After that day.
"To Baroness Millia Bogens."
As Millea had expected, invitations to parties held mainly by high-ranking nobles began to arrive for her.
That was definitely a good thing.
It was a party she had attended for that purpose in the first place.
Thanks to that, Millea's options had expanded beyond comparison.
However...
"Ah, Bogens."
If Albus Florette hadn't been there to talk to her every time he saw her, she would have liked the current situation twice as much.
"...Count Florette."
Millea forced a smile and nodded lightly to Albus.
However, her insides were rotting away.
She barely managed to keep her face from crumpling.
'Why is someone who rarely shows up at parties these days so regular?'
Listening, the most difficult person to see is that he is not interested in dancing, but when he is not interested in dancing. All of them were able to face the Albus Florette. The fact that he was attending the party, he was able to greet her every time he met her.
In the social circles of Elvares, it was considered extremely rude for a gentleman not to kiss a lady on the back of the hand. Sometimes, when they were close friends, they would skip such formalities, or when they were not on good terms, it was meaningless. But this was not the case for both Millea and Albus. At least, that was how it seemed.
'Polite bastard... '
Millea, who was about to leave without saying a word, forced a smile and reached out to Albus. Albus then carefully took her hand as if he were handling a precious object, kissed her glove lightly, and let go.
When I get home, I'll tear off my glove and use it as kindling.
Millea thought to herself as she bowed lightly.
"Then, I have something to tell the Marquis of Tresid, so I'll be going now. Have a good night."
"Hey, Young Lady!"
Millea was about to turn around after saying a greeting that would not be enough to catch her. An urgent voice stopped her.
'Why are you doing that, really?'
Millea desperately held back her curses and turned her head. Then Albus, who had called her, lowered his head in surprise and avoided her gaze. She could not hide her bewildered expression and let out a trembling voice.
"What is it?"
"That's..."
Albus, who had hesitated several times, finally raised his head and met her gaze with a face that had made up his mind.
"If it's okay with you, would you like to..."
"No."
"... Yes?"
"No."
However, Millea firmly refused before he could even finish his sentence. Albus's face went blank. He acted as if he had lost his mind for a moment, but just before Millea took a step forward, he barely regained his senses and asked again.
"I haven't said anything yet..."
"Whatever you want to say, Count, I'm not the kind of person who can be socially awkward enough to do something with someone uncomfortable. That's all for now."
With that, Millea turned away without giving Albus a chance to continue the conversation. She bit her lip as she quickly pushed her way through the crowd, afraid that he might chase her. Millea was not stupid. Rather, she had a far superior sense of humor than others. Half of it was innate, and the other half was something she had naturally acquired while rolling around trying to survive in this cutthroat capital’s social circles.
That’s...
Just a moment ago, Albus’s attitude was exactly the same as the other young men who blushed and hesitated before asking her to dance. If you didn’t notice his feelings, you wouldn’t be called an idiot.
'I still don't like it.'
But Millea didn't like that pink feeling at all.
Some people might be happy if Albus Floret showed interest, but she wasn't.
Of course, Albus Florette was the number one groom candidate for the current Elvares, no matter what anyone said. He inherited the Count's title at a young age and became the head of the family, and as someone who graduated from the academy with honors, he was already chosen as one of the next King's close associates.
On top of that, he had an excellent appearance and personality.
In a way, Albus Florette was the person who most perfectly matched Millea's standards.
However, Millea still couldn't forget the feeling she had when she first met Albus Florette as if every single good thing she had was taken away from her.
Even though it was a marriage with a clear purpose, Millea was also human.
Even if it was a political marriage, she wanted to be a good couple with her marriage partner.
She didn't think she could laugh and laugh in front of Albus Florette.
She didn't think she could find him adorable.
'There are many options even if it's not him.'
Millea forced her lips to relax.
The figure she had been aiming for entered her field of vision.
Millea smiled brightly and approached the other person.
“Marquis of Tresid.”
“Oh, Young Lady. Here I see you again.”
“That’s right. I guess I have some kind of connection to the Tresid family. I met Young Master of the Marquis of Tresid, yesterday.”
“What? Haha.”
The old Marquis greeted Millea with a hearty laugh.
She deliberately smiled brightly and rolled her head.
‘Out of all the potential candidates for marriage proposals, Young Master of Marquis of Tresid seems the best...’
There’s nothing wrong with making a good impression.
After all, marriages between nobles require the approval of each family head.
Fortunately, Millea’s strategy seemed to have worked well, as the Marquis of Tresid nodded with a big smile on his face.
“I’m glad that Young Lady thinks so. I used to think that way too.”
“It’s an honor, Marquis. By the way, is Young Master attending today...”
“I can’t believe I get to see you so often... It seems like we’re meant to be.”
