Chapter 35

It was Gerard.

“……Oh, my. I thought it was strange.”

“What?”

“That you’re with Marquis Dmitri. Now I can roughly connect the dots.”

Gerard muttered to himself for a while, then he immediately reached out to me with a smile.

What?

Don’t tell me…

“Would you dance with me, my lady?”

Once again, I could feel eyes coming from all over the place. It feels like I’m sitting on a cushion filled with thorns.

I smiled because there are a lot of eyes on us. Of course, I was gnawing my teeth inside. What’s wrong with him?

“I’d love to, but I’m not good at dancing,”

Gerard smiled.

“What are you talking about? You look skilled just now. Everybody was only looking at you.”

I guess it was because I was the first dance of the crown prince.

Gerard reached out his hand to me one more time. I reluctantly held onto the tip of his hand, thinking that I might get into trouble if I refuse.

“I really can’t do other dances. Don’t ever blame me if you ever step on you.”

“Of course,”

So I started the second dance.

Contrary to my concerns, my body moved better than I thought.

Compared to the first dance that was perfect with practice, this dance’s movement was very simple, but it was fortunate that my feet did get not tangled.

After a while, the melody changed and I glanced at Gerard.

Faced with me, Gerard whispered playfully.

“Why? Let’s dance a little more when you’re this good.”

“It’s hard.”

“Okay, then.”

Unexpectedly, Gerard listened to me.

We naturally let go of our hands and bowed at each other, and this time I walked straight to the terrace.

The waiting servant immediately opened the door.

As soon as I was about to enter, something flashed through my mind.

Ah-cha-cha, I forgot to bring something to eat.

Well, it was obvious how the people would look at me if I went out there come back here with my hands full of food.

Some people will probably think, “How shameless!”. I wanted to eat but when in Rome, you should do as the Romans do.

The cool air blew past through me as soon as I went out to the terrace. Countless stars were shining in the night sky.

There was a sensibly arranged table nearby. As soon as I sat down in the chair, a sore noise came out.

“Ayaya”

I was serious when I said that it’s hard earlier. Spinning around in these high heels was harder than I thought.

That’s not all. I also have to talk to the other person while dancing, while making sure that I won’t lose my elegance. There was simply no other extreme challenge than this.

After sneakily checking my surroundings, I took off my shoes. I think I’m going to live now.

*knock**knock*

“Excuse me. “

Following the sound of a knock, a maid came into the terrace.

A smile spread across my mouth. As soon as the door closed, I reached out and picked up a bread.

“Hmm~”

I let out a happy exclamation.

It’s still a bit warm and it’s very soft, it seemed to melt in my mouth.

This time I reached out for a snack. I ate the almond cookies while making happy sounds when I suddenly heard the sound of the door opening from behind.

I looked back and saw Ains’ face.

I immediately tried to put down the cookie in my hand and to get up from my seat… But I need to look for my shoes first so I did it in a hurry.

“Is something wrong?”

“I’m here to take a break.”

Ains sat on the other side of me without reserve.

He turned his gaze somewhere. What is he looking at?

I followed the end of his gaze and saw the cookie in my hand.

“Would you like some?”

Of course, I said it out of courtesy. Unexpectedly, however, Ains reached out to the cookie basket.

I thought he’d complain about it being sweet, but surprisingly he ate it well. Well, it can’t be helped.

Soon after, Ains looked at me.

“You did a really good job earlier.”

“That’s a relief.”

All my hard work went by like a flash. I practiced so hard that I could guarantee that I would have won the prize if there was a dance competition.

“By the way, is it alright for you to stay here? There must be a lot of young ladies who want to dance with Your Highness.”

As expected, Ains was in full swing. I saw the ladies looking at Ains from time to time while they were dancing with other partners.

“I don’t care. There are a lot of guys beside me anyway.”

I don’t think so…

But I had nothing more to say because the person directly involved said so. I grabbed another cookie and turned my gaze over the terrace.

There was also a building across the street. Even though it’s late in the evening, lights are on in every window.

Now I see that the garden below the terrace was full of leafy trees. It’ll be prettier during the day, right?

“……”

I smiled happily for a moment but suddenly turned my head to the other side.

“Ah!”

I let out a surprised scream.

“What’s wrong?”

Almost at the same time, Ains went in front of me and looked back, blocking me.

Thanks to him, the view was blocked. A moment later, Ains looked back.

“Are you all right?”

“No, I don’t think I’m gonna be okay.”

I laughed and answered playfully, but in fact, I was really surprised.

The scene I saw a while ago crossed my mind. Beyond the half-drawn curtain stood Roselia looking this way.

At the moment our eyes met, I thought my heart was falling to the ground. If it weren’t for the chair that supported my back, I would have fallen to the floor.

I glanced at the door again. Roselia’s figure was gone.

I’ll…. be okay, right?

