âMadam, are you tired of hearing that youâre pretty now?â
Irene, who was decorating me before going to the ball, said.
I looked at Irene in the mirror with a âhmm?â sound.
âNo. Itâs always nice to listen to.â
âThen Iâll tell you. Madam, youâre so pretty!â
Irene shouted with her hands together.
I smiled and looked at myself in the mirror.
Today, I wore an Empire-style dress.
Itâs to go around comfortably.
Itâs not a very important ball, so I chose it because I thought I could wear it simply, but it looked amazing.
Well. Thatâs because Iâm so pretty.
I smiled and looked at Irene.
âI know. Iâm pretty.â
âI like Madamâs confidence, too!â
Irene really seemed to like me.
Yeah. I think I can ask by now.
âCome here.â
I pulled Ireneâs arm and made her stand in front of me.
âI have something to say.â
âYes, please tell me. Madam!â
âYouâ¦â
I held Ireneâs hand.
âWill you follow me even if I leave the mansion?â
âPardon?â
âOf course, I wonât be able to give you as much money as I do now. But I can take care of you so that you donât lack anything.â
Ireneâs eyes trembled.
She looked at me with half an expression that she didnât understand and half an expression of bewilderment.
âWhatâ¦do you mean?â
I said with a soft smile.
âIâm going to divorce Sylvester.â
âMadam!â
Irene shouted as expected.
âOh, you canât! No way!â
I knew it would come out like this.
I said to Irene with a slightly kind face.
âI know how much you worry and support our relationship. But what do I do? Iâve already made up my mind. Iâm going to get divorced.â
âYou canât, Madam!â
Irene even cried now.
It was a face that felt like tears were about to flow.
âDonât cry. Why are you crying about this?â
So I patted Irene on the back.
At the same time, I felt sad because it was really touching that there were people who worried about the relationship between me and Sylvester.
Irene. As expected youâreâ.
âI mean, I bet my money on the relationship between the Master and the Madam that is getting better!â
ââ¦..â
âArgh! My money!â
Youâre a terrible kid.
Hahaha.
******
The carriage shook.
I, who was leaning my face against the window, pulled my face away with a slight frown.
âEvery time I pass by here, the carriage rattles.â
âI will pave the road.â
âYes?â
I shook my head in surprise.
âYou donât have to do that. Itâs okay.â
âNo. If youâre uncomfortable, I should do that. Itâs nothing difficult.â
It is difficult to pave the roadâ.
I got tired of Sylvester and clicked my tongue.
Thatâs how I got curious.
How long will Sylvester be like this?
So, until when will Sylvester like me?
âHoney.â
I asked Sylvester right away because I was the one who didnât hold back what I was curious about.
âUntil when are you going to like me?â
âWhat?â
Sylvester frowned.
âAre you seriously asking?â
âYeah. Iâm serious.â
âIâm going crazy, really.â
Sylvester tilted his head back and bit his lips tightly.
I think heâs angry again.
So I calmly put my hands together and waited for Sylvesterâs next words.
Soon after, Sylvester lowered his gaze.
âOphelia.â
âYes?â
âDo you think Iâve ever liked someone in my life?â
âNo, never.â
I answered right away.
Sylvester looked dissatisfied, but soon nodded and said.
âYeah, I donât have one. I never have one.â
He breathed hard, clenching and unfolding his fists.
âThatâs how I came to like you. I admitted it and confessed it. What do you think this means?â
What does this mean?
Iâm not good at answering questions.
âI donât know.â
So I answered purely that I didnât know.
Whoo. Sylvester sighed.
âIt means Iâll love you for the rest of my life.â
He stared at me and said,
âSo donât ask such a lame question. Donât even think about it.â
No I mean, why are you confessing so cruelly?
I muttered, but I didnât dare to talk.
This is because my heart was pounding again.
Ah, no! I canât!
*****
âOh youâre here, Your Excellency the Duke and Duchess!â
As soon as we entered the hall, Countess Cardel welcomed us with a bright smile.
