Chapter 15
The moment she saw Alfonso, a deep sense of panic crept up Charlotte’s spine.
Because her thoughts had frozen completely, Charlotte hid behind a pillar a beat too late.
Even then she still hadn’t fully come to her senses and staggered badly.
‘He didn’t see me… right?’
Surely not. There was no way he could pick her out in this crowd.
While Charlotte hid herself and tried to calm down, Rohan—who had been in the middle of bragging—looked at her curiously.
“Lady Noha, are you listening? Are you perhaps feeling unwell…?”
“…Actually, I do feel rather unwell. If you don’t mind, I’d like to step inside and rest for a moment.”
“Ah, dear. Then I’ll escort you.”
“No, I can go al—”
“If you are unwell, how could I send you alone? Would you have me appear like a rude man?”
Charlotte hesitated.
From the past until now, Rohan had always behaved arrogantly while showing her more attention and favor than necessary.
And from her experience, nothing good ever came from getting entangled in such things.
But Charlotte currently had no mental energy to argue with Rohan, and more importantly, she needed to leave immediately.
‘If I refuse and cause a scene, that would be troublesome.’
It couldn’t be helped.
Charlotte nodded.
“Then… I’ll trouble you for a moment.”
“Gladly.”
Only then did Rohan erase the displeased look on his face and help support Charlotte.
Before entering deeper into the corridor under Rohan’s escort, Charlotte cast an anxious glance back toward the banquet hall.
‘If I hide for a bit and then head to the carriage, I shouldn’t be caught.’
It was fortunate that she could leave her seat, but every step she took sent pain through her foot.
It seemed she had twisted it when she fell.
‘My luck is terrible today…’
Alfonso’s sudden appearance, and now this unexpected injury.
Anything was fine—she just hoped that today’s misfortune would end here.
Praying earnestly, Charlotte continued walking.
* * *
A little while later.
“…Noha’s carriage is here. But Charlotte Noha herself is nowhere to be found, hm.”
“Forgive me, Your Grace.”
When Alfonso muttered slowly, Ludvik—standing beside him—bowed his head apologetically.
“No, it’s fine. I expected something like this.”
Alfonso waved his hand dismissively and turned his gaze toward the banquet hall.
As Charlotte had noticed, Alfonso attending the banquet at the Alois residence had not been planned.
To be precise, the current situation was an extremely rare case where Alfonso had acted on impulse.
To understand why, one would have to go back several hours.
Shortly after Serge returned from Noha after being turned away at the gate.
“So to summarize… the letters sent so far were never delivered, and the head of the house is away?”
At Alfonso’s words, Serge nodded.
“Yes. And it seemed that no one from Noha would agree to meet.”
“I see. Good work.”
Alfonso’s reaction was indifferent.
After remembering Charlotte’s sharp attitude at the Marvelle Marquis residence, it wasn’t particularly surprising.
‘Meeting her is quite difficult.’
He needed to see her face to at least explain why he had proposed.
But she hadn’t given him the chance for several days now.
Moreover, the other knights were openly expressing dissatisfaction about the situation.
“That attitude is extremely arrogant. It’s not appropriate behavior toward an Edouart.”
“Wasn’t it they who sent the proposal first? And now they slam the door in our face!”
“Well, His Grace did reject it at first.”
“That’s beside the point. They’re the ones who should regret it! How can they change their attitude like flipping a palm?”
Arnault and Ludvik were both hot-tempered, so that was expected.
But even the easygoing Serge and the quiet Jean-Jacques were openly showing displeasure.
Ever since Alfonso decided he would marry Charlotte, the knights had been accumulating frustration.
They assumed Alfonso had his reasons and had stayed silent—but everyone was dying to question that decision.
And then Serge returned after being turned away at the gates of Noha.
Their already strained nerves could hardly endure it.
In front of everyone—whose expressions looked ready to explode if touched—Ludvik stepped forward after clearing his throat.
“Your Grace, I will speak honestly despite the rudeness.”
“Speak.”
“Is there a reason this marriage must proceed? The letters weren’t even read, and Serge was turned away at the gate. Isn’t it obvious now?”
