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Elise is no stranger to the big players in Erebonian society- born of minor nobility, they’ve always been no farther than the periphery of her acquaintance- and often much closer: does she not count the crown princess and the Duchess Cayenne amongst her closest of friends? And of course there’s Patrick Hyarms and his efforts to woo her.
What then is so different when Jusis Albarea extends a hand, asks her to dance as the music starts up again? Why do the words seem to catch in her throat so she’s left with only a smile and a cursory nod in acceptance
Rean’s friend, he’s been a guest how many times in her parents home? How many times has she enjoyed a friendly conversation or game of chess with Jusis? She knows that he gives her no cause to be intimidated by his icy public desmeanor.
As they start across the floor, a smile curves his lips, his glacial blue eyes reminding her of the sky over the mountains surrounding Ymir in the winter. She remembers the first time she had that thought, playing chess one night. Though Jusis had gone to visit Rean, they had continued their game long after everyone else had retired for the night and it had struck Elise that while Jusis was in fact her brother’s friend, he had also at some point become her friend in her own right.
And suddenly she understands this feeling: she’s not intimidated by the public persona of Jusis Albarea, no. She’s only caught up in a growing attraction to the man that she knows shields himself behind it.