“...Yes?”
At that moment, the Marquis of Tresid glanced at her with a somewhat sinister gaze.
Goosebumps rose up the back of her neck.
‘Oh, this kid.’
I made a mistake.
The thought crossed her mind like an intuition.
And Millea’s anxiety soon became a reality.
***
“I, I’m sorry, Young Lady Bogens. I have a prior engagement with someone else..."
Young Master, who had been flustered and unable to even look at Millea until the day before yesterday, awkwardly bowed and turned around to disappear.
Millea saw him off calmly, but she was gritting her teeth inside.
‘That old pervert kid is really...!’
Millea had approached the Young Master of Marquis of Tresid to target him.
The Marquis took it as an expression of affection for him and continued to nudge Millea.
He even went so far as to openly reveal that he had affection for Millea Bogens. Regardless of his personality, the Marquis of Tresid was one of the most powerful noble families in the capital.
There weren’t many nobles or noblemen who would dare to go to a woman whose head of the household had clearly stated that he had affection for her.
The marriage proposals that had been piled up like a mountain on the table in Millea’s room were nowhere to be found.
Millea took a deep breath and turned her gaze to look around at the people.
The women looked at her with strangely pitiful expressions, and the men slyly avoided eye contact.
‘I should go back.’
It felt like she was going to shed tears of blood, but it seemed better to reduce her attendance at the party for the time being. If things continued like this, even if she did attend the party, she would only look ridiculous, and if she ran into the Marquis of Tresid, it would be the worst.
Fortunately, the Young Master of Marquis of Tresid had not been seen for long since the party had started.
Millea made an excuse that she wasn’t feeling well and quickly left the party after only saying hello to the host.
However, it was said that if you are unlucky, the back of your head will break even if you fall forward.
Millea’s current situation was exactly like that.
“Oh, Young Lady Bogens. Did you come out to greet me because you knew I would come? It must be fate.”
Millea left the party and as soon as she turned the corner, she saw the Marquis of Tresid walking down the hallway.
She thought about opening the window and jumping out.
Even if it meant breaking one of her arms, she didn’t want to talk to that pervert.
'...Let's hold it in.'
But Millea tightly closed her eyes and controlled her anger.
The images of the family she had to take responsibility for floated through her mind.
When she finally opened her eyes, Millea had a smile on her lips, even if it wasn't perfect.
She bowed her head politely.
"Unfortunately, it seems like we're not meant to be together today, Marquis. I was just about to turn back because I wasn't feeling well."
But sadly, the Marquis was persistent.
He grabbed Millea's wrist with a surprised look on his face.
"Oh my. How can you go home alone in that condition? I'll take you. I'll take my carriage."
"Huh? Oh, no. I can't be bothering you like that..."
"What's wrong? How can we be strangers?"
The Marquis grabbed Millea's wrist and stood close to her.
The hand that had been on her wrist slowly moved up her arm and reached her shoulder.
The Marquis tilted his head with a big grin and blew a gust of air into Millea’s ear.
“We’re going to be family soon, so I’d like to have a more in-depth conversation with you while we’re at it...”
“Has this crazy kid gone crazy!”
“Whoa!”
Millea, unable to overcome the goosebumps that covered her entire body at that moment, kicked the Marquis hard in the groin.
A short, deep scream burst from his mouth.
Thud!
The Marquis grabbed his groin and fell to the floor.
However, Millea was still furious, so she took off the shoe she was wearing and hit the back of the Marquis’ head with it.
“You crazy! Old man!”
Thud! Thud!
“Where are you now! Are you talking nonsense! Your son isn’t the same age as me, you hairless, conscienceless brat!”
Thud!
In addition, Millea beat the Marquis while spitting out curses that even the nobles of the capital would not have dared hear.
In the end, the Marquis passed out in the hallway with his eyes rolled back.
Millea blew air and put her shoes back on.
The way she clicked her tongue and turned her wrist was unmistakable, like a thug.
“I still have some social respect, so I would have ended it here. If you were a person from the Bogens estate, I would have just...”
“...”
“Ah... ugh..."
Millea’s body, which had been turning her head and flexing her muscles, suddenly stopped.
Her words also stopped unnaturally.
‘Huh.’
Millea blinked, her vision flipped upside down, just as she had turned her head back.
However, no matter how much she blinked, the sight of Albus Florette, frozen in place with one hand extended from the end of the hallway, did not disappear.
‘Ah.’
Whatever.
The moment she realized that all the color drained from Mileia's face.
She ran away as fast as she could, startled like a character in a fairy tale whose magic wears off at twelve o'clock.
The blood-stained shoes from the back of the Marquis' head were left carelessly rolling around the hallway.
"...What just now?"
Along with Albus's mind, who was left alone.
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