For an Elegant Night of Villains - Chapter 1

CHAPTER 1

“Do you remember what happened last night?”

“Oh, sorry. My memories are……..this is why I’m asking who you are….”

This is unfair. She groaned, her face contorting.

She wakes up buck naked with a man who refuses to tell her who he is, but tells her that this strange house was her home, along with the way he stares at her, and, worst of all that she has three lovers.

She can put up with everything else, but she cannot tolerate having three lovers. Despite her eccentricities, she was a principled woman. Only date one person at a time.

However—

“You, do you know my name?”

“Ophelia. What exactly do you mean? Why are you asking me that……?”

“You know who I am… I’m just making sure that’s why I asked you.”

“That’s natural. Of course, I know you. Then, do you remember who you are?”

She gave him a chuckle. She was finely annoyed. She was asking as to who he was, but instead, he was the one who kept prying on her personal information, so she was understandably irritated.

She finally opened her mouth, her voice trembling as she did so.

“The Vallein Empire’s second princess, and the dragon’s blood—”

“Serian!”

The man’s face contorted before she could finish her word. She was perplexed as she read the subtle confusion on his furrowed brow.

The man abruptly lifted up the blanket and wrapped it tightly around her body, holding her in his arms, and shouted out.

The door swung open moments later, and a man wearing glasses rushed in.

“What happened…… Your Grace?”

The man who had wrapped her in the blanket as if to ward off intruders turned his head. Her vision was obscured by him, and she felt a bit frightened, but then she stopped when she heard the sound of a man’s voice.

“Call the saint.”

“Yes?”

“It appears as though the Grand Duchess has lost her memory.”

Problem: Choose the worst-case scenario from the three presented below.

First, she lost her seven years’ worth of memories.

Second, the man she saw for the first time in her life is said to be her husband.

Third, both the first and second scenarios happened at the same time.

She rolled her eyes and looked at the people in the room. She has no idea what is going on, but she is certain of one thing.

This is not the Imperial Palace.

It didn’t take long to figure this out. No matter how hungover she got, no matter how glamorous her nightlife was, it was somewhat questionable to recall her habit of crawling out of her room and sleeping in other people’s rooms.

But for now, she decided to get over this situation that her common senses could not solve in the meantime.

The man was in the same bed with her, sitting at the bedside, dressed in a black suit attire.

Unlike when she just woke up, she gulped while looking at the curly black hair that was neatly pulled back and his peculiar shining golden eyes.

Oh, and she is not a fool. Even in their current situation, she is simply looking at his face.

Inexplicable words such as Grand Duchess, Amnesia, and so on were spewing forth from her surroundings. She wasn’t entirely sure what that meant, but she listened nonetheless. In the end, instead of questioning them, she held her breath and remained still.

If only she could, she wanted to sweep them all out with every ounce of her strength.

“Grand Duchess.”

She was puzzled by the unfamiliar title and nodded awkwardly. The woman standing by the door approached her with a graceful smile.

“My name is Saint Camilla.”

Huh? A saint? Camilla?

She tilted her head. The temple and the imperial family, which absolutely venerates the power of dragons, did not get along very well. Even if a new saint appeared, they did not give much attention because it was not a threat to them. However, the saint in her memory was not the one who stood before her.

‘No way……. I really lost my memory, did the changing of the saint part of the memories I forgot? But that can’t be true.’

She had her doubts but decided to keep her mouth shut for the time being.

Camilla stood a little closer to Ophelia and stared at her. Then she turned to face the man who was sitting behind Ophelia in the morning.

“When did the Grand Duchess begin behaving strangely?”

“There was nothing wrong with her until yesterday. After enjoying the party, as always, we retired to our room for a drink. And slept.”

“Did your grace, the Grand Duke, attend the party as well?”

“Do I look like someone who goes to parties?”

There was coldness like winter in the man’s voice. Oh, he’s handsome, and he has a pleasant voice.

However, unlike her, who casually admires the man’s face and voice, Camilla flinched as if she was under pressure. And this time, she shifted her gaze to her (Ophelia).

