Chapter 9
“I don’t even remember how long it’s been since there was a banquet at the Imperial Palace.”
“Hehe. Now that Her Imperial Highness the Princess has returned, you’ll be receiving invitations until you’re sick of them.”
“Do you think so?”
“Ah. You’re too young to remember. When Her Majesty the Empress was still here, there were banquets and events at the Imperial Palace every season, so many that it was difficult to attend them all. You can look forward to this season.”
The young lady, who looked barely old enough to be considered an adult, couldn’t hide her delighted expression at those words.
I had been listening to their conversation and secretly nodded.
She’s not wrong.
For nearly ten years, the Imperial Family had hosted only the banquets that were absolutely necessary. There were several reasons for that, but the biggest one was undoubtedly the Empress’s absence.
Simply put, there was no one left to do the work.
The Emperor was busy, while his only Crown Prince had too many problems of his own to host banquets.
He had been too young in the past, and by the time he was old enough to hold banquets, his behavior had been less than admirable.
If someone who did nothing but play around started throwing banquets on top of that, he would have lost his position as Crown Prince.
“And even if you pour money into decorating the place, it doesn’t look impressive when the wrong person is standing there.”
And that person was currently standing beside me, talking absolute nonsense.
“But it seems His Majesty won’t be attending tonight’s banquet?”
“Ah. His chronic illness has flared up. It’s about time he started taking things easy. Ha! To escort a member of the Imperial Family that poorly. If my father had seen it, he would have fainted.”
In the center of the hall stood Richard and Sasha.
Contrary to Damon’s words, Richard was performing his role perfectly.
In other words, he was doing an excellent job of keeping all the flies away from Sasha.
“Tsk, tsk. To miss the opportunity to become acquainted with Marquis Frost. If I were that girl, I’d slap the Count across the face.”
“Ah. Yes.”
I responded appropriately and looked toward Marquis Frost.
After losing out to Count Kindel, Marquis Frost had been acting as though his feet were on fire.
Just like now.
“I didn’t know the Marquis was interested in Her Imperial Highness.”
“Ah. Well, he’s probably trying to do something, anything.”
Damon snorted.
He seemed to be enjoying watching a marquis who had fallen out of his favor desperately struggle.
Damon continued staring at Richard and Sasha for quite some time before finally getting to his feet when the time came.
“I don’t particularly feel like doing this, but I suppose I have to. Now, Bella. If you think you’re going to step on my foot, you’d better just fall instead.”
I glared at the hand he extended to me for a moment before taking it.
It was time for the opening dance of the banquet.
* * *
From the moment Richard saw the carriage bearing the blue snake emblem, all of his attention had been focused on it.
His rapidly beating heart had gone cold the moment he heard Damon’s voice.
Someone might wonder whether it was really possible to hear someone speaking several meters away while dozens of carriages were unloading their passengers.
Once you reached the level of an aura user, you learned the answer whether you wanted to or not.
It was harder not to hear something than to hear it.
“Richard? Why do you look so scary?”
Richard, who had been imagining tearing Damon’s mouth apart, suddenly came to his senses.
Sasha was looking up at him from below, tilting her head in confusion.
Oops.
Richard admonished himself silently for a moment.
He was here as Sasha’s partner.
He hadn’t wanted to come, but once he had chosen to do so, he had to do his best.
He couldn’t let Sasha, who had done nothing wrong, have her debut in high society ruined because of his mood.
“…I’m sorry. I was distracted for a moment.”
“Come on, you’re doing it again. I told you to speak comfortably with me.”
“We’re in the Imperial Palace. Please bear with me.”
Richard politely conveyed the sentiment that, You’re a princess. How could I possibly speak casually to you in front of all these nobles?
Sasha pouted, but soon seemed to understand.
“Ah, it’s really no fun. His Majesty still doubts whether I’m actually a princess, and Damon…”
Richard had no trouble dealing with Sasha’s constant chatter.
She might have grown physically, but inside, she was little more than a child.
Rather than being fascinated by the throne or her status as royalty, she was like a child whose eyes sparkled at the human world she’d encountered again after more than a decade.
