Chapter 19

Chapter 19 : I Will Annul the Engagement (3)

The first musical piece was drawing to a close. Gretta, turning in a wide circle, took Theore’s hand and leaned her upper body back. Theore, holding her waist firmly, kept one foot fixed on the floor, twisted his body halfway, and looked up at the opulent chandelier in the banquet hall, stopping his movement. At that moment, the music ended, and the applause of the nobles watching the two rang out loudly.

Hearing the applause, Theore and Lady Gretta bowed to each other and retreated from the center of the hall. The music then swelled again, and nobles, hand in hand, began to fill the space.

“Your Highness.”

“Sir Aaron.”

Legina, who had stopped searching for suspicious-looking attendants and was watching Theore sit back in his seat, instinctively turned at Aaron’s voice, letting out a gasp and freezing.

Today, too, Aaron was unbelievably beautiful. Furthermore, thanks to him neatly combing back his bangs, which usually fell forward, his red eyes sparkled dazzlingly under the chandelier’s light. As a result, Legina felt a strain on her heart and quickly averted her gaze, wondering why this man had to be so unnecessarily, excessively beautiful.

How many people in this empire could survive standing next to this man?

Legina took a deep breath, lost in such useless thoughts. She had to act like a woman so madly in love she was insane, but she still needed to retain her reason to confront that traitor, didn’t she?

Legina forced her pounding heart to calm down and looked at Aaron. Of course, even today, her gaze was fixed not on his face, but somewhere around his cheekbones.

“You are even more beautiful today, my lord.”

“I merely dressed appropriately.”

“…Thank you for your consideration, truly.”

If this was “appropriate”… Legina wondered how many people could maintain their sanity if Aaron truly decided to dress up, then took his extended hand and rose from her seat.

“I look forward to this, my lord.”

“I will endeavor not to be a burden.”

As Legina and Aaron stepped into the hall, the nobles naturally cleared a path leading to the center of the banquet hall. Currently, there was only one woman of the highest noble status in the Ellias Empire’s high society: Legina. The Empress had died long ago, and the Duchess of Vestein and the Duchess of Slyveig had long since ceased attending social events. If both Dukes had attended the banquet, they, along with Legina, would have taken the second dance. However, today, neither Duke attended the banquet. They had simply sent their heirs. This meant that Legina and Theore were the only ones who could occupy the center of the hall.

Thus, Legina and Aaron naturally took their place in the center of the hall, each bowing lightly to the other. The music, which had paused briefly for them to take their positions, resumed. In time with the re-started music, Legina lightly placed one hand on Aaron’s shoulder, and with her other hand, grasped the hem of her dress, as he wrapped one arm around her waist. With every step they took in time with the music, her dress billowed, creating an elegant afterimage.

“My lord, doesn’t your cheek feel stung?”

“What?”

“I’m referring to how all the young ladies gathered here are gazing at you.”

Indeed, the two of them were receiving the undivided attention of everyone in the banquet hall. While some looked on with questions about Legina dancing with Aaron instead of her fiancé, most of the gazes were stealing glances at Aaron’s face. She looked at some young ladies who were blushing and peeking at Aaron, then posed a question to him.

“By the way, my lord. Why do you not wish to marry?”

“What?”

“Just curious. If one were to choose the most famous love story in the Ellias Empire, it would be your parents’, wouldn’t it? It seems strange that you, born and raised under such parents, have no thoughts of marriage.”

The love story of Duke and Duchess Vestein was quite famous. It was unusual from the start, being a love marriage rather than the common political marriage of the aristocratic world. Furthermore, it was a love cultivated while they hid their true identities from each other, leading to much talk among many people. The trend of masked balls, where people attended while concealing their identities, which was popular in high society at one point, was all a result of the Vestein Duke and Duchess’s influence.

“I apologize if that was an uncomfortable question.”

“No. It is not uncomfortable. I simply have no interest.”

Aaron, holding Legina’s waist with one hand, rotated in a wide circle, answering calmly.

“Not just marriage, but romance too?”

“Yes.”

Legina thoughtfully took a soft step. Why was this man, who lacked nothing and was excessively endowed in some aspects, a confirmed bachelor? She, herself, had her reasons due to her future plans, but… Feeling her deepening curiosity, Legina spoke again.

“May I ask the reason?”

“It’s nothing special. I simply wish to be like my uncle.”

At his words, Legina’s gaze fell again on Egil, who was standing with Gissley. Egil Vestein, the Margrave responsible for the eastern border and a man nicknamed the Empire’s sharpest sword.

