But I was so buried in my own pain that simply getting through each day was already more than I could manage. It sounds like an excuse, but that was why I had no capacity to look around me. No room, really.

I was that kind of person. Insensitive to the suffering of others. Truly narrow-hearted.

I hate that about myself. I really do.

“No! Elise is absolutely not a bad person! I was thinking the exact same thing when I read the article! I was curious whether Delmir would show up to the ball, and if she did, what state she’d be in!”

I rarely raised my voice, so when I did, Elise stared at me for a moment with a blank expression before breaking into laughter.

“Really? So I have a kindred spirit. Then let’s go to the ball together. We’ll go and see for ourselves how Delmir is doing. And if she’s standing there deflated and miserable, we’ll laugh at her behind her back to our hearts’ content!”

Elise is truly a good person. She already knows what Delmir did to her, and she’s willing to let it go with nothing more than laughing behind her back.

And she calls herself a bad person? What does that make me, then. Me, who couldn’t even understand her pain.

For a moment I thought about exposing what Delmir had done on my own, regardless of what Elise said, but I changed my mind.

Whatever the case, that matter was Elise’s vulnerability and her wound. It was not something for others to bring up carelessly.

I made a silent promise to myself: if Elise found satisfaction in the hardships Delmir was currently facing and chose to stay silent, I would stay silent too. But if she decided she couldn’t let it go and chose to speak out, I would stake my own honor on confirming her account.

“Yes! I’ll attend too! Let’s go see for ourselves how Delmir is doing!”

Satisfied with my answer, Elise offered a soft smile, and the perceptive Nelia and Giselle quickly steered the conversation toward the newly fitted golden gowns.

“I’m going for a Greek goddess look this time. I’ve matched all my hair accessories in gold too!”

“I’m going for something more elegant. Empire-waist dresses are in fashion lately, aren’t they? Since it’s summer, I think it’ll be nice to wear something light.”

Their effort to lift the mood worked well. Elise had already smoothed away the complicated thoughts from her face and joined in.

“Oh! I also picked a light dress without a petticoat, how funny! Mine is inspired by ancient Middle Eastern tunics.”

After each of them talked about their gown, the women naturally turned to look at me.

“Ah, I…”

I thought quickly, and it came to me that among the gowns the boutique had sent over, there was one light robe with a feathery feel, decorated with draping.

Ah, I was going to return that one along with the rest.

“I have a chiffon dress with pleating from the shoulders and a draped detail at the waist. I think I could wear something similar on the first night.”

“Oh! If the four of us arrive together, it’ll look like harvest goddesses stepping straight out of mythology! I’m so excited!”

Giselle’s enthusiasm left me feeling a touch of pressure and embarrassment, but at the same time, I felt my heart beating in a way that wasn’t entirely unpleasant.

Coordinating outfits. At social events, I had always watched Delmir and her circle laughing and chattering in their matching ensembles with envy.

And now I’m doing that? At twenty-eight, it might seem a bit much, but I can’t help the flutter in my chest.

“Since we’re already doing this, let’s match our hair and accessories too! Hehe, everyone’s going to be so surprised!”

Giselle laughed like a child, her shoulders bouncing with excitement, and I, Elise, and Nelia watched her with warm eyes.

With all attention fixed on Duke Balthar, I spent a relatively peaceful stretch of time.

The trial moved forward moment by moment, one corruption scandal after another came to light, and protest posters denouncing Duke Balthar began appearing across the capital, but during the day I chatted with the three young ladies about the ball, and at night I visited the imperial palace and spent leisurely hours with Heliones in the red garden.

Three days passed in what felt like an instant, and at last the first night of the Summer Night Ball arrived.

I loosely braided my thick, curly hair to one side and draped it neatly over my shoulder, then put on the chiffon dress with its flowing pleats and draped details.

I had no desire to wear extravagant jewels, so I finished the look with the thin gold necklace and bracelets I had used during my time as Duchess Gertil, layering three of each.

Thanks to Hanna and Lucinda, who had thrown themselves into their work with delight, declaring they would make me the most beautiful woman at the ball that night, a gentle flush had returned to my cheeks for the first time in a long while.

I was ready. Shall I set off for the imperial palace?

The sun had already set, and by any ordinary evening the ground would have been sunk in darkness.

