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Chapter 47
His words were calm, but my heart dropped with a thud.
Was it because it was something I never expected to hear from Blake?
He had just given me a simple compliment, saying I was pretty—it was clearly an empty, insincere remark—but I suddenly felt like I couldn’t look him directly in the face.
I had been inwardly whining about my legs hurting, but hearing those words seemed to jolt me back to my senses.
“Uh… Ahaha, w-well then… I prepared a brooch to match the dress…”
Just from hearing a single word, ‘pretty,’ I was flustered and made a complete fool of myself, but it was that shocking.
Blake was the cold-hearted male lead who, until the very end of the original novel, never once gave Seira even a single insincere compliment about her being pretty.
So, how could I not get this flustered?
“So… I was wondering if… Your Highness would wear it…”
Blake quietly waited for me to finish my stumbling sentence.
Even I thought what I said was foolish, but he looked at me with a serene face, not a trace of a smile, and then answered.
“Alright.”
He gazed at me endlessly, as if he wanted to forever imprint my current appearance in his eyes, and with that word, he slowly walked towards me.
His attire wasn’t particularly special just because he was attending the ball.
A modest black blazer, a plain white shirt with no decorations, and black trousers—quite simple even for a member of the imperial family.
But Blake’s face was so dazzling that it overshadowed everything else, so perhaps it was all meaningless anyway.
In any case, Blake, who had come before me, silently held out his hand as if to escort me.
I stood there blankly for a moment, wondering if he was asking me to pin the brooch on him since he would be wearing it. He frowned slightly and said.
“Give me your hand and lean on me.”
“Huh?”
My mouth asked the question back, but my hand obediently went to his.
Blake, with his always cold and cool body temperature, took my hand gently and pulled me towards him softly.
I staggered for a moment and leaned on him. Blake clicked his tongue and said.
“Your legs have no strength; can you even walk to the ballroom?”
“…Probably not.”
As I said before, Blake was becoming more and more perceptive like this.
He had started to pick up on things that he would normally pass by indifferently.
To be precise, it started after I fainted following our return from the festival.
“Your Highness, the brooch is here.”
“Since you’re all dressed up now, we shall take our leave!”
My maids, who vanished like ghosts the moment Blake appeared.
I thought they were pretty maids from noble families, but it seems they’ve just become Lily 2 and Lily 3…
Anyway, I picked up the brooch Lily had handed me and fidgeted with it.
I could feel Blake’s gaze on me, but since he was staying still, I carefully pinned the brooch to the right side of his chest.
Perhaps it was because his clothes were so monotonous.
Just by adding the brooch, it gave off a feeling quite similar to my dress.
Blake glanced at the brooch and then shifted his gaze a little lower.
“Aren’t the heels of your shoes too high? Can you walk in them?”
“I’m just feeling a bit low on energy today.”
“Why?”
“Hmm… Maybe because I’ve been studying late for several days, and my body is screaming in protest?”
My answer seemed plausible enough, as Blake made a thoughtful face.
Wondering what he was pondering, I stared blankly at him. He slowly escorted me out of the dressing room and said.
“We won’t stay long at the ball. As you know, Master, I don’t frequently attend such events either.”
“But… what made you decide to attend this time?”
Blake never showed his face at balls or other high-society gatherings.
Moreover, this ball was completely different in significance from the one during the Gold Grain Festival.
It was a ball he didn’t need to attend, so why this time?
Then, Blake answered with a slightly mischievous smile.
“Because I heard it’s the ball that Master has been groaning and working hard for over the past few days.”
“Goodness, is that really the only reason?”
No… Of course, he must be lying.
Look at that face.
Would someone who never once attended a ball show up just for that reason?
If so, was it because he wanted to see me in this dress…?
…Probably not.
Maybe because he’s establishing his position as the Crown Prince faster than in the original story, and he’s now comfortable enough to expand his social network?
As I rolled various hypotheses around in my head, Blake let out a faint sigh.
“It’s true that it’s because of you, Master, so you don’t need to rack your brains over it alone.”
“It’s true that it’s because of me?”
“Master, you’ve been pushed around here and there all this time. If I weren’t at a ball full of nobles, how much more would you get pushed around? So…”
“So… you feel sorry for not being able to pay much attention to me until now?”
