---
*‘What is His Grace thinking?’*
Cesare remained an enigma to her, but Eileen knew one thing for certain: she did not want a marriage of convenience, a marriage without love.
From the very beginning, they were too different.
Cesare could likely kiss anyone if they were to be his future spouse, but Eileen only wanted to kiss one specific person.
She would rather remain under his protection than become a Grand Duchess in a loveless marriage.
Eileen knew it was a spoiled whim, but she couldn't help how she felt.
*‘Perhaps today I should ask him to save me without marrying me?’*
Or, since she was going to be bold anyway, should she ask him to help her complete her research?
If only she hadn't gotten stuck halfway, Morpheus would surely have been of use to the Empire.
She was certain that the medicine was significant enough to merit a pardon.
*‘I’ve always only ever received, but I wanted to be useful myself...’*
Her research into a powerful analgesic had been entirely for Cesare.
Eileen sullenly stroked a white petal.
No matter what she said to him today at the ball, he would still only see a foolish child before him.
*‘But since I promised, I must go.’*
Murmuring this to herself, she rose from the sofa.
She carefully placed the lily in a vase and began preparing for the ball.
***
Before the ball, Cesare had sent an invitation, a dress, and jewelry.
Along with them arrived a lady who was to help her dress, but the woman's curious stares were unbearable.
When she tried to touch Eileen’s bangs and glasses, Eileen allowed her to help only with the dress and then sent her away.
Dressing alone was no easy task, but she managed somehow, grunting and puffing.
It looked a bit untidy, but overall, she was ready.
In the end, she had no desire to stand out at the ball.
She planned to sit quietly in a corner, quickly congratulate Cesare, and then leave.
When her preparations were finished, a carriage stopped at the house.
It had come for Eileen.
Cesare's soldiers escorted her to the Imperial Palace.
Eileen had yet to make her debut in high society.
And now, she suddenly found herself at her very first ball.
No matter how she tried to remain calm, her nerves wouldn't settle.
She entered the ballroom, her body stiff with tension.
The Imperial Palace exceeded all expectations in its luxury.
It seemed special care had been taken for the Duke's presence—everything around her sparkled to the point of blindness.
In the majestic, incredibly wealthy hall, elegantly dressed men and women laughed and chatted, awaiting the hero of the occasion.
The unmarried young ladies were dressed with particular care.
Waves of various perfumes emanated from them, as if a bouquet of the most vibrant flowers had gathered.
The young ladies and heirs exchanged smiles, greetings, and conversation, yet no one paid any attention to Eileen.
Even when they spoke of the girl who had received the flowers from the Duke, no one suspected it was the person standing right in front of them.
They spoke only of rumors of an incredible beauty with a bouquet.
Which was perfectly logical.
Who could have thought the Duke would give flowers to someone like her?
Untidy bangs, oversized glasses—a plain, country appearance.
The elegant dress only highlighted her awkwardness.
And this luxurious extravaganza—was it for a country bumpkin who spent her days in a laboratory?
Here, where all the guests seemed part of a single, perfectly functioning mechanism, she felt like a jagged shard, alien and out of place.
Eileen was so tense she felt almost nauseous.
As she entered the hall, the dance card on her wrist felt extraordinarily heavy.
The list of those she was to dance with was empty.
In high society, an inconspicuous young lady who received no invitations was called a "wallflower." But it seemed to Eileen that even that comparison was too flattering for her.
*‘I’m probably just a weed...’*
Cesare likely wouldn't arrive for some time.
She had already prepared herself to endure the role of the wall weed until his arrival, when a sudden commotion arose in the hall.
The Duke's soldiers in their uniforms appeared.
Eileen heard a young lady standing nearby whisper in admiration to another:
"Oh, what magnificent uniforms!"
The military men returning from the war were appearing in high society for the first time in a long while.
Many of the young ladies present were specifically hunting for the Duke's soldiers.
They had received a generous reward for the victory and were now wealthy.
Moreover, unlike the "gentlemen" here who strolled around with hunting rifles, these men were wild and alluring.
"They look like they could protect anything.
So reliable."
"Exactly!
And their bodies... in bed, it must be a fairy tale."
At such frank evaluations, Eileen’s cheeks turned scarlet.
She discreetly moved away from the whispering ladies and stole a look at the soldiers who had entered.
Among them were Rotan and Diego, Cesare's personal knights.
In their full-dress uniforms, they looked quite imposing.
Rotan, as always, was impeccable, and Diego, even without his piercings and jewelry, appeared no less neat.
Eileen thought that perhaps she would quietly say hello later.
Attracting attention now would be unnecessary.
But suddenly!..
Eileen met the gaze of one of the soldiers scanning the room.
A stranger, yet he seemed to recognize her—his eyes widened.
Immediately, he pointed Eileen out to his comrades, and every soldier’s gaze fixed on her.
Under the barrage of stares, Eileen’s shoulder jerked almost imperceptibly.
Rotan and Diego immediately headed toward her.
Being tall, they walked diagonally across the hall, naturally drawing everyone's attention.
Unfortunately, the rest of the soldiers immediately followed behind them in a crowd.
"My lady!"
Diego, acting as if something were burning him, overtook Rotan and approached her with a quick stride.
"My lady, your dance card!
Your dance card!"
He almost snatched the card from Eileen and wrote his name on the second line.
Diego, having overtaken Rotan, looked incredibly pleased with himself.
While he savored his victory, Rotan naturally took the card and wrote his name below.
"Thank you for coming, Eileen.
His Grace will be very pleased."
While Rotan spoke kindly to her, the other soldiers gradually began to approach Eileen.
"Eileen, do you remember me?
When you were twelve, I found your lost book..."
"Oh, of course I remember!
I was very grateful to you."
"Then may I invite you for a dance?"
"Of course."
In truth, it had been so long ago that the memory had faded, but her gratitude remained, so she agreed.
Immediately, another soldier stepped forward.
"Eileen!
I wish to invite you as well.
You may not remember, but when you were fifteen..."
Eileen, as if swept away by a wave, responded haphazardly to the soldiers' requests.
While she scrambled between greetings and answers, her empty dance card filled up instantly.
When she finally looked at the card after some time, she could only blink in confusion.
"Huh?"
No one had touched the first line.
Every soldier had left it empty.
As if someone else's name was already there.
Diego, who had been first to sign, looked embarrassedly at the card with its single empty line.
"The lady is supposed to fill it in, right?"
By protocol, Eileen should have written the invitations herself, but Diego, without ceremony, had written his name in the card, thereby ruining everything.
The rest of the soldiers followed his lead, and as a result, Eileen had a card covered in their names.
Not knowing how it was actually supposed to be, Eileen said easily that she didn't care who wrote the names—herself or them.
Diego gave an awkward excuse.
"Haha, it’s been a long time since I was in the capital; I’ve forgotten the rules a bit."
Eileen also knew little of high society’s rules.
When the young ladies began to learn them, she was already at the university.
And when she returned to the capital, her family was impoverished, and there was no money for teachers.
Later, she made a living by selling medicines, but she never even hoped for an expensive debut in high society.
Though she had picked up a few things in her childhood, being in the Imperial Palace...
*Why had they left the first line empty?*