TVLT 14

Chapter 14

The girls standing around Artizea were startled and began whispering among themselves.

Even Lady Laila of Count Attiya, who had been angry only moments ago, blushed and became shy.

[Who could he have come to see?]

[I heard His Highness the Grand Duke of Evron dislikes women.]

[Does anyone here know the Grand Duke personally?]

The girls looked around, but none of them imagined that Cedric had come to see Artizea.

Artizea held her breath.

Ever since she learned that Cedric had come, she had naturally assumed that he had come looking for her.

Even so, seeing him actually walk straight toward her felt unreal.

She looked at Cedric.

Only Cedric.

She had never thought of herself as someone with a narrow field of vision, but she stared at him so intently that she did not even notice the people around her, including Lady Laila, reacting in surprise.

So when Cedric held out his hand to her, she did not even notice the small gasps that rose from the crowd.

The girls were so shocked that they forgot even to control their expressions. They simply stared at Artizea and Cedric with their mouths slightly open.

Even the young men and adults, while pretending not to pay attention, were watching them as closely as they could.

“Greetings, Lady Rosan.”

“What… brings you here, Your Highness?”

Artizea could not completely hide her confusion. Hesitantly, she placed her hand in his.

At that moment, little gasps of astonishment spread through the room.

Cedric paid no attention to the atmosphere around them. Instead, he frowned.

He kept his right hand where Artizea had placed hers and reached out with his left to take her chin.

“What happened to your face?”

“Pardon?”

“Your cheek is swollen. There is a scratch here from a fingernail, too. And the corner of your lips is torn.”

Cedric examined her face with almost rude attentiveness.

Her makeup might have hidden it at first glance, but there was no doubt she had been struck.

The bruise would probably turn blue as time passed.

What on earth happened to her?

And if her face had been left like this, had Milaera really sent her out?

The servants of the House of Rosan were no better.

This was an entirely private gathering, a ball she did not even need to attend.

Artizea had not particularly wanted to come either. Nothing especially useful ever came from gatherings like this.

She had only come because Milaera’s reputation would suffer if Artizea did not occasionally appear at suitable social events and show her face.

“Your Highness.”

Artizea awkwardly took hold of his wrist.

Cedric stared at her and lowered his voice to a whisper.

“Was this Countess Yunis’s doing?”

Just before leaving the Imperial Palace, Countess Yunis had briefly stopped him.

Cedric had looked at her in puzzlement. Although they were cousins, he had never been close to her.

Countess Yunis had said,

“Are you going to see Lady Rosan?”

“Why do you ask?”

“Nothing. There is just one thing I would like to ask of you.”

“I cannot promise that I will do it, but go ahead.”

“Please tell Lady Rosan… that I am sorry about yesterday.”

Countess Yunis had clutched the skirt of her dress as she spoke.

“If you have something to apologize for, wouldn’t it be better to apologize to her yourself?”

“Of course. I intend to visit her personally and apologize when the situation allows. But I think I need a mediator. Just tell her that I’m sorry, and that I’m grateful for her advice.”

Cedric had not known what had happened, but he had nodded and left.

He had never imagined that something like this had happened.

“Countess Yunis…”

“Please don’t say anything more. It will put me in a difficult position.”

Artizea tightened her grip on his wrist.

Cedric had no choice but to release her chin. Then, restraining his anger, he spoke bluntly.

“Let’s go.”

Artizea felt strange.

In her previous life, Alice had been about the only person who had ever become this angry on her behalf.

After Alice died, there was no one left who even noticed when Artizea was hurt.

It had been even worse when she was a girl.

Whenever Milaera was upset about something, she had struck Artizea without hesitation.

A swollen cheek from being slapped was not something anyone in the House of Rosan cared about.

Even today, Alice was the only one who had worried about her and treated the injury.

And now Cedric was angry for her.

Cedric, of all people.

She suddenly felt as though tears might rise to her eyes, so Artizea lowered her head slightly and answered stiffly.

“All right.”

Leaving the ballroom in this condition was not ideal.

But Artizea had not come here to find a suitable marriage prospect in the first place.

There was no one here with whom she absolutely needed to build a relationship.

Her reputation was already at rock bottom, and it was unlikely to improve for the rest of her life.

Cedric stepped back and extended his arm to escort her.

