At the edge of my vision, I saw the beautiful jewel-adorned toe of a shoe.

I, who had been momentarily lost in thought from being harassed by Diana, suddenly came to my senses.

‘Mother-in-law!’

Now was not the time for me to be relieved that Diana had fled from before me.

Lady Briar was not someone to be taken lightly either!

‘Moreover, our first meeting is in a public setting. She’ll surely be displeased.’

A different kind of pressure from dealing with Diana filled my heart.

‘What if she kicks me with her foot like last time?’

The image of her kicking the iron gate of the mansion without hesitation, despite being in a dress and high heels, came vividly to mind.

Burdened, I wanted to run away right then, but I held back, thinking of Cedar.

‘If I run away now, I might never be recognized as Cedar’s wife. I must greet her confidently.’

I tightly grasped the hem of my skirt with both hands. Then I carefully opened my mouth.

“Um, excuse me.”

But all my worries were for naught.

Far from being angry, Lady Briar welcomed me with a smile like a large blooming flower.

“Call me mother. We’re finally together at an official event. I’ve been so eager to talk about my adorable daughter-in-law, whom I’ve known all this time.”

“Pardon?”

Her tone suggested she knew me very well.

‘But isn’t this our first meeting?’

I had seen her when she came to the mansion and kicked the iron gate, but hadn’t she not seen me? Moreover, she even sent an assassin to kill me?

‘I can hardly believe it’s the same person.’

The woman approaching me with a friendly smile before my eyes felt like a different person from the one who had tried to kill me.

That’s how drastically her expression and behavior had changed.

‘It’s chilling.’

Can a person act so differently?

I shrank my shoulders. Cedar stepped in front of my bewildered self and pushed Lady Briar away.

“No. You’re no different from Baron Periway, Mother. Please keep your distance from my wife.”

“Cedar.”

Lady Briar’s face crumpled in extreme displeasure, but only for a moment.

She waved her hand again with a smile as beautiful as a flower.

“Oh, come now. No matter how shy you are, how long are you going to hide your wife?”

“Mother.”

Cedar’s jaw tensed.

He had just pushed away his own sister Diana in front of people, and it wouldn’t be good to quarrel with Cedar’s mother as well.

I stepped forward. Then I politely greeted her with my hands neatly folded.

“It’s alright, Cedar. Hello, I’m…”

Of course, Lady Briar didn’t listen to my greeting to the end.

She gestured to me and spoke shamelessly as if we were originally on close terms.

“We’re already family, so why act like strangers? Come closer.”

“Pardon? Yes.”

The more nonchalantly she acted, the more frightened I became of Lady Briar.

“I’m finally introducing our daughter-in-law to others like this.”

She treated a woman she was seeing for the first time like a dear daughter-in-law, without any change in expression.

The noblewomen watching us with curious eyes began to speak to Lady Briar one by one.

“Duchess, did you know that your daughter-in-law had awakened from her vegetative state?”

Lady Briar raised her chin haughtily and replied.

“Of course. She’s even wearing the necklace I cherish.”

I flinched at Lady Briar’s words.

My face must have clearly soured, but Lady Briar, as if she didn’t notice, continued speaking in a natural tone.

“It’s a necklace I received from the Duke when I was young. He gave it to me when I was sad about the burden of being a Duchess. I was sad that it no longer suited me, but I’m glad it looks good on my daughter-in-law.”

There’s no way such a grand heirloom necklace would be in a small mansion that hadn’t been visited even once since returning to the main house.

It was clearly a lie she had just made up.

But the noblewomen here weren’t going to question whether it was true or false.

At the perfectly matching, touching story, the noblewomen showered praises.

“Oh my, is that so? A love passed down through generations, how romantic.”

“To think that even the seemingly stern Duke Granite has such a side.”

“It’s such a shame he couldn’t be here with us.”

Lady Briar’s necklace, which I had worn without much thought, suddenly felt heavy.

I glanced at Cedar’s expression. Cedar’s face was terrifyingly rigid.

‘So this is why Cedar dislikes his mother.’

It’s a child he’s meeting after a long time, and that child’s wife.

Yet instead of genuinely approaching, she twisted lies to her advantage, so it was natural for Cedar to be disgusted.

Not stopping there, she even pulled me along.

“I have many people to introduce you to. Come here.”

“Ah!”

Lady Briar suddenly grabbed my wrist.

