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~Chapter 22~
Melina Srun was trying to hurt Aveline with her words.
Melina didn’t stop—she smirked and kept going.
“I’m really curious. Where do you even get a dress like that?”
“My mother designed it,” Aveline replied.
“I was just asking because it’s so pretty!”
Melina almost insulted the Countess Herolds in front of everyone, so she quickly changed her words.
“Ahem. And what about that strange shawl? Isn’t it out of style by now? Looks old-fashioned.”
“My father gave it to my mother for her first birthday after their wedding.”
“I-I meant it doesn’t suit you! You!”
Melina nearly stepped on another landmine and started breathing hard.
Then she thought of a new thing to pick on and grinned wickedly.
“Your shoes made noise coming down the stairs, right? Don’t you even have proper shoes?”
“They’re my mother’s shoes from before she got married,” Aveline said calmly.
“Argh!”
No matter what Melina picked on, she just ended up embarrassing herself.
Aveline didn’t stop there.
“And it’s true—I don’t have any proper shoes because, thanks to someone, I haven’t gone out since the debutante.”
The more they talked, the worse Melina looked.
“Fine! I don’t want to talk anymore!”
“But you’re the one who kept talking to me,” Aveline answered.
“Ugh!”
“M-my daughter!”
Melina spun around and ran off, her mother chasing after her.
Ares frowned as he watched them go.
“So it was her?”
“What?”
“The person you asked about earlier.”
“Yeah.”
“Crazy.”
Ares messed up his pink hair and looked at Aveline, tired.
“I almost feel sorry.”
“You don’t need to.”
How could Ares know that a girl who liked him would bully his twin?
“I guess being popular is hard,” Ares said, surprising Aveline.
“Why does my popularity hurt other people? I guess it’s like the thorns on a rose.”
“Stop it…”
“My poor sister, always suffering because her brother is so great.”
Aveline rolled her eyes and wished Logan were here so she could talk about something else, but Ares was the only one she knew at the banquet.
Just then, someone spoke to her.
“Lady Herolds.”
Aveline turned quickly, hoping for a savior.
“Marquis Nor,” Ares said, greeting the man first.
The man was Marquis Nor, the Emperor’s right hand and head of the Emperor’s faction. He was also the father of Baron Berta, whom Aveline had once met.
Aveline quickly bowed, but the marquis waved it off.
“No need to be so formal. You look like a different person when you’re dressed up,” Marquis Nor said, his yellow eyes fixed on Aveline.
“About what happened with my son—I apologize. I didn’t expect him to want to go to a monastery.”
Luckily, Marquis Nor didn’t know what really happened. Even if it looked like Aveline had been rejected, she was just glad she wouldn’t have to see Baron Berta again.
“It’s fine,” Aveline replied.
“Thank you. And where is the Count?”
“My father couldn’t come—he’s not well,” Ares answered.
“Is it serious?”
“No, just overwork.”
“He has been busy lately. Tell him I hope he recovers soon.”
After the marquis left, Aveline let out a breath. It was the first time she’d talked to him up close.
“That was lucky,” Ares said beside her.
“What was?”
“He came over on purpose.”
“On purpose?”
Ares looked serious, almost moved.
“After all the commotion, he made sure everyone saw he talked to you. It’s his way of showing you’re an invited guest here,” Ares explained.
Aveline tilted her head, not understanding.
“Since you reappeared after four years and got into another fight, people will gossip. But Marquis Nor wanted to show you have his support, so people won’t criticize you too much.”
“So he was protecting me?” Aveline asked.
“Exactly. In the empire, except for the Duke of Ribes, no one is closer to the Emperor than Marquis Nor. By talking to you in public, he basically declared he’s on your side.”
“Oh…”
“Now, you’re officially back in society,” Ares said.
If Ares was right, the marquis had done her a big favor.
Aveline wondered, Do people really help girls who didn’t work out with their sons? In all the books she read, they usually just held grudges. Maybe it’s all about character.
Someone approached again, as if to prove Ares’s words.
“Excuse me, Lady Herolds, is it true your mother designed your dress?”
“Ah, yes…”
The noblewoman’s eyes sparkled, and soon other ladies gathered around.
“No wonder it’s so elegant!”
“No one can match Lady Lilliana’s taste!”
They admired Aveline’s dress, each praising it.
“Could I use this design for my daughter’s debutante next year?”
“Uh… Well…”
Aveline hesitated, but Ares smoothly jumped in.
“Lady Smithson, right? We’ll ask my mother and let you know.”
“You have a good memory! Thank you!”
“Could I ask too?”
“Me as well!”
All the noblewomen raised their hands at once.
Ares smiled and handled them easily.
When the ladies left, he sighed.
“I’m surprised,” Aveline said. “You’re really good with people.”
Ares laughed softly.
“You think my good reputation is just luck?”
He’d learned how to deal with people by doing it himself.
Aveline realized how different they were; at home, she’d never noticed it.
Ares noticed her mood.
“You’ll get better. You’re Lady Lilliana’s daughter, after all.”
Suddenly, loud music stopped and a heavy door opened.
“His Majesty, the only sun of the Ristoria Empire, is entering!” the attendant announced.
The noisy hall went silent.
“The light of our future, the Crown Prince, and… ahem, the Duke of Ribes!” came the next announcement.
Aveline noticed the attendant mumbled when calling the Duke.
Titles like that were only for the royal family, and Duke Ribes, while the Emperor’s nephew, was actually from the Empress’s family line.
Normally, he wouldn’t enter with the Crown Prince, but the Emperor insisted on bringing him.
Many people wondered why the Emperor kept Duke Ribes close, even though he led a rival faction. Some guessed the Emperor favored him because he lost both his aunt (the Empress) and his parents in tragic accidents.
The Empress, mother of the Crown Prince and Duke Ribes’s aunt, died twenty years ago—poisoned tea. The killer was never caught, and some whispered the Emperor stalled the investigation.
But the rumors died quickly. Even though their marriage was arranged, the Emperor and Empress truly loved each other. After her death, the Emperor never remarried or took a concubine.
So, people guessed the Emperor cared so much for Duke Ribes because he looked so much like the late Empress.
Then the Emperor spoke.
“Everyone, raise your heads.”
His sharp red eyes stood out against his pale blond hair, instantly commanding the room.
