Chapter 8
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Chapter 8
Leopold picked up the gloves Charlotte had carelessly discarded on the floor. Taking one of her hands in his, he began to slip the gloves onto her fingers with deliberate care.
"First, a lady must never remove her gloves in front of a gentleman at a ball."
Leopold spoke as he tenderly caressed her hand, handling her as though she were a delicate porcelain doll. Charlotte's face flushed crimson at his sudden touch. His hands were impossibly warm and gentle—almost impossible to believe they belonged to a spirit.
A smile graced Leopold's aristocratic features, which often seemed tinged with arrogance. Once both her hands were properly gloved, he murmured softly.
"Exposing bare hands is akin to revealing one's skin—an intimate and seductive gesture."
Leopold's fingertips gently grasped the edge of her glove. At the unfamiliar sensation, Charlotte drew in a sharp breath.
"Thus, grasping the glove's edge like this—as if to slip it off—becomes an expression of affection toward one's partner."
"Ah! So that's why...."
Charlotte exhaled the breath she'd been holding, whispering softly. The etiquette manual had indeed mentioned fidgeting with one's gloves before a gentleman with whom one wished to dance or converse.
Having secured the gloves on Charlotte's hands, Leopold straightened slowly and stepped back, creating a distance of about one pace between them. Moonlight streaming through the window fell gently across his broad shoulders.
"And when a gentleman requests a dance...."
Leopold tilted his head slightly and mimicked the gesture of a gentleman requesting a dance.
"Philip Oslo, as I mentioned. Now, imagine I am he and extend your hand."
Charlotte rose awkwardly from her seat, following Leopold's instruction. Yet imagining Leopold as another gentleman was nearly impossible. The transparent blue-green of his eyes clouded her mind, rendering rational thought difficult.
Charlotte hesitantly extended her arm, adopting the posture of a lady accepting a dance invitation, and asked.
"Is this... is this correct?"
"Well done. You have the bearing of a true lady."
Leopold curved his lips into a soft smile as he spoke. Charlotte's hazel eyes trembled with caution. It was the only moment during her lessons—indeed, during any learning—when she had not received a reprimand.
Leopold gently stroked the hand she had extended toward him and whispered.
"You look as graceful as a swan."
Unaccustomed to such praise, Charlotte felt as though her entire body was trembling. Her heart, too, began to race faster with each passing moment.
"Your Highness... you possess such remarkable patience. Teaching a reckless and foolish young lady like me must be terribly difficult."
Charlotte, her face and neck flushed from Leopold's compliment, murmured softly.
"That is why my parents and my governess Maria have given up on me... though it is not their fault. Rather, I make mistakes so frequently that..."
Leopold's brow furrowed slightly as he listened to her words. It seemed Charlotte firmly believed herself to be foolish, regardless of the circumstances.
'Setting aside her recklessness...'
Leopold recalled the image of Charlotte at Count Oslo's Residence, feigning breathlessness as she pushed the sculpture. Her round face, flushed as she fell on her backside, and afterward, when she had resolved the matter with Count Oslo, the way she rolled across the bed like a kitten before him. In truth, the word "reckless" suited her quite well.
'But I cannot possibly agree that you are foolish.'
Leopold wished to remind Charlotte that she had deduced his intentions in sending her to Count Oslo with remarkable accuracy, and that she had performed a graceful act of deception using the information he had provided before the Count. Yet instead, he simply gazed at her sparkling hazel eyes fixed upon him.
Unaware of Leopold's brief silence, Charlotte continued speaking.
"...So you see, unlike my other sisters, I have not received a single proposal throughout my third season, nor have I ever danced properly with a gentleman. My sister Helena, who made her debut alongside me, has already received two proposals... Sigh."
Charlotte's voice trailed off as she shook her head slightly. Her lovingly curled side locks swayed with the motion, as if she were trying to dispel gloomy thoughts.
"Well, so I was thinking..."
After a moment of deliberation, Charlotte hesitantly opened her mouth. She began to speak while twisting the ribbon hanging at her waist between both hands.
