A large number of people gathered for the Duke of Genoa’s launch ceremony.

It was partly because the invitation list included both the Imperial and Aristocratic factions without discrimination, but also because the invited families attended not only as couples but also with their daughters who had made their debut a few months prior, and even their granddaughters.

It was no exaggeration to say that almost all the nobles in the vicinity had gathered, except for the children.

Amidst the bustling crowd, a launch ceremony was held wishing for the safe return of Damian’s merchant ship, and everyone handed handkerchiefs to the boarding crew members.

As it was an outdoor party, Eriel worried that the weather might continue with heavy rain, but fortunately, contrary to her concerns, the weather was very pleasant.

The sweltering summer weather had abated, a gentle breeze was blowing, and the sky was clear without a single cloud.

Eriel finally took a breath after standing for several hours, exchanging greetings with the nobles until the sunset.

Due to meeting so many nobles, she had no time to even look at the gloves Blake had mentioned.

Eriel sat on a bench behind a large nearby tree and caught her breath for a moment.

“My lady, shall I bring you a glass of water?”

The maid took out a handkerchief and tapped Eriel’s forehead.

At the same time, she reapplied Eriel’s slightly smudged lipstick and fixed the loose strands of hair behind her ears.

Eriel leaned her body against the bench’s backrest and nodded.

“I think a glass of water would be nice. There’s no need to hurry, so you can take your time. You couldn’t even eat properly while staying by my side, right? Why don’t you go and have some food as well.”

Eriel patted the maid’s shoulder as she received the handkerchief from her.

“Huh? Really? My lady, then I’ll go eat a little and come back. I’ll eat quickly and bring back a glass of water!”

The maid smiled brightly and nodded vigorously.

The maid also seemed a bit tired, but when told to rest a bit while eating, she quickly regained her energy.

Eriel smiled at the maid’s appearance and then shifted her gaze from the maid’s retreating back.

She closed her eyes for a moment in the gentle breeze and tilted her head back.

Damian was still occupied, talking to the nobles.

Amidst the slight noise and the sound of leaves brushing against each other, the laughter of young ladies burst into Eriel’s ears.

Eriel slowly opened her eyes. At a slight distance from the large tree, the girls burst into giggles while looking at someone.

Eriel’s gaze naturally followed the girls.

At the end of their gaze stood Gerald, dressed in a pitch-black suit.

With each step he took, the young ladies followed his movements.

The young ladies, with shy smiles on their lips, looked at Gerald’s face with an enchanted expression, then quickly lowered their heads to hide their expressions.

It seemed that even the young ladies were secretly aiming for remarriage, thanks to Gerald’s handsome appearance and the solid wealth that had been passed down for a long time, even if it was a second marriage.

As Eriel watched the scene, she realized that Gerald’s footsteps were heading towards the bench where she was sitting.

Realizing her mistake, Eriel looked around for a way to return to the banquet area, but there was only one path to escape.

In the end, even if she got up from her current seat, she would have to pass through their group.

Eriel closed her eyes tightly and quickly put her feet into the shoes she had taken off.

In any case, if she stayed like this, it seemed she would have to converse with that group while seated.

If she got up and left after they arrived, it might give the impression that she was deliberately avoiding him, so it was better to get up now, exchange brief greetings, and then escape.

“Ah.”

Eriel frowned as she tried to force her feet into the shoes.

In the meantime, her feet had swollen, and they wouldn’t fit properly into the shoes.

Eriel tasted a sense of defeat as she made several attempts, but the more she tried, the more injuries only increased on her feet, and they still wouldn’t go in.

“Eriel?”

Eriel, who had been trying to put on her shoes under the hem of her dress, slightly straightened her bent waist at the sound of Gerald’s voice.

Next to Gerald, the young ladies widened their eyes in surprise as they looked at Eriel. Soon after, the young ladies’ greetings followed.

Eriel smiled kindly at their greetings as if she wasn’t flustered at all.

Gerald gestured to the young ladies surrounding him and emerged from the group.

“As you know, the Duchess and I are old friends. I’d like to talk to her since it’s been a while, so would you please give us a moment?”

Gerald spoke to the young ladies in a very polite manner.

Eriel was already startled by him calling her name directly, and upon hearing him say that to the young ladies, she lowered the corners of her mouth that had been holding a kind smile.

