Chapter 18

After much consideration, I decided to re-enter society.

It’s not good for a duchess to withdraw from society and seclude herself.

I had been putting it off, saying that Eidan was still young, but it was also a form of my own indulgence.

"Let’s go to the party, Rias."

After dinner, during teatime, I made this major decision and said so. Rias was surprised, his mouth agape, and then he stood up abruptly.

"Really!?"

"Y-Yes."

Was he that eager to go?

"That means you’ll let me escort you, then?"

"Yes."

Who else would do it if you didn’t?

"I want to show that we have a good relationship in society."

Before Eidan becomes aware of things. Otherwise, unkind words might hurt him someday.

"There’s a birthday celebration for His Majesty the King in a month. It will be a large-scale ball, but..."

"Sounds good. Let’s do it."

"Um... On the day, I will be touching you."

Rias asked hesitantly. Was I making him anxious by not even asking such a natural question?

"Rias. I want to show that we are a close couple. For that, I don’t mind where you touch me, even if it’s a bit of an act."

Rias held his head.

"Cynthia... Such a statement is dangerous."

Dangerous?

When we can’t even... —No, no.

It’s a delicate issue, and I ended up thinking about it.

That was rude.

But it’s inevitable to think about it. After all, my mind isn’t young. I think touching isn’t dangerous, and so on.

This is not good.

I consciously put on a serious face.

"If we need to practice, let’s do that too. What do you think?"

In reality, we have separate bedrooms, and with the large estate, there are days when we don’t see each other except for meals.

The servants of the ducal household are excellent, so nothing about the household leaks out.

I’m a bit worried about going in without practice.

Rias had a difficult expression. His ears were red.

"Practice..."

What is he thinking?

Come to think of it, he blushed just from holding hands the other day.

In that case.

"By the way, I haven’t danced in a long time. Will you practice with me?"

"Me... dance with you?"

This time, he was surprised and froze.

Had he never danced before? —No, he hadn’t.

"I thought having a set routine would help me get used to it without being nervous. If it’s too difficult, then... perhaps we could leave that aside and have Lord Orenzia help with the dance."

"No!!"

I was trying to make it less of a burden, but I was interrupted again.

"You will dance with me, so it’s better to practice with me."

"That’s true. If Rias is okay with it, I’ll ask you."

Rias nodded contentedly and then suddenly became serious.

"——I’ve been wondering... Why do you choose Lord Orenzia? When... we went to the temple, too."

"Because he was the fastest at carrying heavy things."

"Is that all?"

"Well, the main reason might be that Eidan is fond of him."

Lord Orenzia has younger siblings, so he is used to handling children. I can trust him and feel at ease.

I’m sorry to Rias, but Eidan understands his baby talk and is more fond of Lord Orenzia. He is good at diverting Eidan’s desires and making him do what he wants.

The last time, Rias tried to help Eidan, who was struggling to put on his shoes, and ended up getting angry.

Well, in reality, Eidan spends more time with Lord Orenzia than with Rias, so it’s understandable.

Rias seemed to understand.

After a while, Rias fidgeted and asked.

"Then, how about... matching our outfits?"

"Matching outfits?"

"Oh, not something obvious. Just a similar design or a shared color..."

You’re like a girl. I knew that.

"I always leave the dresses to others. Can I leave it to you? At this point, I don’t mind if it’s a matching look. Let’s do it properly to show the strong bond of our family."

"Understood. I will make sure to satisfy you."

The next day, Rias immediately called a designer to the estate.

After accepting the invitation to the birthday celebration, I had the dress made in a hurry and discarded the mountain of escort requests that had been sent to Rias.

I hadn’t noticed before, but sending so many invitation letters to a married person, what’s wrong with the morals of the nobility? It’s scary.

I practiced dancing a lot because it had been a long time.

It was a tough month, but since Rias seemed to enjoy it, it was all right.

And today.

It’s been about four years, hasn’t it?

I left Eidan with the nanny and attended the party.

This atmosphere feels very nostalgic.

Upon arrival, we were led to the royal waiting room by an attendant.

The ducal family is one of the last to enter among the nobility. I thought we would wait in the waiting room, but we were called by the royal family right away.

We had just met three days ago, yet the king welcomed us as if he had been waiting.

"Let’s enter together, Cynthia!"

"I decline."

I had a feeling this would happen when I was called.

"Huh? Why?"

To the pouting king, I shook my head.

"Father. It would be strange for a married daughter to stand next to the king."

"It’s not strange. This is an opportunity to show our strong bond."

"Oh, is there a rumor you want to spread?"

"Well, yeah."

Titi, who had finished her task, joined the conversation.

She seems to be in charge of the ball today. Since there is no lady of the house in the royal family, it must be quite a challenge.

But she seems to be handling it well. Thanks to her capable servants, she is growing rapidly, and I’m very happy for her as a sister.

"The rumors about the discord between you and Father are still going around. Because of this, some people think the duke and Father’s relationship is bad, and there are those who are planning something bad. —But, you don’t have to enter with the main character. You can enter with me."

The king has the main seat, but Titi stands beside him.

If I stand with the royal family as a relative, it shouldn’t be too strange.

"Let’s do that. Rias, what do you think?"

"I don’t mind where. My place is by your side."

Rias... his face is relaxed. No, it has been relaxed since we started wearing matching outfits today.

I’m glad he looks so happy.

"Shouldn’t the duke be taking his usual guard duty?"

The king glared at Rias.

He seems unhappy about entering alone.

"I’ve entrusted it to my subordinates. I want to protect Cynthia."

No, no. The head of the royal guard shouldn’t say that. Protecting the royal family is his main job.

"Father, I’m sorry. I loved entering with you, but... as a married woman, it’s too much of a burden."

I gently declined before Rias could say anything unnecessary.

The king still looked lonely, but he patted my head as he used to.

"Alright. Go on. —Ah, I want to retire soon."

What is he saying?

Thus, we entered through a different door from the king.

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