CHAPTER~09

The Plan

As the time for the banquet approached.

Nadia said she would now return to her role as a guest and left for the banquet hall first, leaving Yvonne alone in the room.

After carefully inspecting Yvonne from every angle for the last time, Cindy spoke with confidence.

“Among everyone attending today’s banquet, My Lady will be the prettiest.”

“Really?”

“No, not even that—My Lady will be the prettiest among all the debutantes this year.”

Despite Cindy’s playful praise, Yvonne simply smiled quietly.

Cindy, interpreting that ambiguous smile another way, cautiously asked.

“By any chance… My Lady doesn’t like it? If so, please tell me. I’ll fix whatever I can.”

“Oh, no. I like it. It’s just that this appearance feels a bit unfamiliar. Thank you, Cindy.”

Only then did Cindy smile in relief.

“You’ll get used to it once you see it more.”

Paradoxically, that bright smile made Yvonne feel the maid’s anxiousness while waiting for her response.

It bothered her, but as long as she was not Adel and instead living as ‘Yvonne,’ it was a reality she could not change.

Turning her gaze away from the unchangeable reality, Yvonne followed Cindy’s eyes and looked into the mirror.

Reflected there was a woman wearing a dress that was clearly expensive at a glance and ornate jewelry adorned with sparkling gems.

Throughout the entire process of dressing her, the maids had chattered enviously about how expensive the dress and jewelry were and how much Logan had invested in preparing his only daughter’s debut in society.

But the life they envied was nothing more than a well-written play.

To Yvonne, the extravagant dress and jewelry felt like nothing more than shiny wrapping paper meant to conceal the fake core within.

She would never, ever grow accustomed to this appearance.

Was that the butler arriving? It was about time to go greet the guests.

“I’ll head out now.”

Rising from the vanity, Yvonne approached the door and opened it.

But the person who had come to see her was someone she had not expected at all.

“…Sir Derrick?”

“Good evening, Lady Yvonne. I hope I did not startle you by coming so suddenly.”

Yvonne blinked in brief surprise before carefully replying.

“It would be a lie to say I wasn’t surprised.”

Her polite but honest answer made Derrick laugh broadly, softening his sharp features.

“I know it’s discourteous to visit you like this, but since it’s your first banquet, I thought you might be nervous or unsettled. I came to see if I could help with greeting the guests.”

Of course, it wasn’t as though he had no desire to be the first to see her beauty tonight.

With his smooth speech, her fiancé made it impossible for Yvonne to refuse his kindness.

Although she still barely knew this man she had only met twice, he seemed to be a considerate person.

The problem was that from Yvonne’s position, where she had to deceive him, she couldn’t fully welcome that kindness.

“Shall we go down, then?”

Derrick extended his hand.

Yvonne was about to naturally take it when she suddenly remembered Nadia’s words.

“Then Sir Cedric will also attend today, right? Since it’s his younger brother’s fiancée’s debut.”

She knew it was a foolish wish, but she hoped he wouldn’t come.

She hoped her secret would remain buried.

So she would no longer have any reason to be involved with him, just as the Duke had said.

“My Lady?”

Only then did Yvonne take Derrick’s hand.

The two descended to the hall where the banquet was being held and greeted the guests together.

But Cedric did not come.

Not even by the time the banquet began.

The banquet officially started.

As one of the club members watched Yvonne dancing with Derrick, he suddenly spoke.

“But why is Cedric this late?”

“He must be busy. He’s a money-obsessed lunatic.”

“But marriage should be more important than money right now.”

“Right. Don’t tell me he’s bringing home some foreign princess?”

Though meant as a joke, no one laughed.

Not even the person who said it.

Because the Cedric Glaston they knew was fully capable of something like that.

Cards, horseback riding, chess, hunting.

Whether business or games, he was an overwhelming and ruthless winner in everything.

No one could imagine Cedric losing at anything.

As they continued discussing their absent friend, a commotion suddenly spread near the entrance.

Turning their heads, they saw Cedric entering the hall.

A familiar face, one that somehow never became familiar no matter how many years passed.

His tall frame, a head above most men, and the hair slicked neatly back made his already sharp, well-defined features even more striking.

As he appeared, the gazes watching Yvonne and Derrick dance naturally shifted toward Cedric.

It was too dramatic an entrance for someone late, but with that face and body, it was impossible for him to enter quietly even if he tried.

