I Want To Be Your First

Chapter 1

Champagne and the flowers in full bloom blended with the scent of perfume, fragrantly filling the nose. While traces of winter were still present outside, early spring was in full bloom within the interior of the banquet hall. The image of aristocrats dancing underneath the dazzling light of the chandelier showcased the peace and prosperity of the empire. 

The banquet hall, filled with young men and women dancing to the steps of waltz and polka, created a pink atmosphere. A noblewoman watching this scene tilted her head slightly as she spoke, “It’s not the social season, but strangely, a large number of young people are present today.”

“Right? I don’t know why there are so many ladies. At this rate, the sun will set while I’m waiting for a dance.” 

Another lady, who heard the whisper, spread out a fan and grinned. “Today is a special day. It’s crowded as Count Janssel accepted the invitation for today’s banquet.”

A faint flush arose on the ladies’ powdered cheeks. Count Janssel is perhaps the most distinguished man in the present high society. 

“I see. No wonder… I was surprised when I saw the list of guests.”

“I was very surprised, too. ‘The Count of Janssel will be attending?’ I wasn’t feeling well, so I was planning to decline the invitation for today’s banquet, but in the end, I had to come.”

“Oh, me too. I only managed to attend after pestering my husband, as I wanted to meet him so much.”

At the young noblewoman’s true intentions, the other ladies lifted the corners of their lips and laughed gracefully together. It was not done out of ridicule, but because they all had the same purpose for attending this banquet. Another lady glanced around at the hall, and tilted her body towards the other ladies to whisper furtively .

“I am ashamed to say this, but I have also attended this banquet as I wanted to meet the Count. Even if it’s from afar, just once will be enough…”

“Is there anyone that will not be bewitched by that kind of appearance and background?”

“Isn’t it funny? There was such a fuss about an illegitimate child succeeding the peerage, but when he reached the position of consul, the label of ‘illegitimate child’ disappeared entirely.”

“I’ve noticed him since his first appearance in high society. Illegitimate child or not, you will grow fond of his face just by looking at it.”

One of the ladies responded with “Oh my, to that extent?”, all the ladies gathered burst into laughter. Then, from the ladies’ mouths, came many stories about the great Count Janssel.

His position as the chief of the three consuls representing the Senate, his young age, the Count’s enormous wealth and the territory he governs. The already distorted rumors had been distorted again, twisting the facts even further. Stars twinkled within the eyes of the ladies discussing the stories being shared.

“Have you heard about the rumor? The talk of the Ducal family receiving a proposal.” A lady spoke softly, as she waved a fan, and glanced at her surroundings. The faces of the ladies, who had been conversing with one another, suddenly changed.

“You mean the blind lady.”

The blind princess.

As soon as she spoke, expressions of loathing became apparent on the faces of the ladies. Their menacing gaze turned in unison towards a corner of the banquet hall, where a small woman stood, with a cane in hand. Her pale skin, combined with her round features, gave her a youthful air that hid the fact that she was well past her prime marriageable age.  

Unlike the rumours of her being dreary and half-witted, no matter how you looked at her, the ebony haired woman seemed calm and quiet, and was ugly. But her appearance did not matter, as the fact that she was a blind ducal princess remained unchanged. 

The lady, who first started the conversation, folded her fan and frowned.

“Is it true that Count Janssel proposed to the princess?”

“I’ve heard of it, too. It has caused a huge commotion in high society since the day before the last.” The sighing lady unfurled her fan in a fit of anger as she continued to speak.

“Why in the world did he choose the ducal princess out of all the women out there?” 

It was a blatant accusation, but no one stood up for the princess. The ladies all nodded their heads and joined in criticizing the princess.

“An old eagle is better than a young crow. Of course, it’s due to the fact that she’s the daughter of the Duke of Aegis. A marriage with her signifies a connection with the North.”

“But did he have to insist on marrying the ducal princess? Given the Count of Janssel’s reputation, he wouldn’t have the need to establish ties with the North.” 

“That’s true. Well, women like us may be capable of deducing a gentleman’s true intentions, but the North is very barbaric…”

The lady, who had been lamenting with an expression of dissatisfaction, suddenly closed her mouth. At her sudden pause, the other ladies followed suit, shifting their expressions rapidly. 

From the middle of the crowded banquet hall, a man accompanied by three or four bodyguards was headed towards the edge of the banquet hall where the ladies stood.

Dressed in a black suit and paired with a dark blue frock coat, he was impeccable, from his tie to his cuffs, shoes and handkerchief. It wasn’t a flashy outfit, but the reason he stood out from the crowd was probably because his outfit emphasized his strong and slender body. 

With a head taller than his escorts, he stopped in his tracks and slowly turned his head to look at the side. Then, the Empress, who had been observing the man from within the hall, approached with her fan opened and spoke to him. The man exchanged his cold expression for a faint smile as he paid his respects to the Empress. 

