TPMBHSW 08

Chapter 08

[Tracking, 134.223.4]

The report Noah sent was short. It meant the people who had embezzled someone else’s money were quick on their feet and had fled before Noah even arrived.

I didn’t need to check the coordinates to know. The Hoth Forest. If they had hidden in the forest that occupied half of the Bellua territory, finding them would clearly be difficult.

So this news was no different from saying that his return would be delayed. Noah’s judgment in immediately taking action was correct. Matters like this tend to become irreversible the longer they’re delayed.

However.

‘I need your advice, Noah.’

The problem was that things on this end were no easier.

Today marked the second day since I’d returned empty-handed after going to break up with Damon.

“Where should I put this dress, Your Grace?”

“Throw it anywhere.”

Damon had really sent a dress. And not just any dress—one so covered in jewels that it was doubtful whether one could even move while wearing it.

It was an item that would have been impossible to purchase given Damon’s financial state. Because none other than my father had neatly skimmed off next year’s privy purse as well.

“Be careful not to scratch it, just in case.”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

So that dress had clearly been taken from the imperial treasury, and I was terrified I might have to reimburse it if anything went wrong, truly.

That single dress would obviously exceed half a year of the Bellua Dukedom’s budget, if not a full year.

I couldn’t drain the coffers the moment I inherited the title because of a gift I hadn’t even asked for. I added, glaring at the box containing the dress.

“Be especially careful with its storage as well.”

“Understood.”

The maid disappeared, holding the box with the dress, tense and nervous.

‘There’s no way he took something like that out without permission, so he must have gotten the Emperor’s approval.’

It wasn’t hard to guess what words he’d used to persuade the Emperor.

‘He probably said that now that Sasha is found, he’d settle down and marry.’

One of the reasons the Emperor disliked Damon was his womanizing, so if he’d said he would settle down, the Emperor would surely have welcomed it with both hands.

‘Given Damon’s personality, he wouldn’t have bought a new dress but taken one from the imperial treasury…’

I briefly wondered if Damon might know about the privy purse issue. But then it occurred to me that if he did, he wouldn’t have stayed silent all this time.

‘He must have felt obligated to send a dress since he’d said something, but had nothing prepared, so he just grabbed something suitable.’

Either way, it was clear Damon intended to make full use of this opportunity. Since Sasha entered the palace, he had cut off contact with courtesans and was working hard on his image management.

‘Before that, I need to tell him we’re breaking up as soon as possible, even a day sooner.’

Tomorrow’s banquet was the last chance. I steeled myself and picked up today’s issue of Trouble-Love.

On the front page was a drawing of the back of a handsome man who looked like he made his living by the sword, no matter who looked. I’d thought the artist had no skill because they always drew only satirical pictures, but apparently that wasn’t the case.

[Is a Dress War Breaking Out?

It’s said that the Next Sun and the Hero of the North each gifted dresses to their fiancée as if competing. Everyone will be curious about who will appear at the banquet wearing the more expensive and extravagant dress. At Trouble-Love…]

After that, the page was filled with interviews of the Empire’s leading designers. Is there nothing anyone’s curious about except what kind of dress Sasha and I will wear? Or is the Empire that peaceful?

Either way, one thing was certain.

“She’s really pretty.”

Unlike me, the dress Sasha would have received was meant for her alone.

Beneath the designer’s interview saying it was an honor to sell a dress to Richard was a drawing of that dress.

A plain, unremarkable dress one could see anywhere, and…

“How on earth did he find a design like this.”

A dress that looked like hundreds of feathers were about to flutter at any moment.

Hearing about it, it would sound excessive, but the drawing was simply beautiful. I found myself nodding at the designer’s interview saying it was made with a snowflake flower as the motif.

‘Perhaps.’

Perhaps you still remember our memories too. Even while resenting and hating me, perhaps you’ve kept at least a fragment of those memories somewhere in your heart.

Knowing there was no way that could be true, I kept stroking the drawing.

Unable to abandon the foolish hope that if I kept doing so, I might feel a soft, downy texture.

—

* * *

—

And the next day.

Not surprisingly, Damon stood me up. The urgent message that flew in from dawn was so urgent that the word “urgent” felt meaningless.

To summarize the long-winded writing, it was this:

Something came up and I’m busy, so come on your own.

“You made all that fuss and you’re really not coming? Unbelievable.”

As a result, I ended up riding in a carriage wearing a dress so heavy with jewels that it looked heavy just by looking at it.

I ground my teeth and tried to find a comfortable position in the carriage. Even with the imperial palace right in front of me, it was still uncomfortable, which suggested that sitting comfortably in this thing was impossible to begin with.

“They say a dog’s habits never die for a reason.”

‘And I missed my chance again.’

Originally, I had planned to tell him I wanted to break up in the carriage on the way to the imperial palace with Damon. If I was lucky, Damon would tell me not to come to the banquet, and even if not, it would end with me getting my feet stepped on a few times while dancing with a displeased Damon.

