16 Chapter 16

Most older noblewomen, had an interest in Duke Alphonso. They preferred obedient men, while the younger noblewomen preferred men who wouldn't even spare them a single glance, such as Duke Gaston.

It was as if everywhere Lady Melissa saw or thought, Duke Gaston was there; she didn't know why she kept being reminded of his face at everything she did or thought.

Perhaps it was because he looked more handsome than she had last seen him?

Perhaps it was because he hadn't face all the gruesome things the Crown Prince did to the citizens? From embezzling funds to even murdering them.

Well, she'll think about those thoughts later. Now she had a man to talk to, Duke Alphonso.

It took Lady Melissa quite a bit of time to spot him as he was of similar height as her, and with all the tall guests, she had quite a hard time spotting him.

But his blonde hair had made it a little easier, as blonde was a rare hair color among nobles and peasants alike. All of the Imperial family's children had blonde hair, be it illegitimate or not.

The blonde hair was a distinct feature of the Imperial Family, and some might even say the best part of their appearance.

It was rare for anyone to have blonde hair. Initially, there were rumors that Duke Alphonso's mother had affairs with one of the Imperial Family members because of Duke Alphonso's blonde hair.

His blonde hair was THAT rare among others that many rumors had spread because of it.

Lady Melissa had to stop daydreaming now, or else she would miss the chance to have a conversation with Duke Alphonso.

After walking around a couple of times, she spotted him. Many old noblewomen were surrounded him and giving him all kinds of sweets and food.

She never knew he was THAT famous with older noblewomen. Well, she knew he was famous but not THAT famous.

Lady Melissa walked confidently and had a charming smile on her face.

"Ladies, may I steal Duke Alphonso from you? I have something personal I would like to discuss with him."

"Yes, go ahead, Lady Melissa. Take all the time you need."

The noblewomen were teasing Lady Melissa and Duke Alphonso as if they were in a relationship.

By the time she had taken Duke Alphonso with her, the noblewomen had already started conspiring all sorts of things Lady Melissa would talk to Duke Alphonso about, from a love affair to a jealous Lady Melissa.

Duke Alphonso, much like the other Dukes Lady Melissa had talked to, was shocked and confused.

He had never contacted Lady Melissa before for as long as he knew, yet she acted so strangely.

She had asked for him, and now she was bringing him into an area with little to no people.

They were finally in an area that was considered secluded enough for Lady Melissa.

Lady Melissa was surprised that Duke Alphonso wasn't out of breath like Duke Mason was.

"L-lady Melissa, why did you bring me here?"

Duke Alphonso acted scared as if he was frightened Lady Melissa might do something harmful to him.

"You can drop the act now. I'm not here to play any games with you."

"W-what act do you mean, Lady Melissa?"

"How you act, I'm not like other people; I don't fall for such tricks so easily, so try better next time."

Duke Alphonso did end up dropping the act out of amazement that Lady Melissa had seen right through him when many others had not.

There were only three people who had seen through this act of his, the Crown Prince, Duke Gaston, and now the third person, Lady Melissa.

"Fine, I'll drop the act. My apologies, Lady Melissa, I had forgotten to greet you just now. I am Duke Alphonso Vincent Peagler from the Peagler estate, and it is an honor to be invited to a party hosted by you."

Duke Alphonso said with the most innocent smile he could pull off, which didn't help his situation as Lady Melissa thought he looked like a hippo.

"I'll introduce myself too. I am Lady Melissa Mendy Shayla from the Shayla estate. It is my pleasure that you have attended my debut party. Thank you for coming."

"I'll get straight to the point; I need your help against a rebellion against the Crown Prince. Choose. Do you want to join me or not?"

"Now, why would I even join you? Mind you, I'm one of the Crown Prince's closest aides, and I am fully loyal to the Imperial Family. Starting a rebellion? Are you serious? Do you want to get killed?"

"It's your choice, do you want to join or not? Although think of all the benefits you could get from this. You could finally take your revenge on the Crown Prince. All the mistreatment you had gone through for YEARS now can all be gone if you help me with this rebellion of mine. You can finally have revenge on the Crown Prince."

Lady Melissa was promising with half-empty promises. There's no guarantee whether she can defeat the Crown Prince or not, but to convince people like Duke Alphonso, sometimes you have to go and tell them lies; for the better.

Duke Alphonso went silent, and he didn't mutter or even say a single word.

He genuinely considered this option; after all, he had wanted revenge too, revenge for all the times those nobles had mistreated him.

He was genuinely considering Lady Melissa's offer. Still, he was indecisive, her plan could go wrong in so many ways, and there were so many plot holes in her deal.

Why did she approach him? Why did she want a rebellion against the Crown Prince? What had he done to her? Was there any guarantee to her plan?

"What do you say? Are you in or not?"

Lady Melissa questioned Duke Alphonso yet again as he was too engrossed in his thoughts.

"Can you fully guarantee me that I can take my revenge on the Crown Prince? Can you ensure that you can win against the Crown Prince?

It wasn't a known fact to the public, but the Crown Prince had often mistreated Duke Alphonso. The public was only aware of the mistreatment he had received from his family, not from the Crown Prince.

"Give me one day, and I will send a letter to the Shayla estate through one of my trusted servants; I'll give you my response by then. If you have nothing more to say, I shall go now, Lady Melissa."

Duke Alphonso was acting fidgety. He knew better than anyone what would happen if he had rebelled against the Crown Prince.

The hours of torment he went through every day, it was hell.

He didn't want to go through that ever again. Then again, if he did help with Lady Melissa's rebellion, there was a chance that he could finally take his revenge against the Crown Prince.

All those years of pain and anguish in his heart that he had bottled up, he wanted to release all those feelings.

He wanted his revenge on the Crown Prince.

Now that Lady Melissa had dealt with all the three men, she could relax and eat more food now.

Lady Melissa was starving yet again when she was talking to Duke Alphonso as she was imagining all the food she could eat after she had finished talking to him.

And now she was temporarily free from all her problems, and she could whole-heartedly enjoy the whole ball without having to worry about anything anymore.

'Hmmm, should I eat the desserts first or the Salad? Should I eat the ramen first or the pizza? '

All kinds of food choices came to Melissa's mind, and she was a sucker for food after all.

Food was her love and life; eventually, she decided to eat the dessert first after a few more minutes of thinking.

The dessert was called a 'Banana Split.' It was a waffle with banana ice cream in the middle of the waffle and some chocolate toppings on top of the ice cream.

Lady Melissa felt that she was feeling euphoria right now. The taste of the ice cream mixed with chocolate toppings? That was amazing to her, and she felt as if she was seeing stars right now.

"How are you enjoying the party so far, my daughter? What does it feel like to finally have your first debut to society?"

"It was fun, and all the food here is so good! I gave the head chef a raise if that's okay with you, dad? He made such good food that I couldn't help it!"

"Of course it's okay! Your, the Lady of the Shayla estate, you don't need to ask for my permission to do something. Instead, you should be more selfish instead."