Chapter 003
Konrad was twenty-two years old, a truly bright and handsome young man. With his shimmering golden hair, his pristine white coat, and those sparkling gray eyes…
Vanessa never thought she had truly loved him, yet they had shared happy times together in the past. But she wondered, how did everything turn out this way?
While she was lost in thought, someone suddenly reached out a hand toward her.
It was a familiar face—Caleb, the second son of Count Matini, a notorious philanderer whose reputation for fleeting flings was just beginning to spread at that very time.
“Pardon me, sir, but I refuse.”
“You won’t have a choice, My Lady. If you don’t dance with me now, I’ll jump off this balcony immediately.”
“……And why should I care?”
Caleb continued to persist, but eventually, his face flushed with embarrassment, and he retreated.
“Vanessa, are you really not going to dance even once? You’ve already turned down four people.”
Mason said this as he handed her a glass of champagne.
“Yes, I have no desire to dance tonight.”
“And will you also refuse the invitation of that man over there?”
“That man” was none other than the one who had been staring toward her the entire time from across the hall.
“Honestly…. I’ve heard rumors about him, but…. how should I put it..…”
Mason hesitated slightly before whispering,
“Gloomy, isn’t he?”
“Hmm…..”
Phileas Cyran. To the young nobles, he was nothing more than a subject for gossip, but in reality, he was never someone to be underestimated.
After the death of the first Empress, the late Emperor married a young foreign noblewoman who was nearly the same age as his own daughter.
At the time, he already had two grown sons, Artur—the current Emperor—and Duke Bastian, so his decision to remarry was a shock to the court.
However, the young Empress passed away after giving birth to a son, Phileas.
After the former Emperor aged and Artur ascended the throne six years ago, he exiled his half-brother Phileas—who was eighteen at the time—to a remote territory in the far northeast called “Aschka.”
Aschka, an ancient fortress built on a towering cliff, was surrounded by harsh tundra* that turned into toxic marshes in the summer.
> *A barren and semi-barren biome characterized by extremely low temperatures and a lack of tree growth.
>
Due to the rugged mountains and dense forests, it was difficult to reach from the capital or other cities.
On top of that, there were the “Pirate Isles,” a cluster of barren islands scattered in the North Sea near the territory.
A decade ago, the leaders of those islands staged a bloody coup, killing the ruling Baron’s family. Since then, the Imperial Court considered those lands as if they no longer existed.
It was a harsh land that no one wanted anyway. Yet, that eighteen-year-old boy was sent there to be its new ruler.
‘He was sent there simply to perish…’
But something happened that no one expected. All the island leaders voluntarily declared their loyalty to him.
Although the Northeast remained a difficult place to live, the submission of those rulers forced the Emperor himself to recognize him as a member of the Imperial family.
‘No one knows how he managed to subdue them all by himself… there must be an interesting story behind it. Still, I just wish he would stop staring at me like that…’
Vanessa drank from her glass nervously. Moments later, the music ended, and the dancers began to disperse. It was then that the Duke rose from his seat.
The sight of him crossing the hall with his black coat fluttering was eye-catching. Gazes turned toward him from everywhere; even the Crown Prince raised his hand to greet him.
‘How optimistic he is, even in such an atmosphere…’
However, Phileas did not turn toward him; instead, he walked straight toward Vanessa.
‘No way…’
“Ah, Your Grace… I don’t think what you’re doing is appropriate…”
She didn’t get a chance to stop him, for he suddenly knelt on one knee before her. The hall buzzed with whispers and astonishment. Phileas raised his gaze toward her and asked calmly,
“Miss Vanessa, isn’t the final dance of a debutante ball very symbolic?”
“Hmm, yes… one could say that.”
Usually, that final dance was a sign of the beginning of a real relationship, just as it had happened to her in her past life.
“Then, may I ask one thing of you?”
As she expected, he intended to ask her to dance. She quickly thought of a polite way to refuse.
