He Loved My Sister

Chapter 32

-ˏˋ♡꒷︶꒦꒷︶︶︶꒷꒦꒷︶꒷♡ˎˊ˗

(3rd Person POV)

“Do you think we’ll be able to see the rumored ghost Duke, soon?

“Not only him? We are eager to see the faces of the Hillington twins as well.”

The young girls, who were quietly talking with fans on their lips, secretly looked at the face of the organizers of the gathering.

Ghost Duke.

The holder of the Congratulatory Remark, .

A social world treasure coveted by everyone.

Gabriel von Ellen Belfius.

Rumors say that the Princess Raffia, who met this man at the Imperial Palace, was severely insulted and was left behind without a second thought.

And the organizer of this gathering is Princess Raffia.

“Your Highness, can you share with us your thoughts? It was said that the first dance at the debutante ball is the most important and that is the dance between the debutante and its partner, right?”

The Princess, who had a generous face nodded her head.

Everyone’s eyes gazed at the Princess’s lips to see what she would say.

“Yeah, you have a point there. A lot of things may happen depending on who you dance with for the first time.”

One of the ladies who had a broad smile began to flatter the Princess.

“Who will be the lucky man that you chose to be your partner, Your Highness? All the ladies in the society are very thrilled about it.”

“Since you are the most noble person in the empire, so your partner will be His Majesty the Emperor, right? Or…..”

“Is he the one we are all thinking of?”

The Princess’ smile froze for a moment.

“That person?”

Tension lingered among the young ladies inside the room.

They didn’t know what the Princess’s reaction was yet.

‘Would she curse at that man according to the insult she had received from the Duke of Belfius the other day?

Or would the noble Princess praise the man and show interest in him?’

If it is the latter, then the Princess needs to deal with the Hillington twins. Either she fights with them or creates something that would entangle her and the Duke of Belfius to create a rumor about them.

“Well…”

Raffia’s eyes narrowed as if it was interesting.

“How wonderful it would be if the first dance between a man and the noblest woman would serve as an example for everyone in the Mielle Empire, Your Highness.”

Princess Raffia’s eyes slowly bent as if she was enjoying their conversation.

“Is he? Is he really that valuable man? You guys tell me.”

However, it was no longer a pleasant atmosphere as previously, and those who initiated the topic shrank their shoulders and shut their mouths.

‘Was it not that prized man who insulted the Princess of the empire?’

Tap. Tap.

The tip of the Princess’s long trimmed fingernails pounded the table for a long time.

“What? How come no one is responding?”

Soon after, the Princess’s gentle voice continued as if she was suppressing her emotions.

“If it is the most valuable thing, it seems to me that it suits me well, whether it be jewelry or an object, or …even a person.”

The young maidens suddenly became ecstatic.

“That is correct, Your Highness.”

“Do you think so?”

“Of course! The most precious things should be in the hands of Her Highness the Princess.”

‘Princess Raffia is interested in Gabriel von Ellen Belfius.’

Then that means the Imperial Palace will be accepting the Duke of Belfius.

The ladies tried to organize their thoughts, thinking about any information that needed to pass on to their families for the future.

And if that will be the case, there’s only one thing that is left to do and that is to get rid of the Hillington twins.

‘But what would be the most effective way of hurting the girls of the Hillington family?’

With malicious eyes shining, the ladies tried to use their heads and immediately started mocking the twins.

“Do any of you know? They said that the twins have flaws.”

One of the ladies started talking, then everyone followed through.

“Oh my, that’s not all. We also heard that they shamelessly seduced the Duke to have him stay at the capital mansion!”

“Oh my God. Is that for real?”

“It is true. I have confirmed that the Duke of Belfius’ clothes have all been delivered to that address. Can you imagine that! Do they still have their remaining dignity and manners?”

(PR/N: But how do you know where his clothes are going if you didn’t stalk him…?)

They did not take into account that the Duke might have volunteered to stay in that mansion.

If the original party is not present, rumors would inflate more.

One of the young ladies, who was just secretly observing their conversation, started talking in a very soft voice as she rustled her fan because it would be a very sensitive topic to discuss in future.

“The rumor is that the eldest of the twins has ominous remarks and it is quite famous.”

Everyone held their breaths all at once.

The Princess’ eyes narrowed even more.

Congratulatory Remarks and ability.

It was like a thorn or a needle to the present Imperial Family.

Originally, the noblest and most capable of the Royal Family were supposed to have this ability. However, among the current Imperial Family, only His Majesty the  Emperor Detroit was gifted with Congratulatory Remarks and ability.

(PR/N: Bet you the Emperor wants Gabriel as a son in law so he can keep abilities going in the bloodline)

“You go ahead, please tell us more.”

The eyes of the Princess were filled with joy. The voice of the young lady, who mentioned this suddenly raised her voice as she fuelled her previous words.

“Oh, yes, Your Highness the Princess. It is really true; there’s this story as well about how the Duchess dies. I can’t believe that such an ominous family is to be matched together with the War Hero. It doesn’t seem right.”

Since then, a lot of words pouring out filled the room. It was to provide information for the Princess who would fight against the Hillington twins.

Princess Raffia, who was listening with her eyes closed, suddenly burst into laughter.

“Haha. You guys are really good with this. Is this the main reason why I can’t stop meeting you guys?”

At the praise, the women burst into laughter. This laughter would be a sword and arrow that would soon fly to someone who would appear in the society.

