Chapter 43
I walked up to Sophia with a big smile.
Seeing that, she took a nervous step back.
âHm~ Did you already manage to charm someone with an invitation to a dukeâs banquet?â
âHmph! I didnât charm anyone. I was formally asked to be his partner!â
âReally?â
I slowly turned my gaze to the man standing beside Sophia.
To be honest, I had already noticed earlier that he couldnât take his eyes off me.
Looking at him, I gave a small smile.
âYouâre my sisterâs partner, right? Sorry for the late greeting.â
âN-not at all, Lady Claire.â
The man turned bright red and awkwardly lowered his head.
âItâs a shame though⊠that youâre Sophiaâs partner.â
âP-pardon?â
When I trailed off with a regretful tone, the man visibly panicked and stared at me, clearly trying to figure out what I meant.
âI came here today with my father, you see.â
Then I added with a little extra push,
âTo be honest, Iâve been keeping an eye on you, Lord⊠umâŠâ
I forgot his name for a second, and behind me, Lillianne quietly whispered,
âBenstein.â
âAh yes, Lord Benstein.â
âM-me? Really?!â
His face turned even redder as he got all flusteredâyep, totally falling for it.
âAs you may know, I broke off my engagement with the young Duke of Lorentino recently, and I donât have another partner. I was worried Iâd end up just standing awkwardly by the wall at the ballâŠâ
Bensteinâs eyes lit up, and he quickly jumped in.
âN-no way! Thereâs no chance someone as beautiful and charming as Lady Claire wouldnât be asked to dance! If⊠if you really donât mind, then⊠I-I would be honored toâŠâ
âOh my, really?â
I glanced at Sophia. Her face had gone red, blue, and back again.
Enjoying the sight, I turned back to the guy with a bright smile.
âThen⊠shall we continue this conversation over there?â
The man obediently followed me like a happy little puppy, practically wagging an invisible tail.
âY-yes! HeheheâŠâ
âBenstein!!â
Sophia shouted, but the man didnât even seem to hear her anymore.
Looking at him with barely hidden disgust, I still kept smiling.
After all, tonightâs goal was to act like a flirt, and it was going better than expected.
As I moved to a different spot, I glanced over at Lillianne.
She looked at me proudly, like a master watching their student graduate.
Only then did embarrassment creep in, but I steeled myselfâI’d started this, so I had to finish it right.
Just then, I overheard the women in the ballroom whispering:
âOh my god, did the Devonshire eldest daughter just steal her sisterâs partner?â
âShe used to act so modest and well-mannered when she was engaged to the young Duke!â
âMaybe this is her true self. A total fox, finally revealing her real colors!â
Yeah, keep talking.
Let the gossip reach Mathieu’s ears.
***
Meanwhile, Sophia was trembling with rage but tried to stay calm.
The whispers around her were painting Claire as the villainâand that worked just fine for her.
Besides, someone like Benstein wasnât even good enough for her.
She deserved someone from at least a countâs house⊠no, maybe even a duke. Or the crown prince himself!
Spoiled by her motherâs excessive praise, Sophia still didnât know her place.
***
But contrary to Claireâs hopes, Mathieu had been watching everything unfold.
His gaze was fixed on Benstein, who was blushing and smiling stupidly at Claire.
And he wasnât the only one.
Apparently thinking they had a chance, other men began gathering around Claire as well.
Mathieuâs hand clenched around his wine glassâhard.
He tried to act like it didnât bother him, biting his lip.
Then, Alex, standing nearby, casually commented,
âSeems like Lady Claire is the real star of tonightâs party, not you.â
Mathieu glared at him, but Alex just laughed and started walking away.
âIâm just saying how it looks. Anyway, my partnerâs waiting.â
Seriously, some people are more annoying when they try to be helpful.
As Mathieu tried to calm his simmering anger, more guests arrived at the partyâ
Among them were members of the Belfour Dukeâs family.
Lady Simona, after greeting Duke Lorentino, approached Claire with her cousin, Viscount Beuclerd, who had been openly interested in Claire since the last Belfour event.
When Claire smiled sweetly at him, he boldly grabbed her hand and kissed the back of it.
CRACK.
The wine glass in Mathieuâs hand shattered.
Before anyone could notice, he quickly handed the broken glass to a servant and stared anxiously at Claire.
He was the host of the party, and she hadnât even looked for him.
And what was up with that dress?!
It hugged her figure and showed off everything!
She was already the hottest topic in high society lately, and now she looked like that and was laughing with other men?
Why was he so annoyed?!
That just made him more annoyed.
But what annoyed him even moreâŠ
Was the man standing alone in the shadowsâstaring only at Claire.
The young Duke of Valerian, Theobald von Valerian.
Someone who had never shown interest in society, let alone women, had actually come to the party.
And it was obvious who he came for.
That tight, frustrating feeling in Mathieuâs chest wouldnât go away.
While Claire laughed among a growing group of suitors, completely unaware of the chaos she was causing, even the Crown Prince Mikael stood at a distance⊠quietly watching her.
I escaped to the powder room to relax my faceâit felt like it was going to cramp from fake smiling too much.
Being a flirt was harder than I thought.
I stood there, dazed and reluctant to go back outâŠ
And thatâs when the music from the ballroom started again.
The music playing at the banquet sounded like what you’d usually hear from a fancy orchestra,
but the bass stood out with a unique tone that caught my ear.
Actually, in my previous life, my ex-boyfriend was a bass player in a band.
His sound was different from classical orchestra bass, but it had the same steady, grounding feel.
I had met him in our universityâs band club.
Back then, I used to play the guitar a bit myself.
After graduation, I quit the band life and focused on my career,
but he couldn’t let go of his dream of becoming a musician.
The problem was, as a band musician, his income was unstable.
Our lifestyles and goals started to drift apartâhe chased music, while I lived in the real world.
We stayed together in that fragile balance for five years,
until it all endedâwith his cheating and my death.
I smacked my lips bitterly and pulled myself out of the memory.
Things ended terribly with my ex, but thanks to him, I had a decent ear for music.
Suddenly, a new idea popped into my head.
Something for the salon event we were planning two months before the fashion show.
Snapping back to the present, I stepped out of the powder roomâ
but instead of returning to the people waiting for me, I headed to the back of the ballroom where the orchestra members were resting.
âHey, Hans! How many times do I have to tell you not to play bass like that?!
Just because I let you fill in doesnât mean you can treat this place like some bar for commoners!â
The bass playerâthe one whose playing had caught my attentionâwas getting yelled at by the conductor.
Well, it made sense.
His bass had a bold, unique style that didnât really match the calm atmosphere of a formal banquet.
After the conductor finished scolding him and walked off, the bassist drooped his shoulders in defeat.
Watching quietly from a distance, I slowly made my way over to him.
