I became the villains wife

by Usui Takumii

not mine, including possible links, go check woopread. Total: 152 cps.

6. 21 to 30

Chapter 21 ~

Ikshid, meanwhile, asked with a smirk, not even expecting that Eleanor was going to turn him around to keep Selena and him apart.

"Alright. What so you want to say to your brother?"

Now he felt very good. Currently, Ikshid was confident of giving even the country's five branches to Miller's sister, who gave him the opportunity to see the Duke standing in the middle of the old people in the form of a dog while raining as if abandoned by his owner.

Eun-woo, who knew what Ikshid was up to, and gently glanced.

"You're like an old man. Don't talk like that."

"Oho, there's nothing you can keep from this brother of yours. It's very alright to say."

Eun-woo worked hard to squeeze out what to say. At that moment, her red hair was caught in her sight again. Eun-woo grabbed Ikshid's arm and turned around.

'Selena… When did she come here again?'

She turned so suddenly that the Ikshid and feet were tangled that they struggled for a long time and barely managed to set them in place.

He mumbled disgruntled.

"What the hell were you going to say? Why are you changing direction?"

"Oh, hmm… Crown Prince Older Brother, that's…… Well, when will my brother come?"

Eun-woo turned around again and headed to the other side. Ikshid replied in a puzzled voice, stamping his feet to suit her steps.

"Didn't you already say this last time? Didn't I promise to you that I'd bring him before the knight competition early next month?"

"Y, yes. That's what you said… .! I am really a forgetful person!"

Once again, she swerved. She found Selena again. Ikshid managed to balance his body by holding her arm close to falling.

He couldn't stand it and protested.

"Are you asking me that question as training?"

Ah, please stay still!

The sound came out automatically, but Eun-woo closed her mouth.

Selena, what happened to that woman that wherever she goes, they were there?

'And why is that woman walking so fast…!'

Eun-woo made a crying face inside. Isn't she struggling to save only one life now? She wants Selena to please think of her hard work to save the lives of more than half of the people here.

'I'm not doing this because I'm going to live alone! Don't come here, please!'

In that way, Eun-woo unintentionally crossed the arms of the crown prince of a country, with the body of Marquis Miss and wandered around as if she was commanding him to open the banquet hall.

It goes without saying that her act captured the eyes of all the nobles and ministers.

Both men and women, who grew up dazzlingly, watched the march with interesting eyes. Among them, of course, the gaze of the Duke, who made a cold face, was included.

He stood in a relatively unnoticed corner and watched the scene silently. Next to him, he heard a group of ladies chattering.

"Oh my, I guess the rumor that Marquis Miss is aiming for the position of the queen is true."

"As expected. I've told you so many times…! Miller Miss is a regular customer of a perfume house that I know well, and the maid of Miss, who always stops by there, boasted about the friendship between the Miss and the Crown Prince. Wouldn't you believe it?"

"Since childhood, honey, I used to play fondly with you, right?"

"As expected, I guess we get along well even when we are young. So this is what happens."

They swung their fan in their hands in an interesting way.

"It's a marquis family, isn't the Duke of Verk the next greatest power? They'd be a good match."

"I see. It's a fantastic combination that I can't afford to be jealous of."

The wine glass in Tashian's hand was grabbed as if he was intending on breaking it. His eyes, which were chasing the beautiful man and woman in harmony with brown hair and gold hair, subsided more and more grimly.

Meanwhile, Eun-woo stuck to the prince throughout the afternoon and tried to interfere with the meeting between him and Selena. The prince, who had been vain and fulfilling her request for most of the time, also wanted to drop her with a tired look at the end.

"Elli, sister. I know how much you love me as an elder brother, but there's no purpose of using that tax to hold this banquet, right? Please stop letting me do my job."

"Oh! Brother! Let's go over there this time!"

"…. Hooh."

Ikshid sighed and swirls toward the direction where Eleanor pointed.

He took a step toward the enemy. He grumbled as if she couldn't hear it.

"Sister. This is really difficult. Even if this brother of yours seems to always hold banquets, chat, and check around, don't you really know that it's all a hard work for this country, just like a swan playing under the water?"

"Just before the masquerade begins. I'll let you go by then."

Eun-woo made an abbreviation while reading his countenance.

She didn't mean to hold on to Ikshid for this long either. But what happened was that wherever they went, red-haired Selena sipping with a glass of wine, or seeing them from afar without being able to fit in between people.

Whenever Eun-woo found her, she was busy running away to the other side, turning away from Ikshid was.

'Besides, the strange gaze seems to be getting stronger…'

Of course, as long as she held onto the crown prince of the Empire, it was natural to get attention, but Eun-woo was feeling someone's intense gaze from before, seemingly hitting her on her cheeks. This was also the case with the Ikshid.

"Sister. The duke is staring at me from afar as if to kill me. He was always like that, but today, the Duke is serious. If I don't leave, I will really cause a bloody affair in this banquet hall. So, won't you let me go now? I'm not saying this because I'm afraid of the Duke, I'm saying it because I'm really trembling and terrified of what might happen."

"I'll explain to the Duke well later."

Eun-woo took a step forward, telling to Ikshid that sheds an empty smile at her determined words.

'But this gaze definitely doesn't belong to Tashian…!'

Eun-woo thought anxiously. She could feel it. The eyes that were ominous were not the eyes of Tashian mentioned by Ikshid.

Tashian was not a person to give her such an ominous look that she got goosebumps.

She looked around anxiously in the middle of the venue and tried to find the source of that gaze. However, it was very difficult for her to reveal the source of gaze, not a politician with developed sixth sense like the prince or a knight, developed five senses like the Duke.

Eun-woo realized that the strange anxiety of unknown sources was stimulating her whole nerves from before. The hunch that something would happen at this banquet constantly twisted her stomach.

Eun-woo had no choice but to focus on her main job to keep Ikshid away from Selena while being on alert.

Ikshid followed silently for a while, pushed by her momentum, and eventually changed his face with a strange look.

At one point, he opened his mouth with a sense of caution that he would never do again.

"… Sister… Do you love me?"

Eun-woo opened her mouth like a person who witnessed the collapse of the world at his question. She replied back to him with a look of disbelief.

"No, what unscrupulous are you saying…"

Ikahid quickly rolled up his sleeves and protested.

"Look at the goosebumps on my forearms, too. It was not an easy question for me either."

"Then why did you bring that up? Look! My hair is sticking out, too!"

"It didn't rise. By the way, I'm glad that you gave me such a neat answer. I've never thought of you more than my own sister."

"The same goes for me! You should be glad that I didn't hit your shin here."

When Eun-woo shouted in an excited voice, Ikshid replied in a shocked voice.

"How dare you try to hurt the body of a crown prince of a country? This… I didn't raise you here. That duke has ruined you like this."

"If the duke hears it, the sound of pulling out a knife right away would be heard."

Eun-woo responded coolly. Looking at her sister's cute movements with mischievous eyes, Ikshid said.

"He was a quiet kid who had never begged me when he was young, but as he began to stay in the duke's office, he seemed quite determined. Is there anything uncomfortable about being with the Duke?"

Ikshid's eyes, who asked questions, rarely flashed.

Eun-woo noticed that he was testing her. She answered after much consideration.

"No… No way. The Duke is very nice to me. In fact, I didn't know Lord Verk was such a sweet person."

Eun-woo's cheeks, thinking of Tashian, turned slightly red. For Ikshid, she just lied on her own, but this was true.

Tashian was a really sweet person to her. His words and attitudes toward her, always contained an inexplicable feeling.

Eun-woo, who fell in love with it, did not realize that Ikshid was staring down at her with the expression of a person who had heard what he shouldn't hear.

"The duke… Kindness……?"

Eun-woo looked around in a strange atmosphere that suddenly flowed. Not only Ikshid but also a few aristocrats who were circling around them stopped what they were doing and stood tall like a scene in the picture.

Ikshid once again asked if she was joking.

"Now… Did you say the duke was sweet…?"

"Yes, he's a sweet person. The Duke of Verk."

There was silence. Eun-woo blinked at him wondering what mistake she had made while speaking.

It was not long before Ikshid burst into laughter with a world-class gulp.

"The… Duke… is kind…" he laughed.

Eun-woo opened her eyes wide in embarrassment and quickly looked around. However, for some reason, all the nobles around them were covering their mouths with their bare faces. In the official sacrament, the notion that they could not show a shabby appearance like the Crown prince seemed to prevent them from creating a scene of holding a boat and rolling along with Ikshid.

"The flying bird is going to fall down! Duke… Kindness……!" (Laughs)

"Wh, why are you laughing like that?"

Eun-woo was embarrassed and tried to stop him from ripping off, but he did not stop laughing.

Why are you laughing like that….?

Everyone in the banquet hall, who was quietly listening to their conversations, knew that, but Eun-Woo did not notice it, and looked at him with an absurd look.

It was then. At some point, the duke approached them silently from the side with a terrifying look that would never happen again.

"*Sob*… !! Lord, you're here… *sobbing*. The friendly duke is here…!"

Exide was now almost sobbing. Eun-woo was confused, looking alternately at Ikshid, who was about to roll on his stomach without knowing what to do, and Tashian's expression, who seemed to want to hang it outside the gate by filial piety of his neck.

"…What kind of situation are you in? Everyone's looking at His Highness."

Tashian, who rebuked the prince with a clear voice of contempt, wrapped Eun-woo's arm on Ikshid's arm with a natural movement, and settled it on his arm. No one in the place noticed the strangeness of the action because of the flexible movement like water flowing.

"Ha ha! It doesn't matter. You should've listened to what Elli just said! Now, you… You…!"

Tashian responded with a consistent unpleasant look to Ikshid, who laughed as if he was out of breath.

"What did Miss say about me?"

His face, which had been upset all the time, quickly loosened and came down to Eun-woo, who was standing blankly holding his arm.

"…What the hell did you say about me?"

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Chapter 22 ~

Eun-woo mistakenly thought that the Duke, who didn't have a single interest in Ikshid's words just a while ago, suddenly showed an enthusiastic expression on his face. She immediately cut off Ikshid's words by answering urgently.

"Ah! Du, Duke…!"

"Yes?"

"My legs hurt so much. I've been walking through this huge venue all day long, and my legs ache like it has cramps!"

At that word, Eun-woo felt that her body was suddenly lifted and supported. He wrapped hands around her arms and waist and pulled it close to his chest.

In an instant, her weight, which had been concentrated on her legs, was distributed to his upper body.

"Your Highness is the one who commanded me to take care of Miss, so that there would be no discomfort here in the venue, therefore, I will follow that order."

After finishing his words, Tashian seemed to be paying a small silent tribute to Ikshid, and stepped to the lounge by supporting her body with a striding step.

Ikshid instantly looked blankly as if he had seen nothing when he was left alone in that area, and caught their backs disappearing from his sight. Once again, around him gathered nobles into twos and threes.

The duke walked majestically across the middle of the hall like it was his own bedroom. Eun-Woo could not raise her face at the duke's momentum, which split the crowds like the Red Sea, and followed him with a brisk pace.

The lounge was set up in a small room on the same floor. Nobles of high status were able to receive separate private restrooms with their names on them.

He roughly opened the door of the lounge with the patterns of the Duke and gently put her down on the first visible sofa.

"Oh, Tashian… tha, thank you.…"

As soon as he sat her down without an answer, he bent his tall height and knelt down in front of her. Eun-woo was embarrassed and tried to stand up again, but his heavy hand pressed her shoulder down.

"Stay still."

"Du, Duke… What are you doing??"

Tashian reached up and took her shoes off. Eun-woo was confused and wiggled in embarrassment and grabbed Tashian's shoulder.

"Du, Duke! You don't have to do this…!"

"It's the heels that have some problems."

"Yes?"

Without answering her, he grabbed the woman's shoe, the size of his hand, in one hand and started patting it on the floor.

"I've seen it shaking since earlier."

Eun-woo blushed. What he said was true. Her left shoe heel was shaking gently like it had been broken, down due to the mixed step with the Crown Prince earlier.

"When did you see that?"

