#3. Beneath the Splendid Hall and the Dark Balcony (5)

The slow waltz that had begun to announce the debutantes was gradually drawing to a close.

As its rhythm grew slower and slower, and the final turn approached,

an unusual tension began to seep through the hall, mingling with the waltz’s melody.

As the final act of the debutante ball, the daughter of the Margrave of Béarn was the greatest trophy the men of the Galatea Empire could hope to claim.

Of course, there were unmarried women of even higher rank.

Princess Dominique herself was still unmarried, after all.

The Grand Duchess of Verbritz in the north was, too. And if you considered titles alone, quite a few unmarried young ladies came from ducal houses as well.

But the princess and the grand duchess were members of the imperial family.

Since their marriages had to serve as diplomatic tools, they were women no one could easily approach.

Though House Béarn technically held the title of count, that was merely a measure to prevent too much power from gathering in one place.

Their power and wealth were incomparable to those of any other noble house in the empire.

That had become even more pronounced since private armies were abolished.

There were already plenty of men eager to pursue her, drawn by the sheer power of her family.

On top of that, the young lady was said to be exceptional in both beauty and character.

Naturally, the men waited for the final turn with eager eyes.

The women watched those men with jealous eyes, waiting for the finale so they could find fault with her.

Having suddenly become prey to both men and women, Eleonore paused before the tightly shut doors of the hall, holding Albris’s hand.

Before long, a neatly dressed attendant came over and asked their names.

“You’re Young Count Albris Béarn and Lady Eleonore Béarn, correct?”

“That’s right.”

Albris replied as if the question were a nuisance.

Eleonore said nothing, merely offering a small smile with her eyes.

She wondered why the attendant had bothered to confirm their names if all he needed was to ask them, but she kept the thought to herself.

Only then did the massive doors blocking the siblings’ way begin to swing open.

Through the widening gap, the slow waltz and the hubbub of conversation spilled out without hindrance.

The sound was rather loud, and Eleonore furrowed her brows.

Then an even louder announcement rang out behind them.

“Lady Eleonore Arraena de Béarn of House Béarn and Young Count Albris Raul de Béarn are entering.”

Feeling her hand tremble in his, Albris turned to look at his sister. She had furrowed her golden brows, so he asked with a look if she was all right. When Eleonore’s platinum-blonde hair bobbed in a nod, Albris took her hand firmly and started walking with her down the long carpet.

Keeping time with the slow waltz, Albris escorted Eleonore with steps noticeably shorter than usual.

He wanted the people in the hall to see just how beautiful his younger sister was.

He also wanted to show everyone that he had a sister as lovely as her.

Whatever Albris’s intentions might have been,

Eleonore was grateful that her brother was walking more slowly than usual.

Both Olivia and Sophie had told her not to worry because the shoes had low heels.

Eleonore had thought the same when she saw them herself.

But wearing them was another matter.

Seo Juha had never even tried height-boosting insoles, so even heels less than five centimeters high felt dangerously high to him.

As a result, she tensed her hips and calves with every swaying step.

Unintentionally, Eleonore was walking across the carpet with a more graceful, feminine air than anyone else there.

The eldest son and youngest daughter of House Béarn drew everyone’s eyes as they stopped in the center of the hall.

The waltz that had been slowly enveloping the siblings’ steps came to an end.

The hall, which had been so noisy at Eleonore’s entrance, grew quieter and quieter.

In the now-silent hall, Albris stepped to face his sister.

Then he lowered one knee to the floor and held out his hand to Eleonore in a pose straight out of a fairy-tale illustration.

“My lady, may I have this dance?”

At her brother’s suddenly serious expression, a playful smile touched Eleonore’s lips, which had been stiff with all the eyes fixed on her.

“What’s with that cheesy proposal? Young Lord, can I say no?”

“If you do, I’m afraid Father will beat me to a pulp.”

“Oh? I’d rather like to see that, actually.”

With a giggle, Eleonore gently placed her hand in Albris’s.

A small, pale hand in a lace glove settled atop the large, rough hand of a man.

“Even if I bruise your foot, don’t complain later!”

“Don’t worry. Step on it as much as you like, my lady.”

Albris rose carefully and whispered to Eleonore.

