WHCCP:06

CHAPTER:06

Squeezing my way forward while trying to block my ears, I finally managed to break through to the very front.

And the moment I saw the Duke’s face just a few steps in front of me, my ears began to ring.

It felt almost as if time had stopped.

“……He’s alive.”

Seeing the man with his hair neatly slicked back and dressed in a crisp uniform, a sudden prickle of tears stung my eyes.

Seeing him full of life, rather than covered in blood with a face pale from poison, an indescribable emotion surged within me.

Right then, the Duke turned his head, and I made direct eye contact with him.

“What is it?”

Then, a voice so low it made my fingertips tingle reached me.

When I snapped out of it, I realized I was standing blankly right in front of the Duke.

With one eyebrow arched high, the Duke was staring down at me intently.

“Oh, that is……”

Now that I was actually facing him, my mind went completely blank.

His presence was truly overwhelming.

To the point that I felt if I stayed any longer, not just my mouth but my entire body would freeze solid under his gaze.

“S-so, if you have some free time, would you……”

I wanted to ask him if we could talk.

But of all places, my gaze landed on the group of nobles who had been badmouthing him just moments ago.

“I wonder if there is any noble lady who would actually want to marry a man like that?”

At that moment, I felt something hot surge up from deep inside me.

What do you mean there’s no noble lady who would marry him?

“Will you marry me?”

“……What did you just say?”

His bewildered voice instantly snapped me back to reality.

‘What did I just say……?’

Realizing the weight of the words I had just uttered, I blinked, my expression even more bewildered than his.

“D-Dahlia……?”

Just then, someone called my name in a trembling voice from behind.

When I turned around, my father was standing there, his face completely drained of color.

What’s more, everyone else around us wore expressions that weren’t much different from my father’s.

In that instant, I realized.

‘I’m in deep trouble.’

That I had just caused a massive disaster.

In an instant, a chilly silence fell over the banquet hall, as if cold water had been thrown over it.

Had it not been for the faint music echoing through the hall, it would have been a state of absolute, freezing silence.

In that dead silence where no one dared to speak first—

“Her Majesty the Empress and His Highness the Second Prince are entering!”

For better or worse, the guests of honor of today’s event entered the hall.

At that moment, everyone in the banquet hall turned in unison toward the dais to pay their respects.

First, the magnificently adorned Empress stepped forward and spoke.

“You may all lift your heads.”

As I raised my head as instructed, I saw the Empress wearing a satisfied smile, and Delos, who looked somewhat anxious.

“I express my gratitude to all the esteemed guests who have gathered here today to celebrate the Prince’s birthday. Please, enjoy the banquet to your heart’s content.”

Having finished her short speech, the Empress turned toward Delos.

Delos, whose mind seemed to be elsewhere, finally snapped out of it at the Empress’s prompting and hurriedly spoke.

“Please…… enjoy the banquet……”

As he delivered the same closing remarks as the Empress, the music swelled once again in the hall.

The moment the Empress stepped away, Delos, who was still on the dais, immediately began scanning the entire hall.

Seeing him behave as if he were searching for someone made my brow furrow.

‘Surely he’s not looking for me.’

From the day Delos broke up with me until now, I hadn’t sought him out, and he hadn’t looked for me either.

Judging by his personality, his pride must have been wounded since I, who should have come crawling back to beg for forgiveness within a few days, had remained utterly silent.

‘If we run into each other, who knows what nonsense he’ll spew……’

News of our breakup had already spread throughout high society.

In this situation, if we were seen having an argument today, it would cause nothing but a massive headache in many ways.

As I slowly slipped to the side to avoid Delos’s line of sight, a large shadow fell over me.

“……”

It was Duke Valestein.

With his back to the dais, he was quietly looking down at me.

My eyes met his calm gray eyes, which gave away nothing of what he was thinking.

‘……Did he block his view on purpose?’

I wasn’t sure, but thanks to him blocking the way, I was out of Delos’s sight.

But now was not the time to be relieved about that.

‘I just proposed to this man.’

Glancing around, I noticed many eyes were still fixed on us, not yet leaving their spots.

Just as I parted my lips, feeling the pressure to say something, anything—

“Excuse me……”

“Ahem, Dahlia.”

My father, who was right behind me, wrapped an arm around my shoulder and spoke.

“You’ve looked unwell since this morning, and now your complexion is terrible. You don’t need to push yourself any further, so you must head back and rest immediately.”

Although he spoke with a gentle smile, I could see the corners of his mouth twitching uncontrollably.

“But Father, I……”

“Don’t complicate things any further and just follow me quietly.”

Before I could even ask what he meant, my father’s warning—delivered in top-tier ventriloquism—forced me to shut my mouth.

Sparks were flying from my father’s eyes as they met mine.

“Oh dear, look at all this sweat! Let’s go quickly.”

Ultimately, I was dragged out of the banquet hall without being able to say another word.

As I was being dragged away by my father, I hurriedly looked back at the Duke.

He was still standing there, watching me.

“Dahlia! What’s wrong? Are you sick?”

Just then, Cezar, who had finally noticed my father supporting me, ran over in a flurry and started making a massive fuss.

Thanks to Cezar, who helped support me from the other side without even knowing what was going on, I escaped the banquet hall looking like a patient being carried out.

***

On the way back home.

“Dahlia!”

My father’s furious roar echoed loudly inside the carriage.

He was breathing so heavily I half-expected to see hot steam pouring from his nose.

“Why? What happened? Dahlia, weren’t you sick?”

On top of that, Cezar, who lacked any sense of tact, kept muddying the waters, making the situation an absolute mess.

“Just when I thought you had finally come to your senses, you stab your father in the back like this!”

My father beat his chest with heavy thuds, then leaned down toward me and added:

“Look! Look how white my hair has turned because of how much you’ve worried me all this time!”

Right in front of me, silver hair identical to my own fluttered gently.

As I sat quietly with my head bowed, listening to my father, an obstacle I had briefly forgotten about stepped in to ruin the moment.

Cezar, whose face was flushed red from God knows how much alcohol he’d consumed, finally lost his senses and put his foot in his mouth.

“But Father, your hair has been like that since the day you were born!”

“You brat! Just how much did you drink?!”

“Aaargh!”

Unable to take it anymore, Father began repeatedly slapping Cezar’s arm.

“Ugh! That hurts!”

“Good, glad to hear it!”

Watching Father’s swift, stinging slaps, I quickly turned my gaze out the window, secretly feeling relieved.

Relieved that I had kept my mouth shut.

With Cezar’s sniffling as background noise, I fell deep into thought.

‘What do I do now?’

Why on earth did I make such a slip of the tongue back there?

Honestly, I felt like tearing my own hair out.

“Of all people, why Duke Valestein?”

My father, who had managed to calm himself down to some degree, looked at me with a troubled face and asked.

When I hesitated, unable to find the right words immediately, my father let out a soft sigh and continued.

“I’ve heard he is a violent man. Rumor has it he was notorious for being utterly ruthless on the battlefield. And……”

“Father.”

Cutting my father off mid-sentence, I looked him straight in the eye and spoke.

“They’re just rumors.”