Chapter 8

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Translator: Harry Potta

Chapter: 8

Chapter Title: Breath

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Viscount Hardy and his wife, along with Countess Victoria Meyer, who had been deliberately keeping their distance behind Erna, turned around with bewildered expressions. They had never dreamed that any guests might still be arriving, let alone that it would be Prince Biern Dynister himself.

They stepped back first. The red carpet stretching from the entrance of the banquet hall all the way to the opposite end, where the king and queen sat side by side on the dais, now belonged to Prince Biern. Or so they thought. At least until they spotted the troublesome lump they had momentarily forgotten about—Erna.

"Good heavens! Look at that girl!"

Brenda Hardy clutched her husband's arm, her face drained of color.

Erna, out of her mind, stood rooted in the middle of the carpet, blocking the prince's path. To drag her away, they'd have to pass the prince, and it was hard to say which was the more horrifying prospect. Meanwhile, the distance between the prince and Erna kept narrowing.

"What are we going to do? Huh?"

Brenda Hardy demanded of Countess Victoria Meyer, the one responsible for this mess. The countess, who had been furrowing her brow in thought, soon regained her usual composed expression.

"Let's just watch and see. We don't have any better options anyway."

"What did you say?"

Brenda Hardy let out a disbelieving scoff. With nobles from across the kingdom—and even the royal family—gathered, they were on the verge of public humiliation, yet this woman was acting as if it were all highly amusing.

Just as suspicion bubbled up that she might have taken on the chaperone role only to sabotage things, the frowning Prince Biern came to a halt.

Erna turned around in the shadow he cast over her.

What in the world.

Biern tilted his head slightly as he looked down at the woman pulling off this absurd stunt. When he first spotted her, he hadn't thought much of it. She would surely step aside, and they'd pass by like any other strangers.

He hadn't expected her to stand her ground so stubbornly, forcing him to stop. Whatever her intent, he had to give her credit for her nerve.

Biern lowered his gaze further to meet her eyes. Hers were vacant, as if she couldn't see him despite staring right at him. With each slow blink, her large eyes grew even more translucent. They were an unusually vivid blue.

Biern furrowed his brow faintly before shifting his gaze beyond her. The first things he saw were his father and mother's dismayed faces.

Biern again!

Their eyes seemed to sigh just that. Crown Prince Leonit Dynister's deeply furrowed scowl carried even harsher reproach, and stern-faced Princess Luise went without saying.

At least the opening of this long-awaited national festival wouldn't be boring.

Biern lifted his head again, this time with a thicker smirk. His slow gaze roamed over the high ceiling's murals and the grand chandeliers below, laced with faint irritation.

No matter how he racked his brain, he couldn't recall doing anything to deserve this kind of mishap from her. The notion that this stranger might have mistaken him for Leonit was quickly dismissed. A paradise on earth would arrive sooner than that dull crown prince would ever stir up a woman problem.

Hoping the mystery woman would simply vanish from his path, Biern lowered his wandering gaze. But she still stood there, blocking him, trembling helplessly like a young beast cornered in a hunt.

As Biern took a step forward, no longer willing to play along in this farce, the woman's body swayed, her breaths coming in choked gasps.

With a sigh, Biern swiftly supported her. He didn't care what gossip this evening might spawn, but rumors of the grand duke making a woman faint in the palace were to be avoided.

"Breathe."

He whispered low to the pale-faced woman. She slowly raised her head, her expression startled as if seeing him for the first time. Her bloodless face made her reddened eyes even more prominent.

Breathe.

Like a child learning a new word, she repeated it after him. Her small lips parted in the same red as her eyes. Biern let out an incredulous chuckle.

"Breathe. In and out."

He whispered more slowly, his voice even lower. She nodded and finally drew a proper breath. She was still shaking, but it seemed she'd avoid losing consciousness.

Breathe. She kept murmuring the word he'd given her, steadily inhaling deeply and exhaling in rhythm. Her white shoulders rose and fell with it—impossibly small and delicate.

Once her breathing stabilized somewhat, she hurriedly pulled away from him. A flicker of emotion finally crossed her previously blank face: shame and wariness. Not the attitude one would expect from someone who had just caused such a scene.

"I'm truly sorry, Your Highness."

A middle-aged lady who had been watching nervously hurried over and supported Erna.

Biern glanced at her briefly before his eyes returned to the small woman. She was desperately trying to cover her shoulders and chest, but the futile effort only drew more attention.

Fine dress to show up in, and now playing the demure lady.

