Caught off guard, I stumbled over my words. Hadn’t Ares just recently stated, almost casually, that he could not be my partner?
My incredulous words left him speechless this time. After a moment, he regained his composure slightly and spoke in a calmer tone than before.
“That’s not what I meant. I’m sorry if I’ve caused any misunderstanding. I was just a bit surprised that I didn’t know about it despite such an event happening.”
Despite his explanation, I felt like I had been blindsided. My body felt drained of energy, and I couldn’t muster the strength to speak.
“I… I never even considered such a thing…”
“Bianca, I…”
I was upset with Ares for bringing up concerns I hadn’t even thought of. I had simply assumed that he would naturally be my partner! How could he bring up such a desperate possibility before me?
It felt like a huge hole had been torn in my chest. Suddenly, a chill ran down my spine, and my hands trembled lightly. I clenched my fists tightly to hide it.
“I never even thought that you wouldn’t be my partner and that we wouldn’t go to the palace banquet. That’s why I didn’t say anything.”
I forced each word out, trying to keep my voice steady and not let it waver.
“I’m sorry. I spoke in a way that could cause misunderstanding. There’s no way I wouldn’t go to the banquet with you. You’re right.”
With an urgent tone, Ares continued without pause.
Yeah, he couldn’t possibly do that. No way.
But the possibility that Ares might not choose me as his partner had already sharply embedded itself in my mind. He might be denying it now, but someday he would partner with Lea instead of me!
I stared blankly at Ares. The confrontational demeanor he had just shown had disappeared, replaced by a distorted expression as he waited for my response.
I spoke quietly, my voice oddly stiff.
“I didn’t tell you because my pride wouldn’t allow it. I didn’t want you to get involved in the rivalry with Princess Ariel. Just going to the palace banquet already meant relying on you, and I didn’t want to cling to you any further.”
It felt like something hollow had been sucked out of my chest.
So, this was the reason for his urgent visit. To make sure I knew there was a possibility he might leave. Did he go to such lengths just to drive home the fact that he might betray me? There couldn’t be anyone else who was more certain of it than him.
After explaining why I hadn’t told Ares about not receiving the invitation, I had nothing more to say. I remained silent, my resolve firm.
Ares looked at me, at a loss for what to do.
After a while, he struggled to speak.
“I see. I just… It’s just that…”
As he continued to look at me with my lips tightly sealed, he spoke again.
“I felt a little frustrated that you didn’t ask for help even when you were in trouble. I wondered if I still couldn’t be a support for you…”
“…”
It seemed he didn’t fully realize that I didn’t like relying on others for help. I had mentioned it once when we returned from dinner with the Metis couple, but perhaps he had forgotten.
But I have my own faults too. Despite knowing that Ares always wants to help me, I once again completely excluded him from my problems because of my pride. It was my fault that I didn’t realize the frustration he must have felt.
I’ve made mistakes, so I should apologize.
“I’m sorry, Ares. I should have told you in advance. I imagine it must have been quite surprising for you to hear about my situation from someone else.”
As I spoke, Ares took a deep breath before replying.
“No, I was impatient even though there must have been a reason for your situation. I hope you didn’t misunderstand my words. That was my mistake.”
“Alright, I understand.”
My hair, still not completely dry, felt heavy. I forced myself to nod reluctantly.
Ares looked at me with a concerned expression and asked cautiously, “What do you think the Marqiues and his wife will do?”
“They’ll probably decline. It’s only natural for them to abstain from attending the banquet without an invitation. Whether it was a mistake or intentional, they wouldn’t want to be uninvited guests.”
“If you bring it up to Princess Ariel, she’ll realize it was a mistake.”
“Do you think it was a mistake?”
My last words came out with a slightly sharp tone. Ares widened his eyes in surprise.
I let out a small sigh and continued, “It’s definitely not a mistake. This was a deliberate provocation against me. Anyway, the princess intentionally provoked me.”
Ares was speechless, just staring at me.
I chuckled softly at him.
“This is a fight between women. You shouldn’t interfere.”
His expression quickly clouded over. But I was determined to assert my will no matter what face he made.
“Whether Ariel Princess uses helping her friend Leia as an excuse or whatever, I’m perfectly capable of standing up for myself. Your way of helping is just staying out of it.”
After saying it, I suddenly realized! Ares’s expression was gradually turning cold.
Oh no, stupid Bianca! I should have kept my mouth shut. I didn’t even realize I mentioned Leia’s name in front of Ares! What a fool! Now he might think I’m going to talk about Leia all the time!
“Ares, what I meant was…”
But Ares muttered to himself as if he were remembering something.
“So that’s why she said that… Ah, so that’s what it was…”
Huh? What happened that I don’t know about?
As I looked at him with a puzzled expression, Ares spoke to me with a stiff face.
