“It’s been a while.”
Diana’s clear, ringing voice echoed through the banquet hall, which had fallen silent as if cold water had been poured over it.
The nobles, who had been sneaking glances at us since our entrance, now openly stared with curiosity as Diana stood before us.
Yet, whether Diana was unaware of their gazes or simply unaffected by them, her expression remained serene and innocent.
The teardrop-shaped diamond earrings dangling below her earlobes caught the dazzling lights, scattering them in soft reflections.
Meanwhile, I stood frozen, unable to even open my mouth, and turned my head to look at Ian beside me.
‘If things were going as they should…’
In the original story, when Ian Cloud met Diana Lawrence upon her return to the capital, he experienced an inexplicable fluttering in his chest.
It was an omen, foreshadowing that Ian would fall in love with Diana.
So if Ian showed any signs of being affected now, it would increase the likelihood of their relationship following the original narrative.
“……”
But Ian’s reaction was entirely different from what I had anticipated.
There was no flush creeping up his ears, no sign of embarrassment, not even the slightest furrow of his brow.
Far from feeling his heart race, he seemed completely indifferent.
‘…Really?’
Was that even possible?
I was briefly confused by his lack of reaction, but soon, an indescribable wave of relief surged over me, like a tidal wave overwhelming the shore.
It was almost laughable, really.
‘I promised to give Ian back to Diana, and now I’m relieved at this?’
It felt like the epitome of contradiction.
Perhaps noticing my unusual response, Ian, who had been watching Diana all along, turned his gaze to me.
Caught staring, our eyes met immediately.
“Ugh.”
I quickly turned my head away to avoid his eyes, but unfortunately, my reflexes were nowhere near fast enough to outpace the vision of a Swordmaster.
The lingering weight of his gaze on my burning cheeks told me he was staring at me intently.
And then, suddenly…
“…Grand Duke?”
“Eloise.”
With an unusually gentle voice, he lightly wrapped an arm around my waist.
I blinked in confusion, utterly bewildered.
At home, he constantly called me “Eloise” or “my wife” to the point of annoyance, but in formal settings, he had always been scrupulously respectful, addressing me as “Grand Duchess.”
‘What’s with him now?’
His gaze, which had rested on me, shifted back to Diana.
“…As you can see, I was in the middle of a conversation. What brings you here, Lady Lawrence?”
His voice, neither warm nor cold, trickled out in a dry and detached tone, devoid of any emotion, like an inorganic substance.
Hearing it, I was startled in a completely different way.
‘Did he just draw such a clear line with his childhood friend in front of all these people? On purpose?’
There wasn’t a single person in this banquet hall unaware of Ian and Diana’s relationship.
Granted, unlike me, none of them were readers privy to the original story; they only knew that Diana had once relentlessly followed Ian around.
But even so, calling her “Lady Lawrence” so formally and curtly?
Ian showed no hesitation in emphasizing the distance between them.
Meanwhile, I, unable to hide my astonishment, turned to Diana in a hurry.
Even though I had come to like Ian, I didn’t want Diana to feel humiliated in front of so many people.
But Diana’s reaction…
“Haha.”
…She was laughing?
Diana let out a clear, almost pure laugh that filled the quiet hall, her eyes crinkling in amusement.
“Lady Lawrence?”
“Your Grace hasn’t changed a bit, I see. Well, I suppose a few years isn’t enough to alter one’s nature.”
Diana shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly.
Her gaze swept lightly across the room before settling back on Ian.
“I can understand what you’re wary of, but there’s no need to worry.”
She smiled brightly, tilting her head to the side.
Her pink side locks, intentionally left loose from her updo, cascaded softly down her cheek as her bright blue eyes gleamed like the surface of the sea.
And then, she turned her gaze to me.
“Most importantly, the greeting I just offered was for the Grand Duchess.”
“For me?”
Surprised by her unexpected words, I furrowed my brows and asked, “What do you mean?”
Unlike me, who couldn’t make sense of her statement, Diana nodded without a moment’s hesitation and smiled bashfully.
“Yes, Your Grace, the Grand Duchess.”
…Was it even fair for someone to look so beautiful while smiling like that?
