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CHAPTER 08
The Viscount Hardy and Countess Meyer deliberately kept several steps behind Erna as she walked down the red carpet. At the herald’s announcement, they turned toward the entrance in bewilderment.
Neither of them had expected another guest to arrive.
Least of all Prince Biern.
Instinctively, they stepped aside.
From the entrance of the ballroom to the dais where the King and Queen sat, the crimson carpet now belonged solely to the Grand Duke.
Or so they believed—
Until they noticed the troublesome girl they had momentarily forgotten.
“Oh, heavens!”
Brenda Hardy’s face drained of color as she clutched her husband’s arm.
“Look at her!”
Frozen by panic, Erna stood motionless in the very middle of the carpet, directly blocking the prince’s path.
To reach her, they would have to run across the carpet before Prince Biern did.
Neither option promised anything but disaster.
Meanwhile, the distance between the prince and the terrified girl grew shorter with every measured step.
“You planned this, didn’t you?”
Brenda rounded on Countess Meyer in disbelief.
“You did this on purpose!”
Victoria Meyer frowned thoughtfully for a brief moment before her usual composure returned.
“Well…”
A faint smile curved her lips.
“It can hardly get any worse from here.”
“What did you say?”
Brenda stared at her in horror.
Humiliating themselves before the kingdom’s nobility was bad enough.
Now they were about to disgrace themselves in front of the royal family as well, and yet this woman seemed almost amused by it.
For one terrifying moment, Brenda wondered if Countess Meyer had accepted Erna as her protégée simply to ruin her.
Just then, Prince Biern stopped.
Frowning slightly, he stood before the trembling girl.
Erna slowly turned toward the shadow that had fallen over her.
* * *
What exactly is this?
Biern tilted his head slightly as he looked down at the young woman standing in his way.
At first, he hadn’t paid her much attention.
Naturally, he had assumed she would step aside before he reached her.
Then she would disappear into the crowd, becoming just another anonymous face among hundreds.
Instead…
She remained rooted to the spot.
Whatever her intentions, she had succeeded in forcing him to acknowledge her presence.
His gaze lowered.
The young woman was staring straight at him.
Yet there was no recognition in those eyes.
They looked strangely vacant, as though she couldn’t truly see him.
Every slow blink made her brilliant blue eyes appear even more transparent.
An unusually vivid shade of blue.
Biern raised an eyebrow.
He lifted his gaze beyond her.
His father and mother watched from the dais, both wearing expressions of obvious bewilderment.
Biern…
He could almost hear the weary sigh hidden behind their faces.
His brother Leonit looked particularly displeased.
His mother’s expression was even worse.
Well…
At least his late arrival had ensured that this debutante presentation wasn’t unbearably dull.
A faint smile tugged at the corners of his lips.
His eyes drifted lazily upward to the painted ceiling and the glittering crystal chandeliers suspended beneath it.
No matter how much he searched his memory, he couldn’t recall ever doing anything to deserve whatever spectacle this was.
For a brief moment, he wondered whether the girl had mistaken him for Leonit.
He dismissed the thought almost immediately.
The day Leonit became entangled in a scandal involving women would be the day paradise descended upon the earth.
Lowering his gaze once more, Biern silently wished the mysterious young woman would simply move aside.
She didn’t.
She only stood there, trembling like a frightened fawn cornered by hunters.
Enough.
He stepped forward.
The girl, who had been struggling for breath, suddenly swayed.
With a quiet sigh, Biern caught her before she collapsed.
The last thing he needed was tomorrow’s rumor claiming the Grand Duke had frightened a debutante into fainting inside the royal palace.
“Breathe.”
His voice was low and calm.
The girl slowly lifted her head.
Only then did she seem to notice him.
Her eyes widened in shock.
Against her bloodless face, the tears gathering in her reddened eyes seemed almost painfully vivid.
“Breathe.”
She repeated the unfamiliar word softly, almost like a child trying to memorize it.
Even her lips were as crimson as those tears.
Biern couldn’t help letting out a short laugh.
“Breathe.”
He spoke more gently this time.
“Slowly.”
She nodded.
Drawing in one shaky breath after another, she gradually steadied herself.
Though her body continued trembling, the danger of her fainting had passed.
“Breathe…”
she whispered again.
Her breathing slowly fell into rhythm.
Her tiny white shoulders rose and fell with every careful breath.
They looked impossibly delicate.
Once she had recovered enough to stand on her own, she hurriedly stepped away from him.
For the first time, genuine emotion crossed her face.
Embarrassment.
Alarm.
Almost…
Fear.
It hardly seemed like the reaction of someone who had just caused such a commotion.
“Your Highness, I offer my deepest apologies.”
A middle-aged woman hurried over to support the trembling girl.
Biern spared her only a passing glance before looking back at the young woman.
She was desperately trying to cover her bare shoulders and low neckline with trembling hands.
Ironically, the futile effort only drew more attention to them.
Dressed like that…
Yet pretending to be an innocent young lady.
A crooked smile appeared on Biern’s lips.
Color slowly returned to the girl’s pale face until it glowed a deep crimson.
