Chapter 68

“Like Denet?”

Rodella tilted her head.

She didn’t know all the implications of having a personal attendant, but she did understand it was different from just having a regular bodyguard.

“Why?”

“If those Red Knights act up, you need someone to respond in emergencies.”

Though honestly, it seemed like other people were the real problem.

Aivert, for once, felt a small bit of gratitude toward those troublemakers—for giving him an excuse.

“Isn’t it enough that I’m already with the knight order?”

“There are times you leave the premises. Besides, the Azure Knights can’t be assigned for personal reasons.”

Because, after all, the Azure Knights belonged to His Majesty…

Rodella eventually nodded.

“Alright.”

So she was introduced to her new guard, a man named Rodin.

“……”

He wasn’t very talkative and, like Denet, seemed to stick to her quietly without drawing attention, so Rodella rarely had reason to interact with him.

The noble families that had been spreading baseless rumors received stern warnings from House Royden, and things began to feel a bit more peaceful.

Until, a few mornings later on her way to work—

“Are you two really okay?”

“You’ve heard the rumors, haven’t you?”

Even within the Azure Knights, whispers of the two being on bad terms had finally reached others, and concern started to surface.

“They’re just rumors,”

Rodella tried to brush it off lightly—but it wasn’t just the knights bringing it up.

“I’ve heard a lot of talk about the two of you… It’s not true, right?”

Even a merchant she met about knight order supplies asked her the same thing.

“I said it’s not true!”

We’re fine! Seriously!

But the rumors kept spreading, no matter how quiet the original instigators became.

After being bombarded with similar questions for several more days…

[Rodella, did you guys have a fight?]

Even Cecilia sent her a letter asking the same thing—and that was the last straw.

“This is just going to make my mom send another ton of letters! All those damn ‘adultery warning’ letters!”

Calling it adultery might be a stretch, considering it was a contractual engagement, but from the outside, that’s how it must have looked.

Either way, whether it was adultery or not, it was all equally annoying.

As Rodella fumed, Aivert suggested a solution.

“There is a way to make the rumors vanish.”

“What is it?”

Rodella asked warily. Aivert answered calmly.

“You and I attend a banquet together.”

A confident smile crept onto his lips.

Show everyone just how close we really are.

Rodella froze at his suggestion.

“Well…”

It wasn’t an appealing option, but it was the textbook answer.

As if reading her thoughts, Aivert added, “No need to see those annoying noble families. Even if we just show up at the upcoming banquet for Azure Knight families at our estate, that’ll be more than enough to kill the rumors.”

Some neutral noble houses were invited to that event, too.

At that, Rodella’s eyes lit up.

“…Maybe I’ll go, just this once.”

She recalled something her mother, the Countess of Syveric, once said—

That the atmosphere at the banquet was nice.

Her mother, who usually hated banquets, had said that—so maybe it was worth attending.

“I’ll start making arrangements.”

Aivert interpreted her words as agreement and dashed off immediately.

In the middle of his work.

“What the heck…”

He really had a knack for being overly proactive at the weirdest moments.

***

When something new and stressful popped up, the previous concerns tended to fade.

Which is to say, time passed quickly.

Before she knew it, Rodella was sitting in one of the guest rooms of House Royden’s estate, where banquet preparations were in full swing.

“Welcome, my Lady.”

The Royden household staff, whom she’d seen plenty by now, greeted her with their usual elegant yet aloof demeanor.

“It’s been a while since your last banquet.”

As the daughter of the Syveric count, Rodella had occasionally attended banquets—but only at the local social gatherings around Syveric.

She almost never showed up at central society events.

Whenever she did, she would always end up catching the eyes of noble bachelors of marriageable age—and their mothers.

Of course, each time, Aivert would appear out of nowhere and escort her, effectively extinguishing those stares.

…But how had he always managed to show up, even at events he wasn’t invited to, despite being so busy?

Could he secretly split into two?

“This way, please.”

While she was lost in her strange thoughts, the maids guided her through the halls.

As they passed, she caught glimpses of the explosion of clothing and accessories in the dressing room and cringed slightly.

“Ah…”

She had forgotten this part.

The reason she hated banquets wasn’t just the event itself—it was all the prelude that came before.

Surrounded by a flood of dresses, picking and fitting, ordering and altering…

They had already taken her measurements, so there was no doubt a few outfits had been prepared.

Thankfully, since this was a relatively informal banquet arranged on short notice, she could wear something pre-made and only lightly altered.

Still, even that was a pain—and Rodella let out a sigh.

Just then—

Shhhhhk!

Three mannequins rolled into the room, fully dressed from hat to gloves to shoes.

What were those?

The outfits on those mannequins looked like someone had put serious thought into them—and even matched Rodella’s tastes.

Even just passing by, they could’ve drawn a second glance.

Tasteful embellishments, not too much lace. Feminine designs that emphasized the waist, pretty ribbon accents, and pearl details as a highlight.

Exactly her taste!

“What are those dresses?”

If she could wear something like that, she wouldn’t mind at all.

Wait a sec—those don’t look like something Lady Royden would wear…

Just as she thought that, Aivert walked in behind the mannequins.

Dressed in a tidy formal outfit and wearing what looked like light makeup, his features were sharper than usual.

His blue eyes looked even more vivid as they turned to meet hers.

“I figured you’d be too lazy to pick a dress, so I chose three in your style. Do you like any of them?”

In that moment, the famously painful pre-banquet procedure vanished in a flash.

Rodella stared at him, stunned, and said,

“I almost fell for you just now.”

* * *

Even though you’re already beautiful without trying, the fact that you choose to dress up makes me happy—because I get to see a side of you I didn’t know.

That’s what Aivert thought.

To someone like him, who couldn’t help falling for her again and again, it didn’t matter whether she wore makeup or fancy dresses.

Or at least, he thought so.

But when he started wondering what kind of dress would suit her best, he ended up pulling several all-nighters.

That was part of the reason his workload had seemed heavier than usual lately.

But watching her smile in front of the mannequins made it all worth it.

“I almost fell for you just now,” she said—

Then quickly corrected herself.

“I mean—again. I almost fell for you again.”

Because of that stupid act. The maids were watching.

Aivert waved the maids away with a gesture, wanting to talk freely, at least when they were alone.

“Then just fall for me.”  

He said once they were gone.