“Will you be my first dance partner at the ball after the reinstatement ceremony?”
Daisy Antoine asked me.
“Your first dance partner? Are you sure it’s okay for it to be me?”
I wasn’t sure, but as the youngest daughter of a newly reinstated count, I imagined she would receive many dance invitations from young heirs of noble families today.
When I conveyed this thought, Daisy replied,
“They are all boring, can’t even hold a conversation. Hmm… how to put it, we have nothing in common to talk about. Ugh.”
She dismissively waved her hand and clicked her tongue in a somewhat haughty manner.
“Haha…”
Her cute demeanor made me laugh. The girl again spoke with her bright eyes shining.
“Would you please be my first dance? My first dance partner?”
“Yes, I would be happy to. But please understand, I’m a bit clumsy at dancing.”
“I’ll lead! Yay!”
The girl’s smile blossomed like a pink flower in spring.
I smiled along with her.
Uniform, sword, and mask.
I was ready in no time.
In the distance, the heavy tolling of bells signaled the start of the ceremony.
“Shall we go?”
“Yes!”
Unexpectedly, I found myself heading to the council hall with the youngest daughter of the Antoine family.
I took a stem from the sky-blue misty flowers she was holding, threading several blossoms onto it.
Then, I wrapped the stem into a ring and slipped it onto the girl’s finger.
“This is a token of my gratitude for waiting. May you always remain loyal to His Highness the Duke.”
Daisy exclaimed with joy,
“I’ll be loyal a hundred times! No, two hundred times!”
The sentiment Count Barkun expressed when he entrusted the Duke to me might have been similar to how I felt now.
The spacious council hall was filled with numerous nobles of the North.
As Daisy Antoine and I entered the hall, Count Antoine, who recognized us from afar, hurried over.
He playfully twisted Daisy’s nose, ever so gently.
“Everyone is watching, Father!”
“Our little filly here, causing trouble for the knight!”
“Trouble?”
Daisy looked up at me worriedly.
“It’s alright, Count. It was a pleasure.”
“Indeed, it was a pleasure!”
Daisy laughed. The count conceded to his youngest daughter with a look of helpless affection.
“That girl, really. Thank you, Knight.”
“Congratulations, Count.”
I bowed to Franz Antoine.
“It is truly an honor to receive your congratulations, Knight.”
A gentle smile spread across the noble’s face.
It is said love and happiness cannot be hidden. His face, brimming with happiness, lifted my spirits too.
Then, the servants announced,
“May the grace of Belparst, the shield of the empire, be with you all! His Grace Zion Belparst, the Duke, arrives!”
The blue sapphire doors on the dais opened, and the Duke entered.
“Your Highness!”
Everyone knelt on one knee. I did the same.
The Duke was dressed in the Northern uniform.
The dark navy uniform complemented his blue eyes beautifully. The black cloak made his black hair stand out even more.
The stately Duke’s entrance was like the refreshing breeze of the North.
His beautiful proportions and broad shoulders resembled a dignified statue.
“I saw him when I was very young, but it’s been so long… Wow, he really is handsome.”
Daisy Antoine murmured in admiration.
“Right? He really is handsome.”
I watched the Duke with a pleased smile.
Was it a coincidence?
For a brief moment, his blue eyes seemed to find me in the crowd. But soon, his gaze shifted elsewhere.
‘With so many people around, our eyes couldn’t have met.’
I smiled bitterly at my foolish thought.
The ceremony proceeded swiftly.
The Duke read the imperial edict and the reinstatement decree. Count Antoine knelt on one knee before the Duke and listened to the imperial command.
“And thus, from this day forth, the Antoine family is reinstated to the rank of count.”
At the Duke’s final words, the banquet hall filled with the cheers and applause of the people.
I, along with other knights, watched the scene from right in front of the stage.
The Duke said,
“I’m truly sorry for the delay, Count Franz Antoine.”
“It’s no problem, Your Highness. I am aware that the reinstatement is thanks to Your Highness’s efforts!”
Count Antoine exclaimed.
The Duke added words of encouragement,
“I also entrust you with the duties of the Chief Administrative Officer.”
Count Antoine had replaced Infidel Nugent as the new Chief Administrative Officer of the North.
The Duke addressed Infidel, standing behind Antoine,
“Infidel Nugent, I entrust this to you.”
“Would there be any doubt, Your Highness? I will wholeheartedly assist the new Administrative Officer to the best of my abilities.”
Arcadia’s brother smiled sincerely as he bowed.
“I will learn much from the former officer. Nugent, we need your strength.”
Count Antoine extended his hand to Infidel. The two men smiled and shook hands.
After the ceremony, the ball naturally began.
The Duke’s responsibility was to open the first dance.
General Mobie, standing beside me, asked Ergo,
“Who will be His Highness’s first partner?”
“Hmm. Countess Loren? Or perhaps Lady Sophia?”
The Male lead Always Seduces Her with His Beauty (Matriarchy)
Xin Jiao Zhou is the leader of the world’s premier sect. She has just experienced betrayal from all sides, was poisoned in an assassination attempt, and faced death squad attacks while the poison was taking effect. After finally clearing out the scum from her sect, she was drugged again while trying to detoxify.
After waking up from a night of unconsciousness, she gained a “beautiful and kind-hearted” husband.
Xin Jiao Zhou: “???”
He fell ill.
She came to see him, bringing breakfast.
As she put down the breakfast and was about to leave, his hand slipped while holding the spoon. “Clank!”
She turned around upon hearing the noise.
He looked up at her, his eyebrows drooping: “My hand… has no strength.”
“Shall I… feed you?” she asked tentatively.
He opened his mouth cheerfully: “Ah—”
Thinking she was drowning, he jumped in without hesitation to save her, but nearly drowned himself. In the end, it was she who swam over to rescue him, giving him air underwater.
After emerging from the water, his ear tips turned red. He lightly brushed his cheek, tucking his sideburns behind his ear, revealing delicate, pink-tinged ear tips. He lowered his gaze, too embarrassed to look at her.
Xin Jiao Zhou: He’s truly beautiful, kind-hearted, and adorable.
A certain someone when disciplining subordinates behind the scenes: “If they don’t obey, just kill them.”
What’s that? She might already have someone she cares about in her heart? A certain someone: Find out who it is, kill them, and then there won’t be anyone.
What? She met a man by the riverside? What? That man even hurt her? A certain someone: Whichever hand hurt her, chop off his entire arm.
Love at first sight without realizing it, gradually falling in love, slowly getting closer…
Family and national grudges, schemes and desires, good and evil, crime and punishment, she and he face the future together, seeking justice with passion!
A naturally dark female lead who could accidentally destroy the world but is actually an honest person VS a weak, pitiful, and helpless but skilled fighter, beautiful white-cut black male lead
My heart is not of stone, how steadfast is your love? — Tao Yuanming “Imitating the Ancients (No. 3)”
— Reading Guide —
Cold female lead & dramatic black lotus with hidden yandere traits male lead
