Translator: Skye Editor: Kassy PR: Shano
* * *
As the music began to flow again, the still atmosphere of the ballroom gradually became lively once more.
Some nobles began whispering quietly amongst themselves.
“Well, it’s understandable that the Count wants things to remain amicable. Lady Floyen’s gift was pretty amazing, wasn’t it?”
“That’s right. Even if you were to exclude the gift, the Duke seems to cherish his daughter very much…it would be in the Count’s best interest to remain in good terms with him.”
As the talk about Juvellian became favorable again, Rose stared at her father with pride.
Come to think of it, Rose realized she was only able to start exchanging letters with Juvellian in the first place thanks to the support of her father.
“Thank you, Father.”
Count Arlo smiled softly at his daughter’s humble gratitude.
“It seems you’ve made a good friend.”
Exchanging a warm glance with her father, Rose recalled the image of Duke Floyen leaving with Juvellian in his arms and smiled.
‘It’s a relief that she seems to have a good relationship with her father as well.’
* * *
I felt much better once we left the ballroom, but there was no way I could feel completely at ease as long as I remained in my father’s arms.
Only when I saw our family’s carriage in the distance did I finally start feeling like I could breathe.
‘Now that we’re about to get in the carriage, this awkwardness will be over soon.’
But even in the carriage, I found that I couldn’t get comfortable. It was because my father, after putting me down, decided to seat himself right next to me.
“You might collapse again like last time, so sit beside me just in case.”
I could only let out a forced smile in response.
* * *
Mikhail clenched his fist, recalling the image of Juvellian leaving the ballroom.
‘She’s sick? So she wasn’t faking it?’
Juvellian had always followed him around so well, to the point where even if he increased his pace, she never even once fell behind.
As a result, Mikhail assumed she had naturally been born with a healthy constitution. But come to think of it, the days following the times where it might have been a strain for her, she never showed her face. And whenever she was following him, her breathing seemed to be troubled as well.
After realizing the fact, the inside of his chest felt strangely numb.
* * *
Because my father had suddenly grown angry on the terrace earlier, I was expecting him to ask me what had happened with his apprentice. But my father only gave me a simple request and then left the room.
<Allen said you needed rest, so refrain from going out for a few days.>
And so, once again, I found myself confined to my bed because my father ordered me to stay home.
‘Why is he being like this?’
In the past, my father used to treat me like I didn’t even exist, so I couldn’t understand and felt burdened by his change in behavior.
‘There must be something he can gain from treating me well.’
I found my answer unexpectedly quickly.
‘Yes, there must be some kind of benefit. I guess it’s because my body needs to be healthy in order to marry the Crown Prince.’
When I thought of the crown prince in the original novel, a sigh automatically escaped from my lips.
‘It’d be impossible to win over a cruel and inhumane person like that man…’
I had thought that I’d be able to escape from an early death by breaking up with Mikhail, but if I had known that I would meet a bear while trying to avoid the fox, I would have tried to find another way.
‘Well, it’s in the past now, so nothing I can do about that…’
I clenched my fist tightly. Though I had decided to be obedient to my father for a brighter future, I had no thoughts of marrying the crown prince and consequently ending my life.
‘Just wait and see, Father. It’s not going to go your way.’
* * *
Max clenched his fist while staring at his hand.
‘Why…Why do I keep thinking about her?’
No matter how hard he tried to forget about her, she kept popping into his head.
The warmth he had felt when he entwined his fingers with hers–which were small and slender–and the stranger feeling he felt when he had wrapped his arm around her waist.
Max tried to shake it off by focusing on something else, but as he did so, thoughts of Juvellian became clearer in his head.
When he recalled her smiling face while patting his head, the inside of his chest itched, and when he recalled her red lips, he couldn’t stand it, wanting to know what they felt like.
It felt like he had been floating on clouds, like he was dreaming.
But the moment his mentor had shown up and shattered the dream, Max harbored feelings of animosity toward him.
‘It’s obvious how much he’s been sheltering her.’
Despite knowing that his mentor was her father, Max had still felt angry at that moment. Moreover, he had wanted to express his anger right away when his mentor had threatened him not to come to their house.
But the reason why Max had been unable to get angry….was because Regis was Juvellian’s father before he was his mentor.
He had tried to come to an understanding that way, yet he felt helpless when he stared at the back figure of his teacher carrying her away.
Max ground his teeth as he recalled the memory.
‘Still, meddling in your daughter’s affairs is overstepping your authority.’
At the sight of Max fuming by himself, Freesia let out a sigh.
‘He’s become even stranger ever since he returned from the party.’
The long-prepared event was approaching. But Freesia couldn’t help but feel worried because he was acting in a way she couldn’t comprehend these days.
“Freesia.”
At his sudden call, Freesia raised her head. She found her lord staring at her with a serious look on his face.
‘What could he have to say that’s causing him to show such an expression?’
No matter how strange he had become now, there was nothing Maximillian wouldn’t do if it meant contributing to his goal. He was fundamentally a cold-hearted person who could never afford to let his guard down.
Freesia nervously waited for him to continue.
“Freesia, send an invitation under your name.”
“Pardon? To whom?”
“Juvellian.”
When the name she had been expecting spilled from her lord’s mouth, there was a moment of silence before she spoke.
“But if it’s Lady Floyen, it might be a bit difficult?”
