Today, the surroundings were unusually bustling.

It was because today was the day Miss Veronica would make her debut in society at her debutante ball.

With the wealth of the Maynard family, they could easily host a ball at the Count’s mansion for her debut, but the wife of Count Maynard, that is, the Countess, strongly insisted on her debuting at the imperial ball.

Balls hosted by the Count’s family would naturally attract people who were already close to the Maynard family.

The Countess wanted Miss Veronica to meet a wider variety of people.

Since she had already met many people through other gatherings thanks to the Count’s connections, the Countess hoped she would interact with a more diverse group in a more open setting, hence she strongly recommended the imperial ball.

The Count agreed with the Countess’s reasoning and decided that the autumn harvest festival ball hosted by the imperial family would be Miss Veronica’s debutante ball.

At this time of year, it was not uncommon for noble ladies who lacked wealth or connections to debut at the harvest festival ball, so it wasn’t particularly unusual.

Thus, we arrived at the Dimian Hotel located in the capital.

Since there was quite a distance between the Maynard estate and the capital where the royal palace was, we had booked a stay at a hotel in the capital for Miss’s convenience.

Anyway, the reason today was particularly bustling wasn’t just because Miss was debuting.

Usually, debutantes were around seventeen years old.

But our Miss was twenty-three.

A late debutante.

Miss’s debut had been delayed repeatedly due to her weak health, and it ended up being this late. Thinking about it made me feel upset.

Once our Miss Veronica debuted at the ball, both men and women would be captivated by her charm, but it was disappointing that she hadn’t been able to show that until now.

“All done.”

I heard the voice indicating that Miss’s preparations were complete. I stood up from my chair to check on Miss.

Miss opened her eyes and looked at the mirror. I followed her gaze to see her reflection in the mirror.

Miss Veronica’s appearance in the mirror was as beautiful as an angel descended from heaven.

“You look absolutely stunning, Miss!”

I couldn’t help but exclaim in admiration at the breathtakingly beautiful Miss.

Her pink hair, like flower petals, swayed softly with her movements, and her clear blue eyes shone with a gentle light within her neat features.

“Claire, you really know how to flatter.”

Miss covered her mouth with her hand and laughed softly. Her eyes naturally curved into a lovely smile. Even her shy demeanor was beautiful.

Would Miss believe me if I told her that even her bashful appearance was stunning?

I approached the shy Miss.

“Perhaps… No, you will definitely be the most beautiful person at the ball, Miss.”

“Me?”

Miss looked surprised, her eyes wide open like a startled squirrel. Why was she the only one who didn’t know what everyone else did?

“Of course. Who else could be more beautiful than you at the ball? Surely not me?”

When I smiled, Miss Veronica seemed to think I was joking and laughed.

At that moment, there was a knock on the door from outside.

“Miss, it’s time to go.”

It was Sir Grain, Miss Veronica’s escort knight.

“Yes, Sir Grain. We are ready. Please wait a moment.”

After briefly responding to Sir Grain, I extended my hand to Miss.

Miss Veronica took a deep breath, slowly exhaled, and then took my hand.

She stood up from her seat.

Another maid tidied up the skirt of Miss’s dress, which had been crumpled from sitting.

I quickly walked ahead of Miss and opened the door to make it easier for her to exit.

Outside, Sir Grain was waiting with a stoic expression. When he saw the door open, he looked up to check on Miss. His eyes widened.

“……”

Sir Grain, too, was momentarily mesmerized by Miss Veronica’s beauty, staring at her in a daze.

He knew it was impolite, but he couldn’t help it. No one could blame him. When faced with such beauty, anyone’s thoughts would come to a halt.

I felt a sense of pride.

“Sir Grain?”

When Miss called him, Sir Grain, with a flushed face, belatedly extended his hand to her respectfully.

“Allow me to escort you.”

“Yes, please.”

Miss Veronica took Sir Grain’s hand and started to leave the mansion.

I followed closely behind.

