Bianca was hammered on how and whom to greet before the day of the ball. However, since she doesn’t know who they are, she was instructed not to leave her brothers until the greetings were over. Her father says plenty of things, but he usually leaves it up to her brothers.
“Everyone knows your situation, and since we won’t be there for more than two hours, I’m sure we will manage.”
Satias consoled her.
Bianca rode with Julian in the carriage to the castle. Their father and mother were in the carriage that preceded them. Before she lost her memory, Bianca used to talk with Julian a lot.
Her second brother is affable and good-natured, but on the other hand, he’s elusive, and sometimes it’s hard to tell what he is thinking.
She was nervous about her first time in a castle, so she wanted Satias, who was always with her, to escort her if possible.
Then Bianca realizes something serious: that her eldest brother may have a woman who is unofficially engaged to him.
Satias’s overturned face gives him a cold and unapproachable atmosphere, but he’s an excellent older brother. He would surely be popular.
Regina also said, “Bianca-sama’s brother is so nice.” Maybe it’s not the time for him to be concerned only about his sister.
As she thought about it, she had been relying on her eldest brother too much. She also noticed that she often talked with his friends at school.
When they arrived at the venue, the family went to greet His Majesty the King and Queen and the princes. It was Bianca’s first time meeting them, so she was nervous.
The third Prince Stuart was also there, but he surprisingly did not escort Flora. Come to think of it, he isn’t often seen with her at school these days.
He wanted to say something to Bianca, but a glare from Satias, who had appeared behind her at some point, made him clam up.
After being sandwiched between two brothers and finishing her greetings, she and Julian danced to a song. Although she had forgotten her studies, she somehow remembered dancing perfectly. That was a little frustrating.
When she finished dancing with her second brother, she was asked to dance again and again, and there was no time to rest. Bianca was told to smile and be sociable when spoken to, so she forced a smile while dancing and responded to what the other person said. It probably would have been a pompous answer, but no one pointed that out to her. I’m afraid of the rumors that will spread later.
When she was tired enough, Julian came to pick her up.
“Bianca, father says you don’t have to dance anymore.”
“Is that so? Good.”
At the academy, she had been kept at a distance and thought she was not popular, but here, for some reason, men would come up to her. She was tired from all the attention but a little happy.
“He said it’s because you had already done one dance with your prospective fiancée.”
She was disappointed to hear Julian’s words. Was that what her father meant by “unveiling”? It was like a face-saving gesture to a potential fiancée. It wasn’t her popularity, but the Kesslers’. Bianca, it seems, is the symbolic daughter of a duke.
“Bianca, I’ll go get you a drink and some refreshments. Is there anything you want?”
Julian was taking care of her today. He’s quite a nice guy. She opened up to her eldest brother right away but not so much to her second brother, who’s always close to her mother.
She was tempted to take this opportunity to ask him a few questions about herself before she lost her memory.
However, Julian was quickly caught by the ladies looking for a marriage partner. Bianca’s second brother, who has a nice face and a soft atmosphere, seemed to be very popular with the ladies.
She mustn’t get in the second brother’s way. Bianca gave up on her drink and sat down on a chair in the corner. Her legs could not hold her any longer. She didn’t feel like going to get herself the drink. She decided to take a short rest first.
As she gazed blankly at the ballroom for a while, she felt she was somehow floating away from there. She felt fluffy and unreal as if she had been rootless ever since she lost my memory.
“Bianca, there you are.”
“Oh, brother!”
Her eldest brother brought her a sandwich and chilled fruit water. He was surprisingly attentive, even though he had not asked her what she wanted. Bianca took them immediately. She was just thirsty.
Behind him was Ian Bartley, who often hung out with her brother at the school. These days, they sometimes talk on the café terrace.
“Hi, Miss Bianca. You’ve been dancing a lot.”
“Yes, I have. I’m a little tired.”
Her legs were aching, and she wanted to take off her shoes.
“Well, it can’t be helped, can it? Single duchesses are very popular.”
Ian’s words made Bianca feel uncomfortable. She doesn’t want to get engaged. It was too much of a hassle.
“By the way, didn’t you escort anyone, brother?”
“Me? I don’t have anyone like that.”
The eldest brother denied it.
“Do you have a fiancée? Or are you already engaged to someone else?”
“No, I don’t. And If I did, how would you know?”
That is also true.
“Then brother will have to search for you now, too.”
A short distance away, Julian was still surrounded by women.
After that, Regina and Ellen arrived as if they had been swapped with the oldest brothers. The girls’ party began immediately.
If she looked closely, she could see many acquaintances from the academy in the hall. Natalie was also there. For some reason, she has not spoken to Bianca since then. It was probably because Bianca had ran off in a daze without saying hello.
She was ashamed of what she did and wanted to apologize for her rudeness, but her brother told her to stay away from them.
Flora was also in the hall. They had not seen each other in a while. However, she seemed to be escorted by another man, not the prince.
“By the way, it’s been a while since I have seen Flora-sama. Has she been at school?”
Bianca asked.
“It seems the engagement talk with His Highness Prince Stuart was not going well. She was sulking because of that and took a leave of absence from the school.”
Regina answered with a knowing look on her face.
“Oh, why? Those two are such good friends.”
It’s strange. The engagement with the duke’s daughter, Bianca, who would stand in the way of their love affair, has already been dissolved.
“There is the matter of their status difference, but I heard that His Majesty the King will not allow it. Flora-sama’s family is a newly emerged aristocracy, and he does not want them to become part of the royal family.”
Ellen, her voice quieter this time, said. Both of them know a lot about this.
“Where do you hear such things?”
“Father and Mother,” they said in unison. Are they close to their parents? The Kessler family has no family gatherings, so Bianca never heard any rumors of social circles.
Besides, Bianca was a study-holic even at school. If she doesn’t make the top 50 on the next test, her father will reprimand her again.
But does her eldest brother know about the rumors?
When she looked at Satias, he was surrounded by his schoolmates. But, he was only surrounded by guys, in contrast to Julian, who was surrounded by girls.
Bianca was a little worried about her eldest brother. He’s good-looking, but no girls are around him, perhaps because of his unapproachable atmosphere.
Is father looking for a partner for brother? Or is it better for me to look for one for him? I am worried about you, brother.
