Chapter 60. What Everyone Else Does, You Should Also Experience and Live

2023.11.29.

“It’s impossible! The debutante ball held at the imperial palace is the dream of every young lady in Euphris!”

“Every fairy tale reaches its climax at a royal ball!”

“It happens only once in a lifetime! For others, an invitation is something they can’t even obtain!”

“You two will make a magnificent pair! I’ll ensure there’s no couple more beautiful than you and His Highness at that event!”

Yuan met Clade’s gaze, who tilted his head slightly and looked only at her, regardless of the excited chatter around them.

His violet eyes, darkened by the backlight, slowly swept down her form before rising back up.

The shimmering hem of her dress.

The soft pink silk cascading like waves, revealing her waistline, topped with a large, lighter organza ribbon.

Above that, the delicate hollow of her collarbone, her slender neck, and fragile jawline. Her lips, faintly pink as if untouched by makeup.

Finally meeting her petite nose and dark, almost tearful eyes, the owner of those eyes stepped abruptly toward him.

“I’m fine as I am.”

Her long eyelashes fluttered rapidly as she blinked.

Yuan briefly glared at the invitation in Clade’s hand.

For some reason, Bollonico Euphris desired her—and refused to let go.

That invitation was meant to summon her to the imperial palace where he resided.

She had spent the entire night pondering the uncomfortable, uneasy feeling she experienced whenever she was around him. And she reached only one conclusion.

Crown Prince Bollonico.

That broken, doll-like man disliked her husband, Clade. He intended to use her to destroy Clade.

Therefore, she must not give him even the slightest opening.

She could no longer expose her poor, beautiful husband to danger—

not for the sake of some so-called “dream of every young girl.”

“I really am fine. What point would there be for a married woman like me to attend a debutante ball? People would only mock me. I’d rather just stay here—”

“Who would ever mock you? You’re so beautiful!”

“Exactly! We’d love to show off our craftsmanship too!”

“You’re being far too modest, my lady! If I were you, I’d be so excited to display my beauty that I wouldn’t be able to sleep at night!”

Thinking Yuan’s refusal was mere humility, the tailor Michelle and her staff jumped in protest from behind.

“All the beautiful, dazzling things will be at the imperial palace.”

“You’ve been married and haven’t seen such splendid events in quite some time! Wouldn’t it be a wonderful change of scenery? A noble lady I once served was invited to a royal ball just once, and even ten years later, she still talked about it everywhere she went!”

Deliberately ignoring the well-meaning but uninformed interference, Yuan desperately locked eyes with Clade.

Their gazes collided and entwined midair.

Yuan hoped Clade would instantly silence the excited crowd around them.

But from his tightly sealed lips came an answer that even the butler Gustav hadn’t anticipated.

“Yes.”

His short, concise reply left Yuan’s eyes wide in shock.

She trembled her lips and stepped closer to him.

“I really am fine! If it’s about the dress I already had made… wearing this and just visiting Marquis Rev’s estate for a simple meal together would be enough for me—”

“Yes. Just go.”

Clade straightened his posture and stepped firmly toward her.

Yuan was completely enveloped in Clade’s shadow as cheers faded behind them.

His long fingers gently tapped the ribbon pinned to her chest.

The ribbon swayed lightly, and Yuan felt as if her heart might burst.

His low voice slowly seeped into her burning, flustered ears.

“What everyone else does, you should also experience and live.”

Leaving behind the frantic staff who insisted on redesigning everything.

Clade calmly exited the parlor.

Yuan couldn’t bring herself to turn and watch him leave. Instead, she noticed the problematic invitation he had left behind—and beneath it, a thick book.

Her nose stung sharply, and tears welled up uncontrollably.

Why.

Why does he treat me so well?

Why so excessively?

Pointlessly.

Just… why.

“Milady! Don’t worry. The Emperor won’t behave rudely like last time. When I was young, I often accompanied my grandmother to the palace, so I know. There are countless eyes watching in the imperial palace! Foreign dignitaries will be there too! Last time, only His Highness’s inner circle was present, but in the palace, there are plenty who keep a wary eye on the Emperor. You just need to stay close to your master.”

“……”

“As I told you before—when someone treats you well, just say ‘thank you’ and accept it.”

Hearing Hena’s warm, reassuring voice, she suppressed her trembling expression and forced a bitter smile.

The more Clade treated her kindly, the heavier her guilt became.

How should she face him—being repeatedly exposed to danger, as if constantly tested because of her?

