The ball is an event with a clear purpose. Like a peacock flaunting its magnificent feathers, some people show off their beauty, bravery, knowledge, or their family’s wealth. It is a place of competition.
He had attended the ball at his father’s insistence. Surrounded by people clamoring to exchange a word, he felt exhausted. Few knew about the hidden space inside this room, which was different from the others. Armin Grey often retreated here when he was tired.
Just then, he heard the creak of the door opening. Armin slightly turned his head towards the sound. He felt a bit annoyed at the intrusion on his rest. Normally, he would have gone out and chased away the unwelcome visitor.
“Hum hum~”
If it weren’t for the humming, he would have.
The person who entered the room was humming a tune, turning their mutterings into song lyrics.
“This place is heaven, indeed!”
A deflating laugh and a thud followed. It was the sound of someone sinking into the comfortable sofa.
Armin Grey couldn’t suppress his curiosity. Everything about the woman—her actions, her voice—felt fresh and new to him, breaking the monotony and boredom he had been feeling.
Armin slowly rose from his seat and hid behind the wall, peeking out to observe.
By the fireplace, a woman was engrossed in a book, her nose buried in its pages. She was sprawled on the sofa, eagerly flipping through the book.
‘Brown hair. A woman from the Roha family.’
He had heard she was frail and timid, but Armin Grey’s lips curled up in a smirk. Which part of her was frail and timid?
He caught snippets of her mentioning “R.G., the author” with exclamations of admiration. The book title she enthusiastically read was <The Demon Duke is Obsessed with Me>, a third-rate romance novel he was familiar with. It was his mother’s secret hobby, after all.
‘Your personality in real life is quite lacking, but you’re popular in my novels.’
His mother’s voice echoed in his mind.
Armin watched Vivian as she read. Her well-combed brown hair exposed her fair back, but it didn’t strike him as indecent. Her childlike behavior made it seem innocent.
Vivian showed many expressions of joy until she finished her reading. She made various sounds like “Huh” and “Ah” and finally sighed deeply with satisfaction. Her body trembled, showing just how moved she was by the book.
Armin couldn’t understand it. The book his mother had thrown at him hadn’t held his interest, and he had barely flipped through a few pages. Yet, seeing Vivian’s reaction made him want to reread the book when he returned to the duke’s residence.
A laugh escaped his lips before he could stop it. He was as surprised as Vivian. He couldn’t remember the last time he had laughed out loud like this.
Not wanting to be seen, Armin hid again. He could tell from the hurried sounds of her gathering her things and the clumsy noises that she was flustered.
Armin had no intention of meeting Vivian.
Everyone who met him changed their attitude noticeably once they learned his name was Grey. This woman would be no different. Armin did not want the delightfully amusing Vivian he had encountered to become just another bland person.
The sound of the door opening reached his ears. Frightened by the noise, she seemed to be fleeing. That should have been the end of their encounter. But today was different.
Before he knew it, he had rescued her from that idiot from the Jericho family. Her wide-eyed stare and her desperate attempt to escape, even after he had revealed himself, were all refreshing. Unlike others who tried so hard to get his attention, this small lady from the Roha family was different.
Armin found it amusing. That’s why he insisted on sitting her down at the table and telling her ridiculous jokes. He didn’t understand why he was doing it, but her naive reactions to his nonsensical stories were endearing.
“Uh, ‘Shut-in’ means… it’s like, ‘There’s a popori here’, Something like that.”
“Yes, since childhood, I thought I resembled a popori…”
Her face flushed red, yet she continued her lie. Armin found it hard to stop his teasing, even asking if the book was a demon summoning book.
She was so scared that she kept her head down when their eyes met. Her actions and words revealed her thoughts so clearly. She wanted to leave, and when he told her she could go, she fled so quickly that she left her shawl behind. Uncharacteristically, he picked up the shawl for her.
He watched her rush to the balcony, his eyes following her instinctively. The small, brown-haired popori-like woman.
Even after being surrounded by people, Armin’s mind was filled with thoughts of Vivian. She didn’t come back inside, despite the cold.
The last thing Armin saw was Vivian, her lips pale blue, getting into a carriage with her brother.
“Oh, Lady Roha doesn’t look well today either.”
“It seems so. Her lips are pale blue.”
“Her dress is too thin. She should come inside if she’s cold. She needs to take care of her health.”
The people around Armin noticed his gaze on Vivian and commented.
Was she really frail? Armin frowned, regretting not returning the shawl sooner. Why did he care so much about a woman he had barely known until a few hours ago?
Days passed, and Armin’s life returned to normal, except for one thing: the number of demon duke romance novels on his bookshelf had increased from one to two.
Every night before bed, his eyes would inevitably drift to that bookshelf. Why had he taken that book? Should he just return it? Or…
Armin’s late-night visit to his mother’s chamber was purely impulsive.
The duchess looked at her sudden visitor with surprise.
“What’s the matter? And what is that in your hand?”
Just as Duchess Rebecca Grey was about to fall asleep, she was startled by her son suddenly handing her a book. It was a novel she had written as a hobby. The main character was modeled after her son. She hadn’t expected him to actually read it, so she looked at him with surprise.
“Are you returning this?” she asked.
“It’s not mine,” Armin replied.
“Then?”
“It belongs to someone else.”
It was a cryptic answer. Seeing an unfamiliar expression on her son’s face piqued her interest. The duchess invited him into her chamber.
“Why are you giving this to me?” she asked.
“That woman likes your book,” Armin said.
That woman? The duchess couldn’t hide her smile. A woman? She had thought her son was far from such words.
“And?” she probed, but then hesitated. She didn’t want to pry too much and risk ruining things.
“I want to return the book,” Armin said.
“Then why bring it to me? Why not just return it yourself?”
“I need you to write a message.”
Only then did the duchess understand why her son had rushed to her chamber at this late hour. She nodded.
“Very well.”
She lit a candle and sat at her desk. Picking up a quill, she opened the book to the first page and swiftly wrote a short letter. Then, casually, she asked,
“What is the young lady’s name?”
As expected, Armin frowned, reluctant to reveal the name. The duchess pressed on.
“It’s a letter, isn’t it? I need to know her name to address it properly.”
“…Her name is Vivian Roha,” Armin finally admitted.
The duchess’s mind raced. Vivian Roha? The daughter of Viscount Roha. She finished the letter with the recipient’s name. It was a surprising but pleasant experience.
Romance novels were not recognized as literature in this country. It was a secret hobby, so despite her fame as an author, she had never revealed her identity. Therefore, Vivian was the first fan the duchess had ever known.
Feeling an unexpected affection for the young lady she had never met, the duchess even stamped her seal on the letter and smiled at her son.
“Here, take it with you.”
“Thank you,” Armin said, turning to leave.
Watching her son’s retreating figure, the duchess’s mind began to buzz with ideas for her next novel. Still in her nightgown, she sat at her desk and started jotting down her thoughts.
Unaware of his mother’s inspiration, Armin returned to his room. He placed the book with his mother’s autograph on his desk. Lying in bed and closing his eyes, he saw Vivian’s face from the ball. Her wide eyes rolling around, her expressions of surprise and confusion. Armin’s lips curled into a smile.
For some reason, he wanted to see more of her expressions, not just her shocked and flustered look.
