After a servant confirmed that Dorian's name was on the guest list (though he was so known that they probably wouldn't turn him away even if it wasn't), Yunho and the Grand Duke were escorted by a pair of maids.
The maids looked relatively young and had a glow of curiosity in their eyes. They knew of the Grand Duke, but you could see their lips set at the ready to gossip about the esteemed man's plus one.
They soon arrived at the large doors of the event room, and the maids bowed before taking their leave.
Yunho sent them a smile, and the shorter one let out an almost inaudible yelp before leaving to escort more guests alongside the other maid who covertly giggled at her friend's reaction.
A pair of attendants opened the doors for them, revealing an expansive room full of people. It was similar to the hall at the Evastine Estate, but there were no gardens at the back of the count's manor. So, there weren't any additional exits.
The announcer called out, attracting the attention of the guests, "Now entering, The Northern Grand Duke, and…"
The man paused and looked at Yunho before looking at the Duke. He bowed his head before quietly asking, "Welcome, his grace and who if I may I ask?"
Yunho felt slightly embarrassed but answered anyway.
"Iris de Evastine."
The man seemed to pause and think on this name for a moment. Clearly, he found nothing but still raised his head and finished the announcement.
"And Iris de Evastine."
It was debatably a good thing that his name wasn't known to everyone yet since if it was, it would likely not be for only good reasons, but Yunho still felt like an unimportant side character.
"Well, I guess I kind of am…" Yunho thought.
Then, from his side, Yunho could hear a very muffled chuckle. He whipped his head around to see the man beside him. The Duke was covering his mouth with his hand, but his eyes were slightly creased.
It wasn't obvious to anyone further away that he was laughing, but Yunho could still tell the noise was coming from him.
Yunho inwardly side eyed him.
What's so funny?
The Duke sent him a glance and shook his head slightly.
"You really do need to work on masking your expressions."
Yunho paused out of surprise, and his face almost went red.
The young man nodded and continued forward, following the Grand Duke's footsteps.
Why was he being embarrassed one time after the other?
-
Eyes followed them as they moved through the floor, and Yunho could hear whispers floating by. People were especially looking at him, with an expression akin to confusion in a "who is that again?" way. Yunho was so distracted with looking at the onlookers that he didn't notice that the Grand Duke had stopped until he was a hair away from slamming into his back.
Dorian turned around and looked at him.
"You don't have to follow me around. I have some people to talk to. Take the chance to establish some connections." The Grand Duke said.
"Oh, yes..." Yunho replied.
He had planned to do that anyway, but he felt a little stupid after basically being told to go away.
The Grand Duke went off in another direction and soon Yunho couldn't track where he was.
Yunho looked around the room.
"Okay... Just find someone to talk to... Anyone..." He thought.
But that was easier said than done!
These were nobles, not high school kids in a new town. How would he even start a conversation. With a "what's up" or maybe a "you come to parties like this often?".
What is this? A cheesy 2000s drama?
But the answer to this was quickly given to him. Because Yunho found himself quickly surrounded by a circle of people. It was mainly young women and they were looking at him with expectant eyes.
Were ladies in this world so forward?
Yunho: "????"
There was a moment of awkward silence before one young lady finally approached him. She cleared her throat and locked eyes with him.
"How are you acquainted with the Northern Grand Duke?"
She spared him of any of the formalities and jumped to question mode.
The dots finally connected in Yunho's head. They weren't here for him. They were here for the Grand Duke.
"Dang, that's kinda disappointing." Yunho thought.
But... Couldn't this be his "in"? Iris de Evastine didn't have much political presence despite coming from an affluent family. But you know who does? The Northern Grand Duke who Yunho was currently the plus one of.
Yeah, he was going to milk this opportunity.
"Me and the Northern Grand Duke?" Yunho began. He could see the ears of all the ladies pricked up to listen.
"We are on pretty familiar terms. I've recently moved to the North temporarily, and His Grace is helping to acquaint me with the territory."
Multiple "Oh"s and "I see"s rose from the mini crowd.
Another lady approached Yunho and stood next to the other.
"Oh, well, that must be plenty of fun...," She paused and fiddled with her dress. "I don't mean to pry... However, would you know if the Grand Duke is currently courting anyone?"
Her face had gone red, and the other ladies seemed to shy away. But it was obvious that they were curious too. What other intention could all of them have for approaching him?
Yunho had seen this coming, so he wasn't surprised in the slightest. The Northern Grand Duke was a bit scary, but he was still incredibly good-looking and influential. Especially since the average person in this world didn't know the intricacies of his position in this world. The book didn't focus on Dorian, but it did describe some of the palace politics that hid in the shadows of the glimmer of royalty.
Yunho smiled and dramatically rubbed his chin.
"So-" The young man began.
"It's a secret." Another voice said, interrupting Yunho's reply. The man it came from was standing behind the young lady who had asked the question and had a hand on her shoulder.
He had blue eyes and slightly curly black hair and bore quite a resemblance to the young lady.
"Marie, Father and I have been looking for you. You should go back to him and mother. This mister probably doesn't want to be bothered with such questions."
"Ah, but, Big Brother..." Marie began, but the firm expression on the man's face dissuaded her from saying anything more. Disappointed, she slunk away to go find her father. Hearing the man's scolding, the other young ladies scattered away as well.
The only people that remained were Yunho and this man.
The stranger turned to him and lightly bowed.
