Luckily, as soon as he entered the banquet hall, Rosenta made eye contact with Vivian.
But, when you come to a banquet, you have to greet the main character first.
He walked to the center of the hall and approached the Marquis's wife, who was being congratulated by guests.
He gave a brief greeting.
"Deborah Marigold, happy birthday."
Then he gave a box decorated with a bright red ribbon to the Marquis's wife.
"Thank you for coming and also for the gift!"
He carefully handed over the gift.
The Marquis’s wife slowly unpacked the gift box, and looked at the contents inside, and was amazed.
"Oh my!"
The Marquis’s wife’s green hair shook as a result. Her bright red eyes stared at him.
She looked deeply moved.
"Oh, my God. This is the necklace I was going to buy...….”
Wrinkles formed around her eyes.
Then, the same dimples as Vivian’s dug into both cheeks.
In fact, only Lennox, with his intellectual atmosphere, was thought to take after his mother.
But looking at her like this, Vivian's mold could be seen in her smiling eyes.
The corners of Rosenta’s eyes also wrinkled at that sight.
"The present you just gave me was nice, but nothing will make me happier than hearing my name for the first time."
[t/n: The text kept referring to her as the Marquis’s wife. I used she and her at times because it sounded awkward in English. In English, you would use someone’s name or pronouns. Rosenta used her actual name.]
The Marquis’s wife looked at him with a big smile, as if to let him know that she was not just saying that.
Then she slightly lowered her face, then covered her mouth with her fan.
"Just so you know, Duke, there are many things to see at today’s banquet. Please have fun."
"What exactly should I see?"
The only things worth seeing would be the elaborate dances of the aristocrats, lavish decorations, and props.
Of course, as expected of the wealthy Marigold family, it boasted the most glamorous banquet hall he’d ever been to.
In terms of price alone, it was clear they must have spent as much as an imperial banquet.
But this didn’t seem to be what she was referring to.
"That...….”
Naturally, Rosenta tried to ask what she was talking about.
But there was no time for that.
Deborah Marigold was not left alone by the guests who were gradually beginning to flock to the banquet hall.
"Oh! I heard that Lady Vivian and Duke Estella were close, but...…. I didn't expect to see you here."
"Yes. I’m grateful you accepted my invitation."
"Marchioness, you look very beautiful. As expected, you are truly shining like someone on their birthday."
"I'm flattered."
As they spoke to the Marchioness, he felt their gazes falling on him.
He thought it would be better to leave the room so that they could have a more comfortable conversation.
He tried to turn around.
"I wanted to give you your present right away...…. Yesterday, Silva released a new tea set, so I ordered it through delivery."
"Delivery? What's that?"
Rosenta stopped walking right away.
Because the word ‘delivery’ was heard in their conversation.
It was an opportunity to listen to a customer first-hand. He couldn’t miss this opportunity.
He turned around.
He acted naturally and picked up a glass of wine from the tray of a servant who was passing by.
While pretending to drink wine, he kept his distance.
"It’s in the newspaper. That woman in purple used it...….”
"That's right. The woman in purple seems to be a rich aristocrat, but the delivery courier is keeping quiet."
"Oh my! Oh my! Is that true?"
"Yes! So, if you use it, they deliver anything anonymously...….”
Suddenly the volume of the aristocratic ladies' conversation became lower.
They were so openly wary of Rosenta. As though telling him to get out of the way because they were going to talk in private.
Rosenta could take a hint.
He had confirmed that the response to the delivery service wasn’t bad, so he didn't have to listen anymore.
Above all, he was worried about the two people who kept looking at him.
He moved on, casually dealing with those who tried to talk to him. He gradually made his way towards Vivian and Lysander.
"Rosen, you came in the clothes I gave you as a gift!"
"Of course."
He smiled widely and deliberately left a short kiss on the back of her hand like a knight would give to a noble lady.
He raised his head.
For some reason, Vivian's face seemed to be turning red.
Rosenta smiled briefly and said to Vivian,
"Because they were a gift from you, these clothes suited me best."
Then, he looked at Lysander standing by her side.
Lysander was wearing big goggles on his eyes, so his face could not be seen properly.
But as Rosenta watched Lysander’s head move to follow Rosenta’s movements, he could tell that Lysander was looking at him.
"How have you been?"
He held out his hand.
Usually, in cases like this, it was common to take hold of each other’s grasp and shake hands.
But Lysander didn't take his hand; he just stood still.
Rosenta carefully brought his hands together.
Then, Vivian came forward and explained on Lysander’s behalf.
"Rosen, please understand. I've told him to take those off for a while, but he won’t listen. If he’s really into something, he won’t come to his senses…….”
