DSFL | Chapter 43

~Chapter 43~

The grand ball was just around the corner.

‘So in the end, he really won’t go through with the breakup, right?’

Still, there had been no word from Ricardo.

“…So what are you going to do about your partner?”

 Cedric pressed his fingers to his forehead, clearly stressed.

“Do you think that man will agree to be your partner?”

I couldn’t answer his follow-up question.

 After how things ended last time, it was clear he wouldn’t.

“If I go in wearing a mask, it won’t be obvious that I’m alone.”

I laughed like a fool, trying to sound light-hearted, but Cedric’s face twisted more and more.

 His expression clearly said, “You really think people won’t notice?”

In the past, I had entered the ball with Grandfather. But recently, his condition had worsened.

 And I couldn’t enter with Cedric either—he was at the age where people expected him to marry. I didn’t want to get in the way of his prospects.

I straightened my back confidently.

“Don’t worry. There’s no need for me to enter with you, Brother.”

Cedric looked confused.

“I wasn’t planning to,” he replied flatly.

“Oh… okay.”

 Right. I totally misread that.

Feeling awkward, I twisted the ends of my hair, but Cedric suddenly became serious.

“Why do you think the Duke hasn’t agreed to the breakup? I heard he wanted it too.”

He let out a long sigh.

“Whatever the reason is, keeping this engagement with Hessen dragging on is no good.”

“…You’re right.”

“If Hessen doesn’t want to break it off, then it’s clear now—they’re after Dremokan.”

His next words surprised me.

“The Duke’s family wants Dremokan?”

“Yes. They’ve been challenging the imperial claim to Dremokan’s ownership for years. It never made it to trial, so not many people know.”

…Ricardo wants Dremokan?

“If it’s too difficult for you to handle this on your own, I’ll step in and end the engagement myself. Would that be okay?”

“Yes. That would be best.”

No matter how I looked at it, this wasn’t something I could fix.

I couldn’t even have a proper conversation with that man!

“Then rest well.”

After Cedric left the room, I collapsed onto the sofa, drained.

‘So the reason he doesn’t want to break up… is Dremokan?’

“Miss!”

Just then, Emily called out to me.

“I just got back from the boutique with your dress and mask!”

Behind her, servants carried in large boxes.

This upcoming imperial ball had its roots in a traditional ritual.

 In ancient times, people believed covering their faces would protect them from disease, so they wore masks during sacred ceremonies.

Though magic has since reduced the threat of plagues, the practice remained as a symbolic gesture.

 Now, it’s part of the ball.

“This year’s dress code is…”

“Red. I heard the theme is roses.”

As Emily said, most of the dresses we received had shades of red.

“By the way, Miss. At a ball, uniqueness is everything, right? You don’t want your dress or accessories to match someone else’s.”

“True.”

“But apparently… there’s some crazy person who’s been going around spying on all the young ladies’ dresses.”

Emily shook her head in disbelief.

“What’s the point of that? Are they trying to avoid matching someone else, or…?”

Even so, that seemed a bit extreme.

Was the goal to deliberately wear something similar?

 Or maybe to draw comparisons—wear something nearly the same, but just different enough to stand out?

“…Whatever it is, that’s just nasty.”

I clicked my tongue. Emily agreed, nodding firmly.

“They say the world’s full of lunatics, after all.”

***

Time passed quickly, and the night of the full moon arrived.

‘He said I just need to get out before midnight.’

Feeling strangely nervous, I fidgeted with my red dress.

 It had thin shoulder straps that showed my collarbones and shoulders, and the fitted bodice clung tightly to my figure. It was a little embarrassing.

The mask, though black in the shadows, shimmered with a faint red hue under soft light. Its long, narrow eye slits gave off a mysterious, alluring look.

“Miss, the roads to the palace are crowded. There might be a bit of a wait,” said Allen.

I nodded.

“It’s fine. We can arrive late.”