"You asked me to meet with your 'old friend' and discover what they currently know about you. In exchange, I was able to resolve the matter of the Count Oslo Family's sculpture incident with your help."
Charlotte paused mid-sentence and glanced at Leopold's expression. She resembled a cat sitting near fish in a kitchen. Leopold, observing Charlotte bustling about the room, asked calmly.
"What exactly are you trying to say that requires such prolonged buildup?"
Leopold raised his sharp brows. Only then did Charlotte clear her throat with a soft hum before retreating to a distant corner of the room, where she began to whisper quietly.
"Perhaps... aside from meeting your friend, is there anything else I might help you with? In truth, thanks to your assistance, I've transformed from the Augusta Family's troublemaker into someone fortunate enough to hold an invitation to the Prince's welcoming reception..."
Charlotte spoke in an uncharacteristically meek voice. Leopold, listening intently with his brow furrowed, seemed to have grasped something, letting out a short, knowing laugh.
Leopold spoke to Charlotte one final time.
"So the lady found the assistance I provided to her liking, and now wishes to conduct further dealings with me—is that it?"
At Leopold's words, Charlotte hastily waved both hands in denial.
"N-no, the word 'dealings' sounds rather cold, that's not what I meant at all. I simply wish to do something for you, Your Highness, who has been so kind to me! So..."
Charlotte's face flushed with warmth. It was the first time she had received praise from her family and felt proud of herself. It was also the first time she had so elegantly resolved a crisis of her own making. And truthfully, she did wish to receive more of Leopold's assistance.
Unaware that her cheeks and neck had turned crimson, Charlotte stumbled through her excuses.
"It's quite a remarkable coincidence that Your Highness appears only to me, and well, one might even say this is a destiny for us to help one another...?"
Hearing Charlotte's excuse, Leopold smiled, lifting one corner of his mouth slightly. No matter how much a rabbit pretended to be a fox, a lion's eyes could always see through the deception. Leopold then asked Charlotte in a leisurely tone, like a satisfied lion.
"Last time, did you not recite prayers for fear I might be a demon? It seems such suspicions have now vanished?"
Charlotte lifted her flushed face sharply, speaking with a slightly aggrieved expression.
"Of course it was natural that someone like Your Highness would appear in the dead of night...!"
When Charlotte could not continue, Leopold asked with a playful smile.
"Someone like me—what exactly did I do in the dead of night?"
Charlotte opened her mouth to respond to Leopold but closed it again. The brilliance in his eyes as she had seen them in the hallway was far too captivating, his nose and jawline far too handsome, and she could not bring herself to admit aloud that she had thought him to be that very demon said to seduce anyone.
Leopold, leaving the flustered Charlotte to her silence, sat upon a wooden chair by the window. Tilting his head to one side, he asked.
"...So then, if we are to make a deal, what exactly can you and I exchange?"
The moment Charlotte believed she had received a positive response from Leopold, her eyes sparkled with light. And as if the refined gait she had learned from the etiquette book moments before meant nothing, she approached Leopold with spirited confidence and spoke.
"Your Highness, if you help me secure an engagement within this social season, I shall take it upon myself to unravel the mystery surrounding you and ensure you are seen by others once more! What say you?"
Charlotte extended one hand toward Leopold, her expression set with unwavering resolve. She had witnessed gentlemen sealing bargains and oaths in precisely this manner.
Leopold's gaze drifted slowly toward her outstretched hand. Charlotte hesitated briefly, as though something felt incomplete, before she added:
"This is no mere promise, you understand. It is a sworn oath and a bargain staked upon the name and honor of my future husband!"
Leopold fought back an involuntary laugh as he beheld her earnest countenance. She was swearing an oath upon the name and honor of a husband who did not yet exist. Could any oath be more hollow than that?
'Such a hollow oath... ah, but there is one.'
Leopold's lips curved with suppressed amusement as he considered for a moment, then slowly clasped her small hand in his own and replied:
"Very well, my lady. In exchange for accepting your assistance, I shall..."
His low voice, accompanied by a captivating smile, resonated against Charlotte's ears.
"...pledge upon my very life that I shall help you find a suitable bridegroom."
Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org