The Villain’S Daughter-In-Law Is Inherently Powerful [EN]: Chapter 54

The adults had already seen it, so the envelope was torn open, allowing me to easily take out the card inside.

As soon as I read the first line, my eyes widened.

“A Spring Ball at the Imperial Palace?! I haven’t even had my debutante ball yet. Can I still go?”

“Normally, you wouldn’t be able to… but this is a formal ball held for the first time in ten years to celebrate the arrival of spring. This time, all nobles within the Magic Empire are allowed to attend, however, only those ten years or older.”

Ten years or older… that includes me! It does!

‘Yuri is going to be at the Imperial Palace! I might be able to meet him!’

I was so excited that I tapped my feet.

What should I wear? How should I dress up?

“And… you will have an audience with His Majesty the Emperor.”

“Wow… !”

“As the prospective mistress of the 20th Dribryane, you need to show your face to the Imperial Family and greet them… but don’t worry too much. From today, you will learn the etiquette for dealing with the Emperor separately.”

“Yes, yes.”

It’s very burdensome, but I have to do it.

As I nodded, my adoptive mother handed me a vermilion [bright red] invitation this time. The envelope’s surface was written with ‘Roybayom’ in elaborate cursive.

“I learned that Roybayom is another ancient family like us.”

“That’s right. They are the Wyvern clan of Lava.”

What did Lapiren say back then?

“Inflexible, hot-tempered, and proud…?”

“That’s exactly what Wyverns are. That’s right, daughter.”

“But they sent me an invitation first?”

This doesn’t feel good.

Anyway, I can’t ignore it, so I opened the invitation.

‘Ugh. How much perfume did they spray?’

A strong scent wafted out from inside the orange envelope, which symbolized Roybayom.

I almost grabbed my nose, but I held back and opened the card, and dried flower petals fell out.

‘So Roybayom-like…’

Their desire for self-promotion seems great, but who sent this card?

I skimmed the contents and looked down to check the name.

“If it’s Celina, she must be the eldest daughter of Roybayom, right?”

“That’s right. Did you learn about the somewhat complicated circumstances?”

“Yes. I learned about it.”

Currently, Roybayom only had two daughters.

The first daughter’s name is Celina.

The second daughter’s name is Belladi.

Surprisingly, the second daughter was the daughter of the legal wife, and the first daughter, Celina, was a child brought in by the concubine.

So originally, Belladi was an only child, but one day her father suddenly brought in a stepmother, and she had a daughter with her.

“I heard that Duke Roybayom had a political marriage, and after the Duchess died, he brought his original lover, Madame Karina, as the second Duchess.”

“That’s right. The first daughter, Celina, is also the Duke’s child. As a result… some problems arose in that family.”

My adoptive mother dryly added an explanation.

“The second daughter, Belladi, is ten years old this year, the same age as you, daughter. Celina is three years older.”

“Looking at this card, it seems Celina already has many friends in high society.”

“I’ve heard that Roybayom’s eldest daughter has built her own power in her own way.”

As expected. With that kind of personality, she’s likely aiming for the top position in high society.

Besides, she’s a Duke’s daughter.

“Mother, if I want to have an easy time in high society, would it be good to become friends with Celina?”

“It wouldn’t be bad to be friends. You’re already married, but since you’re young, you’ll probably hang out with the young ladies a lot.”

“Hmm, is that so?”

“But if Celina shows any signs of trying to put you under her control…”

My adoptive mother, who was walking slowly down the hallway, stopped for a moment and hesitated.

And the next moment.

“?!”

I stared in disbelief at the spear bending with a cracking sound.

Coincidentally, a spear was displayed with armor in the hallway I was walking through with my adoptive mother… and my mother grabbed one of them and crushed it.

“Oh, I’m going to get scolded again.”

No, have you done something like that before?!

‘You need that much strength… to be the commander of the Knights.’

I calmed my bewildered heart and took a step back from my adoptive mother.

Suddenly, I felt sorry for the knights being trained by my adoptive mother.

Good luck. I’m never going to be a knight, even if I die and come back to life.

“Anyway, if you’re going to be an enemy, be a definite enemy. Celina has already built her power. If you’re going to be an enemy, you need to quickly build your power.”

“I understand what you mean.”

I nodded.

I am the Duke’s daughter-in-law, and she is the Duke’s daughter.

If I were the Duchess of Dribryane, my position would be a little higher than Celina, the Roybayom’s daughter, but in the current situation, it was ambiguously similar.

If we become good friends, that’s fortunate, but what if Celina tries to get above me?

‘Then it’s war.’

Please, I hope she’s a good kid to be friends with!

As I chatted with my adoptive mother, I arrived in front of a room. I tilted my head because I had never been inside before.

