Chapter 20

He made the suggestion smoothly, as if he had been planning this from the beginning. Of course, when no immediate answer came, Erdion turned to look at his sister.

“Elisia, if you don’t hate the idea either. Shouldn’t you dance too?”

Elisia gently lowered her gaze. She didn’t have a fiancé yet. So her regular dance partners were her brother Erdion or the Second Prince Illiyes.

When neither of them said anything, Erdion let out a low laugh. They didn’t seem to hate the idea, so he thought he should leave them alone to talk.

Erdion rose from his seat and turned to his partner. As the Crown Prince began dancing with his fiancée, Lady Brensia, on the dance floor, the nobles all joined hands and headed to the dance floor as well.

Rihirt watched the men and women dancing to the elegant and soft melody from a distance.

“What would you like to do?”

Elisia stood up and approached him. At the same time, the gazes of many nobles turned toward them. The combination of the tall, handsome duke and the famously beautiful princess was eye-catching even from a distance.

Could it be that the reason he came without a partner was because he was the princess’s partner? Gazes filled with surprise and envy poured in, but Rihirt, boasting exceptional insensitivity, didn’t notice.

“Would you like to dance with me?”

Rihirt turned to look at her.

“I’m sorry, but I must decline.”

Then without a moment’s hesitation, he gave a sharp answer and left her. Rihirt stopped walking at a spot far from the dance floor.

The gazes fixed on him gradually fell away one by one as time passed. There was a limit to how long they could observe him standing without the slightest movement.

Silently sipping his drink, Rihirt approached a table in a corner to put down his empty glass. As he was about to take a new glass, he unconsciously turned his hand over and tapped the smooth tablecloth twice. This was what he did whenever he wanted to call her during work.

And at that small sound, she had always appeared before him without fail.

He seemed to have become too accustomed to it. With her who had been almost constantly by his side now gone, being alone felt strange. Rihirt found these changes in himself fascinating. Who would have thought he would come to feel empty when alone?

These were emotions he wouldn’t have experienced if not for her. That’s why they were precious, and moreover, he didn’t want to lose their current relationship.

She was the first person he had grown close to. If they couldn’t become closer, then preventing them from growing more distant was the best option. It was a moment when an inexplicable bitterness spread over his closed lips.

That’s when it happened. Something small fell onto his shoulder with a tap.

Rihirt stared at the object that had hit his shoulder and fallen to the floor. It was a broken piece of walnut. With a thought quickly flashing through his mind, he looked up at the ceiling.

When another small nut piece fell through the space between the chandeliers hanging from the high ceiling, he could be certain.

She was there. That fact made his chest tingle inside. He felt an unnamed, overwhelming emotion.

‘I’m leaving. Right now.’

Rihirt silently parted his lips to speak. Though she was too far away for him to see, he was certain she was watching him clearly from up there.

He quickly but quietly left the hall and came out into the corridor. The wide, dark corridor bathed in blue moonlight was empty. When he stopped at a suitable spot and tapped the wall twice, a small sound soon came from the edge of the ceiling where he was standing.

Anasha, rattling as she lifted the tile, stuck her head out through the gap. Her short black hair flowed downward.

“Commander!”

“Sir Asha. How long have you been up there?”

“Hmm, since the ball started? I arrived just in time, but I kept my promise to accompany you!”

Seeing her face that seemed to be waiting for praise, Rihirt realized there had been a misunderstanding between them.

“By the way, what task do you have for me?”

She must have understood his request for accompaniment as an official duty. After all, he had only asked her to accompany him, not to attend as his partner.

“First, it would be better if you came down from there.”

“Understood! Please wait a moment!”

She went back into the hole, apparently turning around to come down. But he couldn’t wait even that short time.

“Sir Asha.”

At that low voice, Anasha stuck her face out of the hole again.

“I’ll catch you.”

Rihirt nodded once. Anasha, who perfectly understood that he meant she could jump down onto him, hesitated with a troubled expression.

“Um…, although your body would be much softer than the marble floor, your head would get smashed.”

“I’m confident I won’t fall.”

