Dante was so flustered for a moment that he ended up asking back.

And he failed to notice that his master had made the same mistake.

The silver-haired lady, Arthe, rolled her blue eyes sadly and twisted her head this way and that.

“Hng. Arthe hurt her ankle……”

“Ah…… Ha, that! Your ankle is injured. We should call a physician…… should call one, shouldn’t we, Your Highness?”

Dante, who rarely got flustered having experienced everything in the imperial palace, looked at Cardi desperately while stuttering at the sudden baby talk and third-person speech.

“……Yeah, call a physician. My lady, can you stand up?”

“Arthe can…… oh no!”

Arthe, who had stood up with Cardi’s support, swayed and gloriously collapsed onto Cardi’s chest.

Then Cardi, who momentarily lost his balance, inadvertently embraced Arthe’s waist.

“Oh, oh my, oh my. I’ll quickly call, call a physician!”

At that sight, Dante, whose mind became confused, hurriedly left in a fluster to call a physician.

“……Sit here for now.”

Cardi, who had pushed away Arthe’s face that had been clinging to his chest like a motherless chick, helped Arthe sit on a nearby fountain.

Arthe sat on the fountain with the most fragile expression she could make, limping her leg.

“It seems to hurt a lot. Are you okay?”

Cardi asked while turning her ankle this way and that, looking up at Arthe with innocent eyes.

“Arthe hurts quite a lot, but she’s okay. She can endure it.”

“Is your name Arthe, my lady?”

“Yes. Arthe.”

Arthe faced Cardi. And she opened her mouth as slowly and clearly as possible.

“Arthe. Will you remember it?”

It was the moment Arthe whispered and looked at Cardi.

A very brief different light flickered in Cardi’s red eyes upon hearing Arthe’s name.

It was a fleeting moment that no one could notice.

Cardi, who had been examining Arthe’s ankle while kneeling, slowly straightened his body.

Looking down at Arthe while standing, Cardi had a much larger and more solid body than when seen from afar.

At that moment, wind blew and scattered Cardi’s black hair.

Arthe momentarily forgot about pretending to be hurt and blankly stared at his face that had become more serious than ever.

And very slowly his lips opened.

“Sorry, but, my lady.”

His voice was lower and more subdued than usual.

‘Should I have saved collapsing onto his chest for later?’

Flustered by Cardi’s serious appearance, Arthe’s voice trembled without her knowing.

“……Yes?”

Toward Arthe, Cardi slowly raised the corners of his mouth and smiled.

At that smile, just as she unconsciously swallowed once, Cardi opened his mouth quietly with an even deeper smile.

“Cardi already forgot the name. Tell me again.”

***

The 299th anniversary banquet’s event decorating the last day was the ‘Dance of the Year.’

According to Sable imperial tradition, every year on the last day of the debutante banquet, the ball began with dances by the ladies making their social debut that year.

Perhaps because of this, the wall hangings, curtains, flower decorations, and such were showing off even more splendor than usual.

“Oh my, how beautiful. This ball is unusually more splendid.”

“Right? I heard the Frey ducal house donated an enormous amount.”

“Come to think of it, the Frey ducal house’s lady is suddenly having her debutante ball this year, right? So that’s why……”

The nobles who had been making a fuss exclaimed in unison seeing the 30-year-old liquor from the Portsch region, which could only be bought by paying extra, being served in succession.

“Really, I’m looking forward to seeing what kind of person she is!”

“Indeed! She’ll naturally lead the first dance this year, right?”

Meanwhile, unlike the banquet hall’s atmosphere filled with anticipation, the debutantes themselves preparing for this year’s dance were practicing in a strange atmosphere.

“How can her hair be so smooth?”

“And what about her skin?”

“Besides, that dress is Madam Cerneiz’s dress, right? As expected, luxury goods are luxury goods.”

Though they were doing the same dance, why did only her hair sway like that, why did her dress hem flutter like that?

The ladies were looking at Arthe with eyes half filled with jealousy and half with awe.

“By the way, Lady Elisa ended up in a pitiful situation.”

“Indeed. After polishing herself up so much.”

Some ladies whispered and openly glanced at one side of the waiting area.

Lady Elisa Person of House Person was glaring at Arthe without even hiding her burning jealous eyes.

At the empire’s debutante ball, the lady of highest status among those debuting that year had to lead the first stage.

So when the Frey family’s ducal lady, who had higher status than her, unexpectedly announced she would have her debutante ball next year, Elisa had been so excited!

Though she had been confident that she lacked nothing in appearance, education, or family background, she had always been compared since childhood due to being the same age as the ducal house’s lady, so this debutante ball was unexpected good fortune for her.

For the first time in her life, she would receive attention alone and first at that.

‘But why is she suddenly debuting!’

Elisa burned her eyes while clenching her hands so hard her dress wrinkled.

‘And that dress!’

Remembering Madam Cerneiz, who had refused to make Elisa’s dress with various excuses, Elisa suppressed her anger.

