[You’ll be with me the whole time during the ball, right?]

His face brightened a little at that.

“……Of course.”

I lightly replied to his kind words.

[Thank you.]

I stood up first and left the dining room. Although Carlothian’s gaze lingered on me, I didn’t look back.

I knew what he wanted to say to me, but I still didn’t have the courage to say those words to him.

My love, Carlothian.

What he probably wished to hear was this one phrase.

‘What was I thinking…?’

Words that slipped out carelessly, swept away by the tide of emotions.

For now, I pushed that thought aside and began to consider how to decorate the main hall.

‘Since it’s been a long time since the last banquet, I want it to be a bit extravagant.’

It seemed like I had held many banquets shortly after marrying Carlothian long ago.

‘Back then, I was full of determination.’

Since I wasn’t recognized by Carlothian, I wanted to be acknowledged as the Duchess by others.

I naturally headed toward the Duchess’s office. I found myself there without thinking.

It seemed that my awareness of being ‘Ariadeline’ played a significant role in this.

I hesitated for a moment at the door before slowly opening it. I remembered using it not long ago, but my mindset was entirely different this time.

I spoke to the maid.

[First, I need to buy new curtains, carpets, and tablecloths to decorate the hall.]

The ones in the mansion had already been used once, so it was right to buy new ones.

I did start to think it was a ‘waste,’ unlike before. I was still acutely aware of my identity as Ahn Hye-in, a modern-day woman.

‘But I can’t use the same items…’

Of course, my awareness of being Ariadelina was also strong. I sat at the desk selecting new curtains, carpets, and tablecloths.

‘The prices…’

However, the hand holding the price tags trembled. Let me reiterate, Ahn Hye-in was poor. She wasn’t this astronomically wealthy.

Yet my pride as the Duchess cried out that I couldn’t reuse something I had already used.

In the end, I selected the new items with my shaking hands and wrote out the payment slip.

‘Goodness, how many new items do I need to buy?’

After choosing all three types, I was left with tableware, food to serve, flowers, and gifts for the guests.

I glanced at the internal budget report that Carlothian had handed over. Surely, this was the average amount everyone would spend…

I was thinking of the standard prices when I looked at the budget report, but what was this?

‘Is Carlothian crazy!?’

The budget set before me was several times higher than usual. My eyes widened in shock as my hands trembled.

‘This is insane. He can’t possibly expect me to use all of this, right?’

It must be for a year. A year’s worth. There’s no doubt about it. Otherwise, there wouldn’t be such an amount.

But considering Carlothian’s current state, I was scared that even if I used it all, he would just set a new budget for me.

‘Let’s spend moderately. Moderately…’

After selecting everything needed for the banquet, I had spent an amount that could buy a small mansion. My hands trembled, but my identity as the Duchess was shouting that this was right.

‘How on earth did my past self spend this much money?’

I let out a deep sigh and calculated the remaining budget. Even after spending all that, I still had a considerable amount left.

‘Alright, let’s save some of this.’

…Just as I thought that, the maids rushed in.

“You need to order a dress for the banquet.”

[What? I have plenty of dresses I haven’t worn yet! And there’s only a week left!]

“If it’s you, Madam, they’ll make it in time. And wearing something you already own is simply not acceptable.”

Pushed by the maids, I had no choice but to call for the dressmaker in tears.

She was overjoyed to hear that I was hosting a banquet and came straight to the mansion upon receiving the letter.

“Oh my! Miss Ariadeline! I knew I could count on you!”

Her face was beaming. After all, how happy must she be to see her creations worn at an official event?

I managed a sigh mixed with a smile, helplessly choosing from the designs and fabrics she brought.

“Madame, how about this one?”

“Madame, this fabric looks nice too.”

“Madame! I think this dress would suit you well!”

Moreover, the maids kept encouraging from the side.

“The maids have great taste!”

Excitedly collaborating with the dressmaker, I ended up ordering eight dresses.

Internally, I was shedding tears as I recalled the price I had just spent.

‘But honestly, honestly, I’m a bit excited too…!’

As Ariadeline, my identity was urging me to buy more and more! However, I demonstrated superhuman patience and stopped at eight dresses.

But I had overlooked something. While Carlothian had previously gifted me jewels, I also needed shoes, gloves, and a hat for the dresses.

‘Ahahaha.’

Realizing this, I forced a hollow laugh, but by the time I collected myself, I had already spent half of the budget.

‘The fact that I’ve spent this much and still have half left is terrifying.’

But when I told him I was done with preparations, Carlothian said something terrifying.

“You still have half left.”

[It’s a year’s worth. I’ve already spent half of that.]

“A year…?”

Carlothian looked very puzzled as he spoke to me.

“That money is entirely for this banquet.”

“……”

Did this man always operate on such a grand scale? Of course, he must—he’s a duke! Still, this was beyond my imagination.

[Half is enough. We can manage the internal affairs with the rest.]

He nodded with a face that seemed to say he wasn’t particularly pleased but would go along with it since I suggested it.

“If you need more, just say so.”

[I don’t think I’ll need more.]

However, I ended up dipping into the remaining half repeatedly during the process, spending it all.

‘This is scary. The identity of a noble.’

With that thought, I prepared everything for the banquet within the tight time frame of a week.

The butler took care of sending out the invitations, and I only checked the list. Naturally, I removed all the ladies who were on bad terms with me.

‘There will be some familiar faces.’

I smiled broadly. Then, I handed the list to the butler and told him to proceed as planned.

Thus, the preparations for the banquet progressed sequentially, and it wasn’t long before the invitations were sent out, causing a stir in high society.

☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓 ☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓

“Did you hear that Ariadeline sent out invitations?”

“Oh my, madam! She’s no longer just Ariadeline; she’s the Duchess of Denaves now!”

“Oh, right. My goodness. Look at my mind!”

Having lost her title for a while and being referred to as a villainess, witch, or simply by the name Ariadeline, she was now once again called by her family name, Denaves.

Those who had spoken ill of Ariadeline had to be very careful not to slip up to avoid making mistakes. There was no way to take back the words they had already spilled.

However, they thought that if they changed their attitude from now on, she would likely accept them appropriately for the sake of her position in society.

In fact, invitations also reached the ladies who had sharpened their tongues against Ariadeline during the princess’s birthday celebration.

They stood with their chins held high, claiming they were obviously invited, but inwardly, they were letting out sighs of relief.

“Does this mean she’s willing to let bygones be bygones?”

Since all ties had been severed after Ariadeline was branded a criminal, no one could predict how she would react.

They could only hope that she would show mercy.

With the banquet scheduled in just a week, all the tailors in the empire were working busily.

As a result, rumors spread even more quickly.

Ariadeline Denaves has returned, having cleared her name!

The nobles each wished to receive an invitation, eager to see everything with their own eyes.

And in response, quite a number of invitations were sent out to the nobles.

It was as if she wanted to show everyone that she had been vindicated.

Thus, the week passed in the blink of an eye, and today, the day of the banquet finally arrived.