I was so startled that I let out a small scream. Cedar removed Lady Briar’s hand and spoke in a frightening voice.

“That’s enough.”

“Cedar.”

Lady Briar glared at Cedar as if asking if he was really going to be like this, but it was only for a moment.

She fluttered her long eyelashes and immediately changed her words.

“Oh my, I was being foolish. Right, since it’s your first official appearance, you should dance first. Go on.”

Diana was scary, but this felt even more cunning than Diana.

I almost scratched my arm from the chills. Before I could, Cedar grabbed my hand.

“Come here.”

Cedar looked very angry, but the hand leading me was gentle.

Just then, in the ballroom, one song was ending and a slow dance tune was about to begin.

Cedar, facing me with his hand on my waist, leaned close and whispered.

“When the dance is over, say your legs hurt too much. I’ll take care of the rest.”

It seems he wants to leave this place quickly. I nodded.

I wasn’t the least bit regretful, as I had always thought that high society and balls had nothing to do with me anyway.

‘Will I be able to dance well? I was terrible even during practice.’

As I was watching my feet intently with my nerves on edge, the tip of my forehead bumped into Cedar’s chest.

Cedar was standing very close to dance.

‘A nice fragrance.’

When I raised my head, Cedar’s eyes were fully focused on me. As if by magic, my tension melted away.

‘That’s right. I’m not alone here.’

As my heart lightened, my feet moved much more easily. Rather, it was Cedar who was stiff.

Cedar seemed to sense this too, and let out a small sigh.

“…I’m sorry. It’s our first dance together, and I dragged you out like this.”

I wondered what he meant. I chuckled.

“Cedar, lower yourself a bit.”

Cedar tilted his head curiously but bent his waist. I lightly hopped up and kissed him.

I was aiming for his lips, but in the end, my lips left a faint red mark around his chin.

‘I thought the shoes would be enough!’

What did this man eat to grow so tall?

Regretfully looking at his lips, I met Cedar’s somewhat dazed gaze.

I pouted my lips and added.

“This isn’t because I crave magic. It’s to comfort you.”

It’s true I was aiming for his lips too. But while I’m at it, charging magic and comforting him is a win-win, isn’t it?

I quickly made that excuse, afraid Cedar might say he’d never kiss me again if I spoke honestly.

But Cedar’s face turned red at my answer.

‘Huh?’

Why did his face suddenly turn as red as a burning sweet potato?

Just as I was about to ask if he had a fever, Cedar suddenly lifted me up.

“Just a moment.”

“Eek!”

Suddenly lifted in the middle of dancing, I was so startled that I wrapped both arms around Cedar’s neck.

At my short but sharp scream, even the people dancing briefly paused their movements to look at us.

Cedar began to stride forward, carrying me. Toward the outside of the ballroom.

Flustered, I quickly whispered to Cedar.

“Ce-Cedar? Is it alright to leave so suddenly like this?”

Cedar answered firmly. His silver-gray gaze was fixed straight ahead.

“I want to be alone with you.”

“But everyone is looking?”

“Bury your head in my shoulder.”

No, that’s not the problem!

‘How embarrassing!’

Feeling it would be even more embarrassing to make eye contact, I buried my head in his shoulder as Cedar said, but of course, the embarrassment didn’t go away.

Even without making eye contact, somehow it felt like many gazes were piercing my back.

‘No. It’s not my imagination. They’re definitely looking. They’re all looking at my back.’

It was a dilemma where I could neither do this nor that.

I ended up squeezing my eyes shut. My hands clutching his neck tightened firmly.

The path out of the ballroom wasn’t very long, but that time felt eternally long.

Only when we arrived at a quiet corner of the garden where no one else was around did Cedar set me down.

I breathed heavily as if exhaling breath that had been held back.

‘I really thought I was going to suffocate.’

There had been no shortage of shocking events today, but being carried in Cedar’s arms like a princess while hundreds of gazes pierced me as we left the ballroom was undoubtedly at the top.

A lukewarm warmth touched my forehead and then left.

At the ticklish sensation, I raised my head, and Cedar’s gaze was even more ticklish.

“I’m sorry for coming out so suddenly like this. I couldn’t bear not telling you right away.”

“Ah, no, it’s fine. It’s not like I wanted to dance anyway…”

But what did he want to say that he came out so urgently?

I couldn’t predict at all what he was going to say.