That Marriage, I’ll Do It in this Life - Chapter 33
Thus, the two ended up focusing solely on dancing until the music ended.
Even as they exchanged closing greetings, Kayan’s lips kept twitching. If he had something to say, why didn’t he just say it? Saena stared at him curiously, puzzled by his hesitation, when she felt the atmosphere around her grow restless.
‘This feels oddly familiar…’
The noise followed her from behind, and she felt stares sticking to her.
It was similar to the atmosphere when Duke Kramer had asked her to dance.
‘Could it be…?’
A chilling sensation crept up her nape, and Saena decided to pretend not to notice. She intended to quickly walk forward and leave the area without looking back.
“……!”
But someone suddenly grabbed her wrist.
A flood of thoughts swept through Saena’s mind in just one or two seconds.
Why grab my wrist? How rude. Who is it? Could it be another duke? Why is this happening to me again?
When she finally turned around, Saena’s eyes widened. Her guess was wrong, but the situation was worse.
‘…What?’
It was Prince Gillian. Someone she hadn’t expected at all.
“Dance with me.”
Without giving her a chance to greet him or refuse, Saena was immediately pulled onto the floor.
“Ah…”
Her wrist hurt, but she couldn’t shake off the prince’s hand, so she hurriedly adjusted her steps.
‘…Good thing I wore gloves.’
For some reason, the prince’s grip on her wrist felt extremely unpleasant.
No matter how much of a prince he was, dragging someone like this without permission was uncalled for. Could the duke have anticipated even this?
The prince’s lead was confident. His assured movements were evident even with Saena’s limited experience as a dance partner. However, his movements lacked consideration for his partner, making it twice as exhausting for Saena.
‘I’m starting to miss dancing with the duke…’
At least when she danced with Duke Kramer, it had been awkward but not physically taxing.
“I heard Duke Kramer asked you to dance at the debutante ball.”
Perhaps because she was thinking of the duke, the prince brought up the topic out of nowhere.
“…Yes.”
“How was it?”
“We just danced a simple piece together.”
Not knowing the prince’s intentions, Saena gave a neutral response.
However, it seemed the answer didn’t please the prince.
“Is that why you danced two consecutive pieces with him today?”
“……”
He immediately began to criticize her.
“Even wearing matching outfits?”
“……”
The questions continued.
“I heard the Duke even attended the Debov family’s salon?”
“…Yes.”
She had no idea what the intention behind these questions was.
In any case, the next emperor of the empire wasn’t determined by which noble faction one aligned with. The decision was made solely by the Guardian Spirit’s choice, so the Macfeyden Imperial Family didn’t experience bloody power struggles or fratricidal conflicts like in other nations.
Thus, there was no need to worry about Saena’s words being overly politically interpreted. However, even so…
“Are you planning to marry him or something?”
“…Pardon?”
Just because he visited the manor once… marriage? She couldn’t understand why the conclusion jumped to that or why such a question was even being asked.
“Hmm. So you’re not at that stage yet.”
“……”
“That’s a relief.”
…A relief? She could understand the strange misunderstanding, but what exactly was so relieving about it?
Feeling the prince’s probing gaze, Saena lowered her eyes.
She was now just waiting for the music to end as soon as possible.
‘Finally…!’
The sound of the music winding down felt like a serenade to her ears.
Following the prince, who left the floor without further curiosity, Saena thought about quickly saying her goodbyes and leaving.
It was then that she came face to face with Elaine Barnes, who was smiling.
“Prince Gillian.”
It seemed she had come to greet the prince.
“Ah, Elaine.”
“How about a dance with me this time?”
“Didn’t we already dance the first dance earlier?”
“…That’s true, but…”
“If you run over every time I dance with another lady, what does that make me look like?”
“Prince Gillian, that’s not what I meant…”
“Tsk, tsk.”
What was this situation now?
‘No, please, if you’re going to argue, do it between yourselves!’
Having ended up in an extremely awkward position just because of one dance, Saena stood there hesitantly, trying to gauge the situation, until she met Elaine Barnes’s gaze. Though Elaine was smiling, her eyes carried a blade-like sharpness as they bore into Saena.
