5 years.
For five years, the 7th Prince surrendered 7 times to the harsh and cruel barbarians in the disputed area.
Contrary to his nickname 'the devil of the battlefield', everyone who saw the triumphant general leading his troops through the castle gates held their breath.
The boy, who originally had a neat appearance, had now become a handsome young man with a beautiful face.
Every time his unique sharp and expectant eyes touched the surroundings, the women present blushed.
The men looked astonished at the fact that that grim face was a 'demon of the battlefield' who mercilessly punished the enemy without regard for circumstances.
“It reminds me of the old days. People were so excited when His Highness the 7th Prince, who was not even an adult at the time, returned after reclaiming the castle that had been taken away by ruthless people.”
“I was there too.”
"Me too. Me too."
“What do you do if he’s brave and good at fighting? I heard he’s a cruel person with a vicious hand.”
The woman, who had been blushing at the Prince in response to someone's grumbling, countered.
“No, I thought so too, but that’s not necessarily true.”
She recalled that time.
“At that time, when the Prince came in as a general, there happened to be a young granddaughter of the Highclere family who had lost her way. I remember His Royal Highness personally taking that child in and protecting her.”
In addition, he even showed delicate consideration by directly telling His Majesty about the existence of the child, in case the young girl might be harmed by her origins or the past affairs of her mother.
“It seems like something like that happened.”
“Now that I think about it, what about the Marquis’s daughter who is said to be a genius spiritist? What happened?"
Someone suddenly asked and everyone exchanged looks.
No one knew anything about her.
This is because, in the past five years, Dorothea Highclere has not appeared in public even once.
***
At that time, regardless of the commotion outside due to Luke's return, the Marquis' mansion was peaceful.
Dorothea, who was reading a book in her study as usual, turned around slowly when she heard a loud noise.
She saw her cousin Dane, who was around the same age, rolling around on the floor.
“This damned Prince’s dog!”
She roughly guessed the situation from the angry shout, closed the book she was reading, and stood up.
The girl, who turned sixteen this year, had become a beautiful lady, with slightly red cheeks like a peach and attractively plumped lips.
The indigo-colored eyes, which seemed to be a mixture of the original pink eyes of Dorothea and the black eyes of Jae-shin in her previous life, added an appropriate weight to the bright girl's atmosphere.
"Stop."
As soon as Dorothea finished speaking, Freed's eyes turned to her.
At the same time, Dane, who was about to swing his fist at him, also stopped.
“Freed doesn’t move for no reason. I guess you were trying to scare me from behind again.”
“I just wanted to say hello?”
There was nothing trustworthy in Dane's grumbling words.
Dorothea, who was well aware of his mischievousness, scolded Freed, who was at least able to communicate.
“I told you it wasn’t okay for you to throw him on the floor.”
“...”
“This place is made of wood, so it’s vulnerable to shock. If the floor falls, the books in the study will be damaged.”
I don't know if he was reflecting, but unlike Freed, who lowered his head at her words, Dane put his hand on his waist and made a groaning noise.
“Can’t you just worry about me? I think I broke a bone.”
“If your bones are broken, you can’t get up.”
No sooner had Dorothea, who calmly diagnosed her cousin's condition, finished speaking, than Jane entered the study, holding a simple snack in her hand.
As soon as she saw Dane, she clicked her tongue as if she understood the situation.
“Did you get caught by Lord Freed while playing around again? You are now 16 years old, so please educate yourself.”
It was an extremely rude and arrogant thing for a maid from a commoner's background to say to the Marquis's son, but instead of pointing out her inferiority, the boy turned his face in complete displeasure.
"It looks delicious."
Dorothea's hand picked up the delicious sandwich on the tray Jane was holding.
The savory and sweet smell stimulated her sense of smell.
As soon as she took a bite, she felt the perfect harmony between the soft texture of the bread and the scrambled eggs sandwiched between it.
Dane couldn't take his eyes off her as she chewed the sandwich slowly but diligently as if savoring each ingredient.
“I always find it delicious.”
Even other people were moved when they saw her putting a lot of food into her mouth and chewing it.
Dorothea, who swallowed the rest of her sandwich in one go at her cousin's words, opened her mouth.
"You want to eat?"
“Oh, please share?”
“No, go to the kitchen and get it. There will be leftover sandwiches in the kitchen.”
The remaining pieces belonged to Freed, who had been by her side the whole time.
He deserved to eat this sandwich today as he had successfully carried out his 'Master' duty to watch out for creatures that came close to Dorothea and protect her.
"Huh....”
Dane, who was looking at the sandwich being handed over to Howie, wrinkled his face as if he was shocked.
Realizing that he wouldn't get anything from Dorothea in the end, he didn't say anything more but just stared blankly at his cousin biting into a jam-covered cookie.
When he first encountered her, the boy was secretly disappointed by her appearance, which did not meet his expectations.
A child with such a thin and shabby appearance that one cannot believe that she is the daughter of Ellen, who was called one of the most beautiful women in the empire.
However, as time passed, she gradually became a completely different person from her first impression.
It took a long five years for her sunken cheeks to grow fat little by little, her frizzy hair to become shiny, her skinny body to gain a moderate amount of weight, and for her to be given the title 'a beauty who takes after her mother and will shine the empire.'
Now Dorothea has the appearance of an elegant and sophisticated young lady who no one could ever point a finger at and call her a 'slugger'.
'She's a bit greedy when it comes to eating, though.'