The problem was that I couldn’t break up with someone who wasn’t in front of me.

‘Should I drag him out to the terrace and talk?’

I hope he doesn’t cause a scene, wherever it is.

I hope Damon remembers that we were never really lovers.

While I was agonizing over when and how to bring it up so we could part amicably—a worry I’d never had in my life—the carriage lurched and stopped.

The door burst open without even a knock, and as expected, Damon appeared.

“You’ve finally arrived, Bella.”

It must be my imagination that it sounds like the guy who abandoned his escort duty because he had “something to do” is telling me I’m late.

“I arrived exactly on time.”

“Hurry a little more from now on. After all, those above should set an example.”

That’s not wrong, but you’re the one saying it?

I was so shocked I couldn’t even react. But I soon realized why Damon had said that loudly enough for everyone to hear.

Right behind Damon. Not far away, a carriage with an unfamiliar seal was visible. Three blooming roses. It was the seal of the Winston County, newly incorporated into the central nobility.

I could feel everyone’s attention sharpening toward that direction while pretending not to care. And for good reason—the man standing with his back to the carriage drew attention with just his back.

Among nobles who wore swords for fashion, the man who was called a hero solely for his sword and had now even become a noble had a different air about him from the start.

‘Ah.’

At that moment, my gaze met Richard’s in the air as he turned around. A flicker of irritation crossed his dark red eyes. The habit of quirking the corner of his eye when something displeased him was still the same.

What was it that displeased him?

I looked around and suddenly realized.

‘It’s me.’

Richard didn’t even seem to try to hide that he was looking at me. Today was practically Sasha’s high society debut. Seeing his ex-lover on such an important day would understandably put him in a bad mood.

Richard soon turned his head away and bent toward Sasha. There was no trace of awkwardness in the gesture of accommodating her, who was much shorter than him.

As if on cue, attendants came pouring out with lanterns. Sasha’s excited face was illuminated by the light brightening the path as the carriage entered. At that moment, everyone here must have thought it.

How well those two suited each other.

‘A hero always needs a princess.’

Damon must have felt it too, because he ground his teeth. His profile as he glared at the two with sharp eyes was ugly.

‘A princess is bound to fall for a hero, and there’s always a narrow-minded villain who envies such a princess.’

The problem was that the villain happened to be Damon. Whatever interpretation he made of my gaze, Damon twisted his lips and jerked his chin toward the back.

“See that? There are so many thieves in the world who appear out of nowhere and try to snatch our place, Bella.”

“Sasha didn’t seem interested in the imperial throne.”

“Sasha? Oh dear. Bella. You don’t need to pretend to be close to the Princess even when it’s just the two of us. You’ve barely seen her face, what do you mean.”

I’m probably closer to her than you are.

Damon didn’t wait for my answer and grabbed my hand. I didn’t refuse.

Honestly, I didn’t think I could stand up on my own in this dress. Damon, who had been about to escort me skillfully, furrowed his brow.

“What. Bella, did you gain weight?”

This bastard.

“…Perhaps because the dress His Highness sent is made of such precious materials, it feels heavy.”

“You’re saying this is the dress’s weight?”

Then would it be mine?

Damon suspiciously scanned me from top to bottom.

The dress was beautiful. The moment I stepped out of the carriage, people’s gazes briefly focused on me. Honestly, if it weren’t pretty even with all these jewels crammed in, it wouldn’t have been kept in the imperial family all this time.

The problem was that the damn jewels were sewn in so densely that I was sparkling alone even at midnight. Not to mention the weight.

“Didn’t you try lifting it once before sending it?”

“Why would I lift it. I had a servant do it.”

How admirable.

But Damon no longer suspected that I had gained weight. Even in his eyes, the amount of jewels on the dress must have been considerable. He clicked his tongue disapprovingly and said.

“So can you even dance in that?”

“At least for the first dance.”

If you were going to make me wear something this ridiculous and intended to make me dance multiple times, then you truly have no conscience. Damon, who had been sizing me up, clicked his tongue low.

“Tch. Useless.”

As if you’re one to talk.

I wanted to throw the dress down and tell him to get lost, but I held back.

Hold back. There are many eyes here. I needed to be careful if I wanted to break up today and avoid strange rumors.

Having barely suppressed the surging impulse, I smiled gently and suggested.

“Shall I go change into another dress?”

“Forget it. Even if we don’t dance, you have to wear that dress.”

“…Is there a reason it has to be this one?”

“Yeah. And keep smiling like that. It’s perfect.”

Damon stuck close to my side and passed by Richard and Sasha with a triumphant air. He even smiled as if a victor were showing mercy to the defeated.

At a glance, he looked full of composure, but anyone who knew Damon would have noticed that his insides were far from calm. He’d never had any talent for managing his expressions, then or now.

And Damon didn’t tell me why I had to wear this heavy dress until the banquet began.