She wasn’t dressed in expensive dresses like the Duke’s daughter and her followers were. Neither was she displaying herself as much as the other ladies were, despite also having what it took to show. She was as if a common girl had just walked into the party. But such a thing was not possible, only people with a noble title or recognizable power could go in there.

As for why it wasn’t an issue for her, it was because she was the daughter of a Baron. A poor one, who insisted that she dress herself up with her late mother’s best dress and tried her best to get the Duke’s or any rich lord’s attention so their household could hang on for a while longer.

And so, she went.

There was just one issue—if one could even call it that. Besides being a poor noble girl, she was unusually pretty, and just her simple appearance was attracting the attention of the young lords in the party and the jealousy of the young ladies that noticed.

The girl had pale fair skin that looked smooth despite the fact that she hardly put any make-up on her face, with a small and well defined nose that complimented the soft features of her face shape. She had a small mouth with a pair of light-red lips that made one think of rose petals; her hazel, almost green, eyes attracted one’s attention to them, even as her shy gaze avoided everyone else’s; and on top of the young lady, long golden hair fell to her back in a simple, yet well-made braid that was complimented by a silver flower holding it together.

“Oh?” the Duke’s daughter exclaimed once she noticed, approaching the young girl with a soft smile. “Lady Eleanor, quite a surprise to see you here.” The Duke’s daughter looked up and down the young lady. “You’re looking dashing. Why don’t you join us?”

“Ah… Your Ladyship…!” Eleanor replied with surprise, but as she looked around herself and the Duke’s daughter, she slightly lowered her head and did as she was asked. “Okay…”

It was difficult for me to tell what the intentions of this young noble lady were by bringing someone like the poor Eleanor along, since if one were to look at her softly smiling face and welcoming eyes, one would think that she just wanted to make friends with a pitiful girl that just happened to be a noble. But one could never be certain with those in higher power…

They walked to the side of the party hall where most ladies were gathered. There were a few groups of different backgrounds talking amongst each other; like the wife of the Great General talking to the wife of the Duke; young ladies that have known each other for years whispering as they looked at the side of the young lords while thinking of ways to seduce them; and even a couple of young ladies that looked as strong as the men, since they were extremely capable mages, who had seen their fair share of combat, gazing at any man that they could get their hands on.

The daughter of the Duke was surrounded by her personal followers; daughters of other noble lords with neighboring territories that didn’t quite match the one that the Duke had, but that still carried the status to throw their weight around. The only one who didn’t fit at all with the group was Eleanor.

“Where did you get that dress?” asked one of the young ladies. “Is it supposed to be red or pink? I can’t tell… seems like it’s faded a bit. Why didn’t you get your family to buy a new one?”

“A-ah… well… it was the only one in my household, so I did what I could to mend it…” Eleanor replied, her eyes downcast as she looked down on the dress. “It was my mother’s.”

“Your mother’s!?” exclaimed another lady, before scoffing. “Don’t you feel ashamed to be wearing something so old?”

Eleanor forced a smile and shook her head. “I think it’s very pretty, and I think mother would be happy knowing that I’m wearing it.”

“She doesn’t know? Did you steal it?” asked the first lady, a mocking expression on her face.

“N-no, she passed away when I was still a baby…” Eleanor replied with a regretful expression on her face that was quickly replaced by a soft smile. “But I’m not sad about it. It was a long time ago.”

“Quite pitiful indeed…” the Duke’s daughter softly said, painting a sad smile, and acting as if she actually found it pitiful.

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

While they were talking, the Prince arrived. His name was called out with splendor and awe when he stepped through the doors, and the people in the hall clapped, giving praises to the young Prince who was dressed in clothes that made him look as radiant as the sun. The golden armor was nowhere to be seen, as now he was wearing the official clothing of the prince. It was a red coat with threads made out of gold, and a dark-blue band going across his chest that signified the status of the person, with the empire’s crest embroidered with golden threads on it.

I didn’t care about what that crest was supposed to mean, so I ignored it while paying attention to the man’s attitude. He was softly smiling while waving his hand at the nobles that welcomed him.

“Ahhh…” one of the young ladies next to Eleanor sighed, “His Highness is looking so dreamy…”

“Yeah…” followed up another, turning to give a smile to the Duke’s daughter. “I’m so envious of you. He’s staying at your place, and just by looking at both you and him, it’s obvious that there’s something between you.”

