Chapter 62: An Unexpected Acquaintance
“Ah…”
The people around them finally realized that Damian was, in his own way, boasting about his wife. Their reactions were hesitant—was that supposed to be a compliment?
However, seeing the absolute confidence on his face, they belatedly clapped their hands.
“R-Right. Lady Vandemir, you have quite a lot of talents.”
“Yes, you even won the Hunting Festival and made Sir Damian the consort of the festival’s queen.”
“There is no greater blessing than having a strong partner by your side!”
Damian slightly curled his lips in satisfaction, mistakenly believing their words were genuine rather than just an attempt to keep the mood light.
“She’s also excellent at throwing things. So much so that she once saved someone’s life with it.”
“Ah… I see…”
Finding no appropriate response, the nobles awkwardly averted their gazes.
Aracila, struggling to maintain her expression, gripped Damian’s arm tightly.
She had asked him to act like a loving husband, but he was instead playing the role of a clueless one. Her gaze sent him a clear message: Enough already.
However, Damian was too busy recalling Isaac’s third piece of advice.
“Affectionate physical touch, such as placing a hand on your wife’s shoulder or waist, is essential, Commander!”
For someone as uncomfortable with physical affection as Damian, this particular piece of advice was the hardest to execute.
How did Aracila manage to touch him so effortlessly?
Recalling how she had linked arms with him earlier, Damian let out a low hum.
After some hesitation, he finally placed his hand—stiff as a board—on the small of her back. It looked more like he was checking for any spinal injuries than an affectionate gesture.
Realizing this wasn’t right, he adjusted his hand slightly, wrapping it loosely around her waist.
A fleeting sense of relief crossed his golden eyes—he had successfully completed the task.
Feeling confident that he was now portraying the perfect husband, he moved on to the final piece of Isaac’s advice.
“Always be attentive and take care of your wife’s needs—it’s the most fundamental rule!”
As soon as Aracila reached for a champagne glass, Damian quickly stepped in.
“Ah, my lady, allow me—”
Since he was closer to the table, his intention was to hand her the glass himself.
However, Aracila’s hand was faster than he expected.
Just as she was already grasping the glass, Damian’s hand brushed against her arm, causing the champagne to spill all over her dress.
Gasps erupted from the onlookers.
“Oh dear! Are you alright, Lady Vandemir?”
“Here, use my handkerchief.”
“Oh no, you should rinse it with water in the lounge.”
Knowing how unpleasant it was to have something spilled on one’s dress at a formal event, the noblewomen quickly expressed their concern.
Aracila maintained a composed smile, thanking them before turning to face Damian.
Her ice-blue eyes practically screamed curses at him, making him flinch.
I swear it wasn’t on purpose…
“Stay. Right. Here.”
She gritted out the words under her breath, and Damian quickly nodded.
Aracila excused herself from the gathering and made her way to the lounge.
Fortunately, the champagne had only stained the lower part of her dress, which was made of dark chiffon, so the stain wasn’t very visible.
After roughly blotting the area with a damp handkerchief, she returned to the ballroom.
Praying that Damian hadn’t done anything strange in her absence, she scanned the crowd for him—only to find him engaged in conversation with an unfamiliar man.
Who is that?
The nobles who had surrounded him earlier were gone, leaving only this unknown man by his side.
Aracila narrowed her eyes.
I don’t recognize him, but he seems oddly familiar…
The man’s blond hair, long enough to cover his neck, had a subtle bluish tint. His vibrant green eyes crinkled into a smile as he spoke.
As she drew closer, she could make out snippets of their conversation.
“It’s not easy to take money out of someone’s wallet. If you want people to spend, you need to offer something innovative and exclusive.”
While the man wore a bright, easy-going smile, Damian listened with his usual expressionless face—until he noticed Aracila approaching.
He immediately turned toward her.
“My lady, are you alright?”
“Yes, I’m fine. It wasn’t as much as I thought.”
Damian’s eyes quickly scanned her dress before he let out a quiet sigh of relief.
Then, he offered a polite apology.
“I’m sorry. I overstepped earlier.”
“It’s alright. You were just trying your best.”
Aracila waved her hand dismissively—she hadn’t been that upset in the first place.
Instead, her curiosity shifted toward the man standing behind Damian.
Their eyes met, and the man gave her a cheerful smile.
Now that she was looking at him up close, she was hit with an odd sense of familiarity.
Leaning slightly toward Damian, she whispered,
“Damian, who is that?”
“Ah, this is His Highness, Prince Lucas.”
Aracila’s eyes widened.
It was her first time seeing the First Prince in person.
No wonder he looked familiar—he resembled Frederick.
Technically, it was Frederick who resembled him. Despite being half-brothers, they looked remarkably alike, as if they shared a full lineage.
However, while Frederick’s short, neatly groomed hair gave him the refined air of a prince, Lucas’s longer, more flamboyant style made him resemble a free-spirited bard.
Damian introduced her formally.
“Your Highness, this is my wife, Lady Aracila Vandemir. She is also a mage affiliated with the Magic Tower.”
Aracila curtsied slightly.
“It’s an honor to meet you, Your Highness.”
“The pleasure is mine, Lady Vandemir.”
Lucas extended his hand for a handshake. As she took it, his emerald eyes glimmered with amusement.
“Sir Vandemir never fails to surprise me. He acts like he has no interest in women, yet he managed to marry such a beauty.”
Then, without hesitation, he lifted her hand to his lips and pressed a light kiss on the back of it.
“Your eyes are like stars embedded in the night sky. If we were in a field, I wouldn’t be able to tell if you were the flowers or the woman standing before me. You are the most beautiful lady I have ever seen in my life.”