Eun-woo muttered, feeling the illusion that her stomach was melting at his actions. Her earlobes turned red, right after.

"Since you were all over the banquet hall who led the Crown Prince's decline like a pet dog."

He replied in a fairly grumpy voice. In the meantime, he was working hard to repair her shoes by hitting them on the floor with his hands.

Eun-woo shouted angrily.

"Wha, what do you mean, a pet dog?! I really wanted to say something to the Crown Prince, so I did that!"

"What was it that you wanted to say? Was there a request that I couldn't fulfill?"

She could feel a strange pain in his voice. However, Eun-woo tried hard to ignore it and replied with a 'hmm' dry cough.

"There's something like that. You don't have to know."

"Is that so?"

The duke bowed his head as it was and devoted himself to fixing her heels.

Eun-woo gently rubbed the soles of her feet with her hands and glanced at him. Since then, he has not spoken a word, as if silently protesting.

His round kiln was seen through the bowing head. There were a few strands of hair which fell out and went straight to his forehead.

'Even if they hate it, it is clear that he is a very kind person….'

She wondered why people don't approach this friendly person. Recalling what the Duke did at the banquet earlier, she could feel how kind he was, but remembering those scenes made her curiosity rise again.

She could notice the strange duality of the capital nobles dealing with Tashian.

'I seemed to be afraid and disgusted at this person….'

Eun-woo was lost in thought as she looked at the kiln at the top of his head. The sound of him tapping the floor with her heels rang.

Is it just because of his origin as an illegitimate child? But isn't he a hero who is envied by the whole nation? And he was the only master of a skilled knight and a Duke recognized by his family.

She was fed up by the sweetness he gave to her, but people's hatred when they saw him doing that increased, and turned their heads away from them, considering his bitter attitude towards them.

'Maybe… Everyone misunderstands this person as a villain just like me…'

But Eun-Woo thought so.

'Is it really just a misunderstanding that he's a villain?'

Obviously, her intervention was changing the story of the novel.

If it had to go by the book, Ikshid should have met Selena in the midst of meeting, and his first love started thereafter. However, due to her interference, they did not know each other's existence, let alone meet.

'Maybe… I might be able to change the story's flow…'

Eun-woo was buried in thoughts that came to her mind like lightning and did not notice him putting back her other shoe.

'Unless he remains a villain, unless he won't be executed by a guillotine… perhaps… !'

"It's done."

Eun-woo suddenly came to her senses and raised her head at his low voice, which was heard momentarily. He was staring blankly at her face with a strange face holding the mended shoes in his hand.

"What's wrong? Are you dizzy? Do you want some water?"

"N, no, it's not. Tashian. I'm fine."

"What do you mean, you're okay? Your face is red. I think you're having a fever again."

He pointed to her forehead with a worried look. Eun-woo was in a hurry and moved back in surprise at the large hand that came up to her forehead in an instant.

"I, I'm really fine. This is just…… It's because it's hot."

She flapped and glossed over the stuffy collar of the dress, which could not be felt as tight as this moment.

Then her eyes caught the shoe he held in his opposite hand. Eun-woo opened his mouth wide in the condition of her shoes. She screamed back.

"Tashian! How can you make it like this?"

After a moment of silence, he asked back.

"… Is this not it?"

Both of her shoes had their heels taken off neatly. Rather than correcting one shoe heel, he removed the heels, which she wasn't pleased with and shouted at him, for his powerful repair that removed the heels from her shoes.

"I'm short, but now I'm completely off your shoulders…!"

Eun-woo jumped up in anger and looked up at him. Following her, his huge body slowly stood up.

Wearing shoes that had their heels disappeared, she simply became a dwarf in front of him. At least when she had heels, the top of her head touched his shoulders, but now it was best to face his big chest head-on.

"I'm telling you just in case. Compared to other ladies, you're not that short."

At his absurd consolation, she shouted with astonishment.

"The problem is because you're tall!! Until now, my head was about to hurt from looking up, but now I have to look up completely at the ceiling!"

Suddenly, his head popped down. He bent down and faced her.

Eun-woo was startled by the sudden approach of his face and stepped back. However, as she was sitting on the sofa, her body, unable to retreat any more, only leaned back and could not escape from him.

"I can just lower my head."

Eun-woo replaced his response with a red face. She could see his lips very closely. Eun-woo swallowed her saliva and stared at his eyes to prevent the gaze from being fixed with his close lips.

Her heart seemed to beat so fast. He had a sensual scent that could not be described. It was fresh like a wind mixed with musk scent and smelled so amazing.

Black eyes stared at her without saying a word. For a moment, Eun-woo felt a fear that if she was obsessed with him here, she would no longer be able to escape. It was an instinctive intuition.

She opened his mouth to say something. Eun-woo shouted as if she had been pushed by something.

"Now…"

She turned and got out of the couch.

"… Are you going to go get ready for the masquerade?"

"….That's how you do it."

Tashian answered with a low sigh. He silently followed after Ikshid who had the attitude that he would be in tears if he had seen the scene.

The masquerade was a night stage where only unmarried nobles could attend. Aristocrats called this prom a 'courtship night'. The party is a ball, but in reality, it was a place of indulgent indulgence, where young men and women gather to search for each other. Everyone turned on the lights and was frantically looking for a suitable playmate, lover, or even a spouse.

Unlike daytime banquets, which are calm and formal, the masquerade has a splendid and alluring atmosphere in costumes, hair, and accessories. The women dressed up in colorful clothes and dressed up in revealing dresses, and each of them devoted themselves to dressing up to catch their eyes. Points were also given to the men's black tailcoats, such as wearing a dark blue corsage.

Eun-woo asked, looking at Anit, a maid who was busy moving, as if she lacked ten fingers to decorate herself hard.

"Are you supposed to give me such a nice room? To all the guests who attended?"

No matter how many vacancies there are in the imperial palace, isn't this an excessive luxury?

Eun-woo looked into the preparation room assigned to her.

It was a huge and splendid room as much as her bedroom in the Duke. A rare imperial sentence engraved on chandeliers and furniture on a high ceiling. She felt like she was an Empress who had the maids clean the mirror.

"Of course not. The lady was given such a nice room because she was close to His Majesty's descendant."

Anit smiled happily and twisted her hair and braided it.

"Most of the young girls and gentlemen prepare for this ball in the wagon they brought from the mansion. Aristocrats who came up from a distant country estate set up their own lodgings within the imperial palace and attended banquets from there."

Anit's fingers crossed her head.

"So I know how much the Crown Prince cares about you, right? Lady Eleanor. I can't express in words how happy I am right now!"

Eun-woo sweated inside as she saw the maid's eyes twinkling with excitement. Anit muttered excitedly like an immature girl.

"I'm sure Prince Ikshid will exchange masks with the lady."

The mask exchange ceremony was a kind of highlight of the masquerade. The crowd gathered in twos and threes to chat, dance, and enjoy banquets, and exchanged masks with the closest opponent in line with the host's signal. Usually, it was often conducted between men and women, and at this time, accepting the request of the other person who applied for the exchange of masks first was interpreted as accepting the date request.

"Masked martial arts is a treasure-like event in the kingdom that creates countless lovers!"

"Crown Prince Older brother and I, are like real brothers and sisters who are close to each other. I won't have to exchange masks with my brother."

Eun-woo said with an awkward smile, but Anit answered firmly.

"What are you talking about? You have a real brother named Diego; the young master. What are you talking about?"

Eun-woo smiled in vain as he looked at Anit's back, who was determined to make her have the crown prince today.

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Chapter 23 ~

"Lady, try on a mask."

Anit handed over a mask with a white gold pattern on it.

The mask which covered her eyes, was not true to its function. She wondered if people would be able to recognize her just because she wore this mask.

"I think everyone can tell that it was me even if I wore this mask…."

"That is the goal! If no one knows that you are the daughter of the Marquis, the young lady Eleanor, who would come to you and ask for the exchange of masks, right?"

(TN: If anyone is confused by this contradicting next sentence, I will give an explanation. If Eun-woo won't wear that mask, she wouldn't get a man whom she could exchange a mask with, which is why Anit said that it's the goal; to let everyone know that she is Eleanor.)

Anit was right. This event is a masquerade ball that was especially created for those unmarried noble men and women.

Each person was busy advertising themselves with patterns that symbolized each their family, as if revealing who they are. The beauty of this masquerade ball is to seduce the other person by imagining the face behind the mask and guessing what expression they had on their faces.

"Of course, there are those people who are really determined to hide their identity. But, my lady, don't mix up with those bastards. It's clear that the people who are persistent on hiding their identity would have been better off not attending this ball in the first place."

Anit bitterly criticized them and warned her.

However, her thoughts were already flowing beyond the masquerade exchange ceremony to Selena, the heroine of the novel.

She recalled what color mask Selena was wearing. Obviously, it was a mask as red as her hair. Of course, she exchanges masks with Ikshid. Selena, who was from a poor baron family, must have not been able to get a room in the Imperial Palace and was preparing for the masquerade ball inside a shabby private carriage she brought.

"…!"

Eun-woo glowed at the wonderful thought which suddenly came to her mind and held Anit's hand, who was eagerly touching the hem of her clothes.

"Anit!"

"Oh, my. What's up, My lady?"

"I have a favor to ask of you!"

The maid Anit swallowed her dry saliva seeing the sparkling eyes of her lady who had never asked for a favor in her lifetime.

And about half an hour after that, she stood in front of the shabby carriage with Anit, the maid, who was anxiously trembling behind her.

It was such a small and unappealing carriage which she could not even compare with the duke's carriage which they used to ride to the imperial palace. This carriage was engraved with a red rose-shaped pattern on the lacquer of the faded carriage. It was the emblem of the well-known Baron Wellwood.

"Lady, this is crazy no matter how much I think about it. Are you lacking shoes that you'd borrow from this?"

Anit whispered to her as she looked around the spooky surroundings. She stared at the pitiful fallen horseman with hateful eyes, carrying the bottle of alcohol in one hand, which was from the passenger's seat of the carriage.

"If you end up in danger, I really don't know what to do!"

At her unsettling will, the yard of the Imperial Palace where the baron's carriage was parked, was filled with eerie silence. It was because the sun had already set, and the people in their respective wagons were busy preparing for the upcoming masquerade ball.

Eun-woo winked at Anit, signalling her to be careful to not dip her feet into the mud under the wheel of the carriage.

"Wait a minute, all the ladies who didn't get a room in the imperial palace prepare like this. There's nothing dangerous."

Then, she took out her hand from her gray gown, and knocked on the carriage's door twice.

Then, a small rattling sound could be heard and the old door of the unoiled wagon creaked open.

The woman who opened the faded carriage door without a window and appeared, was Selena Wellwood, a beautiful woman with her pale skin and glossy wine-colored red hair.

Selena's cat-like eyes caught the white woman who knocked on her door, wearing a gray gown and behind her was a maid with her reddish brown hair. She asked with wonder.

"… What's the matter?"

Eun-woo trembled at the sharp yet clear tone echoed in her ears.

It was really Selena. A straightforward woman with unwavering calmness and unchanging composure in Ye-jin's novel. Selena Wellwood.

Eun-woo faltered for a while due to her confidence and charismatic voice, like any other knights' reaction if he heard Selena's voice. She soon came to her senses, smiled and greeted Selena.

"It's our first time seeing each other. My name is Eleanor Miller. This is Anit, my maid."

Selena's expression when she heard her name, displayed with a little agitation. It was the effect of her surname, Miller. But Selena soon calmly managed her expression and got off the carriage.

Eun-woo was able to glimpse what's inside of the carriage while she got off.

The most noticeable thing was the green dress which matched her red hair. The dress was hung from a small ring which was also hanging from the ceiling of the seat.

"Lady Miller, what brings you here?"

Selena got off the carriage with a calm face and asked with deep courtesy. Eun-woo followed her and bowed together with her maid.

As she has read well, Selena was a woman with a strong character that did not match her slender body. Because of her childhood, where she was trained in swordsmanship under her father's direction, as a woman of a deep knight family, she was described as having a competitive and confident personality without hesitation in asserting herself,

Eun-woo broke from thinking about her and smiled brightly.