When she cautiously looked up and met his eyes, she startled so badly she took another step backward.
Even the tips of her ears had turned scarlet.
“I’m terribly sorry, Your Highness.”
Another elegantly dressed lady hurried over.
“Miss Hardy was overwhelmed by nerves and acted without thinking.”
The moment Biern recognized the woman, everything suddenly made sense.
Victoria Meyer.
The most famous matchmaker in all of Lechen.
* * *
By the end of the evening, no one could deny who had become the true star of the ball.
Erna Hardy.
Her astonishingly late debut.
Her breathtaking beauty.
Her unconventional entrance.
And, above all…
Her encounter with Prince Biern.
No other young lady had become the subject of conversation quite like she had.
“It really is just like Countess Meyer.”
One lady laughed behind her fan.
“She even used the Grand Duke himself to make that girl unforgettable.”
“It had to be planned.”
“Otherwise, how could she possibly have known Prince Biern would arrive late?”
“If it wasn’t deliberate, how else do you explain it? Though I must admit…”
She glanced toward Erna.
“…that country girl isn’t nearly as innocent as she looks.”
“I thought she’d be hopelessly naïve after growing up in the countryside.”
“And yet she managed to catch Prince Biern’s attention better than anyone.”
From every corner of the ballroom, curious and contemptuous eyes followed Erna.
The beauty who had captivated even Biern Dniester.
That single rumor spread through the ballroom faster than wildfire.
If even the former husband of Princess Gladys had paused to look at her…
Then surely she had to be extraordinarily beautiful.
Even those who condemned Viscount Hardy for shamelessly displaying his daughter like merchandise found themselves unable to deny Erna’s beauty.
“Miss Hardy.”
Countess Meyer approached after making another graceful circuit of the ballroom.
Instinctively, Erna clutched the lace shawl around herself before looking up.
Resentment burned openly in her blue eyes.
“So.”
Victoria smiled behind her fan.
“You have more spirit than I expected.”
She settled elegantly beside the girl.
While the other debutantes laughed and danced, Erna remained quietly seated on a bench tucked into the corner of the ballroom.
One after another, young gentlemen approached to ask for a dance.
One after another, they left disappointed before she could even properly meet their eyes.
“Wouldn’t you like to dance at least once?” Countess Meyer asked gently.
“It’s your debut, after all.”
“…I can’t.”
Erna’s voice still trembled.
“I don’t want to.”
She glanced nervously around the ballroom before lowering her head again.
She lacked every trace of a society lady’s confidence.
Yet somehow, that awkward innocence only made her beauty more striking.
Victoria slowly waved her feather fan.
The shawl still irritated her.
But she decided to leave it alone.
If she tried taking it away again, the girl would probably tear down the palace curtains to cover herself.
Besides, the dress had already served its purpose.
Everyone had seen exactly what they needed to see.
“Raise your head.”
Using the folded fan, she gently lifted Erna’s chin.
“When speaking to someone, it is only proper to look them in the eye.”
“Please…”
Erna whispered.
“You managed well enough in front of Prince Biern.”
Victoria’s smile remained warm.
Her voice did not.
“Have you forgotten already?”
Prince…
The word echoed through Erna’s mind.
At once, her body stiffened.
The memory came flooding back.
The suffocating fear.
The dizziness.
His face.
Only after she had finally regained her breath had she realized whom she had clung to.
Remembering it now made her chest tighten all over again.
“I won’t force you to dance,” Countess Meyer continued quietly.
“But conduct yourself with dignity.”
Her voice softened.
“Remember that your behavior reflects not only upon yourself, but upon the Baden family who raised you.”
Those words struck far deeper than any scolding.
Without another glance, Countess Meyer rose and walked away.
Left alone, Erna closed her eyes.
She silently counted.
One…
Two…
Three…
Only when she reached twenty did her breathing finally steady again.
This had never happened back in Buford.
For the first time in her life, she felt utterly helpless.
Just endure a little longer.
Suppressing the overwhelming urge to flee, she slowly opened her eyes.
And immediately found him.
Grand Duke Biern Dniester.
The man who had witnessed her greatest humiliation.
He was standing beside an ornate marble column, speaking with another man who looked almost identical to him.
The Crown Prince, Leonit.
The twins were astonishingly alike in height, build, and features.
Only Leonit’s spectacles distinguished him at a glance.
Even in the remote countryside of Buford, stories of the royal twins were well known.
Though Erna had never cared for gossip, she still remembered one particular tale.
Biern had been born the elder twin and originally named Crown Prince.
But years of reckless scandals had cost him the title, which had instead passed to his younger brother, Leonit.
Watching Biern walk away, Erna unconsciously let out a quiet sigh.
A strange sense of familiarity washed over her.
Though identical in appearance, the brothers carried themselves completely differently.
Leonit walked with the upright discipline of a soldier.
Biern moved with effortless ease, as though taking a leisurely stroll through a garden.
It was the same graceful stride she had seen at the train station…
And again on Tara Avenue.
“…Poisonous mushroom.”
The words escaped her lips before she realized it.
At that exact moment, Biern turned.
Their eyes met.
There was nowhere left for Erna to hide.
