Her secretly going outside was kept as a secret between her and Verina.
After that, Edith devoted herself even more to rehabilitation and became able to walk longer than before.
“I-I did it!”
She pushed herself so relentlessly that she finally became able to stand and walk on her own two feet. Before, she could only walk for one or two minutes at most, but now she could manage even an hour.
Of course, if she overexerted herself, the strength would quickly leave her legs and she would collapse again, but considering she had lain like a corpse for twelve years, it was an incredibly fast recovery.
“Congratulations, my Lady!”
Because of that, the ducal mansion fell into an uproar.
They looked as if they were about to raise a toast in celebration.
Especially the family members and Verina, who had watched closely how much Edith had suffered, even shed tears.
“This calls for a party.”
“The founding day celebration is soon, what party are you talking about?”
“That’s that, and this is this!”
If Edith said just one word, they looked ready to hold a party immediately.
Of course, she had no intention of doing that at all.
Was it just her imagination, or were the people of the Ducal House becoming more and more excessive as the days passed?
Anyway, she had no desire to attract attention by holding a party at a time like this.
Besides, a rehabilitation celebration party—no matter how well they dressed it up—still didn’t feel right.
Edith casually asked, wanting to change the subject. It was also something she had genuinely been worried about.
“I somehow managed to walk, but I do not know how to dance.”
“Dance?”
In romance fantasy novels, young ladies learned social dances and danced at parties.
If that was the case, she should at least know some basic steps, but she had never learned to dance and had always been terribly uncoordinated, so she was worried.
But at that moment, her family’s reaction was strange, and Edith suddenly froze.
“There will be no dance?”
Could it be that people here didn’t dance?
“No, there will.”
Unlike her worries, they answered readily, but the Duke, the Duchess, and her brothers all looked at each other with a subtle hostility in their eyes.
Edith blinked, wondering what was going on.
“What is it?”
“More importantly, will you be able to dance?”
“Umm, I am not confident, but I would like to try.”
“I see… so that’s how it is…”
Ellos said with a sunken voice.
Thinking something must be wrong, Edith rolled her trembling eyes.
At that moment, Ellos spoke.
“Then shall I be your partner?”
But before he could even finish speaking, the Duke pushed Ellos’s face aside and stepped forward himself.
“Wouldn’t your dad be better as your partner?”
“What are you saying, Father? You should be dancing with Mother. Edith, I’m here too.”
This time, it was Theo.
His face, smiling gently in a way unlike him, looked affectionate.
“You don’t even like those kinds of events normally. You’re going to attend?”
“Of course I am.”
“Hah.”
The Duke let out a hollow laugh and locked eyes with Theo, and Ellos squeezed back between them, appealing himself again.
In an instant, the three of them began bickering, and Edith looked at the Duchess with a dazed expression.
“They want to be your partner at the 500th Founding Day celebration.”
“…Is that important?”
“Of course. They can enter holding your hand.”
What was so important about holding hands?
“Most of all, it is also your debutante.”
“Ah…”
Thinking about it that way, it did seem like a very important role. She had heard that debutantes often entered with a family member as their partner.
“Who do people usually enter with?”
“Most enter holding their father’s hand.”
“Then…”
“But your brothers don’t seem like they will yield at all.”
The Duchess smiled softly, as if she found the situation simply amusing.
“Hmm, should I participate in that war too?”
“What?”
At the same time, six pairs of eyes turned toward the Duchess all at once. Their looks clearly said that if she interfered, they wouldn’t let her off easily, whether she was their wife or mother.
But the Duchess only laughed, completely unbothered.
***
Was that when it started, the fierce battle of nerves?
Even Theo, who had seemed like he would have no interest in such things at all, was participating very passionately.
The flood of gifts pouring in almost every day was proof of that.
It started with the claim that she had no dress to wear to the event.
“Again?”
“I thought it would look very pretty with the outfit you will wear to the event, so I bought it.”
Last time he had custom-made a dress, and today it was a pair of lace-decorated gloves. It looked like they had been deliberately matched as a set with the previous dress.
From that day on, dresses, jewelry that would go well with the dresses, and small accessories increased one by one, every single day.
“Do you not like it?”
“N-No. It is pretty, but…”
It really was very pretty, but—
“Um, Brother Theo already gave me something similar.”
