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Chapter 8
“If it’s not Aria, then who could possibly stand by my side? Born as Princess Maynard, she has no choice but to marry me. That’s Aria’s destiny. A young lady of lesser status could never even dream of this position!”
Daniel was stunned into silence, unable to laugh or cry at the sheer audacity of Leonit’s words, which carried the confidence of someone absolutely certain that Aria would be by his side.
After all, Leonit was a friend Daniel could get along with reasonably well—but nothing more than that.
Had it not been for his parents telling him to get along with the prince, he probably wouldn’t have spent much time with him at all.
“By the way, we’re holding a ball soon. Do you want to come?”
“No. I don’t want to. Too bothersome.”
“Oh, come on! You have to come for Aria to come too.”
“Why not just invite Aria? Unlike you, I have plenty of things I need to take care of.”
“That would be too obvious. The book says that such behavior makes her feel burdened.”
Sigh…
Hearing that he didn’t even know that much, Daniel let out a long sigh and glared at Leonit, who was beaming with pride.
In the end, after over an hour of Leonit begging him to come to the ball, Daniel, with a heavy heart, had no choice but to accept the invitation.
“Where are you going?”
“Home.”
“But class isn’t over yet.”
Leonit blinked.
Is he really that clueless? He didn’t even notice that the teacher who piled mountains of homework had already left for somewhere else.
“It’s fine. I’ll go first then. Riella will be waiting.”
“Hey! Wait! Tell Aria I said hi!”
Ignoring Leonit clinging to his back, Daniel stepped onto the teleportation circle without hesitation.
In a flash that nearly blinded him, Daniel arrived at the Maynard estate in the blink of an eye.
“Oh my, young master. Are you done with class already?”
A maid cleaning around the teleportation circle inside the mansion greeted him calmly, without surprise.
“Yes. Where’s Riella?”
“She should be in the garden. She said she’d go there after visiting the library.”
“Thanks.”
“Of course. It’s my duty.”
Not wanting to appear disheveled in front of a lady, Daniel fixed his clothes disrupted by the teleportation magic and headed straight for the garden.
‘Aria shouldn’t be done with class yet…’
His steps were light as if floating, humming happily at the precious opportunity to have Riella all to himself.
“An invitation?”
I asked, looking at the letter in Aria’s hand.
Even though class shouldn’t have ended yet, Aria stayed by my side. Well, sometimes she might finish class early.
“Yes. He’s planning to hold a ball to welcome spring.”
“Who?”
“Prince Leonit.”
Ah… seems more like he’s holding it to see you than for spring. Though you are as beautiful as spring!
I kept my mouth shut. This was a great opportunity—finally seeing my favorite dressed up and dancing in person!
“That sounds fun. Enjoy it!”
“You have to come with me too, Riella.”
“Me too?”
Aria nodded as if it was obvious when I pointed at myself in confusion.
I hadn’t even thought about going out since being sick for months.
“You’ve gotten much better recently. And it says on the invitation that those invited must come with a partner. So of course I’m going with you.”
Usually, that would mean a sibling…
But Aria’s words, acting as if it was only natural for me to go with her, made me happy.
Maybe it was just my imagination, but it felt like she was saying I was closer than a sibling.
Not wanting to miss such a rare chance, I grabbed Aria’s hand and nodded.
“Mm, alright. Let’s go together!”
As we held hands and jumped with excitement, the door suddenly opened—Daniel appeared.
“Riella!”
He held the same letter Aria had received. He, too, had been invited by Leonit.
“So Daniel was invited too? We got one as well!”
“…We got one too?”
Daniel’s gaze shifted to Aria at my question. Aria smirked at him and held my hand tightly, as if saying, “You don’t have Riella, do you?”
‘Calm down, you two. I’m just an ordinary person.’
I scratched my head, embarrassed by the fierce energy war between the two.
“Riella’s going with me. You can go with Prince Leonit.”
“You go with Prince Leonit. Don’t you even know why this ball is being held?”
“Oh my, people would think I asked for this. Watch your words. The letter didn’t say we needed to find a partner of the opposite gender.”
