NRAL | Chapter 44

~Chapter 44~ 

The Long-Awaited Debutante Ball

The proud crown prince of the Juvenile Empire, Arlo Fernandit de Juvenile, whose very name sounded brilliant, had not been having pleasant days lately.

Especially after the dinner party hosted by the Earl of Portsmouth, his mood had been terrible.

It was because he had run into a Karsian Royster — that unpleasant man — during the dinner.

If it had only been a simple encounter, his bad mood wouldn’t have lasted so long. But the man, despite recently being promoted to Duke, had the nerve to speak rudely to the Crown Prince himself.

“How vulgar. Men who cling to other women in front of their fiancées, and the fools who laugh and cheer with them — they’re all the same.”

It was the kind of comment that should have made him kneel on the spot. But Arlo had been too stunned to react immediately.

Though he had always known Karsian was reckless, it was the first time he had revealed his true nature so openly.

When Karsian left without even apologizing, a delayed anger surged in Arlo.

He even considered chasing after him to force him to his knees — but he hesitated.

Karsian’s last glance, as if searching for someone, caught his attention.

In that moment, Arlo felt a powerful and indescribable instinct.

‘Could it be… he’s after Ellie?’

He thought of two incidents:

Karsian’s empty promise to “help” Ellie at the Lambert estate’s garden, and the way he had harshly scold people mocking Eleanor at the recent dinner party.

The two events clicked together like gears.

No — that couldn’t be.

Surely, Karsian had only used Eleanor as a way to defy him. Otherwise, there would be no reason for someone like Karsian Royster to show kindness to a fallen, fake noblewoman.

Arlo tried hard to convince himself of this, but he couldn’t completely erase one thought from his mind:

‘What if the Karsian Royster actually likes Ellie?’

Karsian had always looked at Eleanor with strange eyes.

He never approached or spoke to her before, but after the party at the Lambert estate, things changed.

Eleanor was no longer the Crown Prince’s fiancée or the sole heiress of Astria.

Maybe now, she seemed like a fitting match to someone like him. Or maybe he simply wanted to taste what the Crown Prince had discarded.

Whatever the reason, Arlo was deeply uncomfortable at the thought of giving his ex-fiancée to such an arrogant man.

It weighed on him so heavily that he hardly thought about his current fiancée for days.

As a result, he hadn’t visited Nora for a while.

He lost even the desire to indulge in the pleasures of her body.

His mind was completely consumed by thoughts of Eleanor and Karsian.

Even today — the day of Nora’s grand debutante ball at the Duke of Astria’s residence — Arlo’s mind was elsewhere.

Even as he stood outside Nora’s room, waiting for her to appear beautifully dressed, his thoughts were tangled with worries about Eleanor.

‘Ellie won’t fall for him, will she? She can’t be that foolish. She knows how much I despise that guy.’

“Your Highness.”

Someone called him, but he was too lost in thought to hear.

‘No — maybe that would tempt her even more. Trying to make me jealous, perhaps. From a girl’s point of view, being a Duke’s mistress might seem more appealing than being an old man’s second wife.’

Feeling frustrated, Arlo bit his lip hard.

He clenched and unclenched his fists repeatedly, unable to shake off his irritation.

Then a sharp voice snapped him out of it.

“Your Highness!”

He turned towards the one who dared to raise their voice at him — and found his fiancée looking up at him, clearly annoyed.

Dressed beautifully for the once-in-a-lifetime debutante event, she was hard to miss.

Her thick blond hair was neatly tied up, her lips were painted darker than usual, and the cute face he was familiar with now looked surprisingly mature.

Her slim waist was accentuated according to the latest fashion, and her relatively plain skirt was lavishly decorated with pearls and lace.

But the most eye-catching thing was the sparkling ruby necklace resting perfectly at the start of her cleavage — perfect for catching wandering eyes.

Even Arlo, who had been distracted all day, couldn’t help but be drawn in.

For the first time that day, he pushed thoughts of Eleanor and Karsian aside and focused on his fiancée.

“You look truly beautiful, Nora.”

“Hehe, thank you! Your Highness looks incredibly handsome too!”

“Of course. If I’m going to have such a beautiful partner, I have to look good too, don’t I?”

Arlo raised one corner of his mouth in his signature rebellious, yet relaxed, smile.

His outfit was just as extravagant as Nora’s.

Although their styles didn’t exactly match, his good looks made it work perfectly.

Perfect for showing off beside me. Annoyingly full of himself, but perfect.

Nora thought as she gave her usual flattering comments —

“You’re so handsome, so dashing.”

Satisfied with her reaction, Arlo grinned and offered his hand to her.

“Shall we head to the ballroom, my lady?”

“Yes, Your Highness,” Nora replied with a giggle as she placed her hand on his.

At last, the long-awaited debutante ball was about to begin.

***

Nora and Arlo entered Violet Hall, greeted by even louder cheers than expected.

The nobles of the capital, eager to catch a glimpse of the ‘true noble lady’ from all the rumors, showered them with applause at their perfect appearance.

