My Childhood Friend is Like a Stone - Chapter 20

“I must have been late—”

Reid, who has worked as a Ministry of Finance official since this year, has been so busy that he has had to work overtime since the beginning of the year.

He went in after taking the same exam, but he seemed to be worried about the halo of being the eldest son of a great aristocrat.

He was obviously worried because there were a lot of people who came from the top and had a golden connection, but Reid was kind and honest, unmatched to them.

They couldn’t blame it because being nice and honest was not a sin.

“It’s not late, so breathe properly. It’s not a big deal.”

“It’s your debutant—”

“You always wanted to play the role of brother.”

Reid smiled awkwardly at the words. She guessed it wasn’t wrong to see him not deny it.

Reid, who barely spoke to Cyril, was just as blunt when it came to Adrienne. In fact, he had no idea that it was part of his ‘brother’s duty.’

“Your dress looks good on you, Adrianna.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, it’s pretty. I wish it were a little more colorful, but—”

Reid quickly added that that was only his opinion. He told his sister not to worry about what he said because her eyes are better than his.

He seemed to think that he shouldn’t have said anything to the dress that had already been set. He was a meticulous twin since he had been constantly timid since he was a child.

‘If it’s the eyes, Reid is better than me.’

Adrienne agreed with Reid. Reid, who goes to the palace every day, would be more familiar with the latest trends than she is.

It would have been nice to have been fully prepared for a once-in-a-lifetime debut, but the ship had already left. Instead of having regrets, Adrienne stood facing Reid, who was staring at her with lingering feelings.

“You’re good. You chose the right clothes.”

“I was up to the capital first, so I had plenty of time to prepare. I would have brought you up if I had known it would be like this.”

“This is all I need. Auntie thinks Laura as a hope, but our Cassinel has you, Reid. The important thing is you.”

Adrienne roughly touched Reid’s hair, which was disheveled from running. Reid grumbled something bitterly while still getting his sister’s friendly touch.

“What’s so important about a swordless successor?”

“It’s an era where gold is more important than swords. Your hands handle gold, it has nothing to do with father.”

Adrienne spoke firmly and took a step back. A glance that said, ‘That’s enough,’ passed to Reid’s whole body.

Who are these twins who are so good-looking?

In fact, it wasn’t enough for her to say he was good-looking; but she was embarrassed to say more with a face that looked like hers.

“I think you’re getting taller, Reid?”

“Really? Come to think of it, Cyril is taller.”

“Have you seen Cyril recently?”

“Yeah. There’s also a training ground nearby. It seems that he is being called around a lot these days.”

During the triumphal ceremony, Cyril’s name was mentioned numerous times. Because he had become so well-known, nobles who enjoyed talking couldn’t leave Cyril alone.

“In the past, I just looked down. Now he’s so tall that my neck hurts.”

“In his own words, he said he was still growing. What did he say? He said he was just annoyingly getting bigger—”

“It sounds like a blessing.”

The men on the ground would gather and throw stones at him if they heard it. Cyril, of course, will avoid all of this and use his gun instead—.

Thinking like that, Cyril was unfamiliar again. It was impossible to know how the little doll-like kid had grown so much.

“Are we going to leave slowly?”

“It’s better to do that.”

Well, it’s none of her business now.

Adrienne left behind her thoughts and followed Reid.

******

The Solanite Palace, which was built less than 20 years ago, was praised as the most beautiful structure in Persian Empire history.

‘Everyone’s steps will be guided to view this palace,’ the nobles said, when the gorgeous palace was surrounded by gold, reflecting the meaning of the palace’s name.

One might wonder if Adrienne was exaggerating when she said the words, but she couldn’t stop herself from praising Solanite Palace.

It was a grand ball held in a beautiful palace. It pains just to think about how spectacular the debutant’s surroundings will be.

“Viscount Pegas’ family will be entering!”

“The Count Laurie and his wife are entering!”

The sound of the servants taking turns announcing their entrance remained at the banquet hall’s entrance.

Adrienne, who was standing by Countess Bluea’s side, took a quiet look around the banquet hall.

A transparent chandelier shone under the high ceiling covered with beautiful murals, and the light of the lighting reflected off the mirrors and high windows all around, dazzling the banquet hall.

‘Cyril hasn’t come yet.’ 

That must have been the reason why she found her childhood friend unconsciously. It’s amazing she didn’t go insane because everything was so glamorous.

While Adrienne was paying attention to the entrance of the banquet hall on the opposite side, men who were wary approached one by one.

“Oh, Laura, Monsieur is here.”

“Ah, Countess, I—”

The man’s attention was drawn inward to Adrienne, but Countess Bluea used her daughter as a shield. The man hid his embarrassment and asked Laura to dance when she walked out with a shy face.

