Chapter 8
[Tracking, 134.223.4]
The report Noah sent was brief. In other words, the people who had embezzled someone else’s money had been quick on their feet and fled before Noah could even arrive.
There was no need to check the coordinates. I already knew where they were.
Hort Forest.
If they had hidden themselves in the forest that occupied half of Bellua territory, finding them would certainly be difficult.
So this news was essentially the same as saying that Noah’s return would be delayed. His decision to act immediately had been the right one. With matters like this, the longer you delay, the more difficult they become to reverse.
But—
I need your advice, Noah.
That was the problem.
The situation on my end wasn’t simple either.
It had been two days since I went to tell Damon we were breaking up and returned empty-handed.
“Where should I put this dress, Your Highness?”
“Just throw it somewhere.”
Damon had really sent me a dress.
And not just any dress. It was so heavily covered in jewels that I wondered whether it was even possible to move while wearing it.
It was something far beyond what Damon could afford to purchase himself.
After all, my own father had already thoroughly drained even next year’s personal allowance.
“So be especially careful not to damage it.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
So that dress had obviously come from the Imperial treasury, and I was genuinely terrified that I might accidentally damage it and end up having to pay for it.
One dress like that would probably exceed half of the Bellua Ducal family’s annual budget, even if it couldn’t quite reach the entire amount.
I couldn’t possibly have my coffers emptied the moment I inherited my title over a gift I had never even asked for.
I glared at the box containing the dress and added,
“Take special care when storing it, too.”
“Understood.”
The maid disappeared with the box, looking extremely tense.
There is no way he could have taken something like that without permission.
Which meant he must have obtained the Emperor’s approval.
It wasn’t difficult to guess what Damon had said to persuade him.
He probably told him that now that he’d found Sasha, he was finally planning to settle down and get married.
One of the reasons the Emperor wasn’t particularly fond of Damon was his womanizing.
If Damon had said he intended to settle down, the Emperor must have welcomed the news with open arms.
Knowing Damon, the fact that he took a dress from the Imperial treasury instead of buying a new one…
For a moment, I wondered whether Damon knew about my allowance situation.
But if he did, there was no way he would have remained silent about it until now.
He said he would prepare a dress, so he probably had to send me one. Since he didn’t have anything prepared, he just took something suitable from the treasury.
Either way, Damon was clearly planning to make full use of this opportunity.
Ever since Sasha had entered the palace, he’d even stopped visiting courtesans and had been working hard to improve his image.
Before that, I have to tell him we should break up as soon as possible.
Tomorrow’s banquet was my last chance.
I steeled myself and picked up today’s issue of Trouble Love.
On the front page was the back of a handsome man who looked like he made his living entirely by the sword.
I’d always assumed the paper’s artists weren’t very talented because they usually drew nothing but satirical caricatures, but apparently that wasn’t the case.
[A Dress War About to Begin?
It is said that the Empire’s next sun and the Hero of the North have presented dresses to their respective fiancées as though competing with one another. Everyone will surely be wondering who will appear at the banquet wearing the more expensive and extravagant dress. Trouble Love…]
The rest of the pages were filled with interviews with some of the most renowned designers in the Empire.
Is there really nothing anyone wants to know except what Sasha and I will be wearing?
Or is the Empire really that peaceful?
Either way, one thing was certain.
“It’s really beautiful.”
Unlike mine, the dress Sasha had received had apparently been made exclusively for her.
Beneath an interview with a designer who proudly declared that he had the honor of selling a dress to Richard was an illustration of that very dress.
One was an ordinary, modest-looking dress that could have been seen anywhere.
And then—
“How did he even come up with a design like this?”
The other was a dress that looked as though hundreds of feathers might flutter away at any moment.
It sounded excessive when described in words, but the illustration was simply beautiful.
I found myself nodding as I read the designer’s interview, which said the design had been inspired by a cluster of feathers arranged like flowers.
Maybe.
Maybe you still remember our memories.
Even while resenting and hating me, perhaps you’ve kept at least one small piece of our memories somewhere in your heart.
I knew there was no way that could be true, yet I continued to run my fingers over the illustration.
I couldn’t let go of the foolish hope that perhaps, if I kept doing so, I might somehow feel something soft against my fingertips, like down.
* * *
And then the next day came.
Unsurprisingly, Damon stood me up.
The urgent message that arrived at dawn hardly deserved to be called an urgent message.
To summarize the long-winded letter, it said:
Something came up and I’m busy, so come by yourself.
“After making such a huge fuss, he really isn’t coming? Unbelievable.”
And as a result, I ended up being carried to the carriage wearing a dress so heavy with jewels that it looked exhausting just to look at.
I ground my teeth as I tried to find a remotely comfortable position inside the carriage.
Even with the Imperial Palace right in front of us, I was still uncomfortable.
That made me realize that sitting comfortably while wearing this thing had probably been impossible from the beginning.
“They say a bad habit dies hard for a reason.”
I’ve missed another opportunity.
Originally, I’d planned to tell Damon we were breaking up in the carriage on the way to the Imperial Palace.
If I was lucky, Damon would tell me not to attend the banquet.
If I was unlucky, the worst that would happen would be that I’d have to dance with an irritated Damon and get my feet stepped on a few times.
