No additional characters introduced in this chapter. Please refer to the name guides scattered throughout the previous chapters for further reference.
Disclaimer: I own the story, nothing else.
As expected, it was a little disconcerting to be in a public place for the very first time.
Just kidding. It scared the heck out of me.
Luckily, nothing major happened. Except this one idiot tried to do something stupid and I found out that the majority of the male population in the world are complete nincompoops. Well, fine. That's actually kind of what I was expecting.
There was one prince, though, who at least had some decency. But right after he'd finished being "chivalrous" or whatever the heck you'd call it, he vanished. So I guess his "chivalry" could be chalked up to a personal vendetta against aforementioned idiot. Well, fine. It was still a nice gesture, and I can at least hope it wasn't a personal issue, right? Right?
I'm being idealistic again. I'm sorry.
Lili says that believing the best of another person isn't considered 'idealistic'. I talked to her after retiring from the cotillion early (well, relatively early) at the request of my father, who was making sense for once. She says that that prince-Roderich, of one of our neighboring countries, I think-was probably trying to be nice and help out. She was remarkably surprised at my description of Gilbert's behavior, though-I suppose her brother Vash has never let anyone like that anywhere near her, so she doesn't know much about fools like him. Well, I had no idea what to do in that situation, so I guess I don't really know, either.
Sometimes, I wish for a brother like Vash. Or any sibling like that, really. It would be much less boring, and I'd probably be much less socially-confused.
Ugh, my ramblings are starting to bore me even as I write them.
And someone's coming. It doesn't sound like Lili.
But who else would be coming at this ungodly hour of the night?
Vash was bored. Side effect of having had to come to so many balls.
Of course, it was his duty to do that-he was the king's closest advisor, and probably one of the best, too. It was one of the few things he'd admit pride in. But gah, this duty was annoying. He didn't understand why the king had to be so flamboyant sometimes-all that it did was drain the country's treasury in an attempt to prove the nation's superiority to all who visited. It was kind of a strange mentality for the king to have, to have to show off the kingdom's every asset instead of letting its power be observed and marveled at behind closed doors. The assets he showed off included his advisors.
To everyone of any importance, the king had introduced him as "our young but talented military advisor", as if to say, "My military advisor's younger and less experienced than yours and we still win more wars". He wouldn't be surprised if that was the only reason he had been required to be here at all. It wasn't like anyone was going to dance with him, for heaven's sake-he had a gun strapped to his back for the very purpose of keeping people away. That way, he could survey the ballroom in peace.
His vantage point from the corner of the ballroom was almost perfect: he was in shadow, so no one could see him clearly, and he could see practically every bit of action there was to see in that room. The king would laugh at him for being a wallflower, but, with so many different nations present, he wouldn't be surprised if past animosity erupted suddenly and violently. Assassination attempts were quite normal for any monarchy; there were potential threats everywhere. One always had to be vigilant, even as the night dragged on and the guests lost their coherence after several cups of the kingdom's finest alcoholic beverages.
He watched with some amusement as some inebriated guests stumbled around the dance floor, giggling. This was hardly a stately affair anymore; as usual, it had deteriorated so quickly that he wasn't even sure that the orchestra wasn't completely out of it all. He supposed that that was the problem with having an entire serving table dedicated to wines and other such… liquids.
The majority of the princes, though, weren't drinking, and didn't seem to be about to start, either. Vash could see why: the princess they were all trying to woo was obviously as sharp as his bayonet, and it was quite clear that she wasn't about to pick any favorites. They would all need their wits about them to win her affections-not that they needed to, of course.
Vash smirked a little. He wasn't sure all of the princes understood that she wasn't the one making the choice. And besides, the curse she carried was probably enough to make her love even the most disgusting of fools-and there were plenty of those present among the royal crowd.
He'd met some of the princes before at previous events. Even without really interacting with them, he was sure of the fact that they weren't worth much as people. But then again, that was how Vash perceived the vast majority of the people he met. Sometimes he found that even he himself fell short.
