Previously
Joseph blackmails Sienna into attending an imperial banquet by threatening to keep her away from her mother's grave at the Ricata Residence. Leaving the office, Sienna encounters the kind Empress and a fearful Dahlia, which triggers painful childhood memories of isolation.
How to Break Up with You Perfectly Episode 27
With nearly all the nobles already gathered, Sienna stepped into the hall under Theo's escort.
Upon her entrance, the atmosphere in the hall grew quiet and somewhat bleak.
Amid an inexplicable tension hanging in the air, the nobles standing in line bent their knees to pay their respects to the princess.
Since it was the first event where Sienna showed her face to high society after returning from Lopawell, a faint curiosity showed on their faces.
Sienna offered a polite nod in return as she walked. As she moved farther inside, her gaze met Declan's for a fleeting second, but she hastily lowered her head, making it nothing more than a brief glance.
The moment she was fully inside the hall, Sienna quickly made her way toward a secluded terrace in the corner.
“Their Imperial Majesties, the Emperor and Empress, enter!”
Before long, the Chamberlain announced the arrival of the imperial couple in person.
The Emperor and Empress stepped into the hall amid an atmosphere vastly warmer than when Sienna had entered.
Nobles scrambled to offer flattering greetings, which the imperial couple received with practiced grace. Dahlia and Marianne followed closely behind them.
Only after the imperial couple had acknowledged the long procession of greetings and taken the highest seats did the first piece of music begin to play.
True to form, Sienna's first dance partner was Theodore Monches. It had been that way ever since her debutante ball.
For a long while after the Empress's execution, no young nobleman had dared ask Sienna to dance. They assumed nothing good could come of getting tangled up with the daughter of a traitor.
Though men gradually began approaching her after the Late Emperor declined to strip her of her royal title, the princess never showed much interest in dancing.
She would always share only the first piece with Theo, then refuse every subsequent request as though her duty were done.
Among the many couples swaying to the melody, the princess and her personal knight stood out above all the rest. Most people who watched them dance shared the exact same impression.
That the Second Princess's sharp, knife-edge bearing and Theo's easygoing presence suited each other remarkably well.
Tonight was no different.
“They look good together. Aren't they about the same age?”
When Dario, Marquis Hoffman, standing beside him, voiced genuine admiration, Declan turned his gaze toward them as well.
Just as the first piece came to an end, Sienna and Theo bowed courteously to each other. Talking between themselves, the two moved toward the edge of the floor.
As the next song began, the next dancers filed into the center to fill the space. In an instant, the two vanished into the crowd.
Watching their departing figures with an impassive face, Declan downed his wine, seized by an inexplicable thirst. Unaware of his inner thoughts, the marquis spoke with a curious look.
“Is Sir Monches returning to the order of knights now?”
“Who can say.”
Declan responded indifferently. Only then did the marquis knit his brows slightly, sensing something amiss.
“Why does our Grand Duke, the very star of tonight's banquet, wear such a disinterested face? Is there something you find displeasing?”
“Hardly. It is already a great honor that you have joined us, Marquis.”
Declan laughed it off lightly with a joke. The marquis, brushing it aside just as easily, let out a chuckle.
“Still, if I were the Count, I would feel rather disappointed. Her Highness the Second Princess makes for quite a fine match, doesn't she?”
“You speak of pointless matters.”
“Even if her maternal family has fallen, royalty is still royalty. For a second son who cannot inherit the title, she's quite a catch. And besides…”
Dario glanced around abruptly, then whispered in a voice meant to stay between them.
“Though she may look a bit gloomy, there is no denying she is an extraordinary beauty.”
“Such remarks are disrespectful to Her Highness.”
“What does it matter? She can't hear us anyway.”
The marquis scoffed, as if asking what difference it made whether a princess cast out from power heard him or not.
“Then again, not to mention Empress Melope, even the Late Emperor was a remarkably handsome man in his youth, so it shouldn't come as a surprise that the Second Princess turned out so striking.”
Then, he sighed with apparent regret.
“A shame, truly… If only I weren't the one bound to carry on my house, I would have pursued her on the spot…”
“Dario.”
An even voice cut him off. Having rattled on to his heart's content, the marquis halted and looked at him.
“Enough of the drunken chatter. It's unpleasant to listen to.”
Though his tone held no perceptible emotion, the words themselves were practically a warning. Catching his meaning, the marquis stole a glance at his expression and laughed heartily.