The problem was that I couldn’t break up with someone who wasn’t even there.
Should I drag him out to the terrace or something?
I just hoped he wouldn’t cause a scene anywhere.
More than anything, I hoped Damon would remember that we weren’t actually lovers.
When and how should I bring it up so we can break up peacefully?
While I was worrying over something I’d never had to think about in my entire life, the carriage rattled and came to a stop.
The door was flung open without so much as a knock, and, just as I’d expected, Damon appeared.
“You finally arrived, Bella.”
Am I imagining it, or does he sound like he’s blaming me for being late when he’s the one who abandoned his escort because he supposedly had something to do?
“I arrived exactly on time.”
“From now on, try to hurry a little. A superior should always set an example, after all.”
He’s not wrong.
But you saying it?
I was so stunned that I couldn’t even react.
But I soon understood why Damon had said it so loudly, as though he wanted everyone nearby to hear.
Immediately behind Damon, not far away, was another carriage bearing an unfamiliar crest.
Three roses in full bloom.
It was the crest of the newly elevated Count Winston family, one of the newest additions to the central nobility.
I could feel everyone pretending not to look while remaining keenly aware of them.
And it was understandable.
The man standing with his back to the carriage was enough to draw attention even from behind.
Among nobles who carried swords merely for show, he was a man who had been called a hero based on his sword alone—and who had now become a noble himself.
His very presence was different.
Ah.
At that moment, Richard turned around, and our eyes met across the empty space.
A flash of irritation crossed his dark-red eyes.
Even the old habit of raising the corners of his eyes whenever something displeased him was still there.
What was he unhappy about?
I looked around and suddenly realized.
It’s me.
Richard didn’t even seem to be trying to hide the fact that he was looking at me.
Today was essentially Sasha’s debut in high society.
Seeing his ex-lover on such an important day was probably unpleasant for him.
Richard soon turned his head away and leaned toward Sasha.
There wasn’t even a hint of awkwardness in the way he accommodated her despite their considerable difference in height.
Just then, attendants came rushing out carrying lanterns.
The light illuminating the path for the arriving carriages fell across Sasha’s excited face.
At that moment, everyone here must have thought the same thing.
Those two look so good together.
Damon must have thought so too, because he ground his teeth.
His profile as he glared fiercely at the two of them was ugly.
A hero always needs a princess.
And there is always a petty villain who envies the princess for falling in love with the hero.
The problem was that, in this case, the villain happened to be Damon.
Perhaps he misunderstood my gaze, because Damon twisted his lips and gestured toward the people behind him with his eyes.
“You saw that, right? There are so many thieves in this world who suddenly appear and try to steal our place from us, Bella.”
“Sasha doesn’t seem interested in the throne.”
“Sasha? Oh, Bella. There’s no need to pretend you’re close to the Imperial Princess even when it’s just the two of us. You only saw her face once. What kind of relationship could you possibly have?”
Still, she’d probably be closer to me than she is to you.
Damon didn’t wait for my answer before grabbing my hand.
I didn’t resist.
Honestly, I wasn’t sure I could stand up by myself while wearing this dress.
Damon expertly tried to escort me, only to frown.
“What the hell? Bella, did you gain weight?”
This bastard.
“…Perhaps the dress Your Highness sent me is heavy because it was made with such expensive materials.”
“This is the weight of the dress?”
Then what, my own weight?
Damon suspiciously looked me up and down.
The dress was beautiful.
The moment I stepped out of the carriage, people’s gazes had briefly turned toward me.
Honestly, if something covered in this many jewels wasn’t beautiful, there was no way the Imperial family would have kept it in their treasury all this time.
The problem was that they’d sewn those jewels so densely across the dress that I was practically sparkling by myself even in the middle of the night.
And as for the weight—
Needless to say.
“Didn’t you lift it before sending it to me?”
“Why would I lift it? I had an attendant do it.”
How admirable of you.
But Damon no longer seemed to suspect that I’d gained weight.
Apparently, even he could see how many jewels had been attached to the dress.
He clicked his tongue in displeasure and said,
“Can you even dance in that?”
“If it’s only the first dance.”
If you intended to make me dance several times while wearing something this ridiculous, you’re truly shameless.
Damon studied me as though estimating something, then clicked his tongue softly.
“Tsk. You’re no help.”
And you have the nerve to say that?
I wanted nothing more than to throw the dress at him and tell him to get lost, but I held myself back.
Endure it.
There were too many eyes watching us here.
If I wanted to break up with him today without creating some strange rumor, I needed to be careful.
Barely suppressing the impulse rising inside me, I smiled sweetly and suggested,
“Should I change into another dress?”
“No. Even if you don’t dance, you have to keep wearing that dress.”
“…Is there a reason why?”
“Yes. More importantly, keep smiling like that. It’s perfect.”
Damon moved close beside me and proudly walked past Richard and Sasha.
He even smiled at them as though a victor were graciously showing mercy to the defeated.
At first glance, he looked completely relaxed.
But anyone who knew Damon would have noticed that he was anything but.
He had never been particularly talented at controlling his expressions, either then or now.
And Damon still hadn’t told me why I had to keep wearing that unbearably heavy dress even after the banquet began.
