McClain reluctantly turned away as Natalie began circling the hall holding another wolf’s hand. Since he was attending as a sort of guest of honor, he needed to at least show his face to the Emperor.

The Emperor, having drunk quite a bit before McClain arrived, rambled on with useless talk in an exaggerated tone. Just as the Emperor’s chitchat was about to drag on, another dance piece ended. McClain hastily concluded his conversation with the Emperor and withdrew. He hurriedly walked toward Natalie and made a decision.

This time, he would definitely claim her.

Whatever excuse he had to make, he would take her hand and lead her somewhere where they could be alone.

And then, to her, to that beautiful and lovely woman, he would definitely…

But before he could even approach, Natalie was already caught in another dispute.

“Miss Pereira, you remember it’s my turn now, don’t you?”

“No, my friend, it’s my turn now. Miss Pereira clearly nodded just a moment ago.”

“Um, I was going to dance with Sir Lindhart…”

Natalie looked toward McClain, who was approaching her, trying to convey her refusal to the men.

McClain was certain.

Yes. Natalie is definitely waiting for me too.

That must mean she has something to tell me as well.

McClain quickly moved forward and called out to her in a raised voice.

“Miss Pereira, you mentioned earlier that you had something to tell me…”

But the cunning pack of wolves seemed unwilling to give up their captured prey.

Using the dance music that had conveniently started as an excuse, one of them quickly grabbed Natalie’s hand.

“Oh, the music has already started! Let’s go, Miss Pereira!”

“Ah, wait a moment please!”

Haah.

McClain exhaled a long sigh as he blankly watched Natalie being taken away once again.

He felt pathetic for not moving quickly enough due to being mindful of the Emperor.

In the end, McClain’s patience ran out.

Throughout the dance, Natalie glanced at him with embarrassed eyes. She seemed to mouth something, asking him to wait just until this dance ended, but it provided no comfort to him.

It became unbearable to keep watching. His chest stung, the back of his neck tensed, and heat rose to his face, making it impossible to stand there any longer.

“I told you it would be better to arrive early.”

Orlando, who had approached without notice, whispered with a regretful tone.

Already reproaching himself for not arriving at the banquet on time, McClain’s mood sank even further.

“The lady seemed to be waiting for the you a lot. I wanted to dance with her too.”

“I don’t think it would have been our turn anyway. Before we could even speak, all those counts and viscounts were swarming around her. But Commander, you’re a Duke, right? Your rank is higher than theirs, so why are you just waiting? Can’t you dance?”

As Muki’s words hit the mark, McClain flinched and furrowed his brow. Orlando, who had been tilting his head and clicking his tongue, intervened to answer for the frozen McClain.

“The Commander doesn’t refuse to dance; he chooses not to. Do you think our Commander would be leisurely dancing in a situation like this?”

No, that wasn’t true. He desperately wanted to dance if only he could. He was just restraining himself to avoid making Natalie a laughingstock in the Empire’s social circles.

Despite Orlando speaking on his behalf, he became even more dejected.

Unable to overcome the surge of self-reproach and jealousy, McClain finally chose to temporarily leave the scene.

“It’s a rare banquet, so go make some connections and see if anyone can provide military support. I have a headache, so I’ll get some fresh air.”

“Are you not feeling well? I could cast a simple recovery spell…”

As Bertel stepped forward with a worried face, fortunately, the perceptive Orlando blocked him and shook his head.

McClain hurriedly left the banquet hall before other members could stop him.

Perhaps due to his desolate mood, the wind striking his face felt colder and lonelier.

As he walked endlessly through the imperial garden, repeating all sorts of self-reproach:

“Sir Lindhart.”

At the sound of someone calling him, he half-raised his head that had been lowered in despair. McClain discovered the woman he had been so eager to meet standing a few steps ahead.

“Natalie, no, Miss Pereira? How did you get here…?”

He wondered if he was seeing things, his mind half-gone with jealousy.

As he just blinked in bewilderment, Natalie approached with a huff.

“How can you be out here when you already arrived late to the banquet?”

