She Is a Daughter Raised As the Son of a Duke

It was the long-awaited last day of the grand ball.

As always, the final day of the National Ball was the most magnificent. This year’s National Ball was no exception.

The venue was moved to the Emerald Hall, which was three times larger than the Crystal Hall. And three times more nobles attended compared to the previous day’s ball.

Today’s designated accessory was a brooch, so I wore the sunflower brooch I had promised Isabella and entered the ballroom.

I searched for Stella, looking beyond nobles who had come from all over the country. Stella was with Heint.

I approached Heint and greeted him casually, “Good evening, Marquis.”

“May, you’re here. Stella was waiting for you.”

Stella gave Heint a disgruntled look, as if asking why he said that.

Soon, another noble came to Heint to greet him, and during that time, Stella and I moved to another spot.

Stella relaxed her expression and asked in a serious tone, “we are meeting Milo today, right?”

I nodded.

“Maybe the Marquis will cry.”

“I’m sure he will. He’s seeing his son after nearly ten years. Well… it’s okay for him to cry today. He won’t cry again in the future.”

“Stella, you’re mean.”

“Milo still hasn’t come to the ballroom?”

“No. He will enter with Diego after the Emperor arrives at the ballroom. Then, they will expose Penso’s misdeeds.”

“Today is an important day.”

“Yes.”

Stella changed the subject.

“How was yesterday? What did you think of the ball as a noble lady, not a nobleman?”

“Ah…”

I gave a wry smile.

“I got rejected by Jed.”

Stella was taken aback by the unexpected answer.

“You got rejected yesterday? Why? I’m sure you made yourself look pretty before going.”

I nodded slowly.

“That’s not important. What’s important is that Jed never liked me romantically from the beginning.”

My voice was tinged with bitterness.

“He treated me well, thinking I might be a suitable marriage partner considering my social position…”

“Social position? That’s funny. You should determine your own happiness. Where would a woman like you be found?”

Stella clicked her tongue and I smiled.

“I’m receiving more compliments from you lately, Stella.”

“So, you like it? I don’t feel good about it, though.”

Stella crossed her arms and acted annoyed.

“Why don’t you feel good about it?”

“Because of that thing you’re wearing.”

Where Stella gestured, there was the sunflower brooch Isabella had given me.

“Oh, this?”

“You have a Guardian Knight badge, why did you bother wearing that?”

As Stella grumbled, I smiled playfully.

“Her Highness insisted I wear it today. Are you jealous because of this brooch?”

“Who’s jealous?”

“Then?”

Seeming to ponder over how to respond, Stella turned her head away.

“I don’t know. Just don’t talk to me; it annoys me.”

I found Stella’s attitude adorable and chuckled.

“Don’t pout, Stella.”

* * *

At that moment, someone was watching May and Stella from the second floor of the Emerald Hall.

Similar to the Crystal Hall, the Emerald Hall had an open structure in the middle, allowing the second floor to overlook the first floor.

“Damn it…”

It was none other than Clovin Penso. As he watched May and Stella, he seethed with anger. His eyes glared at them as if he wanted to kill May right then and there.

Clara felt the same way. Her eyes gleamed with malice. Clara wanted to make those two pay for making fun of her and never let them ridicule her again.

Clovin and Clara reached an agreement yesterday.

Clovin would not lay a hand on Stella’s body since he liked her. In return, to seek revenge for Clara, Clovin would make sure to humiliate Millo, the slave, for Stella until right before his death after the ball.

And May…

Clovin pointed to a waiter standing behind Young Lord of Flotina on the first floor.

“You see that waiter boy standing behind Young Lord of Flotina? The one with one arm. That waiter will help us with our plan.”

“A helper to steal the brooch?”

They knew the brooch May was wearing was a gift from the princess. Galley and Velta had witnessed it. The princess had told May to wear it on the last day of the ball.

“That friend is skilled with his hands. He’s famous for pickpocketing in the slums. Young Lord of Flotina may not even notice if the brooch disappears.”

Unbeknownst to May, they planned to steal the brooch without anyone noticing and then blackmail her with it.

Clara rested her arm on the railing and grinned.

“Wow, you’ve already stolen it?”

“Really?”