Naturally, the pair moved to the dance floor.

Countess Bluea stood up again, covering Adrienne. She had a refreshing expression on her face as if she had finished one thing to do.

‘You seem to like it.’

Adrienne looked at the two people moving away and thought. Among the countless men wandering around, he was the only one who passed through the walls of the Countess.

The next Count of Lesquir, who introduced himself as Viscount Lesquir.

The Count Lesquir family is one of the Imperial Palace’s representative court aristocrats, thus it must have been a good match for Bluea, who wanted to join the Imperial Palace’s social circle.

‘How’s Reid doing?’

Adrienne didn’t care whether or not she did, and looked around the banquet hall in search of the twins.

Behind the men with hyena-like eyes in the distance, she could see Reid standing like a pillar. If not being shy about his outstanding looks is a talent, it must be a talent. With some of the nearby chaperones glancing at Reid, it was clear that the Ladies would attack like bees after a short while, but Reid only smiled politely and stared straight ahead.

‘Yeah— Nice to meet you, nice to meet you.’ 

Then, suddenly, he made eye contact with Adrienne and waved his hand. Adrienne held back a sigh that was about to burst and waved briefly.

Several heads turned at the same time, wondering who the lady who drew Reid’s attention was. They checked Adrienne and returned to their seats. Anyone would be able to tell it was a brother and sister.

Meanwhile, the dance continued.

As the band, hidden behind the curtains, performed a dance song, colorful dresses fluttered and embroidered the floor. At the end of the cheerful dance song, the bell rang to draw attention. It was a sign that a precious person was entering, and with a high probability, it would have been a royal family.

“Prince Lionel and Princess Dezire are entering! Everyone, be polite!”

When the loud voice announced its appearance, the noisy hall quickly became quiet.

All of the aristocrats eventually lowered their heads in the direction of the two imperial figures that appeared. The two imperial families stood at the center.

A few years ago, Prince Lionel was engaged to the Boia Kingdom’s second princess, but she died suddenly of lung disease, attracting attention to who he had brought in as his new fiancee.

Princess Dezire, on the other hand, was frail and rarely appeared in public. Even though she stayed in the middle for a while and then disappeared, it was the first time that she appeared in earnest.

“Seeing as Your Highness the Princess has showed her face in person, the rumor must be real.”

“Rumor?”

“Didn’t you know? There’s a rumor about her getting engaged to Sir Thesar.”

The ballroom was filled with elegant melodies, and there was a mouth that raised rumors as if it had been waiting for this moment.

Adrienne saw the princess’s aide while half-covering her mouth with a fan, chatting hard about the rumors. The scene where they spread the rumor and add weight to it—. Even the position of an aide to the princess seemed to have a lot of trouble.

“Look over there! Sir Thesar is here!”

“Oh my, I think he’s going to ask the Princess to dance.”

Then came the words to catch Adrienne, who was about to stop paying attention to other people’s social life. Cyril was seen in the center of the noisy voices.

Cyril, who had become considerably more attractive in recent days, seemed to request a dance with the Princess, as they said. The princess, a stunning woman with a lively demeanor, flashed a wide smile, grasped Cyril’s hand, and took a step forward.

Adrienne looked away and turned away.

“You’ve all seen it, haven’t you? Who is Sir Thesar asking for his first dance?”

“Mademoiselle Thierre was right. I’ve never seen Her Highness the Princess smile so brightly.”

It was obvious where the words was headed. Adrienne smiled bitterly at the glance.

‘It’s not my fault that I’ve known him since I was young—’

She doesn’t know if anything had happened between the two of them, but it was very sad that they were one-sidedly liking each other and being severely misunderstood when everything was over.

Moreover, Adrienne was no longer willing to jump into their competitors. It took too long to organize alone.

“It’s surprising. I thought you’d come first.”

In the midst of her ferocious spirit, even the Countess of Bluea helped out with a word.

“Cyrill must have suffered as much as I did. It’s better not to do that for everyone.”

Adrienne replied in a serious way. The whole time, she denied that there was no relationship, but it was terrible just to imagine what she would hear if they danced as if she wanted to.

Adrienne, who was looking at the Countess, wanting to go see Reid, sensed a change in the mood in an instant.

Not far away, the murmur was growing louder.

‘What’s going on?’

Adrienne turned her head slightly, wondering if the emperor had entered, and then froze. Under the brilliantly shining lights of the statue, a handsome blonde was heading this way.

One step, two steps. The closer the distance got, the clearer the man’s destination seemed. The man she got close to was a person that even the Countess of Bluea couldn’t stop.

“Mademoiselle Cassinel, it’s been a while.”

Lionel Bertrand de Montagne.

It was the appearance of the Prince.