DAYS later, Marcus and Cesia were attending an evening party at Marquess Daphne’s residence. Cesia had received an invitation from one of the noblewomen she had sat with at a tea party several days before.
Cesia wore a deep blue dress embroidered with silver thread and a pearl hair ornament, which both went well with her black hair. Marcus wore a matching tie made of the same material as her dress.
The two greeted the host, the marquess, then Marcus accompanied Cesia to the floor to dance a song together. They weren’t dancing alone, as they had once before; a great number of people were watching them. Cesia seemed incredibly nervous but managed, thanks to Marcus’s lead.
“I was so anxious…” Cesia mumbled as they leisurely separated from the rest of the people dancing.
Marcus quietly chuckled. Cesia was the type of person who performed better when it really mattered, and she had danced confidently, but internally, she had been afraid. “I think you did really well,” he said.
“Thank you…” Cesia looked embarrassed. “But when I look at everyone else, I always get the painful realization that I still have a long way to go.”
Marcus raised an eyebrow. Cesia was being awfully pessimistic. Lately, she had been working hard to embody the role of princess consort perfectly, but he felt that she had suppressed her true charm. Still, she was doing it for his sake, so he hesitated to say that what she was doing was unnecessary.
Cesia had lived as a commoner for most of her life until recently. There was no way that she would catch up to born-and-raised nobles in such a short time. Taking that into account, she definitely deserved a passing grade. He believed, at least, that he had said as much to her.
“You must be tired from the stress. Do you want to take a breather?” Marcus asked.
Cesia frowned. “But we have to go greet…no, you’re the prince, so they come to greet you, right? Anyway, there’s that and all sorts of other things we need to do. Aren’t we too busy to be taking a break?”
Marcus led her by the hand to the wall and tried to persuade her. “I can accept greetings alone. I’ve done it that way until now. Besides, tonight is to help you get used to this, so I don’t mind if you take it slow.”
No matter the training, going all out from the start always led to overexertion. With good reason, Marcus thought that, with Cesia’s ability and work ethic, she would easily adapt as long as she took the time to get used to things.
“I see,” Cesia replied dejectedly. Whatever Marcus’s intentions were, she couldn’t help but feel down. It couldn’t happen now, but if Juliette or some other noblewoman were here with Marcus instead of me, wouldn’t they be accepting greetings with him? she thought. Because she was her, and because she had been a commoner, he was trying to leave her behind. It was frustrating. Still, she wasn’t confident that she could behave affably while greeting everyone in her current state. She bit her lip but tried as hard as possible to nod as if it were nothing. “Then, I’ll take advantage of your kind offer to take a short break.”
“Okay. I’ll be right back.”
Cesia forced herself to smile, and Marcus stroked her cheek before leaving. She watched him until he disappeared into the crowd, then straightened her back.
Naturally, she had no friends among the nobility. Everyone had their attention turned toward her, but she knew it largely wasn’t positive attention. Without Marcus to rely on, she steeled herself, ready to fight alone in enemy territory. However, everyone watched her from afar, and no one came to speak to her. They must not be thinking of bothering me so long as Marcus is here, she thought.
Cesia left anyway, aware of the awkward mood that came from people being conscious of her presence. She didn’t want to infringe on their nice evening.
After she left the hall, she felt a collective sigh of relief behind her. She was confused about how best to conduct herself around everyone there, and it seemed they felt much the same about her. They must still be unable to decide how to approach me, she thought.
She found it a bit easier to breathe once she had escaped from the stuffy air in the hall and went onto the porch that led into the garden. It was nighttime, so she couldn’t look out over the entire garden, but the fragrant scent of flowers soothed her.
“I have to get it together,” she muttered to herself.
Marcus had told her she was doing her duty sufficiently, but that wasn’t good enough. To be with him, she had to be the princess consort. And to be the princess consort, a passing grade wouldn’t cut it. She had to be a model example for noblewomen the world over. She didn’t want to give up Marcus to anyone else, and she would hate it if people criticized him because of her.
Cesia stepped off the porch into the garden and sat on a bench. The inside of the hall was visible from where she was, so it wouldn’t be a problem as long as she returned at the right time.
As she sat there, why, if it wasn’t a repeat of what had happened beneath the trees at the garden party a few days before. Several ladies were surrounding another one and harassing her.
I can’t get involved. Marcus is waiting for me, Cesia mentally chanted. But it bothered her, and she found herself watching anyway. When one of the bullies yanked on the girl’s hair and tore the lace on her dress, Cesia spoke up, startled. “Hey! That’s just too cruel!”
They always escalated to tearing people’s dresses.