Chapter 179

“You pick.” Apollonia said in admiration.

It occurred to her that the lady, who presented Uriel some white clothes to match hers, would once again fall in love with him at the ball, but she didn’t bother mentioning that fact to Uriel.

She didn’t want to frighten him with the inevitable.

“Anything is fine if you say it’s good enough, Your Highness.” Uriel said without taking his eyes off Apollonia.

The ornate embroidery on the silver belt of his tailcoat made him appear like he just came out of a fancy portrait but he didn’t seem interested in his appearance.

Apollonia leaned her body slightly to Uriel and whispered. “All.”

“What?” Uriel asked back in surprise.

No one had ever heard of someone buying a large volume of tailcoats—-not even ball gowns——for just a single banquet.

“Buy all of them while we are here. I’ll be right there in the hallway waiting for you so hurry up and order.” Apollonia whispered once again.

She would have ordered all of them for him but unfortunately, she wasn’t free to shop in her name because the money the emperor gave her for living in a separate palace was decreasing.

If rumors spread that she had purchased a lot of expensive tuxedos for an escort Knight, it might cause them unnecessary suspicion.

“I’ll buy all of these. And I appreciate it if you could show me some casual clothes.” Uriel repeated Apollonia’s words to Madame Jensen without thinking.

For a moment, Madame Jensen looked puzzled at the words that didn’t match his attitude, but soon, she nodded sharply and disappeared to the back of her salon.

Uriel’s eyes widened in confusion, not knowing what he did wrong.

“Uriel, you made your name known to the Empire for your accomplishments during the war,” Apollonia said quietly and Uriel nodded in agreement.

“Aside from that, you have also done a great job in managing your estates.”

“You taught me well, Your Highness.”n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

As always, he looked at her with his gentle puppy-like expression.

He was staring at the floor for a while, but every time he made that kind of face, she felt like patting his head.

“It’s time to make your name known to Society,” Apollonia said with a smile.

“Didn’t you tell them already?”

“Your handsome face and your achievements had already made you famous. But, this is the first time that you’ll officially attend such a big banquet since the royal hunting competition.”

“That’s true, but——”

Apollonia laughed bitterly and said. “At that time, I left my seat in the middle.”

Uriel knew she was recalling some painful memories.

It must have been the day Uriel had rescued her from the monster and also the day Sid had died.

“Socialism was just another side of politics. No matter how horrifying you can be in a war, you can’t take all the benefits from it if you don’t try to get along with the Upper Society. You shouldn’t be like that.” Apollonia explained quickly.

From her trembling pupils, Uriel guessed that she was also thinking of Sid at that moment.

“You had a reason to call me back at this point,” Uriel said.

Apollonia never acted without cause.

It was originally her plan that he attached himself next to Caelion for five years.

“Evangeline said that someone who had been helping ‘Luwan’ all this time would attend this ball. I had no idea if we can recognize him, but that’s not what I want to focus on right now.” Apollonia spoke in a calm, low voice and it sounded sweet to Uriel’s ear.

Her eyes would twinkle every time she shared her plans.

“This ball is your social debut.”

“What?”

“Many people are laughing at the fact that you, a Count, had become my escort. I mean….”

Apollonia stopped talking to take a sip of the tea on the table.

“Are you saying that it wouldn’t happen again?”

“No.” Apollonia put down her teacup and told him emphatically. “I wish that you could get their favor. I don’t see you as a commoner swordsman who became a Knight. You are now an aristocrat like them, Uriel.”

“Do you want me to do it?”

“You have no experience in socializing, so don’t expect anything great. You can get attention just by getting along well with people. If you finish the ball without any mistakes, their evaluation of you will be different from what it is now.”

Honestly, he wasn’t expecting anything great.

Uriel’s eyebrows furrowed upon hearing it, thinking that Apollonia had said something meaningless.

He knew Apollonia was being sincere.

Still, his pride was hurt.

When he opened his mouth to respond, Madame Jensen came out with another kind of clothes and a bunch of belts.

She seemed to have picked up just about anything at first glance, but it appeared like the clothes she had carried had been examined quite carefully.