“It seems seeing your face after so long made me too excitable. Forgive my slip of the tongue.”
At that smooth deflection, Declan merely offered a faint smile.
When the marquis stepped away to fetch some champagne, Declan turned his gaze back to the center. The second piece was in full swing, and Theo was already dancing with another partner.
Tall and good-natured, Theo was popular with women. It was only natural. Aside from his fine appearance, he came from the respectable Count Monches's house and was an accomplished knight in his own right.
Perhaps that was why talk of engagement had circulated with quite a few families while he was in the capital. Though it had all come to nothing when Theo departed for Lopawell alongside the princess.
Declan quietly watched Theo dancing and laughing with his partner before letting his gaze drift past him, farther toward the corner. Sienna stood all alone on the most secluded terrace in the hall.
She held the same poised posture as when she first entered, but her gaze had lost focus, turned outward rather than toward the ballroom.
A light drizzle was falling outside.
Seemingly without the slightest interest in the ballroom unfolding indoors, she stared blankly at the steady stream of rain. Occasionally, she blinked and let out a shallow sigh.
Watching her from a distance, Declan slowly drew in a breath.
Perhaps this truly was the end.
The final stop of this dreadful relationship was right before them. As she had wished and as he had wished, the two of them would soon live lives that had nothing to do with each other.
What he had wanted was drawing closer to reality, yet he felt not a shred of joy. Instead, an unwarranted restlessness had seized his mind.
The years he had spent living as her husband amounted to less than a decade. Now Sienna would forget all of that time, become another man's wife, and grow old for the rest of her days.
Though he never wanted to admit it, Declan was not confident he could remain unaffected while watching it all unfold.
He did not yet have the courage to lose her. No, he doubted he would ever have that kind of courage in his lifetime.
It did not matter if this stemmed from a twisted sense of possession rather than pure affection.
Whatever form this emotion took, the conclusion it pointed to was unmistakable.
So, in the end, it was not something he even needed to deliberate over.
Declan set down his glass on the table and immediately took a step forward.
“Where are you going?”
The marquis, who had returned to his side, asked in puzzlement, but Declan passed him by without answering.
The second song had just ended. Amid the bustle of dancers bowing to their partners and others moving across the floor for the next piece, Declan strode straight through the center of the hall.
As he closed the distance with long, purposeful strides, the gaze that had been fixed blankly out the window suddenly shifted to him. The moment their eyes met, he spoke.
“Your Highness the Princess.”
Sienna looked at him, her expression showing she had not yet fully grasped the situation.
“May I ask for this dance?”
Though the secluded terrace was far from the center, the eyes of the crowd gathered on the two of them in an instant.
Sienna did not even have the presence of mind to notice. Her eyes gradually widened at the unexpected request. But coming to her senses at once, she drew back to show her refusal.
“No, I…”
At her rejection, Declan instinctively stepped closer. As a startled Sienna broke off her words at the sudden proximity, he whispered in a low voice.
“You owe me a debt, do you not?”
He thought it petty of himself, but he had no other choice. Sienna looked at him with an uncomprehending face before her expression hardened as she recalled what she had said in Lopawell.
Declan pressed his advantage smoothly without letting up.
“Did Your Highness not say that you would repay me if the opportunity arose?”
Her eyes dropping sideways in a moment of speechlessness, Sienna snapped back.
“Whatever the case, I have no intention of becoming a spectacle for the crowd, so go find another partner.”
“I find this to be a most opportune moment, Your Highness.”
“Don't be petty, Duke.”
“I would rather be a petty man than suffer a public rejection before everyone.”
With a faint smile, he offered his hand.
Sienna looked down at the man's hand with defeat in her eyes, then let out a long sigh. Judging by the glances drifting their way from inside the hall, dragging out this squabble would bring her no benefit at all.
He gave his hand a gentle flick in prompting. Watching it, Sienna's eyes sank deep.
‘Would just once hurt?’
If this truly was the last time.
After a hesitation, she gently rested her hand upon his, and Declan's smile deepened even further.
The peaceful sound of rain that had filled her ears until just moments ago now echoed distantly, as if from another world.
The contact beneath the thin gloves, and the gaze fixed upon her. That was the only sensation vivid to her right now. The moment she registered all of it, her pulse began to race.
It was not a good sign.