***

Valetta’s father and Irmina’s mother were siblings, making Valetta and Irmina first cousins.

However, there was a slight difference in status between them. Although both were daughters of Counts, Valetta’s father – Count Irpman – had not inherited any wealth, making him a noble in name only. In contrast, Irmina’s father, Count Dampierre, had inherited a vast fortune.

As a result, Valetta ended up living under her roof after her father’s death, which naturally made her the target of Irmina’s pettiness.

She couldn’t even complain about being forced to live in a converted storeroom with hardly any sunlight. She had to take on menial tasks like a servant and endure it all in silence. But today felt like too much.

“This is just…”

Valetta bit her lip at Irmina’s act of hiding the dress the Empress had given her. It was obvious she’d ordered Laura to take it away – there was no way Irmina would have gone through the storeroom herself to hide it.

But the missing dress wasn’t the real problem. Her aunt and uncle had left an hour earlier than planned, and now there wasn’t a single carriage left on the estate.

How was she going to get to the ball without one?

“If I miss this one too, I’ll really be in trouble.”

Sighing, Valetta headed for Irmina’s room. Not because she expected to find the dress there.

The dressing room was locked with a key, so her only option was to check the wardrobe, and predictably, Irmina had left behind only outdated, unfashionable dresses – as if to mock her.

With no other choice, Valetta chose one of Irmina’s discarded dresses. It was tight at the bust and loose at the waist, having been tailored to fit Irmina’s figure, but it was still presentable. She tied up the excess fabric at the waist with a ribbon and looked at herself in the mirror.

“My hair is the problem…”

There hadn’t been time to curl it with hot irons. And to be honest, if she asked the maids for help, there was a good chance they’d “accidentally” burn her scalp. So instead, Valetta adorned her long hair with flowers from a vase and stepped out into the hallway.

“Young lady, where do you think you’re going?”

Laura, the maid she met in the hall, asked with raised eyebrows. Valetta replied.

“I’m going to the ball.”

“You’re late. Madam and Miss Irmina have already left. There’s no carriage – how exactly do you plan to get there?”

“That’s the problem. I’m still figuring it out.”

At her calm reply, Laura let out a small smile. No matter how much Valetta depended on the Dampierre family, she was still a noble – and a guest in the Count’s household. To speak to her in such a disrespectful manner was undeniably insolent.

“Laura. Go to town and rent a carriage.”

“And do you even have money to pay for one?”

“Tell my uncle to pay for it.”

At Valetta’s command, Laura let out a deep sigh, her expression saying clearly, “How dare you speak like that?”

“Young lady, you seem to be under some kind of illusion -“

“Laura. I was personally invited by Her Majesty the Empress. If someone like me can’t attend because there’s no carriage, it would bring shame on the entire House of Dampierre. And if the House’s reputation is damaged, it will be because you have failed to provide me with a carriage. So go and hire one. Now.”

At Valetta’s firm command, Laura pouted and reluctantly left the manor. Meanwhile, Valetta took out her old pocket watch and checked the time. She would probably arrive just before the ball started, maybe even a little late.

Soon Laura returned from the street, having hired a carriage.

With her usual calm expression, Valetta spoke to the sweat-soaked maid.

“Good work.”

With that dry acknowledgement, she boarded the cheap carriage and headed for the palace. Of all the invited nobles, she was probably the only one to arrive in such a shabby ride.

Had she accepted the Empress’s earlier invitations, she wouldn’t have had to enter the palace today under these circumstances.

‘Why did it have to be today…’

Her mind was consumed by the fact that Leonard Carnies would be at the ball.

She wasn’t sure she could see his face without feeling physically ill. One of the reasons she had avoided going to the palace in the first place was the fear of running into him.

‘I’m sorry. I’m so sorry…’

It had rained that day too – just like today. Leonard, carrying the things that had once belonged to Friedrich, couldn’t even lift his head in front of her.

That mission four years ago had been the worst in history. Leonard hadn’t even been able to recover the body of Friedrich – the friend who had died in his place.

All he brought back was the unbearable guilt of failing to protect a comrade… and a crushing grief for Valetta.

“Why? Why was it only you? What about Friedrich?”

Valetta’s face contorted in fear. She wanted to believe that Leonard was playing a cruel joke. The sound of the rain in her ears and the cold drops on her skin suddenly felt far away, distant.

“Answer me! Where is Friedrich?”

The scream from that day still sounded clear. Her throat had felt as if it had been ripped open, and she could almost taste blood.

