Chapter 17

Chapter 17

As soon as she showed up to the office of the Grand Duke, the butler and the lieutenant said, “Finally, it’s a break! It’s been six hours!’ he shouted.

She guessed he had worked constantly today.

“Grandpa!”

“Danae.”

“I’m here to ask you something.”

“Tell me.”

“Are you going to the capital during the social season?”

“Do you want to go?”

The question that was asked was returned with another question. When Danae asked something, the Grand Duke often tried to confirm her intentions instead of answering.

“Well, I’ve never experienced it before, so I want to try it.”

A party of nobles dressed up and dancing. She’d only seen it in books and never actually experienced it.  In addition, the Founding Festival was the largest festival of the empire, and there were many splendid events in the capital of that time.

“Then we’ll go.”

Originally, she was assuming that he would deny her request.

“Uh… can you decide so easily?”

“But you said you wanted to go.”

“If there’s anything else, we don’t have to…”

“We’re going to the capital.”

The Grand Duke cut off her words and said firmly. Now that they’d come to this conclusion, she wasn’t going to be the one to change his mind

‘And one more question left.’

Having solved one problem, it was time to deal with another.

“Grandpa, I actually want to ask you a favor.”

The Grand Duke stared at her as if to tell him.

“Well, I want to learn the sword.”

“Sword?”

Perhaps it was a request he didn’t like, but the brow of the Grand Duke was furrowed.

“Is it because Haydin, your escort, is not reliable?”

“No! Haydin’s an excellent knight. I saw the knights fight today, and they looked interesting.”

“Handling swords is dangerous.”

“But it could be helpful in a real emergency.”

“Hmm.”

The last wall of resistance seemed to have fallen so she pushed forward without missing this opportunity.

“So you can put in a good teacher. Like, Haydin?

She glanced at Haydin, slightly tugging the Grand Duke’s arm. Haydin opened his eyes wide as if he was embarrassed by the sudden pointing.

“Me? I’m not good enough to teach anyone.”

“But the only knight I’m close to is Haydin.”

“There’s Theon, isn’t there?”

“Do you think Theon can teach people properly?”

“Thats…”

He’ll probably spend all his time bragging about himself. Haydin couldn’t deny it and swallowed his words.

“Do you really want to learn?”The Grand Duke, who was listening to Haydin and Danae, sighed and asked.

He said he would accept it because it was what she wanted, but he seemed unwilling.  She quickly nodded, wondering if the Grand Duke’s mind would change.

“Yes, I’ll learn carefully!”

“No real swords. Use only a wooden sword.”

“That’s enough!”

“No, my lord…”

Haydin opened his mouth with discontent but sighed when he saw the eyes of the Grand Duke, who seemed to say, ‘Are you going to disobey me?’

It seemed to me that he had no right to say no.

“Ha… I’ll teach you well…”

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“You’re going to the capital during the social season. Thanks to you, the mansion is busy.”

“What? We still have four months left before the social season?”

But why is the mansion already busy?

“The social season is also a period of friendship and celebration, but it is also a period of fierce competition for the pride of each family. They have to prepare clothes and everything according to current fashions, so the servants are bound to be busy.”

“Ugh. I thought it would be as simple as leaving the Grand Duchy?”

‘Isn’t everyone cursing at me for receiving more work because of my request?’

Jaydin shrugged and shook his head, perhaps reading her thoughts.

“It’s also a servant’s pleasure. Especially if they are from Asinov family, I’m sure they have a lot to show off.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes, and it’s been seven years since the Asinov’s have taken part in social events, so I’m sure everyone’s excited after a long time.”

“7 years!”

“Your Excellency hasn’t been there for a while, saying it’s a distraction to all the work he needs to do. Everyone will be noisy for a while with the appearance of a precious person.”

She could tell from his lifestyle that the Grand Duke is a person who doesn’t enjoy parties, but she didn’t expect him to not have attended for 7 years.

“You’re busy and here I am talking about something useless?”

He could have said she was being bothersome and clicked his tongue.

