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Eugene looked at me with eyes like a drenched kitten, his shoulders slumped in a pitiful way.

‘Now that I think about it, he’s right.’

Although he was the son of Duke Kreutz, Eugene’s life was far from that of a typical noble’s son. He was the Duke’s illegitimate child, and having been abandoned and later acknowledged into the family, he never really had the opportunity to experience high society. Moreover, his half-forced admission to the Ivory Tower had nearly severed his ties with the Kreutz family. Naturally, he wouldn’t know anyone at the party. Even if I invited other noble children of our age, it would be difficult for Eugene to fit in with them.

However, it seemed that Leonid, who was struggling to free himself from Eugene’s grip, had a different opinion.

“What do you mean, alone? I’ll be there too,” Leonid grumbled as he finally escaped Eugene’s hold, looking annoyed. “Are you saying that if Reshia isn’t there, no one else exists to you? Have I been invisible to you all this time, even though we’ve spent so much time together at the Ivory Tower?”

“Invisible? Of course not,” Eugene replied, shrugging his shoulders as if the idea was absurd. He then extended his hand toward Leonid. “So, should I ask you to be my partner instead? I’m fine with that too.”

“What? You want us to be partners?”

“Yeah. There’s no rule that says partners have to be of the opposite gender, right?”

“There’s no such rule…” Leonid mumbled, his eyes darting around as if he were trying to recall something from the court etiquette books he’d read. He seemed to be trying to remember if such a rule existed.

“…You’re right. There isn’t,” Leonid finally admitted, his expression sour. It was clear that no matter how hard he searched his memory, he couldn’t find any rule that prohibited same-gender partners.

Seeing this, Eugene tilted his head slightly, as if he had expected this outcome, and lightly shook the hand he still had extended toward Leonid.

“So, will you take responsibility for me?” Eugene asked nonchalantly.

“Re-…,” Leonid started, but he seemed completely at a loss for words, his mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water. Usually, Leonid was always ready to argue against any point with a long-winded explanation that would drive people crazy. But now, he seemed utterly incapable of coming up with a counterargument.

“Leo?” Eugene even used the rarely-heard nickname, urging Leonid with a teasing tone. In response, Leonid rubbed his arms nervously with both hands.

“I told you, this guy is insane,” Leonid muttered, casting a sideways glance at Eugene before quickly turning his gaze to me. “Reshia, you *have* to be Eugene’s partner. If you don’t, he’ll seriously walk into the party holding my hand.”

“What…?” I blinked, imagining the sight of Eugene and Leonid entering the party hand in hand.

“Honestly, it wouldn’t be a bad picture…” I mused. Both Eugene and Leonid were handsome enough to draw attention on their own. But sometimes, when you combine one plus one, the result can be greater than two—a truly striking pair.

“If the two of you walked in together, it could be quite a sight…”

“What are you talking about?” Leonid interrupted, horrified, before forcibly placing Eugene’s hand into mine.

“Your partner will be Eugene. That’s final. No objections,” Leonid declared, leaving no room for argument.

“It seems that’s the decision, Reshia,” Eugene quickly agreed, tightening his grip on my hand.

“Wouldn’t you be disappointed if you couldn’t partner with Leonid? Watching you two dance together would be quite a sight,” I teased.

“Well, I would be disappointed, but since Leo seems to dislike the idea so much, there’s nothing I can do about it,” Eugene replied, his tone lighthearted despite the situation.

As Eugene and I exchanged these lighthearted remarks, Leonid let out a long, exasperated sigh and quickly distanced himself from us.

“You two are dangerous. Very dangerous. You’re the only ones I can talk to, but somehow, you’re both completely out of your minds…” Leonid grumbled. Considering that Leonid was usually the least rational among us, his words didn’t carry much weight.

Eugene and I exchanged glances, and as if on cue, we both burst into laughter. Leonid stared at us with a look that said, “What on earth are they laughing about?” but that only made us laugh harder.

Once I managed to stifle my laughter, I asked Eugene, “Are you really confident about your dancing?”

“Of course. I would never let you be embarrassed, Reshia.”

