I Slept with the Villain Holding My Hand

 

✿

 

That evening, both Merria and her family, who had been eating together, stopped at the words of the butler out of the blue.

 

“That’s Frederick?”

 

“Oh! A message came that he would visit soon.”

 

“Wasn’t the Grand Duke on his way back from the war?”

 

Duke Themis Rackester couldn’t hide his dubious expression.

 

The Duke of Rackester, who remained neutral with Prince Frederick, the biggest supporter of the Crown Prince, had no political or personal relationship with the young Duke of Frederick.

 

Besides, Grand Duke Frederick wouldn’t even be in the capital right now, but he’s going to our Mansion visit all of a sudden.

 

I had no choice but to be embarrassed by the sudden announcement of his visit.

 

“In a few days, the Knights, including His Highness the Crown Prince and His Majesty the Grand Duke, will arrive in the capital, and they want to be invited at any time thereafter of their arrival.”

 

“Wasn’t there any word why they’re coming for a visit? Do they need something?”

 

“Yes, I did ask about their reason for the visit, but there was no answer from him, and I just conveyed that and went back.”

 

“Hmm…”

 

Themis seemed to be lost in thought and was no longer talking.

 

Merria, who returned to her room after the meal, refused to eat dessert, even sent Lexie out, and jumped into her bed.

 

During the meal, words that she couldn’t get out of her mouth earlier poured out.

 

“Why the Grand Duke…”

 

There was no connection between Rackester and Frederick in the original.

 

The aristocratic families of the current Empire were divided into three main categories.

 

The

Crown Prince,

who supports Empress Cristine mother of Altheon,

 

The

Second Prince’s

Supporters of Dominique of Queen Helena’s Faction, and then

Neutralists. 

 

Since Shannon’s father, Count Magner, was a supporter of the second prince, the conflict between the crown prince and the second prince was the main problem, in the original

 

The neutral Duke of Rackcaster was so small that it was all because of Merria.

 (T/N: because Merria didn’t want to be involved in the original, the Rackester had little appearance/intervention in the Empire’s political state.)

 

However, to visit unexpectedly, there was no lightning bolt in the clear sky.

 

“No way… because Altheon asked you to?”

 

Meria closed her mouth because she didn’t want to believe what she had just said. 

 

No matter how hard she struggles, was she still destined to become Altheon’s fiance?

 

“I’ll have to run outside that day.’’

 

No matter how much he was a prince, he wouldn’t do anything ridiculous just to find an absent person.

 

Merria, who came up with the easiest way to escape, laid down on a wide bed and sighed.

 

✿

 

She hadn’t decided on the design, but Miolo told her already that the fitting had already been completed.

 

”I didn’t think it’s going to be this fast even if I just hang on my dress all day.”

 

I was grateful for Miolo’s enthusiasm but also half worried.

 

According to Lilith, it’s the most gorgeous thing Miolo ever made.

 

It was very disturbing to think that Lilith, who usually likes excessive decorations, was the one who said that.

 

“I hope they won’t give me a dress that looks like a peacock…”

 

As she was wondering if she could get rid of the decorations, Merria decided to visit the dress shop alone on the day Lilith had scheduled.

 

She took Lexie with her, Lexie gave a look of resentment for a short while, and she pretended not to see it.

 

The carriage departed and soon arrived at the dressing shop.

 

Like last time, Miolo greeted Mary with a bright smile.

 

“Welcome, Merria. Come this way.”

 

Merria followed Miolo’s lead to her usual room. As soon as Miolo tried to open the door and enter, the door in the other room opened.

 

“…Lady Merria Rackester?”

 

A charming, classical voice called to Merria.

 

The innermost room of the dressing shop was a place where only the guests directly served by Miolo could enter.

 

Then she must be a very high-ranking noble or close to Miolo.

 

‘Which was it. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen her before.’

 

Lilith, who frequently appears in every social gathering in society, had some information that she obtained, but she picked it up in hand and had never spoken face to face.

 

At best, it was all the wives who briefly passed by at her mother’s tea party.

 

She seems to be a socially bright person in society enough to recognize Merria.

 

If I didn’t deal with it properly, there could be bad rumors circulating about me.

 

‘But anyway, rumors about me are already…’

 

There weren’t many good rumors about Merria.

 

Merria, who decided not to panic about the situation, slowly turned her gaze.

 

The first thing that caught her eye was the shiny brown hair.

 

A beautiful woman stood, with her gently flowing brown hair, deep and clear eyes, thick rosy lips, and light brown eyes that reminded her of a sandy beach.

 

If Merria’s appearance was a fresh atmosphere, her opponent was a classic beauty with an elegant and antique atmosphere.

 ‘Karina Delphi.’ 

If Miolo was a beautiful brunette lady with a grand status and influence, Karina, who was called the flower of social circles, was the only one.

 

Merria’s eyes were wide open at the appearance of an unexpected figure.

 

Karina gently smiled and said to her.

 

“My name is Karina Delphi. It’s my first time to talk to you like this.”

 

”Nice to meet you… I’m Merria Rackester.”

 

Under the law of the Empire, it was natural that Karina, the Marquis’ daughter, greeted her first, but Merria felt embarrassed for no reason.

 

“…”

 

“…”

 

When the exchange of greetings ended, the conversation naturally ended.

 

She can enter her room as it was, but it took a while for Karina, who first spoke to her.

 

Merria asked her a question to bring out the most natural subject in this situation.

 

She said,  “Are you here for the victorious banquet dress?”

 

“That’s right. Lady Merria came here for the same reason as me?”

 

“Yes, Then I’ll go first…”

 

Merria, who thought she had finished her greetings after exchanging a couple of chit-chats, awkwardly blurted the end of her words.