No – not her blood. The metallic scent clinging to Leonard had smelled of blood, and it smelled too much like her brother’s.

The thought made Valetta’s grief unbearable. It felt as if her heart had been torn apart, as if the sky itself had collapsed.

“If it wasn’t for you… He died because of you…”

According to the others, Friedrich had died to save Leonard. To him, Leonard had been like a brother.

But for Valetta, Friedrich had been her only remaining family under the sky. Having lost both her parents at a young age, Friedrich had been more than a brother to her – he had been everything.

He had been Valetta’s parent, her friend, her protector and her teacher. Although they were only four years apart, the bond between them went far beyond that of ordinary siblings.

That was why Valetta could never forgive Leonard for being the only one left alive. Especially since Friedrich had been reluctant to go on this mission.

“He said he didn’t want to go…”

Friedrich had said that something felt wrong. He had confessed that he had a bad feeling and didn’t want to join the campaign.

But Leonard had talked him out of it. No-begged him. How could Friedrich refuse such a desperate plea from the friend he trusted most?

“He said he wouldn’t go this time, and you dragged him into it anyway… He died because of you. Because of you!”

I hate you, Leonard.

I wish it was you who had died instead.

***

Valetta spent countless nights seething with hatred for Leonard and grief for Friedrich, the brother she had left behind.

What was so important about a friend? A comrade? That he would leave her so easily and disappear forever?

“Valetta. Just wait. When I return from this campaign…”

Ah… Friedrich.

The promise you made that day was one you were never meant to keep.

Valetta’s trembling eyelids fluttered shut. She’d thought she’d run out of tears long ago – but once again they slipped silently down her cheeks. She wiped at her damp face, her fingers cold against her skin.

Outside, the rain beat hard against the ground, echoing with an almost punishing intensity beneath the wheels of the carriage.

‘Frederick… I can’t forgive you. You left me. When I had no one else. Why did you save Leonard… and die like that?’

The more she resented Frederick, the more she despised Leonard. And the more she hated Leonard, the deeper the pain – the raw, consuming pain of being left behind.

The carriage stopped – they had arrived at the ballroom. Valetta wiped away the last of her tears and opened her eyes.

Facing Leonard was the last thing she wanted to do, but if fate forced her to see him tonight, she would look that proud face straight in the eye and say:

‘I, Valetta Irpman, will never forgive Leonard Carnies.’

When Valetta entered the ballroom, all eyes were on her. But it wasn’t just her stunning beauty that caught their attention.

That was part of it – but there was more.

She had become the subject of whispered rumours for another reason:

She was the younger sister of Friedrich Irpman – the brave hero, the knight who protected the realm, the one and only dragon slayer.

“She looks just like the late Count Irpman.”

“I hear she lives off her relatives. How pitiful.”

“No luck with her parents, and not even with her brother. Tsk, tsk.”

Valetta tried hard to ignore the whispering voices. But the harder she tried not to hear them, the clearer they rang in her ears. And the clearer they became, the more they tore at her already wounded heart.

Just then, someone grabbed her arm and pulled her aside.

“You…!”

It was Irmina. Flustered by Valetta’s unexpected appearance, she looked her up and down. The dress Valetta was wearing was one Irmina recognised immediately – but it looked completely different on her.

“How did you get here…?”

Valetta was almost relieved to be dealing with Irmina’s anger instead – it was easier to face than the murmurs of the crowd.

“I borrowed your dress. I didn’t have anything suitable to wear to the ball.”

One of the reasons she had turned down three invitations to the Empress’s tea party was because she had nothing suitable to wear. As a child, Valetta used to cry helplessly in the face of Irmina’s petty cruelty. Wearing Irmina’s clothes without permission, as she does now, would have been unthinkable then.

But everything changed the day Friedrich died. When the only person who had protected her disappeared, Valetta had to become stronger to survive.

Standing up to Irmina’s pettiness and talking back were small, hard-won changes.

Losing the condolence money and the commendation the Imperial Family had given her aunt and uncle had been more than enough to bear.

Valetta straightened her shoulders, subtly showing off the dress to irritate Irmina.

“Looks good on me, doesn’t it?”

Valetta had a beauty that could make even outdated styles look timelessly elegant. Even in a dress long out of fashion, she looked stunning.

Irmina, usually quick to call her a freeloader and tell her to earn her keep, was struck speechless. She forced a smile and barely managed a nod.