Chapter 25
Leaving the dressing room, Vanerinne caught Sage’s hand.
“Laura, thank you. Thanks to you, I was able to stay composed.”
Startled and tense, Sage relaxed only after seeing the bright smile on Vanerinne’s face. She let out a sigh of relief and bowed politely.
“No, Princess. I only did what I was supposed to do.”
But it seemed it was far too early for her to relax. Still holding Laura’s hand tightly, Vanerinne smiled sweetly—like an angel—and said,
“You don’t seem as sharp-tongued as before. Has your tongue gone stiff?”
“I…”
Though her tone was gentle, the rebuke was razor-sharp, leaving Sage speechless again. Vanerinne’s voice turned cold.
“You should do better—for your child’s future, shouldn’t you?”
“…Of course.”
How long would she have to be dragged around like this? The sparkle faded completely from Laura’s eyes.
Ever since I agreed to this contractual marriage with Cerulean, there hasn’t been a single peaceful day.
Once again drained of all energy, I melted bonelessly against Kalima, like a jellyfish. She burst out laughing.
“Wow, Madam. It’s like your bones have disappeared.”
“Anyone would be like this after facing Princess Vanerinne. I can’t even stand anymore.”
Muttering that, I suddenly remembered something and asked,
“By the way, where were you? I thought you’d come to the dressing room with me to help pick the dress.”
“Haha, I’m not the ideal person to bring to such places. I was guarding the building from outside.”
“Hm.”
If Kalima had been there, I’d have felt reassured. Thinking of that, I remembered Vanerinne dragging around Baroness Sage like a goldfish following its owner.
‘No. I must never become like that.’
Using another person as a shield—what nonsense.
‘If someone has to act crazy, it’ll be me. If someone has to take the blame, it’ll also be me.’
I vowed to be pointlessly righteous—but my determination didn’t last long. Exhaustion soon overtook me, and I let Kalima guide me to wash up and go to bed.
Of course, I woke up early the next morning. Again, I’d forgotten to close the curtains before sleeping.
‘Ugh, from now on, I’ll never open them again.’
My bedroom shall forever remain shrouded in darkness!
The sunlight clawed at my eyes, making it impossible to fall back asleep. My body, though, wouldn’t budge—as heavy as soaked cotton. I lay there with my face buried in the pillow, spacing out.
‘Am I acting in a romance… or a thriller?’
Definitely a thriller. Every time I come home, I’m frozen stiff and covered in goosebumps.
‘Ugh, I really should get up. I can’t fuse with the bed forever.’
I had to check if the article I’d sent yesterday was published properly, too.
‘And I need to rethink my strategy for dealing with the Duchess.’
She was much tougher than I’d anticipated.
Just as I was scratching my head and walking out of the bedroom, a buttery aroma tickled my nose. Soon after came the scent of sausages and colorful fruit juices.
And sitting at the well-prepared table, reading a newspaper, was a handsome man—who greeted me cheerfully.
“Good morning.”
He was a guest I had never invited. Crossing my arms, I asked with a baffled face,
“How did you get in here?”
“Kalima opened the door for me,” Cerulean answered calmly. “I’ve been waiting for you to wake up.”
“I mean… why are you here so early in the morning?”
“To have breakfast together.”
Was there something wrong with my eyes—or my ears?
‘No, wait—why does he sound so natural about this?’
Terrifying, how adaptable humans are.
At first, just looking at Cerulean’s stunning face made me nervous. Now, even an unexpected encounter like this didn’t startle me.
As I rubbed my eyes, Kalima nudged me from behind.
“Come on, Madam, sit down before it gets cold. When the young master brought the food, he was debating whether to wake you or not, but you got up at the perfect time.”
I blinked.
“You brought this yourself, Cerulean?”
Clearly, he was still traumatized by Kalima’s cooking. As I rubbed my half-open eyes with my sleeve, Kalima giggled.
“Oh my, Madam’s still half-asleep! Open your eyes wide. He didn’t just bring breakfast, you know.”
What else could he possibly have brought? A cow?
As I looked around dully, my jaw dropped.
‘What in the world are all these!’
Boxes—huge boxes—stacked up high, covering the sofa and even part of the wall. Awkwardly shrinking my shoulders, I looked around.
“Cerulean, what is all this?”
Even though the house looked utterly chaotic, he spoke in his usual calm tone.
“Let’s eat first, Edel. I brought hibiscus tea—you like that, don’t you?”
“Wait, how do you even know that I like hibiscus? No, that’s not the point! I’m asking what all this stuff is!”
