Chapter 11
#11
"Oh my, Bianca! You look beautiful as always."
"Good afternoon, Countess Yvelin. You look absolutely stunning today as well."
"No matter how much I doll myself up, can I ever compare to Bianca, the Empire's greatest beauty? Hehehe."
The Countess covered her mouth with a fan as she laughed. The look in her eyes above the fan was clearly probing, making me wonder what this woman really wanted to say.
"I hear you've been working hard on charitable endeavors lately."
"Ah… yes."
"I didn't think the Croford Family was interested in such things. Wasn't the Croford Family all about practicality?"
"It's just my personal interest."
"Oh my, your heart is as beautiful as your face."
She smiled sweetly and complimented me.
I could see her group of close friends gathered over there, waiting for her.
It was clear that they had sent her to investigate whether the rumors of my recent charitable activities were true.
Of course, I welcomed their actions with open arms. The more the rumors spread, the better.
Kind and virtuous Bianca. That was my goal.
"Lord Wincaiser is lucky to have gained a wife like you."
She said, giving a slight nod behind my shoulder. I glanced in the direction she was looking and saw Ricardo walking towards us.
"I wonder."
In the past, I would have responded to the Countess's compliment with, "You flatter me," or "I'm the lucky one."
But recently, because of that strange book, I was rethinking my future, so I just smiled slightly and left the Countess with an ambiguous answer.
"Oh my, how modest!"
The Countess seemed to think my words were a sign of humility and smiled brightly, and I simply responded with an elegant smile, letting her think as she pleased.
"Good afternoon, Lord Wincaiser."
The Countess greeted Ricardo naturally as he approached us.
"Good afternoon, Countess Yvelin."
"You look dashing today as well."
Countess Yvelin said, scattering a flirtatious smile. Of course, Ricardo's face showed no signs of wavering.
"Enjoy your time."
With those words, she returned to her group of friends. As soon as the Countess joined them, they immediately began to chatter.
And I watched the scene with satisfaction.
Spread the rumors, far and wide.
"I've been hearing various rumors about you lately."
"What rumors?"
I pretended not to know, feigning ignorance as I asked Ricardo.
"Rumors similar to what the Countess just said. That you're not only sponsoring orphanages but also sending supplies to homeless shelters and visiting nursing homes."
I told them to spread the rumors diligently, and it seemed the directors were earning their keep.
Good. They're working hard too.
"I've just become a little interested."
"You said at the orphanage last time that it wasn't something the Croford Family was doing, but your own interest."
"Yes."
"Why the sudden interest in doing good deeds?"
Ricardo looked at me with strangely sharp eyes.
It wasn't the dry eyes I had seen before, nor the affectionate eyes I had seen only once, but a different kind of look.
It felt like the eyes of a very sensitive feline.
It was a look that tested what the true intentions of the hand that fed him were.
"Because I have a lot of money."
"What?"
"I just wanted to spend some of it since I have a lot of money. And it's my true nature."
"What nature?"
"A kind nature that wants to help people."
"……."
"You didn't know that I'm originally a very kind woman?"
I wanted to make it clear to Ricardo that I was a kind woman. Just in case something might happen later.
If things really unfolded like in the novel and he ended up beheading me, I hoped that the good deeds I had done would come to his mind, even for a moment, and create an opening.
"I see. I guess I didn't know you very well, Bianca."
I felt a slight sense of relief at Ricardo's words.
"Shall we dance?"
Ricardo, who had been quietly looking at me, extended his hand towards me.
It was unexpected. He wasn't particularly fond of dancing. Naturally, he only requested dances to the minimum extent necessary.
Even I, who always attended balls as his partner, only danced with him once or twice. And today, we had already danced once.
"Alright."
I didn't know why this man had suddenly asked me to dance, but I placed my hand in his.
To be honest, I enjoyed balls. Because I was a very good dancer.
If a beautiful woman was also an elegant dancer, she would naturally attract everyone's attention and become the belle of the ball that day.
"Oh my, it looks like Lord Wincaiser and Bianca are going to dance."
"Oh, they make such a perfect couple."
Complimentary words were heard from around us.
It was something I always heard, but I always enjoyed this moment.
