Chapter 002
“……It is His Imperial Highness, Friedrich Cyran, the legitimate Crown Prince of the Empire!”
Thundering applause erupted before Vanessa could even gather her thoughts. The grand, luxurious doors swung open, and a young man entered with a radiant smile, his skin beautifully bronzed by the sun.
Friedrich Cyran—the ill-fated Crown Prince who would fall from his horse and die eight years from now.
He truly was a flawless heir. Beloved, a natural diplomat, and respected by nobles and commoners alike.
No one could have imagined that his end would be so simple and absurd.
When the doors opened again, Vanessa thought she would see Konrad once more.
‘How ironic, to see the face I last saw before my death so soon again.’
Wait, was it really like that?
When she thought back, on that night of her debutante ball, Konrad was the last to enter the hall. But the man who followed the Crown Prince wasn’t Konrad, but rather…
“Presenting the Duke of the East, Lord of the Eastern Coasts and the Pirate Isles, His Grace, Duke Phileas Cyran!”
As soon as a black figure emerged from the doorway, silence swept through the entire hall.
‘That’s right, I remember now. Back then, when I thought no one could be gloomier than I was that night, this man appeared.’
In truth, very little was known about the Duke. Everything said about him was mere rumor and hearsay.
“Is that the one they talk about? His Imperial Majesty’s half-brother?”
A noble girl whispered with wide eyes to her neighbor, who craned her neck to look toward him.
“But really, just as they say, how gloomy he looks. They say only a few have ever seen his face.”
“Perhaps he is hideous. Or has a gruesome scar on his face…”
“What a pity, and he is still so young.”
‘Indeed, it’s only natural for them to whisper like that.’
After all, who attends their first official ball wearing a black cloak with a hood that completely covers their head?
The Duke brushed aside the servants who rushed toward him with a weary gesture, then moved on and vanished into the crowd.
Even in her past life, she had never spoken with him privately.
Strangely enough, despite that, he had sent a sudden marriage proposal to the House of Lang—on the very night before her engagement to Konrad was announced.
In it, he wrote that he had fallen in love at first sight. He added that he realized a personal visit was the proper etiquette, but circumstances did not allow it… typical flowery language.
She had thought it was a cruel joke back then, but now it seemed he simply didn’t possess a sense of humor at all.
Shortly after, the soft melodies of violins began, signaling the start of the ball’s dances.
Since she had learned to dance, Vanessa had never once refused an invitation to the first dance. In her original debut, she had danced with every minister and nobleman, laughing and talking until midnight, finally ending the night with a dance with the Prince himself.
‘Yes… perhaps that night was the last time I truly enjoyed myself.’
“My Lady.”
A young man in an officer’s uniform approached her, his face flushed with embarrassment. She remembered this scene exactly as it was.
He extended a trembling hand without even introducing himself.
“I have been watching you for a while. Would you allow me the honor of the first dance?”
Back then, she had answered with a graceful smile. This time, she answered as she had once before:
“No, I have danced quite enough already.”
“Excuse me? But…”
“Go quickly, there are plenty of beautiful ladies other than me, aren’t there?”
She left the stunned young man behind and headed through a curtain into a narrow corridor. She felt a slight dizziness. It wasn’t surprising after all the blood she had seen before her death.
‘I remember there’s a door leading to the balcony near here.’
When she opened the balcony door and stepped out… hah, just as expected. Returning in time? How ridiculous.
Her strength failed her, and she sank to the ground. For there, standing in the moonlight, was the Grim Reaper himself.
* * *
‘Perhaps this is just a pre-death hallucination.’
“……Are you hurt?”
He asked, looking down at her. His voice was deep and calm, far from the voice of a reaper.
‘Seriously, why am I reliving this day of all days? If I had to, I’d rather recall my happiest memories… if I even have any.’
Vanessa felt as if her heart had dropped. However, she feigned composure and smiled up at him.
“Ah, Your Grace, I am fine. I was just a bit startled. Perhaps because the moonlight made you look like the Grim Reaper… how foolish of me, it was just an illusion.”
