That Marriage, I’ll Do It in this Life - Chapter 17

Although Saena hadn’t lived a particularly long life, having experienced a dark period in her previous life and then returning, she could somewhat agree with the sentiment. The freshness of being nineteen again was beautiful in itself. It was something to be grateful for.

That said, Saena had never thought of herself as a beauty.

‘Someone like Sister Kiki or Beth is what you’d call a true beauty.’

In comparison, she thought of herself as rather plain, with her dark hair. There were moments when her violet eyes shimmered beautifully, but that was about it.

She didn’t have a voluptuous figure, nor did she possess an endearing charm.

Recalling her experiences with her ex-husband, she even considered herself frigid.

Because of that, her goal now was to complete her debut modestly and live a peaceful and happy life with her family.

Marriage? She never wanted to go through that again.

In truth, if it were up to her, she’d spend her life studying Arlesian and exploring ancient ruins.

But she didn’t want to repeat the mistakes of her previous life, where her naivety had led her to suffer greatly, so she was trying her best to live differently this time.

‘Especially things like masquerade balls—I’ll never go near them again.’

Whirl.

As she completed the final turn under Kayan’s lead, she made up her mind.

The layers of her dress, as light as dragonfly wings, puffed up in a circle before settling down. The bodice of Saena’s dress was a simple white tube-top style, but over it, she wore a short lace cape that kept her bare skin from being fully exposed.

However, with every turn, the cape would flutter and momentarily reveal glimpses of her pale shoulders, back, and arms.

Those watching the first dance from the edge of the floor—both men and women—couldn’t help but sneak glances at her.

Soon, the music ended.

Saena and Kayan faced each other, exchanged bows, and then turned toward the audience to bow once more.

The first dance was over, and their roles as partners ended there. From this point on, others who had taken an interest in the debutantes could ask them to dance.

“Kayan.”

“Y-yeah?”

“Thank you.”

Saena gave him a short smile as she expressed her gratitude.

She appreciated him agreeing to the sudden partner change, as well as how he had guided and supported her when she lost focus.

Though she wanted to ask him someday how he remembered the beginning of their connection, which had been missing Yuri, now was not the time.

As she turned to leave after thanking him, Kayan’s hand briefly rose toward her back before falling away, unnoticed by Saena.

Murmur, murmur.

It was then that Saena noticed a peculiar commotion around her.

As she scanned her surroundings, thinking she should return to her family now that the first dance was over, she suddenly froze.

The people standing at the edge of the floor were all staring at her.

‘……?’

No, to be precise, they weren’t looking at her but at something behind her.

What could possibly be there?

Curious, she turned around—and flinched.

It felt as though a massive wall had appeared before her. Startled, she instinctively stepped back, only to trip over her own feet.

“Ah!”

Just as she was about to fall backward and embarrass herself, a firm hand grabbed her waist and pulled her upright.

Saena’s eyes widened.

The wall she had perceived and the hand supporting her waist both belonged to one person.

Constantine Kramer, the Duke of Kramer.

He was standing right in front of her.

Up close, the Duke was so imposing that he filled her entire field of vision. She couldn’t see anything beyond him.

Thump.

Caught between surprise and confusion, Saena momentarily lost the ability to speak.

When his jewel-like blue eyes, framed by white lashes, looked down at her, it felt as though his gaze alone was holding her captive.

For a moment, all sound ceased, and everything else faded away.

It was as if she were submerged underwater, detached from reality.

The Duke began to speak, but she didn’t even register his words.

“……would you?”

“…….”

When she came to her senses, she realized she was dancing with him.

“…What, what’s going on?”

“What do you mean?”

“Why am I dancing with Your Grace…?”

“Didn’t you follow willingly when I asked earlier? What are you talking about?”

“…….”

Saena opened her mouth to say something but decided to stay silent.

Today had been full of strange occurrences.

And the strangest of them all was undoubtedly this: dancing with the Duke of Kramer.

‘Why on earth?’

Of course, she knew who the Duke was—he was famous. But there was no reason for him to know her.

It was odd enough that he was still present. Typically, someone of his stature would leave shortly after the imperial family’s opening speech.

And this was a debutante ball—a party for fledglings to introduce themselves. Why would someone like him care?

Her connection to the Duke?

In this life, which had just restarted, there was no such thing.

Was it because of a few twisted variables?

‘The dress? The change in partners? Or… when I went to see Morev?’

Hmm… No matter how much she thought about it, she couldn’t figure it out.

Meanwhile, the Duke’s lead was impeccable.

The perfect distance between a man and a woman, as taught by her dance instructor. Not too close, not too far.

Precise angles, flawless posture—it was as if he were a living textbook.

‘…He’s practically an instruction manual in human form.’

Even his attire was textbook-perfect.

A long-sleeved formal outfit with cuffs buttoned so tightly that not even a sliver of wrist was visible, meticulously worn leather gloves, trousers pressed so sharply they could cut, and boots spotless enough to reflect light.

No matter how much they danced, there wasn’t even the slightest chance of skin contact.

His appearance was so pristine it bordered on rigid, but that didn’t mean he looked kind.

The high collar buttoned all the way up to his chin seemed suffocating, yet it didn’t diminish the sharpness he exuded.

Rather, it felt as though the tightly fastened buttons were meant to suppress something threatening from bursting out.

Saena slowly looked up at him. His towering height made her neck ache.

Meeting his gaze was no easy feat.

The thick white lashes surrounding his icy blue eyes looked like frost encasing frozen water. His cold, deep gaze, reminiscent of the ocean’s depths, seemed to pierce through her, compelling her to lay bare even her smallest sins.

‘Hmm… He’d be great at interrogating criminals.’

She lacked the fortitude to withstand such an oppressive gaze for long.

Saena subtly averted her eyes, looking over his shoulder instead. She stifled a sigh, forcing herself to stay composed.

Besides, if he had asked her to dance, there must have been a reason, right?

But he said nothing.

Dancing silently with him made her feel as though she might turn into a wooden plank. With his skill, he could probably lead even a literal plank gracefully, but still.

Swish.

‘……?’

And then, Saena saw it again—a fleeting vision.

‘Black… wings? What is that?’

Behind the Duke, she faintly saw a translucent black mass shifting. It even felt as though the mass was watching her.

Saena narrowed her eyes, focusing on it.

A black mass staring at her? She began to wonder if something had gone wrong with her when she returned to this life.

“Do you see something there?”

Startled by the Duke’s deep, weighty voice, Saena quickly turned her gaze back to him.

“Huh? Oh, no. I’m just… nervous.”

She couldn’t very well say, ‘I saw a black mass shifting behind you, and it looked like it was staring at me.’

So she gave a vague excuse.

Once her tension subsided a bit, Saena realized just how much attention she was drawing.

Despite the first dance being over and others being free to join the floor, only a few people had stepped forward. Most of the attendees stood at the edge of the floor, watching her and the Duke.

Even Saena had never heard of the Duke dancing with anyone in the capital. This must be an extraordinarily rare sight.

The Duke, who had unintentionally made her the center of unwanted attention, was starting to irritate her.

Maybe that’s why a slightly petulant question slipped out of her mouth.

“Why did you ask me to dance?”

No matter how much she thought about it, she couldn’t figure out his reason.

And aside from the pressure of him being a Duke, being this close to him made her uncomfortable.

After all, he was… he was…

‘Elizabeth’s husband!’

It hadn’t happened yet, but the psychological discomfort was unavoidable.