During this, Lysander just continued staring at him, barely moving.
His behavior of intently observing him felt eerie and strange.
"Young Lord, do you have anything to say to me?"
It was only then that Lysander put his goggles over his head for the first time in response to that question.
How long had he been wearing them that there were goggle marks on Lysander's face?
Rosenta called Lysander one more time because he’d received no answer.
"Young Lord?"
"No, I don't."
He barely heard his voice, but it was very hash.
Originally, Lysander disliked people close to Vivian, but this was the first time he had acted like this.
He took a step back and continued looking at Rosenta like he was reading a gauge.
In the meantime, he kept pulling his goggles up and down.
It was a repeating cycle of strange behavior.
Rosenta snuck up to Vivian and lowered his upper body slightly.
“……Is he okay?"
"He's suddenly started doing that since a while ago...…. He’s my brother, but I don't know. Better to just leave him alone for now."
[t/n: Remember, the main thing Rosenta feared was that Lysander would pick up on the fact that he was wearing magical tools to change his gender. It wasn’t an issue because Lysander isn’t sensitive to mana traces, but Lysander now has those goggles made from Enoch’s hair that can sense mana traces.]
***
After that minor incident with Lysander, Vivian suggested that they run away.
"Would you like to run away from the banquet hall? Just for today, go out with me instead of His Majesty!"
Rosenta couldn't believe those words came out of Vivian's mouth.
Naturally, he couldn’t help but ask questions, wondering if there was something wrong.
"Vivian, where are we going?"
But Vivian declined to answer.
All she did was say random things like they had to go quickly.
"We have to hurry up before we run out of time...….”
Rosenta gave up on hearing an answer.
Instead, he moved quickly at Vivian's urging.
Without knowing his destination, he followed Vivian out of the banquet hall.
"We just have to go up a little more!"
But it wasn't bad.
Seeing Vivian smiling so brightly and enjoying herself made him think that it was a good idea to follow along.
‘What's so important about the destination anyway?’
Just enjoying this time with his friend would create happy memories.
"We're here! We're here!"
Vivian had led them to the attic of the Marquis's residence.
To be exact, it was on the roof, which was at the top of the stairs of the attic.
"Wait a minute. I'll go up first."
He stopped Vivian.
After he climbed the stairs first, he reached out to Vivian.
"Give me your hand."
"Ugh...….”
She came up on the roof.
The dark night sky was laid before them like drawing paper, and beneath it was filled with people, carriages, and twinkling lights.
They sat on the high ledge of the roof, not caring who was first.
He looked down at the night view.
After looking down for a moment, he slowly turned his head and asked Vivian the question,
"Why did you bring me here?"
“……Soon there will be huge fireworks in the sky."
"Fireworks?"
Vivian looked back at him, burying her face slightly in her lap.
He could see her two cheeks red with anticipation.
Then, Vivian suddenly raised her upper body and stretched her hand out towards the sky.
"They’re not just fireworks, it’s a special firework display prepared for my mom."
Clearly, the fireworks must have been what the Marquis’s wife was saying he should see.
‘It must truly be a special fireworks display.’
Perhaps Vivian spread it to him; his heart began to fill with excitement and anticipation.
‘Pee-shoo.’
Suddenly, a tremendous sound rang out in the sky as if something had been shot.
"Ah! It's starting!"
Then, starting with Vivian's cry, a succession of sounds was heard.
‘Pee-pee-pee-pee-pee-pung.’
They were no ordinary orange flames.
The colorful colors embroidered the sky like a picture.
At first, heart-shaped fireworks continued to rise into the night sky.
Then, letter-shaped flames began to appear gradually.
"Deborah Marigold."
Rosenta glanced sideways at the sudden remark.
Vivian was reading the letters, staring blankly at the sky with her knees in her arms.
He grinned.
And, this time, he read the words that came after.
"Thank you for marrying me."
Vivian's eyes grew. She looked around like a rabbit and then made eye contact with him.
Looking at Vivian with her chin on her knees, Rosenta gave her a smile with his eyes.
Vivian blinked at him as if she were surprised and later showed a very bright smile.
Then, Vivian recited the next words again.
"I remember the first time I met you."
So, they took turns reading the words of the fireworks as if they had agreed to do so.
"I fell in love with your pretty smile."
"It was like a dream. Meeting you and having such beautiful children and living together...….”
"My marigold."
"You are still the only one who is special to me."
"I love you."
At the end of Rosenta’s words, Vivian said nothing.
She opened her mouth and closed her eyes as if something was broken.
Even though new words appeared.
"Vivian?"
“……Oh, it's nothing."
Then she turned her head away.