Chapter 20
20.
“Are you insane?!”
Lobelin, who had been about to offer an excuse, jumped in shock at the absurd question.
What did he just say?
‘I have feelings for Duke Bolton?’
Of all the things she had heard in both her past and present lives, this was the most ridiculous.
However, Ian was interrogating her with total sincerity.
“If that isn’t it, then why were you chasing after that man, looking like you were dying to strike up a conversation?”
“N-No! I mean, I was trying to talk to him, but—!”
“Good grief. Since you chose me, I thought your taste was at least passable. I’m disappointed.”
Listen here, every single word of that was wrong.
Lobelin’s head throbbed as she wondered which part to refute first.
“Who chose whom?! A-And first of all, please step back!”
Ian’s face was so close it felt as if he might devour her.
Feeling an overwhelming sense of proximity, Lobelin gave his shoulder a slight shove, but Ian didn’t budge an inch.
Growing genuinely annoyed, Lobelin tried to push him away with more force.
“O-Oh my!”
“……!”
At that moment, they heard someone gasp in surprise.
Turning toward the source of the scream, she saw a petite maid with short black hair standing there.
Judging by her age, she seemed to be around the same age as Maximilian.
Based on her years and attire, she appeared to be a low-ranking maid who handled errands around the Imperial Palace.
“M-My apologies!”
With a face turning beet red, the maid bowed her head and quickly fled the scene as if she were escaping.
Having likely only recently entered the Imperial Palace, she didn’t seem to recognize Ian.
“Phew, that was close. We almost got caught.”
Lobelin brushed her hand over her racing heart.
“Why? Is it a problem if we’re caught?”
“O-Of course it is. It would be exhausting if rumors started spreading for no reason.”
“Is that so? In that case…”
“W-Where are you going?!”
Lobelin was horrified to see Ian suddenly start walking in the direction the maid had disappeared.
“She just saw us. I have to deal with her.”
“What do you mean, ‘deal with her’?! She’s just a child!”
Since this was an imperial banquet where nobles from all over the empire gathered, such incidents between men and women were frequent.
Intervening and causing a scene would only draw unnecessary attention.
“A-And it didn’t even look like she recognized Your Highness, so just leave her alone. Don’t create unnecessary noise!”
“……Should I?”
At Lobelin’s words, Ian finally abandoned his intention to chase after the maid.
Then he turned back toward Lobelin.
“Well, if you insist, I suppose I have no choice. That red-haired girl got lucky. Usually, girls like that are unfortunate.”
……I’m pretty sure that girl had black hair.
She had felt this before, but Ian had a tendency to perceive others exactly how he wanted to.
‘It’s not surprising, since it’s exactly like his character setting in the original novel.’
Suddenly, Lobelin grew a bit curious.
How does this man remember me?
On impulse, Lobelin reached up and covered Ian’s eyes with her hand.
“Lobelyn Dines. What are you doing?”
“Your Highness, do you know what color my hair is?”
“Are you joking? It’s brown.”
“……Then what color are my eyes?”
“Green. I even bought you shoes to match them. Have you forgotten already?”
Right, he did.
Lobelin let out a hollow laugh at the memory she had momentarily forgotten and lowered her hand.
“Why are you asking that?”
“I just got curious all of a sudden. Well then, I’ll head back to the ballroom…”
“Wait a moment.”
Ian caught Lobelin’s arm again as she tried to leave.
“Regardless, you’d better give up on your feelings for Duke Bolton. That guy is a perverted piece of trash beyond redemption.”
“…….”
That again?
However, Lobelin had to set this straight.
It was a humiliating misunderstanding for a woman, and she couldn’t allow it to persist for even a second.
“F-First of all, I absolutely! Do not like Duke Bolton. So please, drop that horrible misunderstanding.”
“……Is that true?”
“Yes, of course! What on earth did you see to make you think that?”
“Then why were you chasing after that man looking so restless?”
“That’s because…!”
Recalling the vivid red liquid from a moment ago, Lobelin clenched her fists.
Even at this very moment, wasn’t Bolton looking for another victim for his trashy schemes?!
“That man is planning to do something disgusting again. I was trying to stop him.”
“Why are you the one stepping in?”
“Because I was drugged by him before, too…”
“What?”
At Lobelin’s words, a spark flashed in Ian’s eyes.
“That bastard drugged you? And then?! What happened?!”
……I slept with you and ran away.
Unable to say the rest, Lobelin clamped her mouth shut.
