And strength filled the arm wrapped around her waist. Despite Raphael’s fiercely crumpled expression, Amelia maintained her composure. If she got entangled with him here, it meant defeat.

“Who are you going to dance with?”

Her body instinctively flinched at his chilling tone, as if he was grinding each word.

“No need for you to worry.”

“Why shouldn’t I worry?”

“That’s because…”

Because we’re just a nominal couple. She wanted to say it didn’t matter who she danced with. But looking at his face, she couldn’t say those words. This was the first time she had seen Raphael holding back his anger so much. His golden eyes fiercely swirled, making her limbs tremble.

“We’re just… a nominal couple.”

That wasn’t the right answer, either. She eventually closed her eyes tightly at the deepening frown on his face.

“Leonel, it’s Leonel!”

“What……?”

She had blurted it out in frustration. Leonel was the only appropriate choice that came to mind.

After all, Leonel was a man too…

“I’m going to dance with Leonel.”

“…….”

She was too scared to open her eyes and see his expression. Was he making a ridiculous face? It seemed absurd even to her.

“That won’t do.”

“What?”

She hadn’t opened her eyes yet, but his voice, full of mischief, relieved her somewhat. It seemed her answer had an effect.

“We can’t have our son lose his ability to use his feet.”

His tone was clearly mocking, and Amelia’s eyes snapped open. Lose his ability to use his feet? Was he saying her dancing was that bad?

“Leonel would agree with that.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“12 times. That’s how many times you almost stepped on my feet today.”

12 times? She had no idea. She just moved as he did.

“And that’s before a single song even finished.”

“…….”

She really had nothing to say to that. Amelia thought her dancing had improved a lot because she had never stepped on his feet before. But it turned out that Raphael just got used to handling her.

“So, are you going to ruin the feet of the son you adore so much?”

“Then I won’t do it. I don’t have to do it!”

It seemed the affectionate dance between mother and son would have to wait.

“Shall we dance one more song then?”

“…… My legs hurt.”

“You just have to lean on me anyway.”

Before any more words could come out, Amelia grabbed his shoulder tightly and moved her feet. Yes, if he wants to dance, what can I do.

***

Contrary to his words that she just had to lean on him, dancing with Raphael required much more stamina than she thought. It was bound to be strenuous for her, whose physical strength was distinctly inferior to his.

Knowing Raphael might even suggest dancing a third song, Amelia pushed him away from her chest. She might collapse and be carried away if they continued dancing. She was too weak to join the late-night dance craze.

“Please stop…… There’s no such thing as dancing three songs in a row.”

“It’s not forbidden, is it?”

Yes, it’s not forbidden. But no one did that. Even among married couples, dancing three times in a row was seen as strange.

“If you don’t want to leave the position of the Grand Duchess vacant, you better stop.”

I felt like I was really going to die. My arms and legs lost strength, and I couldn’t muster any energy. If I danced any more, I might faint.

“What do you mean……”

Faced with his serious reaction again, Amelia eventually sighed. She was afraid to say anything to him because she didn’t know what he might misunderstand. Even now, his face hardened alone.

“I feel like I’ll collapse if we dance any more.”

“Ah……”

Why does this perfectly healthy man have no clue? She quickly let go of his hand and ran towards a group that looked like noblewomen. In truth, she didn’t even have the strength to walk properly, but she gave it her all.

Thanks to that, Amelia didn’t know what scene unfolded. She didn’t know that people’s misunderstandings grew as she rejected Raphael and he looked at her pitifully.

“Ha……”

“Your Highness, you’ve arrived?”

The reason she could recognize the group as noblewomen was because of Emila in the middle. Despite being a class society, it seemed everyone respected Emila, a high noblewoman of advanced age.

“Ah, Emila……”

“It was a splendid dance. Both of you looked very good together.”

The madam’s compliment made her realize that her and Raphael’s dance was also acceptable in the eyes of others. It seems there was an effect from their practice.

“So it was true that the madam was helping Her Highness the Grand Duchess with her social debut.”

“It seems you are close enough to call each other by name.”

Do these nobles think they’ve covered everything just by covering their mouths with a fan? It was natural to gossip if they didn’t know who spoke. They kept talking endlessly about her relationship with Emila. It was hard to manage her expression. This is why they teach expression management.

“Openly… offering to help.”

“Because she’s from the Marquis of Blake, there was no other choice.”

How long do I have to listen to this sound? They’re pretending to be cultured but actually enjoying talking behind someone’s back… Not all noblewomen are good people, it seems.

“Hello, Your Highness the Grand Duchess.”

“Ah, it’s the Duchess of Lancaster.”

Red hair and blue eyes. Seeing she was the first to greet, her position wasn’t low. Amelia had memorized the nobles’ personal details even before attending the party.

“Oh, you recognize me. I know it’s rude, but…… I had no choice but to greet you in advance.”

She smiled bitterly at the words that she had no choice but to greet first despite knowing it was rude. It was a lie. She’s testing her until the end. She was checking if Amelia knew the Duchess of Lancaster.

“It’s my official debut, so…… it could happen. And this is the Duchess of Kent next to me.”

“It’s an honor to meet you, Your Highness.”

It seems the Duchesses aren’t on very good terms with each other, but when they attack another, they appear as best friends.

“Your Highness, let me introduce you to the other ladies.”

“Thank you, madam.”

With Emila’s help, she finished greeting the major noblewomen. Still, their eyes were filled with caution towards her. Is this what they call territorialism?

“Your Highness the Grand Duchess. I have something I want to ask…… may I?”

They must see her as a stone that suddenly rolled in; she understood that. After exchanging greetings, everyone just watched her. The atmosphere was completely different from what she expected, leaving her flustered. She thought she would be completely ostracized……

It seems unnecessary to find out about their weaknesses through the Master. Probably all of this was thanks to Raphael. Since they seemed close, they couldn’t touch her. In social circles, nothing became a weapon for a noblewoman as much as her husband’s affection.

“Not only with His Grace but also with the young master, did you match outfits?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

She wore light sky blue, while Raphael and Leonel wore dark navy formal wear. Their outfits clearly indicated they were a family.

“It seems to match well with the Grand Duchess’s silver hair.”

I wasn’t sure why my hair color came up from the question about matching outfits. They couldn’t say it outright, so they spoke in circles with their unique, noble rhetoric. They meant, why do my hair and eye color match that of the imperial family.

“Thank you. But Marchioness Valerian also suits your gray dress very well.”

“This is……”

“Ah, I’m sorry…… it was because of the young lord…”

The one who took the initiative to speak to her was Marchioness Valerian. Her second son had been sent to trial for illegal gambling not long ago. When there was an incident in the family, attending parties in relatively inconspicuous dark colors was a social rule.

“Grand Duchess……!”

They couldn’t approach her only because of Raphael; still, there were significant forces that ignored her.

“Marchioness, since you complimented my dress…… should I have mentioned your hair color instead?”

“Are you mocking my hair color?”

Marchioness Valerian. A woman who had many weaknesses worth noting in the report sent by the master. It made sense why she attacked her.

It’s an easy card to play, I guess.

“That can’t be. Look at how beautiful your green hair is.”

Green hair typically symbolized a different race.