Rouche raked his gaze over me before delivering his verdict.
“Not bad,” he stated.
“Though your eyes and lips seem to be at odds with one another.
Your eyes reveal more than you might suppose, and your verbal expressions will need some work.”
I left a note for Begonia, insisting on her attendance at the party, then I went out with Rouche.
“Your cheeks are still flushed,” he observed.
“Perhaps it’s because I made a quick trip to a glacier during our intermission,” I offered casually.
It was the only excuse I could think of.
“How brazen of you,” he chuckled.
Lennon, Sir Elliot, and a group of House Berk’s knights were gathered just outside the door.
By the look of their outfits, you could tell they were prepared to attend the ball.
Compared to their usual practical garb, they were dressed extravagantly.
Sir Elliot approached Rouche at once.
“Your Highness, may I have a moment…”
The knight’s business seemed important, so I stepped aside and Lennon came towards me.
“Lady Seria!
You look absolutely stunning today.”
“Thank you,” I nodded at the compliment.
I beckoned him closer.
“Lennon…”
“Yes, my lady?” His voice was smooth and clear, but he stepped closer with a puzzled expression.
Without a word, I stretched out an upturned palm towards him.
“My lady?
You want to take my hand?” Lennon let his hand hover above mine, careful to avoid contact.
“Am I a dog?
Woof, woof…” He laughed uncertainly.
At that, I seized his hand.
Stunned, he could only stare back at me.
“Lady Seria?”
“You look quite dashing today, Lennon,” I said.
“Oh… Uh, thank you?”
For once, Lennon was at a loss for words.
I released his hand and smiled.
So much for his germophobia.
He couldn’t even avoid my hand.
Had I not been scrubbing and cleaning the annex every day because it was so dirty?
Then why did he have to go and clean it again?
I decided to ask him when I got the chance.
When Elliot had finished conveying his message, Rouche turned to me.
“Shall we, my lady?”
“Yes, Your Grace.”
We headed towards the grand hall.
Maintaining a respectful distance, Lennon, Sir Elliot, and the others followed behind us.
Suddenly, Rouche leaned towards me and asked, “What did you do to Lennon back there?”
I checked to see that they were not close enough to hear what we were saying.
Just to be sure, I leaned close and whispered into Rouche’s ear.
“I heard that Lennon has a fear of germs.
So I was curious what would happen.
I wanted to know whether he would avoid touching my hand if I offered it to him.”
“He would not avoid your hand, my lady.”
“Why is that?”
“Perhaps you should ask him yourself,” Rouche suggested, but his response only piqued my curiosity.
Would he really answer such a question?
Regardless, I simply nodded to Rouche.
The grand ballroom was already brimming with people.
I took a moment to take it all in, not without some pride at my efforts.
Seria’s sense for aesthetic harmony never fails to stop my breath.
It is truly remarkable.
It was weird.
Her stylistic tastes and preferences were a part of the memories that still lingered, giving me access to that part of Seria’s mind.
Her constant activity in the capital’s various social circles had allowed her to develop a refined eye for style.
Even though I never had that talent, I had kind of inherited hers.
But it still amazed me.
In most stories, the villainess is beautiful and elegant.
For my sake, it’s good that Seria was no exception.
I never imagined I would be given the opportunity to decorate such a vast space as the grand ballroom of Castle Berk, with an almost limitless budget, to my own standards and preferences.
It had been an unexpectedly thrilling experience, and immensely rewarding.
Especially noteworthy was the grand rose sculpture, carved from pink marble.
I had been astonished to find such an exquisite piece, forgotten and draped with dust, languishing in the archduchy’s storeroom.
Pink marble is a rare and costly material in this world.
Any ducal manor in the capital would permanently display such a magnificent work of art as a centerpiece.
The thrill of uncovering such treasures in the endless storerooms made my work all the more enjoyable, even though I felt I had barely scratched the surface.
The Berk family certainly could be awe-inspiring.
Before the first dance, I was given a brief respite from socializing.
During this time, only a select few were allowed to approach.
“Lady Seria Sterne?” A rotund knight called my name, bowing his head as I turned to face him.
“Sir Johannes,” I greeted.
Johannes was the Knight Commander of the Order of Knights serving the Dukedom of Devue.
Among the guests, roughly one-third were knights.
Though, for the occasion, they all were wearing formal suits rather than suits of armor.
The typical show of knights to a ball of this sort was not nearly so high.
The reason for this peculiar increase in knights had to do with Seria’s family, the Marquisate of Keliden.
Had things gone according to plan, Callis and I were scheduled to have two wedding ceremonies.
One was the Sterne wedding, to be held in the dominion of House Berk.
The other was the grand aristocratic wedding, to be held in the dominion of House Hanneton.
Thanks to the status and power of the Marquisate of Hanneton, nobles from all over the empire were expected to attend.
The issue was the Sterne wedding ceremony.
The Marquisate of Keliden made it extremely difficult for the heads and direct descendants of the noble families who were to attend the ceremony.
Among the nobility, it was common knowledge that Seria had severed ties with her family.
She had unabashedly left Keliden lands and relocated to the capital.
That in itself was not unexpected behavior from Seria.
And even in such cases, when ties had been irreparably severed, the family would still send along a representative to such a ceremony, at the very least to express their scrutiny and dissatisfaction for the union.
