First Of All, Lets Hide My Younger Brother

Chapter 37

"Why is he here?"

My father was surprised when I turned my head in the direction my hand was pointing:

"Really, why?"

"Oh, my God."

Our whole company looked confused. Franz turned pale.

"I don't remember inviting him. I know exactly what Kayla and Franz went through, so how did he get here?"  My uncle, Count Schumanix, hastily muttered. Marianne stared at Nicholas and quietly opened her mouth:

"I think he came as a date for Lady Elijah, the third daughter of the Earl of Rossman." The Rossman and Chiard families have a special relationship.

Mom raised her voice again as the atmosphere of our party quickly escalated:

"Today is a memorable day, so let's not spoil our mood because of this. Have a nice time!"

"Yes, I won't mind today. Let's go upstairs, Filia, Iris!" deciding to refresh the atmosphere, I hurried up the stairs of the main hall and entered the living room on the second floor. When the party starts, Philia, Iris and I will be introduced. Until then, we had to wait in this living room.

"Amazing. I didn't expect Nicholas Chiard to be here…"

"Isn't he ashamed?" How dare he come here?

Filia and Iris were angry at the appearance of Nicholas Chiard. We slipped out of the reception area and looked down at the main hall under the stairs.

"There are so many people here."

"They're all nobles, but what if they ask why a commoner is here?  Filia's frightened eyes filled with tears again."

"It's all right, Filia. Everyone there knows about it. It was written in the invitation."

Iris, who was looking down, called out to me in surprise while I was stroking Filia:

"Isn't that Sir Ritaus over there?"

My eyes immediately turned to the main hall under the stairs. Ritaus in a dark green tailcoat and his mother, Countess Aijar, were entering the main hall.

"You guys broke up. Today we are meeting with all the people we would not like to meet."

"Wouldn't it be perfect if only Leodora was here?"

It was hard to grin and laugh at Iris' jokes. As expected, my mother and father greeted Countess Aijar. Even when Ritaus and I broke up, they still got along well, so they invited me to my debut.

I had a bad feeling. Very, very bad. Is it because of Nicholas or Ritaus? Or is there another reason I don't know yet?

Soon the party started and our names were called. Going down the stairs, we saw my two cousins and Ritaus. Ritaus, not my father, who was supposed to be my partner. Philia and Iris looked back at me with concern as they were led to the center of the hall by my cousins. I couldn't even take a step towards Ritaus, who held out his hand to me. What's going on here? I turned to my father. My father and mother smiled and waved at me. Oh, I see now.

Seeing my confusion, the guests began to whisper curiously:

"Didn't they break up?"

"But I heard that their families are still good friends."

"Why did they break off the engagement?"

I didn't want to hear any more words, so I finally put my palm on Ritaus' fingers. We walked to the center of the hall and greeted the aristocrats according to an ancient tradition. Soon the quiet music stopped. There was a short pause. Soon it will be time for debutantes to show their first dance.