"I should introduce myself. I'm Clark of the Augustine family. And that was my younger sister, Marie. Sorry if she bothered you."
Yunho searched his brain for any instances of anyone with that name. It sounded vaguely familiar to him, but he couldn't quite place it. He certainly hadn't heard it while he was in this world. Perhaps a Clark was mentioned in the book. Because Yunho couldn't quite shake the feeling that he knew this guy.
But that wasn't the priority at this moment. Yunho also gave a light bow and held out his hand for a handshake.
"No, it wasn't bothersome at all. I'm Iris of the Evastine family. Nice to meet you, Clark de Augustine."
Clark took his hand and shook it firmly.
"I do have to thank her in a way because I did want to talk to you. I just couldn't find an opening to approach you."
Yunho was surprised. It wasn't like he was an important, respectable figure. He would've been more than happy if someone approached him to talk and not just inquire about the Grand Duke. He wasn't aware, but his eyes had gone quite wide and sparkly. Like a kid excited to make friends.
Clark let out a chuckle.
"Wow, you have very honest expressions."
Yunho's brows furrowed. The words echoed those from a certain someone a little too much.
Clark quickly backtracked, waving his hands.
"Not in a bad way at all. It's refreshing. Most people try to pretend to be someone that they're not, so it's nice to see someone truly express themselves on their face."
Yunho rubbed the back of his neck; he didn't mean to look offended.
"No, it's okay. I wasn't upset. That just reminded me of something else..." Yunho said.
But the other man's words stood out to Yunho. 'Most people try to pretend to be someone that they're not'. In that case, wasn't Yunho also exactly like those people.
He was pretending to be someone else, literally. It was irony at its finest. The biggest pretender in this room being praised for his genuineness.
Clark looked relieved.
"Well, as you most likely know, my father just found a new ruby mine, and we've been looking for someone to help with the excavation and refining process of the gems. Our family is quite new to the industry."
Yunho nodded. He didn't know how that had anything to do with him, but maybe he could give some advice.
"Well, I heard that this event is being hosted by a Count that also recently found a ruby mine. You could try to find him. I think his name was Winston."
Clark paused with a bewildered look before it morphed into one of amusement. He began to laugh. Loud enough that other people around them was looking for what could be so funny.
"I've never heard of someone going to a party without knowing the full name of the host. Are you talking about Count Winston de Augustine. My father?"
Yunho's face went blank. He actually looked like an idiot. What were the chances of two separate families finding two separate ruby mines at the same time? But wasn't this also the Duke's fault. He only said that the Count's name was Winston. His face was completely red.
"Sorry. I didn't know."
Clark shook his head.
"No, it's okay. Just... Interesting. Well, I was asking because I know the Evastine family is quite involved in the mining industry. So, I was wondering if you could help connect our fathers for a possible business deal."
"Oh. Yeah. I'll see if I can. Totally."
Clark nodded.
"Well, my father is probably looking for me by now. So, we'll keep in touch?"
Yunho simply returned the nod, still feeling embarrassed.
It was only when Clark had left and Yunho was finally alone with his own thoughts that he found the peace to think.
Clark de Augustine... Where had it heard that name?
Then, it clicked.
In the original novel, Irene not only eliminates her family, but she takes over their assets too. Clark de Augustine was one of her business partners that also helped with her rise to the top. He becomes important when she discovers a mana stone vein and needs help with the extraction process. Irene, at this point, doesn't only want to rely on the Crown Prince, so she makes a deal with the Augustine Household.
But, the main reason that name sounded so familiar to Yunho was because Clark was one of Jangmi's favorite characters. After gifting "The Mistreated High Priestess Is Now a Princess" to him, she would talk with him about the book. And, a common topic was their favorite characters. Despite Clark being a side character of mild importance, Jangmi was a big fan, saying he was so charming and even had as much chemistry with Irene as the male lead at one point.
Yunho didn't see the appeal at all back then, but now, he could understand where she was coming from. Clark de Augustine was well-spoken and very good-looking.
"But, isn't the Northern Grand Duke even better in those aspects?" Yunho thought.
Wait...
HUH?!
Why did the Grand Duke even come up in his mind? The topic at hand was completely unrelated to him.
Yunho shook the thought away.
---
Yunho had gotten to introduce himself to couple more people, but he got tired of socializing fast. The event eventually came to an end, and Yunho took his leave as quickly as he could while trying to not come off as impolite.
He decided to wait for Dorian at the carriage and observe the stars in the spare time. The sky in this world was relatively identical to the one back in his original world, but it didn't have the same constellations. Yunho tried to create new constellations in his head. But, finding a group of stars that actually formed a recognizable shape was harder than he thought it'd be.
He had just found a cluster of stars that kind of looked like a deformed seahorse if and only if he tilted his head and narrowed his eyes when the Grand Duke finally returned to the carriage.
Yunho was about to say something when he spotted the expression of the Grand Duke's face. He looked solemn and didn't spare any other words besides a "let's go now."
The ride back was silent, and the Duke appeared to be lost in thought.
The roles were now switched because Yunho was the one staring. He didn't get to ask any questions before he was dropped off. The Duke simply walked him to the door and quickly left in the carriage.
Yunho was left alone at the lodge's front door. The stars twinkled above him.
"..."
"What was that about?"
---
End of Chapter 28
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END OF FROSTWREATH ARC