“Pardon?”
What the hell is this?
Looking at Damian’s bewildered face, Lilian burst out laughing. Fortunately, the caring Lilian didn’t tease him for long and explained the whole thing to her husband.
When she called Madame Annege and invested a huge amount of money in Damian’s outfit, Lilian’s eyes were opened.
From the moment they first met, she knew that Damian was a beauty.
She couldn’t help but notice that he was a man who made good use of his beauty.
However, Damian’s beauty actually tended to rely only on his face.
What happened with Madame Annege made Lilian realize two things.
First, Damian was not at all interested in adorning himself. Because he looked good even without makeup.
Second, Damian in clothes that suit him must be very pretty.
“So you want to see me properly dressed from head to toe?”
“Yes.”
“Hmm…”
A smile spread across Damian’s lips.
“I thought you didn’t pay much attention to my face.”
“That can’t be.”
Lilian smiled nonchalantly and caressed Damian’s face as he leaned toward her.
“It’s so pretty.”
Damian eventually burst out laughing and nodded. It was the ending that was set from the moment Lilian said she wanted to see him anyway.
***
Damian, who wasn’t properly cared for as a child, was not used to being touched.
He also hated fitting custom suits. Even getting a haircut bothered him.
He wasn’t accustomed to being waited upon so he disliked being still.
However, Damian didn’t know that Lily had noticed. As for Damian, he wasn’t a man who thought deeply of himself. He only knew how to express his annoyed and troubled mind as ‘annoying’.
Of course, she didn’t intend to forcefully make Damian do something he disliked.
‘But rather than hating it, it’s more like he had no choice but to hate it.’
It’s also true that she’s curious about how a well-dressed Damian looks. But more than that, she wanted to paint Damian’s bad memories with good ones.
…Lilian’s pure goodwill was encouraged by the people under her.
“If anything, I think it would be good if you take a milk bath, which Her Highness also did before.”
“You can also get a massage with balm.”
“Of course. Your fatigue will be relieved.”
Even if he didn’t take such care, Damian would still shine, and he didn’t have enough fatigue to release, but…
‘The person who said he didn’t want to prepare a proper set of clothes was like that…’
‘His Highness changed his attitude in one word?’
Let’s see how it goes. Everyone thought grumpily. This was the whole story of Damian’s first time receiving the full course of a lady getting ready for a ball.
But, unfortunately, Damian didn’t easily get into trouble. It wasn’t that he ran away. Rather, he went through all the troublesome processes with ease.
It’s not like it’s not annoying, but it’s somehow enjoyable when he thinks that he’s becoming a ‘good husband who tolerates what his wife ordered him to do’. On the contrary, he felt proud that he’s becoming a more admirable husband as much as the process was annoying.
It was a crazy idea for Damian Rupenwein, who was half crazy for his wife.
About three hours passed like that…
“…how is it?”
A pink rose-like fabric that had just bloomed in the sunlight flowed around Damian’s broad shoulders and tightly lined body.
The clothes that were properly made and went through several times of sewing had not a wrinkle or a stitch that was unsuitable for Damian. Asking how it was was deceitful.
“Your Highness.”
One of Damian’s attendants quickly took one of the boxes. It contained a pearl cuff that had been commissioned by Lily for Damian.
It was a cuff with round pearls connected by a thin chain. Small pearls like water droplets dangling from a finely woven golden chain was a gorgeous design that most men wouldn’t even dare to try.
As Lilian picked up the cuff, Damian, who was sitting, gave his wrist with a smile. When Lilian approached and grabbed the cuffs, it was small. After obediently receiving the balm massage, Damian smelled like peaches.
“I don’t know how you could have endured it.”
“It was quite enjoyable.”
Damian wasn’t lying, but she laughed. Lilian thought he was joking.
“If it wasn’t bad, shall we do it like this next time?”
Damian, who was shaking the dangling cuffs from his sleeves, narrowed his eyes and smiled, as if saying ‘would you look at this?’
“It doesn’t matter but from now on, I want to get paid for it. If you’re willing to pay, I won’t refuse.”
He slyly smiled but since he put up with the troublesome process so far, Lilian generously agreed.
“Will you be satisfied if you show off your ulterior motives?”
“It won’t just be at this level. You know that, right?”
Damian’s pupils dilated slightly, deepening. He was like a beast ready to pounce at the slightest movement.
“…I’ve been acting cute right now, by my standards.”
In the end, Lilian raised the white flag.
“Your Highness, I’m sorry, but we have a schedule today.”
“Unfortunately, that’s the case.”
After confirming that both wrists were fitted with cuffs, Damian stood up. The man who had been looking up at Lilian now looked down on her in an instant.
