Chapter 4 – Cowardly Young Master

“Then, Countess Aloua, and Sister Angela. I’ll be back in a moment.”

“All right, go ahead. If you need anything, just call.”

Angela answered with a face that clearly showed her unease. Then, as soon as Rosalie and Jeremy moved away, she accepted Countess Aloua’s conversation.

“I knew I had an eye for people! With gentle Lady Rosalie, I knew my son would get along well.”

“R-really? That’s a relief……”

Leaving behind the hall where sweet melodies played, Rosalie and Jeremy quietly slipped out into the garden. After being in a warm place, the sudden chill outside struck her.

She shivered, glancing at Jeremy.

“We can’t stay out long, can we?”

“Huh? Ah, sniff. N-no……”

Jeremy Aloua, twenty-seven years old, looked as if he might burst into tears at any moment. For a grown man, he was so shy and stammered so much—he never started a conversation with her first.

He even seemed to be trying not to look at her at all.

Since he was showing such discomfort, Rosalie decided not to force any more conversation. She rubbed her goosebumped arms and looked around the garden.

Whoooosh.

A sharp early spring wind, as cold as broken glass, swept through the garden’s trees and tossed her long red hair.

“Oh, wait a second.”

“Huuh, s-s-scary.”

“……Huh? What is……?”

She remembered there was a mountain nearby—could a wild animal have come down? Or could it be… was he scared of her? Quickly fixing her wind-blown hair, she checked Jeremy’s condition.

His big eyes, with their slightly drooping corners, were already filled with tears. What should she say at a time like this? At a loss, she only bit her lip.

“I-I want to go home! I want to go home!!”

Suddenly, Jeremy screamed, forcefully pulled his arm from hers, and hobbled back alone to the villa.

“……Ha.”

What was this? What was happening? What on earth was this supposed to be?

A hollow laugh escaped her lips. Should she chase after him, or just wait here?

She had no idea what to do. Honestly, she felt like just getting some fresh air alone.

But she couldn’t just end the occasion Countess Aloua had worked so hard to arrange, so she reluctantly started to move.

“Ah!”

But luck was not on her side. Her ankle, in high heels, twisted sharply to the side and she collapsed onto the ground.

Whether it was sprained or not, her ankle immediately began to throb. Trying to stifle her laughter, she staggered to get up, but fell again.

“…Ah, seriously, nothing’s going right……”

Maybe it was the heavy dress, but she didn’t think she could get up by herself. With a dazed face, she stared at the villa. Maybe if she waited, someone would come.

Before long, she heard a sigh from behind.

“Are you all right?”

It was a familiar voice.

“……Duke of Vallière.”

Her heart ached as if she’d been caught doing something wrong. Turning her stiff jaw, she saw a man in formal attire.

How long had he been watching? What should she do, she was so embarrassed. She wanted to hide.

“I’ll lift your dress for a moment.”

She was visibly shaken, but the man acted as if nothing was wrong. With neatly combed hair, a dark suit, and cold eyes, he didn’t seem at all like the His she used to know.

……He felt unfamiliar. Ten years ago, he was always in a paint-stained, shabby shirt with suspenders.

“What are you staring at so intently?”

Kneeling on one knee, as he examined her ankle, he suddenly looked up with emerald eyes and asked. The large hand holding her ankle was cold as ice.

“N-nothing……”

Pathetically, she could only stammer and shake her head. She felt like she would cry if she spoke. Her throat kept tightening and no words came out.

She should have expected that the Duke of Vallière would attend an event like this, hosted by Countess Aloua, the late King’s niece.

Trying to erase his presence from her mind and focusing only on meeting Jeremy, she hadn’t realized it.

How foolish, how utterly foolish she was.

“Your ankle seems a bit swollen. I’ll call someone, so please wait here.”

“Ugh!”

The man, who had just pressed her exposed ankle through her skirts, stood up. Normally, he should not have left a lady alone in such a cold, dark place.

If he were any other gentleman, he would have gladly supported her or carried her back to the villa.

But they had a past. As if acutely aware of that, the Duke of Vallière tried to leave her behind.

“Um…… Duke of Vallière. Could you take me with you?”

“I’m afraid that’s difficult.”

She instinctively knew: if she let him go now, she might never get another chance to speak with him.

So she tried to stop him. But he refused, almost as if he had been waiting for it. She couldn’t hide her loneliness and pleaded.

“Ah…… then, could you at least stay with me until someone else comes?”

“That’s nonsense, Lady Rosalie Malève.”

“……”

“If we’re caught together, do you know what will happen to our reputation? Ah, but you don’t have any reputation left to lose, do you?”

The Duke of Vallière spoke mockingly. Leaving the dazzling ballroom behind, his sharp gaze looked down at her from his tall height like an arrow.

……It seemed that she was the only one who wanted a deep conversation that had never happened before. Her first love from the past clearly didn’t want to be entangled with someone like her anymore.

“Your words are rather harsh. They sound quite insulting.”

She forced herself not to cry as she replied. Yes, that was right. Their past, which was a sad memory for her, might be something he never wanted to remember.

Hystein, once a wandering painter, had been brutally beaten by the Earl Malève’s knights and left with scars that would never fade.

“……Is that so? If staying will only make you feel worse, then I’d better excuse myself.”

He seemed intent on ending the conversation completely. He gave a slight nod and turned away from her.

‘No. No. Please, don’t go.’

Without realizing it, she reached out to him.

“Are you going to keep doing this? ……Hys!”

“Don’t call my name so carelessly.”

Her outstretched hand froze in the air. With an expressionless face, he looked down at her. With a pale face, he spoke in a clear voice.

“Don’t misunderstand. To me, you are nothing more, nothing less than a past I wish to hide.”

***

“Does it hurt a lot, Rosalie? I should have stayed by your side.”

She wasn’t sure how she’d managed to return. With her eyes lowered, she nodded at Gérard’s question.

Just a moment ago, the Duke of Vallière had turned away coldly. Still, perhaps he had told the servants, because soon after, servants of the Aloua family came running.

Moved by the servants, she was seated in a resting area and examined by the family doctor who resided at the Earldom. Soon after, Gérard and Angela, having heard the news, arrived.

“How did this happen? Was it Jeremy Aloua……?”

“It wasn’t that. I just…stepped on my own skirt.”

“You should have been more careful. But where is Jeremy?”

Gérard, giving her a mild scolding, looked around. But in the resting area, only a few nobles were present, and Jeremy was nowhere to be seen.

“He said he had something to do, so I let him go. But with this leg, I don’t think I can dance…… Can I go home first?”

There was a lot she wanted to say about Jeremy, who had abandoned a lady alone in the darkness. But she couldn’t ignore the eyes of others, so she pressed her temples as if she had a headache and asked.

Today’s ball was just an excuse for her to meet Jeremy.

They could have met in private, but Countess Aloua had insisted on preparing such a lavish venue.

Others might not have known, but today’s protagonist was her. Now, as she tried to use her ankle injury as an excuse to leave, Gérard spoke anxiously.

“It would take too long for the carriage to go to Rodin and back. It’s better to ask the Countess for a room.”

“I’d rather rest comfortably at home.”

“Why is my good little sister being so stubborn today? You know it’s not polite to leave so early, don’t you?”