Chapter 70

"Really, really, really! There won't be any sequels or fan disks, right!?"

"Really, really, really! There won't be any of those anymore!"

Adi, who questioned her with a pressing momentum, received a weary response from Mary.

Right after the dance with Alicia, which Mary found hard to call a dance, she returned to the courtyard, exhausted and dragged along by a satisfied Alicia. There, she was met with Adi's interrogation.

For some reason, this servant—no, husband—seemed to be concerned about the existence of a sequel to the game, even at a celebration. From his demeanor, it was clear that he was quite worried about it.

Mary sighed and called over Karina, who was nearby.

"Hey, wasn't the 'DraGaku' series supposed to end with the second one?"

"That's correct."

"See, she says the same thing."

Mary emphasized her point, and Adi, though somewhat dissatisfied, nodded and said, "Alright." However, his expression still seemed skeptical, as if he didn't quite believe it, causing Mary to sigh again.

"Hey, Adi, what's wrong? You said you didn't care about games."

"That's true."

"Then, what's bothering you?"

"..."

"Huh?"

"If there were any more, it would be unbearable!"

Mary's eyes widened at Adi's exasperated outburst, and she was about to ask what more there could be when...

"Mary-sama! Let's dance one more time!"

Alicia grabbed her right arm and pulled her in.

"Mary-sama, w-would you, would you dance with me... if you don't mind...?"

Parfait, looking anxious, took her left arm, and Mary swallowed her words.

Adi's rust-colored eyes seemed to say, "What more? This, of course." Mary, understanding his cold gaze, sighed again.

She turned to Alicia and Parfait, who were pulling her insistently.

"Listen, this is supposed to be a celebration of my marriage to Adi."

"Mary-sama! Look, the center is open!"

"Listen to me! Patrick! Where's Patrick? Take this girl away!"

"Mary-sama... y-you really won't...!"

"You, you have no time to be inviting me!"

She scolded the two and searched for their guardians—Patrick and Gaius, of course. However, Patrick was busy helping another young lady create memories, and when their eyes met, he mouthed, "Sorry," from a distance. Gaius, on the other hand, shook his head silently, saying, "I can't do it."

Mary sighed heavily at these unreliable guardians and tried to say something to the two who still held her arms... but she was pulled strongly.

Before she could speak, strong arms enveloped her, and her forehead bumped into something—someone. Realizing she had been pulled into a tight embrace, she felt the two who had been clinging to her let go almost simultaneously.

"No way! You're dancing with me!"

The words from above were far from smooth and would have failed as a dance invitation. However, Mary smiled at Adi's awkward but characteristic invitation and wrapped her arms around his back. She clung to his jacket, as if begging for a tighter embrace, and pressed her body against his.

"Sorry, you two."

She told Alicia and Parfait, then looked up at the person holding her. Adi, with a flushed face, looked at her as if he wanted to say something, and Mary smiled at his lustful rust-colored eyes. How obvious and sweet his possessiveness was.

"Even the passionate Mary Albert can't refuse such an invitation."

She chuckled and took his outstretched hand.

Adi led her into the hall. As they stepped into the center, she heard murmurs of "Finally" from the crowd. Indeed, the two who should have danced first were making a late entrance, and with the incident with Alicia earlier, it was no wonder everyone was rolling their eyes. The orchestra, with a wry smile, turned the pages of their sheet music as if they had been waiting for this moment.

Mary leaned into Adi, and the slow music that began made her giggle at his pouting face.

"Adi, are you still pouting?"

"...I wanted to dance with you first."

"That dance with her wasn't official. It was just a 'Mary Albert Tossing Contest.'"

"What's that? I want to join!"

As they conversed in a way that was more fitting for a married couple than a celebration, they leaned into each other, looked into each other's eyes, and giggled. To an outsider, they must have looked like a loving couple in a dreamy moment, especially since the content of their conversation was inaudible.

—Of course, most people present knew about Mary and Adi's unusually close relationship and guessed that they were talking about something unbecoming of a lady or a servant whenever they laughed together.

In this atmosphere, Mary squeezed Adi's hand tightly.

His large, masculine hand, which had made her heart ache when he held it tightly, now sent a sweet tingling sensation through her body, melting her heart.

"Hey, do you remember the first person you danced with?"

"The first? Hmm, maybe my dance teacher? Or my brother?"

"No, it was me. When you were just learning to walk, you used to dance with me to the music."

Mary's eyes widened slightly at Adi's nostalgic smile. Given his description of her "just learning to walk," it must have been a very long time ago, before she could even understand the concept of dance, let alone be in a ballroom. She must have been taking tentative steps, holding Adi's hand, in some other place, mimicking dance steps to the music.

Imagining this scene, Mary smiled softly.

"No wonder dancing with anyone else was never as enjoyable. Because the first time, I danced with the best partner."

Even when she was held by the charming Patrick in the middle of a glamorous ballroom, following his nearly perfect lead, she never felt excited or happy. She had even wondered if something was wrong with her emotions.

But now, the happiness she felt was indescribable. His warm hand, the heat that spread through her body just by being close to him, the drowsy happiness and the fluttering in her chest. She felt genuinely happy and that this moment was the most enjoyable of all.

Knowing this feeling for the first time, she felt guilty for having monopolized Patrick all this time. Everyone must have been waiting eagerly for a chance to experience this happiness.

She smiled and looked up at Adi. His rust-colored eyes met hers, and his hair of the same color fluttered gently. The scene, synchronized with the music, was breathtaking. When he smiled softly, her heart melted, and she was enveloped in a sweet, warm feeling.

Oh, how wonderful dancing is...! she thought, completely forgetting all the times she had complained about it being boring, and she leaned into Adi's chest, lost in a blissful daze.

"Hey, let's always dance at parties from now on."

"Of course."

"Always be my escort."

"Absolutely."

"Stay by my side always."

"Your side is my place."

"My place is by your side."

She smiled, narrowed her eyes, and stretched up slightly...

Squish.

She blinked her almost closed eyes at the light step on her foot.

"We might need more dance practice for a while."

"...I'll work on it."

Mary laughed mischievously at Adi's apologetic look, and in return, she stepped on his foot and used it as a platform to kiss him.

...END...

'The Decline of the Albert Family's Daughter' has now concluded. Thank you for your long support, for all the reviews, opinions, encouragement, and feedback.

While the main story has ended, there are many things I still want to write about, so I plan to release various short side stories in the future. Stories about Mary and Adi's first meeting, how their first night turned out, what happened to Parfait and Gaius, and some outrageous stories about certain young ladies. Some of these will be out of chronological order, and some will focus on characters other than Mary and Adi, so I will mark this as the end of the series for now.

(Future updates will not appear in the completed list... I hope I can manage that!)

Thank you for reading, and I hope you will continue to follow me in the future.

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For those who read the afterword, here's a little bonus. It's as sweet as sugar, so be careful if you want to savor the afterglow.

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"Mary-sama! Mary-sama! Let's dance one more time!"

"No way! That wasn't even a real dance."

"Mary-sama... y-you won't dance with me...?"

"Alright, I'll dance with Parfait! So don't cry!"

"Then, after that, it's my turn!"

"Why does it always end up like this!"

"..."

"..."

"Terrible, she's been taken again."

"That... Adi, I'm sorry..."

"No, it's not Patrick-sama's fault. ...But I've reached my limit! If that's how it's going to be, I have a plan!"

"A plan?"

"I'll dance with Patrick-sama!"

"I refuse."

"Then, after that, I'll dance with Gaius-sama!"

"..."

I thought about including this in the main story, but it didn't make the cut. Please praise me for it.