***
The girls were just happy, not knowing they’re fighting against a Tier Infinity.
“It’s my first time actually dancing a group dance, so please understand if I’m not good at it, okay?”
“We understand!”
What can they not understand! Not only taking the Grand Duchess’ first dance today, but also being the first to perform a group dance!
“Your Highness, please come here.”
“It’s okay if you got it wrong, so don’t stop halfway. We’ll make it right.”
One lap with claps, one more lap after aligning the ranks and scattering.
“You’re doing well!”
“Come this way this time!”
Lilian quickly got used to the relatively simple repetition of movements without any intensity. Since she got used to the movement, she started to enjoy it little by little.
She could understand why her classmates felt sorry for Lilian for delaying her debut in the social world.
‘But even if I went back then, I wouldn’t debut.’
At that time, Lily’s time belonged to Cedric and the Gread Feudal Lord of Hemenlinna. She had no regrets about spending time with the two of them that would never return.
The fun time passed quickly and the dance was over.
“Your Highness, are you okay?”
Solaria, who had been watching the situation poutingly from behind, quickly followed.
“Please go over there, now. We’re all gathered there. All you have to do is come.”
Lilian said goodbye to the girls who felt sorry and parted ways.
The May Lily Sorority classmates were sitting on chairs on the terrace side.
“Your Highness, welcome. Please sit here.”
Lilian gratefully sat down.
“You had a lot of trouble playing with the children.”
“By the way, His Highness the Grand Duke is deprived of Her Highness’ first dance, is that okay?”
For being the first married woman at this gathering, Lilian was always made the object of such envious teasing. But she was quite used to it now, and could laugh at it.
“It wasn’t like that. Because His Highness was willing to concede, we had a good time.”
Um…
All of Sorority thought as they looked at the Grand Duchess waving her hands. Was His Highness really pleased? They could bet their entire fortune on the fact that he wasn’t and Russel was among them.
Just as Russel was about to put that thought out of her mouth.
“Excuse me for interrupting your chat. Lady Russel, would you like to dance with me next?”
A brave young man approached the gathering of young ladies and politely asked for a dance.
The neat looking young man was a little nervous. Russel laughed and stood up.
“I accept. Everyone, please excuse me first.”
Starting with that, other young men must have gained courage as well, so they applied for a dance with the members of the May Lily Sorority that they had in mind.
Even Lilian had a very courageous young man who asked her to dance. Of course, Lilian politely refused, making the excuse that her shoes hurt her feet.
“Oh my gosh.”
After a flurry of applications, when she came to her senses, the only ones left were Lilian and Sophia.
“Everyone is popular.”
“The girls of May Lily Sorority come from good families and are known for their excellent skills.”
Sophia smiled shyly. Sophia too was asked to dance, but she refused, making her excuses.
“Come to think of it, what about the Sophia’s Count?”
“To call him like that…”
Sophia was embarrassed, but said that her fiance was unable to attend because he had other business today.
“Since you’re fiance is not here, why turn down the dance offer?”
“That’s…the fact is.”
“Do you have a reason?”
Sophia is cute that even Lilian, who doesn’t have much playfulness, wants to make fun of her.
“The Count…he’s not here today, so he asked me not to dance with the others.”
Sophia’s words made Lilian think of Damian.
“If you have a fiance or husband, would you feel very upset if you had your first dance with other people?”
“…”
Sophia, nice but not blind, noticed that Lilian was talking about herself.
Sophia pondered for a moment before opening her mouth honestly.
“If it were me, I wouldn’t feel good. Even though the song was a dance performed in a group of the same gender, the first dance is still meaningful.”
“Ah, I see…”
Lilian belatedly realized that the situation itself was an ambigious situation in which Damian couldn’t say no.
‘He…could he have been hurt?’
The calm face he’d seen the day before overlapped with the face that had allowed her to come back happily.
Even before that, when he told her to stab him because he didn’t want to harm Lilian, Damian looked very calm.
Her husband was a man good at hiding himself.
‘He must have been hurt.’
It felt as if she had chosen to push Damian away that day instead of hugging him.
She thought she had made a mistake too late. Sophia cautiously recommended to Lily, who was lost in thought.
“I think, Your Highness. How about asking for a dance first?”
“Can I?”
“Of course! Perhaps His Highness would like it if Her Highness brought it up first.”
Even the skill of speaking softly and directly and comforting people at the end was perfect.
Lilian admired.
“As expected, Sophia is a grown up.”
“And you are over-complimenting, Your Highness.”
“It bothers me to leave Sophia behind, but…”
What is she saying? Sophia shook her hands and refused, not wanting to get in the way of their romance.
“It’s okay, Your highness. My chaperone is talking right over there. Besides, the other classmates will be back soon. Go ahead!”