"Actually, I came here because I had a small favor for Lady Wellwood."

"Is there something Lady has some problems with?"

Selena asked straightforwardly. Eun-woo briefly stared at Anit, who looked at them from behind with an undesirable gaze, and replied.

"I want to invite Miss to my personal preparation room."

But after a while, Selena answered calmly, as if it was not worth thinking about.

"I'm very grateful for the invitation, but I don't know why Miss is doing me this favor. I'll politely refuse."

At Selena's inflexible rejection, Eun-woo murmured inside.

'As expected of the heroine Selena Wellwood… she's not easy…'

The maid Anit pulled the hem of her clothes from behind. She whispered to Eun-Woo in front of Selena as if she had heard it all.

"See? I told you, Miss. Cold water also has a top and bottom. You have to match each other. Don't waste your time in a place like this for nothing, and let's hurry up and go into the room, miss."

This was a reference to Selena's low status compared to Eleanor's. Marquis Miller's Miss, had treated Selena fairly, yet Selena doesn't like the suggestion of Eun-woo. Eun-woo tried to take the lead of building Selena's family again in public, yet was rejected.

Eun-woo watched Selena's reaction without sympathizing or scolding Anit. Perhaps she heard Anit, since Selena's one eyebrow flicked up. But Selena turned to close the carriage door without saying anything.

"See you at the ball later. Then, bye…."

"Wa, wait a minute!"

Selena looked back with an expression of what was going on this time. Eun-woo looked at Selena's white and slender neck, then went up and looked at her coveted hair like a red carpet. The woman, who gave a noble impression like a red plum blossom, even her lips were red like rose petals.

Despite being the same woman, Eun-woo with a very attractive face, looked at her as if possessed, and managed to open her lips.

"Actually… I came here to ask if Miss has any spare shoes. Other ladies said they rarely had enough, so I came to search for it and came all the way here."

Eun-woo quickly added.

"A gentleman smashed the heels of both of my shoes, so I'm going to wear flat shoes and attend the ball."

She gave Selena a grim look as possible and blinked her eyelashes pitifully. She then waited for Selena's reaction.

'How will Selena react…?'

Selena, whom Eun-woo knew, was, of course, a very outspoken and inflexible principled person. Of course, her slurred tone, as well as her unkind habit of speaking because she grew up in the middle of her brothers and sisters, did not give the listener a very friendly feeling.

But that wasn't all about Selena Wellwood.

It was the same now. At Eun-woo's earnest request, Selena closed her brown eyes a couple of times and immediately replied.

"…Why didn't you say that before? Hold on a second."

And after a while, she came out of the carriage with a small box.

"I brought extra shoes. Please try them on and use them if they fit your feet."

As expected, she's a good person.

Eun-woo thought to herself.

'Otherwise, Ikshid would not have risked everything he had to find his lover to help her through the waters when she was exiled to Austuralch after being casted as the Crown Prince by the villainous Tashian.'

Selena could be said to have a straight bamboo-like temper, if you look at it positively. In a way, it can be said that she was a kind of person that doesn't waver easily, but she did not give up easily too and believes in the beliefs and values she had set. Moreover, she was a person with the ability to realize things thoroughly.

Even now, Eun-woo knew that Selena was more inclined to provide convenience to those who really needed help, not to look good to herself, the marquis infant.

Even now, Eun-woo knew that Selena wanted to provide convenience to those who really needed help, not to look good to herself in front of the Young Lady, the daughter of the Marquis Miller.

Eun-woo's liking for Selena only increased.

Meanwhile, Prince Ikshid was staring at himself in front of the mirror in one of the most luxurious and splendid rooms in the imperial palace at that moment. To be exact, he was staring at the flashing golden mask he wore on his face.

"What do you think, Lord, good? They won't recognize me. Huh?"

"You're still you even when I see you from outside."

Sitting against a spacious chair behind Ikshid's back, Tashian replied as if he was bothered.

"Haha. My outstanding appearance shines wherever I go."

"……Think as you please."

The duke said as if he didn't want to care anymore. In his hand, there was a silver mask that covered half his face. Ikshid turned toward the Duke with his eyes shining.

"But what happened to you Lord? Didn't you say to yourself that you hate this kind of childish aristocratic play? But today, our refined Lord has been acting differently and attended the ball on his own."

"… It was your strict order to attend the masquerade."

"When have you ever heard my order to attend a banquet? What the hell happened to you? I can't believe the day has come when you would wear masks to attend the party of these noble people, called 'Suitor's Night'."

He playfully brushed his teeth and tapped the Duke's arm a couple of times.

"Did the duke finally listen to my advice to strengthen his internal stability? Or did you just roll over on the battlefield, and the thought of having a wife crossed your mind?"

"… You're going too far. Anyone who hears it will think that I am a disloyal servant who is plotting rebellion. God always prioritizes his works before his life."

Tashian responded with a frown, lightly removing Ikshid's arm. Ikshid clicked his tongue at the seriousness of such a duke.

"Oh, my. You're making me unable to joke around. So what do you think? Is there anyone you want to exchange masks with at this ball?"

Tashian's eyebrows wriggled in an instant.

"It's not a serious thing that you should be caring about."

"No, why is that something I shouldn't care about? Isn't the duke's family a pillar that supports the imperial family, both in name and in reality? How can I not worry about such a Duke when he wandered around the battlefield for nearly 10 years without a successor?"

"I'm the one whom Your Highness sent to the battlefield."

"So it's not like you're going to take care of me even now."

Tashian gave up his rebuttal and sat leaning his head against a colorful gold-worked chair. Ikshid enjoyed and thought about the appearance of such a duke.

'I am not unaware that you have been at the banquet all this time because of Miller's sister. On the night of courtship, if a woman, like a daffodil, was alone, all kinds of bastards would be entangled with her like a swarm of bugs. So, was it about suppressing his dislike of banquets and the people and attending because of Miller's sister? I didn't know that Lord had such a cute side!'

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Chapter 24 ~

Ikshid leaned deeply into the chair and shouted, kicking the Duke's leg slightly with his foo

"Wake up, this human! Banquet is just around the corner. You got sleepy right now? Anyway, he's a friend that can't be made for fun

"Was that that decline that you've been late for more than half an hour? I was already fully prepared by just wearing a mask

Tashian responded gently, but Ikshid ignored it neatly and left the door firs

"That's enough! Let's go down. How can the main character be late for the banquet? Of course, I mean me

In the days of His Majesty, the King, the banquet hall was required to undergo identification before entering the banquet hall because of the past, where a scuffle was fought by rogues wearing masks at the masked ball. In terms of banquets, Hellasium boasted its flexibility, but there were fair strict rules regarding the safety of guest

Of course, the status check was an exception for Ikshid's flashing golden mas

When the shining golden mask and the silver mask following him appeared in the hall, people's eyes flew in at them at onc

Ikshid felt as if his skin were getting goosebumps as he watched the colorful masks of red, blue and yellow, closely examining his movements. Looking back, the duke had already permeated behind the shadow of a pillar as if he would be united with the wal

'You never change…

Ikshid smiled in vain, gaspin

He recalled when Tashian first attended a banquet at the Imperial Palace. The young and skinny black-haired boy, who is incomparable to the present him, acted as if he was a bystander who flowed into a world where he did not belong in the same pose as he was doing no

'That was probably the first time he left the banquet hall

Ikshid clenched his tongue, recalling the Duke's past action

Shortly after thinking to tell the guard to monitor his movements, he was greeted by his eyes that landed to two wome

Ikshid watched the participants concentrate fiercely with curiosity, perhaps even more than that, just as when their own golden masks and the duke's silver masks entered the hall

One woman, was a white-haired woman dressed like an angel with a soft white color from her mask to her dress, and the other, was a woman wearing a green dress with a red mask like a rose in a match. No matter how much their faces were covered, their silhouettes were still intact in the

Ikshid witnessed men flocking like clouds in an instant around those beautie

In particular, those who recognized the Marquis Miller's sister, Eleanor, were also interested in a red-haired woman next to her. The two women were already at the center of the gaze of all the peopl

"I had known for a long time that my sister was so lovely, but looking at it this way, there is no other wonderful view other than her. But who is the woman with red hair next to her

Ikshid muttered toward the Duke standing next to the pilla

"… Lord

However, the place where the duke was standing was occupied by only the empty wind. Ikshid turned his head puzzled, then discovered that Tashian was making a straight forward without averting his direction toward the Miss, who was wearing a white mask, through the crow

No matter how hideous the momentum was, Ikshid smiled in vain at the sight of dividing the ground into two everywhere he passed b

"Those things… even if I passed by, it wouldn't make that way for me

He grumbled and stepped to follow the duke. However, there was one thing that caught the eyes of Ikshi

His whole life suffered from a dark battle in the imperial palace, and his trained sixth sense was raising a warnin

'This feeling… … It was definitely the strange gaze I felt while walking with Elli

Ikshid tried to put his attention to the source of the gaze to the two beautiful women. No, to be precise, it was only Eleanor who was given such a stinging loo

And when he stopped to observe around, Ikshid found a person wearing a black mask. Compared to those masks that usually covers half, or three quarters of the face, the black mask he was wearing, hid his face behind entirely. It was a mask, intending to hid his identity strongly, not even wanting to let his hair popped out of the mask and be recognize

Ikshid glared at the tailored blue coat, feeling the unpleasantness from the person wearing the black mask, and from his sixth sense that warns him of somethin

'Who the hell is that guy…

No matter how much Ikshid seemed to be enjoying the entertainment given by the people around, and by walking around this banquet hall, he was also a natural politician. He had the talent to memorize the face, name, and personal information of the person he made eye contact with, like a ghost. Also, the ability to use the characters in the right place was incomparable.

'I'm sure I've seen him somewhere. But who is he

He frowned and stared at an unknown black mask man who could not be identifie

'Obviously, the masquerade of the imperial palace is very meticulous in its safety. It is natural that the lives of the imperial leaders, including the imperial family, are at stake. So even if that guy tries to do something nonsense, he can stop it right away. I'm confident

Ikshid touched his chin like a troubled perso

Oh, I guess I'll know if I think of it a little mor

"Where do you live? What noble were you…

However, at that moment, another group of people recognized the prince's golden mask and stuck it like a flock of dogs. When he came to his senses, Ikshid was already surrounded by red and blue mask

"Your Highness, God is worried about the duke's remarks earlier…

"Wait, I will go first, Your Highness. What would His Majesty postulate about the autonomy of the Atral Mountains this time…

"Don't push me

Here we go again. Feeling the sensation that his head, which had only been spinning well, stopped at once, Ikshid looked sick and tired behind his mask. Then he opened his red lips and grumble

"Should they talk about politics that are not fun even here? Because of them, I haven't been able to get married… Oh, no. No. Shouldn't I work? Let's go over there and finish talking

Thus, Ikshid suddenly moved with a group of young politicians, like a boy playing a flut

Eun-woo thought while looking at the sight of the golden mask moving along with a group of bee-like masks, 'That's obviously the Crown Prince

Eun-woo muttered, "It is very tiring to live as a crown prince, looking at Ikshid's movements that stand out no matter when, where, what, or how he does

"What's wrong

Eun-woo, who was looking at Ikshid like that, turned around in surprise at Selena's questio

"No, it's nothing

Eun-woo replied to Selena, who was throwing a mysterious gaze at her while wearing a red mask that fits perfectly with her skin. She stretched out and tried not to let Selena's gaze reach Ikshid wearing a golden mask. Looking at Eun-woo's appearance, Selena hinted at the concern beyond the mas

"… Lady Miller, are you sure you're okay?