Containing all those jealous emotions, Elisa opened her mouth sharply.

“So what if she does, she doesn’t even have a partner.”

As if talking to herself but not quite, at Elisa’s barbed words, silence flowed for a moment.

Then several ladies who had been reading the mood subtly began to speak.

“……That’s true too. What should we do if the person leading the first dance has no partner?”

“Especially when she’s representing all the ladies having their debutante ball this year.”

“Won’t Her Majesty the Empress be greatly angered……”

At those murmuring sounds, Arthe’s steps practicing the dance stopped.

At that sight, the ladies who felt guilty for no reason exchanged glances and closed their mouths.

However, as if she couldn’t lose, Elisa gritted her teeth and courageously stepped forward.

“Bu-but it’s an important matter! It’s a matter of the dignity of all the ladies having their debutante ball this year!”

After the lady leading the first dance dances with her partner to the music, from the next verse all the ladies dance together.

That was a long tradition of the debutante ball.

Since it was a problem that could naturally be raised, Arthe, who had been silent for a moment, opened her mouth.

“Certainly, the one leading the first dance can’t be without a partner.”

“Th-then!”

At Arthe’s words that flowed out as if there was no choice, Elisa brightened and stepped forward.

“Then as originally planned, I’ll—”

“Then there’s no problem.”

“Yes! ……Yes?”

Before Elisa, full of expectation, could even begin to speak, Arthe tilted her head and smiled brightly.

“Because I have a partner.”

“A partner! As far as I know, surely……”

It was before the indignant Elisa could finish her words.

“More than that, Lady Elisa, why do you think I wouldn’t have a partner?”

Arthe, who had cut off Elisa’s words with a calm expression, threw a question at Elisa.

“Th-that’s because! The lady said she would make her social debut at next year’s 300th anniversary banquet……”

Flustered by the suddenly thrown question, Elisa hurriedly babbled and opened her mouth.

At that moment.

Arthe’s low voice once again blocked Elisa’s words.

“My lady.”

“……What?”

“It should be ‘my lady,’ not ‘the lady’—that would be the correct form of address.”

“……”

While Elisa, momentarily flustered by Arthe’s words, rolled her eyes, another story flowed from Arthe’s mouth.

“It’s true that I decided on suddenly participating in the  debutante ball, but I thought you might also be making your social debut next year, Lady Elisa.”

“What do you suddenly mean by that? ……M-my lady?”

Elisa, whose face had turned red, hurriedly added the two words ‘my lady’ to the end of her sentence under Arthe’s gaze staring directly at her.

Looking at such Elisa with cold eyes, an unexpected statement popped out of Arthe’s mouth in a calm tone.

“Lady Elisa. You must have read the illustrated beginner’s etiquette book in childhood.”

The illustrated beginner’s etiquette book.

It was a fairy tale book made up of cute illustrations and easy content, used when young noble ladies who couldn’t read yet first learned etiquette.

Though it was so long ago that even the memory was hazy now, it was such a famous book that Elisa naturally knew it too.

“Isn’t that a book children read? Of course I read it too.”

“The title of Part 1 of the beginner’s etiquette book is ‘Use Forms of Address Like This.'”

“……”

“And the title of Part 3 is ‘Don’t Carelessly Talk About Others.'”

It was a pointed remark about talking behind Arthe’s back even with her right there and not using proper forms of address.

At Arthe’s words, both Elisa and the ladies who had been whispering just hung their heads low, reading the mood.

Elisa’s face was now heated up like a bright red tomato.

However, paying no heed to Elisa’s expression, Arthe continued speaking in a calm tone.

“House Person’s etiquette has long been famous for its high quality.”

“……”

“But based on such education, at the first occasion of officially debuting in society, House Person’s young lady couldn’t possibly violate etiquette that even children know, could she?”

“Th-that’s!”

“Therefore, I thought that perhaps the lady intended to debut in society after a bit more training.”

“Pfft.”

One of the ladies who had been listening to Arthe and Elisa’s conversation without even swallowing their saliva finally couldn’t hold back and burst into laughter.

Arthe’s pointed remark ,hat she didn’t even know the contents of an etiquette book that only children read was the worst insult to a noble lady.

“I-I’m sorry. My lady.”

Finally Elisa knelt and apologized to Arthe.

“What for? That can happen.”

Just as Arthe finished speaking with a bright smile.

Knock knock-

With the sound of knocking on the door for a moment, the waiting room door opened and the imperial head maid and maids entered.

“I inform the ladies. The ball will begin in 30 minutes, so please all wait. Ah, and Lady Frey, this way……”

After the imperial head maid politely bowed, she took Arthe and left.

Watching that sight, Elisa clenched her dress hem with a seething face.

‘There’s definitely no young lord of suitable age! What partner could she possibly have gotten? I’ll somehow repay this humiliation!’

Elisa barely held back tears thinking of Arthe who would soon fall into trouble.

A little later, the ladies headed to the imperial banquet hall arm in arm with their partners.