CH 2.47

At this rate, they couldn’t go back to the banquet hall.

Keira attended the ball because she wanted to have fun, but instead, she was stabbed in the bak by the man she liked.

It was sad and annoying. If no one was there to see her, she would have cried until she felt better.

Arthur: “I’ll get your shoes! Please wait a moment in the lounge.”

He then disappeared.

Reina: “The lounge is over there. I’ll guide you.”

Keira: “Okay.”

Reina: “Ah, by the way, I have to get you new stockings…”

Keira’s stockings were covered in dirt, most likely because she took off her shoes.

Reina glanced at Joseph standing next to her. She couldn’t exactly tell him to get women’s stockings.

Reina: “Vice Captain, please take her with you. I’ll go fetch stockings from the maids.”

Keira: “No, hold on.”

Reina: “I’ll be right back! Please rest.”

She then ran off.

Since Arthur left to get her shoes and Reina looked for stockings, Joseph was left alone with the crying lady.

Joseph, who has always been straightforward, had no idea how to comfort her. He couldn’t say anything as they walked to the lounge.

Her Ladyship kept crying, and it was driving him mad that he couldn’t think of anything to say.

Joseph: “Would you like some water?”

Keira: “No.”

Her voice cracked as if her throat were dry.

Joseph quietly poured a glass of water.

Joseph: “To soothe your throat.”

Keira: “…Okay.”

Joseph: “Would you like to go back to the manor?”

Keira: “Absolutely not!”

Joseph thought Her Ladyship would tell him to prepare the carriage immediately, but Keira was unusually tough.

Keira: “I’ll enjoy everything, play to my heart’s content, and then go back.”

She declared so confidently despite having no idea on how to enjoy herself at the ball. She just didn’t want to go home depressed over a piece of trash.

She would definitely have fun and go home with a smile on her face.

Joseph: “I… Your Ladyship.”

Keira: “Hmm?”

Joseph: “There are a lot of men out there. Don’t be sad.”

“…”

Half the world consisted of men. There were as much men as there were stars visible in the sky.

But… weren’t there very few men whose beauty could compete with that of a statue?

‘I tried my best…’

Her teeth hurt from clenching it too much. She should have beaten him a few more times instead of just throwing him away.

By the time Arthur and Reina returned with the shoes and stockings, Keira was holding back tears of regret and anger.

Reina: “I’ll assist you in changing, so men, please get out.”

At Reina’s command, the two men were thrown into the hallway.

Keira was in a daze as she changed her clothes, and soon, she walked out of the lounge.

Fortunately, her eyes were no longer swollen and red.

She took the lead and said.

Keira: “Let’s go back to the banquet hall.”

She said it in a strong and confident voice… but why did she resemble an angry chick?

Joseph followed her, shaking off the blasphemous imagination from his head.

Joseph: “I’ll escort you.”

Keira: “Huh?”

Joseph: “I’m your partner, am I not?”

Oh, yes, Keira thought.

‘You can’t miss coming to a party and socializing with your partner.’

She would definitely do everything she could at the banquet before going home.

The Marquis’ wife welcomed Keira back to the banquet hall.

Marchioness: “I didn’t see you for a while, so I thought you had left.”

Keira: “Not at all. The party is just starting.”

The Marchioness brightened at what she said.

Marchioness: “Of course, of course. It’s just starting.”

She reached out to grab Keira’s arm, but Keira was faster.

Keira walked arm-in-arm with her partner toward the dance hall.

The Marchioness’ hand hovered in the air after losing its place to go.

Marchioness: “Ah, hey, wait a minute, Your Ladyship…”

The small voice couldn’t reach Keira.

She walked into the dance hall, unintentionally ignoring the Marchioness.

to her was her partner, Joseph.

Before the music began, she put her hand on Joseph’s arm and said.

Keira: “It’s been a while since I last danced, so I might accidentally step on your foot.”

Joseph: “That’s fine.”

Keira: “Are you sure it’s fine?”

Joseph: “Yes, would it be more painful than being beaten by Your Ladyship’s wooden sword during sparring?”

“…”

Although Joseph conveyed the facts without a second thought, Keira – who once let out her frustrations against him in that way – couldn’t help but feel a stab of guilt.

‘I have to do better in the future.’

With that firm determination, Keira let the music sway her body.

She looked up to see Joseph staring at her.

‘You’re handsome.’

Even though it’s a difficult angle to look good at.

Black hair neatly slicked back, and features that went well with such a blunt expression.

She hadn’t noticed before because she’d been treating him as nothing but a subordinate, but he was quite handsome.

It made her feel even more sorry to have treated him so harshly in the past.

‘I should really do better.’

Meanwhile, the members of Group A and Group B were watching the lady and the Vice Captain dance together.

“Aren’t their steps very… combative? Was that dance really like that?”

“No way. I guess she’s not feeling well yet.”

“But I’m glad she finally found out.”

It might not feel good right now, but it was better than finding out too late.

The light waltz music ended shortly after.

And so Keira’s first love ended in vain.

Sein, the Grand Duke’s aide, presented a stack of paper in front of Ludwig.

Ludwig: “What is this?”

Sein: ” You asked me to investigate Her Ladyship’s whereabouts, didn’t you?”

The moment Ludwig tried to ask when he had ordered Sein to investigate his daughter’s behavior, he remembered.

When Keira suddenly said she would attend a party, her ordered him to find out what was going on.

Even though he already knew the reason before the results came up.

He stared at the report with an unpleasant gaze.

The aide shook at the cold look.

Sein: “I-if I made a mistake…”

Ludwig: “You didn’t. Leave it behind.”

Ludwig picked up the paper his subordinate had left behind.

His daughter’s whereabouts on the night of the party were recorded in detail.

From meeting her maternal grandfather, the Marquis of Edinburgh, to beating up a nobleman in the garden, and returning home unexpectedly early.

He was wondering who seduced Keira, who didn’t even seem to be in a relationship, and…

‘So, it was the youngest son of the Castro family.’

It was impossible for Ludwig to have heard about the prodigal son of the social world.

He was unaware of his reputation, but he was glad that things didn’t end well with Keira.

A faint smile hung around his mouth. The esteemed Lady of the Grand Dukedom and the son of an insignificant noble. It was an unsuitable combination.

Seeing that she had ended it herself, there seemed to be no positive progress between the two.

There was a slight smile around Ludwig’s mouth.

Ludwig: “Nothing happened.”

When he muttered like that, the aide looked surprised.

Sein: “The report said Her Ladyship met with the Marquis of Edinburgh on the balcony. Would it be okay to let it slide? Given our last conversation, I thought Your Grace would be asking me to explore this in more detail.”

“…”

Indeed, it was as he said. If he hadn’t been distracted, he would have certainly asked for that.

Ludwig: “…it would have been weird if a granddaughter bumped into her grandfather at a party and ignored him.”

Sein: “That’s… you’re right.”

Sein looked at him with a strange look, but soon reluctantly returned to his place.

In the eyes of others, Ludwig might appear as a father who cared more about political neutrality than the news of his daughter’s love affair.

In fact, he had intended for it to look like that.

However…

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