My Lover Isn't Interested With The Female lead!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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My Lover Isn’t Interested With The Female lead!

✽ CHAPTER 38✽

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This time, it was the cotillion, a dance where four couples participate together.

 

Since it’s a dance where partners are frequently switched, it had a certain level of difficulty. However, just the fact that her partner wasn’t Matthias made it much easier to dance than the earlier minuet.

 

After greeting all the men she danced with and stepping off the dance floor, several men gave her subtle glances as if wanting to ask for the next dance.

 

A few of them even boldly approached Letticia.

 

“Let’s go over there. Those guys are notorious for ruining girls’ reputations,”

 

Camilla whispered briefly in Letticia’s ear, then naturally led her to a different spot.

 

Shortly after, a man who appeared to be about twenty years old approached and asked her for a dance. He barely met Camilla’s standards and became Letticia’s partner for the quadrille.

 

Dancing continuously without a break, Letticia began to feel quite tired.

 

There was a ten-minute break between each dance, but even during this time, men lined up with the excuse of bringing her a drink to strike up a conversation.

 

One of them, Damon Milan, was particularly persistent.

 

“Lady Sharon, would you grant me the honor of dancing with you for this next dance?”

 

“Yes, let’s have an enjoyable time together,”

 

Letticia replied with the obligatory politeness, even though she didn’t particularly want to dance with him. Since Camilla didn’t object, Letticia had no choice but to accept.

 

Camilla, acting as a sharp chaperone who screened out all the ill-mannered men, didn’t object, which meant the partner was worth dancing with. It was better to dance, even if a bit tired.

 

But Letticia regretted it as soon as the dance ended.

 

After about ten minutes of the traditional ponteon dance, her partner began to linger.

 

“The next dance is a waltz. Lady Sharon, do you have any objections to waltzing?”

 

The waltz, the only dance mentioned in the original work, had been popular for a few years and was now so widely accepted that even the imperial palace played waltz music.

 

However, because it was a dance where the man and woman danced very closely, some old nobles and older people avoided it, considering it indecent.

 

“Well, I think it’s a refreshing dance. Unlike other dances, it’s truly danced only by two people.”

 

“As expected of Lady Sharon, who shows her willingness to break old traditions with that dress. Considering the waltz indecent is a narrow-minded view. Isn’t the waltz truly a dance for the new generation?”

 

“…It’s natural to have both the creation of something new and resistance to it. I don’t think you need to put it that way.”

 

Letticia stepped back, creating distance from Milan, who was trying to subtly close the gap. She quickly searched for Camilla but, unfortunately, found herself on the opposite side of the dance floor.

 

“I apologize if I offended you. I was just so eager to ask you to dance that I got a bit excited.”

 

“…I need to get permission from my mother.”

 

“Don’t worry about the Countess. Didn’t she already permit us to dance?”

 

‘She allowed one dance, not two in a row,’

 

Letticia barely managed to suppress a grimace.

 

As Camilla had cautioned, dancing twice in a row with the same person indicated a deep relationship. She had no desire for a scandal with a man she wasn’t fond of.

 

“Still, I can’t dance twice in a row with the same gentleman. Please give other debutantes the chance to avoid being wallflowers.”

 

“Lady Sharon, you are very considerate. But with the queen of the most beautiful flowers in front of me, why would I need to look at the wallflowers?”

 

He was practically proposing. If she didn’t put more distance between them, he would try to touch her or hold her in some way. Letticia decided she needed to get away from him by any means.

 

“…Aren’t you getting thirsty? The lemonade here is quite delicious.”

 

“Ah, the lemonade at the palace is excellent. Would you allow me to bring you another glass?”

 

“No, that’s okay. I was thinking of bringing one to my mother as well, so I’ll go myself.”

 

“Then I’ll escort you. I can’t leave a lady alone.”

 

Using courtesy and propriety as an excuse, Milan was very persistent. Letticia briefly wondered what to do.

 

Just as she was about to step towards the refreshments to buy some time, she made eye contact with a brown-haired young man walking in her direction.

 

“……….!”

 

At that moment, a way to escape this predicament came to Letticia’s mind. To avoid dancing twice in a row, she needed to dance with another man.

 

With that thought, Letticia sent a desperate look to the young man she made eye contact with, silently pleading, ‘Please ask me to dance quickly.’

