I couldn’t help but admire Ernant’s excellent timing ability.

To visit, and of all times, now.

Until just now, Johannes had been venting his frustrations, complaining about Ernant.

If Johannes and Ernant were to meet now, it didn’t seem like good words would be exchanged between them, so I felt the need to mediate.

So I also stood up, following Johannes who was rising to greet Ernant.

“Are you going to welcome him too, sister? You must be tired.”

“Of course. He might have come because of me. Since I’m the partner for this event, there’s probably a lot to discuss.”

“…”

“Don’t even think about complaining to His Majesty about that matter. I’ve already made up my mind to be the partner.”

After I said that firmly, Johannes let out a long sigh.

He seemed quite unwilling, but in the end, he nodded.

It seemed he was going to quietly let it go this time, following my words.

So we headed together to the reception room where Ernant would be waiting.

Ernant was leisurely sipping the tea served by a maid there.

Then, seeing me enter the reception room, he smiled brightly.

“I received a report that my partner had arrived in the territory, so I rushed here right away. I missed you, Yulia.”

“…”

I answered him by simply bowing my head.

Only after receiving my greeting did Ernant’s gaze turn to Johannes.

“Have you been well in the meantime?”

“Yes, Your Majesty. I apologize for not greeting you promptly. Due to insufficient preparation time, I unintentionally committed a breach of etiquette.”

Hearing Johannes’ words, I flinched.

At first glance, it sounded like a polite greeting, but there was clearly an intention to blame Ernant’s behavior hidden in those words.

Saying ‘there wasn’t enough time to prepare’ also meant ‘because Ernant came unexpectedly without notice, there wasn’t time to prepare.’

Politely cursing while pretending not to curse. It was a common way of speaking among aristocrats in high society.

Even I, who wasn’t familiar with high society speech, could feel the hostility in Johannes’ tone, and sure enough, Ernant seemed to have detected Johannes’ discomfort as well.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t give you advance notice. I just wanted to see Yulia quickly.”

“Advance notice? Not at all necessary. Please visit whenever you wish. We would welcome you even if you came in the middle of the night.”

“…”

I started to feel a chill down my spine.

Even though I had given him a heads-up not to complain to Ernant, Johannes’ tone had undeniable thorns in it.

Seeing Ernant’s expression gradually harden, I quickly intervened between them.

“Did you visit to discuss something with me as your partner? If so, would it be alright if we talked just the two of us?”

“…Would that be okay, Marquis? I’d like you to leave us alone as well.”

Ernant also seemed to have decided not to hide his displeasure, openly requesting Johannes to leave.

At those words, Johannes’ eyes twisted slightly, but fortunately, he didn’t utter any sharp words.

Instead, he looked at me.

“Sister.”

“Please leave us. I’m asking you.”

When I said that, Johannes finally took a step back.

“Then I’ll go back and attend to my duties. Please call me anytime if you need me.”

After saying that while bowing his head towards Ernant, Johannes left the room.

As Ernant and I were left alone, a sigh escaped through his lips.

“Did you badmouth me to your brother while I was away? His attitude has become cold.”

“How could that be? And I didn’t particularly feel that way.”

“He was openly sarcastic, and you say it’s not cold…? Well, never mind that, let’s get to the main point.”

Ernant crossed his legs comfortably and leaned back on the sofa.

“I heard the dress I promised to give you is already finished. It will be delivered here this evening.”

“Ah, is that so? Thank you. I’ll wear it well.”

“I took a quick look, and it’s beautifully completed. So you should try to become a woman worthy of it, right?”

“…?”

It was a gift that was almost forced upon me, yet he’s telling me to become a woman worthy of it.

I thought he was talking nonsense, but I didn’t bother to argue.

No matter how much nonsense he spoke, I couldn’t dare to question the Emperor.

I used the elegant aristocratic speech that Johannes had shown earlier to point out his nonsense.

“Become a woman worthy of the dress…? My ears are too lowly to understand what Your Majesty is saying.”

“Is that your way of telling me not to talk nonsense?”