I found myself momentarily entranced by Diana’s smile but quickly snapped out of it with a sharp intake of breath.
This was no time to stand around in a daze.
I wasn’t the only one who seemed bewildered by Diana’s actions. Ian, whose expression had frozen stiff, as well as the nobles watching this scene unfold with interest, all turned their confused gazes toward Diana.
But Diana, who must have been fully aware of the attention she was receiving, kept her gaze fixed solely on me, ignoring the nobles who were practically piercing her with their stares.
“If Your Grace would allow it, may I borrow a moment of your time?”
“…Huh? Me?”
“Yes, I told you, didn’t I? I’ve been wanting to meet the Grand Duchess for some time.”
Her calm response left me even more perplexed.
‘Why me? Before my marriage to Ian, we’d only crossed paths at a few formal events.’
As my mind raced, a thought suddenly struck me, leaving me momentarily breathless.
Could this be that?
You know, like in romance novels, where the villain and the protagonist have a fierce showdown over a man?
Of course, in this world, Diana would be the protagonist, and I would be the villain.
‘Wait, no. How does it make any sense for me to have a showdown with my favorite character? I can’t do this!’
While I was battling inner turmoil, Diana continued to look at me with her guileless expression.
The real problem, however, wasn’t just Diana but the many nobles who were also intently watching this interaction.
If I declined her request now, I’d only end up giving them more fodder for gossip.
In the end, I cautiously opened my mouth after a long pause.
“…Alright, let’s do that.”
There was no avoiding this, after all.
Diana’s face lit up at my answer, but Ian, standing beside me, looked as if his face had turned to stone.
Just as I was about to follow Diana, someone gently but firmly held me back.
“Ian?”
Without a word, Ian alternated his gaze between me and Diana, then clasped my hand and kissed the back of it—deliberately, as if he wanted someone to see.
Unable to bring myself to look in Diana’s direction, I held my breath. Ian spoke in a low voice.
“I’ll be waiting for you.”
❖ ❖ ❖
Crunch, crunch.
Now, I found myself walking alongside Diana, separated by an awkwardly close yet distant gap that felt utterly uncomfortable.
At first, we walked through the main garden, filled with people enjoying the banquet. Then, we passed along an outdoor corridor to a quieter area, eventually arriving at a grove of camellias blooming in winter.
Diana’s steps were noticeably light, in contrast to my cautious and deliberate pace.
‘Is this… really okay?’
As we approached the entrance to the maze-like garden, Diana finally spoke.
“…I apologize for earlier, at the banquet. As soon as I saw the Grand Duchess from afar, I couldn’t help but feel overjoyed. I should have been more mindful.”
“Well… it happens.”
I replied halfheartedly, my thoughts elsewhere.
More than that, I couldn’t understand why she was so glad to see me.
No matter how I thought about it, Diana and I didn’t seem to have the kind of relationship where we’d greet each other warmly after a long time apart.
If anything, I’d expect her to hold a grudge against me, perhaps throwing barbed words my way.
Even as I remained silent, Diana continued to chatter brightly while crossing the garden.
“I didn’t realize how much attention people would give me. Even though I graduated early, I thought I’d just receive a few words of praise at most.”
She slowed her steps and turned to look at me directly, her blue eyes curving into a crescent shape as she smiled.
“Oh, and I found your speech at the academy’s centennial celebration truly inspiring. When I first heard that the Grand Duchess herself would be attending, I was honestly quite flustered…”
“Ah, I see.”
Now that she mentioned it, Diana must have been present when I gave that speech at the academy’s 100th-anniversary event.
Perhaps her use of the word “long time” referred to that occasion.
“Speaking of which, I managed to finish my graduation project safely before returning to the capital. My partner and I worked together on it. The early graduation requirements turned out to be stricter than I expected, with so many tasks and documents to submit. The graduation project was one of them, and I was quite taken aback at first….”
Was Diana always this talkative?
As I pondered this, we continued walking slowly until Diana abruptly stopped.
She spun around to face me, her flowing hair catching in the breeze, and her blue eyes sparkling with laughter.
Before I could even react to her piercing gaze, Diana opened her mouth.
“So, aren’t you going to say I did well? El.”
• • •
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