Edited….

16. Preparing for Claucet’s debutante

Roselia, feeling uneasy for no reason, turned away from Claucet, whose eyes were sparkling with excitement in front of her, and avoided eye contact as much as possible.

“Isn’t this enough?”

“Enough? If I could, I would call for an artist right now to immortalize this moment!”

It probably wasn’t that much of a big deal…

Unlike Claucet, who had always received compliments, Roselia hadn’t paid much attention to her appearance ever since she started dressing as a man. Even when she was part of the Hesingk noble family, she didn’t care as much. So, her praise felt exaggerated and burdensome.

“This mask already looks so amazing that even with Antonio’s short black hair… I feel like putting a wig on you right away.”

Feeling a sense of crisis from Claucet’s vague expression, Roselia coughed awkwardly and turned her head.

“I think this is enough. You’ve all seen me now as you wished.”

As Roselia attempted to remove the mask, Claucet, looking disappointed, stretched out the conversation.

“Just a little more, please? Melda said beauty should be appreciated, and the longer you see it, the more the appreciation.”

“Until when, exactly…?”

Roselia was about to finish her sentence when she swallowed it back.

She saw Klaus and Alejandro, as they entered the mansion; Klaus passed through the reception hall and locked eyes with her.

“My lord, you’re here. I’ll inform the chef to prepare dinner and serve it immediately.”

When Melda stood up respectfully and greeted Klaus with a bow, Klaus nodded, then glanced back at Roselia and Claucet.

When Roselia’s green eyes met Klaus’s blue ones, memories of what happened in the secluded corner of the tavern that night flooded back, causing her face to flush.

She had forgotten she was still wearing the mask until Klaus spoke, and she belatedly snapped out of her reverie.

“The mask suits you well, Antonio.”

Realizing she was still wearing the mask, Roselia hastily removed it, feeling embarrassed as if she had been caught wearing a dress overflowing with frills and then showered with compliments.

While Roselia’s face turned red, flustered, Klaus remained his usual cold self.

As she hung her head in embarrassment, Klaus’s gaze shifted to her.

“Do you have something to say to me?”

For a moment, a shudder ran down her spine.

It was clear that he remembered their conversation from the tavern

Roselia tried to mask her confusion with a composed expression as she asked.

“Nothing in particular… Do you have any orders for me, Duke?”

As she casually asked, Klaus’s gaze lingered on her for a while.

When he seemed as though he was about to say something, he closed his mouth with a nonchalant expression.

“No, I don’t have any particular orders . Attend to your duties.”

With that, Klaus’ piercing eyes glanced coldly at her as if seeing through the masquerade put forward, before disappearing from the room.

Watching him leave, Claucet shivered and hugged herself as if feeling cold.

“Phew, look at those eyes,how scary it is. It’s as if he’s going to eat you alive. Did you say you didn’t pay his debts? Don’t worry! Antonio! When I come of age, I’ll inherit land and a mansion, so I’ll lend you some money at a low interest rate!”

“Are you asking me to borrow money from the Lady to pay off the Duke’s debt..?”

“It’s better than being indebted to Klaus, isn’t it?”
Roselia then remembered that Claucet was none other than the man’s sister.

As Roselia looked at her wearily, Claucet coughed awkwardly and changed the subject.

“More importantly, Antonio, do you have formal wear for my debutante ball?”

Do you really think there’s such a thing that I would own…?

“Can’t I just wear what I usually wear?”

“What are you talking about? You’re not attending the banquet as a servant, you’ll be my partner! No, no, that won’t do. Melda!”

As if anticipating Claucet’s call, Melda sighed deeply and approached Roselia with a tape measure.

Roselia, taken aback, looked at Claucet with a perplexed expression.

But Claucet seemed to enjoy the situation without a care in the world.

Watching her like that, Melda spoke with concern.
“Miss Claucet, do you think it would be okay if we didn’t have to match Antonio’s suit to the Duke’s… tailcoat?

For a moment, Claucet’s expression stiffened.

Typically, when a family hosts a debutante ball, it’s common to coordinate formal attire within the family to some extent.

But Claucet and Klaus were far from being typical siblings.

“Why are you asking me about that heartless man’s formal suit?”

Her response was quite the opposite of Claucet’s rush to ensure Roselia’s and her outfit matched, reflecting a temperature difference that would make one believe Klaus wasn’t truly her sibling.

“Still… it’s after all, a once-in-a-lifetime debutante event. Since it’s also in celebration of Claucet’s birthday, if you could kindly mention it to the Duke…”

“Forget it!”

Melda’s words about Claucet and concern for her were difficult to bring up, but ironically, they only seemed to worsen Claucet’s mood.

Claucet was hunched over with a deeply twisted expression, tightly clenching her fists.

“Anyway, Klaus probably won’t even come because he’s busy. He’s busy all the time after all.”

In Claucet’s expression, along with resignation, there was also bitterness, as if she had experienced this more than once or twice.

Roselia understood the situation. Klaus probably had been using the excuse of being busy, and made up for Claucet’s birthdays with money or gifts.

