Is that so? As expected, our Raven is smart! You understand me!

Sarah was moved to tears.

What to do If I married the Grand Duke, Sarah would follow me to the North. If that happened, she would surely notice that Raven is a familiar.

As expected, Ill have to give her a raise.

The last time I tried to give her a pay raise, my plan failed. She looked at me with a straight face and told me it was already too much that I offered her regular medical checkups.

But I wont back down this time.

With a determined goal in mind, I glanced at Raven.

Will anything good happen at the party?

Gyaak? Gyak?

It tilted its head in confusion.

Hmm.

I straightened up my posture. Resting my chin in my palm, I pretended to be anxious.

But I dont have a partner to go with.

Gyak!

Huh? Youre going to be my partner?

Gyak! Gyak!

But think about our height difference. We cant possibly dance together.

Sarah looked dumbfounded when she heard my firm rejection.

What about height? Isnt the species the problem?

Gyaak! Gyak! Gyak!

Raven ran around the table in tears. Though, I already knew what it wanted to tell me.

Aedis Kallakis was also expected to attend the Imperial Ball.

It was the day before the Imperial Ball. Sarah tilted her head as she made touch-ups to my dress.

The young master is quiet these days. Is he reflecting on his actions?

Apparently, Gilbert stayed quiet after he got told off by Charlie. Itd been a while since the servants hed ordered to follow me had disappeared.

But theres no way that he would reflect on his actions.

You see, this was just the calm before the storm.

Im happy that youre being so positive.

Sarah had a bitter look on her face.

was I thinking too wishfully?

She murmured as she unzipped my dress.

Its about time he explodes.

Explode?! Dont tell me this is just the beginning?

She looked genuinely shocked. Sarah shook her head as she hung up the beautiful dress Id been trying on.

I changed into a light indoor dress and Raven flew by.

My shoulders dropped as I sat in my reserved seat. I grabbed my hair with irritation before tucking it behind my ears.

Gilbert Kallakis was strong.

He was capable of defeating the majority of the knights. Even if I disliked Gilbert, I wasnt going to ignore the achievements he acquired throughout his life.

However, I wasnt planning on losing so easily either.

I sat on the chair with my legs crossed.

The Imperial Ball was a very important event for Gilbert, who dreamed of rising to a higher status. Since his goal was becoming Grand Duke, he needed to establish a good reputation in the capital first.

There was no one who frustrated him more than his adoptive father, a man who had both wealth and power yet stayed holed up in a room.

But Gilbert had no fixed partner yet. And he had yet to withdraw from his plan to marry me.

It was clear that hed try to settle this today, even if it meant using a little force.

In summary, hed need to scare me the day before the ball. Hed probably try to swing at me to try and intimidate me.

Just like in the novel.

It was plain obvious what he wanted. I let out a light chuckle.

Sarah, bring me my keys. Ill open that jewelry box.

Sarah immediately understood my intentions and her eyes opened wide.

M-Miss? Will you really be using that?

Yes, Ive been preparing this just for today.

Will it be okay?

It was only natural for her to be nervous; nothing like this had ever happened before.

I smiled softly.

Im not the type to gamble recklessly.

Thats true, but

Hm? Please.

Sarah faltered when I asked sweetly with shining eyes.

FFoul attack. All right. Ill retrieve it.

Gyak? Gyak?

Raven jumped down from my shoulder. He seemed to ask what it was.

Youll find out soon anyways.

Even if I spent most of my time preparing for the upcoming ball, it was a rather average day.

After supper, I changed into a riding outfit to go out for some light exercise. Though Maevia Morgana was a rare beauty, that didnt mean I was unable to get fat.

The thing is, I wasnt able to give up my eating habits, so I opted to go for hard exercise instead. Ill work hard and then get a full body massage.

Alisa, are you ready?

The golden horse neighed happily into my hand. I climbed atop her and held the reins before departing quickly.

At first, we went with a slow trot, but we gradually picked up the pace.

Alisa seemed to be discontent since she was more familiar with her regular trails. She stomped her hooves on the ground rather cutely, so I let her run as much as she liked.

My hair flew in the wind. Alisa ran without constraint, but suddenly a man appeared out of nowhere.

Stop!

Thanks to the fact that weve been together for a long time, she immediately listened to my orders even when she was in a state of agitation.

I breathed quietly, wary of the silver-haired man on the road.

Gilbert Kallakis assumed what Alisa was like before he even knew her.

What a discipled horse.

Are you speaking informally now?

Id never seen a man act so proudly after stalking a lady.

Anyways, I did this on purpose.

I purposely practiced riding Alisa at this exact time and place.

If it was here, Gilbert wouldve thought it was a perfect time to blackmail me since there was no one around to witness it.

Alisa tensed up, feeling his murderous energy.

She didnt make any drastic changes to her posture because I was here but I could still feel her nervousness.

Thats because she has an excellent master, I answered. As expected, my word deeply shocked him.

I heard Marquis Morgana has quite the talent with horsemanship.

There was no doubt in his voice that it was my father who trained Alisa.

Are you denying my accomplishments just to praise my father? I sneered.

Gilbert had a sword by his waist.

It seemed like he had the intention to scare me, so he pulled the sword out of its sheath before sliding it back in.

You know nothing about my father.

Thanks for the advice.

Do you think hed be interested in a woman like you?

And you think Im interested in a guy like you?

Do you know why I chose the Grand Duke? Theres a very simple reason. Hes not Gilbert Kallakis.

The life of Maevia Morgana in the novel was marked by misfortune. She married Gilbert at the ripe age of nineteen, and she genuinely believed he was too good for her.

Every time she met him, she stuttered with a bright red face.

However, Gilbert only snickered at her.

As soon as they got married, he changed and started to abuse her whilst having an affair with Monica. He made up excuses like being worried about her weak health to keep her locked in a room.

She stayed in the small and desolate room, resulting in a physical and mental breakdown.

And that was all because of that man.

Later on, she was found by the Grand Duke and rescued by Rehan, but it was already too late.

Itd be best not to speak so rashly.

What.

I didnt even bother to pretend to listen to him, and I comforted Alisa instead.

Did you hear a dog barking? Lets go, Alisa.

How dare you ignore me!

Gilbert grabbed his sword. Immediately, he threw it in Alisas direction.

The sword flew in a straight line, yet it looked slow to me.

There wasnt enough time for me to dodge.

I pulled on her reins, turning to face another direction before kicking the sword that rushed towards us. It bounced off my boot, spinned in the air like a waterwheel before flying straight down to the ground.

Gilbert was astonished.

Hohow?

I took a second to coax Alisa into doing something for me before jumping off her back.

Hey.

..what?

You keep using honorifics; its almost like you believe youre someone who deserves respect.

I clenched my waistcoat. Tok, tok, the buttons came undone. I took the garment off and launched it at him.

Then, I ripped off the ribbon around my collar; one of the buttons ended up coming off along with it. Without giving it a second thought, I also threw that at him.

Ill deal with this sincerity youve shown me so far. Let us have a refreshing duel.

Gilbert gave me a blank stare, not even bothering to grab his sword again. He looked like he was unable to guess how I blocked the sword earlier.

It wasnt a surprise. Id never used that trick anywhere before.

What a headache.

I looked at him with an arrogant smile.

Then I heard someone riding a horse at an insane pace; they were probably looking for Gilbert.