At that moment, Lady Laila of Count Attiya happened to meet his eyes.

Lady Laila, who had been staring blankly at the two of them, realized that this was her chance.

She quickly spread her skirt, knelt on her right knee, and put on the most beautiful smile she could manage.

“I apologize for greeting you so suddenly, Your Highness the Grand Duke of Evron. My name is Laila of the House of Attiya. I had no idea you were acquainted with Lady Rosan.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you. Are you Lady Rosan’s friend?”

“Pardon? Ah, yes!”

Lady Laila thought that claiming to be Artizea’s friend would help her make an impression on Cedric, so she readily agreed.

Then she smiled sweetly and said,

“It would be improper for a gentleman to come to a ball and leave without dancing even once. Especially when there is a lady who has not been able to dance a single dance.”

The last trace of warmth disappeared from Cedric’s gaze.

“The gentlemanly conduct I know says that one’s first duty is to look after a woman who is uncomfortable. If you are truly Lady Rosan’s friend, shouldn’t you be concerned about her?”

“What?”

“If you were her friend, I would expect you to worry about her first. Instead, you have been staring only at me.”

Cedric spoke coldly.

Lady Laila’s face turned bright red with humiliation.

Artizea lightly tugged at his sleeve.

As far as she was concerned, there was no reason for Cedric to become angry on her behalf.

So she took his words literally.

She assumed that he was simply displeased because Laila had lied about being her friend when they were not actually friends.

But Cedric was genuinely angry.

From the very beginning, Artizea had been on his mind.

His decision to accept Artizea’s proposal had indeed been largely because she had spoken of something greater than herself.

But an even greater reason was that he wanted to protect this clear-eyed, graceful girl.

She’s far too thin.

Cedric had known that Milaera had a daughter, but he had never imagined that she would be such a thin and pale girl.

Contrary to what Artizea herself thought, she was a beautiful girl with elegant features and skin as white as snow.

But her face, which had clearly never been properly cared for, looked haggard. Her body was far too thin, and her cheeks were sunken.

Even her wrists, visible beyond her long sleeves, were little more than bone.

The dress she wore was the same green-striped dress she had worn the day before.

It was an ordinary dress suitable for taking a walk, but there was no way anyone could call it a dress for a party.

Even Cedric, who knew little about the atmosphere of balls, could tell that Artizea was being left out.

No matter that she was the heir to the House of Rosan, the younger sister of a leading candidate for the throne, or the daughter of the Emperor’s favored mistress, a family’s unwanted child was rarely welcomed anywhere.

Artizea herself seemed to accept this as though it were only natural.

That made Cedric uncomfortable.

It was as though she had simply given up on the rights she should have enjoyed as someone’s child and as a human being.

“Then, Lady Rosan.”

That was why Cedric held out his hand to Artizea.

“Yes?”

“May I have this dance?”

Lady Laila’s face twisted as though she had been humiliated.

Making such a conspicuous gesture at a place like this was completely unlike Cedric’s usual personality.

But this time, he wanted to do it.

“I don’t really want to draw attention.”

Artizea whispered quietly.

“You’ve already drawn attention. It’s all right, Lady Rosan. The Grand Duke of Evron should make a fairly decent decoration.”

“……”

Artizea could not answer.

She had realized that Cedric had already noticed how inadequate her clothes were for this ball and how she was being ignored.

She had thought he was someone who paid no attention to such things.

For the first time in a long while, she felt ashamed of her position as a woman.

“Come.”

Cedric urged her gently.

Being asked to dance by a man was extremely unfamiliar to Artizea.

It was even more so because that man was Cedric.

Taking his hand for anything other than a formal greeting required a certain amount of courage.

Artizea herself did not understand why she was so nervous.

“You might step on my feet. I’m not very good at dancing.”

“Then let’s agree to forgive each other and pretend not to notice even if we step on each other’s feet. I’m not very good at dancing either.”

With that, Cedric pulled her hand toward him.

His arm wrapped around her waist.

Artizea tensed immediately.

He had said he could not dance, yet Cedric guided her effortlessly, moving with the music as smoothly as though he were gliding across water.

They stepped into the center of the ballroom.

Gasps of admiration rose from the crowd.

Several couples moved aside for them, while others stopped dancing altogether and turned to watch.

Artizea felt as though the entire ballroom had suddenly emptied.