“What?”
The Duke’s eyes narrowed sharply.
It seemed his pride was hurt that he was later than Theo.
“What time is it, and he already came by?”
“H-He came before I went to sleep yesterday.”
The Duke’s arm holding the gloves trembled.
“Then this?”
“I already received that too. Brother Ellos also came by earlier. Umm, Mother too.”
“Hah! Then I am last?”
It had now become a competition over who gave their gift first.
The Duke trembled in frustration.
“Next time, I absolutely won’t be late, Edith.”
“No. You must be busy…”
“Even if I’m busy, my daughter comes first! What are you saying!”
The Duke looked ready to appear first thing tomorrow. He was already burning with determination, saying he would choose tomorrow’s gift.
“Just wait!”
As dresses gifted this way piled up day after day, Edith found herself troubled. She had to wear something to the event, but she felt sorry not wearing what each person had given her.
When she asked the Duchess what she should wear, the only answer she got was that she would have to get a new one made anyway, so she should wear those casually.
After that, the Duchess also brought several dresses as gifts. She said Edith needed to try on many to find styles and preferences that suited her.
In any case, Edith had far fewer dresses than other nobles, and once her family realized that, the number of gifts increased every day.
What was funny was that they were all thinking the same thing.
“Where should I put this?”
Verina calmly organized the received items, stacking them neatly.
“…Put them away carefully.”
“Yes.”
Thanks to that, she had even been given a separate dressing room, and the empty space that once held nothing was gradually filling up.
***
“Again?”
Now that there were no more dresses left to buy, they had begun purchasing jewelry like mad.
Was the debutante partner really that important?
But that question was only possible because Edith didn’t understand anything about it.
Of course, a debutante was important, but in other noble families, they didn’t fight this fiercely over who would be the partner.
“Is it normally this serious?”
“…Hmm.”
Unsure what answer to give, Verina hesitated.
The real issue was probably that the family members had all turned into complete fools for her.
Verina had longed for Edith to wake up too, but she had never imagined they would dote on her to this extent. Especially the young masters of this House, who were the most unexpected.
But soon she thought it was only natural, because Edith was simply too lovable.
After all, she herself was now one of the fools completely smitten with Edith.
“What should I do?”
After receiving this many gifts, how was she supposed to choose just one person?
“Well… maybe you should just close your eyes and pick someone…”
“I guess so.”
Edith was slightly exhausted by the overwhelming affection and flood of gifts, all given in hopes of being chosen as her partner.
Ellos had even applied for leave from the Imperial Palace just to be selected as her partner. The Duke had done the same. Their work had been pushed aside.
“Edith.”
“Eek.”
She had now reached the point where even just hearing her name being called startled her.
Ellos, who had come earlier and left, was already back again, standing there holding yet another armful of new gifts.
“Why are you so surprised?”
“What is that this time?”
“A ruby jewelry set.”
This couldn’t go on.
The ducal estate was enormous, so no matter how many gifts she received, it would never fill up completely, but she refused to accept such indiscriminate gifts any longer.
***
The day of the event.
With a fluttering heart, Edith entered alongside the Capanteni family.
Her partner was Ellos.
“Hehe.”
Faced with the relentless flood of gifts, Edith had made a decision.
She chose to settle it with a simple game, and the winner had been Ellos.
Thanks to that, Ellos’s lips were stretched all the way to his ears, while the Duke and Theo, the losers, looked utterly disillusioned with the world.
“Are you that happy?”
They even picked a pointless fight.
“I am happy enough to die.”
Of course, it had no effect.
“I wish you would just drop dead like that…”
Though he muttered it quietly so Edith wouldn’t hear, it seemed that Ellos too couldn’t hear anything right now.
“Oh, it’s time to enter.”
They had already reached the entrance of the banquet hall, and Edith tensed her legs firmly.
“…Phew.”
“Are you nervous?”
Holding her hand, Ellos asked gently as he watched her exhale.
“A little.”
“It’s alright. Your brother is right beside you.”
“…Yes.”
Standing before everyone made her nervous, but she was also nervous at the thought of seeing Luzbel.
Would he already be inside?
At that moment, the attendant guarding the entrance announced the arrival of House Capanteni.
