Realizing that everyone in the ballroom was watching us, I felt a bit nervous.
“Are you nervous?”
Caesar whispered, tilting his head slightly to meet my gaze as if waiting for my answer.
His deep blue eyes filled my vision, and at that moment, I became acutely aware of just how close we were.
“…I’m fine.”
I averted my eyes slightly as I answered.
Caesar let out a quiet chuckle.
‘He’s smiling a lot today.’
He must be in a good mood, finally able to attend his debutante.
We had already spun around the ballroom several times.
Eventually, the other attendees, who had been watching us, started pairing up and joining the dance. The tempo of the music picked up, and soon the hall was filled with swirling figures.
Holding Caesar’s hand, I twirled, my dress flaring out elegantly and catching the chandelier’s light.
Caesar pulled me back toward him, closing the distance between us once more.
Still smiling, he murmured,
“It suits you.”
“The dress?”
“The dress, the necklace, all of it.”
His gaze carried an odd sense of satisfaction.
“Eve.”
“…Pardon?”
I blinked at the sudden, unfamiliar name.
“Did you just call me?”
“Yeah. Eve. You don’t like it?”
“That’s not it, but…”
“Hmm?”
Caesar tilted his head, looking at me as if he didn’t understand what the problem was.
His expression was so natural, as if calling me by an affectionate nickname was completely ordinary.
He has no idea what an endearment means, does he?
People usually only called each other by pet names when they were lovers.
Maybe he had studied too much as a child and missed learning these things.
“…Never mind.”
Instead of explaining, I simply smiled back at him.
****
As the first dance ended, the guests naturally split into two groups—those who continued dancing and those who settled at the tables.
We, of course, belonged to the latter.
Caesar, Floria, and I sat together, enjoying refreshments and chatting.
“By the way, Your Highness, did you come alone?”
I suddenly realized that the former Empress wasn’t with Floria and asked.
“Of course not.”
Floria gestured behind her. A few maids from the princess’s palace stood nearby.
They wore simple dresses, blending into the crowd, but it was obvious they were carefully keeping watch.
“And over there, too.”
This time, she pointed farther away.
Leaning against the wall were several men in formal attire, tensely watching our table. They were undoubtedly bodyguards.
Even Caesar, the emperor, didn’t have that many escorts.
It was clear how much the former Empress worried about Floria’s safety.
“She’s been like this every day. I can’t go anywhere freely anymore!”
Floria’s voice was lighthearted, but there was a faint shadow in her expression.
Ever since Caesar ascended the throne, the former Empress had rarely appeared in public.
Caesar had placed guards to watch over her, but she seemed to have no intention of making any moves—almost as if she had voluntarily confined herself.
Floria, unaware of the deal between Caesar and the former Empress, likely didn’t fully understand why her mother was behaving this way or why she was being assigned so many guards.
‘But she probably knows that the struggle for the throne caused a rift between them.’
Which meant she also understood why her mother was essentially in seclusion.
Feeling a bit sorry for her, I pushed a plate of the sweetest treats toward Floria.
“Eat as much as you’d like, Your Highness.”
“Mmh!”
She eagerly grabbed a snack and took a big bite.
Caesar, who had been watching her, suddenly spoke.
“Parents don’t usually attend debutante balls. Besides, you’re not the one debuting today.”
‘Huh?’
I blinked at the unexpected comment before realizing—
That was Caesar’s way of comforting her.
He was saying that the Empress’s absence wasn’t because of her, but simply because it was normal.
“That’s right! My parents didn’t come either.”
I quickly joined in.
Of course, in my case, I had practically begged them not to attend.
‘If they had come, we would’ve drawn even more attention.’
“You’re right… There really aren’t many adults here.”
Floria munched on her snack as she glanced around.
As I followed her gaze, a thought suddenly crossed my mind.
“Your Majesty, is Duke Bryden not here today?”
“Duke Bryden? Why do you ask about him all of a sudden?”
“I thought his son would be debuting this year… But I don’t see him either.”
Bryden’s heir—Ian Bryden, the original story’s male lead.
He was eighteen now, meaning he should have been attending today.
‘And there’s no way I would’ve missed him. That striking blond hair would’ve stood out anywhere.’
