Chapter 53
“Do we really have to attend the banquet? Can’t we just sneak off somewhere quiet together?”
“No way!”
As the Duke leaned in to kiss her once more, Alicia shoved him away roughly.
“Don’t touch me—my makeup will smudge. Ugh, look, it’s already on your lips. Sandy! Come here for a second.”
Alicia tossed a handkerchief at the Duke and sat me down in front of the mirror, carefully touching up my makeup.
Meanwhile, I tried to calm the heat burning on my face.
“If you don’t want the rumor going around that you kissed your fiancée before the banquet even started, keep your hands—and lips—to yourself.”
“But I do want that rumor to spread.”
“Just shut up already.”
Grinding her teeth, Alicia glared at him, and the Duke raised both hands in surrender.
“I won’t do anything to ruin your makeup. Promise.”
“You promise?”
At her warning tone, the Duke rolled his eyes.
“…At least until the banquet is over?”
“Fine. If you want to do it, wait until the banquet ends.”
At her sharp tongue-click, the heat that I’d just managed to suppress flared up again, spreading to my ears.
‘Even after the banquet, I’m still not going to do anything to ruin the makeup…’
I couldn’t exactly explain that out loud, so I simply rubbed my earlobes for no reason, trying to cool them down. Just then, the Duke gently reached out toward the hair ornament made of iris flowers in my hair.
“Is this the accessory Ruid made for you?”
“Yes. He picked the flowers from the garden and enchanted them himself. He said they won’t wilt until the sun rises tomorrow morning.”
“That sounds like something out of a fairytale.”
The Duke let out a soft laugh and leaned in toward me.
I flinched a little, and Alicia widened her eyes, but his goal wasn’t another kiss—it was to smell the flowers.
“It smells… really sweet. Not its natural scent, I think. Did Ruid enchant the fragrance too?”
“I’m not sure.”
But knowing how meticulous and thoughtful Ruid was, I wouldn’t be surprised if he had.
‘I should thank him tomorrow when I bring the cookies I promised.’
“Now, shall we finish things off?”
“Finish?”
I tilted my head, not knowing what he meant. The Duke picked up a box from the table and opened the lid in front of me.
Inside were earrings and a bracelet, crafted into flower shapes using green gemstones.
“You’re not wearing earrings or a bracelet, right? Didn’t notice?”
“No, I didn’t.”
I wasn’t used to wearing jewelry, so I hadn’t even noticed they were missing. As I touched my bare wrist, the Duke smiled.
“I told them to leave your ears and wrists bare on purpose. I wanted to give you a personal gift and put it on you myself. If it weren’t for that damn key, I would’ve made a necklace too.”
I immediately understood what he meant by “personal gift.”
I had already told him that once I left the Duke’s estate, I would leave behind all the jewels he’d purchased for this event.
This gift, however, was separate from all that—he wanted me to take it with me when I left.
“You worked so hard preparing for this banquet. It might have been difficult for you at times, but I had a lot of fun practicing the dance with you.”
He said he wanted to leave something behind, so that we could remember this as a happy memory.
After a moment’s hesitation, I nodded.
“Thank you. I’ll treasure it.”
“You better. I’m going to check if you still have it later.”
He chuckled and carefully fastened the earrings onto my ears, then clasped the bracelet around my wrist.
“By the way, what kind of gemstone is this?”
“Peridot.”
“Oh…! Isn’t that the one that’s said to be found in stars that fell to the earth?”
“Yeah. When I told Countess Cale I was giving it to my fiancée, she immediately offered a piece from her collection.”
The Duke laughed playfully, but for some reason, there was a slightly chilly undertone to his voice.
“If any other man tries to woo you, tell him he better bring down a star from the sky. If he can’t even pass the preliminaries, I won’t even consider him a rival. Got it?”
“Of course. Even if another man brings me the sun and the moon, I won’t be swayed.”
“That’s a promise.”
With a satisfied smile, the Duke held out his hand to me.
“Shall we go now?”
Without hesitation, I took his hand.
“Yes! Let’s go enjoy the banquet!”
Adrian, who had trained his body every day, and Lady Vanessa, who had spent most of her life bedridden, had quite a stark size difference.
Maybe that’s why Vanessa looked so secure in his arms as they danced.
The way they gazed into each other’s eyes was so sincere that I found myself smiling without realizing it. That was when I heard a rather loud comment coming from right next to me.
“I wanted to dance that dance, too…”
I glanced sideways. The Duke was leaning his chin on the large armrest of his chair, sighing heavily.
I leaned toward him and whispered,
“Today’s about announcing their marriage, after all. And they look good together, don’t you think? Vanessa also looks like she’s doing better.”
At first, the couple had tried to keep their expressions composed, but at some point, they began smiling at each other naturally.
It was the kind of smile that made the viewer’s lips curve up involuntarily. The Duke, too, must have seen their expressions.
“…I let her have it because my sister’s not in good health. Otherwise, no way I’d have given it up.”
“Then make sure to dance it next time, Your Grace.”
At that, his eyes lit up.
“Really? That’s a promise?”
He held out his pinky finger to me. I hooked mine around his and nodded.
“Yes. I promise.”
…Though, I wasn’t sure there would be a next banquet.
Clap clap clap.
The dance came to an end. Vanessa and Sir Adrian bowed to each other, and the crowd responded with enthusiastic applause.
I joined in with a strong round of claps and stood up.
Now it was our turn.
“Come on, Airi.”
The Duke stood and extended his hand to me with elegant formality.
“We need to let everyone know it’s not just those two who are engaged—we are too.”
“Yes!”
The dance we were about to perform wasn’t quite as intimate as the “Blooming Fever,” but it still included enough skinship to make it slightly embarrassing for two people who weren’t in a relationship.
‘I can’t mess this up.’
Gripping my dress with my fingertips, I bent my knees and curtsied to the Duke.
He placed one hand supportively at my waist while I rested mine lightly on his shoulder. Our remaining hands linked together naturally.
The music began.
I looked only at the Duke’s face and slowly began to move my feet.
Watching Airi dance with Elkiers, the retainers—who had only heard of her through rumors—thought to themselves:
‘They… suit each other more than I expected?’
When she had sent out invitations as the lady of House Iris, announcing that she was hosting the banquet, many of them were worried.
‘She’s a commoner. She’s probably never even been to a proper banquet. What does she know about hosting one?’
Some people had come just out of curiosity to see what a banquet hosted by a commoner might look like.
But perhaps because they’d imagined the absolute worst, what they saw instead was quite surprising.
From the elegantly decorated banquet hall, styled perfectly according to the Duke family’s traditions, to the respectful demeanor of the servants—everything was impeccable.
‘Ah… I heard the Dowager Duchess helped her out. I guess she did a lot to make sure the girl wouldn’t be embarrassed for being a commoner.’
‘The Dowager has run this household for decades. If someone like her supports the girl, she can play hostess just fine, even if she’s a commoner.’
The real reason the Dowager Duchess had gone all-in on this banquet was because it marked Vanessa’s debut into high society, and her formal announcement of marriage.
But the retainers didn’t care about the Dowager’s true motivations—they focused only on what was in front of them.
And the conclusion they reached was:
‘The Dowager Duchess must support this marriage too.’
That was all they needed to believe.