“But still. I might be much heavier than you think. Um, I’m really worried……”

“I’ll catch you properly, so would you trust me just this once?”

At his insistent words, Anasha thought for a moment and then, with a what-the-heck attitude, stuck her body out through the ceiling gap. She hung from the ceiling as far as she could reach and then let go.

‘Commander’s head, hea……!’

Before even two seconds had passed with her eyes tightly shut, Anasha opened them again. Somehow his soft golden hair was right in front of her nose.

Except for his slightly disheveled hair, he didn’t seem to have moved at all compared to before. Rather, she was a little surprised at how much more solid his body was than expected. The arm supporting her bottom had caught her so stably that it seemed like steel that would never break.

“See? Wasn’t it good to trust me?”

He suddenly raised his head and spoke while looking at her. His blue eyes were gently curved downward without making a sound. Anasha, who had been in his arms, slightly pushed away his shoulder that she had been holding. Only then did Rihirt release his posture and put her down on the floor.

“I’m glad your head didn’t crack.”

“Somehow it seems you’re disappointed that my head is safe.”

“Of course not. It’s just something, well, something like that.”

Anasha desperately tried to hide her momentary embarrassment because of him. Somehow it felt like she should.

“But you’ve been just drinking since earlier, are you not drunk?”

“…Do I look drunk?”

“A little bit?”

She thought he had smiled with his eyes earlier because he was drunk. When drunk, he seemed to be the type who does things he normally wouldn’t do or becomes particularly excited.

“What task do you have for me?”

“With me.”

“……?”

“I’d like you to keep me company.”

For a moment she thought he might be joking, but his attitude was too serious for that.

“I want to rest somewhere until the ball ends. I’d like you to join me.”

“You called me for something like that?”

Anasha looked up at him with an incredulous face. She had rejected Tewiller, saying the commander seemed to have a task for her that day, so she couldn’t be his partner. Of course, she had planned to reject him anyway, but she felt guilty for seemingly having lied.

“You spoke so seriously about accompanying you that I thought it was something important. If I had known it was just resting, I would have been resting too!”

Her bold gaze glaring at her superior was audacious. While other knights wouldn’t dare imagine doing such a thing, Anasha added more words as if ready to throw every possible complaint.

“Despite appearances, I’m quite expensive personnel. Do I look so easy because I keep you company every day? Calling me out whenever you’re bored.”

“That couldn’t be further from the truth.”

Rihirt, who had been quietly smiling, answered. Dealing with her was not easy at all. She was the first person he had ever treated so carefully.

“What would make you spend time with me?”

“Now that’s more like it.”

“What do you want?”

“Hmm, what should I ask for… Ah! First, I’m thirsty, so I’ll need a drink.”

It wasn’t a difficult request. Rihirt nodded readily. In fact, he seemed prepared to accept any complaint from this small subordinate.

“I’ll bring something to drink from the banquet hall.”

“Since it would be awkward to walk around dressed like this, I’ll wait here.”

“Understood.”

“Yes! I’d like a sweet drink.”

Anasha watched him walk toward the banquet hall and then sat down on the floor. She hadn’t been able to rest properly after being in hiding for over an hour.

‘I wonder if it will take about ten minutes.’

It was while she was tapping her legs, guessing when he would return. She heard a presence from the direction he had disappeared. But it didn’t seem to be him, as the sound of shoes clicking echoed across the corridor.

Anasha quickly hid behind a pillar. Dressed in all black, she thought a stranger might be startled if they saw her. The figure walking quietly from the end of the corridor eventually revealed itself in the faint darkness.

Anasha, who had been secretly watching, took a small breath. The person walking alone quietly along the moonlit corridor was none other than the princess.

Her face, seen up close, was even more beautiful than when viewed from the ceiling. Her hair shimmered softly as if sprinkled with silver powder, and her plump lips were as red as fruit juice. If fairies existed in this world, they would probably look like this.

While secretly watching the princess pass by with bated breath, Anasha faintly sensed another presence. More precisely, it was coming from above her head.

It was too big to be a mouse. It was at that moment when she looked up at the ceiling, following the presence. Something flew toward Anasha, cutting through the darkness.