#.

The violin melody that had been rushing along began to slow, little by little.

At last, the silver shoes beneath the swishing dress could slow their hurried steps to match.

Then, with a flourish from the conductor, the first dance came to an end.

Only then could Eleonore let out the breath she’d been holding all the way up to her throat.

Haa… Hah… Seriously, I think I really need to start exercising.

Only after she had spent a long while catching her breath did time begin to move again.

Perhaps because of the atmosphere in the hall, this waltz was much faster than the piano rhythm she had practiced at home.

Keeping pace with the quicker tempo, Eleonore followed her brother’s lead and danced her steps in a daze.

While she was moving, she could focus only on the steps. The sensations around her, which she had forgotten for a while, only began to wash over her then.

The loud applause filling her ears made Eleonore narrow her eyes,

and her brother’s gaze made her feel so self-conscious that she even turned her head away.

“You did great, Eli.”

The firm hand of her brother, clasped in hers, began to squeeze gently.

Eleonore answered in a prim voice.

“You did well, too, Brother. You’re actually a pretty good dancer.”

“My etiquette tutor was a little scary. She was nothing like Lady Lorschua.”

“Oh, come on. You couldn’t say that if you’d ever taken lessons from Lady Lorschua!”

At his sister’s prim tone, Albris let out a laugh.

Then he bowed once more to his lovely sister and beautiful dance partner.

“By the way, I think I stepped on your foot a few times. Are you all right?”

“I told you, didn’t I? If it’s you stepping on me, Eli, you can do it as many times as you like.”

Hearing her brother say that with such a smarmy expression was incredibly cringeworthy, but…

Since it didn’t bother her as much as it had before, Eleonore also lifted the hem of her skirt ever so slightly to respond to her first dance partner.

And so the first dance came to an end.

The young ladies who had made a splendid entrance for the opening dance stepped aside for a while,

and other women took their places on the floor, each accompanied by a man.

Watching them, Eleonore caught her breath by a window overlooking the terrace.

Her father and mother, who had been looking after her so attentively until just a moment ago, were surrounded by the many people who had come to meet them. She couldn’t even see their faces anymore.

Her first dance partner had been led away somewhere by his friends.

So Eleonore had escaped the crowd and was cooling off alone by a quiet window in a corner of the hall, near the terrace.

“My lady, would you like something to drink?”

An attendant approached Eleonore with a tray in his hands.

“Yes. Something without alcohol, please.”

At Eleonore’s request, the attendant offered her a clear, inverted triangular glass.

“Here you are. Lime juice.”

“Thank you.”

At Eleonore’s thanks, the attendant gave a slight bow and moved on to another part of the hall.

Eleonore brought the glass she’d been given to her lips.

As she gracefully tilted back her slender, pale neck, a strange air began to gather around her.

Today, no matter what anyone else might say, Eleonore, the youngest daughter of the Margrave of Béarn, was the star of the ball.

Of course, the other young ladies in attendance might shake their heads at that, but deep down, they had to acknowledge it, too.

Still, there hadn’t yet been a brave man willing to step forward and approach the star of the evening.

Rumors that the Margrave and her older brother doted on their youngest daughter had already spread throughout the capital.

Whenever the Margrave met someone, he started by showering them with stories about his daughter.

Like father, like son—the boy who looked just like him was no different.

Even if the doting Margrave and Albris were surrounded by people right now,

there was no need for anyone to be the first to take the risk of approaching her.

But that wasn’t the only reason the men were holding back.

The pristine elegance radiating from her, wrapped in a pure-white dress, seemed to drive men with sordid thoughts far away.

The graceful way she brought the glass in her hand to her lips seemed to say that she and they belonged to different worlds.

As the men hovered near Eleonore, watching each other to see who would approach first,

a silver-haired man dressed impeccably in a white suit carefully came up beside her.

“My lady, it’s been a long time.”

Eleonore had been gazing absently at the dark garden beyond the terrace. At the sound of his voice, her heart gave a sudden lurch.

Just hearing that voice beside her was enough to make her heart pound.

Why was her heart pounding so hard?

Why did a single sentence leave her breathless and her body so warm?

Seo Juha had no way of knowing just then.

