TOFP 05

He shone like someone from a completely different world. A righteous man who, while everyone else casually trampled on her, was the only one who reached out a hand.

Back then, she only thought he was dazzling. She didn’t know what kind of pain he was hiding inside.

And she had no idea that she herself was the cause of that pain.

‘But today will be different, Leon. I’m not going there to be saved by you—I’m going there to save you.’

Her attendance at today’s ball wasn’t only to confirm Leon’s survival.

‘I need to find a way to avoid that horrible death as a villain.’

The best method would be to uncover the mastermind and take the magic stone, but right now, she had no way to do that.

‘So instead, I’ll approach the victims of the curse first and break it.’

If there were no victims of the curse, there would be no reason for her to be labeled a villain.

She would save Leon, the first victim of the magic stone, and join forces with him to find clues about the mastermind who possessed it.

Leon was a man who had everything—power, ability, looks, and reputation. If she made him an ally, many future problems would become easier to handle.

‘To do that, I first need to get past the first obstacle.’

The first obstacle she would face today was Odette Tyrote.

The only daughter of the Tyrote Duke family, who was hosting today’s ball—beautiful, elegant, and the proud flower of high society.

Kasha had not left high society by choice. She had been expelled because of Odette Tyrote. Because she had offended her.

And today, Kasha intended to stand directly against Odette Tyrote, the giant of high society.

To defeat that giant and claim Leon as her prize.

The Tyrote Duke’s mansion, located in the capital’s center, was as luxurious and extravagant as she remembered.

A family that owned vast golden lands in the central region and a trading network spreading across the continent like a spiderweb.

Passing through the main gate engraved with the Tyrote family crest, a golden ivy, she had to walk through the garden for quite some time before reaching the mansion.

Massive marble pillars wrapped around the four-story building displayed its grandeur, and lamps lit in every room sparkled like stars in the night sky.

The chandelier hanging in the ballroom would surely shine so brightly it could dazzle the eyes.

Just imagining that familiar place made her chest feel as if it were being cut by a blade.

Thinking of Odette greeting guests there with a bright smile made nausea rise in her throat.

At the time, Odette’s cruel behavior had been incomprehensible.

But now, having died once and come back, she understood why.

‘She could do it because she had the power to.’

Kasha smiled bitterly inwardly.

Odette Tyrote simply had the power to do so, and she chose to torment Kasha because she happened to be irritating that day.

On the same day, she crushed another debutante in high society, perhaps even admiring her own power.

That day’s nightmare began just before the first dance of the ball, when Daryl stepped away.

Fenilton Baron’s son, a friend of Daryl, suddenly appeared from somewhere and dragged him away.

“Just talk for a moment.”

“No, at least after this dance…”

“I’m in a hurry. Ah, Lady Riuschino. You won’t mind if I borrow your brother for a moment, will you?”

Kasha had no way to refuse that casual request.

In truth, she didn’t want Daryl to leave.

At the debutante ball, when Daryl disappeared, hadn’t she been completely alone?

And being alone was not all. She was an easy target—something to be bitten and broken, a punching bag that didn’t know how to resist.

And on the day of the Tyrote Duke’s ball, things became even worse after Daryl left.

Kasha, left without a partner, tried to leave the ballroom quickly, but she couldn’t. People kept bumping into her and blocking her path. Like hunters driving prey, they forced her toward the center of the ballroom.

Couples filled the space around her. All of them smiled with bared teeth, mocking her.

And when the music began, they started circling around her, trapping her in the center.

She was pushed and knocked around by dancing couples, slowly losing her composure.

Dark, malicious eyes stabbed at her from all directions.

“No matter what, she’s a count’s daughter. Is it okay to treat her like that?”

“A count’s daughter? She’s a bastard and an idiot.”

“They say she’s insane.”

All of them were young nobles newly introduced to high society, excited by alcohol and contact with the opposite sex. Seeing that Kasha could not even resist properly, they became bolder.

The older nobles, who could have stopped them, were standing at the edges of the ballroom chatting—or pretending not to see.

Thud. Thud.

Between shoulders brushing past her without mercy, Kasha struggled not to fall. She tried to empty her mind so she wouldn’t cry.

It’s okay. When Daryl comes back, she can escape.

But she couldn’t leave the ballroom. The couples around her kept spinning rapidly, their colorful dresses fluttering like a storm.

By the time the music ended, she was drenched in cold sweat.

When she tried to push through the crowd, someone shoved her hard from behind.

“Ah!”

She tripped over her skirt and fell awkwardly. Her dress flipped, briefly exposing her underwear and bare legs.

Laughter and mocking sounds tightened around her throat.

She quickly tried to fix her clothes, but her trembling legs wouldn’t support her.

“Hey.”

Then someone in a pale sky-blue dress extended a white hand in front of her.

Just as Kasha reached out—

“Where are you going, young lady?”

A gentle, elegant voice spoke, and the white hand quickly withdrew.

When she turned in surprise, Odette—the dazzling daughter of Tyrote—was smiling at her.

Just being seen sitting in front of that radiant smile filled her with shame. Kasha staggered to her feet. Now she was almost the same height as Odette.

Same height. Same body type. Same age.

But they were as different as night and day.

Kasha’s pale face, dull blackish-blue hair, plain dark green dress, and frightened posture like a cornered mouse.

Odette’s glowing skin, golden hair like sunlight, dazzling pink dress decorated with frills and jewels, and confident, dominating gaze.

Odette gave her an effortless command, like someone used to power.

“Just stay there.”

“…Excuse me? But I was going to… dance… I don’t have a partner…”

“What are you even talking about?”

Snicker. Giggle. Laughter joined Odette’s mockery.

Odette smiled sweetly and repeated her order.

“Today’s ball was a bit boring. But thanks to you, it’s quite entertaining. Just stay there.”

“But…”

“Stay there.”

At that moment, Odette’s blue eyes no longer looked beautiful. They were cold and cruel.

And Kasha realized.

It was Odette who created all of this.

The people who dragged Daryl away, the crowd that pushed her, the hands that shoved her down—all of them were just pieces moving according to Odette’s mood.

Odette smiled brightly again as she looked at Kasha’s frozen eyes.

“Now, why did the music stop? Keep playing.”

Just as the dance was about to resume—

Leon appeared.

Step. Step.

A man in a white uniform walked toward them.

He pushed through the crowd that Kasha could not escape from as if it were nothing.

He was a head taller than everyone else, walking straight toward the center where Kasha and Odette stood.

“Leon.”

Odette brightened immediately upon seeing him, as if she had been waiting for him all along. She gestured to her partner, who immediately released her hand and stepped back.

Everyone in the ballroom was like that. They moved at Odette’s slightest gesture, like servants trying not to displease their queen.

But Leon only glanced at her smiling face with an expressionless look.

Then, unexpectedly, he stopped in front of Kasha.

“Do you not have a partner?”

“…Pardon?”

Taking her confusion as confirmation, Leon extended a gloved hand toward her. A polite gesture.

“Then would you dance with me?”

“……”

Not only Kasha, but everyone around them fell silent.

Even knowing all eyes were on him, he showed no sign of hesitation. His clear violet eyes looked only at her.

Leon Milloyonif Aranias.

The eldest son of Duke Osilote, the Emperor’s younger brother, and the youngest ever vice-captain of the Holy Knights.

A perfect knight admired by all noble ladies—and even young lords.

That man had just asked the outcast girl, the so-called bastard and lunatic, for a dance.

At the very moment Odette was openly humiliating her.