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Chapter 9
“You married your wife when she was eighteen. What are you talking about?”
“That was that! This is this!”
“Haha! You really are something.”
“When your daughter turns eighteen, I’ll see whether you act any differently.”
Father confidently declared that he would wait and see whether the viscount would behave differently when his own daughter turned eighteen.
Seeing Father like that, the viscount could only shrug his shoulders as if he had no choice.
Judging by how things looked now, I had a feeling that Ayla Button would receive the exact same treatment from her father when she turned eighteen.
Apparently, I was not the only one who thought so.
The viscountess let out a quiet sigh behind her fan.
As I watched her, our eyes met, and the viscountess smiled at me with her eyes.
As if to say this was our little secret.
I ended up letting out a small laugh at that smile.
“Mother.”
At that moment, a fairly handsome man who had been elsewhere and had only just joined us called out to the viscountess.
Judging by how he addressed her, he seemed to be the son of Viscount Button.
As proof, his navy-blue hair was the same color as the viscount’s.
“Robert.”
When the viscountess turned toward her son, Robert stood beside her and looked at his mother.
Then his gaze slowly moved toward me.
“……Who is this lady?”
At his question, the viscountess hurriedly introduced me.
“Oh. This is my only son. Young lady, this is Robert. Robert, this is the third daughter of House Stacy.”
“I am Rose Stacy.”
“I am Robert Button, Baron Button. I was granted my knighthood this year.”
“Ah, it is an honor to meet you, Sir Button.”
“The honor is mine. It is a pleasure to meet such a beautiful lady.”
Seeing Robert smile shyly as he said that, I thought:
He must be very popular with women.
His physique was good, he was tall, and his appearance was pleasant.
The fact that he was the son of a viscount family and had immediately received the title of baron upon becoming a knight meant he had performed quite well.
He was also the heir to a wealthy viscount family.
And on top of that, there was that innocent smile.
There was no way he would not be popular.
While I made this judgment and gave him my practiced social smile, the true protagonist of today’s banquet finally appeared.
“The Crown Prince, Her Highness the Princess, Her Majesty the Empress, and His Majesty the Emperor are entering!”
With that booming announcement, the doors opened, and the eyes of every noble turned toward them.
Amid countless gazes, the members of the imperial family walked forward with dignity.
They did not appear bothered by the attention at all.
Their steps were natural, yet overflowing with authority.
As expected, being royalty was not something anyone could simply imitate.
After passing through countless gazes, the emperor stepped onto the platform, turned around with dignity, and announced the beginning of the banquet.
“Today is a banquet celebrating the Crown Prince’s ascension! Everyone, enjoy yourselves to your hearts’ content!”
“Eternal glory to Genoa!”
At those words, all the nobles bowed respectfully.
Once the emperor sat upon the throne, the banquet finally began.
The Crown Prince and Princess opened the first dance, and everyone began dancing on the floor.
I quietly watched them while already searching for the right timing to escape.
Then Robert, who had remained beside me since our introduction, cleared his throat to draw my attention.
When I looked at him, Robert extended his hand toward me.
He was about to ask me to dance, but—
The timing was unbelievably perfect.
Another protagonist of this banquet appeared.
“Duke Chester is entering!”
At those words, of course, the dance invitation disappeared.
Even those already dancing on the floor stopped and turned toward the entrance.
It was unfortunate, but also fortunate.
If I danced here, it would likely lead to an endless parade of dance requests afterward.
Therefore, I had no intention of dancing.
Not that I particularly liked it anyway.
Of course, that thought only lasted a moment.
Because the real misfortune had arrived.
The atmosphere became heavier and more solemn than when the Crown Prince and Emperor had entered.
Naturally.
Duke Chester was a warrior who had swept across battlefields, bringing back countless victories.
He was also the person who currently inspired the greatest amount of fear and awe in the Empire.
Even under all those gazes, he walked forward with an emotionless expression, as if their attention was nothing more than a slight annoyance.
With arrogant confidence, he approached the emperor and bowed.
“I am late.”
Arriving later than the emperor could normally be considered disrespectful.
Yet there was not even the slightest displeasure on the emperor’s face.
“You came directly from the battlefield. How could you not be tired? I understand completely, so do not concern yourself.”
“Thank you.”
Wow.
He could actually look that arrogant even in front of the emperor.
Shin Ji-ah had described Enoch Chester like this:
An arrogant man whose arrogance was justified.
A dignified man.
A cold-blooded, emotionless iron-blooded duke.
And he proved it.
Even while bowing his head before the emperor, he did not look as if he was truly lowering himself.
He was genuinely an incredible man.
Though I also found it strange that the emperor accepted it so naturally.
The current emperor, Arnold Bertrum Genoa, was a ruler who brought more disadvantages than benefits.
He ignored politics completely, saying it was beneath him, and indulged himself in pleasure and women.
He was practically a king obsessed with his desires.
How many illegitimate children had he created?
How many concubines did he have?
There were so many that counting them was difficult.
The princes and princesses who had been confirmed as his children through the imperial bloodline identification device were registered as members of the imperial family.
However, after this Crown Prince succession, only the Second Prince remained among the imperial princes.
The number of princesses, on the other hand, was countless.
They would probably be married off for the sake of the country as soon as the Crown Prince became emperor.
The princess sitting on the platform now was the daughter of the empress and the only younger sister whom the Crown Prince treasured.
That was why she was allowed to sit there.
Compared to the other princesses, she was truly blessed.
Of course, she was also quite beautiful, which earned her the emperor’s affection.
As I looked at the princess, I noticed her gaze was fixed entirely on the duke.
Oh.
She likes him.
Anyone could tell.
Her gaze was passionate and obvious.
Yet Duke Chester’s eyes seemed unable to see her at all.
Wow.
That was harsh.
I thought that and slightly shook my head.
Then suddenly—
The duke’s gaze landed on me.
At first, I thought I had imagined it.
But I had not.
The gaze of Enoch Chester was unmistakably directed at me.
At Rose Stacy.
His eyes did not move away.
They could not move away.
My breath caught.
I needed to break eye contact.
But I could not.
“……Lady Stacy?”
I heard Robert calling me from beside me.
Yet even then, I could not turn toward him.
Because that intense gaze had captured me.
Truly, unbelievably so.
And at that moment, I finally realized.
Only now did I understand.
I had entered—
“The Duke’s Cinderella.”
The dizziness of that realization made my head spin.
And inside my mind, it felt as if the damned Shin Ji-ah whispered to me in her usual playful voice.
“Welcome to The Duke’s Cinderella.”
……she said.
Welcome, my foot.
When I get back, you are dead.