“E-eh?! Really?!” the Duke’s daughter bashfully replied, placing her hands on her blushing cheeks and she looked away.

“W-why don’t you try talking to him?” Eleanor asked in a soft voice.

“Oh you poor ignorant girl,” one of the young ladies said. “One cannot just approach the Prince like that. It has to be him who comes first, otherwise it will make one look desperate. Or is it that you want Her Ladyship to make a fool out of herself?”

“N-no! Not at all! I’m sorry, I didn’t mean anything bad by it,” Eleanor quickly replied, shaking her hands in the air in a denying motion.

“Well, it doesn’t matter. I’m sure that the Prince will come find Her Ladyship soon,” another one followed up and the party continued.

* * *

Nothing of particular interest happened for a while. The Prince talked with the Duke and other young nobles, while the ladies talked with each other. None of the men tried to make a move on the ladies, since they feared that if they did, they might be stepping on a woman that the Prince might have an interest in, so unless the Prince moved first, they couldn't move either.

The only ones spared of such a thing were the ones that were either already married or engaged, in which case they were free to talk and spend their time together however they pleased.

But such a boring time was already getting on the nerves of a few people… particularly, the young ladies close to Eleanor.

“That’s a very pretty flower you have on your hair,” the Duke’s daughter said, softly taking hold of the decoration at the end of Eleanor’s hair.

“Ah, yes. It was a gift that my mother had prepared for me while she was alive, so I took this opportunity to finally wear it,” Eleanor replied, her eyes turned to the side, since the Duke’s daughter was standing behind her.

It was then that the Prince turned his eyes their way, something that the Duke’s daughter took notice of; however, his eyes weren’t on her. They were on the poor, pitiful girl that was standing by her. His gaze lingered for a moment, before someone else caught the Prince’s attention, causing him to turn away and smile at whoever started talking to him.

But for some reason, that caused the Duke’s daughter's attitude to change.

“Say, you wouldn’t mind if I take it, right?” she asked, gripping the silver flower in her hand as she pulled on it.

“E-eh… No, I’m—I’m sorry Your Ladyship, but—”

“Come on. Don’t be stingy. Her Ladyship’s been kind enough to spend time with you. The best you could do is at least give her something in return,” followed up one of the young ladies.

“Hehe, b-but, this is—ow! Your Ladyship, please, that hurts,” Eleanor exclaimed.

The Duke’s daughter was now pulling on the girl’s hair. I couldn’t tell if she was really trying to take the flower or if she just wanted to pull on her hair, but by now, the girl’s head was almost being dragged to the floor. The other young ladies looked at her pitiful state and just chuckled.

“Y-your Ladyship…” Eleanor tried to beg, but as she looked around the room, she realized that people were either ignoring her, or just laughing about it.

Tears were threatening to spill down from her eyes, and just when she looked like she was about to give up and let the Duke’s daughter have what she wanted, the young Prince appeared, gripping the Duke’s daughter's arm.

“Ow! Your Highness—!” the Duke’s daughter tried to exclaim as he forced the young lady to let go of Eleanor’s hair.

“That’s not a very nice thing to do, my lady,” he said with a cold and stern look.

“It’s not what you think! She was just going to give me her flower hairpin, but it wasn’t easy to—”

“You dare lie to this Prince?” the Prince interrupted as he looked down on the Duke’s daughter. “I was watching for a while now, and it didn’t seem like that to me at all.”

“I—I—” the Duke’s daughter tried to refute, but found herself without words under the young Prince’s cold gaze.

He turned his eyes away from her and into Eleanor’s, a soft smile now painted on his face. “My lady, it seems like you’ve been wronged.”

“Ah! No! Not at all! I’m sorry for causing trouble!” Eleanor exclaimed, taking a step back. “P-perhaps I should leave.”

The young Prince took a step forward, grabbing Eleanor’s hand. “Nonsense. How about you accompany this Prince this evening? I must admit, I’m not too proficient at dancing, but I’m sure that it should be enough to make up for the uncomfortable situation.”

“I—I am…” Eleanor trailed off, deeply blushing as she looked at the prince’s hand holding hers.

“Don’t make this Prince insist,” he said with a soft smile.

“O-okay…” she finally relented and followed after the prince, allowing herself to be led to the center of the hall.