#049. Men Are Pointless. In the End, All That Remains Is Friendship
“Looks like His Grace the Grand Duke is completely captivated by Princess Blanche.”
“I only caught a glimpse of her at the Empress’s birthday banquet, but she was truly extraordinary.”
“If she’s that exceptional, wouldn’t she become the next star of the social scene?”
“Oh come on, if the Grand Duke’s only playmate isn’t the belle of society, who else could possibly be?”
Because of that, none of the people here felt the need to keep Blanche in check. After all, there weren’t exactly other contenders vying for her spot.
So instead, they chose to flatter Blanche and win favor with Liana.
“When will Princess Blanche’s debutante ball be held?”
“Since the Grand Duke needs a partner anyway, we’re thinking of debuting her alongside him. Though there’s still quite a bit of time left, so who knows what might happen—”
“If she’s attending the Martina family’s gathering, does that mean she’ll be attending other small gatherings as well?”
“Is Princess Blanche interested in swordsmanship too? If so, I could arrange a meeting with the knight cadets.”
“Now that I think about it, there’s a merchant group I know that deals in specialties from the Kingdom of Lamore. Might the Princess be feeling homesick? Would it be alright if I prepared a small gift?”
The noble young ladies who were prestigious enough to be invited to the Empress’s private luncheon were all praising Blanche and working hard to form connections with her. Blanche was finally being rewarded for her three years of patience.
I had thought that everything was resolved the moment I tore the Grand Duke and Lady Martina apart.
That was my mistake—underestimating how tenacious children can be.
“Blanche. I’m still your favorite, right?”
A week after that last tea party. I assumed Lady Martina had let go of her grudge toward the Grand Duke. Children tend to forget things easily, after all.
But I was wrong. She hadn’t forgotten a thing.
“Blanche. Today, we’re going to decide something very important.”
“Okay…?”
“We’re choosing our friendship bracelet.”
“Sorry, what?”
Surely there were more important things to worry about than that. But Lady Martina looked so serious that I couldn’t bring myself to argue.
“Yes, a friendship bracelet…”
“Exactly. For us to wear at the tea party.”
Ah… so she really was bothered when the Grand Duke said that everyone only saw me as his playmate…
But then again, with the Grand Duke trying to show off his affection for me, would it really be wise to flaunt my closeness with Lady Martina instead? I hesitated.
“Blanche.”
Did she sense my hesitation? Lady Martina grabbed my shoulder. Her hand was as small as a sprout—though to be fair, my shoulder wasn’t much bigger. I really hoped this body would grow taller and more elegant.
“Men are pointless. In the end, only friendship remains. Don’t you think so?”
I had so much to say. Sure, the Grand Duke was acting strangely, and everyone seemed to see me as a potential duchess. But he was, without question, still my friend. Also, noble marriages were about alliances between families—so technically, it was the men who stuck around till the end.
But under the intense gaze of the young lady staring at me with such earnest eyes, I had no choice but to nod obediently.
“Yes, yes… I think so too.”
…Oh, whatever. The Grand Duke said he’d take care of this one-month gap, so he can deal with it. And honestly, what was the point in playing political games with children?
“Great! Then I’ve already called in a jeweler, so let’s start by choosing our bracelets. Hmm, I think we should go with matching designs, but use our birthstones for the main gem. That way, since we have different hair and eye colors, it won’t look too awkward.”
I looked down at my silver hair and then at Lady Martina’s lemon-blonde locks and lime-colored eyes. She had a point. If we used identical gemstones, it probably wouldn’t suit one of us.
“That sounds nice.”
“Right? Then go ahead and call the jeweler in!”
“You summoned me? I’ve brought the pieces based on the design you requested. Please take a look.”
Seeing the jeweler walk in with both hands full, I began to wonder if I had made the wrong choice.
It was just a bracelet. I figured it would be easier to choose than a dress—but maybe that assumption was way off.
“Things go so much quicker without His Grace, don’t you think?”
“Yes, if that’s what you believe, Lady Martina…”
Now I understood why people say ‘in one ear, out the other.’ If words were visible, you’d see them flowing right through both my ears like water.
I wasn’t usually the type to zone out like this, but for some reason, I had no idea what Lady Martina was talking about anymore.
“At this rate, if we meet two or three more times, we’ll have everything settled, right?”
“Y-yes…”
Apparently, Lady Martina was growing up to be quite the capable young lady. I had assumed the bracelet was the main goal since she brought it up so urgently—but even after choosing it, she was still sorting out the party details.
So diligent… As an adult, I really should support her and work alongside her enthusiastically… But wow, I was exhausted.
One of the biggest differences between the Jin Empire and the Retaile Empire was, without a doubt, the freedom of fashion.
“Would the Grand Duke try to interfere again if we say we’re finished? I don’t want him around when we’re meeting.”
“Most likely…”
In the Jin Empire, every color and pattern you wore was strictly determined by your status and family. That meant I didn’t have to choose anything when it came to clothes or accessories.
The Iga family’s color was black, and after I changed the character for “baek” (伯) in my title to “baek” (白), white became my personal symbol. Our family’s emblem was a turtle.
Even the length and placement of embroidery on ceremonial robes were regulated, and there was no such thing as “fashion trends” for casual clothing either. Whether the clothes were ten years old or newly tailored, the only difference was the wear on the fabric.
“Alright, let’s just not tell His Grace how far along we are with the preparations. If we say there’s still a lot to decide, how would he know otherwise, right?”
“That seems reasonable…”
Honestly, I felt more drained than the time in my past life when His Majesty granted me a hundred bolts of silk and I had to have a hundred outfits made overnight.
Back then, I just gave the tailors my measurements and let them handle the sleeves and trims however they wanted.
…Wait a second. Maybe the real reason this is so tiring isn’t just the freedom of fashion. Maybe it’s because Lady Martina won’t let me brush her off with a simple, “I’ll leave it to you.”
“When I saw the Grand Duke from afar, I thought he was mature and different from the other boys, but I’m so disappointed. I wasn’t going to say anything, but he’s reached out again, asking for the guest list, wanting to review everything! Doesn’t he trust me to handle it on my own?! Why’s he tormenting me like this—”
“Maybe it’s because he finds you cute, Lady Martina…?”
I muttered that reflexively, still not listening, while internally panicking over a new realization. Suddenly, Lady Martina grasped my hand tightly.
“Your face has looked gloomy for a while now… Is this what’s been bothering you?”
“…Huh?”
So it was obvious my face looked tired… But what exactly did she think I was worried about? I was just tired, not anxious.
“Uh, well…”
I let my mouth answer on its own, having lost track of the conversation. I just wanted to brush it off. But that vague response only seemed to deepen the misunderstanding, as Lady Martina’s grip tightened.
Her hands were tiny, so it didn’t hurt, but her serious expression made me wonder just how far this conversation had gone.
“Silly! I doubt His Grace would do something like that, but I will never betray you, okay? Don’t worry!”
…What kind of conversation was this? I was starting to worry I’d accidentally dug a massive canyon between the Grand Duke and Lady Martina.
After asking for some tea and regaining my focus, I finally realized what had happened: I had somehow implied that the Grand Duke was interested in Lady Martina.
Why had my subconscious made things so complicated…?
Because of that, Lady Martina now firmly believed that there was a sweet, budding romance between the Grand Duke and me. And she kept trying to reassure me.
I didn’t think the Grand Duke liked her that way, and even if he did, it had nothing to do with me. But it was still incredibly awkward.
Sensing that further distractions would only worsen the misunderstanding, I forced myself to focus and worked hard to calm her down.
