Chapter 29

The white wine went down much more smoothly than the red. It was the Grand Duke’s subtle gesture to have their glasses switched. Anais offered the words she knew were expected.

“…Thank you.”

“Think nothing of it.”

The Duke replied lightly.

The two of them behaved as if by silent agreement, carrying on with perfect composure. The earlier kiss might as well have never happened. Where their eyes might have lingered in the past, now their gazes simply slid past each other, their conversation flowing with just the right degree of distance.

Thanks to this, Anais found it easy to face the Grand Duke at the ensuing reception without discomfort. Any awkwardness was easily hidden beneath her practiced poise.

Meanwhile, the banquet had begun to warm up in earnest. Watching the lively scene, a polite smile curved on her lips.

It was then that the Grand Duke leaned close, whispering quietly into her ear.

“Imperial banquets are hardly meant to be enjoyed. Our part is already finished, so now we need only sit and let the time pass.”

It was a scathing remark. Anais glanced at him without thinking. Meeting her eyes, the Grand Duke only smiled, as courteous as ever.

“If you’re bored, bear with it a little longer. Just close your ears and pay it no mind. Like this.”

He turned to face forward again, shoulders squared in his crisp black uniform. Those red eyes, so politely indifferent to all things, and that cool, forbidding expression that dared no one to speak lightly with him—

He stood there, the very image of nobility.

His sharp red eyes swept over the banquet with a fierceness entirely different from the way he looked at her. What he had just said so casually was, in truth, a slight against the very dignity of the imperial reception. And yet, he’d done it with such a light, careless tone.

Anais found, somehow, that his arrogance suited him. The Grand Duke fit in perfectly amid the glittering festivities, just as well as any of the imperial family’s direct descendants.

To think that, with such an appearance, he could entertain such thoughts.

Blunt as his words were, she couldn’t help but agree. In fact, she found his irreverence unexpectedly amusing, and before she knew it, a faint smile tugged at her lips. The tension that had once held her so tightly seemed to melt away like snow in spring.

Looking straight ahead as he did, she replied.

“How reassuring to hear. I happen to be rather good at passing the time at parties, enduring them is something of a specialty of mine.”

“As someone attending a gathering like this for the first time, I suppose I have much to learn.”

He responded, still facing forward, his tone tinged with interest.

Anais answered lightly.

“It’s not hard, really. Just avoid making eye contact. If someone catches your eye, just look away or turn your body a bit. No one bothers you after that.”

The Grand Duke didn’t answer right away. Only after a brief pause did he speak.

“…I see. I’ll have to remember that.”

His voice seemed to carry a hint of inexplicable bitterness. Not knowing the reason, she tilted her head slightly in confusion. At that moment, the dance floor opened in the center of the hall. One by one, nobles took to the floor, moving in time to the music that flowed from the orchestra.

Anais watched the scene absentmindedly until the Grand Duke turned toward her and extended his hand with polite formality.

“If you don’t mind, may I request a dance?”

The unexpected invitation made her blink in surprise. Her gaze shifted from his face to his outstretched hand.

“Is this also one of those official occasions where we’re expected to play the part of husband and wife?”

She asked, genuinely curious. She wasn’t sure what a dance proposal truly meant in this context.

She glanced up and met his eyes, which shone brilliantly under the chandelier’s light, softer now than they had been when sweeping over the crowd. She couldn’t look away. The more she looked, the more he seemed to belong in this grand, opulence hall rather than in the northern grand duchy.

The Grand Duke raised his eyebrows slightly as if to reassure her, and replied.

“Not at all. So feel free to refuse.”

He finished speaking and, after a brief hesitation, furrowed his brow a touch and added in a low voice.

“Of course… I would be rather saddened.”

He gave a slight little shrug as he spoke, his words perfectly composed. But his eyes were far less tidy, betraying a more complicated emotion.

A tide of emotion welled up, threatening to overwhelm. He tried so hard to compose himself, masking it with a calm demeanor, but that only added another layer of aching heaviness. Anais recognized it at once. It was the same deep, searching gaze she’d glimpsed the first time they met, if only for an instant.