I'm a Villainess, Can I Die?-Chapter 76

Only after the music began did I truly understand what Lukas had meant by “It’s fine if you don’t know how to dance.”

And at the same time, I recalled a memory I had briefly forgotten—back at the plaza, when we encountered those third-rate thugs.

Just like that day, Lukas held me securely against him.

The only difference was that this time, instead of my feet dangling in the air like a paper doll, they were planted firmly on top of his shoes.

It was such an unusual position that I glanced around, worried about how others might perceive it.

But it seemed that for a fast-paced song like this, there was no need for rigid formality—other dancers were in similar positions, though probably not quite like this.

"Are your feet okay?"

"They’re already broken, so I can’t feel them."

This man.

When I didn’t respond, Lukas let out a quiet chuckle.

And that was the end of our conversation.

I lowered my gaze, focusing on my feet.

Even though I was standing on his shoes, I still had to be careful—what if I slipped?

But despite my efforts, I couldn’t see my own feet at all.

They were completely hidden beneath the billowing layers of my dress.

...Well, at least I tried. That’s what matters.

Though I couldn’t see my feet, I ended up noticing something else.

Every time Lukas spun us, my dress flared out beautifully. The deep blue fabric, adorned with golden embroidery, shimmered like stardust under the glow of the chandeliers.

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It looked like an entire galaxy of stars dancing in the sky.

A sky where I was spinning endlessly.

Somehow, that thought made me a little excited.

Before I knew it, my head was nodding slightly in rhythm with the music.

I stared at my dress, lost in fascination, bobbing my head contentedly.

I was enjoying myself in my own way.

"Are you having fun?"

Engrossed in my dress, I had momentarily forgotten that I was standing on someone else’s feet, spinning through the ballroom.

Lukas’s voice brushed against my ear, startling me so much that I instinctively tensed.

At the same time, my right foot slipped off his shoe.

The very situation I had been worried about had come to pass.

Oh, please—let someone else be dancing so spectacularly that all eyes are on them instead of me.

I silently prayed as I squeezed my eyes shut.

But contrary to my fears, I didn’t stumble or fall awkwardly.

A steady arm wrapped around my back, keeping me from losing balance.

Instead of standing on his shoes, I was now practically pressed against Lukas’s chest, securely held in his embrace.

Somewhere in the distance, I thought I heard a surprised gasp—Oh my!—but surely that wasn’t directed at us. Surely not.

Lukas, now burdened with a rather embarrassing amount of me, carefully lifted me back onto his shoes.

Because he moved slowly, I was able to land safely without further incident.

"Thank you."

I adjusted my posture and looked up at him.

We were closer than before—his face was right in front of mine.

To avoid another incident where I forgot about him entirely, I decided to keep my head up while we danced.

I met his gaze and held it.

When I didn’t look away, Lukas’s expression shifted into something unreadable.

And then, after a brief pause, he smiled deeper than I had ever seen before.

A wide grin, revealing a flash of white teeth.

A crease forming on the bridge of his nose.

And a pair of green eyes staring solely at me.

Because we were so close, I could see every subtle movement of his face—every muscle that shifted as he smiled.

Strangely, at that moment, he looked...

Like a boy.

Like a mischievous child who had set his sights on something he wanted.

The music slowed.

My swirling dress settled back into place.

I let out a small breath as I stepped off Lukas’s shoes.

My breathing was a little unsteady.

For me, even this much movement counted as exercise.

I wanted to go home.

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I had wanted to go home from the start, but now I really wanted to go home.

Lowering my head to catch my breath, I thought about what I should do next.

The other dancers had bowed to their partners after the first song.

I should do the same for Lukas.

I lifted my head to thank him—

But the moment I did, my gaze met someone else’s through the crowd.

They were smiling at me.

Their lips curved upward.

By all accounts, it was a smile.

But... it didn’t feel like one.

It was the same kind of smile I had worn as a child—forced and unnatural, twisted into place in a desperate attempt to appear happy.

Before Lukas even had the chance to call my name, I couldn’t look away from those pale green eyes.

"Selina."

Lukas’s voice finally snapped me out of it.

I remembered what I had been about to do.

The moment for formal greetings had already passed.

The guests had begun scattering, moving about the ballroom once again.

In the end, I had just been standing there, staring blankly, while Lukas waited.