‘Excuse me, it’s not like I wanted to dance with him, you know?’
Receiving a glare that seemed to accuse her of seducing the prince, Saena felt a wave of injustice but found it difficult to argue back.
It seemed she had now made a proper enemy out of Lady Barnes.
Well, what could she do? If they couldn’t get along, so be it.
Saena sighed internally and decided to let it go. She didn’t harbor the naive belief that she could get along with everyone.
‘…Beth?’
But what was up with her now?
Looking past Elaine, Saena’s eyes met Elizabeth’s, and her gaze was very peculiar.
She was smiling, but it wasn’t a genuine smile. What good was a smile if the eyes didn’t smile as well?
Unlike Elaine Barnes’s openly hostile gaze, Elizabeth’s eyes were even more unsettling.
If she had been angry or upset, her gaze would have been fiery. Instead, her eyes carried a cold, calculating quality, as if weighing utility and strategy deep within.
Despite knowing Elizabeth for a longer time in her past life, it felt like she had learned more about her in this life, even with their shorter acquaintance. Elizabeth’s gaze alone was enough to make Saena think about many things.
‘First, let’s get out of here.’
Leaving a brief farewell to the prince, Saena quickly turned away.
Fortunately, she had a good excuse. Duke Kramer was clearly visible nearby. Perhaps fulfilling his role as her partner, he seemed to have been waiting for her.
“Your Grace.”
As he approached to greet her, Saena was able to leave without any unnecessary fuss.
Walking alongside the Duke, she could feel the weight of the crowd’s lingering gazes trailing after them.
Feeling drained from all the excessive attention, Saena pretended to head toward the refreshment bar and discreetly stopped in the blind spot behind a pillar.
Now that she had finally shaken off the persistent stares, she could breathe a little easier. However, she couldn’t block out the chatter of the noblewomen passing by the pillar.
“I heard Duke Kramer even attended the Debov family’s salon?”
“Oh, I heard that too. My husband was already disappointed about not getting an invitation, and when he heard that news, he was even more upset.”
“Yes, yes. I heard the wine served that day was extraordinary. His Grace apparently tasted it and praised it so highly that now everyone who attended the salon is frantically searching every wine merchant to find it.”
“Why is that?”
“Apparently, the wine’s price is expected to multiply several times over, so they’re trying to secure it in advance.”
“Multiply several times? Oh my, what’s the name of the wine?”
“Well, they said the name was kept a secret. That’s why it’s causing such a stir.”
Hmm. This was good news.
Thanks to Duke Kramer’s attendance at the salon, it seemed the price increase for the 853 vintage of ‘Spring Rose’ was happening much sooner than expected.
Even so, it was hard to offset the annoyance caused by the excessive attention brought about by the duke’s involvement.
“I think I might’ve done something wrong.”
“…Pardon?”
“I don’t know what it is, but if I apologize, would it make things worse?”
“……”
Did my expression look that bad…?
She was indeed tired and annoyed by the situation, but she hadn’t intended to show it so openly. How embarrassing.
“Hmm. No, it’s not that…”
Elizabeth was already so good at controlling her expressions, so why was she so bad at it?
She’d lived ten years longer, after all.
“I’m just tired. Honestly, I don’t enjoy large banquets like this very much.”
It was a clumsy excuse, but the duke accepted it without comment.
“If you’ve had enough, you could leave now. Shall I escort you in my carriage?”
“Oh, would that be alright? If you have other matters to attend to, you can stay longer.”
“No, it’s fine. I don’t have anything else to do. I only attended because of you, after all.”
“…Pardon?”
She felt like she had just heard something strange.
Was this part of that ‘wanting to make a good impression’ thing he mentioned before?
Thinking it might be a joke, she looked up at the duke, but his expression remained calm.
‘…Hmm. What should I say to that? Or maybe…’
She decided to feign ignorance. Probing further might only make things more awkward.
“If it’s alright with you, then yes. I’d like to leave now.”
“Very well.”
Banquets were exhausting after all. With the duke’s agreement, Saena seized the opportunity to stop her socializing.
Duchess_Starlight
I’m so in love with this story. I need to know all the mystery!