Chapter : 17
Rustle.
Rustle.
“Hmmm….”
A partner for the Starlight Ball.
Lawrence really seemed to be far more affectionate and compassionate than I’d imagined.
To think he would tell such a lie for Patricia’s sake.
Honestly speaking, Lawrence had never once caused Patricia any real harm.
Even though Patricia had followed him around and constantly annoyed him, he simply endured it.
He never spread rumors in society. Nor did he inform Duke Herarilla of Patricia’s misdeeds.
If he had wanted to shake Patricia off, those would’ve been the most effective ways.
But today, he had even helped her sneak out behind the Duke’s back.
“So this is what it means for the male lead to be a good person, huh?”
Anyway, thinking about how I’d gotten angry with Lawrence or occasionally cursed him out made me feel a little guilty.
The Starlight Ball.
One of the grandest banquets held in the Empire after the autumn harvest.
Later, this was where the heroine and Lawrence confirmed their feelings for each other.
There were still at least two months left until the ball.
But the young ladies were already preparing.
To stand out the most that night. To look the most beautiful. They were working hard from now.
Rustle.
Even flipping through Young Lady Magazine, it was all anyone talked about.
Everything about the Starlight Ball.
This year’s colors, the dresses most young ladies were choosing, and accessories.
But what I wanted wasn’t the most popular dress of the year.
“Hmmm…”
This one will do.
I folded down a corner of the magazine and kept turning the pages.
Knock knock.
“My lady, Miss Heine has arrived.”
“Okay. I’ll come down.”
Emma announced the designer’s visit.
As I left the room, Emma naturally fell in step beside me.
I shifted slightly to give her room.
“But why did you pick Heine of all people? There are so many famous designers.”
Emma clearly didn’t like that I had chosen Heine—who wasn’t well-known—instead of a designer from a prestigious atelier.
“Because I like her.”
Heine wasn’t a famous capital designer, but I liked her work.
“What part exactly?”
“Her dresses.”
The way she used large gemstones to accent her dresses.
I really liked that.
Famous designers’ dresses were expensive because of their name. And once worn, their value dropped sharply.
No one wanted a dress someone else had already worn.
But Heine’s dresses were a little different.
The gems used were large enough that they could be resold.
Honestly, it was a bit wasteful.
With the money spent on a dress, one could probably buy better gemstones outright.
But since Duke Herarilla promised financial support on the condition I commission a dress, Heine was the best option.
“If you say so, my lady.”
Emma nodded reluctantly.
“Then I’ll go prepare tea.”
She opened the drawing-room door as she spoke.
These days, Emma was always like this.
As if I couldn’t even open a door on my own, she tried to take care of everything from one to ten.
Cold, brusque Emma—now doing this.
I didn’t know how long her emotional repentance would last, but lately, she’d been fussing over me quite a bit.
“Designer Heine greets Lady Herarilla.”
“Patricia.”
“It is truly an honor to meet you, my lady.”
Heine bowed again.
“You’d like a dress for the Starlight Ball?”
“That’s right. I plan to have around three made.”
“To think I’d be making your dresses! It’s truly an honor!”
Heine’s bright smile was genuine.
“Do you have a design in mind? Or would you like to choose from my book?”
She opened her design portfolio and began explaining page by page.
“This dress cinches the waist a bit higher, and the skirt flares out—”
“Heine.”
“Yes, my lady. Please speak freely.”
“I want to be the most dazzling person there that night.”
I unfolded the scrap of paper in my hand.
It was a page I had ripped out from a magazine days ago.
“The most dazzling.”
It showed a dress decorated in gemstones.
“I don’t care about the cost. I want lots of large gems. Can you do that?”
“Yes! Of course!”
Heine nodded enthusiastically.
“I’ll make sure you’re the star of the night!”
“Thank you.”
Heine pushed her glasses up and nodded firmly.
“Send the bill for whatever you need to the house steward.”
Looking at her determined eyes, I could almost already see the finished dress before me.
Chirp chirp.
Birdsong drifted in through the open window.
The smell of grass and bright sunlight filled the room.
How long had it been since I felt so relaxed?
Of course, there was an uninvited guest, but I pretended not to mind and lifted my teacup.
“……”
I was pretty sure the only invited guest to this teatime was Carlos.
“So, my lady, the young duke is coming tomorrow, right?”
Yet somehow Emma was here too.
I vaguely remembered asking her to bring tea…
It had been five days since Emma cried and confessed her faults.
Even after all that time, she was still showing absolute loyalty.
And maybe she decided to be bold, because she casually sat down and started chatting away uninvited.
Carlos only quietly nibbled on cookies while Emma chattered.
“Yes, he’s coming tomorrow.”
Ignoring Emma, I focused on Carlos.
“But how did the young duke ask you to be his partner?”
“……”
“Ahem, ‘My lady. Would you do me the honor of being my partner?’ Like that?”
“……”
“Or ‘My lady, do you have a partner for the ball? If not, may I—’”
“Emma.”
For some reason she was extremely excited.
“That’s enough. Too loud.”
“…Yes.”
I had no idea Emma was this talkative.
I thought she only glared at people like a hawk.
There was no time to feel bored anymore—but I wasn’t grateful.
“So that’s why you kept slipping out of the mansion! I thought it was an unrequited love.”
Even though she had promised to stay quiet, Emma soon burst out talking again.
“Then where do you meet the young duke when you sneak out? Always at the Gerhardt estate?”
“……”
“Actually, why haven’t you been going out lately?”
“……”
“You didn’t… fight, did you?”
Her voice dropped with exaggerated concern.
“Emma.”
“Yes?”
“Leave.”
“…But—”
“Now.”
“Yes, my lady.”
Emma slumped, shoulders drooping, and trudged toward the door.
She glanced back as if hoping I’d call her back.
There was disappointment in her eyes.
“……”
Carlos looked like he felt a little hurt that I was only throwing Emma out and leaving him.
But I was done being pestered.
I jerked my chin at the door. Only then did Emma grab the handle.
“Call if you need anything, my lady.”
She left with a promise to return whenever called.
Click.
“Haaa…”
I sighed the moment the door closed.
Since returning from Gerhardt Manor, Patricia’s daily life had begun to change.
The duke had started giving me creepy smiles.
He would drop by whenever he was bored to nag me about whether preparations were progressing properly.
He even lectured me on what to say when the young duke visited.
It was uncomfortable and infuriating—an endless test of patience.
But I wasn’t the only one baffled by the duke’s sudden interest.
Even Morgan, Barber, and Millum—the first, second, and third sons—were stunned.
Apparently they didn’t like the idea at all, because they suddenly paid far too much attention to me.
In a bad way, of course.
They tripped me, bumped shoulders in the hallway, and whispered nasty comments loud enough for me to hear.
At this point, I preferred being ignored.
With all that chaos, Emma’s chatter was the last thing I needed.
Before, boredom was torture—now I just wanted to be left alone.
“Haa…”
This household had no sense of ‘just enough.’
None at all.
“My lady, what’s wrong?”
“Oh, nothing, Carlos.”
Carlos, who had been quietly sitting in my room with me the whole time, gave me a worried look.
I reassured him with a small shake of my head.
Even so, he seemed like he had something on his mind.
“The young duke…”
“Hmm?”
“Are you really close with Young Duke Gerhardt?”
“…No.”
If Patricia had been close to Lawrence, life would have been much easier.
But she wasn’t—and so I was struggling along as best I could.
“Then… do you like him?”
“No.”
Carlos nodded slightly at that.
“Then… what happens after you become his partner at the ball?”