"Ah... I’m sorry."

Since it would be rude not to, I bowed my head slightly and apologized.

While others had been exchanging courtesies, I had stood there doing nothing.

Lukas, however, simply smiled as if it was no big deal.

"It’s fine."

I nodded at his response.

With a graceful motion, Lukas placed my hand on his arm and escorted me back to the secluded corner where I had been sitting earlier.

Even after helping me settle into my chair, he didn’t leave immediately.

Instead, he stood in front of me, backlit just as he had been when he first asked me to dance.

"So, who were you looking at?"

"What?"

His voice was still lighthearted, but there was a subtle shift—it had dropped just slightly in tone.

"Who was it?"

Since I didn’t answer, he repeated the question in a murmur.

I thought he had said it wasn’t a big deal. Was he realizing now that he was actually upset?

...What kind of situation was this?

"Why do you ask?"

Lukas didn’t reply.

Instead, he slowly turned his head, scanning the crowd behind us as if trying to find the person himself.

But the spectators who had gathered to watch the dance had long since dispersed.

And the person I had locked eyes with was gone as well.

Failing to find what he was looking for, Lukas tapped his fingers rhythmically against his thigh.

"Because I was jealous."

I was speechless.

Was that really all there was to it?

After looking around so intently, after narrowing his eyes as if ready to track them down—he was simply jealous?

And of whom, exactly?

Then again, it was the same person he had been jealous of earlier.

Lately, I had been feeling it more and more—Lukas was acting strange.

He had never been a normal person, but this was different.

It was as if his usually rational mind was breaking down.

He was saying bizarre things, doing things that didn’t make sense...

"You're acting strange."

I muttered the thought aloud before I could stop myself.

Lukas turned his head back toward me, his usual smile fading from his lips.

Without it, he didn’t look relaxed anymore.

He just looked... restless.

For a moment, he simply stared at me.

Then, at last, he smiled again—this time, slower.

"You’re right."

Instead of denying it, he acknowledged it easily.

Well, people usually do know when they’re acting weird.

The only question is whether they admit it.

"I am acting strange."

His words lingered in the air like a whisper.

His lips curved upward, but the expression was complex.

He looked like a villain, a boy, and someone both sad and amused all at once.

Then, without warning, he lowered himself and pressed a kiss to my hand.

His green eyes remained fixed on mine the entire time.

It felt... odd.

Lukas straightened slowly, just as he had lowered himself.

Then, after a brief bow, he turned away from me.

Even his back seemed weighed down by something.

After turning away from Selina, Lukas made his way toward a waiter carrying wine.

The perceptive waiter swiftly poured a glass of red and handed it to him.

Lukas lifted the glass slightly, offering a silent thanks before heading to the terrace—one of the few places without curtains.

The terrace was where guests retreated when they grew tired of the party.

Really, Selina should have been resting somewhere like this, rather than in a cramped corner.

As he brushed aside the curtain, the thought passed through his mind.

Lukas let out a quiet chuckle at himself.

Undoing the top buttons of his collar, he finally felt like he could breathe again.

Tilting his head back, he looked up at the night sky.

Just like the embroidery on Selina’s dress, the sky was filled with scattered stars, glistening under the darkness.

...This is serious.

No matter what he looked at, ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ it all led back to Selina.

"You're acting strange."

Her quiet voice echoed in his mind.

Lukas closed his eyes.

She was right.

Something was wrong with him.

When he realized he had feelings for Selina, he had thought—Now that I know, I can act more rationally.

After all, people tend to control themselves when they want to be seen favorably.

They show their best side.

They hope the other person will come to like them in return.

To do that, one must remain rational.

So he had expected that these impulsive emotions would settle down.

But the reality was the opposite.

He had only become more emotional.

It drove him mad with jealousy to see her looking at someone else.

This was not like him at all.

He had never imagined that liking someone would change him this much.

Lukas opened his eyes again.

The bright stars blurred for a moment before his vision cleared.

A dark sky.

Scattered starlight.

And beside it, the image of Selina, flickering like a mirage.

"Yes, I am acting strange."

Lukas spoke to the illusion of Selina that had formed in his mind.

Even in his imagination, she didn’t smile at him.

Not even a hallucination would be that generous, huh?

His lips curled into a wry smile as he raised his glass and took a long drink.

It was a night full of unknowns.