You are always something new to me," Claude said.
His words had a vague meaning. Before I could ask him what it meant, he spoke again.
"Lady Maristella, are you hungry?"
I set aside the question on my lips and answered Claude's instead. "I'm fine, Your Grace. I had a lot for lunch. What about you?"
"I'm fine, too, Lady Maristella. I have a small stomach," he said with a smile. "Then, will you dance a song with me, Lady Maristella?"
"Ah…" I hesitated for a moment, then gave a slight nod. "Yes, Your Grace. I will."
"This way—"
"Lady Maristella," a familiar voice suddenly cut in.
I automatically turned around to see who it was. The man standing behind me had silver hair that gleamed like the full moon and blue eyes that were as chilly as the night air.
"Your Highness."
It was Xavier. I was surprised by his sudden appearance, but I soon smiled and greeted him.
"Greetings to the Little Sun of the Empire."
"You look beautiful. The dress suits you."
I felt happy at the compliment on my dress, even though the remark was simply a gesture of formality. It was a dress that I managed to keep for myself after a struggle with Dorothea.
I smiled back at Xavier. "I thought it was a beautiful dress as soon as I saw it. Thank you for your kindness, Your Highness."
"You're early. When did you arrive?" Xavier asked.
"A while ago. Did you arrive just now, Your Highness?"
"I—"
"Your Highness," a voice said laughingly from behind. "You don't see me, don't you?"
It was Claude this time. There was a smile on his face, but there was an undercurrent of irritation beneath his tone. Xavier glanced at him as if he just noticed he was there.
"Yes, Duke. Happy Birthday," he said absentmindedly.
"Thank you very much, Your Highness. I didn't expect you to come and grace us with your presence," Claude replied in a sardonic manner.
"It's as if you didn't know I would come here."
"To be honest, I wasn't sure if you would come." Claude flashed a wry smile at Xavier. "Don't you hate this mansion?"
"…"
I was startled when I felt the air around Xavier chill rapidly.
What was this? What the hell was going on?
'It's always like this when these two meet.'
An uncomfortable atmosphere. An atmosphere of stiff politeness. And awkward discomfort for the person stuck between them. To be honest, I wanted to escape it quickly. They could fight when it was just the two of them!
"Not at all," Xavier finally said after a long pause. "Why would I hate this mansion? That's funny."
"…"
When Claude didn't say anything, Xavier turned to me instead. "I didn't know you would be with Duke Escliffe."
I answered quickly. "Fortunately, I ran into him as soon as I arrived. I was lucky."
"It must be fate," Claude interjected again, and Xavier's eyebrows furrowed.
"That's an overgeneralization," Xavier said pointedly.
"You cannot bring logic when talking about fate, Your Highness. It is not in the realm of man, but the realm of God."
"Don't you think you're always thinking too illogically? It isn't just once, either. If that's the case, then Lady Maristella and I are also fated."
"If bad luck is considered fate, then yes, it is fate."
Their eyes shot fire at each other as they traded barbed insults. I sighed inwardly.
'These two strangely fit well, but a war of nerves is no joke.'
In any case, it was not good for my mental health if they were near each other. They had never gone this far before in my memory. Of course, all of us hadn't spent that much time together since we met.
"Then we'll be on our way, Your Highness," Claude said.
"Funny." Xavier gave a dry chuckle, then soon his voice turned cold. "What right do you have to take Lady Maristella?"
"Right?" Claude repeated with a broad grin. "Do you know who my dance partner is today, Your Highness?"
Xavier arched an eyebrow. "Do I have to know?"
"If you did, you wouldn't ask. Lady Maristella is my dance partner today."
"…What?" Xavier exclaimed. It was clear from his double-take that it was the first time he heard of this. He turned his eyes towards me in confirmation, and I smiled awkwardly and nodded.
"His Grace is right," I said.
"How…"
"He asked me before the party. He said he couldn't find a suitable partner."
"Ah," Xavier said with a nod, his expression downcast. "I see."
Claude spoke again. "We must get going. If we miss this song, we'll have to wait again."
He sounded a little mean, so I elbowed him in the ribs to stop his teasing, but Xavier's expression only darkened upon seeing it. Oh, this was hard.
"I'll see you again, Lady Maristella. I hope you will enjoy yourself," Xavier said politely.
Fortunately, Xavier was more mature than Claude, so he closed the conversation at the right time. I smiled awkwardly and nodded.
"I hope you have a good time as well, Your Majesty. I'll see you again if I get the chance."
"If I see you again, I will believe it is fate."
It was a strange remark, but I pulled up the corner of my lips. I could feel Claude watching with jealous eyes. I gave a silent chuckle and bowed to Xavier, and he gave his own parting farewell, then left. I finally looked at Claude.
"I could feel your eyes on me, Your Grace," I ventured.
"Then you would know that I am jealous right now."
"That's true, but I am your dance partner today anyway. So you don't have to be jealous."
"So that means you'll stay with me all day?" Claude asked with a strange expression.
I hesitated at the unexpected question, but I made myself answer casually. "That's not too hard if you want me to…"
"Is that a promise?" he asked. Claude's eyes curved up prettily in the shape of a half moon, and he held out his pinky towards me.
I wondered why he wanted me to seal it with a pinky promise, but his request wasn't difficult to fulfill, so I linked my own pinky with his without hesitation.
As our fingers touched, Claude's eyes creased even more in joy. When I saw it, I smiled back.
"Do you really want to be with me?" I asked.
"There's nothing better in the world than spending time with your favorite friend."
"…"
I hesitated at the strange wording, but after thinking it over I thought it wasn't misleading. I gave him an easy smile.
"The music will start soon. Let's go dancing, shall we?"
"Let's."
He offered his arm to me. I was a little surprised, but I didn't show it.
Anyway, at this moment, we were partners.
***
"You seem a little nervous."
My hand was on Claude's shoulder as I waited for the music to begin, when my partner spoke.
"No way," I laughed.
In truth, I really was nervous. But it wasn't because I couldn't dance.
The day after I mercilessly tortured Xavier's feet, I took special classes and worked hard on learning how to dance in society. Fortunately, unlike my own stiff body, Maristella's body already knew the steps, so learning was easier than I thought.
I tried to suppress my trembling as much as possible, but unfortunately my mind and feelings wouldn't cooperate with each other.
Then, a sweet, low voice tickled the top of my head. "Lady Maristella."
My body stiffened involuntarily.
"Don't worry too much. I'm more nimble than you expect, and I'm confident I can avoid you stepping on my feet," Claude said.
"…"
Ugh, he saw that back then.
"Even if I can't avoid it, it's alright," he continued. "Step on me as much as you like. I can endure it."
I ducked my head to hide my furious blush. "I was just feeling bad at that time. It won't happen today," I muttered.
"I'm honored."
I didn't believe him, so I kept my mouth shut. Yeah, we'll see later.
Just as the music began, I calmly began to dance just as I learned. Because this body was Maristella's, my movements were more graceful than I expected. Of course, it would be strange if I said that out loud…
"You're good," Claude whispered to me in the middle of the dance. His voice was like velvet in my ears, and I took in a sharp inhale.
"I told you. What happened before was a mistake," I tried to say nonchalantly.
"I believe it now."
I pouted. "You didn't believe me after all."
"I'm not good at trusting people." Claude gave a small chuckle and smiled. "But that person was you, not anyone else, and I should have trusted you. It's my fault."
"You speak sensibly. Not all men are like that."
"I am a sensitive man. Sweet, gentle…"
"…Don't you feel embarrassed when you say that about yourself?"
"Not really?" Claude gave a shrug. "It's true."