“Your Grace, the Grand Duchess.  Do you remember what happened last night?”

“Not even a single bit.”

She shook her head. She couldn’t think of anything. She doesn’t even know why she’s being called the Grand Duchess. She was the second princess of the Vallein Empire and the Dragon, who inherited the most tremendous power among her siblings.

And the duke, what kind of duke is……

A frown came across her face. Oh, hold on a second.

A man with black hair, golden eyes, and exuding the aura of a ruler.

In an instant, a flood of information came rushing in like a wave, and she trembled.

She turned her head and looked at the man. His eyes, sitting like a drowsy leopard, were fixed on her. At that moment, she was suddenly reminded of the fact that she had forgotten and immediately covered her mouth with her hands.

“Icard…… Auster?”

The man’s eyebrows twitched at her quivering voice. He appeared to be both happy and angry at the same time, so she unconsciously pulled her butt back and moved away from him.

Crap, this is why if you work too hard with your eyes, your defeat will be one of humiliation. Although she was staring at a dangerous man, her freaking brain could only come up with words like handsome and cool.

“You, cursed… species….”

Just as she was about to say the word “kidding,” a distorted expression immediately appeared on the man’s face. The beast, who had been dead-quiet up until now, suddenly seemed to growl and threaten. The gold eye, which was slightly tinted with red, shone fiercely.

She panicked and stepped back even further.

“It’s amazing how well you remember that, even in this situation.”

It seemed that she wasn’t the only one who was frightened by his subdued voice. Seeing that even the faces of those who looked around them hardened, she hurriedly opened her mouth.

“Why—why are you here? Why are you next to me?”

He should not be sitting next to her.

The dragon, who conquered the world in the beginning and reigned as the emperor, and the cursed race considered to be the descendants of the gods, have confronted each other fatefully since the moment life existed on this land.

The strongest among the cursed races is the family of Auster.

The Auster clan, who inherited the gods’ blood, were cruel and cold-hearted. They retained their youthful appearance until their deaths and did not obey anyone due to their pride in being a divine descendant.

In some ways, a confrontation between their race and of the dragons’ was foreordained and inevitable, but anyways, that wasn’t the point here.

The dragon and the Auster were enemies throughout their entire lives. It could never coexist peacefully.

But right now, this man has admitted that he is an Auster. The most brutal leader in Auster’s history, Icard Auster.

Oh my god.

(T/N: It’s ironic how often she uses the expression ‘oh my god’ when they’re supposedly enemies, hahaha.)

She felt chills run down her spine at that moment. What the hell did she get herself into? What is this? Why is this man referred to as the Great Duke, and why is she called the Great Duchess? What the hell is going on here?

“You must be very unfamiliar with being my Grand Duchess.”

“Grand Duchess, please calm down for now. This is His Grace’s castle, and Her Grace had just lost her memories…… ack!”

As she heard the man’s sarcastic words, Camila immediately consoled her from behind. However, the tension had reached its peak, and she eventually lost control of her power and began firing.

Clang—!

Camila’s screams and the shattering of glass could both be heard simultaneously, and then suddenly, someone shouted for everyone to be careful.

She clenched her eyes shut, completely oblivious to what was going on. And it was at that moment that the man reached out his arm and wrapped his arms around her.

tuk-tuk-

She blinked in surprise as she was pushed into the man’s arms in a semi-forced manner. She cast a glance around and drew her head back. A shard of glass fell from where she had just been.

“Ah, the chandelier.”

She shook her head at someone’s muttering. Only shards of glass remained where the chandelier had been. It wasn’t hard to notice that it was due to the power she had just unleashed.

She gulped deeply. Then she heard a man’s voice from above her head, which she recognized.

“Indeed. You’re exceptional.”

“Grand Duchess, don’t stress yourself too much. The things that you are concerned about will not come to pass. Everybody in this room is on your side……”

“Are you a real saint?”

She muttered half-stiffened, ignoring the man’s sarcastic remark and Camilla’s comfort. Camilla nodded at her question.