Danae, who had been standing next to Leonard, walked towards me and the Viscount as she spoke.

All eyes turned to her, regal and beautiful like a queen. As Emily’s gaze finally met Danae’s.

Crash!

Emily, pale as a sheet, dropped the wine bottle she was holding onto the floor. The bottle shattered with a loud noise.

“Eek!”

Danae screamed and took a step back. She quickly lowered her head to check her dress, now stained with wine from the broken bottle, then glared at Emily and shouted.

“What are you doing? Are you crazy?”

However, Emily seemed too shocked to react to Danae’s outburst. With her eyes fixed on Danae’s dress, she muttered in a trembling voice.

“…That, that dress…”

“…Lady Danae, if I may ask, how did you acquire that dress?”

Viscount Miles, pulling his trembling daughter close with one arm, asked on her behalf. The Viscount also seemed just as startled as Emily upon seeing Danae’s dress.

Danae snorted, as if wondering why they were suddenly changing the subject.

“Ha, I bought it from a skilled craftsman. Is that important right now?”

“By any chance, was this skilled craftsman a person named Taylor from Linket Castle?”

“As if I’d remember the name of a craftsman. And is confirming that so important right now? Shouldn’t you apologize for dirtying my dress first?”

Danae answered Viscount Miles’ question in a sharp voice, pointing to the wine-stained part of her dress with her index finger.

The Viscount, flustered and pale-faced, slightly bowed his head towards Danae and said.

“…I apologize for my daughter’s carelessness in soiling your dress, Lady Yusten. It seems she was quite shocked to see that your dress looks exactly like the one she had prepared for today’s party.”

Danae slightly raised her eyebrows at the Viscount’s words.

She seemed to have realized that the dress she had snatched by paying extra was originally prepared for the Viscount’s daughter. I saw superiority and pure malice filling Danae’s red eyes.

Soon, Danae spoke, gently curling her beautiful lips.

“Oh, is that so? I had no idea. To think that the Viscount’s daughter had ordered a dress so identical to mine. So that’s why you were so surprised.”

“…Yes, that’s right.”

“I’m not sure if I should say this, but honestly, it’s fortunate that the Viscount’s daughter didn’t come out wearing that dress. We almost ended up enjoying the party in the same place wearing identical dresses. Both the Viscount’s daughter and I would have been in an embarrassing situation.”

“…An embarrassing situation, you say.”

“Yes, don’t you think so? When two people wear the same dress, attention tends to focus on only one of them, doesn’t it? If everyone focused only on me while the Viscount’s daughter and I were wearing the same dress, there could be no more embarrassing situation for the Viscount’s daughter, who is today’s main character.”

Danae held her beautiful face up haughtily.

The nobles surrounding them snickered and whispered in agreement with her words. Except for Leonard and me, no one in this banquet hall dared to point out the arrogance of Danae, who held the highest position and was the most splendid.

I watched with a complicated gaze as the Viscount’s daughter’s bluish skin turned red with shame, and the Viscount’s trembling hand as he embraced his daughter’s shoulder.

‘Is it not time yet? He should be appearing soon.’

Just as I was nervously chewing on my lower lip, it happened.

“No one’s dancing, and I don’t hear any music. Is the party already over?”

Duke Elliot Francis Haven, dressed in a black formal suit, entered the banquet hall along with his adjutant Oliver, who was carrying a large box.

The surroundings became noisy again at the Duke’s unexpected appearance.

I felt relieved to see him. And at the same time, I barely held back a scream of frustration at him for being a little later than the promised time. The Duke glanced at me once, mixed in among the people, then passed through the nobles who made way for him and stood in front of Viscount Miles.

The Viscount stared at the Duke with disbelieving eyes for a moment, then hurriedly bowed.

“Du-Duke Haven! It’s an honor to see you!”

“I should first apologize for barging in without an invitation, Viscount Miles.”

“Not at all. How could I not welcome Your Grace’s visit just because there was no invitation! …But may I ask how you knew about and came to attend my daughter’s birthday party?”

The Viscount, still flustered by the Duke’s sudden appearance, carefully observed him and asked. The Duke replied.

“I thought I might meet someone if I attended this party.”

The Duke made a slight gesture towards where I was standing, wearing a faint smile.

