The New Little Duke (1)
To acquire a dress for Erin to wear at the banquet, Eunhyeon took her to Ringert Tailor Shop in Fernin, accompanied by Elenoa. The shop regularly supplied outfits to the royal family and high nobles.
Elenoa had joined them because she was the flower of high society, perfect for coordinating Erin's look. Even the usually gentle Elenoa with Erin had readily agreed to Eunhyeon's request.
Once Erin entered the fitting room with the dress, only Eunhyeon and Elenoa remained in the shop.
"What are you thinking now? You used to hate getting involved with people."
Elenoa found it odd that Eunhyeon had so readily expressed his intent to attend the banquet they were hosting. Suspecting he was scheming something again, she asked.
"Now that I've already shown my face at the trial, who among this kingdom's nobles doesn't know what I look like? I've decided not to hide anymore."
His words naturally brought back the image of Eunhyeon she'd seen at the trial.
From Elenoa's perspective, unaware of the changes in Eunhyeon's heart during the resolution of the serial assaults, it was bewildering that he had revealed himself to the Pernias Kingdom by willingly entering prison and facing trial.
"Why did you do that? Locking yourself in prison and taking all those beatings...?"
"It was the best option."
The public trial, where many of the kingdom's nobles gathered, was the perfect stage to showcase the grown Erin and elevate her standing.
But to make that trial happen, Eunhyeon had imprisoned himself, endured numerous assaults, toyed with and provoked Cracir's captain Walter, and risked execution in the trial itself.
Elenoa didn't know how anxiously her heart had pounded watching Eunhyeon tightrope-walk on that stage above the courtroom.
"You could have at least given me a heads-up."
"It was coordinated with Riod and Duke Armitas. Alex too."
Erin's divine beast awakening had slightly derailed the plan, but originally, they intended to subdue the succubus, extract information, and orchestrate a situation where the maturing Erin delivered the finishing blow, funneling the credit to her.
In the process, through various manipulations, he'd gotten himself imprisoned to place himself at the center of the public trial. That was the initial scheme.
When he'd first pitched this bizarre plan over drinks to the father-son duo of the Armitas family and Riod, Abros and Alex hadn't treated him like a madman.
The two Armitas men had even looked stunned by his method of creating a pretext to be put on trial and then exploiting it.
"I'm not talking about Father and Brother. You should have told me too."
"To you, Lady Elenoa?"
"Yes."
Elenoa stared at Eunhyeon with a resolute voice and opened her mouth.
"I was the first from our ducal family to meet you. You could have at least tipped me off beforehand."
"...?"
Eunhyeon looked at her with an expression of confusion, not understanding what she meant. Elenoa seemed unaware of what she was saying herself.
"If we really were in some symbiotic relationship like you say... you could have at least consulted me ahead of time so I could help. We might have found another way, without you throwing yourself in prison and enduring all that violence."
"..."
Something was off.
The logic didn't hold.
Elenoa's current demeanor was far from her usual rational self—lacking coolness.
Her gaze and expression toward Eunhyeon revealed genuine hurt feelings.
Why was she looking at him like that? It didn't make sense to Eunhyeon.
"Are you... worried about me?"
When Eunhyeon asked in a rare, uncertain tone laced with doubt, the stiffened Elenoa startled.
"M-Me...? What nonsense is that? Why would I worry about you? Someone who could crawl out of a dungeon on their own and survive!"
Eunhyeon chuckled at Elenoa's hasty denial and evasive manner.
"Ah, so that's it, huh?"
"..."
(Sigh...)
Elenoa's expression hardened again at Eunhyeon's conclusive tone.
"You don't have to say it so definitively."
"...What?"
"Is it that strange for me to worry about you?"
"No, it's not... "
"At the very least, I feel indebted to you."
Their first meeting hadn't been a pleasant one.
Eunhyeon had leaked false information, and she'd fallen for it, heading to an abandoned warehouse in the dead of night—that's how their encounter began.
In the face of a deadly threat she'd never experienced before, it was Eunhyeon who unleashed tremendous power to protect her.
His martial prowess was one thing, but Elenoa had been quite intrigued by his mindset: hiding his identity, manipulating the situation to her advantage, and beguiling those around them.
Moreover, in the suffocating noble society, Eunhyeon was the only one who didn't treat her like a noble—irritating yet refreshing, opening her airways.
Elenoa harbored an inexplicable special feeling toward Eunhyeon that she herself hadn't fully realized.
Because she hadn't properly recognized it, her words lacked logic, were rambling and incoherent, and she couldn't maintain her composure.
"So, it's not strange at all for me to worry about you."
Was she speaking to Eunhyeon? Or was it more like self-justification, a murmur to herself?
Even she couldn't say for sure.
Recalling the two of them—herself included—sharing a surprise kiss through Iliana's sudden action at the trial, Elenoa's heart stirred.