It would be a long time before Seo Juha realized this was how a woman reacted when she fell in love at first sight.

Eleonore carefully set the glass in her hand down on the table.

Then she turned her head slightly and looked at the owner of the voice.

Since this was a fantasy world, she had encountered people with an astonishing variety of hair colors.

There was black and brown, common enough even in Korea,

and even among blondes, there had been deep gold and the beige-tinged blonde of the princess. There was also the platinum blonde she saw in the mirror every day.

That very morning, she had seen the red-haired Empress and a red-haired man,

and among the people who came and went from the townhouse, there was a woman with gray hair, as well as one with a pale lavender shade that seemed impossible to find in nature.

But this was the first time she had seen silver hair.

Before she knew it, the handsome silver-haired man had come so close to Eleonore that they could hear each other breathe.

Then the man carefully lowered one knee to the ground and bowed his head.

Beneath the sleeve of his white tailored jacket,

his long, elegant hand, almost like a woman’s, carefully took Eleonore’s right hand, covered by a lace glove.

Then something hot and soft brushed lightly against the lace covering the back of her pale hand.

Through the impossibly thin fabric, she could feel every crease of his soft lips.

The hand his lips touched seemed to burn beneath his hot breath.

Eleonore was flustered and didn’t know what to do.

Her sky-blue eyes wandered aimlessly, unable to settle anywhere.

It was partly because the man had suddenly kissed the back of her hand, even if that was all it was.

It was also because her heart was pounding wildly, regardless of her own will.

And it was because of the jealous eyes around them, watching her and the handsome man kissing the back of her hand.

“I was worried when you didn’t reply to any of the letters I sent you, my lady.”

Unlike Eleonore, the man before her didn’t move a muscle.

He simply fixed his red eyes on Eleonore’s flustered face.

The corners of his lips, red as those of a woman dressed to the nines, lifted ever so slightly.

As his silver hair swayed, Eleonore stammered at the smile he gave her.

“Ah… I-I… I’m sorry. I’ve lost my memory, so I don’t really know who you are…”

“Julian.”

Then his low, deep voice pressed heavily against Eleonore’s heart.

“I’m Julian de la Vallatiere, my lady,”

The name she had half expected, given his silver hair and red eyes, finally slipped from the man’s lips.

So it was him.

The protagonist of this novel’s world.

Her future husband.

And the man somehow connected to her—Eleonore’s—death.

After gently releasing Eleonore’s pale hand, which he had been holding, Julian continued.

“You seem to have recovered quite a bit, my lady.”

Eleonore placed a hand over her exposed chest.

She felt as though Julian could hear her heart pounding through the thin dress.

As she slowly steadied her breathing, trying to collect herself, Seo Juha revised one of the assumptions he’d held until now.

Maybe I’m not only weak against outgoing women…

This kind of alpha male is too much for me, too…

“Thank you for your concern. And I’m sorry I couldn’t respond to the invitation you sent.”

“There’s no need to apologize, my lady. I was only worried something might have happened to you.”

Julian’s smile made Eleonore’s heart lurch again.

No! Get a grip, Seo Juha!

Even if you’re in a woman’s body now, you lived as a man for twenty-one years! Are you really going to fall apart this easily?

“My lady, if you don’t have any other plans, might I have the honor of sharing the second dance with—”

“Th-the second dance is with my… I mean, my dad. I promised I’d dance with him. S-so, I’m sorry!”

In the end, Eleonore, on the verge of surrender, chose to run away.

Worried he might see inside her dress through the low-cut neckline, Eleonore placed a hand over her chest and bowed.

Then she spun around and hurried away from those red eyes.

The silver-haired man tilted his head slightly to one side.

Julian watched her hurry away from him, leaving behind the cute way she’d called her father “Dad,” with an intrigued expression.

“What? Julian, of all people, got rejected by a woman?”

Even as his friend teased him, Julian’s red eyes continued to follow the hem of the pure-white dress.

“Ernst, something’s off about the young lady. Put some people on House Béarn and Eleonore.”

At Julian’s low voice, Ernst replied without a trace of emotion, as usual.

“His Grace already assigned a few people to watch the young lady after returning to the capital. I’ll increase their number.”