No Lies Here
The moment the band finished playing, Flora and I wrapped up our final dance move. Soon after, the crowd broke into enthusiastic applause for everyone still dancing.
“Did you enjoy it?”
Flora asked me with a smile in her eyes.
“Of course. Thanks to the Duchess’s bright energy, I had a wonderful time.”
“I’m glad to hear that.”
Seeing her pleased expression made me feel good too.
Dancing with Cecilia had been nothing but a rollercoaster of nerves and tension. And since the steps involved a lot of skinship—holding hands, pressing close, things like that—the pressure was even worse.
Worried I might accidentally harm her, you know.
Plus, since we were the only pair dancing, we drew massive attention.
But dancing with Flora brought almost no such burden.
There were more people dancing around us, and being with her naturally made me feel at ease.
So I did mess up a few steps… but nothing I couldn’t recover from.
“You weren’t like that when dancing with Her Majesty earlier, but you keep messing up with me.”
“Sorry. I don’t have much experience with dancing.”
There was another reason too.
Every time I got close to her, her soft, plump chest kept pressing against my chest.
It wasn’t nearly that bad with Cecilia… but still.
“Still, it was fun, so it’s fine.”
Thankfully, Flora seemed to think it was no big deal at all.
The dancing couples bowed to the audience. We followed suit, still holding hands, and curtsied to them.
We headed toward the bench where Mulya was sitting.
Flora had said something about waiting to avoid loneliness, but…
Honestly, I couldn’t picture the lonely Mulya from earlier.
I moved alongside her, carefully not letting go of her hand. I didn’t want to risk getting lost in the crowd.
“Luke Sir’s hand is…”
“What?”
Flora suddenly brought up my hand, and I stopped without thinking, turning toward her.
“Your hand is really big.”
“Well, it’s a man’s hand, right?”
The instant I answered, Flora blinked twice. Then she burst out laughing.
“Duchess?”
“No, Luke Sir. Let’s hurry back to Mulya. She might be crying her eyes out from loneliness by now.”
“Even if you look at her, she doesn’t seem the type…”
“Come on, escort me.”
I stepped forward again to push through the crowd. This time the people on both sides parted naturally for me.
“That’s the Emperor’s Chief Personal Secretary.”
“Right. The one who danced with Her Majesty earlier…”
“Amazing. I still can’t believe it. That Her Majesty would dance with a secretary…”
“Does she favor him that much?”
“If so, it means the secretary has some special ability.”
… Everyone here is whispering.
No matter how quietly they spoke, the words reached my ears anyway.
Jealousy, suspicion, curiosity, mixed into every comment.
‘Being noticed like this is a bit inconvenient…’
There had been plenty of justification for Cecilia choosing me as her dance partner. Of course I would have to accept that… but still.
Being the Chief Personal Secretary is a tough job.
Xhahaha…
“Hehe. Everyone is paying attention to Luke Sir.”
“You don’t need the attention….”
I shook my head with a sigh.
***
We wandered the banquet hall looking for Mulya. After about ten minutes of searching,
“There she is!”
Flora spotted Mulya first and called out.
Mulya was sitting quietly on one of the benches.
“Mulya!”
Flora let go of my hand and hurried over to her, then quickly sat beside her.
“Luke Sir is coming too, hurry!”
Flora waved at me.
I was still debating whether to leave space for the two ladies to chat, but it seemed Flora had decided not to let me wander off alone.
Well, then I’d better join them.
… Although honestly I was grateful she was taking care of me like this.
“Will you sit?”
Flora looked at me and patted the seat beside her.
“No, if I sit, you two will be squeezed.”
“Then there’s nothing we can do.”
Flora shrugged lightly.
Mulya glanced at us once, then spoke up.
“Did you enjoy the dance?”
“Yeah. Luke Sir messed up a few times, but I forgave him because he was cute.”
Cute? That’s not a word that fits me at all!
“C-cute? That’s not a suitable expression for a man…”
“But you did make a few cute mistakes while dancing. Hehe.”
Flora covered her mouth and smiled, eyebrows raised.
“It seems the Duchess is enjoying teasing me.”
“Oh? You noticed now?”
Honestly…
Still, seeing Flora happy made me happy too.
She was probably radiating that bright energy.
“Lady Flora, you’ve become quite close with the secretary.”