Misinterpreting her silence as being overwhelmed by emotion, the veins in Ian’s neck bulged with rage.
“That bastard! I’ll kill him!”
“Your Highness! Please, calm down! Just calm down!”
She never knew when he might snap!
Panicked, Lobelin hurriedly grabbed Ian from behind, and in the process, she ended up essentially hugging him from the back.
But right now, stopping Ian was more important than worrying about that.
“Nothing happened! Really! You know I’m always with my friends! Right? They helped me!”
“……Is that true?”
“Yes, yes, it’s true.”
“…….”
Ian stood still without a final reply.
In truth, from the moment Lobelin had suddenly hugged him from behind, his legs felt as if they had turned to stone.
‘H-Has he calmed down?’
Lobelin kept her arms wrapped tightly around Ian’s waist as she watched his reaction.
Ian was still breathing heavily, but he no longer looked as if he was about to bolt like he had moments ago.
Thinking he had finally calmed down, Lobelin released her arms, and Ian turned around at the same time.
“As long as you’re okay, that’s all that matters.”
“Yes, yes. So please stop that strange misunderstanding about me liking that man or whatever.”
“Of course, there’s no way. Your type is someone like me.”
“…….”
In contrast to Ian’s much brighter expression, Lobelin’s face soured.
But it didn’t register to the elated Ian.
‘Fine, let’s just leave it.’
The banquet hadn’t even officially started yet, but she already felt as if all her energy had been drained.
As Lobelin turned to leave, Ian called out to her back.
“Even so, don’t face Bolton alone. He may look like that, but he is a Duke.”
Ian’s advice was sincere.
Even the incident with Baron Furby’s family had been concluded as mere negligence on the Duke’s part.
As one of only three Dukes in the empire, the wealth and power he possessed could not be ignored.
And above all, Ian hated the idea of Lobelin catching his eye.
“Promise me! That you won’t try to do anything alone.”
“Yes, yes, I will.”
Lobelin gave a dismissive wave of her hand as if to say she understood.
Anyway, just as Ian said, there was nothing Lobelin could do in the ballroom.
The ballroom was vast, and the nobles of the empire were many.
……Or so she thought.
“Hmph, hahaha! Lady Bennett! It’s been a long time!”
Seeing Bolton lingering around Cornelia made Lobelin’s stomach churn.
It was currently the time for nobles to socialize before the official investiture ceremony.
Naturally, the nobles were gathered in small groups by generation to chat.
It was irritating enough that a crusty old man was shamelessly intruding on a group of young ladies and gentlemen.
But seeing the Duke casting lewd, oily glances at Cornelia, she couldn’t just stand by.
“Connie!”
“Bell?”
Lobelin strode over and intentionally wedged herself between Cornelia and Duke Bolton.
“Whoops!”
Because of that, the Duke, who had been trying to hand a glass to Cornelia, had to hurriedly pull his hand back.
He didn’t drop the glass, but in the sudden commotion, he couldn’t stop some of the contents from spilling onto the floor.
Seeing this, Lobelin suppressed a triumphant smile.
“Oh my! I am so sorry, Duke Bolton!”
“W-What is the meaning of…!”
“I am truly sorry; the Duke simply didn’t enter my field of vision. Please forgive my rudeness.”
At Lobelin’s words, Duke Bolton’s face flushed hot.
Despite being a man, he was a full head and a half shorter than the petite Lobelin.
On top of that, his girth was two or three times hers.
Truly, as a man, he possessed no charm whatsoever.
Since he wasn’t unaware of this himself, Duke Bolton, stung in his complex, could only tremble without a word.
“Then, I shall take my leave. Connie, let’s go over there.”
“O-Oh… alright.”
Cornelia gave a small bow to Duke Bolton and was led away by Lobelin.
Bolton watched the backs of the two women as his face turned a mottled red and purple.
Lobelin turned her head and dared to flash a look of pity at Bolton!
‘T-That wench! How dare she look down on me, a Duke?’
Duke Bolton glared at Lobelin with savage eyes.
Now that he thought about it, wasn’t she the woman who had interfered with him at Count Cale’s banquet as well?!
He had wandered the mansion all day looking for the girl who had taken the drug, but he had returned empty-handed that day.
And today, the precious treasure he had painstakingly brought along had been rendered useless.
Duke Bolton gnashed his teeth in fury.
‘Damned girl, just you wait! I will make sure to educate that mind of yours properly!’