Perhaps, as Hena suggested, Clade was being extra attentive because she was the same age as the younger sister he once loved, Princess Apolline—and thus felt drawn to her debutante ball.

Thinking this, her smile turned even more bitter.

Chewing over this bitter, painful emotion, Yuan realized she could no longer cover her feelings for him with the thought, “Just think of him as an older brother.”

Clade was not her older brother.

An older brother?

Yuan had never once felt affectionate longing toward her cousin Frederick.

She had never even imagined kissing him with tender feelings.

Judging from the fact that Crown Prince Bollonico had gone so far as to visit the Rev Marquisate in person and openly sent her an invitation.

He was clearly not someone who would abandon his strange obsession just because she had rejected one invitation.

“If it’s come to this, then when there are many watching eyes, I must find out exactly what he wants.”

There must be someone in this estate who delivers news of the mansion to that short-haired prince.

Yuan suppressed her anxiety and continued thinking.

Her cousin of the same age, Regina Pelliese, had been anticipating and preparing for this debutante ball since early childhood.

Her uncle would surely come to the palace for his daughter’s debutante ball.

Though her uncle was a man who had aligned himself with Crown Prince Bollonico, from their last meeting, she had learned that he now feared and distrusted Bollonico.

Perhaps she could leverage her cowardly uncle—or Marquis Companni, whom she had met before—to accurately uncover Bollonico’s true intentions.

“Rather than passively retreating and giving him another excuse to attack, I should walk straight into the tiger’s den and see for myself what kind of threat is endangering His Highness.”

Holding tightly to the book Clade had left behind, Yuan glared at Bollonico’s handwritten invitation and bit her lip hard.

***

Meanwhile, at the Pelliese Mansion.

The parlor, bustling with tailors and jewelers who had just swept through, was fully occupied with preparations for Regina’s debutante ball—funded entirely by the dowry sent by Clade.

Regina, having gathered a crowd of high-society young ladies on purpose, flaunted her beauty before them, subtly implying that all these luxurious items were being purchased with Bollonico’s money.

“Diamonds for a debutante ball? Anyone would think you’re not just the daughter of Count Pelliese, but a princess—Lady Regina.”

“But of course, the Crown Prince must have his reasons for paying such attention to you. Does that mean we’ll get to see Lady Regina walk in wearing that dazzling necklace, hand-in-hand with His Highness on debutante night?”

“Then will I get to personally greet His Highness too?”

A group of ladies-in-waiting led by Celentina sent subtle glares and veiled resentment, muttering, ‘How dare mere Pelliese summon us all the way here just to make me a spectator.’ Meanwhile, daughters of other noble families, envious of the prestigious Pelliese House, sparkled with eyes full of personal ambition.

Curiosity. Jealousy. Anger. Mockery. Admiration.

Facing this kaleidoscope of gazes, Regina removed her glittering necklace.

It was an awkward question to answer.

That damn Bollonico had received her tip about the suspicious cemetery in the Rev Marquisate, taken the information, and never even sent a thank-you note.

But knowing Bollonico’s nature, if he had deemed the information uninteresting,

he would have responded with something infuriating like:

Regina mentally counted down the days—less than a week until the debutante ball—and scanned the young noblewomen who had traveled so far to endure the inconvenience, all for the title of “Bollonico’s secret lover.”

This was something unimaginable before.

Once, among peers from lower-ranked families, Regina had occasionally received admiring glances. But among girls from powerful noble houses, she had been utterly ignored.

So how sweet was the title of Bollonico’s lover?

If she became his woman and then his princess in the future?

And if, beyond that, she became Empress one day?

Then even the proud heads of the highest aristocratic families would have no choice but to bow to her.

If Bollonico, like the tyrannical Emperor Igor Euphris, wielded his mad, unchecked power like a blade, then Regina, as his woman, could wield equal power—and no one would dare utter a word against her.

“Pardon? Lady Regina—”

“I cannot fathom the Crown Prince’s heart. But I believe.”

Regina never wanted to lose these envious, covetous eyes.

“Perhaps this imperial debutante ball will become the most beautiful and happiest day of my life.”

Regina smiled like a fully bloomed peony.

And.

Exactly three days before the debutante ball—the dream of every young girl in Euphris—

Bollonico, who had secretly invited her to an exclusive theater performance, gave her a chilling response to her anticipation.

“You should probably start looking for another partner, Lady Regina.”