Mulya said calmly, with no trace of jealousy in her voice or face.
She seemed to be observing our relationship and forming her own conclusion.
“Well, we see each other every day, don’t we?”
“True. Getting to know someone often makes the bond stronger.”
I agreed with Flora.
“…”
Mulya’s gaze turned to me. The wariness and hostility had vanished from her soft purple eyes.
That alone was progress.
Well, the truth was I hadn’t done anything special to improve things with her. I had simply carried out my duties as secretary. Maybe Mulya had picked up on that.
But honestly, I just wanted this whole thing to end soon…
‘Ten months is such a long time…’
I sighed deeply inside.
“Countess Fordward? Did something get on my face?”
She was still staring, so I asked. She shook her head.
“No. Just…”
Only then did she look away from me.
My body had been moving a lot, so I felt thirsty. I scanned the area, thinking the attendants might be nearby, and spotted a few of them glancing toward our bench.
It looked like they were trying to request a dance partner from either Flora or Mulya.
Dance time would end in twenty or thirty minutes, so they were probably desperate for even one more song.
“Marquis Simonian’s daughter.”
“Yes?”
I stepped closer and whispered.
“There are attendants looking for dance partners nearby.”
“Hmm.”
“How about giving them the honor of dancing with the Duchess once?”
Flora looked thoughtful.
Since Mulya had said she wouldn’t dance, I could overlook that, but Flora probably wouldn’t be satisfied with just one dance.
“Sure. Since you said so, Luke Sir, I’ll dance once more.”
Flora stood from the bench with a cheerful tone. As she stepped forward, one agile attendant quickly positioned herself in front of her.
The other attendants watched with wide eyes.
It felt like a pack of hyenas eyeing prey.
Popcorn would have been perfect right now.
The attendant bowed politely to Flora.
“Would you do me the honor of dancing with me?”
Flora accepted, and the wandering attendants let out silent sighs.
Meanwhile, the one chosen looked overjoyed, as if she had everything in the world.
I watched the pair head toward the center of the hall and returned to the bench.
“May I sit here?”
“Do you need my permission? You’re already sitting.”
“Oh, I sat without realizing.”
Since I still felt some psychological distance from Mulya, I left a little space.
“…”
“…”
As expected, the moment Flora left, it got quiet.
Mulya was just quiet by nature.
I looked around the center of the hall. Several couples were dancing there.
Flora was dancing in the left line with her partner.
“Secretary.”
“Yes?”
Mulya suddenly called me over.
“There was something on my mind today. May I ask?”
“Of course, if I can answer.”
I nodded readily.
“Then, why did you go outside the hall with Marquis Marlboro?”
Wait, what?
That was something we discussed with Flora.
“I was worried why the main figure of the Aristocratic Faction would be with you.”
“As I told the Marquis Simonian’s daughter earlier, there was nothing else.”
I dodged, but Mulya simply stared at my face.
Her eyes looked like she suspected I was hiding something.
What could I do? It was best not to tell her everything.
This secret belonged only to me and Cecilia.
“We really were just talking about how we want to get along better. The Countess Fordward is overthinking it.”
“Really?”
“Yes. I never lie for no reason.”
I said it straight-faced. I judged this to be a white lie.
“I’ll believe you, secretary. For now.”
“Thank you, Countess.”
A warning tag had been attached, but it was still a good sign we’d cleared that hurdle.
While we chatted, the couples in the center had already begun dancing to the music.
Flora’s partner fit her perfectly, and she was smiling the whole time.
I quietly watched her dance.
I glanced sideways and saw Mulya watching Flora too.
Right beside her, someone spoke.
“Countess Fordward.”
I turned my head. There stood a perfectly dressed attendant.
“What is it?”
The attendant explained in a polite tone.
“Her Majesty has asked you to come to the stage immediately after dance time ends.”
“Understood.”
Mulya dismissed the attendant with a wave.
“I wonder why Her Majesty would suddenly call for us.”
“Well, let’s wait until Flora arrives.”
Mulya seemed as clueless as I was.
What could it be?
I glanced toward the stage out of curiosity. And there, something shocking was happening.
Duke Kailos, the head of the Imperial Faction, was having an intimate conversation with Cecilia!
That wasn’t like the two of them at all.
‘What’s going on?’
As the questions piled up, the band’s music continued uninterrupted.