"No, I purposely moved away in case my husband wants to secretly create an emergency fund."
"Haha! I wish my wife would do the same."
"In return, my husband pretends not to know that I'm creating an emergency fund."
"Is that so? Well, do you have any good information? I haven't been making much pocket money lately."
Although he exaggeratedly stuck out his tongue, Marquis Ganielo was quite solid in managing the family's finances.
However, Neris didn't create this opportunity to talk with him for money. She smiled mysteriously.
"I'm nothing special. Just doing what everyone else does, little by little."
"Even that's something. Starting at a young age means you're particularly smart. I heard you graduated from the academy early, and not everyone can do that, but nobles would know."
Indeed, Marquis Ganielo brought up the academy story.
In such a roundabout conversation, the ability to catch the other person's desired content determines the interaction among the top nobility. Neris pretended to be embarrassed in the conversation, trying to catch the other person's intentions.
"I just worked hard. There were many people who did much better in school than me. Megara was very popular and did well in studies in the same grade as me, she really enjoyed her school days."
"Oh, Megara, you mean Megara Lycandros, right? By the way, you were in the same grade."
"Yes. We took many classes together from the beginning. She was in the language department, and I was too. Yes, I heard she's been having marriage talks with the Marquis."
"That's right. She's a very kind girl."
The Marquis stroked his mustache. He had a very pleased expression about Megara.
But if he truly liked her, he wouldn't have approached her to inquire about her reputation. Perhaps he wanted to investigate a bit more about her reputation among peers due to the well-known fact of the strained relationship between Valentine and Megara.
Neris shrugged.
"Megara... is a kind girl."
Her ambiguous attitude said more than words. The Marquis skillfully concealed his hardened expression.
***
Megara found the salon she attended to be quite boring.
It wasn't the lack of skillful cello playing for socializing that made it dull. She had already mastered the art of listening and letting it flow appropriately since she was young.
It was the adults in the room who bored her. They were smiling now, but they could be the same hypocritical adults who would mock her behind her back if she made a misstep.
'What's the problem?'
The marriage talks between the Lycandros Marquis and the Ganielo Marquis had already progressed sufficiently. It had been agreed that they would only need to hold an engagement ceremony, allowing her to stay in the palace even during the semester.
If it's not a major event for such a family, the academy manages student attendance very strictly.
However, the engagement that was rushing as if to stamp the seal on the marriage contract between the two families suddenly stopped a few days ago.
It was Marquis Ganielo's side that unilaterally halted it. They raised unreasonable objections regarding the dowry and conditions like the timing of the marriage.
'What could have suddenly caused this?'
Ever since Megara witnessed Neris's confident demeanor in the palace hall last time, her engagement with Colin had lost its appeal. So, already discontented, the delayed engagement only added to her frustration and wounded pride.
If it were Colin's brother, the next Duke, it would be somewhat acceptable. But just Colin?
To wait for this Megara Lycandros?
As the young lady known to have come for the engagement did not promptly announce the engagement date and continued to stay in the palace, the social circle members could all speculate on this embarrassing situation. Megara made immense efforts to hide her intermittent bursts of anger beneath a lovely smile.
The cello performance ended. The young noble lady, who had showcased her skills honed over the past few months, blushed as she greeted and left. The adults took this opportunity to engage in socializing.
Not wanting to be in that gap, Megara stood up and went out to the terrace of the reception room, then to the garden connected to the terrace.
As she walked on the ground where the fresh grass was starting to grow, someone approached her.
"Miss Megara, isn't it?"
Arrogant and disrespectful, but with enough qualifications to be so.
Prince Abellus approached with a familiar air.
"Your Highness."
"Megara smiled broadly. Abellus was once again amazed by her radiant beauty. She had grown much more beautifully than he had predicted when she was young.
"Did you come to pick up Natasha unnie? You two still get along so well, I envy you."
There were many speculations that Natasha and Abellus' engagement would soon take place. They had been dating for a long time, and they were of the right age.
But...
"Not being engaged yet means there are things to coordinate."
Abellus shrugged. A lack of any special attitude from someone with a long-time partner.
"I just came by while in the area. Isn't Megara being followed by Colin too?"
"She is."
A slight sigh. Abellus put on an expression.
"Why, what's going on?"
Megara scrutinized Abellus' face. The senior who used to intimidate her in the student council room when she was young was now observing her expression.
Perhaps if she hadn't grown up as beautifully as she did now, he wouldn't even spare her a glance, whether she sighed or cried.
Abellus was straightforward. So much so that he couldn't hide his simplicity.
Internally reveling in satisfaction, she began to lament.
"In fact, for the past few days, Colin has been..."
Mixing a bit of falsehood with a serene expression.
***
Neris draped the black cloak over Cledwin, showing a satisfied smile.
"This is good."
The sudden disappearance from the palace, followed by a sudden appearance after marriage by the Duke. And the Duchess, who seemed to carry around strange rumors as if they fell from the sky. The news of these two became the center of attention in the high society welcoming the early spring.