Yet, even on that special day, her sister’s debutante ball, he wouldn’t even show up.

Seeing Claucet’s darkened demeanor, Roselia made an effort to lighten the mood with her words.

“Still, since this is Lady Claucet’s debutante ball, shouldn’t he make time for it even if it’s difficult?”

At Roselia’s words, Claucet made a disgusted expression as if she had heard something unpleasant.

“After all you’ve been through with Klaus, are you still saying that?Do you still believe the words you just said?”

Even her sigh seemed more like that of a disillusioned middle-aged woman tired rather than a girl preparing for her debutante ball.

“Antonio still needs a lot to experience. He still doesn’t know Klaus. That man doesn’t show up for my birthday, let alone our parents’ memorial days.”

Claucet’s expression contorted deeply as if revealing the accumulated emotions she suppressed.

“That cold-hearted bastard doesn’t care about family. He’s obsessed with work and money.”

In Claucet’s expression as she spoke like that, there was more of a shadow of sorrow and disappointment than anger.

Roselia’s heart felt unexpectedly heavy as she looked at her.

It didn’t make sense.

In the original work, Klaus treated the female protagonist, the Crown Princess, like a sister, and his feelings became strangely distorted into adoration and obsession after she got married.

For someone as caring and sincere towards the Crown Princess, why was there an indifference towards his own younger sister?

The face of the Duke who had rudely driven her away came to mind, irritating her.

And those bitter feelings eventually led to her blurting out incredible nonsense.

“I’ll talk to him. I’ll talk to the Duke.”

“What?”

Claucet was just as surprised as Roselia.

Damn it! What did I just say?

Even if she talked the Duke, what difference would it make?!

“Never mind… Don’t bother…”

Despite Roselia’s inner thoughts, a sigh burst out from Claucet as her expression darkened.

Damn it, if only Claucet was a little less cute..

“I’ll just… talk to him. Maybe he’s already preparing to attend the debutante ball.”

“…”

Since Roselia spoke this far, Claucet no longer opposed her.

Perhaps she didn’t even realize she was secretly hoping for it.

Facing Claucet’s indifferent but dejected face, Roselia decisively moved away to visit the Duke.

* * *

The moment Roselia knocked on the study door, she regretted it belatedly.

It seemed like speaking to Klaus was like leaping into a tiger’s mouth in this situation.

Although her regret was there, a voice was already audible from inside the room.

“Who is it?”

Roselia replied with a tense voice, swallowing hard.

“It’s Antonio.”

“…”.

There was a moment of silence.

The silence seemed to drag on slowly for Roselia.

And soon, a cold voice from Klaus could be heard.

“Come in.”

Entering the study after opening the door, Roselia cautiously observed him.

Klaus, not caring whether Roselia entered or not, was busy flipping through numerous documents piled on his desk and signing them.

Despite seeming quite occupied, Klaus looked at her with curiosity as he set down the papers.

“Do you have something to say?”

Klaus’ question unexpectedly left her caught off-guard.

In fact, she had been preparing herself for some mention of her encounter with him at the tavern.

Whether he suspected her to be Roselia or abducted his younger sister, she had been prepared herself for anything, but his indifferent response caught her off guard, leaving her momentarily speechless.

“Are you just going to stand there like that?”

At Klaus’s annoyed question, Roselia stiffened her shoulders and hurriedly spoke.

“By any chance… are you aware that Lady Claucet’s debutante ball is in a week?”

As Roselia asked, Klaus replied as if it were a rhetorical question, lowering his gaze to the documents.

“It’s the event that consumes the most from the Duchy’s budget this year. How could I not know?”

Encouraged by his indifferent tone, Roselia spoke out with a bit more courage.

“And do you also know that it’s Lady Claucet’s birthday on that day?”

The Duke’s gaze shifted towards Roselia as he had perused the documents.

“What do you want to say?”

Roselia cautiously opened her mouth, swallowing her dry saliva.

“It’s the birthday and debutante ball of your one and only younger sister… Naturally, you’ll participate in it, won’t you?”

As Roselia asked, Klaus, who had lowered the documents he was holding, looked at her with a dispassionate gaze.

“Don’t you see the pile of documents here right now?And how much work is to be done?”

“Yes… I understand that you’re very busy, but… still, it’s the birthday of your one and only younger sister…”

Roselia, who had said everything she wanted to, saw Klaus irritatedly brush back his bangs.

“Every year, I’ve brought only the most expensive gifts in the Empire for Claucet’s birthday. Where do you think all that money came from?”

“That…But Lady Claucet…”

“Antonio.”

With Klaus’s low voice, reminiscent of a withdrawn growl, Roselia had to bite her tongue.

He stared at her with navy-blue eyes that seemed to emit a piercing coldness.

“As I mentioned before, don’t interfere needlessly, even if it’s supposed to be for my sake.”

“…”

Klaus’s authoritarian tone, clearly delineating the boundaries of their relationship, left Roselia feeling distorted inside.

“If only half of the attention you show to Her Highness the Princess, was shown to Claucet, the relationship between you two wouldn’t be like this.”