Or.

“If he was really busy, he wouldn’t have gone no matter what anyone said. That’s why he said he’d go.”

“Still.”

“You made a good excuse. Your Excellency is the one who doesn’t rest without excuses.”

“I’m glad to hear that, but…”

Okay. The butlers and lieutenants of the Grand Duke enjoyed the news of attending the Founding Festival Party, so that’s all.

“Then, shall we take today’s class about the Foundation Festival?”

“I know that a tournament is held in the capital during the founding festival, and a party hosted by the imperial family also occurs.”

“Do you know what you’re supposed to do at the imperial party?”

“I just have to dress up, socialize and dance, right?

“So, do you know how to dance?”

She had to dance! She totally forgot!’ Of course, Danae had thought about it, but she never thought she would have to do it.

“I understand even if I don’t hear the answer. You can’t dance.”

The knowledge Danae learned from her master in her previous life was usually survival techniques, swordsmanship or magic. When she was reborn, she worked at an inn and learned how to remove all kinds of stains and  how to make the floor sparkle. No one had taught her how to dance gracefully!

“Uh… Can you learn that dance in a matter of months?”

“It’s possible, but it will be very difficult. Noblemen usually learn ballroom dancing from the age of five or six.”

“What if I don’t dance at the party”

“The young lady is the highest-ranking aristocrat. Do you not want to dance?”

“I don’t know.”

“Then we’ll have to work hard from now on. You won’t be able to perfectly master it, but the man will be leading anyway so you just have to follow. No noble person in the Empire can point a finger at you for your poor dancing.”

“Power is good.”

Jaydin smiled and closed the book. “Then you need a good dance teacher.”

“Isn’t Lord Jaydin teaching me how to dance?”

“There’s a better teacher than me, so I don’t dare teach you.”

“A better teacher?”

“I mean, Master Cissé.”

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​‘You mean to tell me the third brother is a good dancer?’

Well, Cissé and dancing. When she thought about it, it did seem like it would suit him.

‘If he kept his mouth shut, he would be the epitome of an elegant nobleman.’

She left Marina and Haydin and went out to find her third brother.

‘I’m going to look ridiculous when I first start dancing. But, I’ll show you how well I can dance after I get used to it .’

But Cissé’s room was empty and he was neither in the gardens or his private study.

“Where the hell did he go?”

She asked the people she encountered on the way if they knew where Cissé was, but no one saw him.

‘Hmm, it can’t be helped.’

She closed her eyes and pulled up the mana in her body. It was in order to sharply raise the 5 senses and search for another person’s position. Initially, it was supposed to be used to locate enemy forces, but it could also be used in situations like this. As soon as she used her mana, Danae felt the presence of a cool feeling that was unique to wizards. There was only one person who had this kind of energy in the mansion. Having identified his location, Danae quickly moved to where Cissé was . As Danae walked along the path, she realized she was gradually entering an unfamiliar area.

‘I know most of the territory of the house…’

Looking around, Danae felt a darker and dreary energy than anywhere else.

‘What are you doing?’

With questions running through her head, she continued to focus on the location of her third brother. The closer she got, the more dreary the surroundings seemed to be. As Danae recklessly continued on, a tightly closed door blocked her way.

‘What should I do? It seems Cissé is beyond this door.’

However, the door was tightly locked, so no matter how much she tried to turn the door, it remained closed. She could open it by magic, but if Cissé asks how she opened the door, there was no plausible explanation.

Then there was only one way.

‘I’ll just wait, I guess. He shouldn’t plan on staying in this gloomy place for too long.’

She sat down by the door waiting for the Cissé to come out. However, even after a long time, Cissé didn’t show any signs of coming out.

‘No, what the hell are you doing inside?’

She couldn’t think straight because she was so frustrated.

‘Let’s  just open the door!’

When asked how she opened the door, she would say, “Oh, no. The door was already open”.

As soon as she made up her mind and put her hand on the doorknob, the door that had been firmly closed opened.