Every morning, hastily written invitations piled up like mountains. There were so many people leaving business cards with a polite note saying to contact them if interested that it formed a queue.
In the high society, it was considered proper to attend an invitation unless there was an unavoidable reason. However, the Duke and Duchess, for some reason, paid no heed to people's complaints. Both husband and wife felt no need to cater to others' preferences.
Deciding to visit a place, they chose a masked ball.
It was an irregular event hosted by a commoner, where people of all ranks mingled.
The party host, Rebecca Shirley, was famous for her exceptional beauty and eloquence. In fact, if she had wanted, she could have married low-ranking nobles in need of money.
However, as she approached middle age, she remained unmarried and threw bold jokes at the nobles. She had many close associates regardless of status, and attending her parties was always deemed enjoyable.
Therefore, one could attend her party incognito. After all, the purpose of going was to have fun without being constrained by status.
The outfit Neris put on Cledwin was simply a plain black cloak. It was made of moderately luxurious fabric, suitable for concealing one's status, like the ones worn when leading knights at Maindlandt Castle.
Additionally, butler Gilbert hastily brought a simple black silk mask from the market, making Cledwin look unmistakably 'mysterious.'
Following Neris's lead, Cledwin tried on a splendid golden mask for her.
"How about this? This covers the face the most."
Even if anyone looked into her eyes, they would know her identity, but in a masked ball where over a hundred people collided in complexity, there were not many who would deliberately stare into others' eyes.
In her previous life, Neris had heard of Rebecca Shirley's masked ball reputation. Whether before or after marriage, she couldn't even think of attending while being conscious of her surroundings.
Neris met Cledwin's eyes and smiled.
"Do you think so? If I wear a wig, no one will know who I am, right?"
Gilbert and Dora, who were watching the couple, thought, 'That's unlikely.'
It wasn't about the clothes, wigs, or masks. Everyone had their own unique mannerisms. And this couple exuded an air of elegance just by standing still.
Despite choosing masks while having such a large physique, their hands never left each other, and even the angle of their raised chins displayed perfect etiquette.
Even if they behaved differently, they were unmistakably the Duke and Duchess.
However, the notion of concealing one's status at such a masked ball simply meant behaving however one pleased and claiming ignorance. Since hardly anyone truly couldn't guess the other's status.
"Madam, if you wear a golden mask, should I bring a dress that complements it?"
"Should I?"
Dora displayed a loyal servant's attitude that didn't dampen the mistress's enthusiasm. Neris nodded.
It had only been a few days since she arrived at this mansion, yet her dressing room was already filled with dresses. Some were from Maindlandt, but mostly they were items that Cledwin had ordered in the palace dressing room when she first arrived at the palace.
Whether it became a hobby for him to choose her outfits, he had already ordered so many dresses that they were overflowing. Every luxurious fabric in the world would likely be found in her dressing room.
It wasn't just that. Jewelry, shoes, fans, gloves, hats... He couldn't understand why she was buying so many. After all, they would soon leave the palace, so wasn't it just accumulating luggage?
His attitude was more like, 'What do you do when you remember something as you pass by?'
Dora quickly went to Neris's dressing room and brought two or three golden dresses. They were all made of the finest silk woven with plenty of gold thread.
As Neris looked at the dresses, she suddenly took off the mask on her face and shook her head.
"No. I'll just use a different mask, so take those away. I don't like gold."
Looking at the full skirted golden dress, she was reminded of the outfit Valentine had brought to her in prison just before she died in her previous life.
Clothes woven with gold thread could only be worn by direct imperial nobility by law. More precisely, only those with titles higher than 'Your Highness' could wear them.
Such individuals, apart from the Duke and Duchess, were only the imperial couple and the prince couple in the entire continent. Usually, they preferred the term 'direct imperial nobility,' but.
So even in this life, Neris could legally wear the dress, while Valentine could not. Even the design of the dress, adorned with better jewels than the princess's dress Valentine had taken from her back then, was tailored to fit Neris's figure.
But she felt bad for no reason.
"Take it away. My wife doesn't like gold, so give it to someone else."
Without a word, Cledwin cleared away even the golden mask, speaking of the gold-infused clothes as if they were cheap rags.
Feeling slightly better about his attitude, Neris picked up another mask. It was a plain silver mask with feathers attached.
"I'll go with this. Dora, bring the light blue dress I liked last time. If I wear that, I won't stand out."
"Yes, madam."
The dressing room, prepared for changing clothes, was filled with the color Neris desired.
After Gilbert left, Cledwin outside the partition spoke to Neris, who was changing clothes behind the partition.
"So, what should I do at this party with a mask on?"
"Just attract attention appropriately. The fact that we had a good time there should subtly become known after the party ends. It would be nice if Rebecca's stock price also rises."
"Got it."
Even though Cledwin wasn't explained why Rebecca's stock price should rise, he nodded approvingly.
Fully dressed, Neris smiled as she put on the mask as directed by Dora.
Curious about Megara's expression upon hearing that Rebecca Shirley, her father's long-time commoner lover and the shame of her life, received a visit from the Duke and Duchess.