Suddenly I'm a Villainess

Chapter Seventeen

Oh well. I headed straight to dad who was talking to a Marquess. Father gestures to me to hurry. " Speak of the Devil! " Dad says, " Aleah here is very well versed as a scholar. Probably if she were a guy her intellectual capacities would be outstanding!" He bragged.

Gosh, what a childish reason, I can't believe he called me over just for that. I giggled, I guess everyone has an unexpected cute side. I look at the Marquess who's son was behind him. I see, so it was a competition.

" I herd the Regal Mines was overrun with monsters! " The marquess explained.

" Yes, I know. Apparently, Viscount Anderson sent troops but all came back unsuccessful." Dad whispered.

The Regal mines were owned by Viscount Anderson. Later on in the series, the mine gets to a point where it's completely overrun and has a high possibility of invading Viscount's mansion. Of course, Noah was quick to take action with the persuasion of Layla, who was asked to by her father.

The mine was run down and empty anyway so even if it was still inhabited by monsters there was no need to do anything about it. Viscount Anderson was also the type to complain about Empire issues despite not doing anything about it. He was a big mouth who contributed to Aleah's death.

" Is there anything else you need?"

" No honey, if you are busy you can head off now."

I said my goodbyes and walked away. I was left by myself again, I wonder what I should do. My throat feels a little dry from all the talking, I should get something to drink. I walked over to the table with the beverages and snacks.

As I drink punch I look around and saw a familiar maid scurry out of the hall. It looked like the same maid I was suspicious of at my birthday, no maybe it was just my imagination and nothing more. It couldn't be...

"  Leah! " I turned around to see Noah waving as he ran towards me.

My heart started to thump as my chest tightened. Time slowed down and it was only us two in the room, the closer he got the faster my heart rate went up. My breathing got worse by the second. Keep it together Aleah!

It wouldn't be good if things got worse. I need to get out of here immediately.

" So what brings you here your highness?" 

His eyes did a little twitch before he spoke, " Noah..." he replied.

" Excuse me?" 

" Noah, I already told you before to call me Noah. You're my fiance Leah, I don't like the sound of you calling me your highness." 

I know he's mentioned this before, but I hadn't thought he's taking it this seriously, he seemed a little frustrated too. I figured calling him by his name in public would go against etiquette, I think I hurt his feelings instead.

Everything has changed, everything. Noah doesn't hate me, he despised even hearing my name come out of anyone mouth. Now we're on a first-name basis, this could go wrong in so many ways but this could also be good for me.

" Okay, your-..."

" N.O.A.H ! " he commanded, his voice was stern and strong. 

" Okay yo- Noah.  Would you like to be my first dance of the day?" I asked.

"It's been an honour, Leah." 

He held out his hand and I took it gracefully. He leads me to the center of the dance floor. Everyone was staring but for some reason, it didn't bother me what people thought for once, it was just me and him. 

Noah is actually a pretty good dancer. There were times when I'd lose balance or I'd step on his shoes but he remained unphased. He helped stabilise me and continued to lead the dance. I'm usually good at dancing too so I don't know what's happening right now.

But despite the fact that I currently am failing at dancing I feel comfortable and safe around him. When did I become like this? What even is this feeling? It's like I never want this moment to end, we'd just keep on dancing.

Now that I think about it, I don't even know what I feel about him anymore. Whenever I think about it my mind just goes foggy, do you think it could be his natural charm as a male lead? no, I doubt that. I wonder... just what could it be? 

Twirl after twirl, we danced to the beautifully orchestrated music. Everyone wanted a view of our duet, I even caught a glimpse of the Emperor and Empress from the crowd. Their sheepishly smile made it easy to tell what they were thinking about.

The music stops and we ended our dance. We must have danced for a good half an hour, however, it only felt like seconds. I wanted to dance a little longer.  People started to crowd around Noah again, well it only makes sense since he is the Crown Prince and everything.

To Be Continued