What's more fascinating, was the attitude of the Duke after suffering from unfair treatments.
He was in a hurry as if this airy woman was now a business that was twice as strong as she was previously. Is he done saying that the weak protest just now is all about the reaction?
"When did you two get so close?"
Ikshid watched them bickering little by little, unable to close their open busy mouths. He tried to suppress the strange sense of loss and coughed in vain.
"Anyway, don't overdo it when the party just started, and play moderately until the masquerade, and if you have a chance, rest in the garden or room. I'm here to say that."
"That's very constructive advice."
Tashian sarcastically said in a clear tone that he ignored Ikshid. It sounded like Tashian didn't know that.
Banquets which were especially held at the Imperial Palace were like long-term marathons, so it was almost impossible for a person to participate continuously from the beginning to the end of the banquet. If there was a chance, people took a break in the middle of the banquet in a lounge, garden, and court rooms, where guests were allowed to enter.
"It's not something I said to you, but advice to my sister. Aren't you a monster that stays up all night for three days and nights?"
"What do you mean when you're the one who keeps all members of the Officials from sleeping for a week or two, and keeps the agenda as he pleases?"
"You're so noisy. Whether on the battlefield or in the Capital, you, whose routine is to wake up every morning and swing your sword, aren't worth listening to!"
In the end, their conversation led to a quarrel that could not back down at all as usual.
"Tashian, I'm going to fight with you like this and it will never end. I'm tired and exhausted!"
Ikshid said with a huge sigh.
"Ha…! Elli, I have to give you a special order. In some way, if you go through this stubbornness, hold it well until the dance. I also have nothing to ask so earnestly unless the Duke is a law that nobles above the counts are required! Should there be an absurd disaster in which the main character, whose name is the only Duke of the Empire, disappears in the middle of the banquet?"
Tashian complained in a disapproving voice as if it was useless interference.
"You're also worried. What do you say, if the main person of this banquet can go to this imperial castle to avoid the eyes of the people?"
"Isn't it because of a criminal record?"
Ikshid shouted angrily. Eun-woo sweated hard trying to mediate between the two.
"Don't worry, prince. Anyway, my feet are like this, so the Duke won't be able to go anywhere."
"Feet? What's going on? Did you get hurt?"
Eun-woo quickly responded to Ikshid, who raised his eyes fiercely and said.
"It's nothing. I got new shoes, but I'm not used to them, so I'm just a little uncomfortable walking. I've been getting help from the Duke since earlier."
"Really? If so, the Duke will have to provide generous help as he is now the assistance of my sister."
"I'll accept your order."
Only now did he answer immediately. Ikshid grumbled, turning away from his sister, who looked at him and the duke, as if he had growled to him.
"Then I'll get going because there are a lot of people looking for this Older Brother of yours. Duke, come and look."
Eun-woo sighed as she saw him wriggling through the crowd. As soon as he left, it was noticeable that a group of people followed him.
Only then did she realize that he was the main character of this novel. Even in vain, the prince's presence, which cannot be overlooked, was no exception.
The place where Ikshid left was filled with endless entertainment.
The calm stage sung by a female singer, the women's eye-catching dress and accessories, all kinds of desserts that delight one's mouth constantly, the wine, and bright lights emitted by thousands of candles that hurt one's eyes. The banquet, which lasted until the next morning, consisted of a day tea party and a night ball.
"The Crown Prince is very busy. How come he's everywhere we turn our heads?"
Eun-woo's eyes were not enough just to see Ikshid flashing around the east and west direction of the Venue.
"He likes to meddle here and there, and his job is to be a state minister."
Tashian muttered , as he was about to chew a dried sweet persimmon that he did not know when he had bitten it.
As he said, Ikshid seemed busy as if he was faithful to his work.
Eun-woo mumbled together with the sweet persimmons which Tashian cut in half, watching the spectacular sight of a new group forming, disorganized, and then combined wherever Ikshid moved.
Of course, they were not just bystanders of the banquet.
Not long after Eun-woo parted ways with Ikshid, did they realize that they were facing a new crisis.
"Oh my. Aren't you Lady Miller?"
The first faces she saw began to greet them one by one.
Those who were hesitant and unable to say a word properly at first gradually increased in number when she greeted them, and eventually later, decreased.
"Oh, oh my. It's been a while."
Eun-woo gave an answer to the greetings of people whom she did not know their faces or names. It was because she didn't want to make a mistake with someone who was close to Eleanor.
"I have heard of the renovation work of the Marquis Castle. The tree fell over the villa? You must have been really upset."
"The last time I saw your face was probably at a tea party just before Marquis Miller went back to the battlefield, right? I wanted to ask if you've been healthy and comfortable, but I couldn't, because there were circumstances."
"Lady Miller, are you feeling better now? I thought I couldn't see you today because you were in such a bad health."
As she came to her senses, Eun-woo was unintentionally surrounded by a group of people, while holding the Duke's arm tightly.
One of the ladies who had been talking for a long time opened her mouth more bravely.
"By the way…, why are you with Duke Verk at this banquet…?"
Eun-woo noticed that others were also stopping questions at once and waiting for her answer with a cautious look. She came to her senses.
'From the beginning, the purpose was not me, but this person.'