But true to the first night of the Summer Night Ball, the plaza before the imperial palace blazed with gas lamps, and the crowd was even denser than in broad daylight. Among the throng, a line of lavish carriages adorned with summer flowers waited their turn to enter, and I, seated in a comparatively modest carriage, joined the procession and waited.

The feast spread across the plaza outside the imperial palace, funded by donations from the imperial family and the nobility, was nothing short of abundant.

Food and drink in overflowing plenty, a band playing lively music, and the sound of people humming along softly.

The scene looked like a painting of everything people imagine when they picture a joyful celebration, and before I knew it, a bright smile had settled on my lips.

Ah, good spirits really are contagious. Even I’m tapping my foot to the beat.

But before long, a commotion broke out on one side of the plaza, and the warmth that had been drifting through the air began to cool.

“Duke Balthar, reveal the truth!”

“Duke Balthar, who orchestrated the corruption of the private school foundation, come before the court and face the judgment of the law!”

“Return every asset illegally transferred to the illegitimate child to society!”

A group of people holding pickets were pressing forward from one side of the plaza, trying to push their way to the center.

Since the matter had grown beyond a simple scandal into an international legal dispute, it seemed a civic organization, the kind that had been springing up frequently of late, had come to stage a protest.

Something unimaginable in the old days.

Back in Rodencia, if anyone had tried something like this in front of the royal palace, Father would have reduced them to ash while they still breathed.

Of course, it was precisely because he held such an anachronistic way of thinking that Rodencia collapsed immediately after his death.

But then, is there a noble without corruption? Is there anyone who, when shaken out, produces not a single speck of dust? Watching the Duke Balthar affair unfold, what must most nobles, those with so much to lose, be thinking?

I suddenly recalled reading an article saying that this year’s donation total for the Summer Night Ball had broken all previous records.

Ah. Everyone is aware of what’s happening.

Those with something to hide must be uneasy, but it was none of my concern either way. I had no embezzled assets and no hidden children.

“Shall I close the window?”

I had been resting my chin in my hand with a rather indifferent expression, and Hanna, perhaps mistaking it for displeasure, asked carefully.

“No. The music sounds nice. Watching that violinist stomp his foot while he plays has my shoulders moving on their own.”

I smiled, showing my front teeth, and Hanna seemed to relax at last, her light brown eyes brightening as she asked:

“Once you’ve entered the ballroom, Lady Lucian, may I come back out here for a bit?”

“Why wouldn’t you? You’re the one who insisted on coming when I said I’d ride alone. Get out of the carriage right now and go enjoy the plaza.”

Lucinda, who kept regular hours, had already gone off to enjoy the festival. I had tried to send Hanna along too, but she had insisted she absolutely had to see me enter the imperial palace, so I had no choice but to let her ride with me.

“I don’t want to! When you make your entrance at the ballroom looking this beautiful, everyone is going to stop breathing and stare! I want to see that moment, even if I have to hide somewhere to do it!”

I had been flatly dismissing Hanna’s imaginings since earlier, telling her nothing of the sort would happen, but the girl refused to be discouraged.

Fine. When you see how unremarkable everyone’s reaction is, you’ll give up.

Chatting away with Hanna about this and that, I found my turn had arrived before I knew it. Elren escorted me out of the carriage, and I drew a slow breath and lifted my head.

“Lady Lucian is entering.”

I visited the imperial palace often, but this was only my second time at an official event.

Careful not to make any careless mistakes, I kept my attention focused from head to toe as I made my way slowly into the central hall.

Contrary to Hanna’s hopes, there was no dramatic reaction. That was only natural. Nobles rarely let their feelings show at social events to begin with.

The hall I stepped into was so brilliantly adorned with guests in golden finery that it would have been bright even without the chandeliers.

The ducal estate had hosted a modest version of the Summer Night Ball before, but the atmosphere had been nothing like this. Everyone had dressed plainly out of consideration for the nation’s circumstances at the time.

Tonight, however, was an entirely different matter. The dazzling sight before me, a whole sky’s worth of stars spilled down to earth, left me unable to collect myself, and because of that, I had no attention to spare for whether people were glancing at me sideways.

As I walked slowly forward, I spotted Nelia, Elise, and Giselle waiting for me on one side of the hall. It seemed I had arrived last. Glad to see familiar faces, I made my way toward them at once.