“Father?”

Meriel’s eyes widened and she quickly hid behind Noah, using him as a shield.

“How did you come here? I thought I told you to stay quietly at the mansion.”

Meriel glanced briefly at Nigel, then peeked out from behind Noah’s back and smiled coyly.

“But you’ll forgive me, won’t you?”

Duke Dien softened his stern expression, as if he had no choice.

“Ahem… just this once.”

“Father, thank you!”

Meriel gracefully walked out and linked arms with Duke Dien.

“The one who will succeed me as Duke Dien shouldn’t take promises so lightly.”

“Of course I know that, whose daughter do you think I am?”

Duke Dien soon met Meriel’s gaze and smiled gently.

At that moment, Nigel’s heart crumbled. It felt like the stones she had carefully stacked up over a long time suddenly vanished in an instant.

Even her long-held firm resolve was powerless before the affectionate gaze looking at his daughter through his glasses.

That warmth, based on perfect trust and love, was something Nigel had forgotten in the far reaches of her memory, having not received it for so long.

Wanting to see that warmth a little closer, a little longer, Nigel unconsciously narrowed the distance between them.

“…I always wanted to receive that gaze. That’s… what it was.”

This is what I’ve always longed for, then and now.

Nigel finally, belatedly, acknowledged the feelings she had covered up and pretended not to know.

Somehow finding and keeping the locket left with her as a newborn.

Being dazed all day, as if her head was in the clouds, on the day she let go of the chance to meet them.

Not being able to burn the letter containing news of them, but secretly tucking it away in a drawer corner.

She thought all of this stemmed from her guilt and remorse.

When imagining meeting them, they always looked at her sharply, as if cutting her heart into pieces, not with faces full of warmth and trust.

Not those faces full of warmth and trust, but faces reproaching her for being born at the cost of her mother’s life.

Nigel then stood before them in her imagination, humbly accepting their reproachful gazes like a criminal receiving sentence.

Her imagined relationship with them was always like this.

She didn’t realize that her longing and expectations hidden within were so great and deep that she avoided them for fear of disappointing them.

Since when had she deceived her heart by calling the emotion of yearning guilt?

…She couldn’t remember. Because she had acted that way for as long as she could remember.

“…!”

It was then.

Duke Dien’s gaze, which had been directed at Meriel, slowly withdrew and turned to Nigel.

“By the way, this beautiful lady here was definitely Noah’s partner, right? Noah, when do you plan to introduce this child to me?”

Unlike in her terrible imagination and countless nightmares, the Duke Dien in reality was smiling gently at Nigel.

…Fortunately.

Thanks to the mask changing her eye color, which she had thought was just a strange effect, she was able to avoid his sharp glance.

At that moment, Meriel fluttered over to Nigel and linked arms to prevent her from escaping, then spoke before Noah could.

“Father, she’s the kind child who brought me here when I was lost wandering in Sienia.”

“Meriel, no matter how much you like that child, shouldn’t you give Noah the chance to introduce his partner?”

At Duke Dien’s gentle rebuke, Meriel instead playfully glared at Noah.

“Sorry, Noah. But all this stems from you constantly talking about this child whenever we met, yet never telling me even a single letter of her precious name.”

Having finished speaking, Meriel hugged Nigel’s arm tightly as if to make a point.

Regardless, Nigel wanted to leave this place immediately. Or to cover Noah’s mouth before her name could slip out.

Of course, Nigel could do neither and quietly waited for Noah to open his mouth.

“Let me introduce you to my partner…”

“…I’m called Angel.”

Nigel interrupted, staring straight at Noah. Fortunately, perhaps sensing her strong will, Noah let it pass without comment.

Referring to herself as ‘Angel’ was never pleasant.

But using the childhood nickname that was her embarrassing past was far better than revealing her name to her family.

“…I see.”

Meriel stared intently at Nigel’s face.

“I thought there was something unusual from the first time I saw you. How can your name suit you so perfectly?”

“Yes, ‘Angel’. As Meriel said, it’s truly a beautiful name.”

Nigel didn’t know how to react to Meriel and Duke Dien’s sincere compliments without a trace of teasing. She just wanted to run out of the ballroom she had re-entered, led by Meriel’s hand.