But Keliden didn’t send anyone to the Sterne wedding.
This much was indicative of the poor relationship between Seria and the Marquisate of Keliden.
They didn’t seem to have any intention of concealing their bad blood.
The nobles of the Giroux Empire, however, could not ignore the sensitivities of either the Marquisate of Keliden or a Sterne.
As such, the majority of them chose to send knights as representatives from their houses to attend the Sterne wedding.
In simpler terms, they wished to be mindful of the Marquisate of Keliden, but they also wanted to show basic courtesy towards Seria, who would be both a Sterne and the Marquise of Hanneton following the wedding.
For all those noble families to go out of their way like that… Clearly neither the Kelidens nor Seria can be taken for granted.
If those families had to choose between the two, they would undoubtedly pick the Marquisate of Keliden.
In becoming a Sterne, Seria had acquired an incredibly important position, she would never be equal to the prestigious Marquisate of Keliden.
“My sincerest congratulations on your wedding,” said Sir Johannes.
“May I inquire about your health?”
“I am feeling better.
Thank you, Sir Johannes.”
“Not at all.
Please be sure to visit the Dukedom of Devue when you have the time.”
“I will.
And send my regards to the duchess.”
“Absolutely, my lady.”
Though he must have witnessed me collapse in a pool of my own blood during the ceremony, Sir Johannes did not mention it.
It was a social convention in the social circles of the nobility, a matter of etiquette.
I, too, merely had to smile, as if it never happened.
After Sir Johannes took his leave, no knight approached.
They were all standing around at a distance, trying to gather the courage to speak with me.
As if there’s anything to be worried about.
I could understand their confusion.
Seria Sterne, who was expected to become the Marquise of Hanneton, had instead married the Archduke of Berk.
Even if the heads of all the noble houses themselves had come racing over land to the dominion of House Berk, it still wouldn’t have been enough.
Perhaps even now they are receiving the news and chaotically making their way here.
Oh well.
Even if they did show up, I had no intention of meeting them.
Sir Johannes was the only Knight Commander among all those noble knights.
That was a gesture indicating the Dukedom of Devue’s considerable respect for me.
The rest are knights whose names I don’t even know.
It even appeared that some Houses had sent their illegitimate sons.
Fearful of crossing the Marquisate of Keliden, they had sent representatives who hadn’t even been knighted.
Though I recognized all these petty slights, I tried to ignore them.
Whether they sent knights or illegitimate sons, there was really no point in retaliation.
Or even open acknowledgment.
What good could come of it?
The lower knights from those noble houses stood helplessly by, uncertain of how to proceed or what to say.
But their failure was not my problem.
There was no need to concern myself with their desperate pleas for attention.
I openly turned my gaze away.
Several knights gave up completely.
They seemed to have decided it was an impossible task to win my favor, and so they opted to become wallflowers instead.
They stood around with glum faces, assuming that their unwillingness to participate would render the ball an unsalvageable disaster.
Fortunately, members of House Berk accounted for a large portion of the guests, and they were there to have a good time.
It was about time for the host to inaugurate the ball with the first dance.
Rouche held his hand out and bowed slightly to me.
I nodded and took his hand, not without a flutter of butterflies in my stomach.
The noblemen and women had gathered around the edges of the empty dance floor.
As Rouche and I made our way there, a commotion arose near the entrance.
Lina had arrived.
“The nerve of her,” one woman whispered.
“She should not have come.”
“Indeed,” said another.
“Surely, Lord Hanneton would not dare to accompany her.”
“Surely not!” announced a third.
Whispers such as these floated all around us.
And the women had speculated correctly.
Lina had not come with Callis.
She had arrived with her tutor, Baron Aison.
Surprisingly, before anything else, Lina boldly approached me.
When our eyes met, her mouth opened slightly, as though she had something she wished to say to me.
But as she reached out her hand, I pretended not to see her.
Rouche leaned down to speak into my ear.
“Did you not rescind her invitation?”
“What reason would I have to do so?”
“Any number of reasons.” Rouche gestured curtly in Lina’s direction.
“So that you would not have to see her like this.”
A few brave knights were now hesitatingly approaching Lina.
Since winning my favor was out of the question, they seemed to have changed their tactics.
If Callis were to arrive, however, he would not hesitate to dance with Lina.
Of that, I had no doubt.
“I don’t really care,” I told Rouche dismissively.
“After all, I’m not the main character.”
“You are not the what?” Though he could not have understood what I was talking about, his question was quite casual.
Maybe that’s what made it easy for me to say what I was really feeling.
“I just feel like an unwanted third wheel between the two of them,” I confessed.
“Do you enjoy belittling yourself?” he asked.
“I don’t know how else I would think of myself.”
“Seria.”
My heart skipped a beat.
It was the first time Rouche Berk had called me by name.
He extended his hand towards me.
“Today, this party is for you, and you alone.”
My thoughts were racing.
“Not for the two of them,” he continued, his eyes locked onto mine.
“Forget about them.”
I lightly bit my bottom lip.
Rouche’s long eyelashes reached towards mine, like arrows for his gaze.
Just then the music began.
It was a quick but graceful dance tune, similar to a minuet.
I was feeling a wild range of emotions, including a deeply melancholic feeling which welled up within me for reasons I couldn’t understand.
With one hand, Rouche gripped me firmly by the waist and led me on.