We went closer to the center of the hall, took our positions, and soon slipped into the music and the crowd.
For someone who disliked dancing, Ricardo's lead was quite excellent.
I figured that even if he had learned it out of necessity, he had been doing it since he was young, so it was ingrained in his body.
It was the same for me.
It was very easy to dance elegantly while thinking about other things.
"This is one of my favorite songs."
After smiling at Ricardo and saying a word, I began to dance elegantly and think about other things.
Maria was a real person. Her relationship with Lord Wensbury also existed to some extent. Then the question was how to investigate this.
I couldn't just go to Lord Wensbury and ask, "Did you have an affair with a maid in Ancheny? Do you have an illegitimate daughter?"
I wonder if there's a good way.
"Bianca."
While I was deep in thought, a low voice called out to me. I raised my head slightly and saw Ricardo looking down at me.
"What are you thinking about?"
The dance was perfect. But it seemed that Ricardo, who was close to me, could see that I was thinking about other things on my face.
"Just this and that."
"Shouldn't you be focusing on your partner when you're dancing?"
Ricardo said out of the blue, and I was a little taken aback.
When had we ever danced like loving couples, looking into each other's eyes?
As far as I could remember, we hadn't. At first, I danced while looking at him with a fluttering heart, but he didn't.
He always stared at something over my shoulder, or at my dangling earrings.
Once, twice, and as the number of times accumulated, I stopped looking at him at some point.
I just danced while looking at somewhere on his shirt collar or near his jacket chest.
"……."
But now Ricardo was looking at me. Not at somewhere on my earrings, not at some place on my hair ornament, but directly into my eyes.
"It's a little better now."
Ricardo said that after taking a few more steps while looking into my eyes.
Something was strange.
His expression was soft.
His eyes were not dry.
His voice was not dry.
Such ordinary things that would not have been strange for anyone else felt strange when they were in harmony with Ricardo.
The Ricardo I knew wasn't this kind of man...
"Bianca."
It was clear that he had spoken softly, as if whispering, but Ricardo's voice clearly pierced my ears.
If I wasn't mistaken, Ricardo, who had called my name, was encroaching on my space a little more and coming closer to me.
Not only the hands we were holding, but his forearm and my forearm were pressed a little closer together, his thigh lightly brushed against the hem of my skirt, and my chest was close enough to almost touch his abdomen.
The music stopped.
No. The orchestra was still playing. The sound of the music just wasn't audible to my ears. Instead, I could hear his breathing and my breathing.
"You look beautiful today."
Ricardo lowered his head and whispered so close to my ear.
His low voice lingered around my ear and gently licked my earlobe before finally crawling into my ear and realizing what he had said, I almost stopped in my tracks.
Ricardo had never, not once, said such a thing to me. I raised my head and looked at him, wondering what was going on.
Then, a slight look of embarrassment flashed across Ricardo's face as he met my eyes.
"I'll be back in a moment to fix my makeup."
When the music ended, I quickly said that to Ricardo and left the spot. He let me go without saying anything.
"Why is he suddenly acting like this?"
I muttered to myself as I looked in the mirror alone in the room assigned to me. Fixing my makeup was just an excuse, and the truth was that I was flustered by Ricardo's sudden change and had fled the scene.
I was flustered by Ricardo's expression and attitude, which I had never seen before. Moreover, the fact that it was at this point made me even more flustered.
"Could it be……."
I looked closely at myself in the mirror. Today's makeup was perfect, and the beautiful woman in the mirror was flawless.
"Could it be that I'm so beautiful today that he's developed feelings for me……."
As soon as I uttered the word "maybe" that was in my head, it suddenly sounded like a low-quality joke.
We had been engaged for over 10 years. We saw each other at least twice a month, though not every day, and after my Debutante, we always attended events, big and small, as partners.
Even if it wasn't today, my makeup was always perfect, my dress always suited me, and I had never not been pretty since I was a very young child.
There was no way Ricardo would suddenly find me beautiful today and develop feelings for me.
"Right. It must just be my imagination."
I shook my head and looked at myself in the mirror.
Still pretty, still beautiful.
And most importantly, me with my head still firmly attached.
