“Master!”

She pulled Leonard’s sleeve with all her might. Of course, Leonard barely tilted his head back rather than stumbling, but that was enough.

Cordelia spoke urgently.

“Lord Rosenblur is just joking, teasing.”

“I’m neither joking nor teasing, Cordelia.”

“The bastard says he’s not.”

Leonard was still glaring at Rosenblur with terrifying eyes. Cordelia tugged on Leonard’s sleeve once more.

“It sounds that way to me? There’s no way I would take those words seriously.”

Fortunately, her brief comment seemed to please him. Leonard finally turned to look at her. Cordelia smiled as brightly as she could while seating him on the sofa.

“Here, here. Please sit down quickly. Here’s some sorbet. Bring another sorbet.”

“Yes.”

The maid behind them, sensing Cordelia’s urgency, quickly disappeared.

“Try the peach sorbet. I tried it here for the first time today, and it’s really delicious.”

“Hmph. Are you a newborn or something? Is everything your first time?”

“I guess so. I’m living the good life thanks to having a great master.”

Cordelia remained tense. She deliberately turned her body completely towards Leonard and didn’t even glance at Rosenblur.

“Leo… I’m so glad to see you looking healthy.”

Just then, Lydia spoke to Leonard with tears in her eyes. Cordelia inwardly breathed a sigh of relief.

“Yes. It’s been a while for you too.”

“Do you know how much I cried when I heard you were dead? You could have given me a hint. I, I really thought something had happened to you…”

For the first time, Cordelia realized that even a beautiful woman’s crying could be beautiful. Lydia shed tears as pitifully as if she were the protagonist of a play, and seeing this made Cordelia’s heart ache for no reason.

But whether he was heartless, insensitive, or both, her master didn’t even blink.

“Unnecessary worry. What’s the point of attending a funeral without a body?”

“Leo. Lydia was really worried about you. She thought that even if you weren’t dead, you might have been too severely injured to appear.”

“Ah, I see.”

Leonard was indifferent, almost disinterested. To be so cold-hearted when someone was crying, Cordelia felt embarrassed just being next to him.

She turned her head towards Leonard and frowned.

“The smell of blood…”

“What?”

“No, nothing. I just smell blood somewhere.”

“Your nose is unnecessarily sensitive. Do you know how many times I’ve gone to the forest because of you?”

“Forest? Did you go hunting?”

“If you want to call it hunting, sure.”

Leonard leaned back and snatched Cordelia’s sorbet to eat.

“Ah, that’s mine.”

“What’s yours here? Everything in this mansion is mine.”

“That’s true, but… that’s too much.”

“First time in the capital. First time with sorbet. I bet you’ll say it’s your first time at a ball too?”

“It is my first time.”

“…What?”

Perhaps intending to tease her, Leonard spoke with a sneer, but sadly, Cordelia couldn’t refute.

“When I was very young, there were a few held at home, but I was too young to attend then.”

“You must have had a coming-of-age ceremony?”

“Where would we get money for that? Besides, as soon as I came of age, I was sold—ahem, married off to the Abrams family.”

For a moment, thinking they were alone, she almost used the word “sold.” Although she had become quite close with Rosenblur, they weren’t close enough to reveal such private matters.

Rosenblur immediately turned serious.

“Oh my. Then is the Saracen ball in a few days your first? What about clothes? Have you had a dress fitted?”

“No? Why bother? They kindly made me many clothes at the Atilei townhouse, so I can just wear any of those.”

“Why are you only mentioning this now?”

Leonard glared at Cordelia as he put down the sorbet on the table with a thud. Cordelia found his question very absurd.

“You didn’t ask?”

“Such things should be… When is the Saracen gathering?”

“In two days.”

Cordelia blinked as she spoke. Upon hearing this, Leonard irritably pulled the bell rope. Shortly after, Anna, the head maid, entered.

“Two days? Ha. Why are you only telling me this now…”

“You called for me, Master?”

“Anna. Summon all the tailors in Yebo Delim right now.”

“Pardon?”

“We need to have a dress made within two days.”

“A dress for Lady Cordelia to wear?”

“Wait a moment, Master. I’m fine, really. Just any… yes, I can even go wearing what I have on now.”

“I’ll be introducing you as my disciple, and you want to go wearing such unsuitable clothes?”

“Unsuitable? Come on, these are all clothes made by Atilei, you know?”

Cordelia was so dumbfounded that she was at a loss for words. Until now, he hadn’t even cared whether she was going to the Saracen gathering or not, and suddenly all this fuss.

Moreover, all the clothes she currently owned were newly made by tailors called to the Atilei townhouse after she arrived.

“Hmm. Two days is tight, but if we alter a finished dress, we might be able to manage somehow.”

