Chapter 66 - Do You Really Want To Be With Me? (1/2)

Chapter 66 – Do You Really Want To Be With Me?

“You are always something new to me,” Claude said.

His words had a vague meaning. Before I could ask him what it meant, he spoke again.

“Lady Maristella, are you hungry?”

I set aside the question on my lips and answered Claude’s instead. “I’m fine, Your Grace. I had a lot for lunch. What about you?”

“I’m fine, too, Lady Maristella. I have a small stomach,” he said with a smile. “Then, will you dance a song with me, Lady Maristella?”

“Ah…” I hesitated for a moment, then gave a slight nod. “Yes, Your Grace. I will.”

“This way—”

“Lady Maristella,” a familiar voice suddenly cut in.

I automatically turned around to see who it was. The man standing behind me had silver hair that gleamed like the full moon and blue eyes that were as chilly as the night air.

“Your Highness.”

It was Xavier. I was surprised by his sudden appearance, but I soon smiled and greeted him.

“Greetings to the Little Sun of the Empire.”

“You look beautiful. The dress suits you.”

I felt happy at the compliment on my dress, even though the remark was simply a gesture of formality. It was a dress that I managed to keep for myself after a struggle with Dorothea.

I smiled back at Xavier. “I thought it was a beautiful dress as soon as I saw it. Thank you for your kindness, Your Highness.”

“You’re early. When did you arrive?” Xavier asked.

“A while ago. Did you arrive just now, Your Highness?”

“I—”

“Your Highness,” a voice said laughingly from behind. “You don’t see me, don’t you?”

It was Claude this time. There was a smile on his face, but there was an undercurrent of irritation beneath his tone.  Xavier glanced at him as if he just noticed he was there.

“Yes, Duke. Happy Birthday,” he said absentmindedly.

“Thank you very much, Your Highness. I didn’t expect you to come and grace us with your presence,” Claude replied in a sardonic manner.

“It’s as if you didn’t know I would come here.”

“To be honest, I wasn’t sure if you would come.” Claude flashed a wry smile at Xavier. “Don’t you hate this mansion?”

“…”

I was startled when I felt the air around Xavier chill rapidly.

What was this? What the hell was going on?

‘It’s always like this when these two meet.’

An uncomfortable atmosphere. An atmosphere of stiff politeness. And awkward discomfort for the person stuck between them. To be honest, I wanted to escape it quickly. They could fight when it was just the two of them!

“Not at all,” Xavier finally said after a long pause. “Why would I hate this mansion? That’s funny.”

“…”

When Claude didn’t say anything, Xavier turned to me instead. “I didn’t know you would be with Duke Escliffe.”

I answered quickly. “Fortunately, I ran into him as soon as I arrived. I was lucky.”

“It must be fate,” Claude interjected again, and Xavier’s eyebrows furrowed.

“That’s an overgeneralization,” Xavier said pointedly.

“You cannot bring logic when talking about fate, Your Highness. It is not in the realm of man, but the realm of God.”

“Don’t you think you’re always thinking too illogically? It isn’t just once, either. If that’s the case, then Lady Maristella and I are also fated.”

“If bad luck is considered fate, then yes, it is fate.”

Their eyes shot fire at each other as they traded barbed insults. I sighed inwardly.

‘These two strangely fit well, but a war of nerves is no joke.’

In any case, it was not good for my mental health if they were near each other. They had never gone this far before in my memory. Of course, all of us hadn’t spent that much time together since we met.

“Then we’ll be on our way, Your Highness,” Claude said.

“Funny.” Xavier gave a dry chuckle, then soon his voice turned cold. “What right do you have to take Lady Maristella?”

“Right?” Claude repeated with a broad grin. “Do you know who my dance partner is today, Your Highness?”

Xavier arched an eyebrow. “Do I have to know?”

“If you did, you wouldn’t ask. Lady Maristella is my dance partner today.”

“…What?” Xavier exclaimed. It was clear from his double-take that it was the first time he heard of this. He turned his eyes towards me in confirmation, and I smiled awkwardly and nodded.

“His Grace is right,” I said.

“How…”

“He asked me before the party. He said he couldn’t find a suitable partner.”

“Ah,” Xavier said with a nod, his expression downcast. “I see.”