Chapter 31. Blanche’s Way

At the same time, Aster pressed his body against mine, checking something. It was too close for a waltz move.

“Aster? What are you doing?”

“It seems there’s a problem with your dress.”

“A problem?”

I had checked everything before changing.

I looked at Aster with a bewildered expression as he felt around my shoulder blade area.

“The closure at the back is strange.”

“Strange how?”

“The shoulder strap is about to snap. It was hidden by the frills.”

“What?!”

I exclaimed in a low, quick voice, looking up at Aster. I couldn’t shout loudly.

We were in the middle of dancing. Leaving abruptly would look bad. But staying risked the strap snapping and the dress falling off.

Aster held the strap while continuing the dance moves. Unlike my shocked and panicked self, he was very calm.

“Didn’t I warn you? A sudden kindness in Blanche is dangerous.”

“Are you blaming me now?”

“No. I’m advising you not to fall for it next time and use it against them. A careless opponent is easy to counter.”

“I didn’t expect her to be this petty.”

If Aster hadn’t noticed, I might have been humiliated by the strap snapping mid-dance. It would have been a tremendous embarrassment, enough to never show my face in society again.

I never thought I’d fall for such a cheap and dirty trick.

While I was in shock, Aster seemed unfazed. He looked like he wanted to tear Helen apart with his fierce eyes.

“Blanche is the perfect word for petty.”

“I can’t do this. I’ll have to give up the first dance and change my dress.”

“No. I can fix it. I have something that can secure it.”

“What?”

How?

A turn was coming up soon. If I stayed like this, the dress would definitely fall off.

It was better to stop dancing, even if it meant losing points. I was already dancing awkwardly while holding onto the dress with one hand because of my anxiety.

Accepting Helen’s favor in a hurry, as Aster had pointed out, was a mistake. It would have been better to wait for the maid to bring a new dress.

‘I won’t let this slide, Helen Blanche.’

The kindness I had shown as a fellow woman ends today. I treated her gently, and she thought I was soft enough to be taken advantage of!

I was grinding my teeth, planning to retaliate once the debutante ball was over.

“Camilla, there are cufflinks in my front pocket. Could you take them out for me?”

“Huh? Cufflinks? Why… Ah.”

He’s going to use them to secure the dress!

Belatedly realizing his intention, I quickly reached into his pocket and took out the cufflinks.

Aster took the cufflinks and secured them over the shoulder strap that was about to break.

After securing the front and back, the dress, which seemed like it would fall off any moment, regained its proper fit. It was quite impressive how he managed to fix it while dancing.

‘Wow, he really did it?’

I could have faced a terrible situation where the dress fell off completely.

Fortunately, thanks to his quick fix, we were able to continue most of the dance moves. The dress looked a bit odd, but it was still a relief.

Those dancing nearby glanced at us. Some seemed to have noticed the dress malfunction. They were probably surprised to see us continue dancing while fixing the issue instead of giving up.

Thanks to Aster’s clever handling, we finished the prepared waltz. When the final note played and we stopped dancing, I let out a sigh of relief.

“That was close.”

Missing steps during the performance was a major deduction, but giving up the dance was the biggest point loss. It was better not to dance at all than to give up halfway.

Although it was better than the dress falling off, I was very grateful to Aster for fixing it.

“Thank you. You saved me.”

“It’s nothing.”

Aster smiled lightly and took off his jacket to drape it over my shoulders.

“Since the first part is over, it’s best to change into another dress. This is just a temporary fix, so it might fall off again.”

“That sounds good.”

As we headed towards the waiting room, there was a particularly crowded area. It was where Helen and Paris were.

I glanced at Helen. As expected, she stood out the most in the first part dance. People surrounded her, showering her with compliments.

She had turned the last scene of the first part in her favor with just one dance. I knew she was a good dancer, but to use such dirty tricks to bring me down and make herself shine…

Helen met my eyes and smirked. Her expression said she was thoroughly enjoying herself.

‘Should I just flip the table?’

It was absurd that Helen was taking credit for the work. Of course, thanks to Aster, it wasn’t a complete disaster.

I saw a maid quietly calling me from a distance. She seemed to have brought a new dress. At that moment, Aster stepped back and spoke to me.

“Go ahead and change first.”

“Where are you going?”

“We need to return the favor.”

“What?”

“Don’t worry about me.”

Aster smiled and headed towards Helen and Paris. Although I felt uneasy, I was more worried about my dress.

‘Whatever. I need to change first.’

I glanced at Aster and followed the maid back to the waiting room.

* * *

Aster watched Camilla leave and then wiped the smile off his face. Everyone in Ahivith knew that Francis valued fairness.

But when dealing with a malicious opponent, it was more effective to use their own tricks against them rather than facing them head-on.

Aster had anticipated this from the moment Helen offered her ‘favor’ to Camilla. Sudden kindness from Blanche always brought trouble.

‘As expected.’

He had prepared for such an event. And he had just executed his plan.

As Aster approached leisurely, Helen and Paris looked at him like a defeated opponent. Helen spoke.

“You shouldn’t leave your partner alone. She might need help, in many ways.”

Her mocking voice was filled with a sense of victory. Paris, standing next to her, also sneered.

“Her dancing skills are terrible. She was all over the place.”

“My partner was so dazzling that I couldn’t help but be nervous.”

“Hmph, sure!”

Paris scoffed and then cleared his throat, noticing the people around him. It wouldn’t do any good to show discord among the same family.

Aster spoke to Paris.

“By the way, is it okay for you to stay here like this?”

“Where else would I be if not by my partner’s side?”

“I just sent your list of lovers to Lady Olive.”

“…What?”

“If you don’t hurry, all your lovers’ hair might be shaved off. Are you okay with that, Paris?”

At Aster’s words, Paris’s face turned pale. Lady Olive was Paris’s ex-lover and current stalker. She was notorious for shaving the heads of any woman Paris dated out of jealousy.

“How… how do you know about my lovers…?”

“You’re not the only one who can spy on people. That’s what having people follow you is for, right?”

Paris’s face turned ashen as he whispered in his ear. It was no wonder since his beloved lovers were about to lose their hair.

“You… you… wait till we get home!”

Paris glared at Aster menacingly. Then he spoke to Helen, who was about to change into her second-part dress after greeting the people.

“Hey, hey, Helen! Something urgent came up, so I can’t stay here any longer.”

“What?! The first part just ended, what are you talking about?”

“S-sorry! Just find a replacement among your admirers! The partner isn’t that important in the second-part anyway!”

“Hey! Paris! Hey! Don’t you dare leave!”

Helen called out desperately, but Paris left the hall without looking back. Unable to shout louder, Helen fumed. Aster spoke.

“Don’t worry. I already called your partner for you.”

“Already called? What do you mean?”

“Your cufflinks, I mean.”

Aster tapped his cufflinks and smiled. It was a provocation, knowing that Helen, like Paris, was involved with multiple men.

“By now, they’re probably all excitedly dressing up and coming over, wearing the cufflinks you sent them.”

“Who on earth did you call?”

Helen asked with anxious eyes, and Aster, with a very refreshing smile, dropped a bombshell.

“Well, I called everyone since I didn’t know who you liked.”

His tone was as if he were telling her to pick any ribbon color she fancied.