The atmosphere in the ballroom where Meriel had appeared had clearly changed.

Born to Imperial Princess Abelin and Duke Dien, Meriel was the noblest status except for the empress, so with her social debut, all her words and actions became topics of conversation and trends.

As a result, Meriel naturally acquired the nickname of Royal Lady.

Nigel, watching Meriel greet approaching people with dignity, raised her head at the gaze she felt on herself.

Noah seemed restless, as if wanting to say something to her.

Could it be because he brought someone who was essentially his fiancée as his ball partner?

Nigel nodded slightly with a smile, meaning it was okay.

And she mouthed for him to dance with Meriel.

Just then, with perfect timing, a beautiful 4/4 string melody filled the ballroom.

Noah, unable to take his eyes off Nigel, carefully led Meriel by the hand to the center.

“Nigel, you have to dance one song with me too!”

At Allen’s touch, who had appeared sometime, Nigel also walked between them.

While not stopping her steps, her gaze continued towards Noah and Meriel.

As in the original story, thanks to being partners since childhood, the two moved as if one body.

Both danced so beautifully that neither could be said to be superior, but Nigel’s eyes were drawn more to Meriel. Her movements were so graceful it was hard to believe they were of the same bloodline.

Watching the perfect pair as if drawn in a picture, Nigel couldn’t even feel jealous, no, couldn’t even dare to be jealous.

No, rather, she was angry at her own stupidity for trying to steal Noah away, even if it was just for one night.

“Thanks, it was fun. Ah, except for someone constantly looking elsewhere and getting distracted.”

As one song ended, Allen said teasingly with a grin.

“…I didn’t.”

Nigel answered gruffly and quickly walked to a corner to grab a drink.

Even after the song ended, Noah and Meriel were still dancing in the center.

Noah smiled brightly at whatever Meriel said, clearly enjoying himself. It was a smile he never showed Nigel.

“I’m sorry you unintentionally lost your partner to Meriel.”

Just then, Duke Dien’s voice was heard from above.

“After her mother died, the only people she could rely on were her gruff father and Noah. Please try to understand, Angel.”

Each of his words pierced Nigel’s heart, leaving wounds.

“…Yes.”

Nigel barely managed to answer, hiding her trembling heart. And she wished for the ball to end quickly.

On the carriage ride home for the Duke Dien’s father and daughter.

Meriel, who had been restraining her chatty nature to make a good impression on Angel, burst out in front of her father.

“Father, don’t Noah and Angel look so good together? I understand why that Noah even hid her name from me!”

Duke Dien chuckled and stroked the hair of his daughter, who was getting all worked up over her best friend’s love life.

“By the way, our daughter is quite peculiar. Neither my imperial princess nor I were as talkative as you, so I wonder who you take after.”

“Hmm… Uncle?”

Duke Dien burst out laughing at his daughter’s answer after a moment’s thought.

“Haha, you’re right. Even today, I spent the whole day listening to your uncle’s complaints.”

“So, did you meet the child Uncle said he must praise? I heard that child got Princess Yenica’s phone number for him.”

Duke Dien shook his head lightly.

“Unfortunately, I couldn’t.”

“Tell me about that child. I might know them.”

“That child is the top student in the first year, and her name is Nigel. With the limited time, I regrettably couldn’t meet the brave young Nigel among the many students.”

“Nigel, similar to my separated younger sister’s name…”

Suddenly, Meriel’s eyes widened up and down.

“…Wait, Father. Did you just say ‘Nigel’ is the top student?”

“I did. …Meriel? Why are you suddenly like this, Meriel?”

Tears began to well up in Meriel’s clear blue eyes that resembled her father’s.

And those eyes recalled Nigel’s face again.

The somehow familiar yet beautiful face and black hair. And even the violet eyes that glowed for an instant when using the teleport stone.

It was a precarious possibility, like a candle in the wind.

But as always, it was a possibility she couldn’t give up.

“I must find a way to meet that child again somehow. No matter what.”

Meriel quickly wiped away her tears and smiled brightly.

As her late mother often said, an elder sister should protect her younger sibling, not just sit still and cry.