Chapter 135

As soon as I fell into the arms of the person who pulled me, he used his other arm to knock the glass out of the air using the tray as a shield.

Claang!

As glasses shattered on the floor, a sharp crackling sound erupted, though I wasn’t bothered by it.

Familiar voice, familiar embrace.

And above all, there was only one person who had such agility that couldn’t have come from an ordinary human being.

“…Dimitri?”

“Are you okay, Rowaine?”

I stared blankly up at him as he gazed down at me. Under the dazzling chandelier light, Dimitri, who was dressed very elegantly and had a stylish hairstyle, looked at me.

‘Wow….’

I wondered if I was really looking at a living person right now.

Dimitri looked like a character who had just stepped out of a game. A perfect face, eyes, and expression without even the slightest flaw. For some reason, he even got his hair done, so he looked like a model straight out of a magazine.

‘He’s like… a moving pictorial.’

My gaze never left Dimitri as if glued there by magnets.

“Rowaine?”

As I remained still, as if frozen, Dimitri tilted and called out to me.

Even that seemed so surreal.

“Yes…”

When I responded absentmindedly, he furrowed his brow before waving his hand in front of my face.

“What’s wrong? Are you very surprised?”

He stood me up upright and inspected me from all angles, making sure no glass shards had splintered, and then he comforted me. It was a sweet and caring demeanor mixed with a lot of concern.

I came to my senses belatedly and smiled to reassure him that I was okay.

“I’m fine. Thank you, Dimitri. Today…”

“Today?”

“You look great today.”

“….!”

At my words, Dimitri stared at me with a strange expression on his face. It was a look of disbelief as if he couldn’t quite trust what he was hearing.

‘What is it…?’

His usual proud demeanor, as if he would normally smirk and boast about such obvious things, seemed a little strange today. Even though I was puzzled by the completely different atmosphere, I couldn’t pry into the meaning behind that look since he looked away without much reaction.

Regaining my composure, I looked around and noticed that people’s gazes were directed towards Dimitri.

‘I guess I wasn’t the only one who thought he was impressive.’

Looking at the expressions of the women around me, I felt like they knew what my expression looked like just moments ago, even if I didn’t see them. Among those who were holding their breath and looking at us with red cheeks, someone was startled and whispered to the person next to them.

“That man is a shapeshifter.”

“What? What are you talking about?”

“Look at his eyes. It’s a vertical slit in the pupil.”

“Could he really be that Count of Blois?”

At the mention of ‘Count of Blois,’ people murmured in disbelief.

“I heard he’s a shapeshifter who hides his appearance because he looks so hideous.”

“That person can’t be the Count of Blois…”

Just like fans unexpectedly meeting their idol, some people stared blankly at Dimitri, their disbelief in reality starting to set in. Some people shook their heads in disbelief, while others opened their mouths as if in shock.

It was to be expected. Most of the people here probably wouldn’t recognize his face.

Dimitri, who detested crowded places, only occasionally attended political gatherings or small-scale events where high-ranking nobles congregated.

‘So I thought he wouldn’t come to the party today.’

Oh, of course, it wasn’t like I didn’t like it or anything.

I even felt a little flattered.

‘The coolness of our leader cat is finally being revealed to the world.’

Yes, that face was too precious to keep hidden from the world.

Dimitri glared at the group of Kellys with cold eyes, not caring what people were whispering about.

Kelly and the others were confused as they saw him being kind to me, but they quickly averted their gazes when they made eye contact with him. Among her group, the person who tripped the servant’s foot hesitated for a moment before awkwardly stammering out an excuse.

“I, it was a mistake.”

Then, she needlessly scolded the fallen servant.

“You should’ve watched where you’re going! You almost caused a disaster!”

The servant looked at her and then at the others as if he felt unjustly accused.

“But I’m sure I…”

It was as if he wanted someone to testify that he had been tripped over.

But naturally, no one stepped forward.

It was because if they were to take the servant’s side here, it would be tantamount to taking Rowaine’s side. Who would want to take the side of the infamous mistress who had been abandoned by the Emperor? Even the servant, who must have learned how to behave sensibly while working in the imperial palace, also seemed to feel the same way.

He put aside his sense of injustice and quickly stepped forward, bowing his head apologetically to Dimitri.

