“Ahem. So, Duke, you will attend the grand banquet tonight, yes?”

Hyacinth was genuinely grateful to her uncle for his timely interruption. If he hadn’t spoken to the Duke, she might have said something out loud, forgetting the situation and place.

“…I plan to, Your Majesty.”

“Good. See you then.”

“Understood.”

Only then did Hyacinth exhale a long breath out of the man’s sight. She let go of her hair, and a belated thought crossed her mind.

Come to think of it, her hair must be in a mess today.

She hadn’t finished brushing it. She had even stopped halfway through applying scented oil.

Ah… So that’s why.

That’s why the Duke had looked at her. The meaning of his eyebrow raise was a question: ‘What on earth is that look?’

Her cheeks burned with embarrassment.

Of all the times to appear disheveled, it had to be in front of that man. She wanted to hide, even if it was a bit of an exaggeration.

“Duke, Tyche warmly welcomes you.”

“…Thank you for the hospitality.”

“Alright. See you all tonight. Don’t trouble the Duke too much.”

The two sovereigns stood up simultaneously.

As the King escorted his Queen out of the audience chamber, the crowd turned to look at the Duke.

The nobles had endured the tedious time of paying respects to the King and Queen for one reason.

For the social gathering that would follow the audience.

This special time was almost the only occasion when those of lower status could approach those of higher status first.

And now, there was a handsome, unmarried, high-ranking lord present.

To parents with daughters, he was an exceptionally desirable catch. Noblewomen and nobles, with their daughters firmly in tow, began to approach the Duke. They moved with the determination of horses headed for a carrot.

Caleb clicked his tongue.

“Look at the Duke’s face. He looks like he’s about to faint.”

“The Northerner needs to socialize too. He can’t stay alone forever.”

“I wonder who will become the Duchess of Trisel~”

“Let’s get out of here.”

Hyacinth firmly linked arms with her second and third cousins.

They really needed to leave. Since this was an opportunity for those of lower status, it was customary for those of higher status to step aside. The Crown Prince and Crown Princess were already leaving the audience chamber.

“We might get trampled. Let’s move.”

“Is this a marketplace or the royal castle? Let’s go, Hyacinth.”

“Yes.”

But just as they reached the door, about to leave the audience chamber, Hyacinth hesitated briefly.

A strong urge to look back held her in place. But at the same time, a sharp instinct told her not to.

It felt like a forbidden warning.

Look ahead. Only look ahead and walk. Like a minstrel pleading not to look back at the lover taken by death.

“Hyacinth?”

“We’re going now.”

She resisted the urge and didn’t look back.

* * *

And Hyacinth spent the rest of the day getting ready beautifully, with a somewhat vengeful spirit. With the help of her maids, she finished her preparations and felt like she understood the mindset of a knight donning armor.

It wasn’t an entirely incorrect analogy. The banquet hall was essentially a battlefield.

One mistake could ruin your reputation, and two mistakes would have everyone pouncing on you. Such was the palace’s social scene.

Entering the hall with Benjamin, she took her usual seat at the head table. The vast banquet hall spread out below, allowing her to see the silver-haired head right beneath her.

Hyacinth tried her best to look elsewhere. There was no particular reason. Just because. She just had a feeling that she should.

So she avoided looking as much as possible.

“Are you tired, Duke?”

“Oh dear, the Duke seems to have been through a lot.”

Even the scene where her uncle and aunt playfully addressed him with teasing voices, she tried to disregard completely.

As the banquet reached its peak, people began to get up one by one to find their acquaintances. Hyacinth also rose from the head table and fluttered down to find her friends. Even as she caught a glimpse of silver, she kept her head stiffly fixed.

Again, there was no reason. Just because. Really just because.

But unfortunately for Hyacinth, the topic of conversation among the young ladies her age tonight was, of course, the Duke of Trisel.

“You would have been surprised if you had seen it, Hyce.”

Hyacinth tilted her head slightly at her friend Diane’s whisper.

“Hmm? Why? Was the line too long?”

Trisel, which has held the North since the kingdom was founded.

There must have been a lot of people who wanted to be connected to the high lord’s family. Everyone must have been eager to speak to him.