However, I was so worried that I decided to get a definite answer from Ains once.

“You’ll keep your promise, right?”

“What promise?”

“You said you’d protect me.”

“Of course I remember. Starting tomorrow, I’ll assign some escort knights to protect you.”

“Escort knights?’

“Yes. They’re skilled, so you don’t have to worry.”

I’m sure he meant to reassure me, but it made me more anxious. Isn’t it really dangerous if he has to assign an escort knight to protect me?

I felt regret for doing something I shouldn’t have done, but the milk is already spilled. I hope Roselia can calm her jealousy quickly.

I felt the wind gradually became colder as I stayed outside. Can I go back now?

“You said I’m free to go whenever I want, right?”

“Yes. Are you going to now?”

“Yes. Ah, by the way, when can I see you next time? I prepared a gift.”

“Gift?”

“Yes, a birthday present.”

But I hurriedly added when I saw a subtle expectation coming up on his face.

“Don’t expect too much.”

“We’ll see.”

Oh, my. Your smile is getting deeper.

….please don’t expect too much.

“Then shall we go back?”

Ains murmured as he rose from his seat.

Are you going too?

I looked at him with a surprised face and opened my eyes widely. Ains grabbed at the terrace railing with one hand, and he quickly went over to the other side.

That’s not all I’m surprised about. After going on the other side, Ains looked and reached out to me.

“Come here.”

“Don’t tell me… are we going to jump?”

“I’m sure you’ll get caught if you go out to the front door. Everyone is very interested in you.”

He’s not wrong about that. Above all, I had a feeling that I would run into Roselia as soon as I returned to the banquet hall.

Normally, I’m willing to try things like these, but now, I’m wearing a marvelous dress, so grand that I could even hide two or three children under my skirt.

“It looks too high for me to jump.”

“It’s because you’re looking down from the top.”

No, it looks really high…

Looking at me hesitating, Ains added.

“Don’t worry. I’ll hold you when we jump.”

“……really?”

“Yes. “

I still hesitated as I glanced back.

The scale tilted slowly to one place*. I better get out this way to avoid the annoyance.

(t/n: meaning she finally decided by weighting her choices)

“Haah. “

I slowly took off my shoes with a grim sigh and threw it down. The weighty shoes landed safely on the grass.

It was my turn now. After collecting the skirt, just enough to spread my legs, I carefully crossed the railing.

It was scary because it was dark under my feet. But I trusted Ains and let go of the hand holding onto the railing.

Mommy!!

I must have closed my eyes before I knew it.

“Good job. “

I opened my eyes to the low voice. Fortunately, it looks like I took the right direction when I jumped, and now, I’m hugging Ains’ shoulders.

Soon my feet touched the hard ground.

“Are you okay?”

“Yes, but I don’t think I can do that again.”

By the way, where are my shoes?

As I looked around, I could see Ains bending his back. The familiar shoes were neatly placed in front of me.

“Thank you. “

I quickly put on my shoes and started walking with Ains who waited for me.

The moon shone in the sky as we walked along the scenic path. Then after a while, I could see a large carriage not too far from where we are.

“-the gift.”

“Yes? “

I was looking out the window in the carriage and turned my head to the side. The moonlight reflected a beautiful shade on Ains’ face.

“Give it to me today, I’ll go to the detached palace first.”

“Yes. You didn’t forget what I said instead, did you?”

“What? “

“Don’t expect too much.”

“I’m even more excited now.”

I told you not to. I don’t know if you’ll be disappointed.

The carriage quickly reached its destination. The maids who came out to greet me, panicked when they saw Ains standing in front of the carriage.

Leaving him behind, I headed to my bedroom.

The present was at the top of the table. I laughed when I saw the carefully packed box.

“Are you really going to give it to the Crown Prince?”

Linda, who helped with the packaging, looked incredulous. It was the same with Chloe who was next to her.

I’m a little nervous, but… I’m sure it’ll be okay. I’m sure he’ll get a lot of expensive and good stuff anyway.

Ains was silently waiting for me when I came out of the box with both hands.

I smiled and pushed the box toward Ains.

“I sincerely wish you a happy birthday. Make sure to go to your bedroom when you open the gift.”

[Rohin, year 26, month xx, day xx,

Today, I finally went to Ains’ birthday party. I’d like to express my feelings in one word.……whoo hooo! AMAZING! 

It was really awesome. The banquet hall was much bigger than I thought, and everyone in attendance was wonderful.

And I danced with Ains. I was worried that I might make a mistake, but fortunately, I did well until the end.

It was all good, but I’m worried about one thing. It’s Roselia. She looks extremely. What should I do?

For the time being, I should be ke….ca….careful. 

Anyway, the ball was really fun. It’s a secret, but Ains was really cool today.]

-Maria’s Diary on the day she attended her first banquet.-