Even their employer, Clovin, was surprised when he saw May’s outfit. The sunflower brooch had disappeared without a trace.

As expected, May didn’t even realize that the brooch was missing.

Clovin’s grin widened.

“This is quite… famous in the slums.”

Soon, the waiter came up to the second floor and handed the stolen sunflower brooch to Clovin.

“I brought it, sir.”

“Good job, you can go.”

“Yes.”

The waiter descended to the first floor as if he were asking when he had met Clovin before.

“Things are going smoothly, huh?”

Clara smiled, and Clovin responded as if it were obvious.

“Of course. I was humiliated because of May Flotina.”

Clovin recalled what had happened to him because of May.

At the Arcus Tournament, he had been disarmed, and even his act of apologizing had been seen. And the incident of threatening him as a skeleton ghost, making him a mess of tears and snot, and calling him dirty.

Just thinking about it made his blood boil.

“I must get revenge.”

Clovin tightly clenched the sunflower brooch in his hand.

* * *

Stella and I received greetings from various nobles.

As Stella had mentioned, it seemed there were some strange rumors circulating in high society about us.

“Forgive me for saying this, but… are you two in a relationship?”

“Huh?”

I momentarily forgot about the rumors and looked extremely perplexed, but Stella handled it casually.

“Not in a romantic relationship, just close friends.”

“Oh, I see. I must have misunderstood since you two are always together.”

Stella linked her arm with mine.

“We are so close that people might think that, haha.”

Hearing Stella’s feigned laughter, I felt like I had to pretend as well.

“We are indeed very close, haha…”

Unlike Stella, my laughter sounded awkward.

Stella was really good at acting.

Once the misunderstanding young ladies left, only Stella and I remained.

Stella glanced at my jacket and seemed pleased.

“You have quite the sense, don’t you?”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“Because you removed something I dislike.”

“What?”

I couldn’t understand what she was talking about.

“It’s the brooch.”

“The brooch…?”

When I looked down, the sunflower brooch that should have been pinned to my left chest had disappeared without a trace.

Realizing that I had lost it belatedly, I quickly looked around, searching for the brooch.

Stella looked at me and seemed disappointed.

“Did you intentionally remove it, or did you lose it?”

“I think I lost it. What should I do? It was given to me by the princess…”

Soon, the emperor and the princess would enter with the emperor. If I didn’t have the brooch on my chest, she would undoubtedly be disappointed.

I must find it no matter what.

Just as I was searching for the brooch while looking at the floor, someone blocked my way.

“Are you looking for the sunflower brooch?”

When I looked up, it was Clovin, wearing a wicked smile.

“Follow me. I’ll show you where it is.”

I followed Clovin and went outside the ballroom, following him.

“Why are you taking me outside to find the brooch?”

Clovin replied dryly, “You’ll see when you follow.”

Though suspicious, I had no choice but to continue following him since I needed to find the brooch.

He took me to a lakeside.

Behind a unicorn statue, there was a wide lake surrounded by poplar trees.

“This place…”

It was the lake that Jed had led me to, saying it had a beautiful view, on one of the guest room terraces.

Just thinking about Jed’s words made my chest ache.

Eternal love. Like the language of the poplar tree’s flowers, I had hoped that he would look at me forever.

I shook my head, trying to clear my mind from Jed’s words. They weren’t said out of genuine affection.

As I was feeling melancholic, Clara Penso’s voice brought me back to reality.

“Now isn’t the time to be lost in thought.”

Clara was standing with crossed legs in front of the lake. In her hand was the sunflower brooch I had been searching for.

When I saw the brooch, I frowned.

“You had it, Young Lady. Hand it over.”

Clara smirked and then dropped the brooch into the lake.

“What are you doing?!”

“Oh my, what should I do? I dropped it by accident.”

I was angered by Clara’s nonchalant attitude and clenched my fists.

As I was about to jump into the lake, Clovin’s voice reached my ears.

“Do you know what kind of lake this is? You’re trying to go in so fearlessly.”

“…The Dream Lake.”

It was the Dream Lake, where people fall asleep if they enter it. The lake was 5 meters deep.

Clara said in a spiteful tone, “And you still want to go in? You might not only lose the brooch but also drown in the water, not waking up from the dream. Surely you know that, don’t you?”