That Roderich fellow, though. He was one of the few that Vash had spoken to who had seemed somewhat decent, if a bit on the reserved side. And he had also been one of the few that Vash had thought to be anywhere near fit to his high standards for his sister Lili. Admittedly, hardly anyone he'd ever met had been deemed acceptable to associate with his innocent angel of a little sister (Princess Elizaveta had been one of the few exceptions). But he used that standard as his moral compass, and something was telling him that Roderich was facing the right direction. Of all the princes he'd met, he wouldn't mind someone like him becoming the king.
He turned back to the crowd, watching princes sweep past, giggling youths clinging tightly to their arms. They moved with no grace at all to the cacophony of the orchestra, which had basically deteriorated into improvisation hour. Honestly. It was a wonder that anyone considered their country the height of arts and culture-though he'd heard quite a few young princes say so to the incumbent king. But he'd heard far more than just that in the past few hours.
He'd learned quite a bit of new gossip about each kingdom just by listening and watching. And he also knew which princes should be eliminated from the competition right on the spot.
And that's where I come in, Vash thought to himself, feeling the tiniest bit smug. He made a mental note to pass on his ideas to the king as soon as possible.
The princess had already been sent off to bed an hour ago. That was the first part of the plan, accomplished. Honestly, that Gilbert idiot had given them quite a welcome excuse to shuttle her off. Not that she was complaining, of course-she'd seemed more than a little bit overwhelmed.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the king make an excuse to the people he was talking to and start heading in his direction. Perfect. He pretended not to notice, instead pulling his gun off of his shoulder and inspecting it for any scuff marks. It was of utmost importance that their interaction go unnoticed; otherwise, the whole plan could be discovered.
The king slipped past him (well, slipped past as well as a tall, broad-shouldered man could) surreptitiously, dropping a tiny note onto the floor near Vash's boot. He waited until the other man had passed on to mingle with other people to scoop it off the floor in one smooth motion.
Meet me outside her door at four. Bring your sister-she's waiting in the other room. She's going with her. If she's not already asleep, bring the two guards in the hall. They know what to do.
Flipping the paper over, he read on.
Also, there's no time to eliminate competitors. I know what you said about some unsavory people, but they will probably be eliminated over time.
Vash clenched his fists. Obviously the king had made some changes to the plan without his consent. But he'd deal with that later.
He checked his watch. 2:49 in the morning. He'd have a while to clear up the plans and run them by his sister.
He could only hope that the king knew exactly how to explain it to the people. Everything else was entirely up to himself. And he trusted himself.
Didn't he?
Slowly, steadily, he began making his way towards the ballroom door. He slipped out into the reception hall, empty of people except for a few couples who had wanted to be alone. Roderich was there, too, leaning against the wall in silence. His brown eyes met Vash's green, questioning.
Vash wanted to say something, to give him some warning as to what was going on. Then he shook his head and glared, causing the other man to turn away. He'd be back at the castle soon-and by then Roderich would have some idea of what was happening. Hopefully.
Turning his back on the other man, he approached his sister, hovering near the door, almost invisible in her maid's uniform and white apron. Good. He would need to talk to her alone before they left.
Taking her hand, he carefully opened the door-thank goodness the hinges had been oiled just the day before, and so swung noiselessly-and, glancing behind him for any last traces of wandering eyes, pulled her out into the hall. He could see her green eyes wondering up at his even in the dimly lit hallway, but she tactfully remained silent. He waited until the door had closed firmly behind them, leaving them in shadow.
Then, gripping her hand tighter than ever, they sped down the hall, footsteps barely echoing through the eerie darkness.
...And then a cliffhanger.
This chapter's a bit shorter than the rest of them (not intentionally, but because there really isn't too much action at the beginning, where it's basically just 'background, background, background'). But I hope that I portrayed Switzerland's character in a decent manner that doesn't seem too confusing. I like writing his character, too. And I really hope to keep writing Elizaveta's journal entries. They're fun to write :D
Again, (hoping this doesn't sound repetitive or annoying), thank you for reading and please, if you have any time at all, write a review! They're really encouraging and helpful as to how to improve (hopefully this story gets more interesting and less trite), and I'd love to hear your ideas! :)
