Jerome glared at him, but Carlos didn’t even glance in his direction.
Natasha briefly looked at Jerome before nodding.
“Alright.”
“…!”
“Jerome, I appreciate your help, but my partner is this gentleman.”
Normally, Jerome would have quietly backed down at those words, but today, he was unusually aggressive.
“I was the one who asked for the dance first. You should wait your turn.”
Only then did Carlos respond, looking at Jerome.
“Wouldn’t it be better for you to check on your own partner? I believe the young Countess Blanche was looking for you earlier.”
Jerome unconsciously looked around, and in that moment, Carlos took Natasha’s hand and led her to the center of the ballroom.
Soon after, a new melody began to play.
Jerome, realizing he’d been tricked, watched them with a fierce gaze but could do nothing but wait.
‘He has large hands.’
Unlike Jerome, who had been her partner many times, Carlos was tall, with large, rough hands.
Though they were covered by gloves, as a knight, he likely had many scars and calluses on his hands.
“I apologize for my rudeness. If it made you uncomfortable…”
“No, it’s fine. I agreed anyway.”
Carlos apologized sincerely, making Natasha feel slightly awkward.
“You seem to get along quite well.”
“Oh, Jerome? Yes, we grew up like siblings.”
“Siblings… I only have a younger brother, so I wouldn’t know, but it doesn’t seem quite like that…”
“Jerome can be a bit sensitive.”
He had been that way since they were young.
Mikhail was mature, and Denis had a calm personality, but Jerome would often cry at the slightest provocation.
“He’s prideful, too. But he’s not a bad person.”
Despite everything, Jerome was like family to Natasha. They were the same age, so they bickered often.
“I see. I heard it’s been a while since you left the Petrov family, but it seems you’re still quite close.”
“For the most part, yes. Except for my eldest brother, Mikhail. Oh, and Duke Petrov as well.”
A faint chill appeared on Natasha’s face, but it quickly disappeared.
“By the way, will you return to the North after the wedding?”
He had originally planned to stay in the capital until Aidan’s lawsuit was settled, but the case was eventually dropped, and now he was attending the wedding.
Aidan would likely stay because of Lydia, but Carlos had no reason to remain.
“Would you like me to leave?”
“What? No, that’s not what I meant. You’re a duke, after all.”
“Nowadays, most people hire professional managers.”
“But isn’t the North different? I don’t know much about the North, but I heard that because of frequent monster invasions, you can’t leave for long periods.”
As Natasha pointed out the obvious, Carlos sighed quietly.
“I plan to stay in the capital for a while.”
“Is that alright?”
“I’ve already made preparations. At least until the end of the year, it should be fine.”
Natasha nodded, though she wasn’t convinced. If the duke said it was fine, then it must be.
“I might stay longer, so I’m thinking of finding a place to live.”
“Oh, really? Where are you thinking?”
Natasha mentally calculated the wealthy neighborhoods near where Madame Olga lived. That area would likely suit Carlos well.
“I’m considering moving across from your office.”
“…What?”
Natasha almost stepped on his foot. It was such a shocking statement.
“…Across from my office? Why not a more affluent neighborhood…?”
“I plan to live modestly since it’s only temporary.”
Even if it’s temporary, that place was right in the middle of a commercial district, noisy during the day with street vendors, and at night, drunks caused disturbances.
“But even with modest living, wouldn’t you need a room for servants, like a maid or butler?”
“I prefer living alone. I’ll just hire a housemaid to help with chores.”
Seeing Carlos respond so casually, Natasha was momentarily speechless.
‘He really is an unusual man.’
A nobleman living without a live-in maid was unheard of. Nobles couldn’t even wash their faces without assistance, after all.
‘I had a feeling when he asked me to be his partner.’
A typical noble would be embarrassed to have a commoner as a partner. They believed their partner’s status reflected their own value.
‘Is it because he’s a duke and doesn’t care? Or does he not understand the customs of the capital?’
Or maybe…
Natasha’s thoughts trailed off. Such speculation was inefficient and pointless.
“Well, I guess we’ll be neighbors then.”
At her words, Carlos smiled softly. His lips curved upward gracefully, forming a pleasant smile.
But just as quickly, the smile vanished.
The music ended, and Carlos, with a stiff expression, escorted her back to the wall.
“I’ll greet you again next time, Miss Natasha.”
As he bowed, Natasha responded with a deep curtsey, following proper etiquette. Before she could say anything more, Carlos swiftly disappeared into the crowd.
***
The banquet continued late into the night.
At one point, a drunken Lydia ran toward Natasha, and Jerome, after finishing his dance with Carlos, repeatedly asked her to dance.
Natasha was exhausted, caught between noblewomen discreetly seeking legal advice and political figures trying to connect with the crown princess.
By the time she returned to her office in the carriage provided by the palace, she was on the verge of collapse from exhaustion.
‘What time is it? I have a client meeting tomorrow morning. Can I get at least three hours of sleep? First, I need to get out of this expensive dress…’
Clunk.
When she opened the door, Natasha froze. A large figure was curled up, asleep on the guest sofa.
A sliver of moonlight streamed in through the window, illuminating the figure’s face.
Soft breathing.
It seemed he was in a deep sleep, not even waking up when Natasha entered.
This was unusual for Ivan, who was typically very sensitive to his surroundings.
Click.
