Chapter 14: Gift

A few days after arriving in the royal capital, the day of the grand royal ball finally arrived.

Perhaps caught up in the preparations for the ball and sightseeing in the royal capital, Eva’s aunt and cousins didn’t approach her as if they had forgotten about her. As a result, Eva could spend her time alone at ease.

Expecting that Eva’s hair and eye colors would stand out, unlike in Stahl territory, so she wore a cloak while exploring the city. Surprisingly, she noticed people with various eye and hair colors in the city, making her feel that it might be more comfortable than her rural estate.

Pretending to be a maid, Eva casually inquired about Count Burke from several noble servants who were out shopping, but there was no information beyond rumors. The rumors of his sadistic nature and being widowed by all his wives weighed heavily on Eva’s heart. However, she decided not to believe the rumors until she met the man himself.

On the day of the royal ball, Eva’s aunt and cousins were busy in the morning.

As expected, Eva’s dress and other preparations were not arranged at all.

“Oh, I thought it was arranged. Eva doesn’t have a dress. What should we do?”

“Mother, if it’s okay with her using your old dress, you can lend it to her.”

“Well, Amanda is kind. That’s fortunate, Eva.”

Once again, Eva was treated to a melodramatic performance. When she saw the dress Amanda brought, she involuntarily frowned. It was a deep pink color, adorned with excessive ribbons, and far from elegant.

“Thank you for your consideration. Actually, I’ve modified a dress I had. I would like to wear that dress.”

Knowing that Eva only had hand-me-down dresses, Amanda assumed it must be worse than the offered dress and happily told Eva to wear it.

As expected, no one helped Eva get ready. She had practiced a simple hairstyle with Annie, and she brought the makeup secretly prepared by Annie. After preparing alone, she dressed in her mother’s dress.

Looking in the mirror, she saw the beautiful figure of a girl resembling her mother, referred to by the villagers as the “Silver Fairy.”

“Mother…”

She inadvertently called her mother’s name and tightly grasped the garnet necklace swaying at her chest, praying.

“Father, mother, I’m going. Please watch over me.”

Her uncle had an audience with the king before the ball, so he headed to the palace ahead of time.

It was burdensome to ride in the same carriage as her aunt and cousins, but the estate was not far from the palace.

“I just need to endure for a few minutes,” she reassured herself as she attempted to leave the room to go downstairs. However, just as she was about to leave, she heard a sound, as if someone were tapping on the window glass from the balcony.

—What?

Being cautious, she looked out the balcony window, where she saw a man dressed in black kneeling outside. His face was obscured as he was looking down, but she could see the emblem of the Dacian Empire on his chest.

—This room is on the third floor, right?

When she first saw the man, fear gripped her, causing her to catch her breath. However, the moment she saw the emblem, she intuited that he was a messenger from either Lucas or Raymond.

With a concealed dagger for self-defense, Eva cautiously opened the balcony window.

The man in black remained kneeling and, in a quiet voice, said, “I apologize for suddenly visiting the young lady’s room. I am a servant of Lord Lucas. From our Lord Lucas, I have been entrusted with this for Miss Eva.”

Saying so, he held out a small box to Eva while still bowing.

—From Lord Lucas?

“I apologize, but may I see your face?”

Upon hearing Eva’s words, the man raised his head. It was indeed a face she had seen before when he was with Lucas at the Marquise’s estate.

After a moment of hesitation, Eva accepted the small box.

“May I open it?”

“Yes, that belongs to you, Miss Eva.”

Upon opening it, she found garnet earrings cut in the shape of large droplets.

“Well…”

Her voice escaped involuntarily; it was truly a splendid item.

“I cannot accept such a wonderful gift.”

As she instinctively tried to return the small box to the man in black, he spoke.

“Lord Lucas has a message. He wishes for you to wear it to today’s royal ball.”

She is happy, but she wonders if it’s okay to receive such a wonderful gift.

Eva’s inner conflict, which left her silent, seemed to be conveyed.