"Of course. I'm so fine that I think I can eat a whole conch at once

Selena, who had been silent for a while, bowed her head politely toward her and thanked he

"Thank you earlier. Thanks to this, it was very convenient to use the imperial palace's VIP room for the banquet preparation place

Eun-woo eventually succeeded in inviting Selena to her preparation room. Eun-woo responded by waving her hand at Selen

"No, I have to say thank you instead. You lent me your shoes

"If so, we can say that we exchanged help

Eun-woo saw Selena's eyes bend smoothly over the mask. Looking at that smile, Eun-woo also thought that the level of the female protagonist was differen

What a calm, gentle, and noble attitude. The male protagonist, Ikshid, will fall in love at a glanc

'Hold on… You two can't fall in love. I must not think like this

Eun-woo scolded herself for being frightened in her opinion. In addition, seeing Selena dressed so beautifully next to her and looking around, no matter how much she thought about it, she thought she was too much of a match for the Crown prince, Ikshi

"In fact, I didn't tell you because I thought Miss would be burdened, but I'm not used to this kind of place. In particular, I was stirred in case I made a mistake and embarrassed at Miss when I was invited to such a big place. That's why I refused when you invited me to your VIP room at first

Selena hesitated as if she was a little shy, expressing the situation. Eun-woo felt her heart moved by her honest confessio

"……It's the same for me that I'm not used to such a big place. In fact, I've been sick since I was young, so I had a lot of minor illnesses. Therefore, I didn't have many opportunities to attend this kind of event. I'm relieved that I met a friend who is in a similar situation to me, like you, Miss

Eun-woo and Selena smiled at each othe

While the two were opening the door to their first friendship, Tashian's steps toward Eun-woo were gradually slowing down

'It's a black mask

Even in Tashian's eyes, a black mask stood out. His sharp eyes hovered beside Eleanor, and stared at the man in blue robes stealing his attentio

'What kind of person is he

He was thrilled by the desire to approach Eleanor at any moment and block the man's gaze from the black mask. Tashian just wanted to lock her under his arm and protect her without allowing anyone to look at he

But at that moment, Eleanor's mask with an angel-white feather in her eyes opened her lower lip and was seen smiling brightl

He looked at the scene in awe, as if he had forgotten to mov

Eleanor looked at the woman in the red mask on the other side, and had a shy smile on her face, as if she was having a first meet up with her frien

Tashian recalled the scene and remembered Ikshid's word

〈"Your fault is so great that you didn't know that my sister was lonely.

The words seemed to hit him on his stomac

Tashian stopped his steps towards Eleanor, which was getting delayed even befor

'She may have needed a friend, nothing else

He bitterly walked. Of course, he did not take away his sixth sense of keeping a close eye on the black mas

As soon as he turned away from her, he felt the pain as if his life was being cut off. As if her existence is the force to keep him living on this earth. His body instinctively whipped himself away from her

However, he overcame the pain and took a step at a time. He asked himself a question

'During those countless hours of waiting for her, wasn't this something I should be prepared for

He will give her time, accept everything about her, and provide time to adapt in the worl

However, Tashian could not stop his ominous thoughts extending to the sid

If… If what she needed wasn't tim

What will happen to me the

Tashian closed his eyes tightly. It felt like the ground where he stretched his feet collapsed below. He felt as if the ground was shaking and cracking, and the crimson rays beneath him were opened wide to swallow hi

He recalled the petal-like mask on her white face in an attempt to banish his unlucky thoughts away, and slowly set his body aside in a corner of the hall's pillar, where no one could reach

(TN: Tashian to Ikshid: (_

Tashian to Eleanor: ( ‿ ))

Chapter 25 ~

Eun-woo had a great time as the ball went on. And as she regain her senses again, she noticed that she and Selena were praised by a group of men.

And at last, the group of men finally made the two smile, as if they were born that way. Even the calm Selena burst into laughter at the man's speech wearing blue mask. And not to mention Eun-woo, who was laughing all the time and wiped her tears from time to time.

"Hey, Eleanor. I know that you're in the middle of enjoying the party, but what do I say… Have you ever bear a resentment against someone?"

Their most pleasant time, was when they met group of people in the middle of the ballroom.

Selena asked Eun-woo, who giggled at a joke thrown by someone while sipping the glass that one lady had given her. Eun-woo was laughing for a moment that she put down the glass she was drinking and almost hiccupped.

"Resentment… you mean. Why? Is something wrong?"

Eun-woo whispered to Selena after lowering her voice so that people around her could not hear him.

"Why do you say that?"

"No. If there's nothing wrong going on, then everything is fine."

Selena responded with a calm voice. With that stable smile, Eun-woo was relieved and fell into conversations with the crowd again.

However, Selena could also feel a certain kind of attention drawn towards them, or to be more precise, towards the young Lady, Marquis Eleanor Miller.

Selena was also not an elite trained knight, but as a female knight, she was a talented person who learned various martial arts from a young age to swordsmanship, archery, and chess. To her, this kind of murderous gaze was the kind that could be easily distinguished.

'Of course, there must be a lot of eyes on her because she is purely beautiful…'

Eleanor was definitely drawing people's attention at the ball. Not only her, but also me who could visually confirm that many people's eyes were flying to her.

'But this is definitely a different kind…. It's somewhat…!'

This feels very uneasy. Yes, this word. This feeling is some sort of uneasiness.

Selena soon noticed that she was not concentrating on the conversation and pulled herself together to return to the group. But something uncomfortable fell on her mind like a stone for a while, making her wary.

Meanwhile, Eun-woo was also aware that something was wrong.

'Is a ball a place where people who don't know each other like this are chatting haha, hohoho?'

Obviously, the people around her were beautiful and witty, but Eun-woo realized that she was feeling something else was amiss.

Despite Selena's presence who seems to be holding her back herself though constantly listening and smiling to others, Eun-woo couldn't remove that something is seriously missing.

"Look at that. His highness, the Silver Masked Duke is busy today."

Then someone let out a giggle laugh and pointed to a corner of the hall with a fan.

Eun-woo coughed and turned her head to the direction a lady was pointing, as if she had heard the title of 'His Majesty the Duke'. Selena patted her back.

"Drink slowly. You'll get indigestion."

"Oh… Thank you."

However, while answering Selena, Eun-woo's gaze was fixed on the tallest man at the end of the hall, as if she was possessed by something.

The man wearing a silver mask to the tip of his nose, leaned against the pillar in a posture that looked boring to anyone, drawing attention from a group of ladies.

Eun-woo found the woman next to the man, fluttering the white and red veils of her skirts, and without realizing it, she jumped up from her seat.

"Lady Miller? Is there a problem?"

The people around her gave a strange look over her mask. Eun-woo couldn't be more glad to see that she was also wearing a mask. This is because it was clear that her earlobes had turned red.

'That man… … What the hell is he doing over there… !'

The man in the silver mask was clearly Tashian. Eun-woo immediately approached him and was terrified when she saw women who were keenly seducing him, and her burning chest was on the verge of bursting out.

As if no one was interested, the women were clinging to his side regardless of his attitude and slightly raising their hands on his arms and chest.

Eun-woo felt as if her stomach was boiling at the sight, and she took a step in that direction without realizing it.

Tashian, with a silver mask, shook his chest in front of her eyes and didn't not give any glance to the women around him, as if they were thrown on the ground, and turned his gaze to her as if she attracted him with an invisible thread.

Eun-woo turned her back on his gaze that landed on her.

'He definitely looked at my side!'

She grabbed her red cheeks as if she couldn't believe it, stumbled and leaned against Selena's stretched arms.

"Lady Miller. Are you sure you're alright? Didn't you drink too much?"

"No, I'm really fine. I think I'm dizzy for a moment."

Selena slowly brought her back to their place. However, Eun-woo felt her nerves naturally shift to the place where the silver mask was, once again.

He was still looking at her. When he looked at her, the ladies around him were already a few steps away from him.

Eun-woo turned away from him again.

She felt a sharp pain in her chest, as if she had applied liquid painkiller. She looked around, trying to divert her mind so as not to be caught up in this alien feeling that seemed to run through her.

At that time, a large man's chest blocked her eyes. Eun-woo was startled and was taken back at the sudden large shadow.

"Lady?"

Compared to other masks, a modest brown mask with not much decoration caught her eye. It was a bright blonde man.

Eun-woo looked at the red lips of a man bowing toward her, and thought he had seen him somewhere.

"If you don't mind, will you dance to a song with me?"

It was a gentle, soft voice. Eun-woo glanced at the seat next to her. Selena was already receiving a dance request from another blue mask man.

"Don't be burdened. It's just that, I'm asking you tonight to dance because of my light desire to take a closer look at Lady's beautiful platinum blonde hair."

The man smelled of alcohol, but it was the same for everyone here. Rather, his face looked much better than others.

The man seemed to reach out one hand, as if not to refuse him. In that naturalness, Eun-woo put her right hand over his hand without realizing it. It was a big hand. The man holding her hand lightly smiled brightly, slowly leading her to the middle of the venue hall.

Eun-woo then remembered that she didn't know how to dance, until she reached the spacious space in the middle of the venue, where the two of them stopped, but it was already too late.

She whispered awkwardly to the man.

"I'm sorry, but I'm really bad at dancing. I might step on your foot a lot."

"You can call me Count Briton."

"Ah… Count Briton, I am really…"

"If it's about dancing, you don't have to worry. Because dancing is primarily a role for males."

He grinned and took her hand with one arm and grabbed her slender waist with the other. Eun-woo made her body tense with the man's hand that suddenly touched her, and clumsily followed the steps he stepped on.

"Unlike your words, you are very good at it."

"… Please don't say that."

As soon as the man's speech fell, Eun-woo bowed her head in shame when she stepped on his feet.

"I'm, I'm sorry. Count."

"Ha ha. It's okay. Lady is so light that I couldn't feel your weight."

Eun-woo slowly felt her tension relax. Contrary to her worries, the music was very calm, and in the first place, it was a dance in which two men and women whispered one word or another in each other's ears in the dark lighting and slow beat, so not much technology was needed. No one seemed to be paying attention to her dance moves.

She thought as she danced.

'This isn't bad either…'

Eun-woo felt that she opened her eyes to a new thing he had never experienced. Ironically, the feeling of resentment had subsided a little while ago when she witnessed the Duke flirting with women.

Eun-woo closed her eyes and savored the moment. The man who held her thin waist and wrapped his hands, was a fairly tall man with gentlemanly courtesy.

Eun-woo couldn't erase the feeling of seeing this man somewhere.

I'm sure I had seen him somewhere..

She worked hard to remember the man in front of her.

"Perhaps, have you seen me somewhere?"

Eun-woo couldn't overcome her curiosity and raised her head and asked him a question. She could feel his eyes twinkling in the mask.

"When Miss was watching the Blanche Game with the Duke, I was the one who was there."

Eun-woo exclaimed, "Oh".

"Oh, I remember now. You found the noir card, right? You had a great sense of vision."

"Thank you for the compliment."

"We met in a place like this."

The man's eyes made a light smile in the mask.

"Actually… I've been waiting for a chance to talk to Miss since earlier."

Eun-woo was embarrassed by his sudden confession and couldn't find a suitable answer, and just bowed her head.

A man who introduced himself as Count Briton, opened his mouth as if he was complaining.

"At the banquet earlier, the duke had such a fierce expression and escorted the Lady… It wasn't easy to create opportunities."

"Oh…"

In Tashian's mention, Eun-woo unknowingly dyed her cheeks red. He certainly walked around to flirted like an overprotective parent throughout the banquet.

Thinking of him, Eun-woo felt as if something was tightly clumped together again. She asked brightly with envy to erase the feeling.

"You're so good at dancing."

"Well, I've been terribly trained by a tutor since I was young."

At his playful words, Eun-woo giggled and laughed, and once again stepped on his foot.

"Count of Briton! I'm so sorry!"

"It's really okay. I didn't even feel it."

Count Briton continued to dance with an exaggerated smile, as if he had no problem at all.

Eun-woo felt something ticklish about him. When she was with Tashian, it was a significantly different difference from feeling tension that the invisible tight thread would break right away.

'It's like we're in a fresh relationship just by dancing together, it's fun…. That's why everyone is having a ball…'

The dance they danced to was Minuet. With a dance in which the partner continued to change, Count Briton's turn was now over and an unknown orange mask gentleman was waiting for her.

Eun-woo turned toward Count Briton to greet him once again for giving her a good experience.

But at that moment, a big hand came out of nowhere on her waist.