"...Thank you. Truly."
Eunhyeon nodded slightly, expressing gratitude for Elenoa's kindness.
As their conversation wrapped up, Erin emerged from behind the curtain, perfectly dressed, right on cue.
"Um... Do I look weird?"
Erin finally revealed herself in the dress from the fitting room.
Hesitant and bashful, she clearly probed for Eunhyeon's reaction.
Eunhyeon gazed at her banquet-ready appearance.
The evening gown chosen for her was stunningly beautiful.
The navy blue shade matching her hair, the soft fabric, and the tight fit clung to her body, brazenly accentuating her bust and slender waist.
Erin's rapidly maturing figure could no longer be called girlish.
As she shyly presented the unfamiliar dress, her eyes filled with anticipation toward Eunhyeon, who smiled and praised her.
"You look beautiful."
"R-Really?"
"Yeah. When the banquet starts, you'll steal every guy's attention."
"Eek, I don't want that..."
Her face lit up at the praise, but darkened at his follow-up.
She still dreaded drawing stares from unfamiliar men.
"I'll make sure no one messes with you. Don't shrink back. It's a banquet you were invited to—enjoy it for the duke's family that hosted it, at least. Right?"
"Yeah!"
Erin nodded happily at his promise to protect her.
Watching Erin's innocent delight from the side, Elenoa gave a wry smile.
"Won't you prepare a dress for Lady Iliana?"
"She's got clothes. And with her personality, she didn't come out today. I'll handle Iliana's preparations."
Iliana, who preferred holing up at home out of laziness, hadn't joined despite Eunhyeon and Elenoa's urging.
Elenoa had long since shattered her illusions about the high mage Iliana, so she just nodded with a resigned expression.
"Nervous?"
"O-Of course..."
Inside the carriage courteously sent by the Armitas ducal family, Erin in her banquet gown fidgeted restlessly, unable to keep her gloved hands still.
She regretted her impulsive decision to attend, following Eunhyeon's lead without thinking, now wishing she could crawl into a mouse hole.
Her interlocked fingers repeatedly clenched and released, her face tense. Eunhyeon stroked her head to calm her.
Normally, this would melt her tension into a beaming smile, but now she seemed too wound up to even enjoy his touch.
The carriage arrived at the ducal estate's main gate without regard for her state. Eunhyeon alighted first, extending a hand to escort Iliana down.
"Never thought I'd end up at a party with you."
"Come to think of it, first time?"
"Yeah."
Eunhyeon and Iliana shared an extreme aversion to appearing before others.
"Not bad."
For Iliana, who favored staying cooped up at home, attending an outdoor event was exceedingly rare—not to mention being escorted by Eunhyeon at her side for the first time.
Smiling pleasantly, Iliana took his hand and stepped down. Erin followed, escorted similarly, and they showed the invitation stamped with the ducal seal to the gate guards, passing through without issue.
"Don't be scared. We were invited fair and square."
"U-Uh-huh."
"Baby."
"Yes?"
Erin had stopped minding Iliana's nickname for her at some point.
She'd once asked why, but Iliana's retort—"Your behavior right now screams 'baby.' What else should I call you?"—left her speechless.
From Iliana's third-party view, Erin at Aiter was always glued to Eunhyeon like a chick devouring food from its mother bird—utterly comical.
Iliana had said it as teasing fun, but Erin, unaware of how she looked to others, hadn't liked being treated like a child.
Now, though, as an endearing nickname from the surprisingly kind Iliana, she didn't mind it much—a complicated sentiment.
"Want me to teach you how to relax?"
"A way to relax?"
"There are two main ways to annoy people. Know 'em?"
"What are they?"
"First is stopping mid-sentence. Second is..."
Iliana cut off abruptly, glancing at Eunhyeon.
"What is it?"
"Quit the nonsense and let's go."
"Ah, Lady Iliana! Teach me!"
"Someday."
Erin puffed her cheeks and shot Iliana a resentful glare as the latter giggled teasingly.
"Let's go."
"Sure."
"W-Wait for me!"
Iliana ignored Erin's gaze, linking arms with Eunhyeon and walking side by side. Erin hurriedly claimed his other side and followed.
The many nobles mingling in the banquet hall turned their eyes to Eunhyeon's group upon their entrance.
"Oho, so that's the Black Witch?"
"Heard she's around the same age as Marquis Olivion."
"What a beauty."
Unlike Erin, Iliana boasted a mature, seductive figure unbelievable for her forties, clad in a provocative black dress of skin-tight silhouette exposing her bare back and waist—true to her moniker, bewitching like a witch.
Naturally, eyes also turned to Erin Hersha, the girl whose noble status had been restored amid recent buzz.
"But who's that guy in the middle?"
A noble who hadn't attended the prior public trial that rocked Pernias scowled at the silver-haired man flanked by the black- and navy-haired beauties, like flowers on both arms.