“I’m sorry! I tripped over my own feet! Please forgive me!”

I watched Dimitri’s pupils dilate as he looked at the group of Kellys.

‘Uh-oh. This is dangerous.’

It had the murderous glare of a cat ready to pounce on its prey and bite the nape of its neck at any moment. Although I was certain he wouldn’t actually throttle Kelly in this situation, I quickly intervened.

“Dimitri, I’m fine.”

Then, I made the servant who was bowing down raise his head.

“No one got hurt, so it’s okay. Since the glasses broke, it’s better to clean up quickly. Also, wine splattered on my husband’s shoes, so please bring something to wipe them.”

“T-Thank you! I’ll bring it to you right away!”

The servant bowed deeply once again and quickly disappeared to fetch cleaning supplies and a cloth to wipe. People looked at me as though they were surprised at my forgiving attitude.

“What’s going on?”

“If something like that happened in the past, she would’ve been furious and thrown the servant into prison.”

“I suppose being abandoned by His Majesty made her come to know her plight well?”

It seemed that no matter what I did, it seemed like a waste. I felt once again how much resentment people had toward Rowaine.

‘They don’t realize how many people I just saved.’

Meanwhile, Kelly and the others turned around without a word, probably thinking it would be a good idea to get out of this place. I, too, had achieved my purpose despite whatever people might say, so I decided to move Dimitri along with me.

Right now, they were cursing and blaming the real Rowaine, not me, so there was no need to get angry or hurt.

‘More than anything, Dimitri seems very angry, so we should leave quickly.’

I grabbed Dimitri’s arm and pulled him along.

“Let’s go, Dimitri. I’ll let you know what I find out.”

However, he stopped me and called Kelly over.

“Countess Sterling.”

His expression was extremely cold.

‘Oh, my goodness.’

What was he trying to do? My heart trembled more than anyone else’s at the sight of his dilated pupils.

Startled by Dimitri’s murderous voice, Kelly slowly turned around.

“Yes…?”

“From what I heard a little while ago, it seemed like you didn’t like my wife’s mercenary group. Is that correct?”

“Well… why would that matter? Is it a problem if I dislike that shapeshifter mercenary group?”

“A problem? Not at all.”

Dimitri suddenly smiled, still with a murderous glint in his eyes.

“On the contrary, I’m glad to hear that our problems will be solved.”

“What do you mean by that…?”

“The husband of the Countess Sterling recently requested a commission from my wife’s mercenary group.”

As embarrassment flashed across Kelly’s face, a small doubt sprouted in my mind.

‘Come to think of it, it seems like he’s been avoiding mentioning the impressive name I’ve carefully chosen for our mercenary group….’

More than that, I wondered how many commissions had piled up for the mercenary group and how Dimitri managed to keep track of all those clients. It was astounding.

Dimitri continued speaking.

“With commissions already piling up, it was a difficult decision to make, but if Countess Sterling wishes it, we won’t accept commissions from the Sterling family.”

“Wa, wait… wait a moment. That’s something I’ll have to discuss with my husband…”

However, Dimitri ignored her words and looked at the others in her group.

“I understand that Lady Aleni and Viscountess Atier share the same sentiment as your friend, so we’ll decline commissions from your family as well.”

“Yes?”

“N, no…!”

Dimitri turned to me and smirked.

“It was already difficult because we were flooded with requests, but isn’t it a good thing?”

At that moment, a couple who appeared to be the parents of the woman called Atier rushed over in a flurry.

“J-Just a moment! Duke Blois, from what I hear, it seems my daughter may have made some mistake…”

Viscount Atier, who seemed to have been just watching until now, also rushed over as well.

“Your Excellency, this isn’t right! It has nothing to do with my wife! You know the circumstances of our territory!”

Just then, the servant from earlier returned and gave Dimitri a cloth to clean his shoes.

“Duke, I brought you a clean cloth.”

Dimitri took it and responded.

“As you can see, my shoes are ruined, so I’ll take my leave first.”

We walked away, leaving the commotion behind.

From behind, I could see Aleni being slapped on the back by her mother. Viscountess Atier also seemed upset with his wife. I gave a small smile to the bewildered Kelly before leaving the banquet hall alongside Dimitri. All the while, we pretended not to notice the Emperor’s gaze, which was piercing our back until it hurt.

 
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