Why are you suddenly so articulate? You’re only ten…! Could it be she’s a genius?
“….”
Ah, Daniel lost.
He looked at me with slightly wounded eyes, then slammed the door shut.
I felt like I might have done something wrong, but I understood his feelings perfectly.
When you can’t go with the person you want, you have to find another partner—and that’s a hassle.
‘Being loved by everyone is exhausting too!’
Feeling full of joy, I held Aria’s hand as we discussed what to wear to the ball.
It was time to enjoy the happiness I had now, leaving the original story behind.
A few days later, Aria and I wore matching outfits to attend Leonit’s ball.
Seeing the scene I had only imagined come to life in front of me filled me with indescribable emotions.
“What is happening right now?”
A gruff voice interrupted.
At the end of my gaze, Leonit, hair slicked back, glared at me with dissatisfaction.
“Greetings, little sun.”
“Uh, yes. Nice to see you too. Now, explain in detail what’s going on here. If your answer displeases me, there will be consequences.”
Leonit’s tone was slightly off, as if he was aware of other nobles watching. His gaze was sharp, like a hero aiming for a dragon’s throat.
It seemed to bother him that I appeared as Aria’s partner instead of him.
But I had no intention of giving Aria up.
Who would give up spending a day with their favorite so easily?
Sure, we spent all day together at the Maynard mansion, but this was different.
My precious, dressed even more beautifully, was going to dance with me—there was no way I’d give that up!
It was Aria who mediated the staring contest between Leonit and me.
“I have found a partner as stated on the invitation from Prince Leonit. Is there a problem?”
Good job, my little one!
“Ugh…”
Leonit’s eyes reddened, likely frustrated by Aria’s coldness toward him—but he quickly composed himself, aware of the surrounding eyes.
“Alright. Have a good time. I’ll rest now.”
Though the ball had just begun, Leonit’s face looked utterly miserable.
Seeing him openly sulking, I worried a little.
What should I do…?
I didn’t want Aria to get involved with Leonit, but I also didn’t want to hurt him since he hadn’t turned into a villain yet.
I remembered the foods Leonit liked and planned to ask his bodyguard to deliver them.
“Is this for me?”
Aria asked brightly as she saw me filling a plate. When I shook my head, her smile vanished.
“Then?”
“For Prince Leonit. I thought eating something might lift his spirits.”
“Do you like Prince Leonit, Riella?”
The sudden question caught me off guard. There seemed to be a big misunderstanding.
“No!”
I answered belatedly, but Aria had already pouted. Daniel did the same, lingering nearby.
“They say you two are in love, so….”
No, that’s about Aria and Nox, not me! My head ached, wondering how to fix this misunderstanding.
“I’ll explain everything soon, so wait a little.”
“Riella’s closest to me, right?”
“Yes, that’s right. So just wait a bit.”
Though my answer lacked sincerity, it seemed enough for Aria.
Leaving her proudly showing off to Daniel, I handed the plate, full of foods I liked, to Leonit’s bodyguard.
“Please deliver this to Prince Leonit.”
“What’s your name?”
“Riella Hound.”
I spoke clearly, and the guard smiled softly before taking the plate.
“I’ll deliver it properly. He’ll surely be pleased.”
I hoped so.
Well, if Leonit fell for me because of this, it would be quite a disaster—but that’s impossible, so it should be fine.
After wandering around for a while, I saw the bodyguard coming out with the empty plate, but Leonit was nowhere in sight.
It seemed the emotional hurt from Aria was bigger than he could recover from so quickly.
“Dance with me, Riella!”
Aria grabbed my hand with a troubled expression.
“Mm, okay.”
But Aria’s expression darkened when she saw my hesitant smile.
“Liar.”
“No, I’m not.”
“Riella, you’re a liar!”
“I’m not!”
“Then why are you worrying about Prince Leonit? I’m your partner! You like him more than me, don’t you?”
Her eyes glistened as if she were about to cry. A strange mix of guilt for making my beloved cry and satisfaction swelled within me.
No, I’m not the only one who likes this!
