I Don’t Want To Be The Protagonist of a Romance Novel – Chapter 51

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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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“……”

The corners of Elena’s lips twitched unconsciously as she walked down the corridor of the separate palace.

It had been perfect.

She had perfectly drawn the picture she had envisioned in her mind, without even a single inch of deviation, as neatly as possible.

To the point where it couldn’t be more perfect.

Slowly recalling the situation just now, she had very naturally succeeded in conveying what she wanted to say to Rudrick.

She hadn’t stuttered or stammered, and had been consistently confident to the extent that Rudrick couldn’t help but think she was being nonchalant.

In other words, it was a very natural injection of information.

‘Given Rudrick’s personality, if I had asked first… he definitely would have refused.’

Of course, he wouldn’t have bluntly said “No, I don’t like it” to her face.

However, if she had given him the authority to choose, it was obvious that Rudrick would have thought it was a bothersome occasion and tried to find a way to avoid it first.

At least, based on Elena’s observations of Rudrick for nearly ten years before the regression, that was the case.

Unlike ordinary noble scions, Rudrick had a bold and assertive personality, what one would call an innocent character untouched by the ways of the world, but separately from that, Rudrick didn’t particularly enjoy crowded gatherings.

Because having a bold personality and having an introverted tendency were fundamentally separate matters.

But if it was an “announcement” like just now, rather than a “proposal”, the story became a bit different.

‘The key was not asking if he could be my partner, but telling him that he had been chosen as my partner.’

Elena inwardly thought and nodded her head.

If she just informed him that it had been decided that way, Rudrick was the type to acknowledge it, thinking, “I guess that’s how it is,” rather than the type to unnecessarily ask, “Why?” at that point.

And as Elena had predicted, although Rudrick showed a very reluctant demeanor, he didn’t object to that fact itself and just accepted it.

“Now, if there’s anything to be careful about… it would be Rudrick trying to completely destroy the plan…”

Elena quietly muttered to herself as she walked down the corridor of the separate palace.

Now that she had already informed him that it had been decided that way, Rudrick’s behavior pattern was obvious.

Either he would just accept it, or he would start scheming to somehow nullify his attendance at the ball altogether.

But Elena was not a lenient fisherman who would let go of a fish that had almost completely entered the net.

With the data she had accumulated little by little, gained through past experiences.

Predicting Rudrick’s behavior pattern was an easy and simple task for her.

“…Huhu.”

With a soft chuckle, Elena walked away towards her office.

And in the spot where Elena had disappeared, in a corner of the corridor, someone who had been hiding their appearance with magic canceled their invisibility spell and quietly muttered.

“…So that’s how it is. The princess was up to something interesting.”

A quiet murmur.

And before she concealed her presence again with invisibility magic, her vertically slit pupils were staring at the back of the princess walking away.

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Some time had passed since Elena had naturally injected the information that she was Rudrick’s partner for this ball in an intensive manner.

And somewhere in the Imperial Palace.

To be precise, in the research lab that Lorenzo had left vacant, saying he was going out for a walk after doing research as he always did.

The door opened and a beautiful cat with silver fur and amethyst eyes, which anyone would consider beautiful, entered with a dignified gait and meowed softly.

…Meow.

However, unlike its outward appearance that anyone would recognize as a cat, its meow sounded somewhat awkward, as if a person was imitating a cat.

As if that meow was a signal, a puppy with an impressive red bridge carefully poked its head out.

Woof woof.

This one also had an awkward barking sound, but the two individuals… no, the two animals, having confirmed each other’s identities, opened their mouths while scanning their surroundings.

“Are there any listening ears nearby?”

“No. At least not within a hundred-meter radius. I just used a detection spell earlier.”

“What about Eileen and Lassiel?”

“It seems they haven’t arrived yet.”

Sylphia responded to Arwen’s question in a tone that suggested it was no big deal.

Unlike Arwen, who was pretending to be a pet while hiding her identity in Rudrick’s room, or Sylphia, who had nothing much to do besides magic research, the two of them had positions and duties they were in charge of, so it was true that they couldn’t readily show themselves even if told to come.

Arwen and Sylphia, who had returned to their human forms, each took a seat on a chair and reconfirmed the facts Arwen had heard before the other two arrived.

“…Are you certain of what you said?”

“I’m not like that person who has a lot of excuses not to openly move around. I’m different.”

“Who are you saying has a lot of excuses? I just don’t want to inconvenience Rudrick…”

“Well, let’s just say that’s the case.”