As she thought, the young ladies who came to them were the ones who secretly admired Duke Verk. If the Duke had originally stood alone, women who would have come up to him and said a word of speech had found Miller Hu's sister, who was 'famous for her connections', next to the Duke.
They didn't miss this opportunity, grabbed hands in their hands and pretended to say hello to Lady Miller, shaking the fans gently with their skirts in front of the Duke.
Upon noticing it, Eun-woo quietly pulled out her hand from the Duke's arm and shouted.
"My feet are a little uncomfortable…!"
"Yes…?"
The ladies exchanged glances with each other. Eun-woo desperately explained.
"As you know, my brother is at war right now, and the Marquis Castle is also in the midst of renovation work, isn't it? The Young Ladies here would be familiar with the fact that the 'kind' Duke Verk here, has provided a poor person like me, a place to stay…!"
The ladies nodded confusedly, looking at each other's faces.
"Then, you know well that Lord Verk here is a 'generous and kind' person who can't just pass by his troubled neighborhood!"
The ladies nodded their heads, baffled again. Therefore, she did not notice that the Duke, who had only been standing next to her like a stone statue, looked at Lady Miller with a rather absurd expression.
"But my feet got swollen while walking around in shoes that I didn't get right this morning. He has been helping me with my inconvenient steps so far… !"
The ladies shook their heads vigorously, exhaling 'aah' and exclaimed at once.
Tashian looked at the scene and smiled in vain as if he was dumbfounded, but Eun-woo ignored it neatly.
"I didn't realize Lord Verk is such a generous man!"
"You're so sweet!"
"Oh my? I knew from a long time ago that Duke was such a broad-minded man."
"Hoho, don't lie!"
The young girls laughed for a while as they exchanged words of haha and hoho among themselves. Eun-woo thought it was this time, and gently touched the Duke's arm and gave him a notice.
'Lord, lord! It's now! Smile in a cool way!'
This opportunity was rare. Wouldn't it be less likely for me to marry him only if he showed off his charm in front of the ladies?
However, Tashian only looked at her with wrinkles between his eyes. He didn't seem to understand her intentions at all.
For a moment, Eun-woo was worried that he might look at them, with the same look he uses at the Crown Prince he was serving.
'Lord! I said smile! Smile!'
In the end, she clenched her lips desperately to convey a message to the duke, who had no intention of dancing on the mat she had laid so hard*.
(TL: Simply implying that he doesn't want to do what she wants.)
And at the next moment, Eun-woo forgot to close her mouth in front of Tashian, who was staring at her, and had his eyes fixed on her.
He tried to twist his head slightly and show a polite expression, but she covered his mouth with her hand and avoided the gaze.
Red energy shone through the half-covered face. His shoulders moved like he was suppressing something.
He burst into laughter. The laughter quickly turned into a low laughter that was good to hear.
He folded his eyes and began to laugh.
It was her first time seeing it. While staying with him, she saw a lot of people smiling softly and laughing at him with Ikshid, but it was the first time for Tashian to be like that and smile purely with joy.
Eun-woo stared blankly at him, who was smiling, then came to her senses and looked around.
The Young ladies were literally mesmerized and couldn't take their eyes off of the Duke. Not only them, but also those who peeped at their party from afar, and those who were immersed in their work, all looked at him with a lost face like those who saw a rare sight.
At that moment, Eun-woo felt a tingling pain as if penetrating her chest. There was an urge to cover her face from people. The strange monopoly desire of not wanting to show others how he smiles with such a carefree expression occupied her mind.
And another thing she felt, was Eleanor's thoughts never leave her mind. It's not herself, but the real Eleanor. What in the world is she to him, that she never shows to others?
Eun-woo felt dark thoughts that had never been embraced, crawling into her head.
Did they always laugh like that when they were together? Did they play pranks, giggled together, bring up the story in their hearts, dig into each other's arms for a while... And…
Eun-woo was surprised at the last thought and touched her anxious running chest with her hand, swallowing her dry saliva.
'This is crazy. Stop it! Why are you thinking like this?'
However, even the clumsy tears were already in her eyes.
Tashian said the last time they met was three years ago. If it was three years ago, she would had been sixteen years old.
Eun-woo tried to comfort Eleanor herself, saying she was not as mature as she thought, but failed in a lengthy manner.
Soon after, he felt that her attention was focused on him, so he stopped laughing and cleared his throat.
"Hmm. What the hell did you do earlier?"
His slightly reminiscent face quickly looked sulky and rebuked her. Perhaps because he was conscious of the surrounding gaze, the sentence he had always cut in half was equipped with a polite ending.
Eun-woo couldn't make eye contact with him and responded sharply.
"Oh, no… It wasn't much."
Now that his laughter has completely gone, his gaze has long remained in her face. In the strange atmosphere flowing between them, the young ladies who gathered around left one by one. As if when their surroundings were crowded, they regained the awkward silence.
"Ehem. What did you want to say earlier?"
When only the two of them remained, his tone quickly returned to its original state.
His voice was blunt, but Eun-woo noticed that his eyes were strangely raised. Noticing that he was really curious, she replied with a wriggle of her finger.
"Just some…, I think that whenever you laugh, you feel good."