“It must be done. We’re planning to attend the Saracen gathering in two days.”

“I really don’t mind, I’m telling you?”

“Yes. I’ll call for the tailors first.”

Sadly, Cordelia’s opinion was ignored by both of them. Cordelia grumbled in a small voice.

“You didn’t pay any attention to me since coming to Yebo Delim…”

“Weren’t you having fun because I wasn’t paying attention?”

“Ah, no, that’s not it?”

Unable to deny the truth, Cordelia hurriedly looked away and pretended to be distracted. Leonard immediately threatened her.

“Don’t slack off in your studies just because I’m not checking. Once we finish up here, we’ll be heading down to Wilas right away.”

“Already? The social season is just beginning.”

“What reason do you have to be in Yebo Delim during the social season? It’s not like you’re getting married.”

“That’s true, but…”

Cordelia lifted her head in disappointment. The capital, which she was visiting for the first time in her life, was full of wonders. She had thought they would stay longer.

Lydia also asked with surprised eyes.

“You’re going down so soon? You’ve only been in Yebo Delim for a short time, right?”

“I got a message from the Magic Association yesterday. Seems they heard the news that I’m alive.”

“Ah, I guess there must have been quite a commotion in Ropel too.”

“I need to go and firmly establish her as my successor. There’s too much to deal with.”

He pointed at Cordelia with his chin as he spoke.

“Finally, Acheron will have an official successor.”

“I’m worried because her head is like a rock, but we’ll manage somehow.”

“That’s too much, Master. Calling me a rock.”

Cordelia, who was listening right next to him, pouted her lips. Rosenblur laughed lightly.

“Despite what he says, it seems he’s quite fond of Cordelia. That bracelet on your wrist, it’s the treasure of Ebrard, isn’t it?”

“Ah, this…”

“If I remember correctly, Leo spent over a year struggling to find that, and now he’s given it to Cordelia. Isn’t that the very symbol of favor?”

“…It’s not quite favoritism.”

She couldn’t bring herself to say that Leonard hadn’t exactly given it to her, but that she had half taken it. She smiled awkwardly and only watched her master’s reaction.

“It’s not like I had much use for it anyway.”

“If you had no use for it, why did you search for it so desperately?”

Rosenblur spoke teasingly to Leonard, but Leonard just snorted and didn’t mention that he had given the bracelet to Cordelia by mistake.

As they were talking, Anna came to inform them that the tailors had arrived. Cordelia stood up first. The siblings bid her a kind farewell.

“See you at the Saracen gathering, Cordelia.”

“It was so pleasant meeting you today, Lady Cordelia.”

“Me too. It was nice meeting both of you…”

“What are you doing? Stop dawdling and go quickly.”

“…Now you won’t even let me say goodbye.”

She couldn’t even finish her greetings due to her master’s interruption. Cordelia glared at Leonard with her lips pursed before leaving.

As soon as she left the room, Leonard smirked and gazed for a long time at the place where Cordelia had departed.

* * *

Although she had clearly heard that the Saracen ball was in the evening, the maids were causing a commotion from the morning. Thanks to that, Cordelia woke up at the crack of dawn, bathed in rose water, and applied fragrant oil all over her body.

“It’s fortunate. It suits you so well.”

The dress, completed by five of the most famous tailors in the capital working together, was excessively gorgeous and beautiful in Cordelia’s eyes.

Moreover, the capital’s makeup skills were so excellent that it was almost like magic. Every time Cordelia dozed off briefly and woke up, her face had changed a little.

Her hair, which had always been disheveled, now gleamed with shine, and her eyebrows were neatly trimmed, making her appearance much neater. Her lips also sparkled, though she wasn’t sure what had been done to them. Her cheeks were rouged, giving her a lively appearance.

“I’m hungry.”

“Ah, just a moment. I prepared something in advance.”

Layla smiled warmly and handed her a cookie the size of her palm. Cordelia stared at it for a while.

“What is this?”

“It’s breakfast, lunch, and dinner combined.”

“…”

After completing such rigorous preparations, surprisingly, it was just before the ball.

Cordelia was unsteady on her feet, having worn high heels after a long time. She stood in front of the mirror, supported by a maid.

“Is this really me? It’s like a person has been reborn?”

“Hehe. It’s not quite that extreme. It’s just that you usually dress so modestly, Countess. The young ladies of the capital dress even more elaborately than this.”

“They’re all so diligent.”

Cordelia stuck out her tongue. Just then, a servant came to find her.

“The master is asking when your preparations will be finished.”

“I’ll go down now.”

When she went downstairs to the first floor, Leonard was standing there with a bored expression. He too was dressed in formal attire, and while he was always handsome, dressed up like this he seemed to be radiating light.