“What business do you have with my sister?” Two large shadows loomed behind Retina.
“Oh my, the Deneuve family’s brothers are here as well!”
The attitudes of the young ladies changed instantly upon seeing the two men.
“Greetings. I am Misha Repaire, the daughter of Count Repaire”.
“Misha, who had briefly lifted her dress and then let it down, was followed by the other young ladies who also greeted them. The proud and confrontational attitude they had just displayed was nowhere to be seen; instead, they became docile.
“If we had known you were from Duke Deneuve’s family, we wouldn’t have bothered you. Why go around without revealing your identity? We thought you were just some nameless young noble.”
‘Misha Repaire had definitely come looking for me after the graduation ceremony and said such things. All the nasty rumors that followed me during my academy days started with her. She accused me of not fulfilling the duty of a noble daughter for not having a debutante ball.’
While it was a trap that didn’t really affect Retina, who had no intention of making friends or entering society during her academy days, Misha’s attitude remained unchanged, and that actually reassured Retina. She was someone who was consistently easy to deal with. She had everything Retina didn’t and wanted.
“Sat, Haint, let’s go now.”
“Huh, huh?”
“Haint, why are you acting like this? You were supposed to be my dedicated escort for today.”
Retina held up her right hand, subtly lowering her eyes at a 45-degree angle. She didn’t miss the point of raising her index and pinky fingers as an edgy detail.
Temporarily flustered, Haint, who quickly caught Retina’s intention, took her hand like a gentleman and moved away. Behind them, Sat wore an expression of annoyance but silently followed. He had faith that his younger sister had a reason for her actions.
“Shall I bury her so that she never steps into society again?”
That’s one thing, but bothering her is another. Sat knew that Retina was the source of the rumors about her not fulfilling the obligations of a noblewoman by not having a debutante ball. Despite knowing that Retina was the one behind the unfounded rumors, Sat remained silent. It was because Retina didn’t want it. But if some insignificant person blocked Retina’s path…
“Forget it. She’s not worth the trouble.”
“A small spark can turn into a blaze, and it’s better to cut off any sources of trouble from the beginning.”
“It hasn’t gone too far yet. Isn’t cutting it off a bit excessive?”
“Indeed, our sister is too kind.”
Sat’s eyes, which had hidden a hint of threat toward Misha, softened. Retina’s gentle nature worried him. With her gentle disposition, he wondered how she would survive in this ruthless society. He was ready to do anything for his only sister.
‘I saved a person.’
Contrary to Sat’s concerns, Retina was worried about someone else. She had learned through past experiences that she couldn’t convince her brothers with ordinary words.
‘When I think about the time in Hedon…’
Thinking back to that time still sent shivers down her spine. When she lived in Hedon with her mother, her brothers came to visit during academy breaks, and because of the work they did day by day, there was never a day without trouble.
One day, they buried a boy up to his neck on the hill because he threw mud at her. Another day, they released spiders in front of a boy’s house because he had frightened her by showing her insects. All sorts of bizarre forms of revenge made the village adults visit their home almost daily.
If her brothers weren’t considered elites from the Empire’s most prestigious educational institution, the Evelinte Academy, and if they weren’t relatives of a Duke, they might have ended up in prison.
Even her friends, who used to play well with her, avoided her during vacation seasons. As a result, there were no children in Hedon who wanted to play with her.
In the end, Retina moved to another village not because of the persuasion of the villagers but because of her own volition. At that time, Retina was only nine years old.
‘Maybe my brothers played a part in why I wanted to be alone.’
Retina’s forehead broke into a cold sweat. It’s still the same now. Her father entrusted her to her brothers with the intention of making her known for the engagement after her debutante ball.
But her efforts to return to the ballroom were in vain. She and Haint sat on both sides of the empty seat, attracting the attention of the guests.
‘Don’t just promote it because you won’t get married.’
Sighing for the umpteenth time, Retina took a sip of champagne. There were only boys in the party who were like hot pants, and it was a relief that they didn’t just pester her, but when she was with her brothers, she felt like she was being analyzed. The reason was…
“Sir Sat Deneuve, Sir Haint Deneuve.”
“Lady Sarmatina. Nice to see you again after the last party.”
“Who is this young lady? Can you introduce her?”
Lady Sarmatina, smiling slightly, directed her gaze at Retina. Retina stared at her for a moment with a blunt expression before turning her head as if she had no interest.
‘It seems like she’s pretending to be interested even though she’s not interested in me.’
She saw through her attempts to pretend to be interested when she had no interest at all.
‘Someone will have to start the conversation, and it’s just those young ladies who are trying to continue the conversation with the Deneuve twins, so I didn’t feel the need to respond. I don’t want to be the topic of their conversation.’
