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nAstelle returned from the garden and opened the side door of the mansion with the key she had prepared in advance.

nHannah turned her head slightly to Astelle, then turned back and quickly walked down the street.

nAstelle watched as Hannah and Theor disappeared into the darkness of the night.

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n***

n

nTwo days later, Astelle sat down in front of the dressing table.

nIn front of the mirror sat a pale woman in a white dress.

nHannah came closer to her.

n“Lady Astelle, I’ll do your makeup.”

nAstelle closed her eyes.

nShe was very tired because so many things were happening at the same time.

nHannah’s low voice could be heard.

n“Don’t worry too much, Lady Astelle. The marquis and the young master must have left safely.”

n“Yes, I hope so.”

nTheor and the marquis had already left the capital two days ago.

nToday Astelle is going to the ball.

nIt was a charity ball held in the banquet hall of the imperial palace in the name of Astelle’s mother.

nThe ball that Kaizen told her to attend.

nThe ball, which was supposed to be held on a small scale at the duke’s mansion, became a grand ball to which all the nobles in the capital were invited.

nShe had no idea what was going to happen there.

nBut no matter what happens, Astelle will prevent the aftermath from reaching Theor.

nHannah smeared the powder on Astelle’s pale skin and slightly colored her lips with light pink powder.

nThe dress was the same dress she wore at the ball before.

nShe left all the dresses Kaizen gave her at Dentsu Castle.

nHowever, this dress was tailored to fit Astelle’s body, so Hannah tucked it into the luggage bag, saying there was no need to leave it.

nShe tried to sell it after she got home because she never thought she would wear it again.

nShe wore the same dress and the same shoes she had worn at the time.

nShe stood in front of the mirror, wearing silk gloves, holding a feather fan Hannah handed her.

nIn the mirror stood herself the same as that night.

nIt was like going back to the night of the ball that was held at Dentsu Castle.

nAt that time, she danced with Kaizen and begged him to send Theor home, but she was rejected.

n‘I can’t fail again this time.’

nNow it was different from then.

nKaizen now realizes that Astelle is Theor’s biological mother.

nHe was angry with Astelle when he learned that fact.

nAsking her to come to the ball is probably to bully and wield her.

nHowever, Kaizen did not yet know that Theor was his son.

nAstelle has lost one thing, so she must protect the remaining one.

nHannah took a step back after finishing the preparation.

n“Lady Astelle, it’s done.”

nAstelle went downstairs.

nHannah also accompanied her as her maid.

nThis mansion was near the imperial palace.

nAlthough it was within walking distance, the carriage was prepared in advance for the sake of formality.

nThere was an unexpected person downstairs.

n“Astelle.”

n“Brother Fritz?”

nFritz, dressed in a Guards uniform, was waiting for Astelle at the door.

nIt had been a long time since she had seen Fritz dressed like that.

nFritz, wearing a luxurious robe, hadn’t changed much from six years ago.

n“What are you doing here?”

n“I came to go to the ball with you.”

n“You’re going to the ball with me?”

n“Yes.”

nAstelle was a little surprised but understood the situation.

nThe organizer of this ball was officially the Reston family.

nThe one who had to start the dance was Duke or Fritz, or Astelle.

nCurrently, all three are single.

nFritz or Astelle had to do the first dance as their father can’t possibly want a role like that.

nAstelle went down the stairs and asked indifferently, “Aren’t you supposed to go with your partner?”

n“I don’t have a partner.”

nAt the calm answer, Astelle looked up at her brother.

n“If you allow me, I want to be your partner.”

nFritz, the only heir to the Duke of Reston, was popular in the social world from a young age.

nIn some cases, the ladies quarreled to become his partner.

n‘Is it because the Reston lost its power, so no women approached him?’

nAstelle went down the stairs and said, “We will meet at the ballroom after all.”

n“I want to go with you,” Fritz answered honestly without any hesitation.

n“The ballroom is less than ten minutes from here,” he said.

nEven if you walk, you can go in fifteen minutes.

nBut it would be hard to walk on the street in such a heavy dress.