It was a strong force. As she came to her senses, a tall man stood between Count Briton and her.

Unsurprisingly, Eun-woo unknowingly put her hand on the thick chest of the man who suddenly wrapped his hand to her waist.

"If you don't mind."

She thought that her heart had frozen at the heavy voice hitting her ears.

"Why don't you dance to a song with me?"

Chapter 26 ~

Eun-woo opened her mouth wide open, when she saw his reliable forearms gently but thoroughly dividing the gap between her and Count Briton.

"Ah…"

The man who was dancing earlier, wearing his silver mask, invaded the two. Eun-woo recognized the man who suddenly came out of nowhere, who also succeeded in blocking Count Briton.

"Ta, Tashian…!"

Strangely enough, Eun-woo felt her mind, which had been calm like a midsummer lake, suddenly shook as if a large stone was thrown inside. His familiar scent was filled and lingered with the smell of wine at the tip of her nose. The body temperature of the man's familiar and hot hands touched her light dress.

On his chest, where she put her hand on it, she could feel a strong heartbeat that he couldn't hide even with his soft suit over it. Eun-woo's heart began to beat so vigorously that it was incomparable to before.

Count Briton also glared over the mask as if he recognized the uninvited guest who came in out of nowhere.

"Duke Verk. What is this…?!"

Eun-woo thought that Count Briton's face somehow looked pale even with a mask.

When asked by him, the duke, who suddenly intervened in the dance procession, spoke. It was not a low yet robust usual voice, but a slightly annoying day of pre-voice.

"…. Count, what are you doing? It's unfair to monopolize the most beautiful lady in the ball alone."

Eun-woo opened her mouth wide at his words. The silent anger of the man who wrapped his arms around her waist seemed to flow into her. Eun-woo dyed her cheeks red.

"Du…. Ke…! What are you doing?!"

Eun-woo chewed her words and touched Tashian's arm, who couldn't take his hands off her waist.

However, Tashian did not blink and said to her.

"Shouldn't dance opportunities be distributed equally to everyone? Like when the Count here danced with you, you should also give me the same opportunity."

Eun-woo was speechless by his nonsense logic.

While she was staring at him with her mouth open like a scarecrow in the field, Count Briton clenched his fist and opened it. It was a curious voice as if hiding a slightly trembling voice.

"But how can you steal someone else's partner like this in the middle of dancing?"

The Count's eyes were in the hands of him, holding her waist.

Eun-woo swallowed her dry saliva. She knew Count Briton was drunk, but suddenly that fact hit her hard.

Eun-woo wanted to tell Count Briton to stop the act of saying something unusual, but Tashian was a little faster.

"……. Since when did Miss become your partner?"

Tashian's lips were parted in a cunning way, as he spit out his words to him. It was a completely different tone than when he talked to her earlier. He was hidden in a mask, but he was definitely staring at Count Briton as if he would chew him up.

Tashian opened his mouth with a very upset voice.

"Obviously, I know it's me who has the honor of escorting Lady Miller for the whole night."

At that moment, she felt that a flash permeated his eyes through his covered mask. He opened his mouth once again, staring at Count Briton with a daunting look.

"From Count's Briton manners… You seem to be teaching people that it's okay to steal the first dance of someone else's escort."

No one has ever mentioned it at the Hellasium Night Ball, but there was a basic common sense that was known to everyone. The first dance of a Lady should be with her escort during the banquet day.

As it is called a place of love for young male and female aristocrats, the ball meant a lot to each of these small actions. Sharing the first dance with a person who is not her escort partner, meant that she was willing to develop feelings of love with that person.

Eun-woo, who had never dreamed of it, accepted Count Briton's dance request without any doubt.

Tashian gritted his teeth.

In the distance, when he found her moving toward the middle of the ballroom holding Count Briton's hand, he felt an indescribable feeling as if blood was rising surfacing from within.

She's a woman who can't even dance properly, and even stepped on Count's Briton feet. But how dare he reach out for her first dance in front of Tashian?

Tashian's sturdy body, staring at Count Briton, stiffened as if it would bounce forward at any moment. Whether Count Briton felt it, his slender body felt uneasiness.

The Count answered with a big cough.

"Oh… I guess the two of you haven't shared your first dance yet. I didn't know."

"Isn't it too impossible for the Count to not know that? As soon as the ball started, you approached Miss. I didn't know you were such a quick person."

As if Tashian knew clearly what he was thinking, he laughed with a face full of bitterness.

Upon hearing that, the face reflected under the mask of Count Briton, was slightly distorted with shame. It was because he noticed the hidden meaning of the Duke's words.

Count Briton was also obligated to serve in the match against Great Genova as a young nobleman of the Empire. Of course, as with most aristocratic children, he did not participate in the battlefield himself. However, like other soldiers, he had experience in military training. Naturally, it was commanded by the Duke of Verk, the commander-in-chief.

"It would have been nice if you were so fast during military training."

At the time of training, Tashian spoke in a cold voice, recalling the Count's performance who showed his restraints of any noble person who grew up well.

However, the Count did not back down even when his face was red to his ears.

"The duke must still be mistaken for himself to be the commander-in-chief."

It was a spirit that could not have been compared if it had been the normal Count Briton. However, the dance he had shared with Lady Miller earlier and the spirit of alcohol that he had been drinking added to his curiosity twice as much as usual.

With a red face, he raised his voice toward his surroundings as if to let everyone hear everything.

"Indeed, it must be very difficult for Your Highness, the Duke, who is favored by His Majesty the Emperor and Crown Prince Ikshid alone, to be humble!"

He smiled loudly at what he said. However, no one around him sympathized with him.

However, Count Briton did not think about whether there were considerable complaints against the Duke. While staring at Tashian as he bared his teeth, he spit out the words he chewed out.

"The Duke, who took over the vacancy of being the Duke, just because he had a good brother in a position that others could not climb even after their death, may just be floundering in the vain delusion that he was part of that noble lineage."

The count's face, exposed under the mask, was roughly distorted.

Eun-woo was frightened to see the expression on his face and grabbed Tashian's hem without realizing it.

"He, hey… You seemed to be very drunk."

There was a slight movement around him, but the Count rejected it. He shouted with a vein around his neck.

"Put this down! I am not drunk at all! Am I wrong? Think about it. What brother in the world would let his brother suffer in a hellish battlefield for three years? Haven't you ever thought that if you were a brother with a real vein, you wouldn't have just watched him be sent to a dangerous battlefield?"

This was a term referring to Tashian's half-brother, Chief Reinhardt. Eun-woo nervously looked up at Tashian's face hidden in the mask. He surprisingly remained silent.

Eun-woo stomped nervously, alternating between the quiet Tashian and the count who suddenly became insensitive and shouted at him. She decided that she should stop the situation before it got bigger. She eventually confidently opened her mouth.

"Count. That's too much to say. Apologize to the Duke right away."

In a determined tone, she conveyed her intention to the Count to stop. But it was rather counterproductive.

The Count's face, which was restrained by her, was not red, but turned dark red.

Count Briton momentarily let go of his hatred, when the woman he had in his mind for a long time took the side of another man in front of him, to be exact Tashian Verk, who he usually hated.

Thus, he spoke out what he should not have said to a man who holds a higher position than anyone else here except for his former superior and crown prince.

"Damn …! What makes you cover your interest so well ? Tashian Verk, why aren't you answering me? Why? I can't just say that you wanted to be recognized by your family?"

The Count's mouth twisted bitterly. He staggered and made exaggerated gestures.

"The Crown Prince didn't even call you for the victory celebration banquet even after making such a remarkable achievement… well, you must be unable to do anything else other than using your body with your mother…."

At that moment, there was a noticeable thud sound around him.

Before he knew it, the music that was calmly flowing in the hall stopped. In the middle of the wide hall, the people who were dancing and the musicians who were playing music, were all keeping their eyes fixed on them.

In the suffocating silence, the noise of an unconscious violinist creaked once and quickly died down.

Count Briton shouted briefly after.

"What is this….!"

Eun-woo was facing Count Briton's absurd gaze, with one arm raised high in the air and looking at what she had done in disbelief. A brown mask barely hung at the end of his ear, fell on the floor with a sound.

Lady Miller slapped Count Briton in the middle of the ballroom.

"La… Lady Miller…?"

Although Count Briton was much taller than her, it was so weak that only his mask fell. However, the Count was opening his mouth as if he couldn't believe what had just happened, perhaps because he was shocked that he was slapped by Lady, rather than the pain that touched his cheek.

Eun-woo was conscious of the way everyone looked at her and heated up from her toes to the top of his head. Her one hand, lifted in the air, trembled.

It was the first time in her life that she raised her hand to a person. But most of all, the fact that the person who even danced with her until just now, was a person who uttered such nonsense words pierced in her, as the biggest shock to her.

"Count Briton. H-ho-how could you say t-that?!"

Eun-woo screamed at Count Briton, engulfed in unexplained anger. She was so overwhelmed that she was even unaware that she was stuttering.

"H-how can a -per-person… like you… say su-such things…?!"

The moment Count Briton openly ridiculed the origin of Tashian, Eun-woo felt a violent feeling inside her like a volcano. She felt like she had been laughed at, even though it was for Tashian.

Her heart fluttered and her whole body trembled with anger.

"La, Lady Miller…"

Some people around her who knew her name approached and talked to her, but she couldn't hear a word from any of them.

Count Briton was looking at her with one cheek clenched as if he had been beaten in the back of his head.

The Duke also looked at the small back of the woman's head standing in front of him with a rare expression.

Eun-woo stared at Count Briton with her eyes wide open, as if she couldn't see such people. She forced herself into her tangled mind like a thread and said whatever came to her mind.

"The duke is very… Thoughtful, polite………! He, he's a very, very diligent person! He works so hard for his family and country.…! He even wakes up early in the morning and trains with his sword… he's a kind person who quietly swings a sword alone in the backyard of the main building so as not to wake up his servants.…! He's a little cranky, but…… It's not because he doesn't like people, it's because he doesn't know how to treat them very well!"

Eun-woo felt her hot cheeks as if she was on fire. Her eyes began to tear up. However, with the determination that she would never shed tears, she gave her eyes a lot of strength and held it in.

"Apologize to the Duke right now!"

Chapter 27 ~

Everyone in the hall looked stunned and looked at Lady Miller, with both of her hands resting on her side, and the Count was in a daze as if the world's most idiot was in front of her.

The mask of Count Briton, which had been peeled off, was filled with absurdity, embarrassment, and shame.

"Let's see, shall we…?!"

Soon, Count Briton took a step toward Lady Miller as if he had come to his senses. At the same time, Tashian Verk, who had been standing still, slightly moved. He quickly moved his huge physique and intervened between the two.

"Let's stop."

A cold voice rang the quiet ball. At that moment, the heads of some people who were giving explicit eyes to them, also turned hurriedly. Some coughed in vain and pretended to move their fans, covering their eyes.

Eun-woo protested toward Tashian as if she couldn't believe what he did.

"Tashian…"

However, Eun-woo bowed her head low and closed her mouth when she heard his whisper in her ear.

"Shh. Others are looking at you."

Tashian's hand lightly swept Eun-woo's spine, calming her down. He immediately raised his head and threw a cold look at Count Briton. His eyes were as cold as if snow had fallen around him.

"Count Briton. Did you say that I thought I was still the commander-in-chief? No way… The war is already over. His Majesty has given me the Royal Edict to end it. All things that could betray His Majesty's trust, is considered disloyalty from his issued orders."

He quickly said the following words, and his eyes shone sadly.

"As you said, it doesn't mean that I am such an unethical servant who came after experiencing a very 'hard time' on the battlefield. Your actions can be interpreted as a self- reflection with humility towards himself, who does not yet have an official right in the parliament."

Upon hearing him, Count Briton's face flushed like a flame and soon went black like a volcanic ash, he couldn't process what he just said.

Just as not everyone with the title of Duke can be appointed as the commander-in-chief, the same goes if one have the title of nobility, but does not have a say in Parliament.

In order to get a voice in Parliament, one must have recommendations from more than 20 members of the parliament, excluding relatives or the emperor's decree.

