episode_0077

After dancing to our heart’s content, Cecilia and I moved to our seats.

“Phew… ”

I’ve been managing my physical strength in my own way, but I still sweat. Just as I was about to lean back against the wall, Cecilia put her hand on my waist.

“Lean on me.”

He said that and waved a hand fan. I felt much more comfortable when I leaned back slightly.

‘… He leads me, so it may be harder for him, but he doesn’t even break a sweat.’

In fact, there was a sense of competition in the middle to see who would win.

‘Did I lose this…? ?’

I closed my eyes for a moment, leaving myself in her arms.

ah. It’s comfortable. There’s something soothing about the warm, pleasant sound of the heart.

‘… Wait, don’t I smell like sweat right now?’

I suddenly trembled at the thought that occurred to me.

“Is it cold?”

“… No.”

Cecilia’s hair tickled my shoulder as she tilted her head. She wrapped her hands around my shoulders. The warm body temperature makes me feel better.

‘I don’t know… ‘

It only smells like nice flowers… . Yeah, it won’t come out. Today too, the maids polished my body with fragrant perfume, and rational thoughts calm my mind.

“Good… Marian smell.”

“… What?!”

Cecilia buried her face in my shoulder and took a deep breath. I turned to ice for a moment, then quickly jumped up and took three steps back.

“What’s wrong?”

Cecilia smiled.

It was then.

Although it wasn’t covered by Cecilia, I felt a strong gaze over her shoulder.

‘… Esteban.’

Come to think of it, there it was. There were things about dancing that were more enjoyable than I thought, but I was so focused on my partner that I forgot about it. My pounding heart cools down.

‘what… ?’

I glanced at him and saw the female protagonist, Yuri, next to him. According to the report, Yuri consistently volunteered and carried out various relief activities for commoners through the temple. In short, it is a chore. A noble lady would never do that. Honestly, these are things that even I, a modern person, don’t want to do.

The way she did it voluntarily made me wonder if she was a female protagonist. When you see two people who seem to have no connection meet… .

‘Because she’s the female protagonist, after all?’

But why is he looking at me with such blazing eyes, even though he is with the lead female character?

As I was shaking my head in a puzzled mood, Cecilia handed me a drink.

“Marian. Are you thirsty?”

Then he put his hand on my shoulder and gently pulled me into his arms.

There’s a lot of skinship today. ‘Is it natural for you to organize this since you are my partner?’ It wasn’t an inconvenience, but Esteban could no longer be seen at all. It’s not something I really want to see, but that’s the point. If you can’t see the bomb, you’ll feel uneasy!

There’s no way Cecilia wouldn’t feel those burning eyes. You probably noticed it before me.

“… Are you okay?”

It was something I said without even realizing it.

Shouldn’t you be close to your brother? I didn’t mean to say such bullshit. However, she was not unaware of the feeling that her half-blood brother hated her.

I can say this with certainty because it happened in the past. At first, I also had expectations that it was my brother. But it was something worse than anyone else.

When I tried to stick my head out, Cecilia hugged me with both arms.

“Cecilia?”

Feeling puzzled, I looked up at her.

“… It’s okay.”

The voice that came later seemed to be holding back something.

‘It’s not okay…’ .’

I also hugged her thin waist. Our bodies were a little closer together. I felt her body tremble. I felt like I could hear a fast beating heart.

How long has it been? Her hands showed no signs of loosening.

Since the song is in full swing, most people are dancing, but soon a lot of attention will be drawn to them. Even now, even if it’s just a little bit, I can still feel the gaze. It can’t continue like this… Still, I didn’t want to force it off.

I gathered a little more courage and gently climbed her back with my index and middle fingers. And then he slowly stroked my straight back.

There was a tight squeeze on her back.

‘… ‘I thought it would help you relax?’

I was a little embarrassed because she seemed nervous, but I slowly brushed her off, hoping to ease her mind.

“It’s okay. I’ll be by your side.”

Only then did my strength loosen up. When I lifted my head up, I saw her covering her face with one hand.

Is it because I drank wine? Is it because I was intoxicated by the atmosphere? Her face looked redder than usual.

I tilted my head to get a closer look, but her expression soon turned cold.

This is because as the song ended, blonde hair was seen striding across the center of the hall.

