rank, he was still a corporal. In the empire’s military, ranks rose according to the number of calamities slain.
Which meant Marco spent less time eliminating calamities and more time carrying out Father’s dirty work.
‘But that bastard Marco—he doesn’t actually know much.’
He acted as if he had tons of dirt on her, like he had plenty of cards to threaten her with—but in truth, he knew very little.
‘If he really knew my situation at home, he never would have asked me to dance at the ball.’
Because he would already know she couldn’t dance with anyone but Fernand.
Knowing Father’s meticulous personality, if he found out Corporal Marco had danced with Odette, he’d kill him immediately. Yet Marco had shown no awareness of that.
‘And now he thinks he can threaten me? Laughable.’
Who in the world tries to extort something from a puppet?
If anyone could be threatened, it would be the puppeteer—Father, or Fernand.
So Marco was simply making noise with half-baked information he barely understood.
Probably he imagined something like, “The Count forbade his daughter from going out, but Odette secretly visited the detention district anyway.”
If he’d truly been Father’s right-hand man, he should’ve realized that Father wasn’t simply “strict” or the type to be a doting fool of a dad.
At best, Marco just pictured her as a daughter raised under strict discipline—nothing more.
Swish. As Odette surveyed the terrace, she suddenly heard the curtain behind her rustle open.
“Corporal Mar—”
When she turned around, the person standing there was someone entirely unexpected.
“Your Highness…?”
It was Johan.
“Why are you here, Your Highness?”
“Is there someone else you were so anxiously waiting for?”
Johan’s voice was stiff.
Odette had purposely distanced herself to avoid becoming his punching bag—but all that effort now felt wasted.
She moved to curtsey, but Johan grabbed her arm.
“Your body is weak. What curtsey? Enough with the formalities. That’s not why I came.”
“…Thank you for understanding.”
Since he was the one who had called the soldiers, the others must have returned to the banquet hall by now. Including Corporal Marco.
Odette rose on tiptoe, trying to peek past Johan to see if Marco had returned—but Johan was blocking the entrance. He was unnecessarily tall and broad-shouldered.
Exaggerating just a little, he was like a door himself. It suddenly hit her again: Right, this is the male lead of an R-rated game.
‘Ugh. I can’t see the hall at all.’
She gave up trying and turned back to face Johan.
“Your Highness, you came to see me, didn’t you? Do you have something to say?”
If he had business with her, she’d rather hear it quickly and have him leave.
Johan’s lips tightened as he spoke.
“Didn’t you dislike dancing?”
…Huh? Surely that wasn’t his real purpose here. Maybe he was just starting small talk, royally polite as ever.
“It’s fine now. Dance invitations don’t scare me anymore. I can write now, after all.”
Smiling brightly to ease the tension, Odette shook the dance card hanging from her wrist.
She had planned to naturally give Johan the credit for her progress, but—
“Hmph.”
Johan’s expression grew more troubled.
“Isn’t that thanks to me? Then you should’ve danced with me first. Why dance with someone with such a filthy reputation?”
“Your Highness… but you don’t dance.”
“The reason I stopped dancing—who do you think it was because of—”
Johan’s voice rose unusually, then suddenly cut off. With a long, frustrated sigh, he scrubbed his face with his hands and unbuttoned the collar of his formal wear.
Odette was dumbfounded.
What do you mean ‘because of someone’?
It had already been three years since Johan refused to dance at events like this.
Traditionally, the crown prince’s dance was a required part of official ceremonies. Johan, who had always followed rules without complaint, had defied that tradition and abstained from dancing—for three years now.
By now, it was common knowledge among the people of the empire that Johan hated dancing and balls.
So much so that officials simply omitted the crown prince’s dance from ceremonies altogether.
‘Wasn’t that the very reason Charlotte’s debut at <Dangun Academy> became such a sensation?’
Even though she wore an unconventional dress, Charlotte hadn’t been criticized. Instead, she was instantly admired—because Johan, who had refused to dance for three years, chose her as his partner.
So what did he mean, “because of someone”—?
‘Wait. Three years ago?’
Odette tilted her head. Wasn’t that about the same time she had refused Johan’s dance invitation?
‘No way… Could it be? The writers wouldn’t have set his character like that. If Johan’s world revolved around Odette, the <Dangun Academy> players would never have let it slide.’
The polka playing in the hall ended, followed by applause. As the background music ceased, Johan’s mood seemed even colder.
“I suppose this will be disappointing for you. Your partner won’t be coming. That fool is busy running about two thousand laps in the royal guard’s parade ground.”
“What? Why?”
“He insisted he was dying to run.”
‘Out of nowhere like this? And that potato doesn’t even look like the athletic type.’
At this point, it was obvious: Johan was personally punishing Marco.
‘…But why punish him?’
Johan was known for being strict with himself and respected by his men. He wasn’t the kind of commander to indulge in such textbook military abuse.
Odette was still wondering when Johan suddenly spoke again.
“Are your eyes on your feet?”
“…Excuse me?”
“For heaven’s sake, learn to judge men better. Dancing with scum like that will only ruin your reputation.”
At last, she understood.
‘He was worried I might get tangled up with a shady man. That’s why he was acting so tense.’
…Wait a second. Male leads only worried about that if their affection rating was at least 5.
“And Odette—you’re supposed to be afraid of transcendents, aren’t you? If you’re going to dance, at least choose a proper human, not trash like that—!”
No, his rating had to be even higher. Because with just a 5, Johan wouldn’t have gotten this worked up.
And his voice didn’t carry only worry. It was the exact same tone she had heard in the <Reverse Harem Route>.
Excitement swelled in her chest. The last time she checked, Johan’s hatred rating was at 70. By her estimate, it must have dropped by at least 20 since then.
‘Check status window.’