“Oh, my fortune.”
Retina took advantage of the gap covered by Haint’s wide back and tapped her thighs. It is very difficult for her to stand for hours in a dress that is not even suitable for her size.
‘I’ll have to hold on like this a little longer and go back before I run into the crown prince.’
Contrary to the declaration of finding Cinderella at this party, the prince has not yet appeared.
“Sat, Haint, wasn’t there talk of when the Crown Prince would arrive?”
“Herald? Why? Does our Retina also want to be the Prince’s lady?”
“Oh, no.”
to run away before coming.
Swallowing the back words, Retina rolled her eyes to the side to avoid Sat’s gaze. Judging from his brother Sat’s reaction, I think it would be a big deal when it became known that she was the main character of Cinderella.
“I’m also curious to know who His Highness the Prince Cinderella is. Hahaha.”
Retina scratched the back of her head and laughed awkwardly. Oops, I wore a wig. Scratching her hair made sure to fix her wig so her natural hair wouldn’t stick out.
“Curious about the girl in the Herald? What is going on with our princess, who usually doesn’t care about anything? Are you bothered by another princess showing up?”
What is this person saying now? Contempt appeared and was then erased from Retina’s face. Whoops. A gasp came out of Retina’s mouth with a forced smile. It makes my stomach churn seriously.
“”That makes sense……”
Retina, who was about to strike Haint’s side with her elbow, stopped moving. Her gaze was fixed on one spot.
“It said that if you speak, the cat will appear. Now that I’m talking about it, it appears right away.”
Haint, rubbing his still untouched side, straightened his posture. The person who drew everyone’s attention as soon as they entered the ballroom was undoubtedly Prince Herald Rudenheim.
“I greet His Highness Prince Herald Rudenheim.”
The prince, who received greetings from people along the way, was approaching at a rapid pace. Retina stood up abruptly and unsteadily.
‘Quickly, run away.’
Even though she hadn’t been caught yet, her heart was pounding. Retina had just seen the prince for the first time since that day, and she couldn’t quite figure out why her heart was racing.
“Where are you going? The prince is curious about who his lady is. I don’t know if he’ll find her at this party, but if you want to see him, you have to stay put.”
“Uh, come to think of it, it might be okay not to know…”
“Sat, Haint. Were you here?”
Retina, who had deduced the prince’s destination, tried to leave her seat hastily, but Herald, who had cut through the crowd at an astonishing speed, was faster. Herald, who noticed the conspicuous two brothers wherever he went, immediately found them.
“Staying inside for once, huh?” he remarked
“Yeah, something like that.” she replid
Sat pulled Retina, who had been hiding behind him, forward. Retina who had been resisting with all her might behind Sat, couldn’t overcome the difference in strength and was eventually pulled out in front of the prince.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you for the first time. I am Retina Cecelia.”
It wasn’t their first meeting, but Retina lowered her eyes slightly as she greeted the prince. With so many prickly edges in her gaze, she naturally directed her attention downward.
“Cecilia?” he inquired.
“She’s my stepsister, so we use a different surname. She’s my sibling,” Sat explained.
Sat stood next to Retina, who seemed unsure of what to do, with the prince in front of them.
“Our youngest princess, as I was mentioning,” Sat explained.
On the opposite side of Sat, Haint gently stroked Letizia’s hair as she stood between them.
Herald’s immediate recognition of “our house’s youngest princess” left Retina perplexed. What on earth had been discussed that led to such a disgusted expression the moment he saw her face? Fortunately, he seemed repulsed, but not to the extent of recognizing her.
Retina lowered her head and turned away, breathing a sigh of relief. At least for now, she hadn’t been recognized.
‘It seems like the prince doesn’t remember my face,’ Retina thought to herself, sneaking a sideways glance at Herald. She let out a sigh of relief, feeling that she could relax her tension just a bit.
She took a step back from the three people engaged in conversation. Soon, a crowd of people would gather around them.
“Still, my appearance hasn’t changed much… No, why am I even thinking about this?” She shook her head to clear up these unnecessary thoughts. It seemed she hadn’t had a peaceful day since coming to the capital. She longed to finish her debutante season and return to her quiet village.
Retina turned away from the three, who seemed to have forgotten about her. Can we go rest now? Her heels were sore from the hard shoes.
“Wait a moment.”
As Retina was trying to leave the place faster than anyone else, her ankle was grabbed by someone who seemed different from the others.
“Lady Cecilia?”
It was the person she most wanted to avoid at the moment.
“I haven’t seen you in a while. Lady Retina.”
