FDSML CH 05

Chapter 5

“Yeah, Deli. Just stick right next to Oppa! I’ll chase off all the bad guys.”

Does he think the ballroom is some den of thieves?

I quickly snatched the hat from my brother and handed it to Mei.

Mei caught it in a flash and, without a second’s hesitation, tossed it into the trash.

Thankfully, Adrian’s attention had already wandered from the hat.

“Deli, you’re going to be the prettiest one here today. I guarantee it.”The imperial palace ballroom—opened for the first time in a while—was packed with young ladies giddy for their debutante ball.

As befits the social season, handsome gentlemen and beautiful ladies had gathered in one place.

At last, the day of battle had come.

Rodelia, who had spent so much effort provoking Nanael for this day, was tense like a general marching to the front.

Rumor said Nanael had been throwing fits at every shopping center she visited, snapping, “Ferris again?”

Everything was going according to plan.

By now she was probably itching to run into me at the debutante.

Good. Today I’ll expose the villainess’s true nature for sure.

While I steeled myself, the doorman announced the Ferris siblings’ entrance.

“Young Duke Adrian Ferris and Lady Rodelia Ferris are entering!”

All heads turned toward the doors.

“My goodness, Young Duke Ferris is escorting his sister himself. How sweet.”

Adrian—long popular among the young ladies—claimed the first round of whispers.

Ferris-black hair and blue-green eyes like deep summer leaves. He always gave off an untouchable aura, yet he couldn’t stop smiling at his little sister.

Unlike Alperen, who was known for being stony toward women, Adrian had a reputation for being gentlemanly, so the ladies’ eyes shone with hope.

Their partners were watching the Ferris siblings, too.

“Was the Ferris lady always that pretty?”

Rodelia only hated fussy clothes and didn’t usually dress up, but she was, in fact, quite pretty.

And because she’d dressed to the nines to provoke the villainess, her beauty was impossible to miss.

Her carefully styled pink hair gleamed like silk.

Her tiny, fairy-like face was a bit stiff with nerves, but even that lent her a captivating air.

Despite the flashy accessories, the effect didn’t feel overdone—thanks, no doubt, to her face.

Feeling everyone’s eyes, Rodelia was about to hide behind Adrian’s back when his smile faded and he murmured low,

“Deli. Trust Oppa.”

…Weird. Why does his smile make me nervous?

That smile had a lethal edge, like he was about to kill someone, and Rodelia flinched.

Anyone would think we’d walked into enemy territory.

Honestly, Oppa’s the least reliable one here.

Just then, someone approached her, undeterred by Adrian’s murderous vibe.

“Hello, Lady Ferris. I’m Green Basilly of House Basilly. Would I have the honor of being the first name on your dance card—”

He didn’t even finish before—

“Shut up.”

Adrian’s low curse rang through the ballroom.

Of all times, the orchestra had paused between numbers, so everyone heard it perfectly. Disaster.

In the chilly silence, Green Basilly blinked. “Pardon? I must have misheard?”

“Didn’t you hear me? Shut up. Whose name did you think you were putting down? The first dance is mine. The next is mine. The one after that is also mine. Understood?”

With each word, Green Basilly’s face turned grayer.

From the mouth of the famously gentlemanly Young Duke Ferris, foul words were spilling nonstop.

Crushed by the pressure, he finally bent at a ninety-degree bow.

“I—I—I’m sorry!”

Watching him bolt with his tail between his legs, Rodelia let out a small sigh.

At this rate, she’d become the first debutante in history to dance only with her brother.

The young lords who’d been heading her way turned on their heels, clearing their throats. That settled it.

“I did good, right, Deli?”

Clueless that she was worried, Adrian beamed, fishing for praise.

Yep.

My brother has a sister complex.

A very serious one.

Maybe I should just hand him off to the original heroine. At this rate, thanks to the “brother obstacle,” I’ll never get married and end up single forever.

Suddenly worried for her future, Rodelia shook her head.

I hate the prison ending, but I hate the lifelong-single ending too!

I wasn’t born this pretty just to die without even dating!

Deciding this wouldn’t do, Rodelia steadied her voice.

“Hey, Oppa. Do you… want to make me look unpopular and unattractive?”

“No way! There isn’t a lady alive more charming than Deli!”

When Adrian jumped to deny it, Rodelia said firmly,

“If my dance card is filled only with your name, that’s proof I’m not attractive.”

“Better than dancing with those losers…”

“I won’t dance with you either. I’d rather be a wallflower.”

She snorted and headed for the wall, and Adrian followed, flustered.

“Sorry, Deli. Are you mad? But I can’t let you dance with just anyone. If someone decent shows up, I’ll allow it.”

“Right. And then you’ll say none of them are decent.”

Caught dead-on, Adrian gave a stiff little laugh.

At that moment, the doorman announced another entrance.

“Her Highness Princess Nanael Barnard and His Grace Duke Alperen Ainruck are entering!”

Rodelia, as if she’d been waiting, turned her eyes to the doors.

***

The room grew quiet in a different way as Alperen and Nanael appeared.

I watched them with a tight face.

I think this is the first time I’ve seen them enter together at an official event.

As first-time partners, they looked awkward to anyone’s eyes.

Alperen’s expression stole the show.

Oh wow—he looks exactly like an office worker dragged out by his boss.

To others it might look like a blank face, but I could see it:

how badly he wanted to go home.

And seeing him expressionless instead of smiling made him feel even more cold and unreachable.

Right. That was always his character.

We’d been close since we were little, so I’d forgotten how aloof he was with strangers—an iron wall.

But once he considers you his person, he’s endlessly kind.

As his friend’s little sister, I’d benefited from that.

Original-timeline Rodelia messed up her life by stalking him, but not me. No way.

Watching from afar and waiting for my chance, I suddenly met Alperen’s eyes.

He stopped dead and stared blankly this way.

Nanael seemed to say something to him, but he didn’t react, looking a little spaced out.

Then he even frowned and looked away.

It felt like he deliberately avoided me…

That frosty reaction I’d never seen before left a bad taste.

Especially when I was already self-conscious about dressing so unlike my usual style.

Hmm. Is it so awful he can’t even look?

Losing confidence fast, I fiddled with my outfit in embarrassment.

Right—this isn’t my style; it’s Nanael’s.

To provoke the villainess, I’d hoarded accessories that screamed money—flashy and extravagant.

I already felt like I was wearing someone else’s clothes.

Do I look like a kid who swiped her mom’s lipstick?

If so, that’s… really embarrassing.

Under the heat of the stares, the confidence that had been bubbling up shrank and shrank.

I guess all the family coddling made me cocky without realizing it.

Overprotection is scary.

Just then, Nanael whispered something to Alperen—and started walking this way.