Dane swallowed his words and bluntly got to the point.
He didn't go looking for his cousin for no reason, just to have fun.
“The 7th Prince has just returned to the imperial capital.”
"Yes?"
There was no sign of surprise on Dorothea's face when she heard the news.
Dane added, looking at her carefully, not knowing what she was thinking.
“I heard that thanks to his achievements on the battlefield, he will be given a new territory this time.”
“Good.”
If you become rich, will you give me some too?
When Dorothea gave the answer dryly, the question came back with a bit of tension.
“Are you going to meet me?”
Dorothea smiled silently at his question.
“Well, what should I do?”
“Well, weren’t you quite close to the Prince?”
Dane's gaze glanced at Freed.
Even though the beautiful knight heard the news about his former Master, he did not react much, and as always, he was wary of those who approached him with dry eyes.
The reason is unknown, but the interest and favor the Prince showed towards Dorothea was extraordinary.
Even when disturbing rumors were circulating in the imperial palace and on the streets, he always reached out to Dorothea.
A beast dealing with a barbarian.
The fact that the so-called Prince reached out to someone first, and the fact that it was a young girl, attracted quite a bit of attention. However, soon after, the Prince left for the battlefield and Dorothea stayed in the mansion, and the relationship between the two faded away from the public's attention.
'And then he appeared in the ecliptic again.'
The 7th Prince was the only outsider that Dorothea met before she went into hiding.
Aside from her family, will anything change for Dorothea, who has always maintained a completely disconnected life from the world?
Dorothea responded with an inscrutable smile, as always, to Dane's words, as if examining hia reaction.
“If I have anything to do, I’ll meet you. If necessary, they will come from there.”
“Hmm...”
After dealing with her curious cousin appropriately, Dorothea stuffed the remaining cookie pieces into her mouth and looked at the empty tray with wistful eyes.
Dane asked Dorothea again, who was looking at him with eagle eyes as if she could not miss even the smallest piece.
“You. Are you not planning on showing yourself in front of people any time soon? Things like balls, banquets, and tea parties held at salons.”
"Well."
It was a puzzling answer.
If it's meant to be, I can go, if not, I can't go.
She reached out again to read the book she had closed, but suddenly stopped and looked out the half-open window. The bird perched on the branch was staring intently at her.
After facing the large bird with an all-black body for a while, she suddenly opened her mouth with a faint smile.
“Was the ball held at the mansion this time for Edwin?”
“Oh, that’s right. My brother seems a bit burdened. My father seems to think that now is the time to solidify marriage talks. Once he receives his title, he has to take a branch.”
“...”
"Why?"
Dorothea carefully put the book she was holding in its place and turned her head to look at Jane.
"Jane."
"Yes?"
“Do you have a prom dress for me?”
“...!”
Jane's eyes were wide with freckles on her face.
Dane must have been equally surprised by the sudden words, as he stared at his capricious maternal cousin with his mouth open.
Dorothea asked, smiling so deeply that her eyes widened.
“Will you dance with me at the ball?”
Dane, who had a history of receiving black bruises on the top of his feet while learning ballroom dancing with her, began to turn pale.
***
“I want to attend the upcoming ball.”
Her words caused an uproar at the dinner table on Highclere Mansion.
The Marquis and others, who had secretly expressed their hopes of her showing up at the ball, all looked at Dorothea in surprise.
Dorothea resumed eating as if she had said everything she wanted to say in that short sentence, receiving looks from people who were happy, shocked, or curious.
High-quality, juicy beef was sliced with her knife.
As she picked up the finely chopped pieces and munched them with the savory beans, the mood of the people around her, who had stopped in amazement, changed dramatically.
In this excited and busy atmosphere, each person began to speak out.
“You need to start with new clothes.”
“The seamstress I visited last time had good skills.”
“You also have to buy accessories separately. Shall we attend the auction?”
“First of all, let’s not make the prom atmosphere too dark. The idea is to decorate her as brightly and lightly as possible so that peers can hang out comfortably.”
Apparently, the ball was being held to find Edwin a bride, but Dorothea's words changed the atmosphere like a palm.
Even Edwin, the person involved, did not hide his willingness and whispered affectionately to his cousin.
“That was really well thought out, Thea. You will meet good friends.”
“I will dance my first dance with you.”
Even though it was a ball for him, Edwin knew that all the attention would be on him and smiled at the apology that was not an apology.
This sweet sister used to pay close attention to everything, pretending she wasn't.
“Yes, it is an honor. I need to practice dancing hard too.”
Dane, who was listening to the conversation between the two, muttered with a frown on his face.
“She is the one who needs to practice dancing, not you. She.”
Meanwhile, the Marquis, Ben, and Aiden were looking at their grandson, who would be the star of the ball, with extremely envious eyes.
Edwin, who received eyes burning with envy, jealousy, and desire from his grandfather and uncle, pretended not to notice and stood up.
“Okay then, I’ll go get ready.”
The adults who had been fighting behind Edwin, who quickly left, eventually became sullen and finished the meal after hearing Dorothea's words, 'I will dance only once, with Edwin.'
The residents of the mansion were filled with excitement and began to prepare as best they could to support the reclusive Young Lady who was about to engage in 'social activities' for the first time.
And when Dorothea's attendance became known, people outside the mansion also excitedly expressed their intention to visit the Marquis.
Many people's attention began to focus on the ball, which moved from Edwin's marriage talks to Dorothea's social activities in an instant.
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