The parliament members consist of 50 noble people all in all, and with that, you have to be recommended by more than 20 of them, which is hard as putting a camel through a needle. The legitimacy and authority is out of this, but the individual's ability is a very important point to be considered.

Count Briton also came from a very good family, but after graduating from the academy, he had a hard time proving his abilities due to his life as a playboy. Naturally, Parliament did not give him a say even after the acquisition of his title as a Count Briton. It was a shame, even though Parliament would have power from a prestigious family called Briton on its back.

The Duke pointed out that point.

Sure enough, Count Briton, who had a glare look on his face, shook his hands and began pointing at the Duke.

"Now, how dare you…! How dare this son of a concubine mention the right to speak in the Parliament…! You have no shame…!"

His face was already as red as a swollen pig skin, as he spoke.

Eun-woo felt her anger rising. No matter how drunk he was, Count Briton's actions went beyond his status.

Once again, she rolled up her sleeves to warn him and tried to step forward. However, Tashian quickly dragged Eun-woo back. Eun-woo had to kick in vain for a while because his hard hands did not let go of her forearms.

Tashian opened his mouth. Looking down at Count Briton from above, his mouth twisted with contempt.

"I'm so ashamed of the Count. Even at your age, can you still drink at these important banquets?"

Tashian looked down at Count Briton with a gaze as if he was looking at a dusk, as if he was not worth dealing with.

No matter how much the Duke is said to have a tainted status and that he was from heaven, he was currently the most trusted subject of the Crown Prince and one of the main decision makers of the Parliament. Count Briton, who was merely a nobleman, must not treat him disrespectfully.

He knew very well that fact, but his fist trembled hearing him. He gritted his teeth. The Count's blurry eyes headed to the Duke's silent but irresistible face. Even with such insulting remarks, the Duke's expression was calm.

The atmosphere between the three became suffocating like a pulled thread.

Count Briton's gave strength to his two fists, which were gently squeezed. He always didn't like it, but he had never looked worse than now.

'Always leisurely, he has that arrogant expression as if he had always been a person who has a precious blood vessel after gaining the right in the Parliament, to those people who never got it even if others died and woke up from death!'

Until the Duke took the helm, Count Briton's attitude toward him was not this vicious. Rather, as a younger generation, he had a very positive assessment of the Duke who descended from Heaven.

However, in the social world of Hellasium, which was not easy, there was not much contact between the two. The duke's life, which was viewed from a distance, was enough to arouse disturbance and jealousy around him, and direct and deep conversations that would dispel the misunderstanding could not take place.

The continued success of the Duke and his performance in the political world in inverse proportion began to fuel Count Briton's negative emotions.

Before he knew it, Count Briton was included in a group of people who hated the Duke enough to step up in front of him and openly embarrass him.

Count Briton, who was really drunk, stared at the duke with laughter. However, his eyes, which seemed to despise the Duke, did not contain confidence.

He then started arguing with the Duke.

"What's with those eyes, Commander? Are you going to create violence here? Let's take a look at your temperament that dried up people's confidence…!"

Eun-woo was amazed to see Count Briton like that. The upright and gentleman-like attitude earlier was a disgraceful appearance as if it was all pretense.

Tired of his dual attitude and disrespect for Tashian, Eun-woo stepped forward with her eyes wide open to end the situation. At the same time, however, she was blocked by the Duke's arm, again.

"Tashian!"

Eun-woo opened her eyes wide as if she couldn't believe him who stopped her from doing so. However, he just shook his head with an expression that contained no emotions as before.

It was then. One of his companions, who had been watching Count Briton's close behavior since earlier, quickly blocked them.

"Hey, let me see how drunk you are. Hurry up and take him to the lounge."

"Let go of me! I'm fine!"

However, they were anxious to get Count Briton out of this mess while looking at the Duke. Even though they had been watching the dangerous scuffle between the two, neither of them did not back down.

"Hmm, I've never seen Count Briton this drunk in my life…!"

They glanced toward Tashian and Eun-Woo, and hurriedly helped Count Briton, who began to twist his steps.

Eun-woo rolled her eyes when she saw the Count and the crowd running away after he was being sent away. And she looked up at Tashian with a stuffy look.

No, are you intending him to run away just like that?

However, he didn't even move like a stone statue. Eventually, when the Count was completely gone from the crowd, she couldn't stand her anger and shouted at Tashian.

"Tashian! Was it alright for that pathetic man to insult you!"

"Don't be angry and calm down. Why are you so heated up?"

Tashian smiled in vain and soothed her. Unlike her, who was overwhelmed to the top of her head, he somehow had a calm attitude.

Next to him and such Eun-woo, who were excited and huffing, people who flocked together left with a resolute expression. Soon, only two people remained in the place where they stood as they did in the beginning.

Soon Tashian opened his mouth.

"…I didn't know you'd be this angry about my status."

Eun-woo opened her eyes wide and looked up at him. She coughed embarrassingly and covered her mouth.

"Hmm! I'm usually a bit of a hot-tempered person. I don't look like that, but surprisingly, I can't stand injustice."

"… I see."

"Don't laugh."

Tashian opened his axe's eyes and bit his lips trying not to laugh at the woman who was glaring at him menacingly.

The situation earlier was really nothing compared to the countless insults and ridicule he had experienced in his life.

However, it was not a pleasant situation either. No matter how much time passed and experience had accumulated, there were things that he didn't get used to.

But in a certain moment, she stepped forward to protect him with her small body. It was ironic. She was just a slender woman like a reed stem, and when she stood in front of him, Tashian inadvertently felt an indescribable sense of stability.

In order not to be aware of the fact, he urged her with a blunt voice than usual.

"Now, the song is changing. Let's hurry up and dance."

He was pointing in the middle of the stage with a wink, where people were awkwardly aware of them and were dancing slowly. Eun-woo glared at him because she was dumbfounded.

"It's not right to talk about dancing in this situation!"

"There's nothing you can't do but to dance."

Eun-woo lost her energy to be angry at his shameless answer.

He really maintained a calm attitude as if he didn't care about such an insult at all.

"Trust me. The only thing that could overcome this awkward situation is to show an attitude that you are enjoying this ball without changing your expression. This is the case, so we can't even talk about it overnight."

Tashian lightly grabbed her arm and slowly moved to the stage, who was listening.

"No, I don't want to dance."

Eun-woo pushed Tashian's arm away with a red-tinted hand.

No matter how hard it was, she just got so worked up and gave a slap on a person. How can you dance again in the middle of the stage with an indifferent expression?

However, Tashian was very persistent, unlike usual.

"Hurry."

"I told you I won't."

"Come here. Just one song, okay?"

Eun-woo opened her mouth slightly in surprise.

What's wrong with this man? It was the first time he was so desperate for something.

'Was it because I shared my first dance with Count Briton?'

Thinking like that, Eun-woo slowly felt herself approaching the center of the stage. She expressed dislike, but at the time she wanted to do so, she wanted to do it right away, to be precise.

"I'll tell you in advance, but dancing is not my specialty."

Eun-woo was taken by him and warned him with red cheeks. In the midst of this, she was in a state of familiarizing her body to pretend to be familiar in fear of people doubting her identity.

"Of course."

Eventually, he showed his teeth and laughed.

Eun-woo was dumbfounded and watched him smile so wide. She could feel him fluttering like a child. It was also her first time seeing him like this. Her chest also tickled.

Tashian muttered in a softer voice.

"You can learn. You can learn one by one slowly."

A hand as careful as the soft voice that brushed her ear grabbed her waist. Eun-woo followed his steps slowly as she leaned over to the following rhythm.

Chapter 28 ~

There was a short confusion among the people around Eun-woo and Tashian, but after some time they just quietly gave up.

Eun-woo glanced around.

There was fast tempo music that was playing when I was dancing with Count Briton. The dance of many couples across the hall was quite dynamic than before. The men were moving in a stylish movement that would have only been seen in movies, such as holding the woman's body in their arms and turning it around.

Eun-woo looked up at Tashian anxiously while looking at those people around her. Recognizing her gaze, he whispered, pulling her waist close to him.

"Hold my waist with one of your hands."

At the sudden contact, Eun-woo was surprised and wrapped her hands around his thick waist as he said. Then Tashian also wrapped her back and arms with his hands.

The bodies of the two, which had quickly become much closer together, began to move smoothly and gracefully.

After a while of dancing, Eun-woo realized that they were just like any other couples- natural and skillful. It was the result of leaving her body completely to him as he moved.

"… You're a good dancer, aren't you?"

Eun-woo couldn't hide her surprised voice and asked him.

"Why? Is it weird that I know how to dance?"

Tashian replied in a happy manner. It was a lovely view to see her embarrassed.

"No, not exactly like that…."

She thought of his image, a sword with dirt, a straight uniform without a button, and his callous hand holding the flag.

(TN: A straight uniform without a button; might be representative of his personality. A cold attitude that can't be swayed.)

At that time, her body was spun once by an irresistible force. Eun-woo soon realized that after settling on his arms, he had been turning her around as if she was a doll.

"Dance is one of the essential arts of aristocrats."

Tashian spoke calmly, implying that it was very natural for her to dance like this. Although he doesn't seem to care much about her surprised reaction.

Eun-woo was worried that she, who was never familiar with dancing, would be viewed as strange in his eyes considering that she wasn't the real Eleanor. Thus she responded to him, pretending to be calm.

"Well, of course. It's something that I know well."

Tashian's eyes shone mischievously in the mask.

"Then, aren't you stepping on my feet too much if you knew very well how to dance?"

Eun-woo followed his gaze to the floor. Unlike him, who was proficient in stepping, her feet were busy following his swift movements. Of course, she didn't forget to step on his feet in between.

Eun-woo blushed thinking about her poor dance skills.

"Oh, it's just that my body is stiff because I hadn't danced for a long time. I'm going to get back my skills soon."

"Of course."

He responded seriously, but Eun-woo thought his attitude was more annoying. She solemnly pondered whether she had to find a dance teacher separately. She added it to her tasks!

"Not everyone can dance on their own like a Duke."

"I also learned it separately."

Eun-woo opened her eyes wide to his answer. I looked up at him in disbelief. He also looked down at her with his expressionless face underneath his mask.

Eun-woo imagined the man in front of her learning how to dance while being scolded by a dance teacher. No matter how hard she tried to imagine, there was no picture that came into her head, visualizing Tashian with a Dance Teacher.

She muttered sulkily.

"You're lying."

"It's true. However, it had been a long time."

My body turned again with his. And our hands met. His other free hand lightly brushed past her waist.

After a moment of silence, he opened his mouth again.

"I made a promise to someone that I will learn."

Before she found a suitable response to his words, he turned around again. His face then came close to hers.

Eun-woo thought that her eyes felt it was dizzyingly blurred by his sudden scent that came quickly into her nose.

Without understanding what he said, she kept his eyes on him. She couldn't read his expression because of his mask.

Yet again, her waist was caught, and her body was turned back. It was a movement in which her arms were crossed and her back was leaning against his forearm.

Eun-woo leaned on the hard arm of the man who pushed her backwards. The large body held her in his arms and moved stably.

"I had to practice a lot. I'm not talented."

With his words, Eun-woo's body was quickly turned back.

(TN: I'm getting dizzy on how she was turned around continuously (*)

She turned her picture around and looked at his silver mask with curious eyes while he grabbed his waist.

She looked at his silver mask with curious eyes as he grabbed her by the waist, twirling her around as if she was a painting.

"To whom you made such a promise….?"

But even before he could answer her question, his body suddenly moved away. It was a time for partner replacement.

Eun-woo saw a man wearing a sky-colored mask approaching her from a few steps away. She held the man's hand out.

Looking back, the Duke was already dancing with a woman wearing a pink mask in a spotless position. The woman's mouth, which protruded under the mask, was slightly open as if she could not believe what had happened to her now.

After a little while, it was time to go back to her former partner. The Duke grabbed Eun-woo's hand half a beat faster than what should be. The man in the skylight mask, who had lost his partner in a daze, had to remain alone for a while and searched for his partner.