Her tone was clearly reproachful.

Why would she…

He felt somewhat dazed but stumbled through an excuse.

“I came out briefly to organize my thoughts. But why are you…?”

“What do you mean, why? I told you a few days ago. That I had something important to tell you when I saw you at the banquet.”

“Ah, yes, but that issue…”

He thought he had already resolved it. But her words suggested that perhaps what she had wanted to discuss wasn’t related to her family’s financial problems. Had he jumped to conclusions too hastily?

As he furrowed his brow, Natalie quickly stepped forward and answered.

“That’s right. The problem I wanted to ask about then is already resolved. Because you took care of everything.”

“Then…?”

“So you should hear something else from me now.”

“What?”

As McClain looked at her quizzically, Natalie, who had stopped a few steps away from him, shrugged and replied.

“A thank you. I wanted to say that, so I endured the awkwardness and put a lot of effort into dressing up today.”

“Ah…”

“But you didn’t come, and when you finally arrived late, you didn’t even give me a chance to speak to you.”

“But that’s…”

As he hurriedly tried to make excuses in response to her somewhat sulky tone, Natalie cut him off with a short sigh.

“I was expecting you to ask me to dance. At such banquets, that’s the only way for a man and woman to talk without interruption. But no matter how long I waited, you didn’t ask me to dance, and then you even disappeared like this…”

“I’m sorry. That’s because I…”

Her somewhat apologetic expression seemed to have worked. Natalie stopped walking, briefly looked around, then continued with a faint smile.

“At least there’s no one passing by here. If someone saw the two of us together, they would spread all sorts of gossip. We’ll have to be careful when returning to the banquet hall.”

Indeed, in this world, if an unmarried man and woman were caught alone in a deserted place, they would become entangled in all sorts of scandalous rumors.

Though he acknowledged this logically, he felt somehow let down. It sounded as if she was emphasizing that they absolutely must not be caught together.

Because of this, his reply came out particularly curt.

“I see. Would you like to go back in first, then? I’ll stay out a bit longer for some fresh air…”

But something strange happened.

Hearing his answer, Natalie suddenly wrinkled her forehead and shot back in a voice full of resentment.

“Are you still so uncomfortable being with me? After I came all the way here, do you want to send me back so quickly?”

Natalie shook off the hand of some Count who had been gripping hers tightly the moment the dance piece ended.

She quickly looked back to where McClain had been standing, but he had already vanished without a trace.

What an impatient man.

Throughout the dance, she had used expressions and mouth movements to ask him to wait just a little, but he couldn’t even be patient for that long. While she was anxiously looking around the banquet hall, fortunately Orlando approached and informed her of McClain’s whereabouts.

“He went out to get some fresh air. Probably…… wandering around the imperial garden.”

His tone was meaningful, as if he knew exactly what McClain wanted, but Natalie was too absorbed in her desire to meet McClain to notice.

She hurriedly left the banquet hall and looked around the garden, but there wasn’t a soul to be seen, perhaps due to the rather chilly weather.

It was when she had walked quickly around various parts of the garden and reached the edge:

“Haah……”

At the sound of someone exhaling a long sigh, she turned her head and finally discovered him. McClain was standing under the shadow of a tree, staring at the ground.

What could be troubling him so deeply?

How could this man be trying to soothe his heart even at a banquet like this?

Natalie also let out a brief sigh before quickly approaching him.

“Sir Lindhart.”

Her quiet voice echoed through the tranquil garden, but he didn’t raise his head, lost in thought.

His drooping shoulders looked somehow shabby and pitiful, so Natalie called him once more.

“Sir Lindhart!”

At that moment, his head lifted, and after his gaze wandered briefly, he found her.

His face showed a mixture of confusion and surprise. At the same time, a message indicating an update to his likability score began to flash above his head.

McClain Lindhart’s affection has increased by 1%.

McClain’s affection: 94% ▶ 95%

“How can you be out here when you already arrived late to the banquet?”

Even as she chided him, Natalie was busy moving her gaze to check the change in his likability.