I took a deep breath.
On the surface, I was doing my best to act casual, but if my nanny Martha ever found out about this, it was the kind of childishly petty and reckless stunt that would make her grab her neck and faint on the spot.
If things went south, wouldn't this count as insulting the imperial family? Long story short, I got a bit scared when I was actually about to commit it.
"Nine, you just focus on being handsome. As for the rest, just think of it as me carrying you to victory... err, carrying you in my carriage."
People naturally tend to put on airs the more intimidated they are.
In the end, I gave a cool wink to Nine as we walked toward the front entrance side by side, basically executing a 'you trust big sister, right?' move.
Whether Nine found me pitiful or embarrassing, he just turned his face away, his ears flushing a bright red.
Sorry, please forget I did that.
"Ha."
As I stepped through the main gates, a glamorous carriage stamped with the royal crest was waiting at the door, and standing right in front of it was Ian, dressed in his uniform. He looked slightly bored, but his looks were undeniably handsome, which honestly left me a bit dumbfounded.
But our Nine is way more handsome!
I stole a quick glance at Nine's face, immediately recovered my confidence, and intentionally cleared my throat as I approached.
"Ahem, huff, cough, cough!"
".....? Ah, Melissa. You're h—"
Turning to face me with a radiant smile as if he had been waiting, Ian’s face froze. It was a very subtle stiffening, but having spent 18 years as an Ian fangirl, I could spot it instantly.
'Gotcha, surprised you, didn't I?'
However, putting on an innocent smile as if I didn't have a clue, I wrapped my arms around Nine's arm.
"Yes, Your Highness. I am merely grateful that you have come all this way yourself."
"I-I see... But who is that gentleman beside you?"
As Ian put on a completely dumbfounded expression, I cheered inwardly. The moment I saw that face, my nervousness, the crime of insulting the imperial family, and everything else flew straight to Valhalla.
"Oh, him? You don't need to concern yourself. He's just my partner."
"Partner...? Melissa, isn't your partner supposed to be me?"
"Oh my. Since Your Highness has never once willingly agreed to be my partner in the past, I naturally assumed you would find it burdensome this time as well. I was simply trying to be considerate of you by finding a partner in advance. Was I mistaken?"
Shamelessly putting on a fake laugh, I threw those loaded words right at him.
Ian could neither deny nor confirm it, completely frozen in hesitation.
"Th-that......"
"Why don't you take this opportunity to take one of your other favored ladies as your partner instead, Your Highness? Like Miss Linda, whom I saw last time... Aren't there plenty of them? No matter how close we are to the ball, I'm sure those ladies would gladly agree."
I gave him that advice as if I was doing him a huge favor, and then slowly turned around.
"Well then, I shall see you at the ballroom, Your Highness."
"Wait...! Wh-where are you going? The carriage is right here..."
Ian shouted frantically, pointing at the imperial carriage behind him. Now that I took a good look at it, it was so excessively flashy that it bordered on tacky. Plus, the double-headed snake—the symbol of the imperial family—was carved so realistically that it was actually creepy.
I forced myself to swallow the sigh that was trying to escape.
Instead, I crinkled my eyes in a smile and politely pounded every single word right into Ian's thick skull.
"Your Highness. Don't you think it would look a bit ridiculous if I rode in your carriage alongside my partner?"
'Especially you—you'll look ridiculous, you moron.'
"I simply despise awkward situations."
Having delivered that crisp final blow, I turned my back on the handsome man with his mouth wide open and walked toward my family's carriage. The corners of my mouth stretched up so wide they practically tore.
I screwed him over! I finally screwed him over!
It was a smile that was not ladylike at all—closer to a creepy old geezer's, in fact—but the satisfaction was so sweet that I couldn't control myself. In the end, it was only after receiving a "what is wrong with her" look from the coachman that I managed to calm down and board the carriage.
However, this was still nothing more than the beginning of beginnings.
I knew that the exact moment we stepped into the ballroom would be the real deal: the moment I would meticulously craft a traditional, rock-hard pumpkin taffy, infused with the true Korean spirit, and gently stuff it right into Ian’s mouth.
"Hahaha, haha..."
"......."
I didn't really notice Nine's eyes turning cold, though.
***
‘This is even better than I expected.’
I thought to myself, leisurely scanning the countless people who were still stealing glances at me.
The sight of the imperial carriage trailing helplessly behind the Duke’s carriage on the way to the imperial palace must have been shocking enough on its own. Duke Podebrat was still down at his provincial estate and skipped the ball, and even if someone like Jake showed his face around here, he would slip in and out completely unnoticed, meaning I was the only one riding in our family carriage. As if it weren't enough that Ian and I arrived in separate carriages, imagine how it must have looked to see a completely unfamiliar, stunning man attached to my side.
‘It’s basically the debut episode of a scandalous makjang drama.’
