NOVEL NEXT Chapter 33
Chapter 33 “Marquis Tezeb?” A playboy and villain supporting character in the novel. Mikhail Tezeb looked down at me with a nervous expression. He called out to me in a less than pleasant voice. “There you are, Miss Rose.” Why did this playboy, come to me…? * * * While the King exchanged greetings with most important people and left the ballroom for a few moments, Rosieta and Daniel took a moment to go to Deborah. Though they had agreed to seek out separate partners, they knew that if they stayed away from each other here, the gossip about the Count of Druenia and the Saint’s falling out would start the next day. It was Deborah who told them that it would be better to meet face-to-face and pretend to be friends at least once before the gossip attacked them. When Rosieta and Daniel approached Deborah, she smiled brightly and seemed to know them. “I saw you talking with His Majesty the King. How was the conversation?” “Well, he looked like he would tolerate a child’s prank at least once.” Daniel said, from what he could see, the king was not particularly pleased or angry. Rather, it’s like the uncle treated him as if he were looking after his nephew and even subtly urged him to get married. He was by no means an experienced person. Deborah also smiled bitterly, as if she had expected it. “I expected that too. Still, since our little rebellion was successful, I think it wouldn’t be a bad idea to have a drink among ourselves.” “Before that, let’s introduce our partners to each other. In particular, the saint’s partner is an unexpected person.” Daniel also didn’t expect that Deborah’s partner would be Mikhail. As Daniel was staring at Mikhail, Deborah said in surprise. “Oh my, I forgot. As you probably know, this person is Mikhail of the Marquis Tezeb. He willingly listened to my plea.” “Mikhail.” Mikhail twitched one corner of his mouth and stretched out his hand. After the two shook hands, Rosieta also introduced herself to Mikhail. “I’m Rosieta Jensen.” “I heard the story.” Mikhail said with an arrogant face. Well, I knew he was that kind of character, so I expected it. “You don’t know how fortunate I am that the Marquis listened to my plea. Even so, I had a hard time finding a partner.” Deborah said, and Mikhail shrugged his shoulders vigorously, as if humility wasn’t in his lexicon. “Well, the saint made a earnest request, as a gentleman, I couldn’t refuse. Besides, didn’t the saint choose me?” Michael put his hands on his hips, puffed out his chest, and spoke triumphantly. He didn’t finish the first verse. “Well, I’m a busy, busy man,” he said, “but I couldn’t help but notice how desperate she was in her plea. What would have happened if I hadn’t been there.” At his words, Daniel and Rosieta narrowed their eyes and looked at Mikhail. The two people had similar thoughts. ‘Look at the way he talks. He’s an asshole.’ Taking another drink, Rosietta shuddered as she remembered the novel. ‘I understand why he was beaten by Daniel in the novel.’ Mikhail constantly brags about himself and shows how busy he is. “There were many ladies who applied to be my partner… Well, aren’t I the 5th most handsome man in the Kingdom Gossip magazine? Dear Saint, you can be a little happy that you have become my partner. As for my family, they own the capital’s jewelry and trading business, and have a large mansion comparable to the royal palace…” I couldn’t really remember anything after that. I don’t remember much after that. Whatever Mikhail was saying or not saying, my mind was elsewhere. And even when Rosieta was walking around the ballroom, leaving Lucas with Colin, and came into the ballroom, Mikhail was still bragging to Deborah! Deborah, a delicate and kind woman, listened to his boasts one by one with a smile on her face. “And!” “Really?” “Oh My Goodness.” and other innocent reactions. ‘She’s a saint after all.’ As Mikhail talked, his respect and admiration for Deborah only grew. Rosieta’s opinion of Mikhail was already in the negative before they even had a chance to talk. He is a man with dirty rumors, has a free-spirited attitude, and a tendency to brag about himself that’s ridiculous for three hours. Mikhail Tezeb! He was the last person you’d want to be associated with. * * * And now Mikhail was standing in front of me. I looked at Mikhail with a bored face. “What brings you here, Marquis…?” I tried my best to control my expression and looked at Mikhail who had entered the balcony. He dropped his aristocratic demeanor and replied with a sullen face. “I was feeling a little tipsy, so I went out for some fresh air.” “And the saint?” “Over there.” Looking where Mikhail pointed, I saw Deborah talking to people in the middle of the banquet hall. Mikhail also looked at Deborah through the glass door and muttered with a slightly drunken expression. “Since she’s a saint, she will shine even without me, so wouldn’t it be natural for everyone to look for her? I’m sure she won’t mind if I’m gone for a few minutes.” Then Mikhail took another sip of the drink he had brought. It was strange that he kept drinking while saying he was there to sober up. The man who had been praising himself in front of Deborah leaned against the railing in a somewhat gloomy manner. From the looks of it, it looks like he didn’t just drink one or two drinks… ‘What kind of attitude is that?’ As I narrowed my eyes and looked at him, Mikhail complained with a red face. “Well, she’s a saint, so I guess she just asked me, the easiest person among the remaining people, to be her partner! I’m not the kind of person who’s all that attached to a partner, but still.” “Are you telling me to listen, or are you talking to yourself?” I asked, unable to understand, but Mikhail still muttered what he wanted to say. The pronunciation of half of them was so muffled that I couldn’t understand them. I looked at the man who was on the verge of collapse with interest. The man didn’t seem to like how Deborah stood out among the others. “Hey, Marquis Tezeb.” “What is it?” Mikhail groaned ‘Ugh’ and hit his forehead with his palm until it turned red. No, is that how you sober up? I looked at him pitifully for a moment and then said. “You know, the saint is not a fan of ceremony.” “… Why would you say that?” Mikhail’s amber eyes narrowed at my offhand remark. In truth, I had witnessed something when they first entered the ballroom and again when they reentered the corridor. I recalled what I had seen earlier “Saint Deborah and Marquis Tezeb are entering.” “Huh? That guy, Mikhail…” Mikhail and Deborah had just appeared in the banquet hall. When Mikhail appeared, receiving everyone’s attention, he had his chin raised with an arrogant expression on his face. It was as if he was showing off to someone. It wasn’t so strange for an aristocratic man, but here’s what happened next. Deborah casually grabbed Mikhail’s arm, and he flinched and blushed so hard I could see it. But that naive attitude didn’t last long. “Hmp.” “What’s the matter, Marquis?” “Nothing. There’s a bug in front of me.” Mikhail’s bright red face looked like an apple ready to fall from the branch at any moment. It was the same when he was bragging to Deborah. The moment Deborah touched him, the face of the man who was rumored to be an playboy in the world turned as red as an apple. The man stiffened when Deborah touched him, then open his mouth to talk as soon as he thought she might be looking at someone else. That’s when I realized. ‘Is there any reason why Mikhail was mean to Deborah in the original story…?’ Although Mikhail was drunk and grumbling, his gaze continued to turn to Deborah, who was standing in the middle of the banquet hall. The sight of him flinching and startling every time she touched him, even in the novel where he would flinched whenever Deborah a married woman touch him. And the amber eyes that look at Deborah with affection! Honestly, even the most clueless person can’t help but notice that Mikhail genuinely likes Deborah. I was a little surprised by Mikhail’s sincerity, so I opened my mouth and looked at the man who had fallen in love. ‘Then the reason he felt uncomfortable in the novel was because he really liked her?!’ Since the girl he liked asked her to go to a party with her, it was understandable why he jumped at the offer. Well, it was only a rumor that he was a playboy, and I didn’t actually see it… They say that the most fun part about dating is watching other people’s relationships. When I saw Mikhail being in love and nervous, I couldn’t help but laugh. However, it is impossible to smile openly in front of someone who seems so distraught. I suppressed the rising corners of my mouth, thought sad thoughts, and pretended to be serious when I called out to him. “Marquis Tezeb.” “What is it?” “At the risk of sounding presumptuous, may I tell you something?” “… What?” Mikhail turned to me with one eyebrow raised. His eyes and cheeks were still red, and he seemed to be clearly feeling upset. He’s drinking because he’s upset that Deborah is surrounded by other people. I clicked my tongue at how similar her behavior was to Lucas. “The saint is a person who has lived a humble and honest life ever since she was born.” The Deborah I knew from reading the novel was like that. Mikhail also nodded in agreement. “If you want to impress the saint, don’t show off like you did before, approach her sincerely. You did that on purpose, right? The jewelery store and a ship. Please listen to the saint.” “Well, that’s….” “You know that sincerity is the most important thing to a saint.” When I looked at Mikhail, he seemed to understand the meaning of my words and even his earlobes turned red. He tried to act calm and cleared his throat loudly. “Hmm! I don’t really know what you’re talking about.” “Hey, you do!” “…….” “Do I have to say it again?”