His friends once again couldn’t suppress their sighs at their annoyingly handsome companion.

“Looks like he’s here to crush all the losers with that face again.”

“But the foreign princess isn’t beside him.”

“Only amateurs flaunt their hidden cards. Like you, Henry.”

They waited until the commotion around Cedric settled somewhat, then grabbed champagne from a passing servant and approached him.

“Our Sir Cedric looks like the main character just by showing up. Everyone’s staring.”

“If he weren’t a businessman, he could’ve made a fortune as a stage actor. Don’t you think?”

Cedric ignored their now-familiar teasing and wet his throat with the champagne they handed him.

His cold blue eyes reflected on the surface of the glass as he looked toward the center of the hall, at the star of the night dancing.

Held in his half-brother’s arms, she lowered her gaze slightly, fully focused on the dance. She seemed to have no awareness of her surroundings.

The bubbling fizz scratched down his throat.

“But Cedric, shouldn’t you still be observing a mourning period? Is it okay for you to attend a banquet already?”

“Well, even though my brother announced his engagement during that same mourning period, I still have to come. For my mother, who is very much alive and watching.”

At that, their eyes all shifted instantly toward Catherine, only to flee in terror when they found her glaring sharply at them.

The conversation naturally drifted from Cedric—the man who entered like the protagonist—to tonight’s true protagonist.

“Anyway, how lucky is Derrick?”

“Why?”

“Lady Leroy, of course. Even though he lived like such a mess, he still gets to marry a beautiful woman. A noble lady at that! Guess money really is the best?”

“I don’t think that’s it. When it comes to money, Sir Cedric is unmatched.”

“Then why did Duke Leroy choose Derrick over Cedric? In skill or appearance, Cedric wins without—”

The friend waving his head in disbelief suddenly cut himself off.

The moment their eyes met, they all had the same realization.

Cedric had one fatal weakness.

He was a commoner by birth.

Even though he had become a proper gentleman by mastering noble etiquette and earning a knighthood from the king, his origins clung to him like a label that would never fall off.

Remembering the flaw they had briefly forgotten, his friends awkwardly cleared their throats and changed the subject.

“Anyway, Cedric, you should hurry and get married. If you wanted to seduce a woman, it would be nothing for you.”

“Yeah. That way you can inherit the company and the family. And we—who invested in your company—can survive.”

Marriage again.

At this point, Cedric suspected his grandfather had secretly bribed these men all at once.

Seeing Cedric’s lackluster reaction, one of the anxious friends looked around and whispered.

“Since we’re talking about it, be honest with us. You have a plan, right?”

At that moment, Derrick looked this way.

Judging from his expression, he had known Cedric had arrived even before the dance finished.

Well, considering how loud Cedric’s entrance was, it would’ve been stranger not to know.

Probably everyone except the woman who’d been focusing entirely on the dance had noticed.

The woman met Cedric’s gaze and flinched in panic, quickly looking away.

Unfortunately, Derrick did not notice her desperation and brought her toward Cedric.

As even the protagonist of the banquet moved, every gaze in the hall naturally followed.

A plan. A plan, huh.

Cedric lowered the glass from his lips and answered lazily.

“I do. A plan.”

His eyes remained fixed on the approaching pair.

“I thought you couldn’t come because you were too busy, Brother.”

Pulling Yvonne beside him, Derrick already looked like a fitting member of the ducal family.

This, too, seemed like part of his younger brother’s cute little scheme.

“Busy or not, I had to come on the day you announce your engagement.”

Cedric answered him calmly, his eyes shifting to Derrick’s fiancée.

She was desperately avoiding his gaze.

She had stared straight at him without blinking when she brazenly said, ‘Nice to meet you,’ pretending not to know him.

And when he confronted her about her secret, she had boldly asked what he wanted from her.

Cedric greeted her first.

“Congratulations on your engagement, Lady Yvonne.”

Yvonne reluctantly accepted the greeting.

“…Thank you for attending, Sir Cedric. I hope you enjoy the banquet.”

“Come to think of it, today is only the second time you two have met, right? Must still be awkward.”

Second time.

Cedric let out a quiet laugh and replied.

“We’ll get used to it soon enough. We’ll be family before long.”

His blue eyes looking at his half-brother and the fiancée were relaxed, as always.