I'm Done Being Your Best Friend

Chloe asked the pensive Fabian.

“Your Grace, are you interested in lady Nelson?”

“Pardon?”

“Otherwise, there is absolutely no reason for the duke, who has been building up a wall around him, to keep seeing her. You even pretended to be an unbecoming commoner. Aren’t you doing this because you like lady Nelson?”

“I’m just interested…”

She hit the nail on the head. It was already beyond mere interest at this point. But there was no reason to tell Chloe that.

As he sighed, Chloe spoke again.

“Be honest. You kept trying to meet lady Nelson because you’re fond of her.”

She’s so aggressive today. Chloe had always spoken straightforwardly, but so far she had been fine. Yet, today she made Fabian so troubled.

Fabian was finally forced to admit it in front of Chloe.

“Fine. It’s somewhat like that.”

“Why can’t you just be true to yourself? It’s not ‘somewhat like that’, it’s exactly like that.”

Chloe giggled. She looked amused.

“But how much longer are you planning to deceive her?”

Chloe’s eyes suddenly became sharp.

“Think about it. It turns out that the person she’s been spending time with is a duke, not a commoner. And he has kept this a secret ever since they first met. Then will she be angry or not?”

This was exactly what Fabian was worried about.

How could he convey his feelings to her without shocking her?

He has never expressed his emotions to her before, so she would not know how he felt. Moreover, his identity was a duke. He could not say anything to Sienna that day because he thought she might feel burdened.

“…”

Chloe continued speaking to Fabian, who was speechless.

“Even if it wasn’t the duke’s deliberate intention, she would still feel betrayed. So what will happen to Your Grace afterward? Of course, the relationship you have with lady Nelson would be over. As Your Grace must have already known, lady Nelson’s even suffered from bad rumours because of you.”

She seemed to be talking about the rumours Justin had told him. Rumours that Sienna was dating a peasant man. How foolish he was for not realising that he was the root of the rumours.

“If it were you, lady Grint, what would you choose?”

Fabian opened his mouth with a serious face. Meanwhile, Chloe had a more contrasting expression on her face. She looked excited.

“First of all, you have to reveal your identity.”

Chloe’s answer was clear.

If only he was half like Chloe, he wouldn’t have to agonise so much. He had never had a hard time at work, but why was he having such a hard time dealing with the opposite sex?

“Deliver a sincere apology to lady Nelson. And have a natural encounter with her as a duke on a particular occasion. That’s where you convey your heart.”

“Meeting her as a duke…?”

“Yes. And lucky for you, you have a great upcoming opportunity.”

Chloe smiled broadly.

***

Although the socialising season was already over, parties were often held. There was always a high season but never was there a low one. That was how the social circle of the Kingdom of Beland worked. The event I decided to attend today was Count Beth’s ball.

Chloe, who had proposed to attend the ball together, came to the marquis estate with some boxes.

Four large and a small one.

What is all this? I stared at the things Chloe’s maids were carrying with a bewildered look.

“Lady Grint, what is all this?”

“You have to go looking beautiful today. And I’m going to make it special.”

She spread the boxes out in my room and opened them. They were filled with dresses and makeup tools. I had them all anyway, so why?

But Chloe said calmly, raising one of the dresses in front of me, judging whether it suited me or not.

“I had a pretty dress, and I wanted you to try it on. Our body types are similar.”

“Lady Grint?”

“Stay still for a second.”

Chloe dressed me in one of those yellow dresses. Chloe was taller than me, but when I put it on, it wasn’t very long.

“Shall we go with a little different style of makeup?”

She even did my makeup. To be honest, it was more to my taste than when Nancy did it.

Nancy, I’m sorry. I apologised to Nancy inwardly and headed to the ball afterwards.

***

It was my second time attending Count Beth’s ball. In fact, it wasn’t a very pleasant memory for me in my previous life. No one asked me to dance, I was just hovering around the wall.

I was just ‘Daisy’s friend’, who stood idly by her side to make her shine. More like her sidekick.

Perhaps my presence was so faint that no one asked me to dance. I just looked at Daisy with envy, who received dance requests one after another back then.

Count Beth’s ballroom was exactly as how I remembered it. The servants were busily walking around carrying large plates.

Chloe looked around the ballroom and said.

“Let’s go to where Heidi is.”

We were the last of the group to arrive. Heidi had already arrived at the ball with lady Roberts and lady Cruz.

Chloe greeted them in a friendly manner.

“You’re here early.”

“You two must have come together.”

The young lady of Marquis Roberts smiled at Chloe. Then she turned to look at me and her green eyes widened.

“Oh my, lady Nelson. Aren’t you looking even more beautiful today?”

“Is that so?”

Was it possible to feel unpleasant when being called beautiful? Because a compliment made by someone like George felt offensive. Nonetheless, it’s an entirely different story if the person speaking was the elegant young lady of the Roberts family.

I smiled happily and accepted her compliment.

“I did perform some of my skills today after all.”

Chloe, standing next to me, straightened her waist proudly.

I was complimenting lady Cruz’s earrings when the ballroom suddenly became quiet. Count Beth, who was the ball’s host, appeared.

A large circle was made in the middle of the place where people were standing, and the Beth couple moved into it.

I immediately spotted the figure of lady Beth. Since it was a ball hosted by her family, the young lady was in the front. And next to her was Daisy.

As expected, she’s here too. I withdrew my gaze from her.

Count Beth looked around the crowd and opened his mouth.

“I would like to express my utmost sincere gratitude to everyone who came to this event today.”

Count Beth’s speech was a common opening remark. ‘Thank you for coming here, and I hope you enjoy the rest of your time.’ When the Count finished his speech, everyone gave ceremonial applause. The orchestra started playing and that was the beginning of the ball.

I watched with Chloe’s group as the Beths were the first couple to have a dance.