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☾ twenty - five ☾

Frankly, I became flustered by the unexpected predicament, but if I showed my uneasiness, it would only show that the rumors were true.

So I calmed myself down before shooting the man in front of me a glare.

"Who told you that I am in a relationship?"

I asked him, concealing my agitation, however he only shook his head.

"I'm afraid I don't know the details either. I just know that there are rumors going around that you are seeing someone..."

I frowned.

If the identity of the man I was supposedly in a relationship was still unknown, leaving me to be the only one exposed, it was obvious this was just a malicious rumor meant to slander me alone.

'If the rumors really had my father's apprentice as my supposed lover, there would be many trying to guess his identity and that itself would have started all sorts of rumors. Of course, there would also be talks about his extremely good looks.'

Having figured out the gist of the situation, I deliberately raised my voice as if I was still dumbfounded.

"That's ridiculous. I'll have you know I've actually been recuperating at home these days. There are visitors who have visited the mansion, so I can call them forward as my witnesses."

Hearing my firm denial, he released a sigh.

"I see it was just a false rumor after all."

"Yes, so you can relax." I said, smiling.

But I was further surprised when the young lord stood up and got on his knees in front of me.

"Milady."

"Lord Rowain, what is the meaning of this?"

But he remained kneeling, staring at me with a solemn look.

'Is he about to drop another bomb?'

As I stared at him with slight anxiety, he lowered his head and spoke in a grave voice. "I'm sorry."

I frowned at his sudden apology.

"Pardon? What are you apologizing for all of a sudden..."

Then, he raised his head and stared at me with heavy eyes.

"I have made a big mistake."

"Mistake? What do you mean?"

"I thought you had turned down my partner request...so I have already agreed to attend the party with another lady as my partner."

After hearing such an unexpected remark, I felt like I had received a blow to the head.

'So, you're saying you went ahead and acted rashly, not even waiting for my reply?'

In high society, the proper etiquette when it came to requesting partners was that the receiver had to return a response, regardless if they were accepting the request or turning it down, while the requester had to wait until they received a response before trying to find another partner.

It was a relief that I hadn't sent a reply to the other two yet, I would almost have had to attend the party alone.

'Then my father would definitely bring up marriage talks.'

The young lord's face crumpled.

"I've always dreamed of the day where I would be able to be your partner, I never thought things would turn out like this. It's all because of my lack of...no, it's all because of my incompetence."