I Opened The Birdcage Door

Chapter 13

***

Daphne Lloyd.

I looked at the woman entering the banquet hall. Daphne. Obviously it was Daphne. The famous daughter of Count Lloyd. A friend of mine who was once close to me. The traitor who betrayed me in the closest place.

Daphne’s voice that I accidentally heard while passing through the hallway a long time ago crossed my mind.

‘Hey, don’t you know how difficult it is to deal with a wheelchair built-in person? Our princess, who is still sensitive, has become more sensitive because of her legs.’

It was the first time I had seen Daphne again since that day.

For the past six months after taking office as Duke, I worked hard to rebuild social networks, but I never tried to meet Daphne. She was the person who gave me trauma, so it was natural that I didn’t want to meet her. I didn’t even want to have someone like Daphne to be my friend.

So, it wasn’t until this official grand banquet that we met for the first time.

Daphne, whom I hadn’t seen in a long time, had an appearance that was no different from before.

Daphne had a small body like me, but she had a whiter and softer image. The unique elegant swan-like atmosphere that had always caught people’s attention since childhood had matured even more as an adult.

Daphne entered the banquet hall with a dignified figure with her mouth slightly covered with a fan.

I once heard from Sophie. Since I stayed hidden in the mansion, Daphne’s status in the social world had risen.

Daphne was the only daughter of a well-known family, and her appearance and dignity were also beautiful enough to attract people’s attention. I was the only member of the social circle that received more attention than Daphne, but after I disappeared, her status naturally rose.

As if to prove it, Daphne was receiving a lot of attention from the moment she appeared in the banquet hall. The noble girls looked at Daphne, the perfect lady, with envy, and all the men looked at her as if possessed.

Daphne smiled and greeted the emperor then approached the head of the table.

Then she looked at me, who was standing in the front.

“…”

“….”

I looked at her with a slightly bewildered expression. Daphne was also looking at me with her deer-like eyes wide open as if surprised.

Then, the corners of her lips rose slightly and her eyes twinkled with a happy expression.

“Aileen?”

“….?”

“Oh my God, it’s really Aileen. Long time no see. How have you been?”

With her beautiful eyes bent, she grabbed the hem of her dress and started walking towards me. She looked casual, as if captured by the joy of meeting an old friend.

Daphne stood in front of me and hugged me.

“….”

“I heard that you could walk again, and it is true. It makes me happy to see you walking like this. Congratulations, Aileen.”

I was dazed. What kind of welcoming act was this?

It had been 12 years since we broke up with each other. Daphne knew I had heard her gossip, and I knew that Daphne hated me too. It was not that we didn’t know each other, was there any reason why she was doing this?

Looking around, people’s eyes were focused on Daphne and me.

They knew that the relationship between the two ladies, who were friends since young, had changed, but seeing them hugging each other again today, they all looked puzzled.

Then I felt the voices of people around us.

“Look at that, Lady Daphne’s dress and Her Excellency Aileen’s dress…”

It was a voice comparing dresses. Daphne’s bright and colorful dress, and my dress that looked dark and insignificant compared to hers.

Daphne pulled me away from hugging me, and said as if recognizing the gaze around her.

“Don’t worry about what people say. The dress you’re wearing is pretty enough.”

“….”

“If it’s okay with you, why don’t we go get a dress together next time? I’ll choose a dress that fits well with today’s social trends. These days, wide, glamorous dresses are fashionable.”

Only then did I realize why she came to me.

She was like a bird that had already settled into the nest and was taking care of the newly arrived baby bird.

At first glance, the gentle and caring appearance was also an act to obscure the status.

I saw her eyes firmly imprinted on me.

Her eyes were talking. ‘Now I’m the owner of this place, and the days when you used to walk around here like a master are long gone.’

I laughed.

“You are arrogant.”

“What?”

Daphne looked at me. I smiled brightly at her.

“Hello, Daphne. I see you’re doing well. You still treat people like they’re idiots.”

“What?”

“Twelve years ago. What did you say about me? Didn’t you say that you know how difficult it is to deal with a built-in wheelchair?”

I spoke loudly so that people could hear it on purpose, taking advantage of the people’s attention.

Then the surroundings began to murmur little by little. Daphne bit her lip and looked at me in embarrassment, as she didn’t think I was going to say those words.

“What are you talking about, Aileen? When did I say that…”

“You said that I am a sensitive person, and you said that I have a sensitive personality and it got worse after I injured my legs. I thought of you as a friend.”

“You, what the hell is that… … !”

Daphne almost raised her voice, but when she saw the people behind me, she closed her eyes.

His Majesty the Emperor and Usher were also sitting behind me.

The two of them were quietly watching Daphne and me.

“Still, I appreciate the courage to talk to me in a friendly way and want to go match the dress with you.”

I smiled kindly and said.

“But I decline. I think my dress will be in fashion soon.”

Daphne’s eyebrows twitched as if to mean something else.

But I was serious.

Daphne wasn’t wrong, saying that wide and colorful dresses were fashionable these days.

The dress I wore was different from the dress that was currently mainstream in that it consisted of a two-piece jacket and skirt. Velvet wasn’t a very common material for dresses, and the slim fit.

It was not unreasonable to say that it was the complete opposite of the dresses that were now trending.

Dresses that were fashionable 10 years ago when I injured my legs.

But.

“It is said that fashion usually rotates every 10 years, Daphne. And you know, it’s socialite fashion.”

“….”

“Sometimes the fashion changes completely depending on what kind of dress a woman of high status wears.”

I smiled and whispered in Daphne’s ear.

It was a declaration. A declaration of my noble status. A declaration that I alone would be enough to change the trend of the social world.

Now that I had returned, I declared that she had to work harder to defend the position she gained in the social world in exchange for betraying me.

Daphne’s face flushed with shame upon hearing my secret declaration.

“Watch out, Daphne. The fashion of women in society will change soon.”

I just continued speaking in a relaxed voice.

“And next time, speak to the Duke with courtesy. Do you understand?”

****

After a while, Daphne disappeared in front of me.

She acted as if she was going to end the conversation calmly as if she was conscious of people, but her face was completely different when she turned away from me.

Beyond the reddish-blue, a cold expression. The sharp eyes that seemed to cut me through at any moment must have been the real face she looked at me for all this time.

I responded in a childish way without realizing it, but the feeling was bittersweet.

In fact, if I ever met Daphne again, I thought I’d ask him at least once. Why did you have to be close to me while gossiping behind my back? If you had hated me for a long time, you didn’t have to try to get so close to me.

But seeing Daphne acted like that, I thought there was nothing to ask. I don’t know why she betrayed me, but I don’t think it would be more or less what I felt now if I knew the reason.

Envy. Jealousy. Complex.

In this class-based society, it was an emotion that could be easily felt, especially by people of the same age or class as me. But even Daphne didn’t think so.

Yes. Let’s not worry.

I soon made up my mind. I came here to impress the emperor and nobles, not to be swayed by people like Daphne.

Let’s focus only on my duty as a Duke. With that in mind, I went to my seat and sat down. At that moment, a knight came into my sight.

I doubted my eyes. The knight standing still was definitely Sebastian.

‘… Sebastian?’

Without realizing it, I looked at him. He stood in the group of knights surrounding the outdoor plaza where the banquet was held, as if guarding it.

A figure standing without moving while wearing armor and holding a spear.

His face was not clearly visible because he was wearing a helmet. But, having lived in the same house with Sebastian for several years, there was no way I wouldn’t recognize him.

The familiar figure and face was definitely Sebastian.