* * *

I never thought dancing was good. But dancing with Marian was fun.

“Wow… they are a really good pair.”

“Sure.”

Marian didn’t know it, but she was popular among some ladies. Maybe it was because he liked Marian, but even that bothered him.

“… Count Cecil is really cool, but Princess Marian… It’s really pretty.”

“It’s cute too!”

“That’s right. You don’t smile a lot, but the smiles you see sometimes are really rare!”

The ladies who did not have partners watched Cecilia and Marian dance openly. Any scene was like a highlight that was hard to miss.

“Wow… ”

“You both have amazing dancing skills.”

“Count Cecil is really kind.”

“… I’m kind of jealous.”

Cecilia could not take her eyes off Marianne for even a moment.

The sound of whispering continues. However, I felt like laughing because I could see her eyes focusing only on herself throughout the dance, as if she didn’t hear me, and her movements that focused all her attention on whether or not she would step on her foot.

‘Count Cecil… ‘

At first, it was a thoughtless cross-dressing. In order to disguise one’s identity, a male count is used rather than a female count. And wouldn’t it be possible to stand next to her with such confidence?

It’s not that I didn’t have that feeling at all.

The song got faster. Naturally, the dance became faster and her back gained strength.

Although I kept fanning my hands from time to time, dancing consumes quite a bit of stamina.

There were few people who danced continuously like us.

Is that why? She didn’t even seem to notice Esteban’s passionate gaze at her.

Although he was happy to see her smile only looking at him, Esteban’s gaze was quite annoying.

What did you think of your own reaction?

“It’s okay… ?”

When I looked at her with such concern, I really couldn’t control myself and hugged her tightly.

People are watching. Marian would hate me if I did this. But contrary to his expectations, she also hugged him. Her touch tickled my spine.

‘… ‘I’m going crazy.’

When I saw her looking up at me with a flushed face, I wanted to forget about the people around me and kiss her. But the gaze I felt was very stinging.

When I looked to the side, I saw Maria silently looking at me with her arms crossed.

‘He doesn’t even blink.’

It seemed like it was going to come running at any moment.

Still, if Maria was sour, it was obvious even without looking at her dull, snake-like gaze.

‘Still, wouldn’t he be the one to abandon his partner?’

It was only for a moment that I thought that way.

* * *

Princess Marian pretends to look away to attract attention. Otherwise, what reason would there be for rejecting himself, the crown prince?

That was the conclusion that came to Esteban’s mind.

‘… ‘Why?’

No matter how much I think about it, I don’t know.

Why is a princess who rejected her partner smiling so joyfully while holding the hand of a mere count?

It didn’t seem like he wanted to be a duke.

Then, from her perspective, there would be no better way than to become empress.

‘But why… ‘

It was a shock.

The cold, doll-like expression was smiling. It wasn’t even the fake smile he sometimes shows. It was a smile as bright as a sunflower.

“Prince?”

Yuri called, but I couldn’t answer. I glanced at her who looked embarrassed.

It’s definitely beautiful. It was clear just by looking at the reactions of the people around him. There were many young people who looked at Yuri, who was not my partner. However, rather than being obedient, Yuri is somehow more mysterious and intense. Yes, Yuri smiles at everyone. But Lady Marian was not like that.

There wasn’t much difference in their beauty. But I kept feeling uncomfortable in my stomach.

Esteban gritted his molars and looked away. Lady Marian dancing was truly beautiful. However, he became angry at the fact that it was not him who was next to her.

‘How many songs are you planning to dance to?’

Yes, when I thought about it, it made sense.

Compared to Yuri, who smiled at everyone and extended a hand of mercy even to commoners, Princess Marian was quite harsh.

When I found out that he behaved like that not only to himself but also to other men, I felt good. Rather, he was polite to himself. When he thought about it that way, he was the man closest to her.

‘But what does that mean?’

Friendly like a friend. At times, they even seemed like lovers.

Compared to her, the duke’s daughter, Yuri is just a baron’s daughter. It was natural that there was a difference in elegance.

After gathering his thoughts, Esteban shook off Yuri’s hand.

“Ah… ”

Yuri looked vain, but Esteban walked forward with great strides.

To him, Yuri was an ordinary woman who would approach her whenever she held out her hand.