nFritz licked his lips as if he wanted to say something more.

nAfter a moment of contemplation, he confessed his true feelings,

n“I don’t want to let you go alone.”

nAstelle, who was walking down the stairs, stopped with the last step left.

nSix years ago, after her divorce process was over, Astelle left the palace without any regrets.

nNow Astelle will enter the imperial palace for the first time after her divorce.

nHe came to pick her up because he thought it would be difficult for her.

nDid Brother Fritz have this kind of attention to detail?

nFritz, as Astelle remembers, was a strict and sincere man.

nAlthough he cared for Astelle, he was not a caring older brother who looked after his sister’s heart affectionately.

n“I’m going to the ball for a while. I don’t mind that much.”

nNow, she was only thinking about Theor.

nFritz tried to hold Astelle’s hand, but she passed him and got into the carriage.

nThe carriage has departed.

nThere was only silence between the two of them until they passed the main gate of the mansion.

n“Father left first.”

nFritz sighed and added, “We’ll meet him at the ballroom.”

nIn her dream, she didn’t even want to meet her father.

n‘If my father knew about Theor, he wouldn’t stay still.’

nIt felt like my head was getting complicated just by imagining it.

nMy father already had a history of unsuccessful attempts to assassinate Kaizen.

n‘Does Brother Fritz know about that?’

nA sudden thought came to mind, but as Astelle looked at Fritz, she immediately denied it.

nSuch a cruel way was not Fritz’s style.

nFather would not have told Brother Fritz such a thing.

nFritz looked at Astelle with worried eyes.

n“Don’t worry about our father.”

nAstelle turned to her brother again.

nFritz, who was sitting across from her, was looking at Astelle with a worried look.

n“Even if father finds out about Theor, I will stop him from harming you two, so you don’t have to worry.”

n“……”

nFritz also knew that Astelle was Theor’s biological mother.

nHowever, Astelle did not think that her brother knew that Kaizen was the biological father of the child.

n‘Probably because of the color of his eyes.’

nA child of Astelle and Kaizen wouldn’t have blue eyes.

nAstelle just simply replied, fearing that he would be suspicious if she said something useless.

n“Thank you, Brother.”

nA feeling of sadness and relief permeated Fritz’s light green eyes.

n“If there is anything I can do to help, please let me know.”

nThank you.

nHowever, when Theor’s origin is revealed, no one can help Astelle.

nAt that time, whatever she does, Theor will be taken to the imperial palace.

n

n***

n

nThe carriage soon arrived at the entrance of the imperial palace.

nEven though it was around dusk because it was the day of the ball, there were many carriages passing through the main gate.

nThey must be guests invited to the ball.

nThe charity ball was held in the form of donating the proceeds by selling tickets to the ball.

nAnyone who bought a ticket could enter the ball as a guest.

nEven so, the only people who could buy expensive tickets were the high-ranking nobles.

nToday’s ball was held at the imperial palace, so it was not conducted in such a way as to sell invitations.

nI heard that the way they each donated has changed.

nThe distance from the entrance of the imperial palace to the ballroom was quite far.

nThey had to go through three gates to the center of the imperial palace.

nAfter walking for a while, they arrived at a large hall used as a ballroom.

nA bright light was seen through the marble door of the banquet hall.

nThere was no music.

nThere is still some time left before the ball starts.

n“Prince Reston and Princess Reston have arrived!”

nA large number of people had already gathered at the ballroom.

nFor a moment, everyone in the ballroom focused their eyes on Astelle.

nThose who looked at Astelle whispered in surprise.

n“She really is the deposed empress.”

n“Oh my gosh……”

nAstelle’s appearance was quite surprising.

nEven in Dentsu Castle, everyone was surprised to see Astelle, but at that time, people had only heard about the deposed empress through rumors.

nHowever, there were a lot of nobles who had known Astelle for a long time in this imperial palace.

nAll of them observed the deposed empress with curious eyes that reappeared after six years.

nThere were many people Astelle knew, but no one greeted her first.

nNo one approaches Fritz first, let alone Astelle.

nShe could really feel the position of the Reston family in the capital now.

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