The Duke's hand holding her waist was gripping it tighter than before. If the previous one seemed to caress her skin lightly, now his touch was holding her firmly.

'To whom did he make such a promise?'

Eun-woo was itching to ask him the same question she asked herself. However, she couldn't ask the question again, so she closed her mouth.

The two did not say anything to each other as if they were focusing on dancing. There was an awkward atmosphere between the two than what they had previously.

In order to continue the conversation, Eun-woo brought up a topic of conversation that was spreading among people.

"…Tashian, did you hear that my brother will be back before the knight competition?"

"Ah. I heard about it for a while when I met with the Crown Prince. It's been a while since the victory celebration banquet was held, and the Hellasium Empire has no time to rest. And at the end of the war, there was a lot of talk about whether or not the war of knights would be abolished, but in the end, tradition seems to have the higher votes."

His voice was filled with displeasure. Eun-woo brought up a question that had come to her mind as soon as she heard that there was an upcoming knight competition.

"Are you participating too?"

Tashian was momentarily silent on her question.

He won't participate. He had just returned from the battlefield, so there were many things to say, but the biggest reason was his position as the commander of the Knights. The competition was purely to honor the long tradition and to determine the rank within the Knights.

"The purpose of the knight competition is to encourage soldiers to recharge their morale and train individuals. It doesn't necessarily mean anything for me to participate as the leader."

"I knew it."

Eun-woo nodded that her guess was right. Looking at her, he suddenly asked.

"Are you going to watch it?"

"Oh, maybe."

When she was sitting with Selena earlier, a group of ladies came up and talked about the knight's competition and had invited her to watch it together.

Eun-woo replied that she would do so to participate in social events and expand her connections. And of course, Selena would be coming with me.

Tashian immediately opened his mouth.

"Get the first class seats, I'll back you up."

She was surprised by what he said and stepped on his foot one more time.

"Oh, I'm sorry! But it's really okay.."

"You don't have to feel pressured. Everyone uses their personal connections to occupy a good view in such occasions. You are the only younger sister of my friend. If I can't do this kind of kindness, my prestige will not stand."

Eun-woo was surprised that he used the word 'friendship' directly toward her brother rather than the fact that he abused the position itself.

She tried to reject his offer once again, but he turned her around again.

Once again, the time for partner replacement has come. However, no matter how long Eun-woo waited, he held her hand tightly and did not let go.

Eun-woo was embarrassed and struggled to get out of his grasp so that others would not see them. However, there was already a replacement of partners around them. The quick-witted men and women had already skipped them and replaced their partners quickly.

It was a very common sight in this kind of minuet, but Eun-woo, who was experiencing this for the first time, whispered to Tashian with her bewildered eyes.

"Tashian….? Aren't we supposed to change partners here?"

She looked up at him urgently. However, he responded calmly without wiggling his eyebrows.

"I missed the beat."

Eun-woo was speechless at his absurd lie. To miss the beat, he was holding her hand too tightly and did not let go.

"Don't lie!"

"It's true. I had already told you. I'm not good at dancing."

Eun-woo dropped her jaw at his shamelessness.

He misses the beat? Even a passing dog would laugh. In this way, he creates plausible movements for himself, who does not know the basics of dancing. He was still creaking while taking one step. On the other hand, he has been moving flexibly without a single reaction even when his foot has been stepped on by her since before.

Eun-woo sighed as if she couldn't help it.

She missed the timing of the partner replacement and danced with him one more time, but she was also pleased with the fact.

Eun-woo opened her mouth, looking at her feet which were continuously stepping on his foot again due to a false movement that she didn't know how many times she had done it.

"… I'm sorry. Your feet must hurt a lot, right?

"I think my feet are on fire."

"Tashian!"

Eun-woo blushed and stared at him. She could feel him smirking playfully behind his mask.

Eun-woo liked his smile and blushed, but looked around in case anyone heard her.

Then suddenly, his arm, holding her waist, widened.

"…Don't think you're following the beat, but dance like you're waiting for the next step."

Tashian explained in a low voice and held her other hand strongly. Her small hand was covered by his large hand.

Eun-woo looked down and kept pace with him. She then began counting the beats one by one. Her small feet in shoes were chasing him. At one point, he whispered softly into her ear.

"Like that. You're doing well."

Eun-woo stepped one by one with him as if she was possessed with dancing.

Since then, she has never stepped on his foot. He smiled at her skills, which had improved with just a few guides.

"You're talented."

Eun-woo felt her heart beating helplessly at his smile.

Looking around, another partner replacement time had passed. Eun-woo's ears turned red and hid her face inside Tashian's wide arms.

Now the people dancing next to them were almost ignoring them.

"… I've never thought dancing was fun, but it's pretty good."

She murmured involuntarily as she watched their feet never tangle. Then, oh, she stepped on his foot again.

If Eleanor was a woman who liked dancing, wouldn't her words be a huge mistake?

Eun-woo, who got frightened, lifted her head and looked at his movements. However, Eun-woo could not read his expression that was hidden in his mask at all.

He muttered low in an unknown voice.

"You were like that back then, too. At first, you were almost as bad as I was, but you quickly caught up. If I had learned properly, I might have dominated all kinds of dances by now."

Eun-woo felt her heart had sunk at what he said at the moment.

His voice faded as if he was fumbling with something beyond the past, not reality.

Eun-woo instinctively noticed that he was not talking about her now, but to the real 'Eleanor' living in his past.

Chapter 29 ~

Eun-woo thought that whenever said something like that, someone seemed to be squeezing her heart. However, she still responded calmly

"Hooh, is that so?

Eun-woo could feel his black eyes shining softly through the mask

"Alright

Tashian muttered in a soft voice, as if she was in a drea

"… You probably never know how much I wanted to dance with you again

At that moment, Eun-woo could vividly imagine what kind of expression he had on his face, even though he was wearing a mask. It was as if his sorrowful feelings overflowed outside the mask, and went straight into her hands and melted her hear

At the same time, Eun-woo felt her heart was numb in pain. She instantly dropped her head with a terrible mood as if the world had fallen to the ground. Her arms and legs could hardly move, as if her whole body had lost its strength

Tashian also asked in a worried voice when he noticed her sudden conditio

"… Is it hard? Should we stop dancing and rest now?

Eun-woo raised her head and looked at him. She answered in a resolute manne

"No, I can dance until the end of this song.

"… Alright, of course.

Seconds passed, yet it felt like an hour, and the song finally came to an end. It ended in a dreamy time. When his hands that were holding her securely, fell afterward

Eun-woo had readied herself that his touch, which held her hands wouldn't last long, but when it fell, she seemed to have lingering feelings. She didn't want to be separated from him eithe

Women on both of her sides had already shown courtesy to their partners, raising their skirts and bending their backs. But she couldn't say goodbye to him at all

As soon as her and his hands were completely separated, she quickly turned and left the place. However, Tashian remained in the empty spot where she left him alon

His gaze stayed at where she was standing, fumbling at the place where the woman stood there, had disappeared for a long time. He didn't want to walk out of this place for a while when he was with her, but as if to wake his senses, he crept into the corner of the hall again, where he was earlier. Then he sank behind the pillar like a black shadow

Eun-woo walked out of the Hall, like she was running away and hid herself in the veranda. And before she noticed it, she was already panting as if she had run for over 100 meters. She couldn't pull herself together, due to her reddened fac

The low-pitched voice he whispered to her quietly, and the masculine scent that filled the tip of her nose. She felt like all the sensations she had experienced while in his arms were revived in her bod

'Crazy

She had danced with him three times in a row. She didn't know, but she wondered if she had done something that would make me buried in this societ

Eun-woo had a feeling that whenever she was with him, she was at loss. And at that moment, Eun-woo noticed water droplets dripping down on the floor right in front of the place where she was standing with her knees bent. It wasn't long before she realized that it was actually her tear

She was definitely in the body of a woman named Eleanor Miller. The body was her, but the mind was a very different person

Moreover for clear evidence, she had no memory of Eleanor from the time she was born, until she got to 18 years old. Not even a single fragmentary memory remained in he

All she had in her memory was the life of Lim Eun-woo, an ordinary high school girl, who lived in agony and miserable lif

Eun-woo wiped her tears away which flowed down on the ground mercilessly

'You have to keep that in mind. You are Lim Eun-woo, not Eleanor Miller. Not the Miss of Marquis Miller, but just an ordinary high school girl named Lim Eun-woo

The unfamiliar attention she had received from people, was not for her, but it was for the real Eleano

People will doubtlessly notice that one day, she was not the person they used to know. They must have already suspected he

She had to be especially careful of those people close to Eleanor. They will surely find something different from me and Eleanor. I would be strange to them. And she didn't know when or where she would get caught. May, or she may not, she didn't know that she would have to stay vigilant for the rest of her life, hiding her true identity and living in pretending

'You're not the real Lim Eun-woo nor Eleanor Miller anymore…

(TN: It means she's living with two identities, for herself, and for Eleanor.

I was very confused. My headache with dizziness

She held back her desire to vomit, leaning against the railing of the veranda with her staggering hands on her forehead

It was a pain that felt like her heart was breakin

I myself am lying to all the people around me. To them, she couldn't move around with her real self even for a single moment. It couldn't be true. But even her own existence was false to them

Eun-woo managed to catch her breath by holding the railing. Tears were dry before she knew it

At that time, the loud voice of the host was heard from inside the Hall

〈'Come on, distinguished guests! The time for exchanging masks has come. Everyone, please exchange with the one closest to you

Eun-woo was surprised and hurriedly turned around to examine the movements inside the Hall. Before she realized it, the highlight of the masquerade, the mask exchange ceremony was approaching

People that were gathered in the middle of the hall, were pairing up in twos and threes in search of someone they wanted to exchange masks with

She hurriedly wiped the tears off of her eyes with her sleeves and tidied her clothes. There was no one in particular who she wanted to exchange masks, but she thought that she had to go back to the Hall

But then, she heard someone calling her from behind

"Lady

Eun-woo was surprised by the voice she didn't know where it came from and looked around. Before long, a man appeared in front of her, who found her hiding like a hedgehog, even though she had tried so hard to not be noticed by anyon

The man, who appeared behind the small bushes connected to the veranda, was wearing a black mask like a black clay. The perfect tailcoat without a single button was as black as the dark night sk

Eun-woo stepped back with her instinctive fear at the appearance of a man boasting as tall as a duke or prince

"Wh, who are you…

"Don't be afraid. I'm not here to hurt you.

The man's voice responding to her question was a chillingly attractive low tone. Eun-woo wondered how a person's voice could be so sweet. But soon, she felt horrified by what he said after and stepped back unstabl

"At least not today.

As soon as the man's words fell, she got goosebumps all over her body. But for a while, Eun-woo supported one of her arms which began to tremble with her other arm

He was a very suspicious man. What kind of rude remarks was from their first meetin

She was wary and asked a fierce questio

"…. Do you mean that if you won't hurt me today, you will hurt me later on

His black mask which covered his entire face, compared to other masks which only covered one's eyes. Therefore, Eun-woo could hardly estimate whether the man was smiling or making a cold face

"Probably.

A cold voice murmured as if snowflakes were flying

"I want to ask why such an angel-like beautiful lady is alone in this dark night's veranda.

"……It's none of your business. I just came out to cool down for a while.

Eun-woo quickly added

"The people who came with me are waiting for me inside.

"I know. You came with the Duke of Verk

Eun-woo could see he twisted his lips as if laughing about her foolishness. His facial expression was invisible, but it was her instinctive intuition that told he

"Miss seems to have a pretty unique taste.

"….What does that mean?

Eun-woo swallowed her dry saliva and asked back. The man answered immediately with a voice that somehow flowed with ease

"Don't get me wrong. I didn't mean to mock Miss. I just want to suggest that you should pick a friend carefully the next time you hang out.

Eun-woo could immediately notice that he'd be ruined when he risked Tashian's identity. She responded with a frown on her face in outrageous displeasur

"…. The Duke can't be more of a man. I don't know who you are, but I think it's better to find someone who can proudly show his face.