A crooked smile tugged at Biern's lips as he scanned her. Color was slowly returning to her corpse-pale face. She cautiously lifted her head, met his eyes, and startled back with a jump. Now even her ears were bright red.

"We sincerely apologize, Your Highness. Lady Hardy was so nervous she made a grave mistake."

Another lady approached the flustered pair. The moment Biern recognized her as she raised her bowed head, he understood the full absurdity of the commotion.

It was Victoria Meyer. The premier matchmaker of the Leitzen marriage market.

No one could deny that Erna Hardy was the flower of this ball.

With her late debut into society, her shocking entrance, and Prince Biern Dynister's name now attached, no other lady here could match her buzz.

"Countess Victoria Meyer, as expected. Using the grand duke to make that girl shine."

"You think that was strategy? How could she know Prince Biern would arrive late?"

"If not strategy, how else do you explain it? And that girl isn't ordinary either. From country life, I thought she'd be innocent, but what cunning."

The noblewomen's glances toward Erna, primly seated at the edge of the hall, brimmed with contemptuous curiosity.

A beauty who captured even Prince Biern Dynister's gaze.

Thanks to the uproar, Erna Hardy had instantly earned that reputation. Even he, who had been Princess Gladys Hartford's husband, acknowledged it—so she must truly be exceptional, the consensus went. Even those decrying Viscount Hardy's vulgar ambition to sell his daughter at a high price had no rebuttal to Erna Hardy's beauty.

"Lady Hardy, how are you feeling?"

Countess Victoria Meyer approached Erna after circling the hall. Erna reflexively clutched her shawl and looked up. Her gaze, full of resentment, was surprisingly bold.

"She's got some spirit, more than she looks."

Dismissing it lightly with a laugh, Countess Meyer sat beside Erna and unfurled her fan.

While other young ladies were lost in the dances, Erna sat motionless on this secluded bench. Many young men who approached to ask her to dance left disappointed without even properly meeting her eyes.

"How about one dance? You're a debutante, after all."

"...I can't. I don't like this, ma'am."

Erna's voice still trembled faintly. She glanced around anxiously before dropping her head again. Clueless in society without a speck of sociability, yet that awkward personality blended with her pretty face into a peculiar charm.

Countess Meyer slowly waved her feathered fan, scrutinizing Erna. The shawl was an eyesore, but snatching it away might lead to her tearing down the palace curtains for cover, so she left it. The dress had already served its purpose amply.

"Chin up."

Countess Meyer lifted Erna's chin with the tip of her folded fan.

"It's basic etiquette to look someone in the eye when conversing."

"Ma'am, please..."

"You managed fine in front of Prince Biern. Forgotten already?"

Her smile was gentle, but her voice was icy.

Prince?

Erna, lost in thought for a moment, unwittingly bit her lip and shrank back. The man called by that name flashed in her mind.

The world spun, breath caught—the panic robbed her of all judgment. Only after she could breathe again did she realize what she'd done. Just recalling it threatened to bring the terror crashing back.

"I respect your refusal to dance, but maintain at least some dignity. Remember, that's how you honor House Baden, who raised you this long. Understood?"

House Baden's honor.

The words clawed at Erna's chest. Countess Meyer glided away.

Left alone, Erna squeezed her eyes shut and counted. Only at twenty did her breathing steady. This had never happened in Buford. She felt like a helpless fool in that instant.

Just endure a little longer.

Suppressing the urge to flee, Erna slowly opened her eyes. And there he was, of all places. The Grand Duke of Schwerin. Leitzen's prince who had witnessed Erna Hardy's pathetic display up close.

He leaned against a gleaming marble pillar, deep in conversation. Opposite him stood a man who looked strikingly similar. Twin brothers—and Crown Prince Leonit Dynister. Same height, build, features. The only difference was the crown prince's glasses, perhaps.

Buford felt cut off from the world, a remote countryside, yet even there the twin princes were famous. Even Erna, indifferent to gossip, remembered their names. Originally, the elder, Prince Biern, was crown prince, but his scandalous behavior drew the kingdom's ire, passing the title to his younger brother, Prince Leonit.

Erna started to look away—then unwittingly sighed. Prince Biern had begun walking, neck held high, evoking an eerie familiarity.

Their looks were identical, but the twins' gaits were worlds apart.

Unlike the crown prince's soldierly, rigid stride, the grand duke moved as if leisurely strolling. The air around him seemed to flow slower. She'd seen it at the train station, on Tara Street.

"Poison mushroom..."

The grand duke abruptly turned toward Erna's dazed murmur. Their eyes met before she could dodge.