It was then.
Cedric knocked on the door from outside the carriage.
"Your Excellency, is everything alright?"
At the sound of his voice, the stifling heat filling the carriage cooled down in an instant. The two awkwardly pulled apart and hurriedly sat down on the chairs.
'What on earth is going on?'
Shioana's pounding heart would not calm down, so she had to press her hand against her heart.
'Why did the atmosphere turn out like this?'
She merely gave medicine to His Excellency the Duke, who was suddenly complaining of pain.
Shioana bit her lip tightly, and the Duke wrapped a short cape made of sable around her shoulders. His two arms wrapped around Shioana as if to embrace her, and she held her breath.
"...?"
The cape completely covered the neckline of the dress and the scar on her back. Shioana just blinked at this behavior, which she simply could not understand. Judging by the scar he had seen earlier, she had never expected him to act this way.
"If you catch a cold because the weather is cold, you will try to extort compensation from me again."
The Duke, who was personally tying the cape strings, spoke coldly.
It was very uncomfortable being so close to the Duke that their foreheads almost touched. Shioana quickly reached out her hand.
"I, I'll do it."
“Stay still.”
The two people's fingers got tangled for just a moment, and a startled Shioana quickly pulled her hand away.
After finishing tying the ribbon, the Duke opened his mouth with an indifferent expression.
"Your job is very simple. All you have to do is stand next to me and smile the whole time."
“Yes, I understand.”
Shioana, who was adjusting the hem of her cape, spoke in a trembling voice. Her gaze was fixed on the ribbon he had tied.
Perhaps because she was angry at the Duke for acting as he pleased, her heart hasn't calmed down for a while.
The door opened soon at Duke Bernhard's signal. The Duke got off first, and Cedric, who was waiting, greeted the two of them.
"Have you arrived, Your Excellency?"
As the three stood at the entrance of the banquet hall, Cedric, who was taking out his pocket watch and examining it, spoke in a hurried voice.
"Hurry up. Everyone is waiting impatiently for Your Excellency."
As Duke Bernhard appeared, the middle-aged Count who hosted the banquet stepped forward and bowed deeply. The plump Count was Katrina Bernhard's younger brother.
"Your Excellency, it is an honor to have you here."
Duke Bernhard leisurely greeted the Count in response to his welcome.
"Thank you for the invitation."
"We are practically family, so please feel free to speak to us. We haven't prepared much today, but please enjoy yourselves."
“I will.”
The Duke's lips twisted slightly as he answered.
As he entered the banquet hall after finishing his greetings with the Count, a line of people formed to greet the Duke. They were there to flatter the Duke of the Bernhard family, who held power second only to the Emperor.
"Your Excellency, it seems your popularity is growing."
Cedric scanned the surroundings with a pleased expression, but Shioana was not happy at all. She felt only nervousness and anxiety.
As for banquets, her debutante was her first and last.
Regbell's banquet hall could not be compared to such a magnificent and splendid place.
Shioana kept shrinking her shoulders, just like the night she first danced.
"By the way, the ladies' gazes are particularly fierce today."
Cedric, standing to the right of Duke Bernhard, cracked a joke. Ever since entering the banquet hall earlier, he had felt the eyes of those around him focusing on Shioana.
She tried to shake off the tension by biting her lip.
'It’s not like I wanted this to happen...'
Somehow, she ended up with Duke Bernhard on the left and Viscount Konrad on the right.
Since the two were the most popular unmarried men in the empire, it was only natural that women glared at her as if they wanted to kill her.
"Cedric, stop the nonsense and go do your job."
"All right."
As Cedric, dressed in a uniform like a Duke, disappeared into the crowd, Shioana found it even more awkward than before and hard to bear.
Many nobles still bowed their heads to Duke Bernhard, and standing beside him made her feel nauseous.
"Shioana, straighten your shoulders! We can't afford to be humiliated!"
It was as if the nagging Eli had told her on the day of her debutante ball was ringing in her ears. As Shioana turned pale and trembled, the Duke dismissed everyone around him.
“Why is your face like that?”
"Then what kind of face should I make?"
A strangely sharp voice flowed out.
She indeed accepted because the offer was too good to refuse, but this was not where she belonged. It was a perfect trifecta: an ill-fitting dress and someone who shouldn't have been there.
"Because I stand in a position that everyone covets."
The Duke opened his mouth while gazing intently into Shioana's blue eyes.
"It seems I don't fall into that category of 'anyone.'"
"Why aren't you coveting it?"
"...That."
She fully understood that others were envious and jealous that she had become Duke Bernhard's partner. However, Shioana was not at all inclined to do so.
'I will never be greedy to have anything again.'