“Why would it be difficult?” he asked back with a frown.
“Well, you see…” Freesia smiled awkwardly and continued, “Actually…Lady Floyen has become a little famous, so she’s probably going to be quite busy.”
* * *
‘Being able to roll around and relax in bed is truly the best.’
Though many others may view being confined to one’s home as a punishment, it was a proposal that I was personally thankful for.
I rolled around in my room absentmindedly, but let out a sigh when I remembered a dreary fact.
‘Come to think of it, since I caused such a ruckus at the party, I’m sure there’s gossip about me going around by now.’
It was obvious what people would be saying about me even if I was not there to witness it myself.
‘Collapsing and causing a scene at someone else’s party, not to mention presenting a weird gift to receive attention. They’re all probably vilifying me for being an attention seeker.’
Frankly, I didn’t like parties or any other places that would attract attention, so I had only wanted to attend quietly and keep a low profile. It was obvious that my reputation would only worsen if I stood out and received attention.
But now that the situation had blown in the complete opposite direction of what I had wanted, I was at my wit’s end.
‘I’ll need to think about what to do now.’
In this case, it would be a good idea to let someone else know about my situation, but it was also bothersome having to give someone else an explanation.
‘If I remain low for a while, wouldn’t they all eventually forget about it?’
I considered the idea of avoiding people for the time being, but I soon buried the thought the moment it came across my mind.
‘Well, it’d all be for naught anyway if Father marries me off to the Crown Prince.’
By the time I was starting to feel a headache from all the troubling thoughts, I heard someone knock on my door.
“Milady, it’s Marilyn.”
“Ah, yes. Come in.”
Marilyn then came into the room holding a silver tray and my eyes widened when I saw the sight of something stacked on top.
“That’s…?”
Marilyn smiled softly.
“They’re all letters for you, milady.”
I opened one of the letters carefully, being mindful that it could be an anonymous hate mail.
I knew this was a perfect opportunity for others to talk behind my back, so who knows? There could easily be someone who held a grudge against me and enclosed a razor blade or something of that nature in the letter.
But my eyes soon widened when I checked the contents of the letter.
‘An invitation?’
I quickly skimmed through its contents. The invitation asked how I was doing as well as extended an invitation. It was signed by the daughter of the noble family who sent the letter.
I scanned the other letters too, just in case. Similar to the first letter, it seemed everyone sent me a letter with tidings and invitations. They were also all sent under the name of the nobles’ daughters.
‘Ah, why is everyone being like this all of a sudden?’
Though I did have a hunch. It’s just that I didn’t understand why they were trying to approach and get closer to me by following Rose’s example.
‘I really…hate it.’
To be honest, there was no way I’d look upon these invitations favorably when it was already well known among the nobles that I was ill. Moreover, after what had happened at the last party, there’s no way I’d want to attend another one again.
‘If I say that I don’t want to attend without a reason, it might arouse hostility in these people, so I’ll just have to turn them down by saying that I’m not feeling well.’
Although it had been humiliating, everyone had witnessed my father carrying me in his arms and walking out, so they were bound to understand.
As I picked up another letter with a slight sigh, I read a familiar name.
‘Rose…?’
Rose Marie Arlo, the main character of the birthday party. The moment I saw the letter she sent, I couldn’t help but feel nervous.
‘Yes, well, it’s natural for her to be angry.’
I opened the letter while thinking so, but when I checked the contents, I felt a little strange.
.•° ✿ °•.
<Dear Lady Floyen,
How are you feeling?
Actually, I was a little surprised because I didn’t know you’d end up leaving in that state. I never thought you’d still be ill.
I’m so sorry I didn’t consider it before. You even gave me the best gift of my life, yet I ended up giving you a bad memory.
I have many things I would like to say, but I’ll keep this letter short in consideration of your health. I sincerely hope you get well soon.>
°•. ✿ .•°
It felt quite strange to read a letter written by someone who I had thought would be loathing me right now, be full of concern instead.
It was the first time since I began living as ‘Juvellian’ that I’ve ever been on the receiving end of such goodwill.
‘Though if I consider the relationship between our families, it’s only natural for it to come out politically like this but…’
I couldn’t help it when the corners of my mouth curved upwards.
‘For now, I’ll go over the remaining letters and then think about what to write in reply.’
I then picked up the next letter.
‘Hm, Count Herend…I feel like I’ve heard this name somewhere before?’
I pondered over the name, trying to recall the list of nobles Marilyn had given me before, but no one came to mind.
‘Then again, I only memorized the houses that have exchanges with my family, so it’s not a surprise that I don’t remember it.’
As I read through the letter, it ended up being another invitation as expected.
I faintly crumpled my forehead and gathered all the letters together, only separating Rose’s from the pile, then collapsed on the bed.
‘That’s right, now is not the time to be leisurely writing letters. I need to think of a way to make my Father give up on the engagement.’
* * *
Max paced around restlessly with a nervous look on his face.
Soon, a voice laced with irritation flowed from his mouth.
“Why in the world isn’t she sending a reply? We definitely sent an invitation.”
Freesia let out a sigh.
‘It’s only been two days since we sent the letter.’
T/N: Hey all, for those of you who didn’t see my announcement on Discord, I took a break last week due to my health but now I’m back!! (p.s. now would be a good time to join our discord if you haven’t already so that you can be notified of any changes/interruptions to the schedule)
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