Me and Sylvester smiled to welcome her hospitality.
âMy husband is upstairs for a while now. Iâll tell him to say hello as soon as he comes down.â
âYou can do it like that.â
Countess Cardel came up to me and glanced around.
And whispered softly.
âDonât you feel that peopleâs views have changed, Duchess?â
Is that so?
I looked around.
Originally, when I appeared, peopleâs eyes were quite prickly. This is because there were many people staring at me.
But now they donât do that.
Iâm just there, and they only give a decent glance. Some of them looked at me with longing eyes. Itâs really a leap forward.
âI think they see me a little better.â
âItâs not just a little, but a lot!
Countess Cardel said with a smile.
âYou show how close you are to His Highness Crown Prince a while ago.â
âRight.â
âAnd recently, thereâs no saying that youâre hitting people.â
âThatâs true, too.â
âMoreover, I boasted all the furniture Duchess bought for me today. Thatâs why peopleâs eyes are wide open, right? They didnât know Duchess would do such a great favor!â
Oh, it seems that she even boasted her furniture.
Thatâs why people are looking at me with longing eyes.
Now I understand.
âI think Duchessâ reputation has risen a lot for one reason or another. Itâs something to celebrate.â
Hmm.
I think so.
Recently, there seems to be no bad news about me.
Of course, there seems to be a lot of talk about how often I fought Fleur and my relationship with her got worse.
But it wasnât something to care about.
Everyone in this country knows that I and Fleur have a bad relationship.
Whatever it was, there were no other words that could be heard, so I could look at Countess Cardel with joy.
âItâs all thanks to you.â
âOh, my. Those words make me embarassed. I really didnât do anything.â
Countess Cardel show her humble side.
I smiled and looked around again.
Still with friendly glances.
I was proud that the price of my efforts seemed to come out.
At this time, the conductor of the orchestra began to slowly raise the baton.
âItâs time to dance now.â
As soon as they did that, Sylvester approached me.
âIt means that the performance will begin.â
The reason for saying this was simple.
It means to dance together.
Phew. Iâm so tired of it.
âOkay, okay.â
I clicked my tongue and held Sylvesterâs hand.
âLetâs go dance.â
Sylvester gladly guided me, and we stood in the center of the hall.
*****
I started dancing to the light waltz.
âIâve felt this before, but youâre really good at dancing.â
âI know.â
I turned around and hugged Sylvester according to his gesture.
âFirst dance, right? Your wish came true now.â
âYou still have ninety-nine left.â
âAre you really going to fill it up to 100 times?â
âYeah. We canât get divorced until then.â
Sylvester smiled and said. I squinted my eyes.
âYouâre saying something really scary.â
Sylvester replaced the answer by shrugging his shoulders.
I grabbed his shoulder and looked around over his shoulder.
âI guess the 2nd Prince is not here yet.â
I donât see Largo.
He said he was definitely coming, but why canât I see him?
Hmm. I closed my mouth.
At this time, Sylvester asked.
âWhy do you keep looking for the 2nd Prince?â
He said with a slightly sullen expression on his face.
âDo you have anything to say to that punk?â
I titled my head.
âWhat are you going to say if I say I have one?â
âI will listen to what it is, and if itâs not worthy enoughââ
What if itâs not?
âIâll follow you and listen. What youâre talking about with him.â
ââ¦.â
How can you say such childish things with such a serious face?
Youâre doing so many things.
âIâm telling you. Iâm a pretty jealous person.â
âOkay, okay.â
I roughly tapped Sylvesterâs shoulder and looked around again.
At this time, someone came into my eyes.
âAh, itâs His Highness.â
It was Largo.
I quickly pulled my body from Sylvesterâs arms.
âIâm leaving! Bye!â
âOphelia!â
I heard Sylvester call me from behind, but I ignored it and ran away.
âWhy did you stop dancing and just leave? Iâm not going to hit it with one try!â
Ugh. Really.
That childish person.