“It’s because we are all loyal to you, Your Highness. We just want you to know that. And anything that is considered the best should only belong none other than the Princess herself.” 

Princess Raffia is clearly the pinnacle of the social world and the most noble flower.

The only Princess who is highly favored by His Majesty the Emperor.

If she wants to have Gabriel von Belfius, she will have a fiery battle with the Hillington twins.

‘Just how fun would that be?’

And these young ladies enjoyed cat fights and strife, as they exchanged secret smiles.

“That’s nice. I feel like my blood is flowing after such a long time. Since it’s the Hillington girls, I just hope that they will be challenging opponents.”

“They will be, Your Highness the Princess.”

Princess Raffia licked her lips with her tongue as if she was tempted.

But then she suddenly frowned.

‘Am I reminiscing about the insults I received from the Duke of Belfius?’

The Princess suddenly laughed.

No matter how scary that young Duke may be, he cannot ignore the Princess in front of an audience.

“Also Your Highness, His Majesty the Emperor doesn’t need to intervene directly. This can be taken care of by Her Highness’s loyal subordinates.”

For example, they would make it so neither of the Hillington twins would hold the Duke’s hand and make the first dance impossible.

“Fufu, you are all so loyal.”

Slowly, the Princess’s lips curved with satisfaction.

As if that was exactly what she wanted to hear.

-ˏˋ ━━━━━━ ʚɞ ━━━━━━ ˊˎ-

(Hildea’s POV)

A mouth-watering aroma of roast duck, and steak seasoned with herbs and butter.

Smoked salmon that will make everyone happy to eat it in just one bite, sliced long and thin.

Steamed oysters that smell fresh as if they were recently picked.

Even the seductively sparkling wine.

Despite the food that should be called dinner in front of me, I am not at ease. I manage to wet my mouth with wine and mourn inwardly.

‘Why are you looking at me like that? Just how many times will you do that?’

It was because of the other person whose eyes would continuously meet mine every once in a while.

At first, I thought that it was just an Illusion, but it is already the 14th time that our eyes met. That person is definitely looking at me, not Rosé.

And that person is. 

‘Why?’

It’s Gabriel.

The toes hidden inside my shoes began to shrink.

And cold sweat ran down my back, because I was worried that someone else would notice his tenacious gaze.

So, the knife that was cutting the steak slightly squeaked, and I clenched my teeth.

Just as I hoped that no one would notice, I heard a lively voice beside me.

“Oh right. sister?”

“Huh?”

Rosé, who was just cutting the roast duck into large chunks, looked at me and spoke with her eyes shining.

I blinked my eyes.

‘She has a lovely face as usual, but how come an ominous feeling is creeping up?’

‘Rosé, please don’t say anything, okay? I don’t know what it is, but please don’t say it now!’

Rosé smiled and suddenly threw a bomb.

“Sister, who will be your partner?”

‘Partner.’

Cough! It was a hot topic that would make the meat that I’m eating stick to my throat.

It was also at that moment when my father and Gabriel, who were currently talking about politics while exchanging bloody looks, turned their eyes to me.

“If it’s about a partner…”

Gabriel’s eyes narrowed.

I immediately looked away, as if pretending not to notice.

‘Why? What? What does choosing my partner have to do with him?’

This time, my father then stroked his chin and groaned as if in dismay.

“I see. I hadn’t thought about the partner problem. By any chance Hildea, do you have anyone in mind?”

I got a little embarrassed. Obviously, the topic of discussion here is focused on my debutante partner, just because someone mentioned it.

‘Rosé, aren’t you doing this on purpose?’

I patted my mouth with a napkin and tried to respond in a calm voice. I just hope that my voice won’t sound panicky.

“Father, what is so important about that? There are a lot of things to prepare for right now. I don’t think it’s a topic worth talking about in a hurry at a dinner gathering…”

“No, Hill! How can you say that? The first dance is at stake. Doesn’t it matter? It’s more important than anything else. It is this father’s fault.”

“No, it’s not…”

‘This isn’t good.’

“Partners are also a matter of face. This father lacks a lot for this kind of thing.”

‘I feel like I’m going to get indigestion. It naturally started from the first dinner that Gabriel joined a few days ago.’

“Besides, didn’t you practice hard for this upcoming debutante? If you’d like um… This father of yours would um… Let’s dance.” 

I don’t know how to react for a moment because I don’t know what my father is trying to say.

Besides, I couldn’t understand what my father attempted to suggest, since he kept mumbling beside me.

“Ahmm, hmm!”

It was because he was covering his mouth with his fist and Gabriel coughed lightly every time my father spoke.

“Father?”

But my call was mercilessly chewed(*).

(PR/N:(*) Chewed meaning her words were overlooked/ignored. *Shrugs* I don’t get it either.)

Father glared at Gabriel with bloody eyes, and Gabriel responded formidably.

“Why do you cough whenever I speak? If you’re not feeling well, you should go and have yourself seen by a physician. And I don’t know why you keep coming here with your big ass(*).”

(PR/N:(*) The duke is calling him arrogant.) 

“What I wanted to tell you is that, you have to swallow your food first before you talk, so that the other person can hear you clearly.”

“Ha, you’re going to come out like this?”

“Who’s the one who’s being cheap? Parents who are too obsessed with their children are not good.”

“I’m sure it’s the same for someone who is always persistent.”

TO BE CONTINUED….