The nobles who knew Ian and me well, as well as a few commoners, circled the three of us like hyenas, snorting with impatience and dying to know what was happening. I acted completely nonchalant—utterly ignoring Ian while doting on Nine. Eventually, Ian, feeling uncomfortable, ordered the music to be played as soon as the ball began.
Although everyone moved away from us to dance, their eyes remained glued to what they were curious about. Because of that, people were frantically stepping on each other’s feet and hems, yet not a single complaint was made.
"Melissa—."
"I don't dance."
I inwardly gave the middle finger to Ian, who was smiling and reaching out his hand as if trying to somehow get out of the situation.
"My partner doesn't really like it when I dance."
Nine looked at me with a face that said he had never heard of such a thing, but I pretended not to notice.
"Besides, my father views dancing with the opposite sex quite negatively."
Ian, who had known Duke Podebrat for eighteen years, looked at me with a face that said this was completely new news to him, but honestly, so what?
"Melissa, don't be like this... Nothing good will come out of this for you anyway, will it?"
Finally, irritation clouded Ian’s face. He really must lack awareness as much as he lacks a conscience.
'You know, I would literally be thrilled to death just by seeing that look on your face.'
"Well, I’m telling you, even if I wanted to dance, the men around me keep stopping me so I can't. I have no idea why they are acting like that, but..."
I casually picked up a canapé from a passing servant.
Drop.
"Oh dear, my hand slipped."
Anyone could see that I had slammed it onto the floor on purpose, yet I shamelessly made a huge fuss as if my hand had truly slipped by mistake. And then—
"Oh dear, looks like it's my foot's turn to slip."
Crunch. I stomped right on the canapé with the heel of my high stiletto. The poor canapé was ruthlessly smashed into pieces.
"When I dance, my feet occasionally slip like this. Maybe that's why they stop me?"
I tilted my head with an innocent smile.
Of course, no one could possibly fail to realize that this action meant your feet would be absolutely obliterated if I ended up dancing with you. Not even Ian.
Ian mumbled as if he wanted to say something more, but ultimately stepped back and took another lady’s hand instead.
'That felt so incredibly satisfying.'
Humming a tune, I took Nine by the arm and headed to the corner of the venue.
"Nine, you’re doing great. Thanks to you, everything is going swimmingly."
I slipped a champagne glass into Nine's hand and whispered in his ear.
'I need to pay him a seriously generous bonus.'
I could practically hear Melissa’s secret slush fund taking a massive hit, but that couldn't be helped.
"........."
Nine smiled softly and shook his head. I let out a chuckle and raised my own champagne glass to toast our victory.
The very next moment, Nine’s face suddenly turned deathly pale. His pink eyes widened. It was as if he was completely shocked by something.
'……Nine?'
At my question, Nine seemed completely restless for a moment, and then silently mouthed the words.
"I, am, sorry."
"Huh?"
Before I could even ask Nine what was wrong, he hurriedly let go of my hand and vanished into the crowd.
What?
Flustered, I tried to chase after Nine, but his blue hair had already disappeared from my sight. I couldn't make heads or tails of the situation.
Did I do something wrong? Or was Ian coming over and glaring at him?
However, it was difficult to say that I was at fault, as I hadn't done anything wrong, and Ian was still on the dance floor.
He definitely looked terrified, though.
“Did he need to use the restroom...?”
In the end, this was the only conclusion I could reach. I mean, it’s not exactly a gross or childish reason, right?
Since I couldn't figure it out otherwise, I just settled on that conclusion. He'll come back if I wait. Thinking that, I simply sipped my champagne.
***
However, Nine did not return.
“Did he lose his way?”
I was starting to get worried.
He seemed to know aristocratic culture and etiquette so well that I wondered if he had been a noble's servant before, so I thought a place like this wouldn't be completely unfamiliar to him. But then again, this was his first time inside the imperial palace, so maybe he got confused.
There was also the possibility that Nine had dumped me and bolted, but the moment that thought crossed my mind, I scrapped it. If even an extra who doesn't even appear in the novel turns out to be a piece of trash, what am I supposed to do, dance the twist?
“Hmm……”
Feeling needlessly anxious, I began to fidget with my champagne glass.
The ball was already rushing toward its final act. Which meant the marriage announcement wasn't far off either. On top of that, people were finally starting to notice that I had been left without a partner.
If things kept going like this, it would be utterly humiliating. Instead of giving them hell, it looked like I was about to swallow a massive bowl of karma myself.
I bolted up from my seat, determined to find Nine.
'If anything happened to Nine, Ian is dead.'
I glared at Ian for no good reason—making him choke on his drink in the process—and strode away with long, purposeful steps.
To start with the conclusion, I didn't find Nine that day. Instead...
"……Yuri?"
"Oh my, do you know me?"
I ran right into her.