 

“………”

 

The young man seemed slightly taken aback by Letticia’s gaze but, after noticing Milan next to her, seemed to grasp the situation and approached her.

 

“Excuse me… May I ask this beautiful debutante for a dance?”

 

He said exactly what Letticia wanted to hear. Letticia managed to control her urge to nod vigorously and instead smiled.

 

She couldn’t accept a dance request without her chaperone’s permission.

 

“Excuse me, but she is currently with me-”

 

“Since I’m away from my chaperone right now, I need to ask for her permission. Would you escort me?”

 

Milan tried to protest, but Letticia quickly placed her hand on the young man’s outstretched hand. She didn’t forget to smile back at Milan as she did so.

 

“It was enjoyable, Sir Milan. I hope you have a good time with your next partner.”

 

Milan’s face twisted in response.

 

Seeing his inability to maintain his composure, Letticia clicked her tongue softly. The young man gently pulled her hand, as if to protect her.

 

“We should return to the Countess. We need to move away from him.”

 

“Ah, right. I almost forgot.”

 

As Letticia matched his steps and took his hand, the young man looked down at her with a somewhat complicated expression.

 

Now that she could closely observe his face, Letticia felt a strange sense of familiarity.

 

“Have we met before?”

 

He had a neat but slightly tired face, green eyes like wilted leaves, and seemed to be around Lenard’s age.

 

She couldn’t immediately recall his name, but seeing her tilt her head in thought, the young man gave a bitter smile and answered kindly.

 

“Five years ago, when the young lady first entered the academy and visited the Department of Public Administration. I guided you then.”

 

“Oh!”

 

Upon hearing that, Letticia remembered the young man’s name.

 

Ezkhiel Bright. He was a student from the Department of Public Administration who had helped Letticia when she got lost on her first day at the academy and then got into a scuffle with some guy named Barthset.

 

“It’s been a long time, Sir Bright! I didn’t recognize you because it was so long ago. After you helped me, were you okay? Did that guy… whatever his name was, bother you more?”

 

“The guy… No, I was fine. He dropped out of Academy soon after.”

 

“That’s a relief. It must have been quite a hassle because of me.”

 

His voice trembled slightly, possibly due to the blunt choice of words.

 

Though it felt a bit late to be discussing an incident from five years ago, it was still somewhat pleasant to reminisce.

 

“I didn’t expect to see you again like this, and I’m sorry I didn’t recognize you right away.”

 

“No need to apologize. It’s been five years since we last met. It would be impressive if you remembered.”

 

“But you remembered me, didn’t you? Surely you’re not implying that you’re remarkable and I’m just ordinary?”

 

“Oh, no. That’s not what I meant at all…”

 

Seeing him flustered by her joke, Letticia felt she might have been too forward and apologized.

 

“I was just joking. I’m sorry if I startled you. You must have recognized me because you saw me being presented as a diamond.”

 

“…It was a joke…”

 

Ezkhiel looked as if he’d lost a few years off his life. It seemed he was the type to take jokes seriously.

 

“Have you been well? You look quite tired…”

 

“I’ve been busy lately, working overtime a lot. It’s nothing serious.”

 

“Working overtime a lot doesn’t sound like ‘nothing serious.’ Where do you work, if you don’t mind me asking?”

 

As she said that, Letticia remembered their conversation from long ago.

 

Ezkhiel had mentioned being scouted as an assistant to the crown prince. If that Barthset guy dropped out, then maybe…

 

“I’m working as the chief assistant to the crown prince. After Barthset dropped out, I was promoted to his position.”

 

“…Why of all places…”

 

She couldn’t help but express her sympathy. Being the chief assistant to Matthias must have been exhausting, hence the dark circles under his eyes.

 

“Pardon? Why ‘of all places’…?”

 

“Oh, I’ve heard that the crown prince is very diligent with his duties.”

 

Letticia quickly covered her tracks, and Ezkhiel nodded with a tired expression, seemingly convinced. He couldn’t bring himself to claim he had a light workload.

 

“Though it’s busy, it’s fulfilling work. It’s for serving the empire, after all.”

 

“Yes, of course…”

 

Letticia couldn’t bring herself to say that in half a year, his fulfilling work would involve dealing with the obsessive prince’s romantic entanglements.

 

While she was thinking that it might have been better if Barthset had stayed in his position, Ezkhiel changed the subject, seemingly not wanting to talk about work anymore.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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To Be Continued…

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