“Lord Lucas would be saddened if Miss Eva didn’t wear it,” the man said in a softened voice, as if encouraging her.

“Understood. I gratefully accept it. Could you please convey my gratitude to Lord Lucas?”

“Of course.”

As soon as the man responded, he disappeared. Eva instinctively looked over the balcony railing, but no one was there.

—He’s gone. That’s amazing.

She absentmindedly stared at the small box left in her hands.

Lord Lucas… He must have known that I have no jewelry and thoughtfully considered that.

Opening the box, she gazed at the earrings again.

The color of Lord Lucas’s eyes and the color of her mother’s heirloom necklace.

She put on the earrings in front of the mirror. With every movement, the droplet-shaped earrings swayed by her ears.

Lord Lucas, thank you.

She whispered in her heart, straightened her posture, and headed downstairs.

As expected, her aunt, who saw Eva before heading to the palace, frowned.

She must have intended to mock Eva, expecting her to come in a terrible state. However, seeing Eva more beautifully adorned than anticipated, her aunt persistently admonished her.

“Eva, you are not of pure blood, so you must never appear before the prince.”

Even her cousins glared at Eva with disdain.

For Eva, the only solace was that the three of them couldn’t openly mistreat her, as they were about to board the carriage arranged by the palace. Causing a disturbance would involve the throne of the Crown Prince’s consort.

Pushing aside the persistent words and stares from the three of them, it was finally the palace.

The palace was enormous, to say the least.

It took a few minutes by carriage from the gate to the palace, where the ball was to be held. Eva enjoyed the view from the window, marveling at its vastness.

She had heard that the palace had splendid gardens and rose gardens. It would be great if she could have the chance to see them tonight.

When the carriage arrived at the ball venue, palace porters assisted in getting off.

Eva and the others, having descended, were overwhelmed by the magnificence of the palace.

Entry into the venue was based on the announcement of one’s house name. As the daughter of a border marquise, Eva and her group were called later than the lower-ranking nobles. While waiting to enter, she felt the piercing gazes of other attendees.

“Lord Stahl, how are you today?”

A man with a slick voice greeted her uncle, who had joined them.

“Why, Count Burke. Thanks for your blessings. You seem well too, Count.”

“My future wife…”

Smirking, Count Burke’s gaze lingered on Eva as he made suggestive remarks.

“Well, well… As the rumors say, you truly resemble a beautiful fairy.”

With a smirk on his face, he greeted Eva.

Eva returned a polite greeting, but she couldn’t shake off the sensation of her entire body tingling.

“Well then, Marquise Stahl, let’s talk later.”

After a nod, the count walked away with a self-satisfied grin.

Eva noticed her aunt and cousins, who had been watching the exchange with amusement, giggling.

So, it’s him.

The intrusive scrutiny that traveled across Eva’s entire body, as if searching for every detail, left an unforgettable tingling sensation. She shivered involuntarily.

Can I handle this?

She was already developing a dislike from the first impression. Even though she had prepared herself… her spirits were sinking.

Meanwhile, the turn for the border marquise’s family to be called was approaching.

Her uncle escorted her aunt, and her cousins were each accompanied by the sons of her aunt’s relatives, who were viscounts.

The viscounts’ sons seemed curious about Eva, stealing glances in her direction.

Her cousins were irritated by their interest, but Eva, preoccupied with thoughts of Count Burke, didn’t notice.

No one had been assigned to escort Eva. Knowing it was her aunt’s harassment, Eva, feeling indifferent, was in a somewhat resigned mood.

After entering, Eva had been planning to slip away shortly and hide somewhere until it was over. However, the commotion among the people began to grow.

Looking in the direction of the disturbance, she saw Raymond approaching, his golden hair tied up, shimmering down to his shoulders, and his handsome face directed straight towards Eva.

As Raymond came closer, he smiled at Eva and then addressed her uncle, the border count.

“Marquise Stahl, greetings. I appreciated your hospitality the other day. Tonight, may I have the honor of escorting Miss Eva?”

