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IBP 190
Epilogue 7
* * *
My debutante day was now just a week away.
Accordingly, the Duke Ardos estate was burning with a frantic energy.
‘Everyone is crazy except me.’
I rolled my eyes.
To exaggerate a bit, it felt as if every single dressmaker and designer in the capital had gathered here.
“S-Sissy....”
“Yes, what is it? Our Coco? You're talking like you did when you were a baby.”
My sister was wearing a wicked smile.
This was just like....
‘Right, it's just like back then!’
When I was first adopted by my sister, she gave me a thorough scrubbing and then called in dozens of tailors.
And then....
“Bring clothes that a puppy could wear.”
“Yes, My Lady?”
“I said tailor the puppy clothes properly. Do you not hear me?”
“Y-Yes, ma'am....”
Back then, I wore over a hundred different outfits.
My sister's favorite was when I wore a bright yellow, round children's academy hat and a uniform that looked like an academy student's.
She said that if I wore the clothes of a graduating senior, it would feel like I'd lived for over twenty years.
That wish came true, but....
“Sigh....”
I watched my sister as she seriously held various fabrics against my body.
‘Sissy, there's madness in her eyes....’
Suddenly feeling a chill, I grabbed her arm and muttered.
“Sissy. Um... I'm fine with anything, really.”
“Right. Yellow suits you, pink suits you, blue too.... Haah, I'm worried because there's nothing that doesn't suit our Coco. Should we just wear them all?”
“Usually, people only wear one dress for their debutante ball...?”
“...Is our Coco the same as other people?”
As my sister's expression turned bleak, the tailors spoke up flatteringly.
“Of course not, she is different. She is a divine beast, after all.”
“She should wear a thousand dresses!”
My face turned pale in an instant.
‘I-I'm in trouble.’
...And just like that, I even forgot to think about Caligo.
Time flew by frantically and like an arrow....
Finally, the day of the debutante ball arrived.
* * *
Normally, it is proper for the male partner of a debutante ball to escort the lady directly from her residence.
However....
Caligo entered the Nine Hall, where the debutante ball was being held, recalling the conversation he had with Chloe the previous night.
“As her chaperone, I'll bring Coco, so why don't you see her at the Imperial Palace?”
“...Ah.”
“Coco is still shy.”
...And that was how he ended up appearing at the debutante ball without a partner.
From the moment he entered the hall, Caligo felt that something was strange about the atmosphere. It was as if everyone's gaze was intensely focused on one specific person.
He could have bet his wrist on the deduction that Coco would be at the end of those gazes.
“The divine beast is so beautiful.”
“I naturally assumed she would come in her puppy form, so I even prepared the sweet potatoes she likes....”
“...I heard hundreds of artisans worked on that dress, sewing in every single jewel one by one?”
“How can she suit such a flashy dress so perfectly?”
Even though the word 'beautiful' hit his ears dozens of times, Caligo remained quite calm.
Because Coco was always beautiful.
However... as he pushed through the crowd and approached the wall of the hall where Coco was, Caligo barely managed to hold his breath upon facing her.
Today, Coco was, well....
Breathtakingly pretty.
Her long silver hair, which sparkled like silver thread, was styled in flowing waves instead of being tied up as usual. The shimmering makeup around her eyes added vitality to her gentle, puppy-like gaze and kind face.
Moreover, the dress enveloping Coco's lovely body was both elegant and cute, suiting her perfectly.
To summarize it....
‘...She's so pretty that I want her to look only at me.’
He barely straightened his trembling legs and walked toward Coco again.
But....
Another man stepped in front of him and spoke to Coco.
“Hello, Lady Coco.”
It was a voice that still sounded familiar, even after a long time.
...The one who had made the first move was Prince Gaisa.
Caligo tried to push past him to get to Coco, but Coco's voice was faster.
“...Hi!”
He saw her nodding her head toward him with a bright smile.
“Congratulations on your debut. Have you been doing well?”
“Yes, yes. I've been doing great! How about you, Your Highness?”
At that, Prince Gaisa murmured cautiously.
“I've been doing well too. Um.... Thanks to Lady Coco's efforts, the security of the Empire has improved greatly. His Majesty is also very grateful to Lady Coco.”
“Oh, really?”
“Yes. And....”
Caligo watched them continue their friendly conversation, pretending to be indifferent.
Since Coco had visited the Imperial Palace often as a divine beast, she must have seen Prince Gaisa from a distance. Thus, Caligo thought that the meeting between the two wasn't a particularly awkward combination.
However....
He listened to the voices of the ladies chatting around Coco.
“Come to think of it, doesn't the divine beast and the Prince look quite good together?”