Caesar’s gaze sharpened.
“How do you know that?”
“Know what?”
“That Bryden’s son is eighteen. Have you met him before?”
“No, I just remember overhearing it at your fifteenth birthday banquet. If you’re eighteen now, then logically, so is he.”
“Ah, I see…”
Caesar’s expression, which had briefly turned cold, relaxed again.
“Did I never mention it?”
He spoke casually, as if it were no big deal.
“The young duke ran away from home.”
“…What?”
I was so shocked that I instinctively lowered my voice.
“Ran away? You mean he moved out on his own?”
“No, he just disappeared. No word, no warning—he left.”
I glanced around nervously.
Fortunately, the only people near us were Floria’s maids.
“Everyone who needs to know already knows. Ian Bryden was apparently quite famous in high society.”
Caesar reassured me.
I recalled what David had once said—Ian Bryden was exceptional in every way and very popular.
“But… why? Why did he run away?”
“No one knows. Even Duke Bryden has no idea. He’s been struggling with the situation ever since.”
“When did this happen?”
“A while ago. Remember when Duke Bryden suddenly rescheduled his meeting with me? That ‘family emergency’ was his son’s disappearance.”
“Ah…”
I had expected Caesar to inform me if something serious happened, but it seemed like he hadn’t considered this important enough to mention.
And objectively speaking, he wasn’t wrong.
At best, it was just another piece of gossip for high society.
‘But the problem is… that gossip involves the original story’s male lead.’
The original timeline had already crumbled beyond recognition, and truthfully, I wasn’t that invested in Ian’s fate anymore.
If he had run away or married someone else, it didn’t affect me.
But I couldn’t shake a strange feeling.
In the original story, Ian lost his family to rebellion and spent years wandering alone.
Now, although the circumstances were different, he had still ended up leaving home.
Was it just a coincidence?
“Eve.”
“Huh?”
“What are you thinking so hard about? Surely you’re not worried about the young duke’s whereabouts?”
Caesar’s gaze sharpened again.
“…Of course not.”
I quickly changed the subject.
“By the way, are you really going to keep calling me that?”
“I told you—partners are supposed to use nicknames.”
“Your Majesty, actually, that’s not quite—”
“You don’t like it?”
“What?”
“I think it’s cute… Eve…”
Caesar repeated the name thoughtfully, his expression completely serious.
I couldn’t help it.
I laughed.
Becoming his partner had initially been a political move, partly in response to Vivian’s provocations.
But now, I felt like it had been the right choice for another reason.
If I weren’t here, Caesar would be calling someone else by a nickname right now.
‘And honestly… this is kind of fun.’
As the ballroom filled with music, I hummed along, feeling entirely satisfied with how the night had turned out.
***
A few days after the debutante ball ended without issue, Alvin, a skilled knight and Caesar’s aide, was summoned to the imperial palace.
“The office, huh? Does that mean Lady Evelyn isn’t around today?”
It was rare for Caesar to call him to the office directly.
It almost felt like he was deliberately avoiding Evelyn.
Caesar always wanted to appear kind, gentle, and soft in front of her.
And considering the likely purpose of this summons, this was definitely not a discussion to be held in Evelyn’s presence.
Despite his imposing build and stoic expression, Alvin was a deeply romantic person.
Because of that, he had realized Caesar’s feelings for Evelyn long ago.
Though I became completely certain inside that cave.
Back when they had ventured into the cave to resolve an issue related to the lottery business, Caesar had acted noticeably different.
Protecting Evelyn, shielding her, constantly watching over her—his gaze, his actions, his words.
Anyone who had witnessed it would have figured it out immediately.
As a romantic person, Alvin wholeheartedly supported Caesar’s feelings.
He believed that neither status nor lineage should matter. Even if Evelyn had been a commoner, he would have felt the same.
But the biggest problem, in Alvin’s eyes, was Evelyn’s feelings.
“The Lady… doesn’t seem to think much of it…”
Evelyn seemed to see Caesar only as a younger brother she needed to protect.
That was why this order from Caesar left a bad taste in Alvin’s mouth.
It was blatantly for Evelyn’s sake.
Comments (0)