“… It’s alright. It seems Baron Shannon is enjoying his date, and I just want to rest alone for a bit. Please continue your conversation with the young ladies.”

“Eriel. Let’s talk for a moment. Okay?”

Eriel almost shrieked on the spot at Gerald’s friendly approach. It was really easy to misunderstand.

“It seems the Duchess was concerned because of us. No, it’s not like that. Please take your time and talk with the Baron.”

The young ladies even smiled at Eriel and gave way, stepping back from their spots.

Eriel stood up from her seat, barely hooking the tips of her toes into the shoes that wouldn’t fit.

“Baron Shannon. I will also take my leave.”

Eriel thought she needed to show a firm attitude.

The young ladies had already left, but Eriel wanted to escape this uncomfortable situation quickly.

“We’re friends, so is it such an unpleasant thing to exchange a few words?”

Gerald grabbed the wrist of Eriel, who was about to walk away.

Eriel looked around in surprise. Fortunately, there were no nobles around, so Eriel shook off his wrist.

“What are you doing, Gerald? If we’re friends, respect the boundaries of friendship.”

“What boundaries? Since when did we have boundaries of friendship between us?”

“Gerald…?”

Eriel looked up at Gerald.

His hazel eyes, reflected in the sunset, blazed red.

“You knew, didn’t you, Eriel? It’s true that you used me. You used my feelings and…”

“I’m sorry.”

Eriel apologized right away. In fact, it was closer to an apology to cut off his following words. She didn’t want to hear it.

“I know it’s meaningless to say this now, but I didn’t know. The difference. Father told me to get along well with you, and I did it because you liked it when I said those things. But I only realized later that my ignorance had hurt you. I’m really sorry.”

“Even after growing up and realizing it, we still got along well like friends, didn’t we?”

Eriel’s lips trembled.

“That… was partly because I didn’t want to hurt you. I didn’t want to explicitly bring up our relationship… I’m sorry. That was also my selfishness. I guess I didn’t want to lose a friend.”

The wind blew. Eriel lowered her gaze, and Gerald said nothing.

At some point, Eriel, who had been precariously supporting the tips of her toes in her shoes, became exhausted.

She quickly raised her head, not wanting to show such a sight in front of Gerald, even if she fell over.

“…Gerald.”

When she looked up, he was crying.

“I’m sorry. I know too. I also consider you a friend, a precious existence, Eriel.”

Gerald’s tears flowed down his cheeks and fell to the ground.

“I guess I also wanted to hear an apology from you.”

Gerald, who let out a self-deprecating laugh, wiped his tears with the back of his hand.

“Gerald, no. I’m… I’m sorry. We were good friends, but I guess something got tangled up between us. After that, there was no occasion to have such a sincere conversation while getting married.”

Eriel lowered her eyebrows.

With an apologetic expression, Eriel sighed softly at Gerald’s tears.

“You tell the Duke. That it will never happen again. It’s strange for me to apologize to your husband now that things have turned out this way. There was already too much political talk due to a momentary emotional reaction. I’m sorry.”

“No. I’ll explain it well to my husband. We should have had this conversation sooner…”

Eriel nodded.

Rather, having this conversation made her feel more at ease.

“Oh, Eriel?”

Gerald took out a pair of gloves from his pocket.

“Gloves…?”

“We had the launch ceremony today, right? Giving gloves before a big event signifies wishing for success. I wanted to give them to you as a gift.”

“Ah, but…”

“Am I still not good enough for you?”

Eriel had no choice but to accept the gloves while looking at Gerald’s still moist eyes.

“Thank you for accepting them, Eriel. I’ll get going. You rest more on the bench.”

“Okay. Thank you, Gerald.”

Gerald, who nodded once, turned around. Eriel was finally able to sit back on the bench after barely holding out until her limit.

As Eriel, who had caught her breath like that, took off her shoes and held up the gloves, she realized.

“These are… Jarvis’s gloves?”

Eriel blinked and quickly turned her head back in the direction Gerald had gone, but he was already gone.

Eriel moved her lips and blinked while looking at the gloves.

“Could Gerald have…”

“My lady!”

Just then, the maid came running from afar with a glass of water.

Eriel stuffed the gloves into her sleeve. Her heart pounded.

Could Gerald have…