Ariella pressed her lips together and fell silent. Her whole body stiffened in confusion, while her lavender eyes trembled like petals scattered by the wind.
She thought she was not bad at handling unexpected situations, but she had never imagined this, and she had no idea how to respond.
“…If it is uncomfortable for you that I intervene in your revenge, I will only provide the necessary help and will not approach you further.”
Fortunately, Nobert opened his mouth again first. His step back exuded a cautious consideration.
“I merely answered your question today; I did not confess. So please, do not feel any burden or doubt, and continue to use me.”
It was the same words as before. Yet even now, knowing his feelings, her doubts remained.
“I cannot respond to the Duke’s heart, you know? It will be the same even as time passes.”
Even knowing she could not be rewarded, she could not understand the psychology of volunteering to be a tool.
She, who had inherited her father’s loathsome traits, could only think in a highly calculative manner.
“It does not matter. As I said before, I have not harbored any expectations beyond my station.”
Ariella was once again at a loss for words.
The sound of the wind hitting the branches cut through the quiet stillness.
At that moment, a loud voice began to come from beyond the curtain again.
“Miss Arrie! Miss!”
“Oh dear, where have you gone…?”
This time, it was the voices of the servants from Bedford. They seemed to be urgently looking for her, indicating that a minor issue had arisen.
“I must have kept the star of the ball too long.”
Nobert stepped aside to clear the way for her. Although the space was not small, his large frame made it feel particularly cramped.
“No, I was the one who was rude to the Duke.”
Ariella decided not to miss the opportunity to escape the awkward and heavy atmosphere. She was grateful that the maids had come to find her just in time.
She carefully passed by the Duke. A faint fragrance lingered in her nostrils, but she tried to ignore it.
Just as she confirmed that there was no one around and was about to pull back the curtain, a soft voice tickled her ear.
“One last thing. I have a favor to ask.”
“Yes? Oh, if it’s a favor…”
Hearing the word ‘favor’ suddenly brought something to her mind.
“May I also ask for a favor?”
“Yes, of course.”
“…Not now, but later. I will tell you at a more appropriate time.”
Yes, she remembered having this conversation with him before fitting the dress for Lady Corcos. She had thought it was quite naive of him to say that if it felt difficult, he could refuse.
However, that judgment had been wrong.
The Duke of Ashbon was certainly a very cunning man.
“I would like you to call me by my name.”
If it were not a favor, it would have been a burdensome request to refuse. However, since it was called a favor, the content was trivial enough that refusing would be quite difficult.
“Not Your Grace, nor Your Highness. Call me Nobert. Please do so at our next meeting.”
The mention of their next meeting was perfectly natural.
‘I have been bewitched by a fox.’
Ariella, realizing this late, squeezed her eyes shut.
***
The debutante ball of Lizzy, who was absent, ended successfully.
The invited guests were very pleased to have witnessed the two major events, the love triangle between Lizzy and Catalina and the Duke of Ashbon’s first dance, returning with smiles on their faces.
However, the evaluations of the ball that followed were not good.
It was only natural. They had witnessed such a shameful display in front of the guests, and the star of the event, Lizzy, ultimately did not show her face again that day.
Even aside from that, there were many aspects to criticize.
Poor quality food and drink. The environment where guests’ requests were not quickly addressed due to insufficient hired servants for the ball.
The results of the budget not being properly allocated to where it should have been were clearly revealed as problems.
In fact, compared to parties held at other noble houses, it was not significantly inferior, but the excessive spending on interior decoration made the differences stand out even more.
As a result, people spoke of the debutante ball hosted by Bedford in this way.
“It was incredibly extravagant, but there wasn’t much to enjoy. It felt pretty only to look at?”
“The decorations were pretty, but they weren’t elegant. They looked somewhat clumsy. In many ways, it was too different from the party held at the Duke of Bedford last year.”