His answer was somewhat noncommittal, but since it was Eugene, I felt I could trust him.

“Alright then…” I said, grabbing the hem of my dress and spreading it slightly to the side as I gracefully bowed my head, mimicking the elegant greeting of a noble lady to a gentleman. “Will you be my partner, Eugene?”

Eugene responded with a small smile and a nod. Meanwhile, Leonid, who had been grumbling to himself, couldn’t resist adding his two cents.

“According to court etiquette, it’s the gentleman’s role to ask for a partner. It’s been that way since the Empire was founded.”

That was such a Leonid thing to say.

* * *

Time flew by, and soon enough, the day of the party arrived. From early in the morning, I was in the capable hands of Lily, Daisy, and Rose as they helped me prepare. Having already experienced this sort of thing when attending my debutante ball, I thought I would be able to handle the preparation process with composure this time around… or so I thought.

‘This is… exhausting…’

By the time I was fully dressed and sitting in front of the vanity while they styled my hair, I was completely drained. The meticulous attention to detail from the trio left me feeling utterly worn out, and the soothing sensation of their hands in my hair made me so drowsy that I couldn’t keep my eyes open. I heard Rose and Daisy giggle as they watched me doze off, but I was too tired to fight off the sleepiness.

Then, suddenly, a voice from behind snapped me out of my drowsiness.

“Are you all ready?”

I instantly recognized the voice and shook off the sleep. Looking in the mirror, I saw Axel, dressed to the nines, standing behind me. Even in the simplest of clothes, Axel had a naturally striking presence. But now, with his elegant attire and shining golden hair, he looked like he was radiating a halo of light.

“Wow…” I clapped my hands, still looking at him in the mirror, thoroughly impressed by his appearance.

Axel, noticing my reaction, awkwardly rubbed his face, looking a bit self-conscious.

“The guests will be arriving soon. Since you’re the host, you’ll need to greet them with the Duke,” he reminded me.

Normally, the Duchess would handle this role, but since she was absent, I had to take her place alongside the Duke.

“Are you sure I’m the right person to be hosting this?”

“Why wouldn’t you be?” 

Axel tilted his head, as if wondering what the problem was, and asked, “What’s your name?”

“…Reshia Elpinard.”

“Exactly. Elpinard.”

He emphasized the name “Elpinard” as he lightly patted my shoulder. 

“That name alone proves all your qualifications. You don’t need any other reason,” he said in a light tone, but it felt like solid encouragement to me.

‘Has this guy finally grown up?’ I thought, surprised by his ability to offer such support. We used to bicker constantly, but now he was encouraging me. 

‘It feels like I’m the only one who hasn’t matured,’ I reflected, blinking at my reflection in the mirror. ‘Is it because my body is still that of a child?’

Even as a child, despite regaining memories of my previous life, I found it hard to act and speak like an adult—perhaps because my brain was still at the “dolphin” level, as I sometimes jokingly thought. 

‘Although, I wasn’t exactly the most mature person in my past life either,’ I admitted to myself. Maybe this was just my nature.

As I remained lost in thought, Axel, who had been patting my shoulder, suddenly asked in a slightly exasperated tone, “But are you really going to let Eugene be your partner today?”

“Yes,” I replied.

“Can he even properly escort you?” Axel asked, clearly skeptical.

“Eugene doesn’t need to escort me.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’m the one escorting Eugene, not the other way around. I was the one who asked him to be my partner, after all.”

That had led to quite a lengthy lecture from Leonid, starting with his favorite phrase, “According to the court etiquette manual!”

“So, there’s nothing to worry about with Eugene. I’ll handle the escorting just fine,” I assured him.

“…Actually, that’s what I’m more worried about,” Axel muttered, giving me a once-over. The encouraging Axel from a moment ago seemed to have disappeared, replaced by the old Axel who used to look down on me like he did back in Greslin.

Just as I was about to suggest that Axel should trust me a little more, I heard voices calling from outside the room.

“Reshia, I’m here!” Eugene’s voice called out.

“Reshia! I’m here too!” Leonid chimed in.