After calming her down, Richard entered the hall and tried not to look toward the second-floor railing until the first dance began.
It didn’t take long for him to realize that all his effort had been completely pointless.
“Wow, isn’t Bella really beautiful?”
The first dance.
It was the signal that marked the beginning of the banquet and the moment when everyone’s attention was drawn to the host.
Considering the purpose of the banquet, Sasha should have been the one dancing.
But was Damon the kind of person who would yield something like that?
And Sasha wasn’t the sort of person to compete over something so trivial.
So the result was inevitable.
Damon had claimed the first dance of the banquet.
“That dress looks really good on Bella.”
Richard forcibly turned his head at Sasha’s words.
His eyes fell upon a couple he couldn’t avoid looking at no matter how hard he tried.
Damon stood beside Isabella as they slowly turned around the center of the hall.
Under the chandeliers, Isabella wore a dress that shimmered with dozens of streams of light, and she was smiling brightly.
“She’s beautiful, isn’t she?”
“…Yes.”
Richard couldn’t take his eyes off Isabella as she moved elegantly while holding Damon’s hand.
He hated admitting it, but Isabella looked happy holding Damon’s hand.
Wearing an Imperial treasure that couldn’t be valued in money, while holding the hand of one of the most powerful men in the Empire.
“They’ll get married, won’t they?”
“…It’s a shame for the Duchess.”
“Really? I thought they looked good together. Oh, it looks like Bella is saying something to Damon. Damon doesn’t look very happy.”
Richard didn’t miss that fleeting moment either.
A cold expression briefly crossed Damon’s pleasantly smiling face.
Richard knew that expression well.
But it lasted only a moment.
Damon narrowed his eyes into a smile and leaned his head toward Isabella.
“Hm? Bella doesn’t look very happy this time. Do you think they’re fighting?”
Sasha looked completely unaware of what Damon had said.
That was only natural for an ordinary person.
And Richard wasn’t an ordinary person.
The problem was simply that he had been distracted by his conversation with Sasha and hadn’t heard what the two had said.
Even so, he could have guessed the conversation from their lip movements.
Unfortunately, Isabella’s lips had been hidden behind her arm, so he couldn’t see them.
But he hadn’t missed Damon’s.
Revocation of her title.
That alone was enough for him to understand the situation.
Damon was threatening Isabella.
And he was doing it with her title.
Suddenly?
Arguments between lovers were common enough.
But a noble title?
That was far too serious a subject to appear in something as trivial as a lovers’ quarrel.
And not just any title.
The title of Duchess.
On what grounds?
The Bellua Ducal House was one of the most prominent noble families in the Empire.
Even setting everything else aside, the fact that Bellua territory bordered the capital was enough to demonstrate its status.
And if the annual hunting festival held every social season took place in Bellua territory, there was really nothing more that needed to be said.
At that moment, the violin rang out in a long, lingering note, announcing the end of the song.
Damon and Isabella stepped apart and bowed to each other as though nothing had happened.
Of course, Damon merely gave a slight nod.
The moment the formalities were over, Isabella immediately turned around and disappeared into the crowd.
Rather than looking flustered, Damon accepted a wineglass from an attendant with an expression that seemed to say he’d expected this.
“Sasha.”
“Hmm?”
“Could you stay here alone for a moment?”
“Ah, of course. I’ll ask Damon to dance with me, so go ahead.”
Should I tell her that ladies aren’t supposed to ask men for dances?
Richard considered it for a moment, then decided against it.
Isabella was more urgent.
Richard gave a slight nod and immediately headed toward the place Isabella had gone.
Several nobles repeatedly stepped into his path, trying to speak with him, but he ignored every single one.
There would certainly be rumors that Count Winston was arrogant.
He didn’t care.
Because thanks to that, he didn’t miss the moment when the hem of the glittering dress disappeared beyond the terrace.
And so, just before the latch locked, Richard opened the terrace door.
And there, he saw it.
“Why are you crying?”
Isabella’s tears, illuminated by the streams of light pouring out from the banquet hall.