“There will be more time tonight. I’ll see you when you’re a little less embarrassed.”
“Your Highness…”
Damian chuckled at the sighing Lilian then gestured for her to turn around. Wondering what was up, Lilian still meekly turned around. She looked in the mirror.
“If you’re a decent husband, once you have received a gift, you should return it.”
As he said that, Damian hung something around Lilian’s neck.
“This…”
It was a necklace.
Pearls in the form of coarse droplets hung evenly from a thin cold chain close to the handicraft itself. From anyone’s point of view, it was a pair with Damian’s cuffs, but it was an expensive item that could not be compared to the cuffs.
Damian’s fingers moved delicately down Lilian’s neck, closing the loop mechanism.
“…they fit a lot better than I thought.”
“When did you prepare this?”
“That’s what makes me special.”
Lily burst out laughing as Damian deliberately raised his nose.
“Well then, let’s go.”
***
It snowed quite a bit in the capital that day.
There wasn’t much snowfall, but the snow was falling and the roads were congested. The carriage of the Grand Duke’s family was able to cruise regardless of the traffic jam, but other people whose social status and wealth were less than that could only watch the snow, trembling in their carriage.
The ballroom that welcomed those who were shivering like that was neither a desolate winter nor a fancy interior.
The entire vast banquet hall was decorated like a garden with lush plants.
Somehow it was covered with soft grass all the way to the floor. The walls and ceiling looked more like a forest garden than a conservatory decorated with vines.
“Oh my God, there’s a stream running this way.”
“Is that a crystal fountain over there?”
Water flowed from a fountain made of transparent crystal. Petals floated in the basin filled with water.
There was no need to worry about where the petals might have fallen. Because the surroundings were full of flowers that bloomed finely regardless of the season.
For the first time in a long time, people forgot their political positions and admired them purely.
“I never thought I’d be able to smell such a fresh flower scent this season…”
“It’s so beautiful.”
Even those who tried to find fault had no choice but to keep their mouths shut. All they could say was this.
“How much did they spend to decorate this place? Isn’t that too extravagant?”
Even after trying to find faults like this, it was often buried in the majority opinion, “Thanks to that, we didn’t spend a single penny and got a good view.”
Right then.
“Imperator Leyengrad!”
The attendant standing at the entrance shouted.
The eyes of the people hanging out in groups of two or three were all directed toward the entrance.
“Oh my God, the Grand Duke must have arrived!”
“Did His Highness come?”
“Let’s go!”
“Wait a minute! Don’t push!”
There was a lot of fuss. The attendant drew a breath and shouted the rest of the names.
The Grand Duke and his wife appeared among the light purple wisteria flowers hanging at the entrance. The Grand Duke, who appeared a step ahead, was wearing a mysterious apricot colored shirt, making them wonder where his coat was.
Just wearing a shirt. Not only was it not formal, but the color itself was extremely unconventional. However, the problem was that the unconventional outfit suited him more than anyone else in the world.
Grabbing the Grand Duke’s fresh and clean arm, the Grand Duchess appeared about half a step behind. People nodded their heads when they saw that the overcoat, which they thought had been sold somewhere, was draped over the shoulders of the Grand Duchess.
‘Indeed.’
‘It’s said that the Grand Duke would die without Her Highness…’
They checked every time but every time, it was an amazing sight.
“Your Highness!”
The first to greet the couple were the young ladies known as the Grand Duchess’ bodyguards. At first, it was only the girls of the May Lily Sorority, but now they could see quite a few faces of other girls who weren’t part of the May Lily Sorority but still followed Lilian.
It was like a flock of baby sheep following their master.
“We heard that Your Highness was attending, so we came as well!”
“Can we dance together with Your Highness today as well?”
There was a place for dancing like a small clearing in the forest. The ladies just started begging, saying that the first song was a group dance.
“Will you do the first dance with us today?”
Lilian laughed at the bold and cute proposal. The partners of the ladies also said in unison, “it’s like this today” and shook their heads.
However…
“Sorry, but later today. My first dance is pre-arranged.”
“That…”
Lilian looked up at Damian and smiled. She smiled as if asking if she did well and Damian nodded his head with a happy look.
It was a really nice sight to see…. Just then, her sorority classmates approached Lilian. As Lilian exchanged greetings with her classmates, Damian looked around at the young ladies who had flocked to Lilian.
The peach colored expression that had melted away when he looked at his wife was nowhere to be found, his cool eyes scanning the ladies aggressively.
Seeing the eyes of the commander who conquered the battlefield, the ordinary girls trembled and stepped back. Seeing that scene, Damian’s lips seemed to be ridiculing and a smile of victory came to mind.
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