I’m Done Being Your Best Friend

Somehow, this situation of dancing with Logan in front of everyone seemed like a dream.
It was a strange feeling, as if I was on cloud nine the whole time I was dancing.

Is this really not an illusion? As I got lost in thought and entrusted myself to his lead, one song was already coming to an end.
We stood face to face and bowed to each other.

“Thank you for the chance.”

“You’re welcome.”

When our dance was over, the crowd clapped in unison.
The applause probably wasn’t to this extent back when the count couple appeared.

I then went back to where I was.
To Chloe, not Daisy.

As I was approaching, everyone except Chloe looked at me with amazement.
Once I had completely joined them, lady Cruz was the first to speak.

“What on earth happened? So the Duke was the man in the rumour?!”

“Is it true that the Duke disguised himself as a commoner?”

The next question was from lady Roberts.
Meanwhile, Heidi had her mouth hanging open and didn’t know how to close it.

“Unbelievable…!”

Chloe, who had already returned to the group before me, asked.

“Aren’t you glad you came to today’s ball with better care than usual?”

Her lips, painted with a dark red shade, were raised high.

I narrowed my eyes as I looked at her.
Did she know that Logan was coming? Come to think of it, it was a bit strange.
I had been wondering why she suddenly came to my mansion today and wanted to groom me…

As if to prove my thought was right, Chloe winked at me.

She then stared into the distance, muttering as if she was talking to herself.

“He sure is busy.”

Following her gaze, I turned my head and saw Logan.
Logan and Duke Grint were standing opposite each other, and many male nobles were gathered around them.

They probably wanted to have a few words with Logan.
I watched his side profile in silence.

Logan left the ballroom after a while.
There must have been a lot of women waiting to dance with him, but there was no hesitation as he walked out on them.

“Lady Nelson, won’t you tell me what happened? I’m so curious!”

“Stop, stop, you’re troubling lady Nelson.”

Chloe calmed lady Cruz, who had been pestering me for an answer.
I smiled perplexedly.

“I’ll go out for now and will tell you once I come back.”

Logan told me to leave with a time difference, so now I had to leave too.
I excused myself for a moment and walked away from the group.
I then went out of the ballroom and into the garden.

Count Beth’s servants were roaming in the garden.
It was to prevent any unexpected accidents.

I searched for Logan and went in deeper.

It was actually not that difficult to find him due to his tall figure.
Logan, who was standing in front of a wall sconce, saw me and pointed further inside.

“In case there may be people watching.”

That’s true.
I looked around and moved further inside with him.
Just like how Heidi and Percy did.

As we walked, he didn’t say a word.
What he would say was predictable, yet, I was strangely nervous.
The tension grew even more once we stopped.

Logan, who stopped walking, stayed silent for a moment then said.

“I’m not really a commoner.”

It was a funny situation.
Since he already appeared as Duke Harrison.
Still, I couldn’t laugh.

“…I was really surprised.”

As I pretended to be ignorant, Logan put on a somber look.

“…I did not intend to continue deceiving lady Nelson.
My apology for I am only telling you now.”

Logan bowed deep and apologised to me.

No, you don’t have to bow your head like that.

I cried out in panic.

“No, you don’t have to apologise like that! The Duke didn’t do anything wrong.”

Was my reaction unexpected? Logan looked at me with a complicated face.

“You’re not angry.”

“It’s nothing to be angry about.
I have absolutely no reason to be mad.”

He remained silent for a while before parting his lips.

“I will tell you the truth.
About why I lied about my identity.”

***

Let’s not deceive her anymore. Fabian came to the ball with this determination.

Chloe, who visited Duke Harrison’s residence that day, said.

“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.”

And that’s exactly what he was going to do.

It was also Chloe who informed Fabian that Sienna was attending the ball and made him plan for the day.

Now that he has revealed his identity to save her from the rumour, it’s time to tell her the truth.

“At first, I heard that there was a magic fountain in the Marquisate, so I went to see it in person.
However, since I am not married yet, if I had gone to the magic fountain as a duke, I would suffer from rumours.
Therefore, I went to visit the Marquisate, lying about my identity.”

“…I see.”

“The reason I couldn’t tell you earlier… is because I thought that if I returned to the capital and revealed my identity, the lady would be very surprised.”

Fabian observed Sienna’s expression as he spoke.

“I wanted to say thank you to milady, but I thought that if I met you as a duke, it would be considered unusual by both families.
Since it’s a meeting between a duke and a marquis’ daughter….”

“It’d probably seem so.”

Sienna nodded as if she agreed with Fabian.
Fabian was relieved to hear her friendly reaction and continued.

“So I was looking for a way to meet you again, and I ended up waiting for you on the street.
And…”

Fabian paused for a moment.

“I felt sorry every time I witnessed milady going through hardships because of me.
I should have told you before this happened… But as time passed, I was afraid that the young lady would be disappointed, so I could not tell you.
I once again apologise to you, milady.”

“You don’t have to be so sorry about it.
It’s not like I don’t understand the Duke’s intention.”

Sienna accepted his apology more easily than he thought.
It wasn’t a bad reaction.

If so, all that remained was to continue meeting with her.
So he could gradually build a liking toward himself within her.

It was then that Sienna said something astounding.

“Actually, so was I.
When I came back to Cardiff, I kept thinking about the Duke.
I was wondering about when we would be able to meet again…”