Outside the hotel, a splendid four-horse carriage was already prepared for Miss. The carriage bore the Maynard family’s crest.

With Sir Grain’s help, Miss boarded the carriage, and I joined her to assist.

Once we were fully settled in, the carriage began to move slowly.

Miss, with a flushed face, looked out at the scenery through the small window of the carriage.

I watched her quietly for a moment before letting out a small sigh.

It wasn’t appropriate to sigh so visibly on the day of the grand harvest festival, especially before Miss Veronica’s debut, but I couldn’t help the sigh that escaped me.

Noticing this, Miss Veronica looked at me with curious eyes.

“Claire? Is something wrong?”

“Huh? Oh, no. I’m just nervous.”

I mumbled an excuse, and Miss laughed softly.

“You worry too much. Everything will be fine. Look, I’m perfectly fine.”

Miss shrugged her shoulders to reassure me.

“Yes…”

I couldn’t bring myself to tell her what was weighing on my mind.

Instead, I spoke to her with a trembling heart.

“Miss, there will be many high-ranking people at the ball, right?”

“Well… Yes. It’s a ball hosted by the imperial family.”

“Then, there will be people like Duke Berzel, right?”

“…Probably? But why do you ask about Duke Berzel?”

Miss tilted her head, puzzled by the sudden mention of Alex.

I gave a vague smile and avoided answering.

There was no way Duke Berzel would miss a ball hosted by the royal family. It was obvious, yet here I was asking about it.

If things went on like this, Miss Veronica and Duke Berzel might meet as if it were fate. Or rather, a misfortune. Whether it was fate or misfortune, there was nothing I could do to stop it.

“Miss, just in case… I think it would be best to avoid getting involved with Duke Berzel.”

“Huh? Why?”

Miss asked, her eyes wide with surprise.

“He doesn’t have a good reputation. There are even recent rumors that he’s been purging his subordinates.”

What I said was based on facts.

After Alex left the warehouse, rumors began to spread that he was purging his subordinates.

Since the Maynard estate was adjacent to the capital, Sergal, it wasn’t strange that the rumors reached my ears.

It was probably a necessary process to root out the traitor who attacked him, but people cared more about the result than the cause. The fact was that he was purging his subordinates.

Words without feet traveled from mouth to mouth, emphasizing only the sensational parts.

“Well, he does have a bad reputation.”

Even I had heard rumors of him being a cold-blooded duke without blood or tears, so Miss must have known too.

Miss nodded with a worried expression.

“Yes, so it’s best to avoid getting involved with him. It would also be beneficial for the Count’s reputation.”

“…Okay.”

Miss Veronica finally agreed with me.

I was relieved that Miss Veronica listened to my advice.

Still, I had to ignore the lingering unease in my mind. Trying to convince myself that everything would be fine, I entrusted my body to the swaying carriage.

It took about an hour to reach the entrance of the capital from the hotel.

Although the actual distance was about twenty minutes by carriage, the line of carriages attending the ball stretched out, causing delays.

After getting off the carriage, I adjusted Miss’s skirt. Only Miss, who’s a noble, and Sir Grain could enter the ballroom.

“Have a good time, Miss.”

“Yes. I’ll be back, so wait for me.”

“Yes!”

Miss, perhaps worried about me, held my hand briefly before letting go and slowly turning away.

Soon, Miss and Sir Grain started to move away.

I stood at the entrance until they were out of sight before turning around.

I hesitated for a moment, wondering where to wait, but a palace maid who was waiting nearby guided me to where I should go.

Until Miss called for me, I had to wait in the waiting room with others in similar positions.

I had informed her in advance, so she should be fine, right?

A small worry clouded my mind.

Depending on how Miss interacted with Alex at the ball today, I would know if the original story’s path had been broken or not.

I fervently hoped that Miss and Alex wouldn’t meet as in the original story, and that their connection would naturally end…

Praying earnestly in my heart, I carefully followed the maid.