“Um, ha-happy birthday.”

“Thank you.”

“……”

“Lemonade?”

“Ah, yes.”

Not wanting to be misunderstood as having ulterior motives if he offered alcohol, he made sure to offer the very wholesome lemonade.

‘Lemonade, quickly.’

‘Hup!’

The servant who caught his gaze hurried off and returned with a glass adorned with a cute parasol decoration.

“Your lemonade has been served.”

But just as Audrey was about to reach for the lemonade, a large hand appeared and swiftly snatched the glass away.

“…?”

It was Duke Frith who had been right in front of her.

Audrey’s maple leaf-like hand lost its way and floated in the air.

“Um, that’s mine……”

“I know.”

“……”

Caught completely off guard, she could only blink.

The situation was so sudden it went beyond absurd to downright unfair.

‘Why steal someone else’s drink?’

The rich really do get richer!

If he wanted a drink, he could have ordered one for himself, but to snatch someone else’s—what was he thinking?

The protagonist of the party had a petty side to him.

However, Derek was busy in his own way.

He needed to open the parasol at just the right angle.

‘This much, no. If it points too far down, the parasol effect won’t work.’

He fiddled with the parasol decoration as carefully as a scientist on the verge of a major discovery.

Only after a long moment of simulation did the parasol finally open nicely.

“Here.”

“……”

Audrey, receiving the drink, could only blink.

The man before her was truly incomprehensible. She thought he had stolen her drink, but he had merely opened the parasol decoration before returning it.

Somehow, his intentions seemed suspicious.

On the contrary, Duke Frith was in high spirits.

‘I’ve scored some serious points. Perfect!’

His large hand gripped his frilled sleeve tightly with excitement.

In his haste, he had long forgotten the fact that he had snatched the glass like a bandit.

His heart began to pound with the satisfaction of finally accomplishing something.

Duke Frith gazed at Dodori, completely entranced.

‘How can she be so adorable?’

Ah, Dodori’s mere existence melted him into a puddle.

Somehow, he felt like running straight to the training grounds of the duke’s mansion.

And he wanted to slash about 375 million scarecrows.

‘Dangerous, this is dangerous.’

Is this how a cat feels when intoxicated with catnip?

He wanted to hug that tiny body tightly and roll around messily on the grass.

To Derek, Dodori was the only drug permitted by imperial law…

***

The beautiful waltz melody of the orchestra flowed freely throughout the ballroom.

At the same time, Duke Frith’s heart pounded as if it might burst.

He had just gathered the courage to ask Dodori for a dance.

But there was one problem.

‘What am I to do with this?’

His bear-paw-like hand was trembling unattractively.

It was Dodori’s presence beside him, rather than dancing after many years, that made him more nervous.

Derek tried desperately not to show his trembling.

“Um, ha-hand……”

“I see.”

He carefully wrapped her maple leaf-like hand in his before she could finish speaking.

However, Audrey pulled her hand away in surprise.

“Th-that’s not it, the escort…!”

“……”

Instead of extending his hand in an escorting manner as he should have, he had gently clasped her hand.

Like lovers would.

‘Damn it!’

Duke Frith, his mind gone completely blank, creaked like a broken marionette.

Even his ears, which had already lost sensation, were burning hot.

Derek managed to extend his trembling hand and led Dodori to the center.

At the same time, the other couples wore very dismayed expressions.

‘Eek, should have come out later!’

They positioned themselves as far away from the two as possible.

“……”

“……”

Soon, a new waltz began.

Derek and Audrey began to turn carefully, holding each other’s hands and shoulders.

‘She smells sweet today, too.’

At a closer distance than ever before.

Duke Frith was once again intoxicated by the peach scent that refused to leave his nostrils.

Whether it was Dodori’s cheeks, plump lips, or soft hair, it didn’t matter.

He simply felt the urge to take a full bite, enough to wet his mouth.

Derek snapped back to reality just before his eyes completely glazed over.

‘What a truly base beast I am!’

What impure thoughts were these in front of the adorable Dodori?

He couldn’t bear his self-loathing.

Derek continued dancing with stiffer movements than ever before.

Then came the first transition section.

Normally, the gathered men and women would shift one position sideways to greet new partners.

Audrey spun around with wheel-like precision, naturally turning to the side.

‘Hmm?’

