Everyone Realized the Saint Was a Fake, but She Still Thought She Was Fooling Them - Chapter 1

He was wonderful.

His silky golden hair flowed down to his shoulders. His sharp, narrow eyes, lips that rarely parted unnecessarily, and well-defined cheekbones made for a striking appearance.

He always stood tall with perfect posture, yet his steps were unhurried and graceful. His refined mannerisms clearly reflected his noble upbringing—not that it was surprising, since he was the eldest son of a ducal family.

Why couldn’t she look away from him?
Why did her eyes always seek him out?
Why was he always the first person she searched for in a crowd?

As Celeste Tronic, the Duke’s daughter, approached her friend, who was staring at the man absentmindedly, she called her name in a scolding tone.

“Lianna.”

However, Lianna Gruber, also a Duke’s daughter, remained fixated on the man, completely unaware of Celeste’s call.

“……”

“Lianna!”

Celeste raised her voice just a little.

“Ah! What’s wrong, Celeste?”

Finally snapping back to reality, Lianna looked at Celeste with a confused expression.

Celeste let out a sigh of exasperation.

“Don’t ask me what’s wrong. Do you even realize where we are?”

“Uh, um… The Queen’s royal ball…”

Lianna quickly glanced around before answering.

The grand, dazzling ballroom was packed with elegantly dressed guests.

Everyone was too engaged in conversation to notice or care that Lianna had been zoning out. However, even though she stood at the very edge of the ballroom, standing alone still made her seem out of place.

Now that Lianna had come to her senses, Celeste felt a little relieved. But another concern arose in her mind, and she hesitated before asking,

“You were staring at that man this whole time, weren’t you?”

“Ah… yeah.”

Lianna looked down, seeming guilty.

“You really like him, don’t you?”

“Ah, well… yeah, I guess…”

Lianna answered hesitantly.

Celeste sighed, troubled.

“But isn’t it pointless? He already has a fiancée.”

Lianna flinched at the words she didn’t want to hear and quickly defended herself.

“I know that. But I can’t help looking at him. It’s just looking, isn’t it? I don’t talk to him or bother anyone.”

Celeste, seeing that Lianna was getting defensive, softened her tone but still warned her,

“I see… But be careful not to let anyone notice. At the very least, his fiancée wouldn’t appreciate it.”

Lianna nodded obediently.

“You’re right… I’ll be more careful. By the way, Celeste, did you need something?”

Since Lianna had changed the subject, Celeste suddenly remembered her original reason for coming over and smiled brightly.

“Oh! Don’t be shocked, Lianna. Wallace is back!”

“Wallace!?”

“Yes! It’s been about a year, hasn’t it?”

Celeste’s eyes shone with excitement, and Lianna nearly jumped in joy.

Her voice was full of excitement as she asked,

“Is he here? In this ballroom?”

Celeste nodded enthusiastically.

“Yes, I saw him talking to someone. I wanted to tell you first—”

Just as Celeste was about to finish her sentence—

“Hey, Lianna. And Celeste.”

A warm, cheerful voice called out as Wallace approached them.

Lianna’s face lit up instantly.

“Wallace! You’re back! When did you arrive? Have you been well? How long are you staying?”

As Lianna fired off questions one after another, Wallace chuckled wryly.

“I’ll be here for a while, at least until I get my next deployment orders.”

“That’s great! We can have fun like before, right?”

Lianna smiled in satisfaction, but Wallace scratched his head with a sigh.

“That would be nice… But actually, this time, I’m also supposed to find a wife. I need to be married before my next deployment. So, I’ll be a little busy.”

Lianna blinked in surprise.

“Oh, marriage? Well, I guess you’re at that age. If you only have this visit to find someone, you don’t have much time. You’ll have to work hard.”

Wallace gave a tired shrug, then suddenly asked in a deliberately bright voice,

“What about you, Lianna?”

“What about me?”

Lianna looked puzzled, and Wallace winked.

“Would you like to be my wife?”

Lianna’s eyes widened in shock, too stunned to speak.

Before she could respond, Celeste immediately interjected,

“Don’t be silly, Wallace. This girl is still… like this about him.”

Celeste pointed toward the man Lianna had been staring at earlier and then made a heart shape with her fingers.

Wallace flinched and instinctively asked,

“Wait, still? But… he has a fiancée—”

Realizing his voice was getting too loud, Celeste quickly shushed him,

“Yes, he does have a fiancée. But that doesn’t matter. Lianna still likes him. So, you’ll have to look elsewhere.”

Lianna turned bright red in embarrassment.

“Celeste, don’t say it like that…!”

Wallace glanced at her, let out a small sigh, then quickly put on a smile again.

“I see. Got it, got it. I’ll look elsewhere! But honestly, Lianna’s the bigger problem here. We need to do something about her love life first.”

Now that the attention had shifted to her, Lianna panicked and shook her head.

“No need! I know this love is hopeless!”

But Celeste immediately disagreed.

“No, you don’t know. It’s been a whole year. Meanwhile, I found a fiancé within that time.”

Hearing that, Wallace suddenly turned to Celeste.

“That’s right! I forgot to congratulate you! Congratulations on your engagement! Thanks for letting me know by letter!”

Celeste gave him a wry smile.

“You forgot? Well, you have always been more focused on Lianna.”

“Hey, don’t say it like that! I cared about you too, Celeste!”

Wallace pouted, but Celeste smirked mischievously.

“Oh, please. You were only obsessed with my dog. If you love dogs that much, you should’ve just gotten your own.”

Wallace shook his head seriously.

“It wasn’t just any dog! Coco was special! By the way, is Coco doing well? I’ll visit tomorrow, so let’s all meet at Celeste’s place, okay?”

Celeste was caught off guard.

“Tomorrow? What’s with the sudden plan? I already have plans with my fiancé—”

Wallace grinned.

“Even better. I wanted to meet Lord Brode anyway. I need to tell him something—‘If you ever make Celeste cry, I won’t forgive you!’ Right, Lianna?”

Lianna laughed and agreed.

“That’s right. I’d love to see him again too.”

Celeste frantically waved her hands.

“No need for greetings, really—!”

But Wallace wasn’t backing down, exchanging knowing nods with Lianna.

Then, he suddenly narrowed his eyes.

“Speaking of which, where is Lord Brode? Why isn’t he escorting his fiancée at a royal ball?”

Just then, the atmosphere around Lianna abruptly fell silent.

The crowd subtly parted.

A heavy, oppressive air filled the space.

Lianna immediately realized—

A certain unpleasant woman was approaching.