“Soup doesn’t taste good once it cools down. Same goes for hibiscus tea.”
“Stop changing the subject! Who are all these people and what are these boxes?!”
What had they brought into my house while I was sleeping?!
Kalima burst out laughing.
“Oh, come now, it’s nothing to be so shocked about. There’s still a ton of ordered items left too! All custom-made, so they’ll arrive gradually.”
“What? Ordered items?!”
I pressed a hand to my forehead and glared at Cerulean.
“At this rate, our house will explode!”
“That won’t happen.”
“I’m serious! Completely serious!”
Did they think I lived in some grand mansion? There wasn’t even a spare room—Kalima literally had to pitch a tent in the garden!
Kalima just shrugged, cheerful as ever.
“I’ll work hard to organize everything, little Madam.”
I almost said something but stopped myself. The items hadn’t even arrived yet—no point worrying early.
All that surprise made me hungry. Sitting down, I picked up my fork and asked,
“So, what brings you here today?”
“There’s something important,” he said seriously.
“What is it?”
The tension in his face made me lower my fork again and look at his lips expectantly.
“Dance practice,” he said.
“…What?”
“Dance practice.”
I thought I’d misheard.
Shockingly, he wasn’t joking. In this country, during the wedding banquet, the bride and groom must dance a single song together before leaving the hall—it’s tradition!
‘Great. I’m doomed. Dancing?’
I can’t even roll forward properly, for heaven’s sake. I fell out of bed until I was eight years old!
But to have a proper wedding, I had to learn at least one dance—fast.
Our house was too cramped to spin around in, so we went to Duke Luke’s mansion instead.
“Don’t worry,” Cerulean said, “the Duchess is at the palace today.”
That eased my nerves a little.
Inside, I could feel the servants sneaking glances at me.
‘Guess they’re still unsure how to treat me.’
Can’t blame them—I’d feel the same.
We entered a large room with a piano. I expected a pianist to accompany us, but instead, there was a mechanical music box that played tunes when wound up.
‘It’s like a giant music box!’
Fascinated, I looked at it closely but didn’t touch it—better not break it and get exposed as a klutz.
‘I can’t let the enemy know I have two left feet!’
As Cerulean fiddled with the machine, he asked,
“Do you know anything about ballroom dancing?”
Ballroom dancing? Even the word felt foreign. Blushing awkwardly, I laughed.
“The only dance I know is the Patty-Cake Polka… and even that, not very well.”
“Polka?”
“Yes! Didn’t you dance it as a kid? In the town square?”
He tilted his head, looking puzzled. Frustrated, I thumped my chest lightly. How could an Imperial not know this?
So I grabbed my skirt and demonstrated.
“You jump like this—and then like this!”
The Patty-Cake Polka was a simple dance where partners hop side to side four times while holding hands.
Every Imperial knew it—it was the signature dance during the week-long autumn harvest festival!
‘Ah, maybe nobles don’t know it? But surely he’s at least seen it once.’
Unless… he never left the house.
‘Don’t tell me he’s a shut-in?’
I cautiously watched his face. He looked oddly thoughtful—like he’d just remembered something long forgotten.
“Uh… Cerulean?”
I waved a hand in front of his face. He snapped out of it, cleared his throat, and said,
“…Well, we can’t exactly dance the Polka at a wedding. Let’s start with a simple waltz.”
Yeah, fair enough. A polka would be weird. I nodded meekly and followed his instructions.
“Put your hand here, on mine. Pull your body this close—yes, that’s it.”
That’s where the problem started. The waltz required us to be… very close.
‘Ack! If I lower my head even a little, my forehead will bump into his chest!’
I could feel his heartbeat vividly through the thin fabric.
When his palm slid to the back of my shoulder blade, I instinctively stepped back.
“Ah—!”
Our feet tangled, and I almost fell backward—but Cerulean caught me around the waist just in time.
“Ah, sorry.”
Then came something strange. His brows furrowed as if restraining something, and he leaned closer toward me.
‘Uh…?’
Was he about to… kiss me?
My heart pounded wildly, my face burning. I bit my lip and stared straight at his handsome face—
Tap. His perfectly shaped nose brushed my forehead and pulled away.
‘Wait—his nose? Not lips?’
I stared at him, dumbfounded. Cerulean, calm as ever, said,
“Ah, my apologies. You smelled sweet, and I… got distracted.”
I honestly preferred when he used to get flustered. Seeing him so casual made me blurt out,
“…Flirt.”
He raised an eyebrow.
“Why does it sound like that, all of a sudden?”
