Chapter 6

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"Today, I'll make that girl say 'Gyafun'! For my own sake later on!"

With this resolve, Mary stood determined, and beside her, Addy let out a heavy sigh.

"Miss, perhaps you should refrain from playing the villain tonight..."

But Mary, instead of listening, became even more determined, declaring, "That's why it's tonight!"

Of course, she lowered her voice so that only Addy, standing next to her, could hear. After all, the Albert household was overflowing with guests tonight, and it was necessary to either avoid unnecessary remarks or speak in hushed tones.

Indeed, the Albert household was unusually lively tonight.

There was a reason for this: tonight was a party hosted by the Albert family to celebrate the birthday of the head of the household, Mary's father. Under this pretext, everyone gathered for a grand and intricate celebration.

The scale of the event was befitting of a family with power second only to the royal family. The mansion, adorned with splendor, was filled with musicians who played music without pause, and top chefs served exquisite dishes. It was a truly magnificent and luxurious affair.

However, for Mary, who disliked such events, the lavishness seemed superficial, and the flattery and boasting that took place were tiresome. Still, as the daughter of the Albert family, she had no choice but to attend. She put on a smile, suppressing her desire to run away, and played the part of a lady every year.

But this year was different.

This year, Mary attended as the daughter of the Albert family and also as the villainous lady.

Until last year, she had even disliked the arrival of this day, but this year was different. She was burning with a fighting spirit.

—Just to be clear, it's not that she didn't want to celebrate her father's birthday—

"Good, I've invited that girl to tonight's party. I'll show her the difference in our status there."

"The difference in status, you say."

"Yes, I remember Alicia only had a shabby dress."

Recalling the information from her memory, Mary smiled slyly.

This was one of the events that occurred in the game.

The protagonist, who was invited to the party hosted by the Albert family with great insistence, wore a borrowed dress and headed to the venue.

There, Mary, waiting at the entrance, mocked her dress, and to make matters worse, the person who appeared as Mary's escort was the one with the highest affection at that point.

Poor Alicia, hurt and in tears, left the scene. Dragged to an inappropriate venue, laughed at for her shabby dress, and even had her love interest taken away... it was a truly humiliating scenario where she had no choice but to leave.

Of course, a typical otome game plot followed.

The character who appeared as the escort chased after Alicia, explained that he had been forced to escort Mary and that he didn't know Alicia had been invited, and finally complimented her dress.

Depending on the progress of the game, a scene of dancing in a park under the moonlight or a princess carry might appear on the screen. Some characters even had a scene of being embraced and kissed under the stars.

"That's so sweet it makes me want to vomit... So, what happened to the lady who was left behind by her escort?"

"Well, the game doesn't go into that much detail. If I were in her position now, I'd definitely take this opportunity to go back to my room and sleep, but as the villainous lady Mary, she probably took it out on her attendants."

"Ah, what a poor game character I am."

Addy pretended to wipe his eyes in sympathy.

But he quickly returned to his usual nonchalant expression and changed the subject.

"So, you've put a lot of effort into your dress for tonight, haven't you?"

"Yes, I have. I need to show everyone here that I'm a beautiful and intelligent lady."

Mary puffed out her chest proudly, and Addy hurriedly turned away.

A question mark appeared over Mary's head. For some reason, he kept glancing at her sideways, and when their eyes met, he would quickly look away.

"What's wrong? Is there something wrong with my dress, Addy?"

"No, not at all... It suits you."

"That's a relief. I specially requested this dress to be made. If it didn't suit me, it would be a problem."

Mary smiled confidently, and Addy made a theatrical cough.

Originally, Mary was not the type to put much effort into her attire for such parties.

She liked dressing up, as any girl her age would, and had a few favorite designers as a noble lady. Wearing stylish clothes made her feel good, and being complimented made her happy. If it weren't for her super strong memory curl, she would have tried different hairstyles.

However, as the daughter of the Albert family, party attire was something she had worn countless times. Of course, she had dozens of dresses and regularly updated her collection, but if the purpose was the same, the designs didn't vary much.

The dresses were not overly ornate to highlight the guest of honor, yet they were still elegant. They were modest in terms of skin exposure, exuded grace as the daughter of the Albert family, and were visibly expensive... and so on. As a result, her many dresses all looked somewhat similar.

But tonight was different.

Tonight, Mary's dress was a bold, mature design with a plunging neckline. It was a deep navy blue, with no frills or lace, and she had even had a new hair accessory made to match.

This design, which was the opposite of the typical "noble lady" dresses she usually wore, was the one the villainous lady Mary wore in "DraGaku." She recalled the dress from the game's standing illustrations and had it made for tonight.

Of course, her parents had tried to stop her at the design stage, but Mary had convinced them with great effort.

For the usually well-behaved and serious Mary, this was quite a challenge.

—Not that Mary was a well-behaved and serious girl. She was extremely lazy and averse to trouble, and her standards were somewhat detached from those of a noble. For example, demanding to eat high-end cuisine from a distant region every day, and only if it was fresh, would be considered a whim, but which noble would treat having croquettes at every meal as a whim? Well, croquettes every meal might be a health issue, but—

In any case, her parents, puzzled by this rare whim, tried to dissuade her... but in the end, they were the ones who gave in when they saw her in the dress.

It suited her. So much so that even her parents were captivated.

Mary, wearing a dress that was unlike her usual style, exuded a different charm.

The plunging neckline revealed her smooth, beautiful skin, and the simplicity of the deep navy blue accentuated her figure.

Despite being called "indecent" before she put it on, the dress did not give off that impression. Instead, it exuded elegance. The boldness gave her a sense of dignity and absolute confidence in showing off.

Mary wore the mature dress perfectly. Of course, she knew she could pull it off, having seen it many times in the game.

However, while it was familiar to her, it was different for those around her. Addy's reaction was particularly amusing, as he had even sprayed coffee on the tablecloth when he saw her in it.

"As for that girl, I remember she was wearing a light pink dress. A hand-me-down from an acquaintance, and an outdated design."

"Outdated or not, Alicia does look good in pink."

"But it was just... so dowdy."

"Well, from your perspective, an outdated dress would seem dowdy."

"It's not just that. It had a kind of... indescribable dowdiness. It was hard to put into words."

It was relatively common for game characters to have terrible fashion sense.

Especially in "DraGaku," which was a Cinderella story about a commoner entering a glamorous world. If Alicia had worn an ornate dress, it might have alienated the players.

The essence of an otome game was that even if the protagonist was a queen or a princess, she was a relatable, ordinary girl who attracted handsome men. A bit of dowdiness made it easier for players to empathize.

That's why Mary, who was the opposite of Alicia, wore a bold dress. She was depicted as a woman who used her charm to manipulate men for her own vanity, and the boldness of her dress only added to her portrayal as a particularly lascivious woman.

As Mary was thinking about this, she saw Alicia's figure approaching from the front.

She was wearing a soft, light pink dress with ribbons and lace, walking slowly and nervously, perhaps because she was not used to the shoes.

Her golden hair was adorned with a large ribbon matching the dress, and her chest was decorated with a floral corsage and a tightly tied ribbon to accentuate her waist. In her hand, she held a lace parasol...

This was the dress that had sparked controversy when "DraGaku" was released.

Seeing it in real life, Mary thought again...

This is not real...