Chapter 9

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Translator: Harry Potta
Chapter: 9
Chapter Title: The Wallflower's Dance Card
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‘What could His Excellency be thinking?’

Aileen couldn't fathom Cesare's intentions, but her own thoughts were clear. She didn't want a marriage born of necessity, a transaction devoid of love.

They were too different from the start. Cesare could probably kiss anyone he was set to marry, but Aileen wanted to kiss only one person.

Rather than become the Grand Duchess through a loveless marriage, she wanted to remain his child. She knew it sounded like a spoiled complaint, but Aileen simply didn't have the confidence for it.

‘When I see him today, should I ask if he could spare my life without marrying me?’

Or, since she was already being shameless, what if she asked him to help her complete her research instead?

It was only because she'd been caught midway; if completed, Morpheus would surely benefit the empire. She was confident the drug was remarkable enough to warrant avoiding punishment.

‘I've always been on the receiving end; I wanted to be helpful for once…’

Her research into a powerful painkiller had all been for Cesare. Aileen listlessly stroked a white petal. No matter what she said to him at the banquet tonight, she would still seem like a naive child.

“Still, I made a promise, so I have to go.”

Muttering to herself, she rose from the sofa. She carefully placed the lilies in a vase and began to prepare for the banquet.

Ahead of the banquet, Cesare had sent an invitation, a dress, and accessories. A lady's maid had also come to help her dress, but her curious gaze was burdensome. When the maid tried to touch her bangs and glasses, Aileen accepted help only with the dress and sent her away.

Getting ready alone wasn't easy, but she managed to struggle through it. She was dressed up, even if it looked a little clumsy.

She had no desire to stand out at the banquet anyway. Her plan was to stay quietly in a corner, meet Cesare quickly to congratulate him, and then return home.

Just as she finished getting ready, a carriage pulled up in front of her house. It had come to pick her up. One of Cesare's soldiers escorted Aileen to the Imperial Palace.

Aileen had yet to make her debut in high society. To suddenly be attending her first banquet, she couldn't help but feel nervous, no matter how she tried to stay calm. Aileen entered the ballroom, frozen with anxiety.

The imperial ballroom was more spectacular than she could have imagined. It seemed special care had been taken for the Grand Duke's attendance, as every surface glittered to a blinding degree. In the majestically lavish hall, impeccably dressed men and women laughed and chatted, awaiting the man of the hour.

The unmarried young ladies were dressed more meticulously than ever. The air was thick with their various perfumes, making them seem like a gathering of colorful flowers.

The young lords and ladies were busy exchanging greetings and laughter, but no one paid any attention to Aileen.

Even as they gossiped about the woman who had received the Grand Duke's flowers, they never imagined that person was the Aileen standing before them. They only mentioned the rumor that a peerless beauty had received the bouquet.

It was only natural. Who would ever think the Grand Duke would give flowers to a woman like her?

A frumpy appearance with large glasses and overgrown bangs. The stylish dress looked mismatched on its wearer, creating a ridiculous impression.

Such a glamorous banquet for a country bumpkin who only ever holed herself up in a laboratory. Here, where everyone mingled so smoothly, she felt like a jagged stone sticking out all alone.

Aileen was so nervous she felt like she might be sick. The dance card she'd been given to hang on her wrist upon entering felt impossibly heavy.

The dance card, meant for listing the names of her partners in advance, was completely empty. They said that in high society, a young lady who couldn't get a dance partner because of her lack of popularity was called a wallflower, but for Aileen, even the word "flower" was too generous.

‘I might be a weed…’

It seemed it would be quite some time before Cesare arrived. She was steeling herself to endure being a wall-weed until he came.

Suddenly, a commotion stirred in the ballroom. The Grand Duke's soldiers, dressed in uniform, had appeared. Aileen overheard a lady near her speaking with another in admiration.

“Oh, their uniforms are simply splendid.”

The soldiers, having returned from the war, were showing their faces in society for the first time in a long while. Many of the young ladies attending the banquet tonight had their sights set on the Grand Duke's men.

They would be wealthy, having received generous victory rewards, and they were more drawn to the rugged soldiers than to the pretentious gentlemen in the capital who did little more than fiddle with their hunting rifles.

“It feels like they would protect you no matter what, you know? So dependable.”

“Exactly. And their bodies are so fine. They must be fantastic in bed, too.”

Aileen's cheeks flushed at the crude remarks. She subtly distanced herself from the ladies whispering bawdy tales and discreetly observed the soldiers who had entered the hall. She spotted Rotan and Diego, Cesare's personal knights.

They looked quite dashing in their ceremonial uniforms. Rotan was neat as always, and Diego was also tidy, having removed all his piercings and accessories.

She thought she might discreetly greet them later. It would be too conspicuous now, she decided.

“...!”

Aileen's gaze met directly with one of the soldiers scanning the ballroom. She didn't know him, but his eyes widened as if he recognized her. He immediately pointed in her direction for his comrades, and all the soldiers turned to look her way.

Aileen flinched under the barrage of stares. Rotan and Diego immediately started walking toward her. As the tall men cut diagonally across the ballroom, they naturally drew attention. To make matters worse, the other soldiers followed the two, swarming after them.

“My lady!”

Diego, in a great hurry, pushed Rotan aside and approached with quick steps.

“My lady, your dance card, your dance card!”

He practically snatched Aileen's dance card and wrote his name on the second line. Having succeeded in writing his name before Rotan, Diego wore an immensely proud expression.

While he was savoring his victory, Rotan smoothly took the dance card and added his name next.

“Thank you for coming, Lady Aileen. His Excellency will be very pleased.”

As Rotan spoke kindly to her, the other soldiers also began to approach Aileen one by one.

“Lady Aileen, do you happen to remember me? I found the book you lost when you were about twelve…”

“Oh, of course I remember! Thank you so much.”

“Then may I request a dance?”

“Of course.”

In truth, it was so long ago that her memory was hazy, but her gratitude remained, so she agreed. Immediately, another soldier spoke to her.

“Lady Aileen! I would also like to request a dance. You may not remember, but when you were fifteen…”

Aileen was swept up in a whirlwind, speaking with the soldiers one after another. As she flusteredly answered and greeted them, her once-empty dance card filled up in an instant.

After being besieged for a while, Aileen finally checked the card and blinked in bewilderment.

“Huh…?”

No one had touched the first dance. Every soldier had avoided the first line when writing their names.

As if someone's name was already written there.

As she stared at the dance card, empty only on the first line, Diego, who had been the first to sign, looked as if he'd just realized something.

“The lady is supposed to write the names, isn't she?”

Aileen was supposed to write the names on the card after accepting a dance request, but Diego had complicated things by signing it himself. Thanks to the other soldiers following his lead, Aileen now had a dance card filled with the soldiers' signatures.

She didn't know the proper etiquette, but it didn't matter to Aileen whether she wrote the names or someone else did, so she readily told him it was fine. Diego offered an awkward excuse.

“Haha, it's been a while since I've been back in the capital. The etiquette is a bit confusing.”

Aileen didn't know much about high society etiquette either. Around the time other young ladies were beginning to learn it, Aileen had been studying at university.

By the time she returned to the capital, her family had been ruined, and they couldn't afford to hire a tutor to teach her etiquette. Afterward, Aileen managed to make a meager living by making and selling medicine, but she couldn't even dream of a societal debut, which required a great deal of money.

Still, she had been able to get by, roughly imitating the few things she'd picked up over the years from visiting the Imperial Palace since she was a child…

‘Why did they leave the first line blank?’