1.5

“Today is the first time I’ve seen you. Which family are you from?”  

“The Novary family.”  

Fortunately, unlike two years ago, Ellen moved her body gracefully as she had been taught. She felt relieved that she was no longer making mistakes like stepping on her partner’s feet. However, she soon sensed something odd. The man’s words were slightly strange.  

“I’ve never heard of that family before. Is it from some backwater place?”  

Rather than asking her name, he only inquired about her family. When she mentioned the Novary family, he seemed dismissive, as if he didn’t know it at all. His gaze, which seemed to scan her from head to toe, was unpleasant.  

Well, it’s just one dance anyway….  

Feeling uneasy, Ellen decided to endure until the end of the song. Suddenly, she flinched in surprise. The man’s hand, which was holding her waist, began to move downward inappropriately.  

“What are you doing?”  

She raised her head to confront him, only to see his gaze filled with something sinister, as though he had ulterior motives.  

“Please mind your manners.”  

Stopping the dance midway would be disrespectful, so Ellen subtly warned him. However, at that moment, his lips curled into a smirk, and his hand, which was wrapped around her waist, suddenly tugged at something.  

“!”  

Ellen’s dress loosened in an instant, revealing the inner slip she was wearing underneath. Whenever she bent slightly, the cleavage she had hidden inside her dress became exposed in a provocative manner.  

The man had deliberately undone the pins that were securing the dress to fit her body size.  

Shocked, Ellen nearly screamed, but she stopped herself, knowing that doing so would draw everyone’s attention to her. She quickly covered her mouth with her hand to suppress the sound.  

However, the humiliation she felt in that moment was unavoidable.  

“If you don’t want to embarrass yourself, why not lean closer into my arms?”  

The man seemed to think that Ellen would use his embrace to shield herself from the embarrassment of her loosened dress. He likely intended to exploit her shame to seduce her.  

Ellen had unfortunately encountered one of the men Donna had warned her about—someone seeking casual relationships.  

Faced with the decision of whether to endure the humiliation or hide in the man’s arms, Ellen didn’t hesitate. She pushed him away.  

Caught off guard by the unexpected action, the man lost his balance and fell onto his backside.  

“What in the world?”  

“What’s going on?”  

In that instant, the eyes of many people in the ballroom turned toward Ellen and the man.  

Ah….  

She hadn’t intended to push him over. She simply wanted to escape his touch, which had felt so repulsive. But things had gone awry again.  

This is the worst.  

As a result, Ellen found herself in yet another humiliating situation, albeit slightly different from two years ago.  

She quickly covered her chest to prevent any strange rumors from spreading.  

“Were you trying to seduce me….”  

Embarrassed, the man attempted to frame Ellen as an indecent woman who had been flirting with him through her improper attire.  

“You have no manners. You touched me without my consent and even loosened the pins on my dress!”  

Fearing that she might be labeled as a promiscuous woman, Ellen interrupted the man’s words and shouted. She couldn’t afford to be humiliated any further.  

The ballroom was soon filled with murmurs and whispers.  

“Ellen!”  

Donna, who had only just grasped the situation, rushed over to Ellen with a shocked expression.  

“Jacob Stair, Young Master, what kind of rudeness is this?”  

“I-I apologize. I didn’t realize she was acquainted with you, Lady Courtney.”  

It seemed that Donna knew the man, as she scolded him angrily. Only then did he offer an apology.  

Satisfied with his response, Donna supported Ellen and led her to the balcony.  

“You just had bad luck encountering a terrible man. Don’t let it upset you too much.”  

Donna consoled Ellen as she re-pinned the dress to secure it.  

“She’s such a troublemaker, isn’t she? Even two years ago, the young lady of the Novary Viscount family caused quite a commotion.”  

Meanwhile, Ellen could feel the mocking gazes and hear the sneering remarks of those who remembered her.  

Ellen lowered her head. Although the man was at fault, people seemed to believe that both she and the man were equally responsible for the incident.  

“As expected from someone from the countryside, her etiquette is severely lacking.”  

Moreover, some individuals who remembered her used her rural origins as a basis for ridicule. Not everyone was criticizing her, but it felt as though the entire room was against her.  

“Just ignore them. They’re only using your background as an excuse to put you down because they have nothing else to criticize. You just had the misfortune of encountering a shallow man.”  

Donna vented her anger at Jacob while trying to comfort Ellen. But Ellen couldn’t shake her feelings of despair.  

It was truly the worst. Just like at the debutante ball two years ago, this time was no different.  

Every time Ellen attended a ball, something bad seemed to happen. She began to think of herself as a woman who didn’t belong in such settings.  

Despite her efforts to redeem herself after her mistakes two years ago, she had once again fallen victim to an inappropriate man’s actions, earning the ridicule of many. Her confidence plummeted even further.  

The only silver lining was that Sir Guilford hadn’t attended the ball today. At least he hadn’t witnessed her humiliation.  

Even now, all she could think about was him. Ellen found herself ridiculous for focusing on Leon even in such a situation.  

But how could she show him her best side?  

* * *

“I’m far too late.”  

Leon was on his way to the ballroom, having arrived late. He had originally planned to escort his younger sister, Mia, but an urgent summons from the Empress had forced him to send Mia ahead.  

Recently, one of his fellow knights, Logan, had been pestering Mia.  

Logan was the type of man who attended balls solely to find a woman for a one-night affair. Leon hoped that his innocent sister wouldn’t fall for Logan’s charms, but it seemed she had been swayed by his sweet words.  

I can’t let Logan seduce her!  

Determined to separate Mia from Logan, Leon decided to attend the ball, even if it meant arriving late.  

Just as he was about to enter the ballroom, he overheard familiar voices from the garden terrace.  

“Wasn’t she a young lady from the Novary family? The aura she exuded was no joke.”  

“Dylan approached her for a dance as a joke and got rejected, didn’t he?”  

Curious, Leon turned toward the source of the voices and saw Logan and the deputy commander, Max, standing there.  

Relieved to see Logan outside the ballroom, Leon let out a breath of relief. He had warned Mia not to speak to Logan today, and it seemed she had rejected him.  

“Leon, you’re here?”  

The two men noticed Leon and greeted him warmly.  

“Yes, my business has just concluded.”  

“Then you haven’t heard the story yet, have you?”  

“…?”  

Leon wasn’t particularly interested in gossip, but Logan and Max began to recount the incident that had occurred earlier in the ballroom.

A story about a woman who rarely appeared in society but always caused a stir when she did.