“I’m, I’m sorry, Countess.”

Constantly clearing her throat and calming her flushed face, Marchioness Dorothy gestured for her to continue talking.

Countess Briana nodded slightly and opened her fan to block people’s gazes. When the stares fixed on them were blocked, the Countess continued speaking.

“They say that argument was actually a lovers’ quarrel between the two.”

“That can’t be. Viscount Ante said the words exchanged between them were so harsh they couldn’t even be repeated……”

“They were acting on purpose! Because they couldn’t be discovered.”

Marchioness Dorothy, barely containing her shock, quickly swallowed the hibiscus tea placed in front of her to calm her heart.

“You might not know, but they say Duke Aaron spoke to her when Viscount Ante said he would introduce his son to the lady.”

“What?”

The Marchioness opened her eyes wide and covered her mouth at this story she was hearing for the first time.

“And the rumor that the lady was having a secret romance spread after that party. Don’t you think it’s strange?”

“Could it be…… the Duke spread it on purpose out of jealousy to prevent people from approaching her?”

“Exactly!”

At Countess Briana’s answer, Marchioness Dorothy clapped her hands lightly, then asked another question as curiosity suddenly came over her.

“But Lady Eileen had her debutante not long ago and just returned after studying abroad for five years……”

“Oh my, Marchioness! Fresher is a place many nobles from Bereut visit, so wouldn’t they have met there?”

Countess Briana shook her head, saying that wasn’t a problem.

“And look! That look in Duke Aaron’s eyes as he glares at Young Marquis Eden!”

“Now that you mention it……”

“It’s clearly jealousy from a lover who can’t speak out!”

Countess Briana and Marchioness Dorothy turned their gazes toward Eileen’s group as if by agreement. Their eyes sparkled with curiosity and interest.

* * *

“You’ll be the most beautiful lady at the ball!”

Mary said while firmly securing the butterfly-shaped tiara embedded with aquamarines and diamonds to prevent it from falling.

“Of course I will. Who picked this dress after all?”

“My eye for fashion is reliable, isn’t it?”

The sky-blue dress that captured the clear lake’s hue and the flowers elaborately embroidered over the voluminous skirt.

The dress was already ethereal and beautiful on its own, but when combined with Eileen’s beauty, it created an elegant and mysterious atmosphere reminiscent of an elf from the deep forest.

“Yes. It’s truly beautiful!”

Eileen showed her satisfaction by lightly holding the hem of her dress and twirling around.

“Miss, preparations for departure are complete.”

Gabriel approached Eileen, who had been smiling brightly, and informed her in a low voice.

“Is that so?”

Upon hearing his words, Eileen thanked the maids and headed to the entrance to board the carriage.

The carriage took Eileen to Marquis Parker’s residence. When Eileen stepped into the ballroom, Cordelia, who had already arrived, approached her with a bright smile.

“Lady Eileen!”

Seeing Cordelia greeting her as if wagging an invisible tail, Eileen smiled back and greeted her.

“Lady Cordelia! Have you been well?”

“No. I couldn’t be well because I missed you too much!”

“What?”

“I mean I missed you that much!”

Wait a minute. This sounds familiar.

Had Cordelia said something similar to someone else in the original work?

Eileen unconsciously frowned slightly at Cordelia’s words that gave her a sense of déjà vu.

—I couldn’t be well because I missed you too much, Count Luke!

Yes, that’s right, Luke! That’s what she said to Luke in the original work.

When the male protagonist, whom she had temporarily set aside in her single-minded pursuit of revenge, came to mind, Eileen’s head began to throb.

‘I hope I’m not preventing them from meeting because of me……?’

Though she hated to imagine it, seeing the current Cordelia made it entirely possible. Eileen exhaled a frustrated breath and racked her brain for a solution to the problem she had created.

Just then, a familiar voice spoke as someone extended their hand to her.

“Lady Eileen. Would you honor me with a dance?”

The moment she looked up to confirm who it was, Eileen’s face instantly contorted.

“Duke Aaron……”

The silver hair that still shone brightly and the sophisticated navy formal attire delicately embroidered with silver thread.

Even his elegant posture without any unnecessary movements,

He was beautiful enough to entrance anyone who didn’t know him.

Of course, only if they didn’t know him.

“What do you say?”

Finding it amusing that he would ask her to dance while having Cordelia, his unrequited love, right beside them, Eileen let out a small laugh.

‘If it weren’t for Aaron in the first place, I wouldn’t have had to worry about any of this!’

Her already constricted breathing seemed to tighten further upon facing Aaron.

‘What is he plotting anyway?’

Eileen clicked her tongue briefly and glared at Aaron. He still stood with his hand extended, wearing a smile.

‘……Fine, let’s find out what this bastard is thinking first.’