Encouraged by Sophia, Lilian set out to find Damian.
***
The ballroom in the imperial palace was very spacious. It seemed to be three times the size of a regular ballroom. There were so many people that even when she looked around, she couldn’t see a shadow of Damian.
Feeling like she might be caught by people wandering around aimlessly, Lilian decided to look around along the walls of the venue.
How long did it take? Finally, Lily’s eyes finally caught Damian’s back.
Just as Lilian was about to approach cautiously, one of the people blocking her view backed away.
Damian was not alone. A lady was standing in front of him.
She was a witty young lady in a pinkish apricot dress.
Lilian stopped walking without even noticing it.
Looking at it objectively, what she saw was nothing special. Damian was just talking to a girl he seemed to have run into at the venue. There’s no misunderstanding whatsoever.
The problem was that the seemingly insignificant scene immediately messed with Lilian’s mind.
She felt strange.
When she heard about her scandal and felt that Damian’s feelings about having his first dance taken away in front of his eyes would have been more or less like this, she felt remorseful.
However, whether to reflect or apologize, she had to meet Damian first. It was the moment when Lilian lifted her foot to move where she had stopped.
“Stand right there. Lilian Islar.”
There was Marianne, who should have been on probation at home.
For some reason, Lilian felt tired from the situation similar to before.
She almost let out a sigh, but held it back with inhuman patience and looked back gracefully.
“Lady Marianne.”
Marianne stood by the curtains hanging on the wall.
Perhaps because she was sneaking out, she was dressed rather plainly, but in contrast, she was holding a very fancy fan in her hand.
“I thought you were on probation, but I see you here.”
“Are you making fun of me now?”
Marianne replied sternly.
However, Lilian, unable to keep up with Marianne’s flow of thoughts, tilted her head.
In fact, Marianne’s probation was not an arbitrary punishment from the Blanchett Duchy.
Lilian was part of the Rupenwein royal family. It was a situation where she should be grateful for the fact that it was quietly passed over insulting the Grand Duchess.
If probation was not maintained, the Grand Ducal family had no choice but to hold the Blanchett family accountable.
Maybe she didn’t know.
Fighting is also done through words to some extent. However, a person who didn’t know anything and was so reckless was just embarrassing.
“We will formally ask for responsibility for this matter at a later day. I’ll close my eyes for now, so please go back.”
Until now, the reason Lilian had looked after Marianne was because she was sorry that things had gotten worse because of Lilian’s accidental fall leading to her being banished from the sorority.
Of course, even if Lily hadn’t fallen, Marianne wouldn’t have been able to escape expulsion, but the process itself could have been a little different.
Lilian had only left it as a debt in her heart. But that was also until today.
“Go back?”
Again, Marianne seemed unwilling to accept the counsel.
“You’ve become a Grand Duchess, and that’s not enough, so you’re trying to trick my brother as well! And you’re telling me to get out of here?”
Lilian Islar had a temper that’s seldom angered. But.
“What did you just say, young lady?”
“!”
Lilian’s expressionless face didn’t raise an eyebrow.
But the expressionless face of someone who always had a slight smile made even Marianne forget her words for a moment.
“L-Look at this! Are you showing your true colors?”
“It’s not my true color, this is the treatment I should have against the young lady. I am the Grand Duchess of Rupenwein, and no one deserves my respect except His Majesty the Emperor and Her Majesty the Empress.
What I have shown the young lady so far has been patience and consideration.”
“Iik…!”
It hurt her pride that she was given such an expressionless face.
Moreover, to think that she, who had lived hearing that she would become the Crown Princess, was hearing such a tone.
Marianne was so angry and unfair. She blamed Lilian for all the twists in her life!
In a fit of rage, Marianne revealed her bad manners.
She had thrown her fan of the Singing Angel that she had cherished so much.
This time, the fan hit the width of Lily’s skirt.
She didn’t hit her directly, but that alone cheered Marianne up. That was the moment she was about to shout, pointing her finger at Lily.
“You!”
Crunch.
A foot in black shoes appeared and trampled the fallen fan.
Although she threw it away in anger, it was usually Marianne’s prized fan. She was so startled that she couldn’t even make a sound.
The shoe crushed the gift to the point of cruelty. The angel’s coral lyre and turquoise eyes were trampled to powder. The one who treated it so cruelly…
“Your Highness.”
It was Damian Rupenwein.
Thump. Her spirits broken, Marianne sat down, her strength drained, but there was no one to support her as she didn’t bring a chaperone with her.
On the other hand, another man with cool blue eyes appeared behind Lilian.
“You seem very sorry for my sister, Princess Blanchett.”
It was Cedric Islar, the second best in the empire, who was reputed to be a fool for his sister.
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