~Chapter 06~
Alice introduced her, and Louis’s gaze slowly swept over her.
The leisurely, probing look that seemed to assess her inner thoughts made it hard for me to breathe.
“Right. What brings you here? As you can see, Miss Leonia already has a prior engagement with me.”
He wore a faint smile, but a chilling undercurrent showed through.
Alice must have noticed as well, because she quickly got to the point.
“I’m sorry, but Father urgently requested to see Leonia.”
“Is it that important to ignore your prior engagement with me?”
“…Well…”
Alice glanced at me awkwardly, unsure how to respond.
“It’s fine, just say it.”
If we didn’t explain the situation, Louis wouldn’t let us go.
Alice seemed to have the same thought and continued with a sigh.
“…Father is furious because he believes Leonia did not follow his orders.”
“Count Bellashy?”
“Yes. So if we don’t hurry back, Leonia may find herself in trouble.”
Even if that were the case, going back now wouldn’t improve anything.
Louis seemed to share that opinion and looked at me, waiting for my decision.
“I’m sorry, but I think we should leave.”
If I stayed, Alice would remain here too.
‘I can’t let these two stay together.’
I needed to separate them before Louis noticed anything.
“If Miss Leonia says so, there’s no helping it. A pity, but we’ll have to leave it for next time.”
Fortunately, he showed no resistance, and I thanked him before heading to the carriage.
“Thank you for today. We’ll meet again soon.”
“Don’t you need my help?”
As I got into the carriage with a formal farewell, Louis said something unexpected.
“If you want, I could help.”
I paused. It was certainly a tempting offer.
There was no grand assistance needed; just saying I was to marry Louis would immediately appease the Count.
But…
“I’ll decline. I don’t want to trouble you over something like this.”
Already relying on Louis and troubling him wouldn’t be a wise choice.
“Such a moving reason,” he remarked.
Louis didn’t insist again.
It probably meant it wasn’t a big deal to him.
‘…Should I have just asked for help?’
A brief moment of regret washed over me, but I brushed it off and got into the carriage.
Not yet.
Revealing my relationship with Louis should happen when it draws the most attention.
As expected, returning a bit early didn’t calm the Count’s anger.
However, he didn’t strike me again, likely due to the upcoming imperial ball.
Still, I couldn’t step outside my room except when checking my dress for the ball.
Honestly, that didn’t bother me much.
The real problem was that today was the day of the imperial ball, and I hadn’t exchanged a single letter with Louis during this time.
I had expected him to confine me to my room, but I hadn’t anticipated such strict surveillance.
“Leonia.”
Alice, who had just been summoned by the Emperor, approached me immediately after the attendant left.
“I need to go somewhere briefly. So please, don’t cause trouble and stay put, alright?”
“Don’t worry, go ahead,” I replied casually.
Still, Alice hesitated with a nervous expression before leaving for the ballroom.
As soon as she disappeared, I hardened my expression.
‘If Alice was taken away at this timing, the intent is clear.’
It was to give others time to openly criticize me.
And sure enough, people had already started whispering.
“Isn’t that Miss Leonia?”
“Oh my, it really is. I think this is the first official appearance since being broken off by Marquis Rizen.”
“She probably avoided attending events because of the shame.”
I glanced at the young ladies gossiping.
When they met my gaze, they flinched and moved aside.
I couldn’t blame them.
Everyone knew the ball was to announce the engagement between Diego and Miss Branto.
Even whispers reached my ears, so it was clear.
For the sake of the main couple’s smooth union, the previous broken engagement had to be seen as my fault.
The Emperor likely orchestrated this and had Alice removed to set the stage.
Unfortunately, Diego becoming engaged to Miss Branto wouldn’t make him Emperor.
Knowing that, the Emperor nudged the selection toward her.
‘It worked as intended, but I don’t feel good about it.’
Even though both of us had broken engagements, I alone was treated poorly—it felt unfair.
‘Time to stir things up.’
I had planned to wait for better timing, but since people kept irritating me, staying passive seemed pointless.
Besides, revealing my relationship with Louis was becoming necessary to cancel the match the Emperor arranged.
However, today’s ball already publicly announced the main couple, so causing a scene would bring heavy criticism.
‘I need an escape plan.’
I regretted not coordinating with Louis in advance.
At that moment, two children carrying flower baskets crossed the ballroom side by side.
I recalled my idea and brought the champagne from the table to my lips.
The Etrian Empire’s balls had a unique event: a public proposal ceremony.
Young unmarried men and women danced at the center of the ballroom, and when a certain part of the music played, they stopped and waited for five minutes.
During this time, anyone with feelings could take out a flower and offer it to their beloved as a confession.
Typically, engaged ladies and gentlemen exchanged flowers ceremonially, but occasionally unexpected confessions occurred.
‘If I give the flower to Louis then, it will naturally draw attention.’
Since this was a customary event, no one could criticize me for trying to draw attention.
“Miss Alia Branto of the Branto Marquis family and Master Diego Rizen of the Rizen Marquis family!”
At that moment, the main couple entered.
I didn’t glance at them and turned my back.
Right now, they weren’t important—Louis’s location was.
It was better to hint to him before offering the flower.
Unfortunately, that chance never came.
Too many were looking for Louis, and even more were watching him.
‘Better to wait and strike in one move than push through this crowd now.’
I moved toward Louis with a trembling heart, holding the rose I had bought.
I had to time it perfectly.
But nearby, Diego was present too.
Surrounded by ladies, he received flowers with a familiar smile.
‘Consistently selfish, that one.’
The public proposal ceremony was meant for confessing love, but sometimes people exchanged flowers to strengthen connections.
After receiving a flower, one usually danced a song, often accompanied by light invitations.
‘Diego was more interested in satisfying his own whims than political gains.’
That crazy playboy received flowers from almost every young lady at imperial balls.
Remembering that people don’t change, I prowled near Louis.
He, too, was surrounded by people—perhaps as much or more than Diego.
I glanced at Louis’s smiling, politely declining face, then made eye contact with Diego.
“You acted like you’d never see me again, but it seems some attachment remains.”
I paused.
Was he speaking to me? The context made little sense, so I ignored it and fiddled with the rose.
I had to deliver it flawlessly.
“You shouldn’t ignore me like that. What will you do if I don’t accept it?”
Ah.
I finally realized what misunderstanding Diego had.
But there was no time to clarify it—the music changed.
‘…I didn’t intend to affect him, but it’s quite satisfying.’
Today, Diego being the main focus, openly upsetting him was extremely amusing.
“Duke Louis Arban.”
I stepped in front of him and extended the rose I held.
“Please marry me.”
The confession fell like a bomb, and the surrounding crowd fell silent.
Everyone stared at me in shock.
The most dramatic sight was Diego, trembling with betrayal, staring straight through me.