Phileas Cyran. The young Duke who was rumored to be ugly or disfigured. He stood against the moon, so she couldn’t see his features clearly.
Suddenly, she remembered the marriage proposal he had sent her. The letter that had arrived in her past life without them ever being acquainted.
She had thought it was a joke. He had said he loved her at first sight.
‘But this man? Really? Is he the one who loved me?’
Vanessa tried to stand, bracing herself against the floor. But she couldn’t move easily due to her high heels and the tightness of the dress clinging to her body.
“Um… excuse me, I can’t take off these shoes. May I borrow your arm for a moment?”
The Duke extended his hand in silence.
As Vanessa grasped the sleeve of his black suit to stand, the garden lights brightened as if they had been waiting for that exact moment. Magical lights twinkled, and their glow reflected on Vanessa’s face.
She felt a contraction in the Duke’s arm, as if tension had suddenly seized his muscles. She lowered her gaze and saw his fist, covered in a black glove, clenched tightly.
“……?”
She raised her head again. He was also staring down at her. The light was behind him.
The Duke was so tall and large-framed that his shadow completely blocked her view. She saw nothing but black—pure blackness.
In that moment, a question occurred to Vanessa. If his marriage proposal hadn’t been a joke, and if he really had been drawn to her at first sight, then perhaps in this life too, he…
“Your Grace.”
“My name is Phileas.”
He said it somewhat hastily.
‘What is this now? Does he want me to call him by his name?’
Vanessa felt a slight tension in the air. Unable to resist her curiosity, she asked him,
“Could it be… that you have fallen in love with me just now?”
She thought he would laugh or get angry. But he did neither. Instead, he answered in a deep, calm voice,
“I was actually… thinking exactly that right now.”
At that moment, the balcony door opened with a light knock. A young servant appeared—the same one the Duke had dismissed earlier.
“Ah, Your Grace! I have been looking everywhere for you! All the high circles are requesting an audience with you immediately… uh, Your Grace?”
The Duke did not move an inch. Vanessa couldn’t see his expression clearly because of the backlighting, but she felt him staring at her steadily.
“Tell me your name.”
Vanessa felt embarrassed on behalf of the servant who seemed to be in an awkward position, so she answered,
“Vanessa Lang.”
“I see.”
“Well… you may leave me now, it’s alright.”
The Duke trembled slightly and let out a sound that was neither a laugh nor a sigh.
‘Just as I thought.’
It seemed his marriage proposal had indeed been serious. And this man had undoubtedly fallen in love with Vanessa once again.
Vanessa felt something akin to a sweet sense of guilt. As if she were peeking into the depths of his inner thoughts.
‘But when…? We didn’t exchange a single word before my death in my past life.’
“By the way, Miss Vanessa. You might find this amusing.”
“Yes?”
“Many people make the same mistake as you when they see me. They think the Grim Reaper has come to take them.”
Vanessa laughed softly, but she realized he wasn’t joking.
“No wonder. It is a debutante ball in the spring, after all. I thought I was the only one wearing a mourning dress tonight.”
“You say a mourning dress?”
“Yes?”
“I mean… those who think that are usually only those standing on the threshold of death.”
Then the servant coughed shyly.
“Your Grace, I really think you must go now…”
Nevertheless, the Duke did not turn to him. He then let go of Vanessa’s hand, which he had been supporting.
“I shall take my leave then. It is still cold, so… I hope you do not remain standing here for long, Miss Vanessa.”
“I will, thank you.”
As she stood alone on the quiet balcony, Vanessa finally realized the truth.
Only a few minutes ago, she had been the victim of a gruesome murder. And she had returned once again to that cursed night.
Perhaps this was the afterlife. Perhaps it was time to pay the price for the life she had spent running away.
“The Duke of Flores, His Highness Prince Konrad Cyran!”
Applause erupted from inside the hall.
‘…Fine, I might as well go see his loathsome face.’
As she left the balcony, Vanessa made a vow to herself. At least for tonight, she would not dance with anyone.