…Come to think of it, when did Sir Egil die?

Legina slowly tried to recall, and then remembered the day the urgent news arrived that the Margrave of the East had died in battle against the barbarians. It was a day in early summer, when it rained heavily.

At that time, Sir Aaron, after having his coming-of-age ceremony not long after Sir Egil’s death, inherited the position of Margrave.

And before that winter was over, Aaron also died in the same manner as Egil… Wait, that summer is this year, isn’t it?

“My lord, when will the Margrave return to the border?”

“He said he would return immediately after completing his regular report to His Majesty tomorrow.”

She had to stop it. If Egil headed to the border like this, he would die. Not only would he die, but Aaron’s life would also be in danger. Legina’s mind raced. If she could just prevent Egil’s death, she could use her engagement as an excuse to keep Aaron in the capital until this winter passed. Egil living and Aaron living, in other words, meant that the Vestein’s military strength would be maintained. And that would clearly be a great help to Legina in dealing with the traitor Slyveig.

First, I’ll disrupt tomorrow morning’s regular report.

And find a way to keep Egil in the capital. She was a little worried about the border, but Legina decided to trust the soldiers and knights there. Before her regression, it was a place that held out even after its commander’s death.

If the Margrave stays in the capital, I can use that as an excuse to send more reinforcements to the eastern border.

At first, it seemed daunting, but as she kept thinking and thinking of solutions, a path appeared. Legina considered it a good sign and, as the music reached its final crescendo, she rotated and smiled.

The musical piece ended, and the faint applause of those watching the dance was heard. Legina, lightly bending her knees to bow to her partner as she had at the start of the dance, looked at Aaron, who had also finished his bow. His golden hair and red eyes sparkled in the chandelier’s light. Legina, mesmerized just by looking at his face, was momentarily lost and involuntarily opened her mouth.

“You are truly…”

“What?”

“You are truly a beautiful person, it seems.”

“I hear that often, but thank you.”

It wasn’t a lie; he genuinely heard that often. However, no one openly complimented him on his face like Legina did. It was a new experience, and a smile touched Aaron’s face. It was a brief smile that passed so quickly that even he, who knew too well the power of his smile and took extra care to control his expression in crowded places, didn’t notice it.

However, Legina, standing very close to him after the dance, looking directly at him, witnessed that swiftly passing smile.

“Gasp…!”

It was bad. Very bad. Aaron’s brief smile was very, extremely, terribly bad for Legina’s heart. Unable to hide her wildly pounding heart and flushed face, Legina stumbled back a step as if about to die, squeezed her eyes shut, and began to assess her condition.

My face is burning and I’m dizzy. My heart is beating faster than usual, but it doesn’t hurt as if I’m going to die.

She had experienced her heart pounding as if it would burst from seeing Aaron’s face a few times, but this suffocating feeling was new.

I let my guard down!

Even before entering the banquet hall, she was certain that Aaron’s beauty today would be extraordinary. Thanks to that, when he extended his hand to ask her to dance, she managed to smile quite elegantly and look at his cheekbones. She had just let her guard down a little, thinking that after the dance, she wouldn’t have to move while having that beautiful face right in front of her.

Calm down, my heart.

Before announcing the annulment, she couldn’t let slip any hints. To shock the nobles even more than the assassination attempt on the Emperor, she had to drop an unexpected bombshell at an utterly unexpected moment. Legina took a deep breath, recalling what she had to do today.

“I’m sorry, my lord. I showed you an unseemly side.”

“Not at all.”

“Then I shall return to my seat…”

“It’s been a long time, Your Highness Legina.”

Legina, trying to calm her still-pounding heart as she was about to retreat from the center of the hall, froze at the voice from behind her. Her blood ran cold, and her fingertips trembled. The voice of the man who had looked down at her that day, telling her to give up, echoed in her ears.

“Do you intend to not even acknowledge my greeting?”

“…Of course not. How could I ignore your greeting?”

Legina composed her stiff expression and turned around. Her trembling fingertips were hidden by the hem of her dress.

“It’s been a long time, young Duke Slyveig.”

“Hermann Slyveig offers his greetings to Your Highness Legina.”

Long, midnight-blue hair like the night sky, murky sky-blue eyes. Before her regression, he was Legina’s fiancé and the one who had used the foolish Theore to bring about the downfall of the Imperial Family. Hermann Slyveig had finally appeared before her.

– Mochinuna.