“Hey, hey. Be quiet. The divine beast clearly has a fiancé....”
“Still, the way the Prince looks at the divine beast is so sweet. Can't I even fantasize?”
...He respected everything about Coco.
But he was displeased by the irreverent words and actions of the people looking at Coco and Prince Gaisa.
‘They seem to have forgotten that they are nobles.’
The oblivious Coco didn't seem to notice that such uncomfortable words were circulating around her.
But the position of her fiancé, Caligo, was entirely different.
He cast a cold gaze toward the source of the voices.
Feeling Caligo's stare, the people quickly tucked their tails and scattered back to their respective places.
‘But I am still a bit jealous....’
Caligo glanced at Prince Gaisa and smirked. Then, he approached, intentionally interrupting the space between the two.
“What are you doing here, my fiancée?”
* * *
As everyone praised me, I felt as if my non-existent tail was wagging frantically.
And that feeling doubled the moment I faced Caligo.
“Caligo!”
...The moment I shouted out of happiness, my face turned bright red.
‘Isn't Caligo too handsome today?’
Is it because he swept his hair back differently than usual and wore a suit?
He was almost dazzling to look at.
But I am the very brave puppy, Coco.
Sissy told me to ‘acknowledge my feelings,’ so....
I tried to look at Caligo with a very courageous, burning gaze.
“...Coco, what is it?”
“...It's nothing.”
However, after saying that, I had no choice but to quickly avert my eyes.
‘Caligo is too dazzling, I can't look.’
Unaware of my feelings, Caligo stepped even closer to me.
The quick-witted Prince Gaisa quietly stepped aside, and Caligo asked suggestively.
“Really? Then, is there a spot left on your dance card?”
It is customary to write one's name on the dance card to have the first dance with a lady.
He carefully examined my dance card and then widened his eyes.
“...Coco.”
“Yeah?”
“The first spot here is empty. Isn't that for your sister-in-law?”
“Huh? You mean Sissy?”
“Then....”
Just then, Sissy, who was standing far off, ran over and intervened.
“While I am indeed Coco's number one priority, it is customary to have the first dance of the debutante with one's fiancé. It's a shame, but well....”
“Gasp....”
Dark clouds gathered in my heart, as I had naturally expected to have the first dance with Sissy.
Even so, I didn't feel bad.
Rather, it was a problem that my heart kept thumping.
At that moment, Caligo made a face like a puppy standing in front of a sweet potato cake.
“I didn't dare think I could take your first dance.”
“Huh?”
“Then Coco, may I have the first dance with you?”
I rolled my eyes.
‘Caligo, you're moving too fast!’
I had only just decided to face my emotions, and he's already asking for the first dance.
“Th-then, Caligo. Will you write your name on the dance card?”
...I stuttered! How stupid!
“Yes! Let's dance!”
Sissy definitely told me to face my emotions.
But facing Caligo in person made my heart so restless. Still, I barely summoned the courage and reached out my hand to him.
And at that moment.
As if the time had come, the sound of a viola announcing the start of the first dance spread through the hall.
* * *
As befitting the first dance, it was a lively and lovely piece.
Caligo and Coco held each other's hands and spun around as if dancing a waltz.
Coco thought that once she actually held Caligo's hand and danced, the thumping subsided and she felt as if she were in a daze.
However, Caligo seemed to have no intention of letting her heart settle.
While dancing with Coco, he decided to say everything he had wanted to say until now.
“Coco, you've been avoiding me until now.”
“Hup.”
As Coco became flustered, her steps immediately tangled. Caligo skillfully handled Coco's dancing and spoke again.
“Why did you avoid me?”
“Huh? No. I didn't avoid you at all!”
It was likely a lie, but Caligo didn't mind.
Because while they were dancing, Coco could not run away from him.
‘So, I hope you answer honestly that our hearts have connected.’
He tilted his head toward Coco to probe persistently.
“Can I ask you one thing?”
“Y-you're, too, too too close....”
“It's okay.”
Coco couldn't even close her eyes; they were wide open. Caligo asked quietly.
“Coco, do you not like me very much anymore?”
“Huh? No, that's not it!”
“Really? If that's not it....”
Caligo fell silent for a moment.
Even in the somewhat heavy atmosphere, their feet moved lightheartedly.
No, only Caligo's feet were moving joyfully, matching Coco's messy steps.
Coco was frozen, as if she had guessed what Caligo was about to say next.
The music was now reaching its end.
Finally, Caligo whispered softly.
“Is it because you like me... too much, that you keep avoiding me?”
At that moment, along with the sound of the viola, the song came to a close.
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