“It’s not just the case, it’s the truth…!”

Although they had gathered to defeat their common enemy, Elena, they were fundamentally like oil and water, unable to mix.

After a brief argument that only reconfirmed the deep rift in their emotions, the door swung open and another person appeared.

“What, are we fighting among ourselves again now? You guys are still full of energy.”

Lassiel, who had opened the door and entered, assessed the situation while brushing her hair back, and then added in a tone that suggested it was no big deal.

“Keep fighting then. They say kids grow up while fighting. If you can’t act your age at that age, you’re not an adult but a kid.”

“…Ahem.”

“…Indeed, now is not the time for us to be fighting.”

At Lassiel’s subtle rebuke, Arwen and Sylphia, who had come to their senses, momentarily stopped their argument.

In any case, this gathering was arranged to put aside their long-standing emotions and join forces to defeat their common enemy, Elena.

Realizing their unsightly behavior, the two declared a truce, and Lassiel scratched her head and asked.

“So, is it true that Her Highness the Princess deceived our Rudrick like that?”

“I don’t quite like the expression ‘our’, but if what I heard is correct, it’s certain.”

Sylphia nodded her head.

It was she who had clearly witnessed, by chance, Elena leaving Rudrick’s room, mumbling to herself as she crossed the corridor.

According to Elena’s monologue, she had already made her move as the mastermind behind holding the ball.

Although it was difficult to fully grasp the exact context of the situation just from her monologue, the important thing was that Elena had used some tactic and had just finished manipulating Rudrick.

“She’s being cautious of Rudrick completely overthrowing the plan… so it’s definitely not an upright method.”

“And based on what the lizard girl over there deduced, that means she lied to Rudrick?”

“Who are you calling a lizard right now?!”

Sylphia, whose pride as a dragon had been provoked, momentarily raised her voice and shouted, but soon regained her composure and took a deep breath.

“Phew… That’s right. We all know Rudrick’s personality, don’t we?”

“…That’s certainly true. He seems sharp and decisive, but has a side that’s strangely dense in certain aspects.”

Arwen, who had been quietly listening to the conversation, gently agreed.

The most easily predictable scenario was simple.

While informing Rudrick that a ball was being held, naturally make him aware of the fact that he had been chosen as Elena’s partner for the ball.

The hypothesis the three of them came up with as soon as they put their heads together was remarkably close to the truth, but there was one blind spot.

“This is quite difficult.”

Lassiel muttered, narrowing her eyes.

Even if that were true, the three of them didn’t have a good way to fix this situation.

It was nearly impossible to overturn, through normal means, a matter directly decided by the princess of a nation.

If the party involved, Rudrick, refused, Elena wouldn’t be able to force it any further, but it would also be strange to run to Rudrick and tell him it was Elena’s scheme, wouldn’t it?

And decisively,

“……”

Arwen slightly furrowed her brows as she surveyed the surroundings.

Although she didn’t like Elena’s scheme, apart from that, she didn’t particularly like Lassiel or Sylphia either.

In any case, their common point was that they all wished they could be Rudrick’s ball partner instead of Elena.

They had the same dream but different intentions.

They all had the same thought, but their underlying motives were all different.

How could they join forces when each of them was prioritizing their own desires?

As each of them was lost in thought, unable to come up with a brilliant idea, the door to the research lab opened once again.

Bang!

The roughly opened door and the figure visible beyond it was the last person who needed to gather for this meeting.

Eileen Nord.

Her expression, which was usually as expressionless as ever, had a subtle displeasure on it, and as proof, her eyebrows were slightly raised.

Enough for anyone who had observed Eileen for a long time to notice that she was in a bad mood.

“…Sylphia Andres.”

“Yes.”

“Is everything you told me true?”

“That’s right. Your cousin made the first move, and in such a petty way at that.”

At Sylphia’s unhesitating answer, Eileen, who had entered through the door and strode over, frowned.

In her eyes, having just arrived, she could read this stifling atmosphere and its flow.

For now, everyone had gathered in the face of an emergency situation, but they were unable to come up with a brilliant plan and were only repeating empty wordplay.

The last piece of the puzzle to block Elena’s clutches in this eventful operation to decide Rudrick’s ball partner.

In a somewhat rough and imposing tone, in contrast to her clear and pristine voice, Eileen opened her mouth.

“How pathetic.”

And the words that came out of Eileen’s mouth were a sharp rebuke.

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