But before she could complete two turns, she was held back by a strong force.

“Where are you going?”

“…!”

It was Duke Frith, who should have parted with her during the transition.

“Leaving me.”

Audrey was dumbfounded.

Looking around, she saw that the other couples had naturally switched partners. As if the two of them had never existed.

Rather than pulling her closer, Duke Frith approached her himself.

Then he placed her hand back where it belonged. On his hand and shoulder.

The distance between them narrowed again to what it had been at first. Between them, the sweet peach scent and clean laundry smell mixed wildly.

And so the two danced together until the fifth song ended.

Lucas, seated at the highest position, looked down at the scene with thoroughly disgusted eyes.

***

Audrey’s gaze naturally wandered around the ballroom.

‘Claude Oppa hasn’t arrived yet?’

Claude, who had gone to find spare clothes for the man who had spilled champagne, was still nowhere to be seen.

But she didn’t suspect anything unusual.

After all, one couldn’t enter Duke Frith’s birthday ball without an invitation.

There was no way Emilia could appear here.

“Um, are, are you alright?”

“……”

“You seem to have a fever……”

Audrey’s gaze returned to Derek.

Though the dance had ended long ago, his face was still flushed.

It was a complexion that didn’t match his stoic expression at all.

“……Terrace.”

“Pardon?”

“I think the terrace would be nice.”

Duke Frith suddenly turned his back and strode ahead.

His movements were stiff like a wooden block.

‘Hmm?’

But Audrey remained standing in place, not understanding his meaning.

After a while, he turned back again.

“Come with me.”

“……Ah.”

“……”

So he meant to go together.

Audrey looked around the ballroom once more.

Arnold seemed busy mingling with people, and her father, Duke Frith’s vassal, was talking with department members.

Claude still hadn’t returned.

‘I suppose I can join him for a little while?’

Audrey headed to the terrace, not wanting to upset Duke Frith.

“…!”

However, after pulling back the curtain, Derek closed it again.

‘This is different from the book.’

The terrace, described as a private space dripping with romance, was different from what he expected.

Instead of whispers of love, there were only drunkards secretly throwing up.

He couldn’t show such a horrific sight to Dodori.

“……I think that side would be better.”

Derek very naturally guided Dodori to a secluded terrace.

Fortunately, being a less frequented area, there were no prior guests.

After drawing the thick curtains, it finally felt like a “private space.”

The quiet stillness of the night, contrasting with the bustle beyond the fabric, created a subtle tension.

“……”

“……”

The two leaned against the terrace railing in silence for a long time.

Looking at their distant backs, they appeared so awkward they might not even be considered companions.

Audrey pretended to look at the moon while secretly glancing at his hand.

‘It’s still swollen.’

It was an injury from last Friday, when he protected her from the carriage door.

“……”

Audrey silently fiddled with her pocket. In fact, she had made a healing magic stone for him.

But after hesitating dozens of times since Monday about whether to give it to him, she ultimately couldn’t.

She worried it might give him the wrong impression.

She didn’t want to torture him with false hope.

‘But it’s still so swollen.’

Yet, seeing his hand showing little improvement, her heart softened.

‘Should I just say it’s a birthday gift? Everyone receives them, so he won’t misunderstand, right?’

She couldn’t ignore someone who was injured because of her.

“Excuse me.”

“……”

“It’s a healing magic stone. For your ha-hand… since you were injured because of me.”

In the end, Audrey handed over the healing magic stone, using his birthday as an excuse.

Thinking how fortunate it was that today was his birthday.

However, the recipient’s perspective was quite different.

Having never imagined receiving a birthday gift from Dodori, he was completely dumbstruck.

‘Dodori, to me, birthday gift, healing magic stone……’

At the same time, he recalled the events of Friday night.

How he had roughly grabbed those tiny hands like a bandit.

“…!”

It was truly embarrassing.

How could he not have apologized even once until now?

Yet Dodori, without a single word of resentment, had even prepared a healing magic stone…

‘I’m absolute garbage! My Dodori is clearly an angel.’

Derek belatedly reflected on his actions as he accepted the gift.

Though Dodori intended it for treatment, he felt he should place it in the duke’s mansion’s secret vault to be passed down for generations as a family heirloom.

After all, it was the first gift he had ever received from Dodori!