Natasha took a step, then stopped, startled by the sound of her own shoes. Glancing at Ivan, she carefully removed her shoes and held them in her hand.
She tiptoed over and perched on the armrest of the sofa. As she gently stroked his hair, Ivan stirred slightly with a low hum.
It felt like she had returned to their childhood.
When Natasha first met Ivan, his wariness was so extreme that she could only encounter him when he was asleep. Even then, it was because he held off sleep until the last moment, passing out as if he were dead.
—
“Shh… Stay still.”
Smack!
“Don’t touch me!”
His pupils were dilated, constantly scanning his surroundings. Perhaps due to the tension, the muscles in the crouched boy’s legs trembled visibly.
She tried to disinfect the wound on his knee, but it was proving difficult. In the end, Natasha put the disinfectant back in her pocket.
“I told you, at least eat something.”
“How do I know what you put in it? Do you think I’m stupid?”
His eyes were filled with suspicion. It had been months since she had taken him in, feeding and clothing him, yet he still didn’t trust her.
“…”
“You’re the same as the others.”
No matter how much she tried to explain otherwise, his hardened belief wouldn’t change. Natasha understood, but it was starting to wear on her patience.
He looked to be about sixteen or seventeen, and the youthful Natasha sighed deeply with a weary expression.
“Here. Watch.”
She took a big bite out of the hard, stale bread that had been left out in the air too long.
Chew, chew.
Gulp.
“See? There’s nothing inside. Just eat.”
Ivan, still suspicious, recognized that he was on the brink of exhaustion from hunger. Carefully, he snatched the piece of bread from Natasha’s hand and retreated to the corner of the room, devouring it.
In the tidy but simple room, the boy, still wearing the tattered clothes he had on when he was rescued, looked out of place.
Natasha silently observed him for a moment. He was far smaller and thinner than other boys his age.
‘I don’t know how such strength comes from that body.’
Chomp, chomp.
The boy, stuffing the bread into his mouth without water, quickly swallowed it all down. At that moment, Natasha stood up.
“From now on, make sure you eat properly. I won’t be able to come here as often. You’ll starve to death if you don’t.”
“…”
Ivan hesitated before asking.
“You’re not coming anymore?”
“Not that. I’ll just be late.”
“Why?”
“I got into law school.”
She smiled happily as she said this, eager to prove wrong those who had looked down on her for being a commoner.
“Law… school?”
“It’s a place where you study the law. It’s a dormitory system, so I can’t leave during the term. I’ll be able to visit again during the holidays.”
Ivan didn’t fully understand most of what Natasha was saying.
‘Law? Dormitory? Holidays…?’
But he grasped the implication that she wouldn’t be visiting for quite some time.
“So, when are you coming back?”
“In about four months. Or… you’ll see me after you’ve slept about 120 times.”
One hundred and twenty? A sudden fear gripped Ivan. What if she never came back? The thought that she might never return took root inside him.
But he clenched his jaw so hard it hurt, unwilling to say anything more. Instead, he turned his head sharply toward the wall. When you’re afraid of being abandoned, don’t show it. That was one of the few rules he knew.
“Go.”
“I was going to leave anyway.”
Natasha muttered under her breath. Other kids would have clung to her, begging her to come back soon.
This boy, still too wary to let his guard down, remained a headache. Without Natasha, who had been the one to rescue him, he wouldn’t even speak.
Click.
When the door closed, Ivan quietly turned his head to stare at it. He stood there for a long time.
—
“…Natasha?”
Her thoughts were interrupted by Ivan, who had woken up and was calling her. Snapping back to the present, she let the hand that had been stroking his hair fall gently over her eyes.
“Shh…”
Just like when they were younger, she made a soothing sound. Ivan chuckled softly.
“What are you doing? Imitating the old days?”
“Oh, I miss those times. You were such a cute little brat back then.”
“And who was the one always scolding me for not being cute?”
“If you weren’t actually cute, I wouldn’t have even bothered.”
Despite their playful banter, there was an unspoken trust between them.
“I wanted to punch you back then. You wouldn’t even eat a piece of bread.”
“I didn’t want to.”
Ivan stuck out his tongue playfully, though it had long since lost its ability to function properly.
“I would have gagged no matter what I ate.”
“If I’d known you were that bad at brewing tea, I wouldn’t have hired you as my assistant.”
She still couldn’t forget the awful taste of the tea he had brewed when he first started.
“I’ve improved since then, haven’t I?”
“You’ve gone from poisoning me to just making it taste bad… I guess that’s progress.”
Not that she was sure if it could even be called progress.
Despite this, Ivan had developed a strange fondness for tea, claiming he liked the aroma. It was only the people who had to drink it who suffered.
“Do you want to get up? Didn’t you want to dance?”
“No, I’m good.”
Just as Natasha began to stand, Ivan grabbed her wrist.
“I think that’s not really my thing after all.”
Acting like a noble always felt suffocating to Ivan, as if he were wearing ill-fitting clothes.
“Hurry up and change out of that dress. If you lose any of those jewels, do you know how much they cost?”
“I spent the entire dance looking down, hoping I wouldn’t lose any.”
Ivan laughed heartily at her exaggerated complaint.
“Do you think I’m joking?”
“…”
When Natasha replied with a straight face, Ivan closed his mouth, though not without a smirk lingering on his lips.
• ❁ • ❁ • ❁ •By Esraa• ❁ • ❁ • ❁ •
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