 

Before Merria took her steps, Karina hesitantly asked.

 

“Lady Merria, if you don’t mind, could you spare me a moment?’

 

“What?”

 

“It’s so nice to meet you by chance like this… I always wanted to talk to Lady Merria.”

 

Karina came one more step closer to Merria.

Merria analyzed Karina’s words, recalling her old social conversation skills.

 

It would be nice to meet you, and it would be nice to talk to you.

 

‘It’s amazing to see the Princess Rackester, whom I heard only through rumors. What was she like?’

 

For Karina, who was the center of society, it was only natural to wonder about the ‘dark princess’ Merria.

 

Merria was also unfamiliar with her when she faced Karina, who had taken over the social world instead of her.

 

In the original, Karina didn’t even appear at all. I heard from Lilith that she wasn’t so blinded by love and that she wasn’t the type to do anything stupid…

 

‘Because you don’t know about people.’

 

If Karina later walked in the villain’s path, Merria was obliged to stop her from doing evil stuff.

 

Merria was confident that Karina, who should probably have lived in peace, was involved in the Imperial family, and made an unlikely relationship with Shannon.

 

‘It’s better to make friends like this than to approach them out of the blue later on, right?’

 

Merria nodded her head and smiled broadly.

 

“Okay. Could you wait a minute? It’ll be over. I just need to check the fitting of the dress.”

 

“Oh. Are you already finished with the fitting?”

 

When I brought up the dress story, Karina’s originally big eyes became more rounded.

 

Looking at her reaction, it seemed that she was very curious about my dress.

 

However, it was common to show her dress nearby, but Karina, who she had never met before, seemed to be disappointed that she could not ask her to show it recklessly.

 

“Would you like to join me if you don’t mind?”

 

“…With me?”

 

As soon as Merria spoke to her, a smile broke out on Karina’s face.

 

It was very beautiful to see her smiling with her eyes folded.

 

Karina, who had walked with me sideways, once again expressed her gratitude.

 

She said,  “Thank you very much for allowing me even if it’s our first time meeting each other.”

 

“It’s not a difficult thing to do.”

 

“I know best that young ladies are sensitive to dresses. There weren’t a couple of young ladies trying to steal the design of the dress I was going to wear.”

 

Karina laughed with a smirk on the corner of her mouth.

 

Merria couldn’t understand why she was doing such a meaningless thing even if she wore the same clothes anyway, she would only be compared to Karina.

 

Karina nodded her head as her thoughts about Merria were revealed in her expression.

 

“I don’t understand either. I don’t think the clothes that were made for me would go well with them anyway. Why do they have to do that? Oh, I was just saying that I’m not that cowardly person.”’

 

Merria went into the room side by side with Karina, who smiled brightly after their brief conversation.

 

Karina did not head to the sofa but continued to talk beside Merria.

 

She said, “Because Miolo told me that she was working hard on a Lady’s dress with great care. Seeing that she was very elaborate, I was so curious that I couldn’t stop following you. I’m very interested in this dress she made.’’

 

“I think it’s nice to be able to hear Lady Karina’s opinion. You’re the one who leads the social world.”

 

Meria said, offering Karina a seat first.

 

Even Lilith, who was stingy with her compliments in this regard, gave a generous appreciation of Karina’s dress.

 

Merria thought it was just a good opportunity to listen to Karina.

 

Miolo, who was listening to the conversation between the two, said, laughing embarrassingly.

 

“I was so excited to talk about this and that because Lady Karina and I have the same taste… I’m sorry, Merria.”

 

Miolo looked embarrassed because the two of them were caught talking about Merria.

 

‘Why was she embarrassed about it, wouldn’t that be about the dress?’

 

Merria, who was tired of thinking, shrugged.

 

“Rather, I started to look forward to it. Could you try it on right away?”

 

“Of course, I’ll show you around.“

 

Miolo called an employee who was waiting next to her.

 

The conversation between the three never ceased while Merria changed her dress with the help of an employee.

 

“You two have known each other for a long time, haven’t you?” Merria asked Miolo and Karina, who talked intimately.

 

“It’s been quite a while. About four or five years ago?”

 

“When I first met Karina, I was worried if I had done anything wrong.”

 

Miolo nodded and shook at Karina’s answer.  Looking at Miolo, Karina burst into laughter.

 

“Yes, okay. It’s my fault for not being able to measure Miolo’s passion as much as her nails who used to make dresses in the dressing room without customers.”

 

A few years ago, Karina, who was making a name for herself in society, was fed up with her cliché-designed dresses, and increasingly began to pay attention to the creation of her dresses.

 

She then met with Miolo, who runs a small dressing room.

 

“Already famous designers have high pride and they hate others touching their work. However, it seems decent to conciliate with money. So I went all the way to Miolo, who was behind the line of designers.”

 

Karina looked for a designer to realize her ideal, and Miolo needed the opportunity to make her name known to the nobility.

 

”The reason that my relationship with Lady Karina has continued to this day was due to our good match of taste. Every time Lady Karina said what she wanted, I could think of many ideas and design new dresses for her.”

 

Realizing that they exactly needed each other, the two of them immediately joined hands.

 

Karina wore a dress made by Miolo to a social gathering, and the dress garnered so much attention, allowing Miolo to become a prominent designer in the capital.

 

“It’s all done.” The staff told Merria that her

‘try-on dress

‘ was finished.

 

“It’s the first time you’ll be seen wearing it? It’s an honor for me.”

 

Karina, who heard that Merria’s try-on was over, spoke in a reminiscent voice.

 

Standing still in the hidden curtains, Merria felt like an aspiring model for no reason. Miolo was also a bit nervous and held both of her hands tightly.

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