“Not at all. How could I dare to say such an impertinent thing?”

Ernant, seemingly annoyed at having to explain, sipped his tea with an expressionless face.

I thought it would pass quietly like that and felt relieved, but his following words brought me another pain.

“Don’t worry, I won’t make you do anything troublesome. I’m just suggesting you learn to dance a bit.”

“Dance… you say?”

Contrary to his words that he wouldn’t make me do anything troublesome, it was quite a troublesome request.

Everyone in the world would agree that learning something in a field you’re not interested in is a damn annoying and troublesome thing to do.

For a moment, my expression almost twisted, but I barely maintained a blank face and replied.

“I would like to learn to dance, but I think time might be too tight. The event is just around the corner, so how can I—”

“Don’t you know the basics?”

“…I don’t know at all. I’ve lived my whole life learning only how to use a sword. I’m ignorant of anything else.”

“Whether it’s swordsmanship or dancing, it’s all about moving your body. If you’re agile enough to handle a sword, you’ll learn to dance quickly.”

He wasn’t someone who could be reasoned with.

But even so, I felt I really needed to refuse this time and opened my mouth, but Ernant spoke faster.

“If you don’t learn, you’ll be embarrassed, you know? The Emperor and his partner are supposed to showcase the first dance in front of the public at the Founding Day ball.”

“…? Was that so? But I remember there was no such rule until now…”

“There wasn’t until last year. It’s a new rule I made this year.”

“…”

While I was frowning, at a loss for words, Ernant, finding something amusing, grinned and gave an eye smile.

“If you don’t want to be embarrassed, learn hard. Should I teach you myself?”

“…That won’t be necessary. I’ll practice with Johannes. But shouldn’t you be heading back to the Imperial Palace now? You must be busy…”

“That’s not for you to worry about. I’ve finished all my work before coming here, so don’t worry. I can stay until evening.”

“…”

I didn’t know he could be this shameless.

He was determined to stay until the end, even if I openly rebuked him to return to the Imperial Palace.

Feeling frustrated, I gulped down cold water to cool my heated insides.

Ernant really didn’t leave until evening.

It seemed he wanted to see me wearing the dress before leaving, but fortunately, the dress was delivered quickly.

Wanting to send Ernant back as soon as possible, I hurriedly tried it on with the help of the maids.

The dress I tried on was made of deep blue fabric, like the sea.

It was a color that made my pale skin and silver hair stand out even more white.

On top of that, I wore black silk gloves for the first time in my life, and added diamond earrings.

They were all unfamiliar things to me.

After finishing my makeup, I stood in front of the mirror.

My first impression upon seeing myself was this.

…It doesn’t look like me.

In the mirror I looked into, there stood someone completely different from the knight Yulia.

It was a woman who looked like she would waft through the ballroom exuding a fragrant perfume scent.

Someone who seemed to have no connection at all with the ‘Yulia’ who used to roll in the dust from crevices…

While I was blankly staring at the mirror, surprised by how different I looked, the maids made a fuss.

“You look truly beautiful! The blue color suits you fantastically, probably because your skin is so fair and clean!”

“When Lady Yulia is in the ballroom, the other young ladies won’t even be noticed! You have a completely different aura from them!”

“We must show this look to His Majesty and His Excellency right away! I’ve never seen such a beautiful person wearing such a wonderful dress in my life! Both of them will be so surprised!”

I responded to the maids’ compliments with an appropriate smile.

Meanwhile, the maids led me to the first-floor hall where Johannes and Ernant were waiting.

As soon as we arrived, both men looked at me simultaneously.

“Sister…? My goodness, it suits you so well. I truly mean it.”

“Yulia… You should have dressed like this all along. It’s almost a shame to show you to other men.”

At Ernant’s words, Johannes’ eyes twisted, but fortunately, Ernant didn’t seem to notice.

He was already walking past Johannes, approaching me.

Ernant, who had suddenly come close, held out his hand to me.

“I was serious when I said I’d teach you to dance earlier. Now that you’re wearing the dress, how about practicing one song with me?”

Translation complete. 100% of original text translated.