Chapter 49

Suddenly, the splendid imperial palace ball entered the second half.

After doing business with the 5th Princess, I didn't have much to do, so I drank sweet cocktails to pass the time.

'Dancing with Isidor all the time is a bit awkward.'

Aside from getting too much attention every time I danced with him, it was a social norm to not dance with the same partner more than three times.

So, after dancing with the gentlemen who escorted them, the young ladies were asked by other men to dance with them.

At this time, the unpopular young ladies had no choice but to stand alone against the wall, so that's where the word wallflower came from.

'Although I'm more like the infamous Venus flytrap than a wallflower.'

For reference, in the past, Philap never even asked Deborah to dance with him, let alone escort her.

Even though Deborah abandoned her pride and blatantly hung around him.

'I have to say that her perseverance is great.'

Even Deborah, who self-destructed while harassing Mia because of the cruel Philap, is amazing in some ways.

'But surprisingly, this person is also kind.'

Some young ladies blatantly glanced at Isidor as if they want to receive a dance request, but he pretended not to see it.

He was just standing next to me, an outsider, with arms crossed.

Thanks to Isidor, I'm comfortable because I can avoid the awkwardness of standing alone, but I don't know why he is being so nosy only towards me.

'It's suspicious.'

I looked up at Isidor in a suspicious mood, and when our eyes met, I hurriedly looked elsewhere.

"Why do you keep avoiding my eyes? Well, my face is a bit dazzling indeed."

I was so annoyed that I couldn't refute it.

"Huh? When you look serious like that, it makes me want to tease you."

Suddenly, he leaned forward and slightly closed his eyes.

From his slender cheeks to his deep dimples, he was really pretty.

'It was a good li-, no, I can't keep getting bewitched like this. Get a hold of yourself.'

This is how a pushover gets caught, and all the precious jewels I have collected until now may get stolen.

"Frankly, this kind of joke is not funny."

I bit the inside of my mouth and spoke bluntly.

"You're cruel. Others said it was funny."

It's not a lame joke, it's that your face is funny.

No matter what you say, even if it is dad jokes, everyone will hold their stomachs and laugh.

I swallowed those thoughts and looked around the ballroom.

'Huh?'

Then, I saw an unexpected sight and opened my mouth slightly.

Mia Vinoche was dancing with a man other than Philap.

Philap has a strong possessive desire, so I thought he would always stay by Mia's side.

'Who is it?'

As they circled halfway towards the direction where I was standing, I roughly figured out who Mia's partner was.

Although his atmosphere was completely different from the frivolous Thierry Orgo, the black hair and strangely similar facial features made me think that Mia's dancing partner might be Diera Orgo.

'It suddenly feels like I'm really inside the novel.'

Except for Rosad Seymour, who is outside the capital, and the 3rd Prince, all of Mia's fishes gathered here today.

And Diera Orgo, who is now dancing with Mia, was the one with the strongest sense of justice among the fishes and was a somewhat fastidious person.

If someone committed a crime, he would wield his sword fairly, regardless of status, so he was referred to as a judge.

Diera, who has a noble character, had a crush on Mia, who distributes her divine power equally to the poor and marginalized, from the beginning.

In the original story, there was a time when he saved Mia from being bullied by Deborah's maids.

'As expected, she is doing well because she is the heroine.'

However, the problem is just that men's personalities gradually go out of their way.

Like that guy over there.

As I was clicking my tongue while looking at Belreck, who was leaning against the wall alone like a popular but cold city man, he turned his head like it was a lie and walked towards me.

'What was that?'

His goal was not me, but Isidor.

"Sir Isidor, if you are being threatened with death by Deborah, shake your handkerchief three times towards the window."

When I looked up at Belreck, who suddenly appeared and slandered me, he flinched and then left with a quick pace.

"Hmm, looks like you're close with Mr. Belreck."

Isn't it obvious that we have a bad relationship?

No one in the whole empire wasn't aware that Belreck looked down on me.

"You don't have to wrap it up like that."

"I don't have siblings, so I'm jealous of that straightforward relationship."

"It might be much better not to have it in the first place. It's an enemy in its own category."

"The Princess is honest and funny."

After killing time while exchanging a few pointless conversations with him, I turned my eyes to the large clock hanging in the ballroom.

The masquerade ball held outdoors started at 9 o'clock, so the imperial ball would soon be over.

