LVSFN 17

Chapter 17

“Wait a moment, Your Grace!”

Yes, destiny and all that are important, sure.

But I couldn’t just stand by and let the aide lose his job over something like this.

I never imagined not wearing the dress would cause such a ripple effect.

How did things end up like this?

“The dress you sent me… it was actually very beautiful.”

To make matters worse, he’s married and even has a child.

Ugh, just thinking about it makes me break out in a cold sweat.

The thought that a peaceful and happy family could be shattered because of me, and that the head of the household could lose his job—it made me want to throw away all the acting and everything else.

First things first, I have to protect the aide’s job!

“It really was beautiful. But…”

I blurted out that it was pretty, but now what excuse do I give?

It was pretty, I just didn’t wear it.

No, I can’t say that!

From everything I’ve experienced, Jerlach is not someone who would just let that slide.

Even if I said it was pretty, he’s the kind of person who would press me relentlessly until I gave a satisfactory reason—driving me into a corner until I was too exhausted to breathe—then finally smile calmly and offer his hand.

I really hate that I know this pattern so well.

“But?”

I was truly panicking, sweating bullets, and for some reason, all I could think of was cake and sweets.

Wow, stress really does make you crave sugar.

The very things my father and brother had warned me to cut back on for the sake of my health.

Then suddenly, a spark of inspiration flashed through my head.

This is it.

“I-It was a little small.”

Jerlach raised an eyebrow, clearly not expecting that answer.

“Small?”

“Yes, I mean… it was a little tight on me.”

After saying that, I sneaked a glance up at him—and Jerlach had an expression I’d never seen before.

That’s right.

He was seriously flustered.

Caught off guard and troubled, even blaming himself.

He had sent the dress as a gift, only to find out it didn’t fit. And to top it off, it was too small.

Just imagine—she tried it on, realized it was tight, fell into despair, put it aside, and just wore whatever she had to the ball. That’s the kind of situation he must be imagining!

…At least, I hope that’s what he’s thinking.

Not that I actually said any of that.

‘Alright, he’s flustered—time to push a little more.’

I couldn’t let an opportunity like this go to waste.

“I was planning to lose a little weight before wearing it.”

If nothing else, I could say that line smoothly because it reminded me of my past.

My constant battle with weight actually came in handy.

“Your Grace, it’s not that the dress was out of fashion or that I didn’t like it.”

Then I lowered my head slightly.

“Your aide has excellent taste, and the boutique manager’s selection was flawless. The problem was me. My… body, I mean.”

“My what?”

“N-No, I mean my body.”

I lowered my head again.

Surely that would be enough to end this conversation, right?

But the response I got was unexpected.

Jerlach stayed silent for a moment, as if deep in thought—then suddenly dropped a single, powerful word.

“I’m sorry.”

I hadn’t expected that at all.

I thought he’d just nod and move on after hearing my excuse.

Jerlach isn’t the expressive type. He usually looked down on others with his signature cold, detached gaze.

But now… he wore an expression I’d never seen before.

“I didn’t know the dress would be too small. I apologize.”

In his big eyes, I saw clear regret.

“I thought I knew you well enough to have one made… but clearly I didn’t. My judgment was poor. I’m sorry.”

Okay, no—don’t feel that bad about it, now I feel like garbage. What am I supposed to do with that?

So before I even realized it, I opened my mouth.

“No, Your Grace, it’s nothing for you to apologize for. Honestly, I’ve been eating more lately. Hehe, I’ll make sure to manage it better so I can wear the pretty dress next time.”

“You really don’t have to—”

“No! Please don’t stop me!”

“You’re already—”

“No, I fully understand how you see me, and not living up to your expectations makes me want to die with guilt.”

“But I especially had that dress—”

If I let him talk now, he’ll start persuading me.

I need to push through while I can.

“You probably didn’t notice how much fat I have on my sides because the dress is so poofy. Sniff. Honestly, I rolled and hid it all.”

“You rolled what?”

“Anyway, I’ll lose weight. Yes, I will.”

I shut my eyes tightly and dramatically held out my hands in front of me.

This all started as an excuse, but once I began, it snowballed out of control.

“So I promise, I’ll wear it the next time we meet.”

I clenched my fist to show my resolve.

“You don’t have to go that far—”

“Yes, I do! I’ll do it. I’ll make sure my body fits the most beautiful dress in the world!”

“…”

“So please, please don’t fire the aide. Alright?”

When I finally finished, Jerlach looked at me and smiled faintly.

I think… my acting actually worked. Haha!

“So be it.”

At that point, I had no idea…

How severely I’d just shot myself in the foot.

⚜ ⚜ ⚜

“Leonie!”

After coming down from the balcony, I hurried to find Leonie.

Adrian wasn’t with her like I expected, and she was standing alone with a slightly anxious expression, holding a cocktail glass.

“Ribe, I’m here.”

She looked cheerful when I saw her from the balcony, so what happened in the meantime?

As I got closer, I realized her face didn’t look anxious—it looked gloomy.

“Leonie, did you talk to the person you were going to meet?”

I asked casually—

“Yes, I just said a quick hello.”

She gave a short answer and immediately took a sip of her cocktail.

Should I ask who it was?

Would it be better to just say I saw her from the balcony by chance?

As I debated, Leonie spoke first.

“Hey, Ribe.”

“Yeah?”

“Wanting to be with someone and talk with them a lot… that’s what liking someone is, right?”

What?

That question came so out of nowhere that I didn’t know how to respond.

Why would she suddenly ask that?

“Uh, well… I guess you want to be with someone because you like them…”

Wait. Is this about Adrian?

Could it be that Leonie has feelings for Adrian?

Oh no. If that’s the case, things could get really complicated.

“Then again, maybe it’s not necessarily romantic.”

I quickly tried to change the subject.

“Really?”

“Yeah, sometimes when you’re bored, you just want to talk to anyone, right?”

“I suppose.”

Leonie looked at me with a puzzled expression.

“Yeah, it doesn’t always mean you like them. Wanting to talk a lot or be around someone doesn’t always mean love.”

“Really?”

“There are all kinds of people in the world.”

Leonie nodded slowly.

“Yeah, you’re right.”

“And if you really like someone, you usually don’t want to be around them. You get shy and want to watch from afar.”

Ah, maybe I shouldn’t have said that.

“Really?”

“Uh-huh. That’s how it usually is.”

“I guess that makes sense.”

“Leonie, are you okay? What’s going on?”

“Talking to you makes things feel clearer somehow. Before, it just felt overwhelming.”

I felt a little relieved to see a more peaceful look on her face.

“Are you worried about something? Don’t tell me something unlucky happened again?”

“No, not like that.”

“You look a little down, so I was worried.”

Once again, Leonie didn’t say much—just smiled faintly. Then she sighed deeply and dropped her shoulders.

“Sometimes flowerpots fall on me or I trip into a ditch, but it’s nothing major.”

“What? That’s definitely not okay!”

“No, really. It’s not enough to kill me or anything.”

“Leonie…”

She gave me another faint smile.

“I didn’t sleep well last night. I think I’m just tired. I should head home.”

“What? Really?”

“Yeah. You’re staying, right?”

“Are you really not feeling well?”

“No, I think I’ll be fine after some rest. I’ll go on ahead.”

And with that, she disappeared into the crowd before I could say another word.