‘He is a Duke, so I must decline gracefully without causing embarrassment… but he seems like the type who doesn’t take hints…’
“I apologize, Your Grace, but today I…”
“Do not dance.”
“What?”
…What?
“Do not dance the final dance, Miss Vanessa. In fact, it would be best if you didn’t even leave your seat for the rest of the night.”
Even as he spoke, his face remained hidden in the shadows; she could barely make out the lines of his jaw. She didn’t know how he did it, but it was truly impressive.
“What do you… mean by that? I mean, it’s true I wasn’t planning on dancing anyway, but for you to specifically ask me that tonight?…”
“Yes, I knelt for that reason as well.”
‘How truly astounding.’
Vanessa tried to say something in response, but she lost the ability to speak in the face of his blunt behavior.
“Fine, I won’t dance, so stand up now.”
The Duke rose quietly and stood there, looking down at her.
“……? Aren’t you going?”
“Must I go?”
“Um…… you are completely blocking my view right now.”
“Is there anything worth looking at behind me?”
“……And why? Do you now intend to stop me from even looking at others while they dance?”
“Can I do that?”
‘What on earth……?’
“No. Please return, Duke.”
When Vanessa said that firmly, he unexpectedly turned and obediently went back to his seat, sitting in his previous spot and staring at her with intense focus.
Now, all eyes around her were directed toward her with visible curiosity.
‘I feel like I’ve fallen completely into his trap.’
“Vanessa, are you okay?”
Mason asked her, but as soon as he saw her expression, he smiled faintly.
“That was a stupid question to ask, wasn’t it?”
Vanessa realized that she, too, was smiling without even noticing.
* * *
After that, no one dared to invite Vanessa to dance. Her eyes met Konrad’s a few times, but he didn’t approach her either.
‘That’s right, in my past life, I put in a lot of effort to make sure it was he who approached me.’
All the other girls danced the closing dance with their partners, and so the ball finally ended.
Mason went home first after his father summoned him, and Vanessa left the palace early to avoid the crowds.
The last remaining family carriage was waiting for her, pulled by two horses. Agnes, the last remaining maid in the household, greeted her with a tense expression.
She was an elderly woman past middle age, and in her past life, she had left the manor immediately after Vanessa’s marriage.
“I apologize that you are going alone, My Lady. I should have accompanied you, but I was busy preparing the Master’s dinner…”
“Don’t say such things. It’s cold, let’s get inside quickly.”
Suddenly, Agnes’s face turned pale.
“Ah, My Lady… I think my time has come to leave this world.”
Vanessa turned around in concern, and of course, he was standing there.
“It’s alright, Agnes. Go in first.”
The Duke approached with silent steps.
“……It might seem as if I was following you.”
“Aren’t you?”
“Well…… I shall only do so after asking for your permission.”
“That’s a joke, right?”
The Duke smiled faintly.
“Perhaps. In any case, I only wanted to wish you a peaceful night.”
“……And the same to you, Your Grace.”
Vanessa stood staring at the Duke for a moment.
She knew he was an eccentric person, but his way of dealing with her was truly exaggerated.
Did it make sense for a Duke of the Empire—the Emperor’s own brother—to act with such courtesy toward the daughter of an ordinary nobleman?
“Your Grace… don’t you think you are treating me with a bit too much respect?”
He asked her in surprise,
“And is Miss Vanessa not treating me the same?”
“But the situation is different. You… you are a Duke, after all.”
“And what does that mean?”
Vanessa stammered slightly, unable to respond.
‘What kind of question is that anyway?’
“……I have no idea where this conversation is leading.”
“I mean that it is meaningless. My being a Duke gives me no influence over you, does it?”
“Ah, and do you wish to have influence over me?”
She asked lightly, but his answer came directly.
“You are already doing that to me right now.”
This time, it was Vanessa who was flustered.
“What a strange man you are… you truly say the most peculiar things.”
At that moment, she heard the sound of the departing crowds in the distance. The Duke bowed slightly in farewell and then disappeared into the darkness of the night.
