#7. The Ball and Two Men (3)

The lively minuet that had announced the start of the ball ended in a splendid flourish, with the Margrave and his daughter’s elegant finale.

The jaunty melodies of the instruments that had filled the annex’s ballroom gradually faded away.

In their place, a great round of applause swelled around the Béarn father and daughter.

Regardless of age or gender, everyone gathered in the ballroom had their eyes

fixed on the Margrave’s youngest daughter, standing in her sky-blue dress with an excited expression as she caught her breath.

The movements Eleonore had just displayed were so graceful and beautiful that they had captivated every gaze in the room.

It was only a short while ago that rumors had spread that the youngest daughter was hovering between life and death from some unknown fever.

Though her health had recovered considerably since then,

it had not even been a month since she had risen from her sickbed.

Of course, her famously beautiful face—the kind people said could devour a man—was unchanged. No, if anything, her added maturity had made her even more beautiful than before...