I’m Just a Counselor Chapter 72

“Your Majesty.”

 

Julian’s eyes fluttered open from his long lie on the couch at Kianton’s call.

 

He pulled the handkerchief from his face and looked at him questioningly, and Kianton hesitated, his mouth agape for a moment before asking.

 

“May I ask why you sent Miss Vanessa a dress?”

 

“Girls like that sort of thing, expensive gifts.”

 

“…….”

 

“And because I’m supposed to be roasting her right now.”

 

‘It’s just because I need to get her to leave the duke and come to me.’

 

“So, I can see the duke make a stupid face.”

 

It was time to do whatever it took to make that plan work.

 

“I didn’t expect her to know my mother, but it’s not the duke she met in the North, it’s her.”

 

His instincts were never wrong.

 

“I knew something was up.”

 

Julian bounced on his toes and narrowed his eyes.

 

The two women he’d met when he’d gone to the Empress’s palace at his mother’s unexpected invitation to tea. The silver-haired Princess Oppenheim and… Vanessa, whose eyes were wide.

 

Looking into those eyes reminded him of the first time he met her.

 

“And I don’t need your help, Your Highness.”

 

It felt arrogant to say it, and it felt plastic, but strangely enough, it didn’t make him angry.

 

Julian pursed his lips in a small smile. He wasn’t too disappointed that she hadn’t used the crown prince’s authority to press him.

 

“Still, she didn’t tell my mother about our encounter, so I suppose she’s aware.”

 

His mother said, “The princess is witty, and Vanessa is wise,”, but she was a generous judge of character.

 

“You’re just like your brother.”

 

It didn’t take many conversations to realize that. How dare she raise her nose in front of him…

 

“No buds.”

 

Julian’s words stung, and Kianton flinched.

 

“You mean… me?”

 

“I’m talking about her and Princess Oppenheim. It’s bad luck to be the same as the duke.”

 

Julian grumbled, unaware that Estella had made a similar assessment of him.

 

Then Julian jerked up from the couch and glared at Kianton.

 

“It pisses me off to think about it. What, you think the princess is beautiful and clever? You dare to lie to the crown prince? You want to die?”

 

He seemed to remember how Kianton had spoken of her, almost in praise.

 

“Why does this repertoire of blackmailing me for food never change?”

 

Pursing his lips in frustration, Kianton opened his mouth again to change the subject.

 

“Anyway, you mean to tell me that sending the dress to Miss Vanessa was all a plan?”

 

“Yes. The duke needs to be pissed off, too…”

 

Julian muttered as he lay back down, his red hair disheveled.

 

“What’s with that dress she was wearing the other day. Doesn’t the Duke buy her dresses?”

 

“…….”

 

“Tacky.”

 

Kianton opened his mouth to say something, then clamped it shut.

 

In his opinion, there was nothing wrong with the dress Vanessa wore to the Empress’s tea. The color and design were somewhat out of character with her mood, but that was no big deal.

 

It wasn’t as tacky as Julian had said, but still, to say that…

 

“…But didn’t you put a little too much thought into that?”

 

Kianton’s mouth was agape, but he managed to squeeze out another word.

 

Julian, hearing this, glared at his escort with a morganatic gaze.

 

“You kept looking at Miss Vanessa even as the Princess spoke.”

 

Kianton sighed, remembering Julian’s insistence that the chamberlain be brought a dress at once.

 

‘I suppose the day is not far off when the psycho who does not know the beauty of love will know what he did not know.’

 

 

* * *

 

 

The next day, the day of the ball.

 

After breakfast, I went into the bathroom to take a bath. As I did so, one of the maids frowned at me and thrust a small glass bottle into my hand.

 

“This,” she said, “is a balm for you–for Lady Estella!”

 

“Uh, it’s for Estella, but can you give it to me?”

 

“Hoho, it’s for Miss Vanessa too. She’ll love it when she knows I gave it to Miss Vanessa.”

 

Mmm, sure.

 

I thanked her with a bashful smile and went into the bathroom. I unwrapped the glass bottle of scented oil in the tub and stepped into the bath, which was filled with the fragrant scent of lavender.

 

I stepped out of the bathroom when the scent was all over me, and the maids approached me again.

 

“Look, Miss Vanessa, how fair your skin is.”