“Thank you.”
Despite the kind of praise that could make anyone’s heart flutter, Aracila’s response was composed.
Though his looks were impressive, he wasn’t quite as handsome as her husband. Besides, she had already heard multiple compliments about her beauty tonight, so it didn’t affect her much.
Most of all, the smooth way he spoke made it clear that such remarks were habitual for him.
When she saw him winking at a passing noblewoman who had merely greeted him with a nod, her suspicions were confirmed.
He’s nothing like Frederick.
Despite their resemblance, his personality seemed entirely different from his half-brother’s.
Frederick might have become more flirtatious lately, but he was never naturally sly or insincere.
“That’s enough. My wife is uncomfortable.”
As Lucas held Aracila’s hand for a little too long, Damian finally intervened.
Without the slightest regret, Lucas let go and playfully winked at Damian instead. His flirtatious gestures weren’t limited by gender.
“Oh my, are you jealous? As if I would try to seduce your wife. You, on the other hand, might be a different story.”
“I said enough.”
Damian’s expression twisted in distaste, his brows knitting together. Seeing this, Lucas grinned in amusement.
Clearly, he enjoyed provoking others on purpose.
Aracila glanced between their contrasting expressions and then asked,
“So, what were you two discussing?”
“Oh, I was just giving some advice about the business Sir Vandemir is preparing. His ideas are about as rigid as his personality. Don’t you agree, Lady Vandemir?”
Lucas had assumed that, as his wife, she must already know about it. But Aracila, hearing this for the first time, blinked slightly in surprise.
Still, she quickly masked her reaction and smoothly played along, nodding.
“Damian does have a bit of a stubborn streak.”
“Ah, so you’ve noticed too! This friend of ours has money but no flexible thinking. He just keeps trying to break into fields that others have already thoroughly explored. I don’t understand why.”
Lucas clicked his tongue as if he truly found it unfortunate. Then, patting Damian’s shoulder, he added,
“I’d love to help him, but he’s so stubborn that he won’t listen. You should talk some sense into him, Lady Vandemir.”
Aracila had no idea what exactly she was supposed to dissuade Damian from, but she nodded anyway.
Then, as she observed the two men’s familiarity with each other, curiosity sparked within her.
“You two seem quite close.”
“Oh, we are. We even spent a night alone together.”
Lucas’s bold declaration nearly made Damian spit out his champagne, while Aracila, wide-eyed, turned to her husband.
“Are you having an affair?”
“…Would I?”
Barely managing to swallow his drink, Damian wiped his lips with the back of his hand, his expression tightening. Then, glaring at Lucas, he muttered,
“Please refrain from using misleading phrases.”
“Haha, what? It’s not like I’m making things up.”
“Your Highness.”
“Alright, alright.”
Realizing it was time to stop teasing, Lucas raised his hands in mock surrender.
However, sometimes the real enemy was closer than one expected.
Lucas may have backed off, but Damian still had Aracila to deal with.
“So, my husband was once another man’s?”
“Lady Vandemir, could you please not phrase it like that…?”
“But His Highness isn’t a woman, is he?”
Damian had been about to argue that it wasn’t the same, but seeing the mischievous twitch of Aracila’s lips, he sighed and rubbed his forehead.
She was clearly doing this on purpose, and there was no point in arguing.
Lucas, finding her sharp wit amusing, looked at Aracila with newfound appreciation. Then, he extended his hand once more.
“Unlike Sir Vandemir, you have a great sense of humor, Lady Vandemir. I look forward to seeing you more often—I’ll be staying in the Empire for good now.”
“I look forward to it as well, Your Highness.”
This handshake was different from their first—lighthearted and without any flirtatious undertones.
Beyond having no ulterior motives, they now shared a common interest: teasing Damian.
After exchanging a few more light remarks, their conversation naturally came to an end.
“It was a pleasure meeting you. Let’s talk again soon.”
Lucas waved casually and left, noticing the nobles lingering nearby, eager to speak with him.
As soon as he was gone, the nobles who had been waiting to approach Damian and Aracila seized the opportunity to engage them in conversation.
“This time, do it properly, Damian.”
“I understand.”
Fortunately, Damian had learned his lesson and toned down his excessive acting.
Having realized he had been overdoing it earlier, he instead countered the circulating rumors by casually wrapping an arm around Aracila’s shoulders or holding her hand.
“I always prioritize my wife’s wishes. She does the same for me. Since we respect and consider each other, we never feel uncomfortable in our marriage. We maintain a strict separation between personal and professional matters, yet we’re always willing to help each other. Thanks to my wife, I’ve received a great deal of support in my work. Without her, things would have been much more difficult.”
Even though his words were delivered with a mechanical precision, people still caught on that the rumors about their marriage had been exaggerated.
With that, the couple had successfully achieved their goal for the evening.
On the carriage ride home, Aracila, who had been holding back her curiosity, finally spoke up.
“How did you become close to the First Prince?”
Damian, who had been resting his eyes in exhaustion, slowly opened them and replied,
“We studied abroad together in the Kingdom of Roshan.”
The Kingdom of Roshan—located in the northwestern region of the Empire.
It was the place Damian had been sent away to when the Vandemir duchy cast him out.
It was also where Lucas had been dispatched both as a diplomat and a student.
However, since Damian’s time there had been far from a pleasant experience, he chose not to elaborate further.
“Oh, so that’s why you two are close.”
Sensing his reluctance, Aracila didn’t press for details and simply nodded before moving on to her next question.
─── ･ ｡ﾟ✧: *. ꕥ .* :✧ﾟ. ───