“……”
Oh my god, who are you?
You’re not Blake Esca Dominique Hall, are you?!
Are you perhaps an imposter?
I narrowed my eyes and stared at Blake for a long time.
Wait a minute, why are you avoiding my gaze?
Are you perhaps feeling embarrassed right now?
I was at a loss for words at my husband’s adorably absurd behavior.
That day, after we returned from the festival, I fainted as a price for using the necromancer’s power and woke up later.
When I asked what had happened, since there weren’t even proper maids around, I answered that I thought he naturally didn’t care since I’d been neglected for a year. That day!
Blake, who had quietly closed his eyes and suppressed his anger, didn’t say much after that and left.
So I thought it had just passed by vaguely.
I thought sending Scarlet and Bella, the two noble ladies, as my maids was just his way of saying he wanted to reconcile.
And even after that, during meal times, didn’t he just sigh deeply without saying a word?
While I was fiercely racking my brains alone, Blake raised his head, hesitated, and then spoke.
“Back then, it wasn’t intentional.”
“Back then? When? When we fought—I mean, when I fainted and woke up? Or was it that you became quiet whenever you saw me for a few days after that?”
“……”
“Ah! I see, you’re talking about when you got upset alone during the festival!”
My already pale husband’s face grew even paler.
It seems I got it wrong again.
…Hmm, now that I think about it, it seems like I just pointed out, one by one, all the things that I thought had upset him.
By then, we had unknowingly reached near the ballroom. Blake closed his mouth, seemingly with no intention of explaining further.
Please tell me my husband isn’t sulking.
“I wasn’t making fun of you, Your Highness.”
“As expected of my Master, you really know how to wrap me around your finger.”
“Your Highness, you’re the one who calls me Master every day!”
And don’t lie!
When have you ever let me ‘wrap you around my finger’ when I asked?!
Just before our conversation could devolve into bickering, a servant spotted us and announced our entrance to the ball.
“His Imperial Highness the Crown Prince and Her Imperial Highness the Crown Princess are entering!”
Wow…
Being the center of everyone’s attention was still unfamiliar.
Even though I only confirmed that the fresh flowers I had diligently prepared were decorating various spots, I flinched every time I met someone’s gaze.
Without realizing it, I entered the ballroom, trembling.
The ballroom fell silent for a moment, but soon the music started again, and the murmuring of the crowd could be heard.
Noticing that I had reflexively stiffened and was sneaking glances at Blake to gauge his reaction, he spoke in a dissatisfied voice.
“Don’t look at me; look ahead.”
“…Huh, I feel like I’ve heard that somewhere before.”
Where did I hear that…
I scrunched up my face, trying hard to remember. Blake sighed.
Simultaneously, we faced each other and spoke.
“Ah! The wedding!”
“The wedding.”
Wow, Your Highness, we said it at the same time.
I held back the urge to say that and smiled.
If he asks what ‘said it at the same time’ means, I wouldn’t know how to explain it…
Anyway, my memory is pretty good!
But the amazing thing is Blake’s side, isn’t it?
It must be a memory he’d want to forget, yet he remembers everything he said.
As expected, is the male lead just different?
I looked up at Blake with an amazed expression, but he, on the contrary, looked shocked.
What could be displeasing him now?
“You remember all that?”
“Of course. That day was so chaotic, and I thought it was a dream… no, it was like a dream.”
“And?”
“When I looked beside me, the person who would become my husband was too handsome. So I wanted to look more, but…”
“……”
“You told me not to look at you and to look ahead… so I felt unjustly sad…”
“You weren’t upset? Marrying a man you saw for the first time on your wedding day.”
“Not at all… Ah, no. A little. But it was the same for you, Your Highness, wasn’t it?”
I almost answered that, on the contrary, I was glad.
Remember, I am Ariel Recaysha.
Moreover, Ariel had just broken up with her fiancé, whom she was desperately in love with at that time.
I absolutely must not say it was okay!
At my answer, Blake moved his lips several times as if to say something, but then blinked blankly as the music changed right on cue.
Then, slowly extending his hand, he made the suggestion with a lonely expression.
“…Shall we dance? Master.”