The stunning blonde beauty and the crown prince, famous for his looks since childhood, looked like a painting brought to life.

Under the lights, their dazzling hair, delicate faces, and luxurious clothing captivated everyone’s attention and admiration.

“Look at her beautiful hair! I wonder what kind of oil she uses to make it shine like that?”

“And her skin — so pale and flawless. No wonder the Crown Prince fell for her.”

“My goodness, how beautiful. I’d believe it if someone said they stepped right out of a painting.”

Hearing the endless stream of compliments aimed at her, Nora felt a thrilling joy rise from the tips of her toes.

She had dreamed of this moment for so long.

Once, she had looked up to these people as if they were untouchably high above her. But now, they were looking at her with admiration, envy, and longing.

This very moment — being acknowledged by everyone as the true Lady of Astria and the future Empress — was something she had dreamed of, even in her sleep.

Right now, she felt like the happiest person in the world.

Even Arlo, who had disappeared without any explanation for days, or the Duchess, who whined to have her visit her room, or the busy Duke who hadn’t even shown up at his daughter’s debutante ball — even Eleanor, who must be fuming somewhere, clutching her torn dress — they all seemed lovable at this moment.

Feeling cheerful, Nora tightened her arm around Arlo’s.

Arlo flinched slightly but quickly smiled and led her gracefully inside.

After greeting some important guests, familiar faces approached them.

“Nora! Oh my, you’re absolutely stunning! You were always pretty, but now you look even more beautiful! So unfair!”

It was Kiara in a pink dress, followed closely by Vanessa and Darcy — girls who were once Eleanor’s friends but now firmly on Nora’s side.

“Thank you all for coming. By the way, where’s Viscount Cunningham?”

Nora tilted her head and asked.

Kiara’s face stiffened noticeably. Just moments ago she was all smiles, but now a wary look flashed across her brown eyes.

“Timothy went off to talk with another gentleman for a bit. He’ll be back soon.”

“I see.”

Nora let out a small, hidden chuckle.

She had long known that Kiara was anxious that she might steal her fiancé.

It was laughable — as if someone who had Arlo by her side would even glance at someone like Viscount Cunningham!

Still, Nora had deliberately asked the question to provoke her.

Because —

‘Seriously? A pink dress at my debutante ball? Is she trying to pick a fight?’

Strictly speaking, Kiara’s dress was a strong pink, but in Nora’s eyes, those facts didn’t matter. She was just annoyed that someone dared to wear a bright color at her debutante ball.

“Speaking of which, Nora, where’s Ellie? Don’t tell me she didn’t even show up?”

Vanessa smoothly changed the topic.

Nora was happy to follow along, as it was a subject she’d been dying to talk about.

“Yes… I did ask her to come, but… I guess she just couldn’t accept this ball happening. It’s understandable. Even if Ellie dislikes me, there’s nothing I can do about it…”

“Oh my goodness! Still, to not even show up to a ball held at her own estate — how incredibly rude!”

“She’s obviously jealous. Unlike Nora, Ellie never got to have a debutante ball of her own. How petty!”

As they began to gossip about Eleanor, Kiara quickly joined in with glee, as if she had never been upset earlier.

Only Darcy remained silent and looked uncomfortable, but she was always quiet anyway, so no one noticed.

Trying to change the subject, Darcy spoke up:

“Um, by the way, Nora. Did you prepare the ball yourself? The decorations are so fancy and beautiful.”

“Yes, especially the tapestries and lace decorations. They’re so unique and lovely!” Vanessa added, not noticing anything odd.

Nora answered sweetly:

“Yes, this is my first time preparing something like this, so it’s not perfect… But since it’s my debutante ball, I wanted to do everything myself. Oh, and those decorations are made from silk and lace brought from Royster. Aren’t they beautiful?”

At the mention of Royster, the surrounding nobles’ eyes widened.

Silk and lace from Royster were the finest — usually reserved for the highest-quality dresses.

Using such expensive material just for room decoration was shocking.

Most of the budget had gone into it, but Nora thought it was worth it.

“As expected from House Astria!”

“They must truly consider her their real daughter to invest so much into her debutante.”

Nearby nobles whispered among themselves, exactly the reaction Nora had wanted.

‘I was right to invest so much in the decorations.’

Nora lifted her chin proudly and smiled.

Although she had spent most of her budget on the decorations, leaving the food, drinks, and dishes only adequate, she didn’t care. After all, who would come to someone else’s debutante ball just to eat?

A few nobles were already looking puzzled at the unimpressive food and drink, but surrounded by admirers, Nora didn’t notice a thing.

She focused on greeting as many people as possible before the first dance began, all while closely watching their reactions to her necklace.

She was looking for someone — If anyone looked shocked or startled at the sight of her necklace, she would know they were the man helping Eleanor.

The man who dared to interfere with her plans, who even matched a white dress for Eleanor.

Today, wearing this necklace, she intended to find him.