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Chapter : 35
The reason Lian had told her not to release the hawks was…
‘It’s because he felt sorry for the butterflies being overworked.’
Lian was acquainted with the Crown Prince.
Not just as a casual acquaintance, but close enough that he could ask for a favor.
So after arriving in the empire, he must have visited the palace quietly, in one way or another.
‘Which means he must have already known about the existence of these hawks.’
It was clear that Lian felt pity when he saw the hawks being trained to hunt someone.
Siena had also witnessed the hawks confined in cramped cages.
It was truly a harsh environment.
‘To cram such large hawks into such tiny spaces…’
Lian must have felt sorry for that too.
“Never let this hawk go.”
That’s why he spoke to her in such a sharp tone.
“That makes sense…”
Honestly, she found it surprising.
‘I never imagined Lian would care about animals.’
He always rambled about crazy things every day, like remarriage and nonsense.
But it turned out he was secretly warm-hearted.
“He has many unexpected sides,” Siena murmured, still unaware that she was thinking about Lian more and more.
One of the knights spoke up.
“Milady, your cup is empty. Shall I pour more cocoa?”
“No! That’s fine.”
“Milady is far too thin.”
“You are certainly underweight. You should have at least three more cups…”
“No, really, I’m fine. I’m already full.”
Siena firmly refused with a smiling face.
‘If I drink any more, this dress will burst.’
She had to maintain a state where she could still keep her stomach under control.
She hadn’t come to the ball to impress anyone today.
No one would know she was wearing an expensive dress smuggled from Valenry’s atelier.
But Lian alone would notice.
“It suits our darling in everything, but this dress is especially beautiful.”
“……”
“Maybe it’s because it’s gold, my favorite color. It catches the eye.”
Siena felt a little thrill.
Well, it was obvious he’d say in that cheesy voice, ‘Of course my darling looks beautiful.’
Thirty minutes later, Siena finally escaped the cabin.
“Please have more cocoa.”
“I’m really full. I could skip dinner.”
“That is unacceptable. Do not skip a meal.”
“Milady must eat more. Only then will you leave your underweight state behind.”
It was hard to escape the knights, who treated her like a chick.
‘Horrible knights forcing me to drink cocoa.’
Their appearance and behavior were so mismatched it gave her cognitive dissonance.
Anyway, Siena managed to enter the ballroom.
“Wow…”
The scene was lavish.
Noble guests from across the empire, tables filled with luxurious food.
And among the groups of nobles were the “male leads.”
“Amazing.”
Siena observed the dazzling male leads even from afar.
‘The one on the terrace is Duke Karline Leversel.’
At the central table, conversing with other nobles, was Duke Euclid Eron.
‘The one half-lidded and indifferent is Duke Trosian Politeum Roxherd…’
Of course, it wasn’t the first time Siena had seen these male leads.
She had seen them at last year’s palace ball.
But back then, unaware of her possession of another consciousness, she felt nothing.
‘Now it feels completely different.’
The male leads exuded a visual aura that screamed, “I’m the male lead! I’m the star tonight!”
“Truly million-seller male leads,” she muttered.
Then her gaze caught the staff moving around the ballroom.
She immediately snapped back to focus.
‘Right, I came here to manipulate romance.’
She had briefly forgotten after chasing after the runaway butterfly and being forced to drink cocoa by the rough knights.
Soon, she spotted her staff.
“Oh…”
She couldn’t help but admire them at first sight.
The disguises of Finn, Heaven, and Isadora were flawless.
‘But who am I?’
I’m the director of Willow Counseling Center.
Being Siena, she immediately recognized her staff.
Isadora then spotted Siena wandering through the ballroom.
She relayed a message to Finn in Doradora.
“The Center Director has arrived.”
“Okay, I’ll go.”
Finn pretended to offer drinks to the nobles while stealthily approaching Siena.
A little later, they met.
“Finn, have you been doing well?”
Siena picked up a drink from the tray and whispered ventriloquially.
Finn muttered.
“Center Director, why are you so late?”
“Huh?”
“We all thought you wouldn’t come. We worried the operation was ruined.”
“Oh, well…”
She recalled the earlier cabin incident.
‘Hmm… it’s not really something I need to hide.’
Better to explain later. The butterfly incident wasn’t urgent.
“I just had some personal matters.”
“Anyway, I’m glad you made it.”
Finn shrugged and nodded to the left.
“Marquis Veloster is already here.”
Siena’s gaze instantly sharpened.
‘Johan…!’
Why?
Because she was anticipating today’s Johan.
‘Johan is always incredibly handsome, but today he’ll be even more so!’
She scanned the ballroom.
“That’s Duke Geminen, over there is Duke Terimus…”
Even with her Johan radar, it took time to locate him.
‘There are too many sparkling male leads surrounded by nobles.’
Finally, she caught sight of silver hair.
Siena chuckled bitterly.
“Good grief.”
Today, Johan was absurdly handsome.
Humans get annoyed when eating food that tastes outrageously good.
That was exactly the feeling Siena had now.
‘So handsome it’s infuriating.’
Also, Johan, unlike the dukes, was smiling and engaging with the nobles.
‘The only male lead with the #kind keyword in a field of #tsundere guys.’
As expected… my favorite is perfect.
Once again, Siena seemed to forget she was supposed to be detaching from him.
“Alright, Finn. I’ll try to exchange signals with the Marquis first.”
“Yes, be careful not to get noticed.”
Finn pressed his fake mustache on his philtrum.
“Oh, right. Lady Bringer hasn’t arrived yet.”
“Okay.”
He drifted away pretending to serve drinks.
Siena took a deep breath.
“Phew…”
Before approaching Johan, this step was necessary.
‘There are too many people around Johan…’
…If she approached recklessly, she might lose her breath in front of his stunning appearance.
Today, Johan was wickedly handsome.
After preparing herself, Siena finally took a step forward.
“Hmm hmm.”
Arriving near Johan, she glanced at the desserts on the table.
She came close but pretended to be uninterested in him.
As the distance closed, she could hear his voice.
“To be honest, we were very surprised. We didn’t expect Marquis Veloster to attend the ball.”
“Exactly. What brings you here tonight?”
“Haha, I realized I haven’t interacted much with others. It’s not that I avoid these events, but I can see how it might appear that way to others.”
Johan liked people, but he didn’t enjoy large balls.
He disliked shallow interactions with too many people.
So he participated only in small clubs like book clubs or riding clubs, engaging meaningfully with members.
The nobles knew nothing.
They were simply delighted to see Johan at the ball.
‘They’re all staring at Johan like predators eyeing prey.’
Parents with daughters and young ladies of marriageable age.
Because Johan was the ideal groom in every sense.
Their thoughts were:
‘Which lady will capture the heart of Marquis Veloster tonight?’
Siena murmured.
“Who else but Violet Bringer…”
When Violet entered, Johan would undoubtedly be stunned by her.
‘I’m already annoyed.’
Why couldn’t she possess Violet?
At that moment:
“Uh…”
Johan, talking with the nobles, suddenly noticed Siena.
He stared blankly at her for a moment.
As if time had stopped.
Siena tilted her head slightly.
‘Huh…? Why is he acting like that?’
Is there something on my face?
A moment later, Johan recovered his composure.
He narrowed his eyes slightly and added with his lips:
“Center Director, you are beautiful.”