“Last night, Leia came to see me. She asked me to be her partner for the palace banquet.”
At Ares’s words, I couldn’t help but burst out laughing. Unable to hide my incredulous expression, I asked Ares.
“What did Leia say when she asked you to be her partner? Did she forget that I’m your lover?”
“I refused right away. I told her I had already decided to go with you. But then she asked how she could go without an invitation.”
Poor Leia Saturanos! Still not fully versed in the etiquette of the capital!
Sigh. Leia made the dumbest proposal to Ares. She really exposed her ignorance. What’s the point of being Ariel Princess’s strongest ally if she can’t even handle something like this?
Didn’t Ariel Princess inform everyone that it’s okay to attend as a partner even without a separate invitation? No, maybe it was so obvious that it was overlooked.
Ares continued speaking.
“It was then that I found out you hadn’t received an invitation to the palace banquet. Leia must not be familiar with the capital’s social customs, so she probably thought you couldn’t enter the palace without an invitation.”
“I’m sorry to say this about your friend, but Leia Saturanos can be quite audacious, can’t she?”
As I spoke with a slightly pointed tone, Ares’s face darkened.
“She seemed to want to help me since I couldn’t have a partner. Since I’ve been her partner at the Viscount’s banquets before, she thought it was her turn to repay the favor.”
Ah, how kind of her. That’s Leia Saturanos for you. Not forgetting the favor of helping with her debut in the capital’s social scene and trying to repay it like this. She’s truly like an angelic protagonist. Heh.
In truth, because both parties involved in such a situation can feel embarrassed, people usually try not to bring up such matters unnecessarily. It’s done in the hope that the issue will be resolved smoothly, with the party who made the mistake correcting it and the offended party graciously overlooking it.
But our dear Leia Saturanos, the kind-hearted soul that she is, rushes over to Ares and says, ‘There was such a thing!’ and enthusiastically declares, ‘I’ll help you!’?
Haha. I couldn’t help but laugh.
But I wonder how delighted our angelic Leia Saturanos must have been!
The palace banquet is happening, and she wants to be a partner with her favorite guy, and yet, the place is already taken!
But then, just as I found out I didn’t have an invitation, poor Ares found himself in a difficult situation. And in order to help him out and not go against my conscience, I also get to accompany Ares, so what a wonderful opportunity this turned out to be!
If I were in Leia’s shoes, wouldn’t I have been secretly excited about the idea of going to the palace with him and rushed over in the middle of the night?
But then again, I had no desire to inform Ares about Leia’s feelings. I never wanted to give Ares a reason to see Leia again. It was enough to just think of her as a friend who was still inexperienced in courtly etiquette.
“…Your friend seems very kind if she worried about you being in trouble.”
Trying to hold back my laughter, which threatened to burst out at any moment, I commented on Leia to Ares. But I couldn’t completely hide the pettiness that was hidden within.
Ares sighed and replied, “Leia didn’t ask me to be her partner with any ill intentions. But I did warn her clearly yesterday to make sure she learns courtly etiquette, so she won’t make the same mistake again in the future.”
When has Leia ever acted with malice? She has always been pure in her intentions!
From Ares’s expression, he seemed quite frustrated as well.
This is why unintentional trouble is the biggest issue. If there’s no malice, it’s hard to say it’s a problem, but the damage can still be severe, and if I criticize, I’m the only one who looks bad. Plus, if Leia has to make so many mistakes to learn something, how many mistakes does she have to make before she completely masters courtly etiquette?
Fortunately, Leia seems to listen to Ares even if she doesn’t listen to others, so she’ll probably learn courtly etiquette properly now.
Anyway, I needed to show Ares that I no longer misunderstood him. That way, he could relax and show me his smile again, right?
“Thanks for letting me know. So, that’s why you came to see me so early in the morning.”
I lightly touched my bare face with my fingertips, still feeling the dampness of my hair. I hoped Ares would appreciate the courage it took for me to meet him in such a disheveled state.
But then, as Ares blushed and began to avoid my gaze again, I groaned internally. Okay, okay, I get it! I shouldn’t meet Ares looking like this, no matter how urgent it is. It’s just too embarrassing for him. Ugh.
Knowing the feeling of embarrassment myself, I quickly opened my mouth, intending to usher Ares out.
“Well then…”
“Uh, well…”
Just as I was about to speak, Ares blurted something out, causing me to pause and ask him what he said.
“Hm? What were you going to say? I couldn’t hear you properly because we both spoke at the same time.”
Ares’s already flushed face reddened even more. After hesitating for a moment, he smiled faintly and replied.
“I wanted to apologize for coming to you in such a hurry. And thank you for meeting me without making me wait, even though I came so suddenly.”
I smiled warmly at him.
Ares was the most important person to me, more important than anything else. So, whatever urgent matter he had was the top priority for me.
“It’s no big deal, really.”