 

“You must have come from a noble family after all.”

 

“I always thought she had a different way of speaking, but I was surprised when they told me that she really came from a noble family.”

 

I’ve only been pretending to be an aristocrat for a few days, but it feels weird to keep hearing that I’m from an aristocratic family.

 

I scratched my cheek in confusion, then looked at my hands. They’re probably the first thing to tell you that I’m not a noble anymore.

 

Unlike the other younglings, my hands aren’t so fine. They were more like those of the maids who touched me.

 

“For me, now is important, and right now I’m not a noble, I’m just like you, so you’re just doing me a favor and I’m going to pay it back, don’t you forget that.”

 

The maids’ hands froze at my words. Then one of the maids smirked and said,

 

“It’s Miss Vanessa who’s the sweet one. Like I said, you were the one who helped us first.”

 

When I couldn’t wipe the apology from my face, the other maid spoke up, this time in a joking tone.

 

“I was wondering if you could bring me some of the goodies in the ballroom. I was wondering what the food at the imperial palace tastes like!”

 

“Of course, I’ll do that.”

 

“Oh, and can you tell me what accessories the young ladies are wearing a lot, because I think it would help me with my market research!”

 

“Sure. I’ll keep an eye out and pass it on!”

 

From there, the maids started asking for this and that. I smiled and promised them that I would do just that. And then the long-awaited time of selection arrived.

 

I opened the closet. The maids’ eyes lit up when they saw the two dresses hanging there.

 

“Miss Vanessa, which dress are you going to wear?”

 

One was Madame Cornelia’s dress, the one she and Estella had tailored together, and the other was the one the prince had given me.

 

I looked at the two dresses, pondered, and then glanced at the maids.

 

They looked amused. As if I were making a very important choice.

 

So did Jeremiah.

 

The day the crown prince sent the dresses and accessories, he eyed me carefully as I examined the box, then spoke up.

 

“Vanessa, which dress are you going to wear?”

 

…I wondered if Jeremiah’s feelings then were similar to these people’s feelings now. I smirked.

 

But my choice was already made, even if they weren’t looking at me so expectantly.

 

I pulled out a dress without thinking.

 

 

* * *

 

 

When I finished getting dressed and went outside, the first person to greet me was Shane.

 

He was waiting outside the doorway and waved lightly as I opened it, but then his movements slowly stopped.

 

Shane’s eyes widened and scanned my features. I felt a little embarrassed.

 

“I think you can stop looking so… uh, scrutinizing.”

 

“But it’s the first time I’ve ever seen Vanessa dressed up like this.”

 

I fidgeted with my hands to hide my embarrassment, and Shane smirked.

 

“You’re prettier than any aristocratic young lady I’ve ever met.”

 

“Lip service, really… I’ve got nothing to give you for that.”

 

“Wow, you’re being unfair. I was just saying what I meant.”

 

A giggling Shane backed away. When he’d gotten a little closer, he leaned down lightly and held out his hand to me.

 

“My lady, would you do me the honor of escorting you?”

 

“With pleasure.”

 

I brazenly placed my hand in Shane’s, as if I were the real noble young lady.

 

He took my hand in his and kissed the back of it lightly. Our skin met for a moment, soft and warm, and then he pulled away.

 

“Am I the first one to see you in a dress?”

 

“No, second. The first was Estella.”

 

“I see. You can’t have a princess, can you? I’m sick to my stomach.”

 

“Have you been waiting much?”

 

“Not so much. Just, you know, waiting to see what Vanessa would look like?”

 

I couldn’t help but laugh at Shane’s playfulness. Any lingering tension seemed to melt away.

 

Shane couldn’t go to the ball with me because he had other plans. 

 

‘He’d look good in a uniform or something,’ I thought wistfully.

 

“I heard you hurt your ankle practicing with Jeremiah in those high heels last time, so don’t overdo it tonight.”

 

“I don’t think I’ll be dancing that much.”

 

“Still, I’m worried, young lady. Be careful on the stairs.”

 

Shane shrugged, took my hand, and we started down the stairs.

 

As we made our way to the foyer of the mansion, my eyes widened when I saw Jeremiah and Estella already waiting there.

 

Estella nudged Jeremiah in the side when she saw me and Shane.