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Chapter 40
Inside the rattling carriage, Hanna chattered away, brimming with excitement. Following her, Lindsay Dice added in a cynical tone:
“It’s highly unusual for a member of the royal family, especially the Crown Prince, to attend the debutante ball of a mere noblewoman. Of course, calling Lascaille ‘mere nobility’ is a bit of a stretch. But it seems the royal family is paying attention because the debutante ball is practically the Lascaille family’s announcement of their return.”
Rita, leaning against the carriage window, let out a small sigh and asked,
“The Crown Prince… That must have multiplied the workload for the hosts and security several times over. What should I be careful about?”
“As long as you follow proper etiquette, there isn’t much to worry about. But there’s one major issue.”
“What is it?”
“You, my lady, are expected to dance the first dance with His Royal Highness, the Crown Prince.”
“…Why? I was supposed to dance with Leon oppa!”
“That was before the Crown Prince was confirmed to attend. By tradition, at a debutante ball, the debutante’s first dance is with the highest-ranking unmarried male among the attendees.”
“Oh, so naturally the Crown Prince takes precedence over my little duke oppa… Damn it.”
“You must conduct yourself like a proper lady, my lady.”
“There’s only you and Hanna here anyway.”
Rita pressed her throbbing temple.
Though she had learned most of the refined etiquette, the one thing she had never mastered was dancing. She had memorized the steps and sequences, but no matter how hard she tried, her body stiffened from instinctive vigilance.
“This really won’t work, my lady. Just give up and get through the first dance somehow. After that, whether your feet hurt or you’re tired, you can find any excuse to decline further dances,”
advised her etiquette instructor.
The first dance at a debutante ball was a symbol of the debut, and skipping it wasn’t an option—unless she feigned illness to cancel the entire ball.
At least with Leonhardt, someone she trusted, she had felt some relief knowing he would be her first dance partner according to custom.
‘Why does the Crown Prince have to attend a debutante ball anyway!’
His name reminded her of Gide, so she wasn’t eager to encounter him.
‘It’s lucky I don’t have to call him by name… but dancing the first dance with him is unfortunate.’
If the long-missing daughter of a duke stepped on the Crown Prince’s feet, brushed his hand away, or jabbed him in the stomach during her first ball, it would cause an uproar in society—and the royal family would be furious.
Even Rita, who had lived far from aristocratic circles since age ten, could foresee that much.
‘If I talked to my parents, they’d probably just suggest canceling the debutante ball to avoid any trouble.’
Her ducal parents valued their youngest daughter’s well-being far more than the family’s honor or any losses from canceling a ball. Rita knew this well.
‘…They told me to continue investigating Hanna’s father, even if it meant directly opposing Grand Duke Adicle, so they clearly trust my judgment.’
In a way, they had a temperament unsuited to great aristocracy—but it was precisely because of such parents that Lillieta grew up surrounded by genuine love.
Her parents had even specified a special dress code for the ball. Using the iris from the Lascaille family crest as an excuse, they requested that all attendees use only perfume with an iris scent. This was to protect her from the current trend of patchouli perfumes, which might make her uncomfortable.
‘So I’ll have to handle this problem myself.’
With only five days left until the ball, Lillieta resolved to train herself to overcome the dance issue.
‘I need to practice lowering my guard while dancing with a stranger. But not someone completely unfamiliar… someone I know a little but is still somewhat unknown…’
They were on their way to the costume room for the final fitting of the debutante dress, commissioned by the Duchess a month ago.
As Rita pondered these matters while stepping out of the carriage into the costume room, a sharp girl’s voice rang out:
“I told you this isn’t it!”
A crash of thrown objects followed. The staff guiding Lillieta jumped in alarm and quickly apologized:
“I’m so sorry, my lady. The previous guest has exceeded their scheduled time… Could you please wait a moment? We’ll guide you to another room.”
Hanna, standing next to Rita, narrowed her eyes sharply:
“Excuse me? Because another guest didn’t keep their appointment, our lady has to wait?”
“Uh, s-sorry… please understand—”
“Understand? Shouldn’t the apology go to the troublesome guest, not our lady? Why aren’t they told to leave, and why is our lady expected to wait? Is it because the other guest is difficult and our lady is kind and reasonable, so they think she’s easy to handle?”
Hanna fired her words in rapid succession before Rita could respond. The staff’s face turned pale instantly.
“No, n-no, that’s not what I mean! Absolutely not, um, the person inside is a bit—”
“So you’re afraid to tell the guest inside that their time is up, but it’s easy to ask our lady, who came on time, to wait! How is that any different from thinking she’s easy to handle?”
Hanna, flaring with indignation, pressed the staff. Lindsay, standing behind, commented flatly:
“Oh, our Hanna is competent.”
“Our Hanna…?”
“She’s on our side for now.”
Rita’s question went unanswered, but Lindsay smiled faintly, her tone biting.
How the investigation into Hanna’s father concluded, and how Hanna herself reacted, would determine both her status and her relationship with Lillieta.
‘Since the day she apologized to me, Hanna has been completely loyal…’
If not for the complicated circumstances and concerns about Pascal, Rita would have grown even closer to her, treating her like Lindsay does.
‘Pretending to trust while remaining on guard is hard for me.’
Gide could do it easily, but for her, it was difficult. Her nature favored either complete trust or complete exclusion.
‘Not easy like Gide… Maybe I should just ask for her cooperation honestly… Even after investigating thoroughly, nothing suspicious came from Hanna herself. Only her lineage is an issue.’
While Rita was momentarily troubled, Hanna was scolding the staff. The terrified staff, fearing they’d be accused of insulting a Lascaille noblewoman, finally agreed to remove the previous guest.
Soon after, the fitting room door swung open.
“Who are you? Who dares tell me to leave?”
“Please, Lavinia, just—”
Out jumped a pink-haired girl with fierce eyes, followed by a brown-haired woman struggling to hold her back.
At the same time, Lillieta vaguely recognized one of them:
‘Villa sister?’
The brown-haired woman, neatly tied and wearing a frown, had a face she remembered from childhood—the shy girl who had once handed her a knitted rabbit doll with a timid smile.
This had to be Anne-Marie den Dweyreborg Everett, Leonhardt’s former fiancée.
Unlike Lillieta, Anne-Marie was too focused on restraining the cotton-candy pink-haired girl to notice anyone else.
“Lavinia, it’s fine now, okay? I said I’d fix everything, so let’s go back, please.”
“Fine? How can I trust that when you ignore me like this? I won’t go back until I see it fixed with my own eyes! No, I won’t!”
The girl called Lavinia shouted, breaking free from Anne-Marie and spun her head toward Lillieta.
“Who the hell are you… to…?”
Her words faltered. The girl’s large, green eyes stared blankly at Lillieta, and she opened her mouth:
“Wow… she’s ridiculously pretty.”
“Lavinia! How rude!”
Anne-Marie panicked and hurriedly bowed to Lillieta:
“I’m sorry, my sister is still young—”
“Anne, why are you apologizing? I told you not to bow your head around me! You make me look ridiculous too! Who do you think I am?”
At that, Lavinia, as if snapping out of a daze, grabbed Anne-Marie roughly. Anne-Marie stumbled backward, hitting her rear, but instead of apologizing, Lavinia immediately shouted:
“Ah! Seriously! Embarrassing enough to fall down! Get up right now!”
Watching the commotion unfold, Rita leaned toward Lindsay and asked softly:
“Who are they?”
“…Lavinia del Aizer Dweyreborg, only daughter of Duke Dweyreborg. She hasn’t formally received the title of young duchess yet, but as the only child, she is expected to inherit the dukedom.”