“No. More than that, the Duke’s reaction was really…….”

“How was it?”

“At first, he politely said yes, yes, but later he just nodded. But his face said, ‘I’m out of my mind,’ so no one could say anything.”

“Ah…….”

“Will anyone even remain in his memory?”

Sorry, Diane.

Even I don’t think anyone will remain.

Hyacinth, slightly relieved by her friend’s joke, broke her own taboo. She naturally turned her head toward the man.

Was it bad luck, or was the Duke just that perceptive?

The man, who was moving his blade with an indifferent face, looked up and met her gaze precisely.

Hyacinth tensed reflexively.

Would he act like he did in the audience room? There weren’t many eyes watching to show any secret mischief. Even if night had fallen, they were under the chandelier, where secrets were dragged out into the bright light.

A whirlpool of contradictory emotions, worry, and expectation swirled within her.

But contrary to her tension, the Duke’s reaction was different. His eyes stiffened. It wasn’t contempt, but…… a clear rejection. And definite wariness.

It was a blatantly confrontational reaction that would embarrass any onlooker. He slightly moved his body back, then abruptly stood up as if he couldn’t bear it anymore. Then he quietly disappeared onto the balcony behind him.

Why did he suddenly do that……?

“D-Duke, you didn’t hear our conversation, did you?”

Diane murmured anxiously beside her. Hyacinth gauged the distance between where they were standing and where the Duke had been sitting, then shook her head.

“No, he wouldn’t have heard.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. He’s not that close.”

“Phew…… Thank goodness. But why did he act like that just now?”

I don’t know either.

Hyacinth forced a smile and pushed the bitter taste to the back of her tongue. A man she didn’t understand at all.

The Duke of Trisel didn’t come out of the balcony, as if he intended to enjoy his own private party. Until Diane, who had been glancing over there nervously, finally put her worries aside and resumed their conversation.

Hyacinth headed back to the head table to get a glass of wine. This time, instead of keeping her head stiffly fixed, she glanced over at the balcony.

She couldn’t help it, she was too curious about the man beyond those curtains fluttering in the wind.

Through the gaps in the fluttering curtains, she saw the man’s silhouette. Because it contrasted with the dark black of the night, what had been blurry during the day became clear at night. His silver hair shone like the moon.

The man was loosely relaxed, staring blankly to the side.

Are you carrying all the loneliness of the world by yourself?

Hyacinth grumbled inwardly and tried to take her eyes off him. At the last moment, when she tried to chase the man out of her sight, the Duke slowly lowered his head.

It was a brief movement.

At the same time, it was a beautifully picturesque gesture.

Perhaps because the colors were similar, it reminded her of a dying swan. But unlike a desperate bird trying to fend off encroaching death, the Duke seemed like someone who would calmly accept death.

“Ah.”

Hyacinth let out a small sigh.

The brief moments she had crossed paths with that man began to throw out clues. Thoughts clattered around in her head. She slowly opened and closed her eyelids.

Was his arrogance truly arrogance?

No, it wasn’t. The Duke seemed too exhausted to deliberately exclude others.

The gaze of a lost child he had shown during their first meeting. The fatigue embedded in his slow movements now. The gaze that had seemed like a lost child. The white light that felt no desire.

He looked like an old man who had lived a harsh life, trapped in young skin.

Hyacinth furrowed her brows the next moment.

After all, that man was the high lord of the North.

He lost his parents early, so his early life might have been tough. But he wouldn’t have fallen to the very bottom, the truly miserable depths. Didn’t he even have close relatives to fight a succession war with?

Would Duke Ethan Erentis know the pain of starvation?

Would he know the fear of thinking he might have to cut off his hand the next day because he couldn’t endure the bone-chilling cold?

Would he know the humiliation of being ruthlessly beaten by others?

Just as Hyacinth Hener didn’t know, Ethan Erentis wouldn’t know either. Yet he looked so weary.

“I don’t understand.”

A man she didn’t understand at all.

Hyacinth pouted and grabbed a glass of wine.

The banquet finally ended at dawn.

And unsurprisingly, Ethan Erentis didn’t show even a trace of his cloak until the very end.

* * *