That the proposal sent by Noha had merely been mockery.
“Right now Noha must be laughing at Edouart. Saying that we rejected their proposal first, yet now we cling to them. As a vassal of the honorable Edouart, I cannot tolerate this.”
As Ludvik’s words flowed smoothly, everyone remained silent.
That meant all attention was focused on him.
So much so that none of them noticed someone entering the room.
“Therefore I ask you, Your Grace. Why did you decide to marry Noha—”
“…What? Noha?”
At the voice from behind, Ludvik’s body stiffened.
“Did I hear that right? Noha? That Noha?”
Click. Click.
At the approaching sound of heels, Ludvik slowly—very slowly—turned his body.
Standing there was the person he least wanted to face at this moment.
“Y-Your Highness the Princess.”
Sophia Lucilla Genevieve.
Alfonso’s only cousin, and the Emperor’s only younger sister.
And one of the people who hated the name Noha the most.
Sophia raised her eyebrows elegantly and said,
“I think I need an explanation of what exactly is going on here.”
At that, Alfonso’s hardened gaze shifted from Sophia to Ludvik.
‘Damn it, God. Why now?’
Ludvik shut his eyes tightly and cursed heaven, but what could he do?
What had already happened had happened.
Sophia had come to the Edouart ducal residence because she was supposed to attend the evening banquet of the Laverouze family with Alfonso.
Sophia was unmarried and had no fiancé, so she often attended banquets escorted by her cousin Alfonso, who was in a similar situation.
Of course, she also simply enjoyed visiting the Edouart residence.
—The Imperial Palace is suffocating. It’s my home, and a place full of memories, but Edouart feels more comfortable. Maybe because I lived here as a child.
She said things like that whenever she visited.
So it was only a matter of time before Sophia heard that Alfonso intended to marry into Noha…
But unfortunately, the timing was bad.
“Alfonso clinging to Noha? What does that even mean? I must have misheard, right?”
“…You didn’t mishear. I proposed to Charlotte Noha.”
When Alfonso admitted calmly with a sigh, Sophia’s eyes widened.
She clearly had not expected to hear from Alfonso’s own mouth that he intended to marry into Noha.
“What? Why would you?”
“This is Edouart’s matter. I have no reason to explain it to you.”
“If you say that, then I can’t press you further. But this isn’t a trivial issue. How long were you planning to keep it secret?”
“Until the wedding date was set.”
“Wow, you were really planning to tell me early, weren’t you? But it doesn’t seem to be progressing very well. Honestly, I doubt it will ever progress.”
As Sophia sneered, Alfonso’s brows narrowed slightly.
“It’s my business. Your interference isn’t needed.”
“I’m not interfering. But there’s a rumor all over high society that Charlotte Noha is seeing the heir of Alois.”
At Sophia’s words, Alfonso’s hand—just reaching for a document—stopped midair.
“…What?”
“I heard Alois himself has been saying everywhere that things are going well between him and Charlotte Noha. There’s even talk that he plans to confess to her at the Alois banquet. I don’t know if it’s true though.”
Relationships among nobles rarely followed formal procedures.
The more formalities there were, the more rumors and scandals spread.
So a public confession was practically the same as a proposal.
Seeing Alfonso’s hardened expression, Sophia lifted her chin proudly.
“Since the heir of Alois himself said it, it’s probably not just a baseless rumor. Besides, there’s talk that Noha has been putting effort into courting Alois. Maybe they’re seriously discussing marriage.”
“….”
“So instead of clinging to Noha, why don’t you just find another bride—”
“Serge.”
Alfonso’s words dropped sharply like a falling blade.
“Yes, Your Grace.”
“When is the Alois banquet?”
“Alois… that would be tonight. We received an invitation.”
“You’re not seriously going to Alois, are you? You promised to attend Laverouze with me tonight!”
“We’ll go to both. You came early anyway.”
Alfonso answered casually and looked out the window.
The sun was already beginning to set.
If they moved quickly, they could reach Alois before the night grew too late.
“Today… I’ll finally see her face.”