The first to react to these words were Eva’s cousins.

“Viscount Coquinos, let’s go together!”

“Yes, with me instead of Eva!”

Raymond, maintaining his smile, gently replied to both of them.

“You two already have partners to escort you. I have no intention of taking away the honor of escorting you from them. I hadn’t planned to attend the ball, but I suddenly decided to come, and since I have no partner, and it seems Miss Eva doesn’t either, I would like the honor of escorting her.”

After silencing the two with a smile, Raymond turned to Eva.

“Miss Eva, would you grant me the honor of being your escort tonight?”

Although she was taken by surprise, it was a welcome proposition for Eva.

“Viscount Coquinos, the pleasure is mine. Thank you very much.”

As their turn to enter approached, the two in line exchanged greetings in hushed tones.

“Eva-chan, you look even more beautiful today.”

“Thank you. Viscount Raymond, are you attending as a viscount today?”

“I still have viscount duties. Also, I wanted to ease the worries of my cute little brother.”

“Lucas’s worries?”

What could Lucas be worried about?

Raymond, smiling at Eva’s puzzled expression, shifted his gaze towards her ear.

“That earring looks very becoming on you.”

“Oh, yes! It’s a gift from Lord Lucas. I already asked the man who brought it to convey my thanks… Today, is Lord Lucas attending the palace as your attendant?”

Teasingly, Raymond spoke to the slightly blushing Eva.

“Were you looking forward to seeing Lucas? Unfortunately, he’s not in the palace right now. He’s probably rushing to finish some urgent work.”

“Oh, no… I mean, yes… If I could meet him, I wanted to thank him directly. Is he working hard?”

“Hehehe. My brother has grown a lot during this journey. He’s having a tough time finishing up the urgent work. He’s feeling both lonely and happy about it.”

Raymond seemed genuinely pleased.

“It’s wonderful that you have such a close relationship with your siblings.”

“Yeah, until a little while ago, he was going through the rebellious phase, which was cute in its own way.”

“Rebellious phase… It’s hard to imagine from his current appearance, but it sounds like a very lovely story.”

A small laugh escaped Eva involuntarily.

Raymond, with a relaxed expression, gazed at Eva.

“Is something the matter?”

“Oh, nothing. Eva-chan seems much happier now than when I first met her on the estate. I want to see you smiling like that.”

“Do I really look happy now?”

Surprised by Raymond’s words, Eva couldn’t help but ask. The image of Lucas overlapped with the nod he gave.

If she look happy now, then…

“It’s probably thanks to Lord Lucas. I didn’t have any friends on the estate I could talk to about anything. I could discuss various things, including my origins, with Lord Lucas. He also gave me confidence. So… maybe that’s why Mr. Raymond can say that.”

“Wow! Eva-chan is really a good girl. I wish Lucas could hear this.”

“Please stop; it’s embarrassing!”

After a hearty laugh, Raymond spoke again.

“I’m glad that Eva is the one who takes good care of Lucas.”

“What do you mean?”

“Have you asked him about his background?”

“Yes, I was told.”

Raymond explained that Lucas was his half-brother and not a pure-blood vampire but a dhampir.

“In his case, his background and status get in the way, and he doesn’t have many people to talk to. He’s the strongest and the captain of the knights in the country. So, I was glad he could meet you.”

“I’m happy to hear that. But… it will probably be difficult to meet him again.”

Thinking about Count Burke from earlier, Eva suddenly felt a wave of melancholy.

“What do you mean?”

“Probably tonight, my engagement will be formalized in writing. In that case, I won’t be able to meet Lucas anymore.”

“I see. But I don’t think it’ll happen that way. He’s doing his best, so I believe things will work out.”

“Well, I’m not sure what you mean…”

“Hehehe, you’ll understand soon enough. Well, it’s about time. Are you mentally prepared?”

“Yes, I’m nervous, but… being with you, Mr. Raymond, makes me feel reassured. Thank you for your consideration.”

“I’m honored to be Eva-chan’s escort for her debut. Well, let’s go.”