“Huh?”
“That person, the one who is scary yet kind.”
Amira avoided precise references, thinking someone might overhear.
Scary and kind. It was all too obvious who she was referring to.
Nobert Ashbon, the man who had a terrifying expression yet offered surprisingly kind help. Since that day, Amira had been probing into her relationship with Nobert every day, so there was no way she wouldn’t know.
“I told you, Amira. It’s not like that with him.”
“Well, according to the sisters working in the kitchen, they say it’s better to date someone kind like Sir Adam.”
“I’m not involved with Sir Adam either. The time I touched his head was just to test you… Are you teasing me right now?”
Ariella narrowed her eyes. Seeing Amira giggling, her intentions were clear.
“Teasing? How could I dare to do that? If this topic makes you uncomfortable, I won’t bring it up again.”
“Yeah, don’t.”
“Oh, but I have one question. This is just my personal curiosity. I’m not teasing.”
“…What is it?”
“Do you prefer light brown hair or black hair?”
“Amira.”
“If you don’t like that, then how about green eyes or red eyes?”
“Amira!”
As Ariella raised her voice, Amira burst into laughter and ran away from her.
Seeing her run away made Ariella want to catch her, so she got up from her seat and chased after Amira. However, Amira, who had trained her muscles over years of being a maid, was incredibly quick, and Ariella was left behind without grabbing even a single strand of her hair.
‘I feel like a child.’
Running to catch someone. While she had run to catch someone who stole her bread during her time at the orphanage, this was the first time she had run around playing with someone else.
It was absurd yet amusing. Looking back, it seemed she had been having many new experiences lately.
‘Just a few months ago, I couldn’t have imagined this. Laughing like this in this mansion, sharing secrets with that Nobert Ashbon.’
Ariella sat down to calm her breath and recalled her conversation with Nobert. It was a conversation she had repeated so many times that she could recite it by heart.
“I didn’t expect you to wait until the end.”
Lady Corcos had chosen the fabric for her dress, taken measurements, and only after finishing the final consultation did she leave Nobert’s townhouse. And Nobert had continued to wait for that time in a separate reception room.
“Well, you must have felt uneasy leaving an outsider behind.”
“…That wasn’t particularly the reason.”
“If that’s not it, are you usually this kind to someone you don’t dislike?”
To her subtly probing words, Nobert responded with silence.
At this point, it felt awkward to keep trying to dig into his intentions, so Ariella turned her head and prepared to leave.
“Lady Ariella.”
A low voice tickled her ear just as she was about to say her farewell.
“Would you send me an invitation as well?”
“If it’s an invitation… are you referring to Lizzy’s debutante ball invitation?”
“Yes.”
“… Surely, you must know how it would look to others if the Duke of Ashbon were to attend a party in Bedford.”
Ashbon and Bedford were families walking completely opposite paths.
But the lord of Ashbon attending the debutante ball of the Bedford princess? The social circles of the capital would surely be in an uproar the very next day.
“I know.”
“Then why would you endure such a commotion?”
“… It may be a misunderstanding, but I feel that after today, you won’t want to meet or contact me again.”
He hit the nail on the head. Ariella had intended to repay the favor, but she had no desire to meet or contact him again.
“At least at the ball, you won’t avoid me.”
Why is he going to such lengths to meet me again?
She wanted to ask, but Ariella refrained. She felt that no matter what answer she received, she wouldn’t understand it anyway, just as she hadn’t up until now.
After a brief moment of contemplation, Ariella slowly walked past him. Even as she turned away in silence, Nobert did not try to hold her back or urge her for a response.
Even that attitude was completely different from the men Ariella had seen until now, and just before she descended the stairs, she finally granted him permission.
“I’ll see you at the debutante ball.”
Was Nobert pleased to hear what he wanted? Ariella, who left the townhouse immediately after, couldn’t tell.
What was certain was that she was eagerly looking forward to the day she would meet him again, with only a week left until Lizzy’s debutante ball.
“It’s sure to be a very enjoyable day.”
Ariella, sitting with her chin resting on the table, muttered as she fiddled with the brilliantly shining ruby necklace.
