“Debutante?”
“Yes. Miss, you’re also at an age where you can have a debutante ball.”
Even after returning to her room, Delina was tearing her hair out, pondering how much that name might be worth. The thought had sunk in after hearing the story of the debutante ball from Felic.
“This time, Lord Callis will also be participating. Everyone you’ve met so far is planning to have a debutante ball that day. So, perhaps, how would you like to, Miss?”
‘Debutante……!’
From the moment she heard the word debutante, Delina’s eyes sparkled. She had no choice but to feel that way, as she had never had a debutante ball.
Every time Niel and Charlotte postponed Delina’s debutante ball, and especially since Niel became a count, almost being confined to the attic, she couldn’t go out into society. To Delina, the debutante ball was always a dreamlike story.
But…….
Delina’s face soon darkened as she thought of Niel and Charlotte.
“But I can’t be found out by my family right now…. My cousins might be having a debutante ball this time. Then, my family will definitely come.”
“Is that so? Then…….”
Felic, pausing to think for a moment, clapped his hands.
“Miss, you’re qualified anyway.”
“Yeah, I guess so.”
“There’s no law that says we have to go in together. If they enter first, you can go in afterward.”
“……Can I do that?”
“Of course. You’re qualified, and you’re truly a member of the Floren family. Just go and say one more person has come. Besides, when everyone’s there, who will go back and check the family list?”
The idea that she might be able to attend the debutante ball made Delina’s eyes shine brighter.
“People won’t be able to look at faces in detail that day since there will be so many, so hide your conspicuous purple hair with a wig, and wear something flashy to attract attention with your dress.”
“Then, I can really… really have a debutante ball?”
“Of course. You certainly can.”
What she could naturally have, the fact that she hadn’t enjoyed it in the past, choked her up. Felic smiled sweetly, watching Delina.
(This is a time separator.)
‘Debutante, debutante.’
Even when Betty was taking her measurements for the dress, and while happily walking down the corridor, Delina’s mind was filled with thoughts of the debutante ball.
‘Now, I should practice dancing once, but how was it done? I danced a long time ago, but certainly…….’
She had practiced for years in the past, dreaming of the day she would have a debutante ball. Of course, the day to dance in the palace never came, but her body remembered what she had practiced.
‘Right. Turn once here…….’
It was a dance she danced alone, never giving up hope for a debutante ball while confined to the attic. Once she started dancing, the movements naturally followed one after another. A smile appeared on Delina’s lips.
‘And when the man grabs my waist here…….’
It was just then, as Delina seemed to leap into the air, her neck held high, that she saw someone standing far down the corridor.
Huh?
It was Callis, clearly visible even from a distance, with his red eyes. Delina, who had noticed Callis’s presence, lowered her arms and legs with an embarrassed face.
“Hello……?”
“…….”
“Um, I was just practicing the debutante dance.”
Callis had been staying in the mansion all along, but it had been hard to see him. Finally, she encountered Callis, and that too while she was dancing, twisting her arms and legs with joy.
“……You know, right? What this dance is? You’re also having a debutante ball this time.”
“…….”
“Would you like to practice as partners, if that’s okay?”
So far, her practice partner had been Gideon at most. However, Gideon would run away bored after one or two songs, so she couldn’t practice much. At Delina’s words, Callis stiffened as if he had seen something quite unpleasant.
“If you’re going anyway, with me once…….”
The moment Delina took a step towards Callis, he quickly took a step back.
“……?”
When Delina took two steps forward, Callis took two steps back, and when she took three steps, he took three steps back.
What’s this?
Seeing Callis avoid her like this, after always seeing children approaching her, felt fresh in some way. Eventually, Delina stopped advancing and shouted in the middle of the corridor.
“Hey, you know!”
“……. ”
“Have your knees hurt or your teeth felt restless or your memory has vanished since the exam?”
Feeling uncomfortable with leaving matters of the examination hall, this time, Delina took the initiative.
“That’s a thing! It’s our family’s secret technique, and even the daughterinlaw doesn’t know… Anyway, it’s a natural phenomenon, so don’t feel too uncomfortable!”
I’m not sure how much he sells the sound of this family secret. The ancestors of the Floren family would weep at hearing it, and Delina continued speaking.
“That technique is an absolute secret! I have to keep it even if a knife is at my throat!”
Worried that he would persistently ask about the secret, Delina even emphasized secrecy.
After Being Cheated On, She Picked Up a Treasure (Female-dominant)
One-line summary: The husband I married on a whim had been secretly in love with me for a long time.
On the day when Jun Shao finally obtained the imperial decree for her marriage, Lan Qu, the person she had admired for six years, defied the decree and ran away.
Her gentleness and devotion, her promise of a lifetime together, were all disregarded by him. Instead, he dreamed of entering the palace to serve the Emperor’s sister as a sixth-rank attendant.
News of this incident spread throughout the capital, and the alleys in front of and behind the Lan mansion were crowded with people who came to watch the commotion.
Jun Shao should have been embarrassed and angry.
But someone stepped in to protect her dignity.
The figure was in a miserable state, yet still possessed an undeniable elegance and handsomeness.
The young lord struggled to climb the wall of the Lan mansion and shouted to her, “If he won’t marry you, I will!”
So, Jun Shao took advantage of the situation and married the person.
She thought the young lord did it to save the Lan family from the crime of defying the imperial decree, but never imagined that from beginning to end, what he coveted was her.
*
After the wedding, Jun Shao felt like she was living in a dream.
Her Wife-master was as beautiful as a fairy in a painting, skilled in the six arts, well-versed in poetry and literature, capable of being gentle and attentive, and also grand and dignified. Most importantly, she was the only one in his heart and eyes.
Jun Shao didn’t know how Lan Shiwu, as a illegitimate son without a father and blessed with beauty, had managed to preserve his purity, recklessly escape, and use his last ounce of strength to ruin his own reputation, all because of his love for her, just to stand before her.
She could only see him gazing at her with eyes full of love, and when she bestowed a name upon him, his eyes shone like stars.
“You have come to me like a weary bird perching on a branch. I shall call you A Qi.”
