#70. Northern Social Circle (4)
Sasha turned at the sudden apology.
“……”
But the young lady who stopped her said nothing more. She avoided Sasha’s eyes, biting her lips, her face red with shame.
It seemed she was embarrassed to apologize after all the trouble she had caused earlier.
Sasha waited silently.
Then—
“Uh, me too…”
Other young ladies nearby mumbled along.
“I’m sorry… about earlier.”
Sasha looked at them quietly. Their faces, though heavily made-up, still had a youthful air.
Physically, they were younger than Sasha. Mentally… hundreds of years younger.
She thought—if they had harmed someone dear to her, it might be different. But their petty tricks had been aimed at her and hadn’t even worked.
She had the generosity to let it go.
Still, as an adult, it was her role to teach them.
“Feeling jealous of someone is natural, but acting on it is another matter.”
The girls flinched.
“As you’ve seen today, what you do will always come back to you. Kindness comes back as kindness, malice as malice—and sometimes it grows too big to handle. So it’s best to be careful with your words and actions.”
Heads lowered.
“But… admitting your mistake and apologizing was the right thing to do.”
The girls looked up suddenly, their eyes wide like startled rabbits.
“Don’t ever do such things again. Understand?”
“Yes…”
Sasha gave a small smile.
“Then I’ll be going.”
The noble girls watched her walk away, whispering to themselves—
“Cool…”
“…I want to be like her!”
Their jealousy had turned into pure admiration.
Sasha stepped onto the terrace, drawing the curtains for privacy. She leaned on the railing, looking down at the dark garden.
Her face was warm, maybe from the wine she had with dinner. The cold wind cooled her down.
‘This body can’t handle much alcohol.’
She closed her eyes, listening to the faint noise from the hall. The event had gone well despite the trouble earlier.
Then, the terrace door opened.
A young man she didn’t know stepped in. Brown hair, decent-looking, but with a faint presence.
“Ah… A guest is here,” he said, staring at her.
Sasha smiled faintly, meaning leave now. But he stayed.
“I’m sorry, but I was here first,” she said politely, implying he should go.
Instead, he asked, “…May I know your name?”
Sasha frowned slightly.
“Please call me Madam, not Lady.”
Hearing she was married darkened his face, but he didn’t stop.
He rambled about flowers and butterflies—basically saying he didn’t care if she was married.
Sasha was about to cut him off when—
Bang!
The door slammed. Pavel stood there, scowling.
“Are you insane?”
His tone and expression were harsher than Sasha had ever seen.
“If you’re not trying to throw away your life, you wouldn’t dare do something like this.”
Pavel stepped forward quickly, glaring as if ready to kill the man.
“If I had known a rat like you would try to steal what’s mine, I wouldn’t have left my sword behind.”
The man froze. He clearly hadn’t realized Sasha was the Grand Duke’s wife.
“Sorry! I didn’t recognize you, Madam!” he stammered, trying to leave.
But Pavel had no intention of letting him off easily—until Sasha grabbed his wrist.
“Enough,” she said, then coldly told the man,
“We’d like some time alone, so please leave.”
This time, the man understood and quickly fled.
“Pavel,” Sasha asked, “Why are you here?”
“You weren’t around,” he replied.
“You came looking for me?”
Her expression softened. “I was just resting.”
Pavel hesitated, then asked, “Who was that man?”
“Someone I don’t know and won’t see again. You don’t need to worry.”
“…But I want to. If it’s about you, I want to care about every little thing. Is that wrong?”
His eyes held a strange heat. Sasha felt uneasy—she had never thought of Pavel that way.
Flustered, she changed the subject when a commotion from the hall gave her an excuse.
“I should go check,” she said.
Pavel didn’t stop her. He watched through the glass as she quickly calmed two drunken nobles with graceful authority.
The chandelier lights shone late into the night, music never stopping.
But to Pavel, she felt farther away than ever.
The boy who realized love learned jealousy, cunning, and patience—and so, he grew into a man.