The surrounding nobles stirred at this sight. For the Duke, who was known for his lack of emotional expression, to say such an embarrassing thing and even smile slightly, he looked like someone who couldn’t control his emotions due to falling in passionate love.

I marveled at the Duke’s acting skills. The Duke, seemingly indifferent to such reactions from people, turned his gaze to Viscount Miles and said.

“But no matter how I think about it, it seems a bit impolite to suddenly attend a party without an invitation. So, I prepared a small gift for Viscount Miles’ daughter. Would you accept it?”

“A-A gift? For me?”

Viscount Miles’ daughter asked, startled by the Duke’s words. The Duke nodded slightly, then gestured to Oliver standing behind him.

Oliver then opened the box he was holding in both arms and presented it to Viscount Miles and Emily.

“…Oh my.”

Inside the box was a pure white women’s dress.

The white, dazzling fabric shimmered subtly like the finest pearls. The dress, embroidered with silver thread and decorated with crystals around the neck and shoulders, gleamed elegantly in the light of the chandelier. The Duke looked at Emily, who was staring at the dress in the box with a mesmerized gaze, and the Viscount standing beside her, and said.

“I heard that the Viscount’s daughter hasn’t properly had her debutante for various reasons. Today is essentially the day when the Viscount’s daughter officially debuts in society.”

“…Yes, that’s right.”

“I prepared this for the young lady. It’s modest, but I hope you’ll accept it gladly.”

“Of course! …Emily, what do you think? Won’t you change into that dress?”

Viscount Miles urged his daughter with a voice thick with emotion at the Duke’s words.

Emily looked down at the dress for a moment with tears welling up in her eyes, then nodded.

A little while later, she returned wearing the dress the Duke had gifted. Emily, seemingly shy from the attention of those gathered around her, spoke to the Duke in a voice overwhelmed with emotion.

“…Thank you, Your Grace.”

“I’m glad the gift suits the Viscount’s daughter well. Don’t you all think so?”

The Duke responded thus, then turned to look at the surrounding nobles.

Then, the nobles who had been watching the unfolding situation with bated breath began to praise Emily one after another.

“Y-Your Grace is right! The dress really suits you well, Lady Viscount!”

“Indeed! The sparkling white dress goes perfectly with the Viscount’s daughter’s unique skin tone!”

“You look truly beautiful, Lady Viscount!”

They instantly surrounded Emily. In a blink, all eyes in the banquet hall were on her.

The attitude of siding with the excessively arrogant Danae and ignoring Emily from earlier had disappeared without a trace. Those who had succumbed to rank and power withdrew their flattery towards the Duke Yusten’s daughter as soon as the Duke appeared, as if it had never happened.

“…Ugh!”

Danae, who had suddenly been pushed out of people’s attention due to their change of attitude, bit her lower lip resentfully and trembled all over.

Danae glared fiercely at the nobles surrounding Emily, then turned and walked towards the lounge. Leonard, observing Danae and me as I watched her with an indifferent gaze, seemed to read the situation and said.

“…Danae seems quite upset. Shouldn’t you go comfort her?”

“…I suppose I should. I’ll bring some drinks first. While I do that, could you go ahead and comfort Danae? Please.”

“Alright? Okay. Then, I’ll go ahead and wait.”

Leonard grabbed my hand, left a brief kiss on the back of it, and then hurriedly disappeared towards the lounge.

I watched him with a cold gaze. Once he had completely disappeared, I approached Duke Haven, who was standing a step back from the nobles surrounding Emily.

And in a barely audible voice, I said to him.

“You acted much better than I expected, Your Grace. I was a bit surprised.”

“I was a bit surprised myself. Everything unfolded according to your plan. You kept insisting that I bring a pure white dress as a gift for the Viscount’s daughter, was this why?”

“I’ll answer that question after everything is finished. More importantly, you haven’t forgotten, have you? There’s still one more thing you need to do for me.”

“I know. When you follow Lady Danae Yusten, I’ll bring Viscount Miles to a place where we can hear your conversation with the lady well, and give you a signal. But I’ll make sure that the lady and the young lord don’t notice that the Viscount and I are there. Is that correct?”

“Precisely. Then, I’ll leave it to you, Your Grace.”

I nodded to the Duke in lieu of a verbal farewell, then turned around. It was time to finalize the plan I had prepared for this moment today.