“The problem is who to choose as your first tea party partner and your Imperial Palace Spring Ball partner.”

“Ah.”

“Think carefully about it for the next few days and decide.”

Wow, Dante and Ian are going to be a mess when they hear this story.

But it’s not like those two are the only candidates.

Officially, there are five heirs remaining in the family right now.

Ian, Dante, and three unknown people. Yuri is a prince, so he’s separate.

‘If the other three aren’t idiots, they’ll want to be this partner…’

There are five candidates and two spots.

What should I do?

“You’ve finally come!”

However, my serious worries were shattered as soon as I opened the door.

“I’ve been waiting! I’ll serve you properly!”

A man with slicked-back hair, colorful pins, and dozens of silks draped over his shoulders ran towards me, clasping his hands together.

Then, before I knew it, I was being measured. And in the blink of an eye, my foot size was being measured, and the color of clothes that suited me was being chosen…

“We need to make a dress to wear to the Spring Ball. Do your best, daughter.”

My adoptive mother smiled as she sat on the sofa and sipped her tea.

Ugh!

* * *

The rumor that I was invited to the Imperial Palace ball and was looking for a partner among the heirs spread throughout the mansion in a day.

“Which one will she go to the tea party with?”

“Isn’t it Ian? Honestly, he’s the most mature of the heirs.”

“Then Ian should go to the Imperial Palace ball with her, right?”

“Ah, that’s true!”

The maids giggled and laughed as they did the laundry.

“Of course, she’ll go with Dante! He’s so outstanding, he’s an early graduate of the military academy!”

“That’s right, that’s right.”

“Dante is the representative of the knights! He’s like a symbol of Dribryane!”

The knights gathered and whispered like that-

“Of course, Ian and Dante are both outstanding…”

“Ahem. Well…”

“In my opinion…”

The retainers who pushed for other heirs besides Ian and Dante gathered and gossiped.

“Inanna, it seems like everyone has already formed factions.”

I was taking a walk with Inanna after a long time when I unexpectedly heard those whispers.

Or maybe Inanna called me for a walk to tell me those stories.

“When taking care of the family’s internal affairs, it’s important to listen well, baby.”

“Yes…!”

“Always keep your ears open. What the close maid says, what the nanny says. You have to listen to everything, but you also have to listen directly.”

I nodded greatly.

“I heard you’re close to Dante and Ian these days?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Both are children with good qualities. But I have no choice but to provide equal opportunities to all heirs, so that there are no complaints later.”

Inanna’s words were right, so I just nodded this time as well.

“I’ve prepared a dinner for tomorrow. It would be good to have a meal with the five heirs you have chosen and have dessert while talking about this and that.”

“Yes, Inanna. I’ll try to talk to the other kids evenly at dinner tomorrow.”

“How kind.”

Inanna, who finished her short walk, stroked my head.

I smiled outwardly and prayed inwardly.

‘Oh my god. Dante can’t stay still… Please, whatever god it is, watch over me.’

Please, please end without any accidents.

I could see that Dante’s dissatisfaction had been building up for the past few days. Because… I was so busy.

I had to take all the classes, and I was deprived of my morning time to match the dresses, gloves, socks, and shoes to wear to the ball and tea party.

Of course, Dante wasn’t even allowed to loiter nearby while I was changing.

I mean, I’m wearing only my slip to measure my size, and I don’t want a boy wandering around.

But the problem was that after that, I had to eat a simple lunch and then go to class right away.

My daily schedule wasn’t very relaxed in the first place. But with the addition of imperial etiquette classes, I really had no time now.

And if I could be with Dante at night, that wasn’t the case either.

First of all, I wanted to be alone quietly at night because I was tired all day. And I wanted to secretly review the etiquette when no one was watching.

Why do you have to do that?

‘The Emperor will never like me.’

Everyone seems to have forgotten now… that, the Luxoria estate fraud case.

‘Doesn’t he know that it came out of my head?’

I couldn’t forget the retainers wiping away their tears and laughing out loud.

“If you know whose head this idea came from, what kind of reaction will the Emperor have!”

“Hahaha, just imagining it makes me feel refreshed!”

I’m sure they said that.

‘If I go to the Imperial Palace, my small and cute head… Can I be safe?’

Oh, I’m scared. I’m scared.

‘It was good to screw them over, but I didn’t know I’d be dragged away like this!’

Anyway, so I had no time to pay attention to Dante. The first thing to do is to learn the etiquette as perfectly as possible so that I don’t get caught.

Thanks to that, Dante, who became a cold soup [unhappy], came to me at every meal with a dissatisfied expression and stared at me…

‘If I eat with the other kids tomorrow… and if I talk to the other kids more than him.’

Well, I don’t know.

It’ll be alright somehow!