(HIATUS) I'm the Villainess in an Otome Game but the Heroine is my Best Friend?

Chapter 20 - Shoot, I don't know anything!

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"Anyways, thank you for the wonderful desserts, Gus!" Annie butts in, smiling widely. "Of course, any time, Annie." Chef Gus smiles back.

"Let us head off, my lady!" Annie pulls me away from Gus and further into the kitchen. She quickly asks one of the chefs to prepare a basket of snacks and tea for us and we leave the kitchen area.

"What did he mean by the prince's birthday ball?" I ask Annie.

"I completely forgot that Third Prince Yulian's 16th birthday was coming! This is extremely bad, my lady!" She smacks her head with her free hand.

"With your memory loss, you don't know the proper etiquette or dancing skills for the ball! We'll have to learn everything from scratch in a matter of a few cycles!" She sighs exasperatedly.

"Can't I just miss it? Use my memory loss as an excuse?" I questioned. She shakes her head.

"No, all eligible bachelors and bachelorettes of a similar age must attend a royal family member's 16th birthday. It's basically when every one of eligible age debuts and is one of the few places for relationships and partnerships to happen! These debutante balls only happen every so often since it rides on if the royal family has more children or not." Annie explains.

"We can not simply deny a royal invite to a debut ball, it would create extreme internal strife and potentially ruin an aristocrat's ability to continue being a noble since they need to foster relations and connections with other strong people to maintain their rankings," Annie adds on. Sounds tiring and a little messed up.

"Oh, well then, how do I start?" I ask. Annie stops walking, I stop as well.

"I guess the tour of the dukedom will have to be split into smaller parts since we need to make sure you have at least the basics of etiquette down." Annie starts to speed walk the hallway we were in.

"So we were in the main central hall, where the major events are typically held, and where most of the guests stay. The other halls as mentioned previously, are where your other family members live. Only the lower right hall is empty because that's where the Grand Duke lives if he's not at his own estate." Annie speedruns her explanation.

"We took the left-most route to get to the main central hall since we reside in the lower-left hall. You will know what hall you are currently in from the wall linings. This design means we're in the left halls." Annie points out a design running along the walls of the hall.

"We'll explore the other halls and important areas another time, but for now you just need to know how to get to the main central hall. This is where you'll leave to go to the birthday ball. Make sure that you are comfortable with getting there by yourself, just in case I'm not there with you." Annie says.

"Regarding the ball- the dress, and preparations, I can take care of it. You just need to learn the proper etiquette and dancing skills. Also a general idea of the nobility. I think one of the books I brought talks about it." Annie explains. Oh, The History of Aurus. That should be the book she's talking about. I read only a little of it, it seemed a little too thick for my liking. Do I need to read all of it? That's not going to be enjoyable.

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