Though she hadn’t even begun to plan how to bring Cordelia and Luke together, that could wait for later.

“Lady Cordelia, may I excuse myself for a moment?”

Having sorted her thoughts, Eileen asked Cordelia’s permission in a careful voice.

“Yes, of course, Lady Eileen.”

Cordelia nodded with a gentle smile.

“I’ll be back soon, Lady Cordelia.”

Eileen sent an apologetic look before taking Aaron’s hand. Aaron walked with her to the center of the dance floor.

Starting with the gentle violin melody, numerous nobles began dancing with their partners. Among them, the dance of Eileen and Aaron immediately captured everyone’s attention.

“My! How thrilling that Duke Aaron requested the first dance from me instead of Lady Cordelia!”

Eileen let out a small laugh and whispered sarcastically into Aaron’s ear.

“You. Stay away from Cordelia.”

Once they moved away from Cordelia, Aaron revealed his true intentions without restraint, making Eileen click her tongue.

“Oh, I hate to refuse, but who are you to interfere in my friendships, Duke Aaron?”

Eileen’s graceful movements like a swan and Aaron’s gentle escort created a scene like a painting against the backdrop of the waltz flowing through the ballroom.

“That worn-out theater is nothing special.”

“Then I’ll say this. Your meaningless unrequited love is nothing special either.”

The beautiful violin melody had already ended. When piano notes began to flow, people sought different partners. However, Eileen and Aaron showed no intention of ending their dance.

“Tsk, the more we talk, the more childish this feels.”

“That’s exactly what I wanted to say.”

More precisely, they were continuing their battle of words without even noticing the music had changed, but to those who had been observing them closely, it appeared differently.

“My goodness…… That rumor must be true, don’t you think?”

“Which rumor?”

“The rumor that Duke Aaron is Lady Eileen’s secret lover!”

Whispering voices leaked between the piano notes. Those voices spread gradually from person to person.

* * *

“How can I bring those two together?”

An artificial whirlpool formed and quickly disappeared in the calm tea cup.

“Hmm……”

I already took away their first meeting where Luke rescued Cordelia when she was almost kidnapped…….

How can I connect them naturally without awkwardness?

Despite her best efforts to think, no good ideas came to mind. Eileen straightened her back, feeling the limits of her thoughts.

“Wait a minute……?”

When her eyes caught sight of the colorful garden instead of paper filled with black letters, a flash of inspiration struck her mind.

“Why didn’t I think of this before?”

Eileen put down the stirrer she had been swirling and gulped down the lukewarm tea.

“There’s Etoile Hill!”

The teacup and stirrer clinked together, creating a clear bell-like sound. The sound seemed to proclaim that her idea was correct.

“Daniel! Mary!”

Eileen called for the two as she ran into the house. She spotted Mary, who had just finished cleaning a room, and grabbed her hands.

“Mary, please prepare to go to the shopping district right away.”

Mary nodded. She couldn’t refuse her lady’s request.

Today again, Mary simply worried about where to put the purchased items and first asked the coachman to prepare the carriage.

She then found Daniel and told him they were going out. The three boarded the carriage heading to the shopping district.

“Miss, what are we buying today?”

The tropical plants you admired in that book recently?

Or perhaps the fountain you mentioned in passing while walking through the garden the other day?

Mary carefully asked, hoping her guesses were wrong.

“Dishes!”

“What……?”

“I saw such pretty dishes at Marquis Parker’s residence.”

“Really? I love dishes too!”

The shopping list, simpler than expected, restored Mary’s lost smile.

In truth, Mary had been quite troubled by Eileen’s hobby of buying things on impulse.

She couldn’t just place items bought by the one and only lady of the Ceres family anywhere, and arranging them without ruining the mansion’s aesthetics was a challenging task.

But dishes!

Dishes only need to look pretty during meals and can stay in the cupboard otherwise!

Mary excitedly chattered about her favorite dish brands.

“Miss, we have arrived at de Wellington.”

The voice announcing their arrival came while Mary was still enthusiastically talking.

“Let’s go in!”

When they opened the door to de Wellington, a clear bell sound rang and a slightly heavy woody scent wafted through.

“Welcome. How may I help you?”

When Eileen entered de Wellington, the clerk greeted her with a gentle voice.

“Could I meet Count Luke, the owner of this shop?”

“Do you have an appointment?”

“Not exactly, but…… Um. Could you tell him someone from the Ceres ducal family is here?”

“Yes, understood. Please wait a moment.”

The clerk nodded slightly and briefly left his post.

“Miss, you said we were buying dishes, so why are you meeting Count Luke?”

Mary, who had been admiring the dishes with exclamations of wonder, tilted her head and asked.

“Hmm? That’s because I want to invest in de Wellington.”

“What?”