At last, Eileen gave a faint smile and shook her head.
"The social season might feel like a battlefield sometimes, but it's not a place where people get seriously hurt. Don't worry."
The only person she was truly concerned about was the Countess wandering around the ballroom. If the woman happened to run into Cedric, nothing good would come of it.
Especially after hearing the nonsense Mia and Sadina had been spouting today. There was no telling what absurd things they might say in front of him next.
Cedric carefully studied her feet.
Eileen gestured toward an empty balcony with her eyes.
"Let's go over there."
"...Ah, right."
She seemed strangely hurried, and Cedric shot her a suspicious look. But Eileen was already striding ahead, forcing him to follow.
The moment the balcony door closed behind them, Eileen collapsed onto a bench hidden in the shadows.
Cedric stared at her with a puzzled expression.
"You're... surprisingly informal today."
"Do we really need to worry about etiquette between us at this point?"
Her feet hurting wasn't entirely a lie.
The shoes, which hadn't been properly fitted, were so tight that she was slowly losing feeling in them.
"...Then what exactly is our relationship?"
"Partners with a common goal?"
Eileen answered absentmindedly. She hadn't put any thought into the words; they had simply slipped out.
"Yeah. That's true."
As she frowned slightly and drifted into thought, Cedric let out a sigh.
Then, without warning, he dropped to one knee.
And before she could react, he took hold of her left foot, visible beneath the hem of her gown.
"W-What are you doing all of a sudden?!"
"Hold still. Let me check. You said it hurt."
Ignoring the possibility of dirtying his clothes, Cedric placed her foot on his knee.
Then, with astonishing care, he slowly removed the painfully tight shoe.
Eileen could only stare at him in silence, too shocked by his sudden actions to speak.
"It really does hurt."
His voice was low as he noticed the tiny trace of blood seeping from a wound.
His words were blunt, but his hands were unbelievably gentle.
Eileen looked down at him, and only after a long pause did she finally speak.
"It's nothing."
"Nothing? You're bleeding."
"I'll put some ointment on it later."
Feeling awkward, she pulled her foot from his hands and set it on the cold marble floor.
Yet somehow, she found herself missing the warmth of his touch.
The thought struck her as ridiculous.
"Let me see the other foot."
But Eileen shook her head and looked away.
She couldn't understand why this man kept closing the distance between them.
And besides...
Wasn't he overreacting?
"No."
"What, do you want me to buy you a new pair of shoes? Why are you wearing something that doesn't even fit?"
With quick reflexes, Cedric grabbed her right foot as well.
"...If I asked you to buy me new shoes, would you?"
"No."
"How stingy. And you're supposed to be my fiancé."
Cedric couldn't understand why he was paying so much attention to Eileen's condition.
Was it because of Kassel's advice?
Or because her flustered expression was amusing?
Either way, the reasons felt so childish that he didn't want to admit them.
"...Well, you're a fiancée I'm going to break off with soon anyway."
The muttered words were less for her and more for himself, an attempt to suppress the strange emotions twisting inside him.
That's right.
Their engagement would eventually end.
Four years from now, they might become complete strangers.
"Fine. Just rest for now. You can put them back on later."
Sitting barefoot on the floor, Eileen spoke in a playful yet sharp tone.
"I've already greeted everyone I needed to greet. So go ahead and abandon your future ex-fiancée and spend your time greeting all the pretty young ladies instead."
Outwardly, she appeared calm.
But the way her fingers toyed with her earrings and the way she lowered her gaze made her seem oddly lonely.
What kind of ridiculous thought am I having?
And yet, Cedric found himself unable to stand up and leave.
He stared at her for a long moment before finally speaking in a low voice.
"...You're pretty too."
He remembered the moment he had seen her enter the mansion earlier that day.
The moment his steps had unconsciously come to a halt.
Of course, he had no intention of telling her that.
He never expected the dress he had chosen for her to suit her so perfectly.
"What?"
"Even without earrings or anything like that, you're fine. You're more than enough just as you are."
It was the kind of thing he could barely force himself to say once.
There was no chance he could ever repeat it.
Cedric quickly looked away and rose to his feet.
"...Honestly."
Eileen looked up at him with her clear green eyes.
For once, those eyes held a warmth he rarely saw.
The sight only made Cedric even more flustered.
He immediately took a step back.
"I'm leaving."
"Stop acting like a child."
"Please stop saying that."
He didn't actually dislike hearing it.
The problem was that she genuinely seemed to see him that way.
"Alright, Sir Cedric Lowell, the perfectly mature gentleman."
Her bright smile was different from the fake smiles she'd worn throughout the banquet.
It was real.
Cedric found himself speechless.
"...I'll bring you a drink."
"I thought you said you were leaving. Are you coming back now?"
"I don't know. I'm leaving."
He pushed open the balcony door and disappeared in a hurry.
Once outside, he leaned against the door and let out a deep breath.
He didn't need a mirror to know his face was red.
Why is it always me...
Why was he always the one being shaken by her?
As Cedric took a few steps, trying to calm the confusion in his mind, someone suddenly blocked his path.
"Lord Lowell."
"...Count Cassier."
A middle-aged man approached, stroking his beard with a sly smile.
At first glance, he seemed friendly enough, but there was something inherently unpleasant about him.
"I've been hoping to greet you all evening, but you've proven more difficult to speak with than expected."
"As you can see, I've been busy."
"Would you spare me a moment of conversation?"
Cedric immediately sensed that the discussion would be bothersome.
Still, he couldn't simply ignore him.
Eileen's nagging words surfaced in his mind.
You should spend more time interacting with other nobles.
And...
Even if the man wasn't her biological father, the name Cassier was still connected to her.
Ignoring that name left a bad taste in his mouth.
"...Very well. Go ahead."
He glanced briefly toward the balcony before nodding.
"It's nothing particularly important. Since His Majesty personally arranged the engagement, wouldn't you agree that the Cassiers and the Lowells are practically one family now?"
Cedric listened to the lengthy introduction and gradually frowned.
This style of speaking in circles was unfamiliar to someone raised in the North.
Is Eileen the exception...?
Running a hand through his hair, he cut the Count off.
"Get to the point. Eileen will soon be a Lowell, not a Cassier."
"...Eileen, is it? You've become rather close to my niece."
The Count raised an eyebrow and smiled.
It was the smile of a predator that had just spotted prey.
Only then did Cedric realize what he had just said.
And at the same time, he realized something else.
He had grown closer to Eileen long before he'd ever noticed it himself.