Because just one moment of greed completely ruined her and Etienne's lives.
While Shioana hesitated to answer, the first dance music began to play.
At that moment, her face contorted severely.
'If it's a banquet, of course you can dance...'
She couldn't calculate it in advance because she wasn't familiar with it.
She hadn't had a chance to dance since her debutante. Actually, it wasn't just because she wasn't good at it.
She didn't want to dance because it felt like someone might come to mind.
"Your Excellency, that dance is..."
Shioana stepped back to let go of the Duke's hand, but he did not let go of hers.
"Don't you know how to dance?"
"Yes. It is such a complete mess that Your Excellency will be disgraced."
She thought he would give up if she said this, but the Duke did not let go of Shioana's hand.
"It's okay. I'm a good dancer."
It became awkward to leave because he dragged Shioana to the middle of the banquet hall in one fell swoop.
Now that everyone's attention is focused on her, standing the Duke up would make her stand out even more.
The dance that started like that tormented Shioana.
For some reason, the gentle movements of his hands guiding her and his scent felt familiar. Moreover, seeing the Duke's face brought back memories of the past.
This isn't even the meadow where she roamed, led by Etienne's hand, without any music.
'Why do I feel this way?'
Shioana was distracted and ended up missing the beat. The Duke sneered at her mistake and spoke.
"I guess you need to learn more about dancing."
"... I'm sorry."
"I could specifically let you know."
She shook her head vigorously at the Duke's suggestion.
“Oh, no.”
As the dance dragged on, Shioana's mood sank heavily. Dancing with Duke Bernhard under the beautiful music and the shattering lights of the chandelier was not enjoyable at all.
This was an act of perfectly distinguishing between the past and the present.
'Because my Etienne, who is not here, means the past.'
As her eyes welled up with tears from her sorrow, the Duke's gaze turned fierce.
"It's a happy day, so why don't you laugh out loud?"
He held Shioana's waist tightly and spoke roughly when the music ended, and Cedric approached.
"Your Excellency, the Grand Lady has arrived."
"...Ah."
The Duke unfastened one of the gold buttons fastened all the way up to his neck and took a long, deep breath. He extended his arm to her and smiled sweetly, as if he had never been angry.
"You remember what I told you, right? Stay by my side until the end."
"Yes."
The Duke was a strange person.
He laughed, got angry, glared at her, and then reached out his hand like this. Amidst all the confusion, Shioana headed toward the drawing room.
At the place she arrived, a noblewoman with her red hair styled upward was sitting in a moving chair. She appeared to be in some physical discomfort.
"Duke Bernhard, I don't know how good it is to see your face like this."
The Grand Madam, with a broad smile on her face, welcomed the Duke.
"Did you enjoy the hot springs? If I had the time, I would have visited you in person."
The Duke spoke cheerfully.
The Grand Madam's expression contorted slightly at Duke Bernhard's perfunctory greeting.
Katrina Bernhard, she was the Duke's stepmother and the real power behind the Bernhard family.
Her life was perfect as she rose to the pinnacle of power after becoming a Duchess through remarriage.
If only her son Ludwig hadn't died in an unexpected accident a year ago.
Under the laws of the Urcheka Empire, titles were passed down only to children, and if there were no children to inherit the title, the family was dissolved, and its property reverted to the imperial family.
The former Duke's three sons died in accidents or from illness, and the Duke himself was also dead, so the Bernhard family was in a state of emergency.
Thanks to Etienne, who had gone to study far away, returning on time, the Bernhard family was able to be firmly protected.
Katrina shook her fan and spoke, shaking her hand.
"Young people have their own affairs. I am well aware of the Duke's busy schedule."
“Thank you for your understanding.”
"But why did you come alone today?"
At the Grand Madam's question, Shioana, who had been standing still, flinched. The other person was treating her as if she didn't exist at all.
It wasn't anything new since she had suffered at the hands of Eli for a long time, but it didn't feel particularly good.
Shioana secretly clenched her fist tightly, but the Grand Madam, wearing a benevolent smile, continued speaking.
"I thought you were coming with Lady Bale today. I had even prepared a gift for Diana in advance..."
She stroked the small box placed on the table with a look of regret.
Diana Bale was a candidate for daughter-in-law whom Katrina Bernhard had picked out early on.
“Did you?”
The Duke's voice was slightly sharp as he asked back, and the air in the drawing room, which had feigned peace, grew increasingly heavy.
"Wouldn't Diana be upset if she found out?"
The Duke's eyes trembled slightly at the Grand Madam's words, which seemed to be admonishing him.
"But right now, I'm completely smitten with this woman."
The Duke, gripping Shioana's waist tightly, spoke.
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