“You always joke like that, Miss,” he chuckled, not taking me seriously.

Honestly, no one in this house ever takes my words seriously!

Still, if it’s going to take time to arrive, maybe I could relax a little first.

With that in mind, I removed the black gloves I was wearing.

While I was resting, someone knocked on the carriage door. We’d been stopped for a while.

“Um, My Lady…”

I opened the door with a puzzled look—only to see Allen looking flustered, and behind him was a man I didn’t expect.

“Hello, Lady Bianca.”

It was Erkessian.

He waved at me casually.

“Sorry for the sudden visit. Could we talk for a moment?”

“Ah, sure…”

Before I could even recover from the surprise, Erkessian climbed into the carriage.

“Aren’t you supposed to be at the palace…?”

 “This is more important,” he replied while stroking his chin thoughtfully.

“You’re close with Idette, aren’t you?”

Why was he suddenly bringing her up?

“She’s been talking about you a lot lately.”

Something about this conversation felt… off.

 Nothing involving Idette ever went smoothly.

“You care about her, right? Just like I do.”

“…What exactly are you trying to say?”

“I’d like you to wear a dress I’ve prepared.”

No way…

In the original story, Idette gets kidnapped at this ball.

 Unlike the original, Erkessian already seems to know that danger is coming for her.

And since everyone wears masks at this ball, it would be easy to confuse someone’s identity. He must be planning to make me look like Idette, so the kidnapper would get the wrong target.

So that crazy person Emily mentioned going around checking noblewomen’s dresses… it was you.

I clenched the dress tighter in my hands.

“If you do this for me, I’ll make sure you can be Ricardo’s partner.”

“……”

“Pretending to be Idette—Ricardo would like that much more.”

This was… worse than I thought.

Honestly, Idette, it looks like your male lead is a complete disaster.

“I refuse.”

More than anything, Erkessian clearly thought…

…that I was someone who would sacrifice my dignity just to win Ricardo over.

And that really pissed me off.

“Didn’t expect that,” Erkessian muttered, not even trying to hide his irritation.

“Lady Bianca, this is a rare chance—to become Idette. Ricardo would definitely be pleased. So why say no?”

“Because I’m the most important person to me,” I said with a shrug, pretending it was nothing.

“And besides, doesn’t the palace have a ton of knights? You don’t need to use a young noble lady as bait.”

“……”

“Unless, of course… the palace has no knights left to protect Idette?”

At my words, Erkessian let out a sharp laugh.

“How surprising. I thought you were similar to me.”

“In what way?”

He didn’t answer.

 His face instantly turned cold, like he had no more to say.

Wow. Just because he didn’t get what he wanted, he turns icy?

 A chill went down my spine.

“Well then, I’ll see you at the palace.”

“…Take care.”

After he left, Allen shivered and rubbed his arms.

“Why did he suddenly show up like that?”

Even though I’d flat-out rejected his offer, I couldn’t shake the feeling of unease.

Emily had warned me there was some crazy person snooping around to learn what the noblewomen would wear.

 If that really was Erkessian, then he probably already knew what I was planning to wear.

But he still came to make a request?

No… that’s not it.

I had picked out three different dresses in advance.

 I only chose this one this morning.

He came to find out which dress I actually picked.

I bit my lower lip in frustration.

“Allen, is it too late to go back home now?”

“Huh? If you do that, the ball will already be over by the time we return.”

As expected.

“Do you have a handkerchief? Just one is fine.”

Though Allen looked confused, he handed one over.

 I quickly tied my hair up with it.

Emily had styled my hair so beautifully, so it was a shame to mess it up…

If we end up looking too similar, I’ll just take off the mask.

I was sorry, Idette—but I had absolutely no intention of getting kidnapped in your place.

After a good bit of travel, we finally arrived at the imperial palace.

The thought of entering alone filled part of my chest with fear.

As Allen escorted me into the grand ballroom—

“Bianca.”

Someone called my name.