As if his chilly expression had been false, the way he gracefully bowed his head to meet with the other’s eyes was just friendly and splendid. As if he heard the subject of their chatter, the man slowly turned his head and looked towards the ladies.

The story.

The rumours.

The moment their lines of sight met, the man folded the corners of his sharp eyes and gave a mysterious smile with his eyes. At the same time, any conversation amongst the ladies ceased. 

In the silence, several eye contacts were exchanged. He came to the place where even the sound of breathing had disappeared and smiled gracefully. “I thought the banquet hall seemed empty. It seems that all the flowers were gathered here.”

[Editor: ’Flowers’ refers to this bunch of gossiping ladies who are married]

The low bass of his voice and the deep laughter at the end lingered strangely. The man scanned all the faces of the ladies present relaxedly as an invisible tension enveloped them. The facial expressions of these ladies gradually faded, as is the case with all who are seeing Count Janssel for the first time. 

The juxtaposition between his excessive handsomeness and the guards beside him makes everyone question if that bright appearance is of the same race. After a brief moment of observation, it was concluded that he was just a very handsome man, and all they ever wanted to do was talk to him with an enraptured look on their face, like how the Marchioness is right now.

“I’ve heard a lot about you, Count,” Marchioness Nirke held out the back of her hand to the man with a brightly beaming face. The man looked down at the back of her hand with a look of interest on his face. 

“It seems that Her Majesty the Empress was very much indebted to the Marchioness. She had praised that your hands are very pretty… Indeed, your hands are very delicate.”

Platinum eyelashes casted elegant shadows on his face. His slanted eyes reflected the light of the banquet hall, a dark blue shade reminiscent of the sky at dawn. As he lowered his head slightly, a few strands of the neatly slicked platinum hair fell onto his forehead gently, creating a shadow. The image of his slowly folding eyes, which had been shining sharply underneath that shadow, attracted attention beyond description. It was a picturesque scene.  

The Marchioness, who was staring at him absent-mindedly, twitched her fingers. The man looked at the Marchioness gently with his slightly bent eyes and laughed.

“I’m Berthwald Janssel. It’s an honor to meet you, Marchioness.” Berthwald bowed deeply and kissed the Marchioness’ hand. The little greeting sounded so sweet that the Marchioness laughed briefly with her mouth open, discarding her usual elegance. 

It was unimaginable for a noblewoman to not conceal her mouth with an opened fan while laughing, but no one could condemn the Marchioness’ wife, as all the ladies around her were laughing in a similar fashion. As if possessed, the noblewomen of the capital’s high society focused on him without care for their dignity.  

Of course, such a reaction would not have been evoked  if Berthwald was simply a handsome man.

Amongst the three consuls representing the Senate, the chief consul was the most honorable. It was now the most famous descriptor of Count Berthwald Janssel. 

A man that was once treated like a heretical existence in the Capital’s high society due to his status as an illegitimate son, was now transformed into a man that controlled the parliament, a man at the peak of power. Everyone couldn’t help but praise him. 

“You must have been busy with parliamentary work. What brings you to today’s banquet? Oh, of course, we are very happy to see the count.” The Marchioness, who recovered her reason, covered her mouth with a fan and spoke. With slanted eyes suppressing the urge to laughter, Berthwald gazed at the Marchioness. 

“I’m still busy, but I heard that Princess Aegis is in attendance today, so I came to meet with her before our wedding.” 

As the ladies were trying to keep their calm with their hands behind their back, they missed the timing to express their astonishment. The Marchioness was the only one among the stuttering ladies, to ask him questions with widened eyes. 

“Is the rumor true? The Count is marrying the blind… No, Princess Aegis?”

The ladies waited for his answer, wondering if they heard wrongly. Contrary to their belief, Berthwald immediately nodded. 

“That’s right.” 

“No, why… with the princess…?”

The Marchioness slipped at the end as if she couldn’t understand. It was a question that she had to ask despite its rudeness. Instead of answering her question, Berthwald gave a slight smile and turned to look at the corner of the banquet hall the ladies were staring at earlier. 

The princess was standing in the same position as before, staring at the middle of the banquet hall. A thin dwarfish body, with a neat but obviously boring-looking face. While her appearance itself wasn’t too bad, the biggest flaw was that her eyes captured too much of the viewer’s attention, rendering her other features less visible. 

Murky gray eyes that occupied a large portion of her face, the eyes that bore no resemblance with her father or her family members. The gray pupils were unfocused, as if nothing could illuminate it. 

Ariel Aegis.

The firstborn daughter of the ruling family of the North, the Duke of Aegis, was blind.

“…Well.”

Berthwald fixed his gaze on her as he recalled a mysterious smile. 

“As for marriage, isn’t everything done out of love?”

At his insincere words, gazes filled with bewilderment were aimed at him. Berthwald ignored them, and smiled gently.