As I was thinking about the timing to get out of here, an unwelcome figure came into my sight.

'Again! He is staring at me.'

He looked at me so intensely that I thought he had something to say to me, but Philap started talking to his acquaintances that were near me.

'Calm down.'

Just in time, Isidor brought me a piece of cake and a cherry cocktail, and the musicians started playing again.

The last performance of the spring flower ball is always the same.

An orchestral concerto called Masquerade Suite.

The song selection seemed to announce the next outdoor event.

In fact, the famous event at the Spring Flower Festival was not the imperial ball, but the masquerade ball held near the Imperial Palace's fountain.

Unlike the imperial ball, where only invited families could attend, the masquerade ball was open to various noble families.

It was an event that exuded an atmosphere of pleasure and freedom, because the moment you put on a mask, you could put down your social position and play around to your heart's content.

It was also one of the favorite topics for romance novels here.

'The fireworks are the highlight.'

The fireworks that the imperial wizards fired over the night sky could be seen anywhere in the Horun district.

The scale was so big that it remained in the fragments of memories.

'Although I have somewhere I must go.'

As I was about to say goodbye, Isidor reached out to me.

"Will you give me the honor of the last dance? I saved the third dance so we could dance to this song together."

He spoke kindly.

'I think I will be a little late if I dance until the end of the last song.'

Although I'm not even Cinderella, I hesitated while looking at the clock; and a deep voice crossed between me and Isidor.

"Princess Deborah."

Philap approached with an angry expression.

The words he uttered with a disrespectful look that looked like he was about to start a fight were unexpected.

"Dance to the last song with me."

I was taken aback by the strange urgency of his words.

"Sir Philap. Can't you see that I requested a dance first? I see you've lost your notion."

Isidor said sharply, with a gentle smile.

However, unlike the last time, Philap, who was hot-blooded, was surprisingly calm.

"A young lady dancing with only one person at a ball doesn't look very good, Sir Isidor knows this too. From Princess Deborah's perspective, wouldn't it be better to finish it with me?"

As Philap said, having only one dancing partner throughout an entire ball meant no popularity.

'But why did he stay still when the previous song started and requested it at the end of the ball? I was stuck to the wall all this time.'

"I think it's funnier to see Sir Philap pretending to be so attentive."

Whether he had the same thoughts as me, Isidor laughed.

"That's right. I may not be meticulous, but I'm better than you, standing next to the Lady like a stone statue. You're so slow-witted, don't you see other gentlemen haven't been able to request a dance from Princess Deborah? In the end, you even made someone like me step forward."

Don't tell me, is he going to turn me around?

'Who on earth would request a dance from me?'

Thanks to Isidor, it was less embarrassing.

"Your excuses are poor. It's more like you have been wandering around and snooping on us all the time, and then, when the ball is over, you go crazy because you are one step behind."

But even without me interfering, Isidor handled Philap's quarrel like a ping-pong player.

"Snooping around? Look who is speaking. I am the one who doesn't know why you're suddenly wandering around Princess Deborah and acting ridiculously nosy."

"You're doing such useless meddling. Who is the nosy one?"

"Meddling? Deborah and I have been together for five years, and we even talked about marriage once. Anyone would think you are weirder than me."

"But you're the one saying weird things."

The two of them had a cold war of nerves because they weren't on good terms.

Although their expressions and tone were gentle, the atmosphere they gave off became increasingly harsh.

As the nobles became more and more fearless and interested in this, I hurriedly interfered.

"Philap, I don't know why you suddenly appeared, but you have no right to talk about my situation and honor with your mouth. You're the one who always ridiculed me and made me miserable."

"So, I'm going to do whatever you want, Deborah. Haven't you wanted it for so long? For me to dance with you."

He spoke confidently, and I couldn't help but lose all strength in my body at Philap's narcissism.

At this rate, even the mountain god from The Honest Woodcutter will cry.

'No matter how hard I've been clinging to him, this is a bit too much...'

Everyone knows for sure that Deborah has been obsessed with him for over five years, but he proudly showed up with Mia next to him at the academy.

Besides, Mia appeared as pretty as Cinderella today, and Philap made her look like she is his special person.

I couldn't understand how he could be so confident even though he was the worst of the idiots.

"What you think is my wish is probably your wish. Philap, I will decline your arrogant dance request. What the hell do you take me for?"