The man said nothing. Eun-woo bowed her head lightly to mean that she no longer wanted to talk to him anymore

"If you don't have any more business with me, I'll go to my seat first. As I said, my friend is waiting for me.

"I didn't say there was no more business.

Eun-woo once again trembled in fear and questioned him back with a slight frown on the forehead

"What's that about….?

The man came a step closer to her. Eun-woo tried to step back again, but was soon blocked by the railing behind her. The man somehow opened his mouth with a low voice which gave her goosebumps

"Lady Miller. Will you give me the honor of exchanging masks with mine?

She blankly blinked, not understanding what the man said. But soon, listening to the chatter coming from the Hall, she slowly realized what he had asked me to do. The host in the hall announced the start of the event with a cheerful voice.

〈 Now! Just like last year, whoever gets the Golden Mask will have a chance to do a final dance with the Crown Prince! So let's get started

The man's hand, which slowly approached her, was holding Eun-woo's right hand. He tilted as if kissing the back of her hand like a polite gentleman. Eun-woo was terrified that his figure, which came so close, was much larger than she thought. Her stomach began to tighten due to tensio

"Lady Miller

The man called her, urging her to answer. Eun-woo came to her senses with that sweet yet dizzying voice at the same time

"Ah…

So many thoughts crossed her mind

What was this guy's intention? What if I go to someone I've never seen before, and ask for an exchange

Eun-woo could not easily answer the man's request. One thing was certain, her whole body's senses were clamoring to get away from the man in front of her eyes

However, while Eun-woo hesitated, the host started counting down

" …3! …2!

The host's shouting voice rang inside and outside the banquet hall. As the man in the black mask became impatient, he put pressure on her hand

Everything was so sudden

"Ye, yes let's do that

In the end, Eun-woo agreed to exchange her mask with him like a person, who was forced by somethin

"…. One! Please exchange masks!

At that moment, all the lights in the banquet hall went out at once. In an instant, some ladies screamed inside the Hall when it became pitch-like darkness

The same was true in the veranda where Eun-woo was. In the dark shade, she could feel the man's hand stretching toward her mask, while holding her hand strongly

And all she could see was her white mask helplessly falling to the ground on the veranda, where there was only bright moonlight floating in the sky

Eun-woo could notice that the man's hand, who had taken off her mask, was slowly moving towards his black mask. He untied the knots behind his mask, one by one, with very unhurried hands, as if to buy tim

When Eun-woo thought the moment was too long, the black mask slipped off the man's face at once

Eun-woo soon became mesmerized by the sight in front of her eyes.

Chapter 30 ~

His black hair which hang on his forehead was the first thing she saw. The next thing was his black eyes. Her mouth dropped its jaw the moment she got to look at his exquisite features. He have white skin, like a moonlight.

A face that looked exactly the same as someone but at the same time, they were completely different. His glass-eyes underneath his swaying black hair.

The man had a cold smile with his stoned face.

A face that was similar to Chief Reinhardt she had seen in the Duke's Mansion back then, was standing right in front of her.

"Ah…"

She let out a scream yet a sigh like breath. She couldn't say anything, as she was still so stunned at what she was seeing.

"… You seemed very surprised."

Chief Reinhardt talked to her with his unwavering smile around his mouth. However, Eun-woo found herself unable to answer.

Why is he…? Why is he here in front of her now?

As far as she knows, the heir, the supreme consulate of Hellasium, and its members of the Senate, lived in a place like a sanctuary called the 'Black Cathedral' and did not recklessly appear in front of civilians.

However, isn't the man in front of her was dressed in a very natural way like any other noble man would look like?

"My bad. Miss's white mask has become completely dirty."

Chief Reinhardt picked up Eun-woo's mask, which fell to the ground, and sighed quietly. The soft touch while picking up her mask and shaking the dust off, could not be considered to be threatening at all.

However, Eun-woo somehow felt an eerie fear dominating her body.

She looked up at the Chief's face, who was handing over her dusty white mask, as if she had become a rat under a horseshoe.

He smiled brightly at her.

"Seeing you from head to toe, you're like a snow white, even your mask fits well to your skin. There's no other Blanche."

Referring to the card game, he raised his hand as if he was contrasting her face with her white mask. Soon, he murmured to himself as if he had lost interest.

"The same was true when I was searching for you. It was like… Yes, it was like playing Blanche. What should I say at times like this?… It's been so long that I can't remember well."

As if he was struggling, he pressed his forehead with his index finger and middle finger. Eun-woo watched Chief Reinhardt with her cold sweat on her back.

No matter how hard she tried to look at him differently, she couldn't stop herself from thinking that he looked like a hunter, preparing himself to slaughter her.

"Ah."

It was not long before he spoke as if he had figured out what he was recalling.

Eun-woo thought that his red iris seemed to shine briefly on his black eyes, through his trembling eyelashes. A creepy voice sounded.

"Benepis."

The moment he put the word in his mouth, she got chills all over her body.

Saying Benepis is declaring that your enemy had a white card in the game Blanche card.

She trembled, grabbed the railing behind her back which prevented her from escaping, and leaned back as far as she could to get away from him.

However, Chief Reinhardt, who was about to strangle her, stood surprisingly very still. He no longer approached her, reached out, or even spoke to her. Instead, shortly after, he only opened his mouth affectionately with a gentle voice.

"Welcome back. Eleanor Miller.

And the moment he folded his eyes and smiled, incredibly, Eun-woo couldn't deny the idea that the Duke's face, Tashian's face, was surprisingly overlapping from his face.

Chief Reinhardt added, bowing to her.

"I've been waiting for you to come."

"Ah…"

She didn't say anything to him as if she was a mute person, and merely looked up then smiled to him, turning around.

"…I'll see you often in the future. 'Blanche' lady."

He slowly returned to the place where he first appeared on this veranda.

And she couldn't help but walk away without saying much.

Even after he disappeared, Eun-woo stood still as if she had been unable to stay alert like she had seen a ghost. Her whole body was shaking similarly to a tree shaking, as if she had been naked in the Sub-Zero temperature.

Eun-woo, who hurriedly returned to the ballroom, looked around and found the group she had spent time with. However, the seat where they sat and chatted was already occupied by another group of people wearing masks.

At that time, someone grabbed her hand anxiously. Eun-woo shook off the hand who grabbed her, without realizing it.

"Aaah!!"

"Eleanor, it's me."

Selena was in front of her with her mouth stiffened. Her red mask remained unchanged. And as soon as Eun-woo realized it, she found herself relieved as if she was ready to lower her guards.

'I see that you haven't met Ikshid yet.'

It was clear evidence that my efforts so far have not gone to nothing. She sighed and held Selena's hand tightly.

"Selena, it was you."

"Where have you been? I've been looking for you for a very long time."

Selena asked her with her conscious face. Even her concerned voice was still calm and polite. With Selena's expression, Eun-woo felt her stiffened body relaxed, instantly.

"Oh… I went to get some fresh air."

Eun-woo responded at her words to not make her worried.

"… Ah, alone without the intention of seeing anyone secretly! On the terrace!"

"I see."

Selena nodded silently. Her expression stayed calm without a hint of doubt.

Eun-woo couldn't have been more fortunate that she had a personality to believe the other person's words straight away.

Next to Selena, she looked around, concerned about her surroundings.

Some of the people who finished exchanging masks were enjoying the ball even before it began, either they had taken off their masks to exchange masks.

But then, a golden mask flashing from afar stood out. Eun-woo was able to confirm that Ikshid also remained unchanged.

However, Eun-woo's eyes did not stop there, but searched deeply inside the Ball. Her eyes were instinctively looking for a silver mask.

"Eleanor, are you looking for someone?"

Selena asked Eun-woo, who has been glancing around since earlier right after she returned. Eun-woo was surprised, afraid that she had been caught doing something illegal. She made an excuse by swinging the white mask she was holding tightly in her sweaty hand back and forth.

"Oh, no. It's nothing like that."

"Lord Verk was searching for Miss earlier."

Eun-woo trembled at the word 'the Duke' which flowed out from Selena's mouth.

"The duke…?"

Eun-woo felt her voice raise unconsciously, and cleared her throat as if she was uncomfortable by it.

"Why did the Duke search for me…?"

"He hasn't seen Miss since earlier. So, he asked me to give him a word if I found Miss. He seemed to have something urgent to say to you, Miss."

What does Tashian have to say to me?

Eun-woo felt her heart, which had only calmed down since meeting with the Chief Reinhardt, begin to beat uncontrollably again.

"Oh, my. Lady Miller. Did you see them performing over there?"

Selena opened her eyes wide and asked her in a rather excited tone.

Eun-woo blinked, and didn't know what she was talking about.

"What kind of performance?"

She certainly heard that after a member of the Imperial Family attends the banquet, and begins earnestly, the performance of either clowns or for theaters will be stopped.

Eun-woo wondered and looked at Selena's sight. At that time, a lady who had been with Selena since earlier opened her mouth with a fuss.

"Oh my god! You have to watch it, too! I've never seen a theater like that in my life! It's an animal called a giraffe, right? I never imagined such a long-necked animal would exist."

Only then did Eun-woo realize that the inside of the hall had more repairs than before. Even the musicians who were playing music amidst the buzzing crowd put their instruments away, pulled their necks out, and stared intently at a certain place. The ladies also flocked in one place and tossed the fans they were shaking softly and screamed.

"Waaaahhh!"

The exclamation and admiration burst out. Some nobles burst into applause.

Eun-woo also suddenly had the urge to watch the performance that began in the middle of the banquet.

"Let's go over there too."

Selena was the one who grabbed Eun-woo's hand and led her.

The performance they mentioned was being held on another terrace located opposite the terrace where Eun-woo was standing with Chief Reinhardt.

Eun-woo was stuck in a crowd of nobles who flocked like clouds. She tried to tiptoe with her feet, and jumped to see what was going on.

"Eleanor, this way!"

Selena, meanwhile, took advantage of the gaps that were created due to the crowds pushing each other, leading to the place almost at the front of the entrance to the terrace where people were gathered. Eun-woo's eyes widened at the sight unfolding before her eyes.

'This… was possible…?'

She doubted her own eyes. The first thing that greeted her was the giraffe's neck that reached the terrace on the second floor. Eun-woo held Selena's arm in disbelief while watching the scene.

She was familiar with the fact that a circus team was in the capital. She also heard that they were often called to perform at large events and parties of aristocrats. However, Eun-woo did not expect to be able to see it even at the imperial banquet.

"A circus troupe at the Imperial Palace banquet, I think this is probably an unauthorized performance… I don't know if the Crown Prince knows this. Also where did all the guards go….?"

Selena's forehead was slightly wrinkled.

Contrary to their concerns, the performance was in full swing. Suddenly, people rushed out of the terrace in unison.

"What's going on?"

Selena looked around, confused as she held onto Eun-woo, who was reeling from the quickly swept crowd. Once again, a loud shout broke out.

"An elephant!"

Someone screamed and pointed in one direction.

Eun-woo, along with Selena, pulled her head out and turned her eyes toward the direction that was pointed out.

Next to the wandering giraffe, an elephant wearing a colorful carpet stood out. And on the terrace, a person was making a clever gesture as if controlling the elephant.

Only the man's silhouette was dimly seen outside the darkness, but at first glance, she could feel that he was good at handling animals.

When the man shouted loudly, the elephant stepped up as if he had been waiting and ran toward the palace. The grass was crushed and the earthy wind blew. Several people screamed at the sound of the roaring elephant's vote.

In response to another signal from the man, the elephant roared up on its hind feet. It then landed on the road. People cheered for it, and gave a standing ovation.

Eun-woo opened her mouth in fascination, because she was speechless at the beautiful sight.

At the end of the show, the man on the balcony naturally turned around and set up a gentlemanly example toward the crowd very politely. People responded enthusiastically with applause.

However, it was not the case for Eun-woo. After confirming the appearance of the man who appeared toward the crowd, she turned white as if she had seen a ghost.

Eun-woo stepped back over the scene in front of her eyes.

He was wearing a black mask!

'Chief Reinhardt….?! But it can't be….'