MTDL 22

Chapter 22

As the crowd surged through the ballroom, someone brushed past my shoulder.

Thud.

I bumped into someone, and a folding fan fell to the floor.

“Ah.”

Instinctively, I bent down.

“Here we go…”

I reached to pick it up.

But before I could, the owner stepped on the fan I was holding.

Startled, I looked up.

“…”

A girl about my size.

Behind an extravagant purple mask were a pair of arrogant black eyes.

She had beautifully styled red hair and wore an elegant lace dress.

She stared down at me while deliberately pressing the fan beneath her foot.

Although the mask had made me hesitate for a moment, it was unmistakably Lady Machert.

‘I just told Uncle that there wasn’t anyone who would bully me.’

Turns out… there is one.

“Straw-colored hair… green eyes…”

The corner of her lips curled upward as she recognized me.

“And hands as rough as sandpaper…”

“You must have just come up from the countryside, haven’t you… my lady?”

The members of the Machert clique behind her snickered.

I slowly let go of the fan, stood up, and faced Lady Machert.

“I wonder…”

She tilted her head.

“Surely that mask wasn’t made from a horse’s horseshoe?”

Laughter erupted behind her again.

I narrowed my eyes at her.

“Have you ever heard the saying that too much is worse than too little?”

“If that’s the case, then I’d say a mask made from a horseshoe would still look better than the purple jeweled boomerang covering your face.”

Lady Machert’s eyes widened.

She glared at me and raised a hand.

Perhaps because she was wearing a mask, she no longer feared exposing herself.

“Hah. You’re nothing but a country gi—”

Before she could finish, she tried to shove me.

But someone wrapped an arm around me and pulled me backward.

The person caught me around the waist as I stumbled.

Our eyes met.

Startled, I couldn’t help blurting out,

“…Mars?”

Then his features gradually came into focus.

The boy standing beneath the chandelier wasn’t wearing the white mask that covered his entire face.

Instead, he wore a black mask covering only his eyes.

And behind it…

His eyes weren’t black.

They were a brilliant sapphire blue.

He had only reminded me of Mars.

He wasn’t Mars.

That silver hair…

It was unmistakably Crown Prince Britton.

Why… did I think of Mars again?

My heart began pounding at the unexpected reunion.

Britton let me lean against him for a few seconds before gently helping me stand on my own.

“Your Highness?!”

Realizing who had protected me, Lady Machert’s eyebrows shot upward in shock.

She had recognized Britton as well.

“Striking a stranger during a masquerade…”

Britton frowned.

“That is hardly proper etiquette.”

Lady Machert stared blankly for a moment before protesting indignantly.

“Your Highness, she was the one who bumped into me and knocked my fan to the floor!”

“And how could you possibly take her side in front of me?”

“You have no idea how much I—”

Britton cut her off.

“Although you’re wearing a mask…”

“I do not know who you are.”

Her eyes shook violently.

Even with a mask on, there was no way he truly couldn’t recognize her.

Yet he deliberately claimed otherwise.

His voice turned icy.

“If you dare treat my fiancée disrespectfully again…”

“You will regret it.”

The warning was as cold as winter frost.

“H-How could you…!”

Lady Machert’s voice trembled with tears.

The girls behind her exchanged uneasy glances.

Having finished speaking to her, Britton turned toward me.

Still holding my hand, he looked at me gently.

The blue eyes behind his black mask were warm.

“Are you all right, my lady?”

The coldness he’d shown Lady Machert vanished completely.

His voice became as gentle as cherry blossoms drifting through a spring breeze.

* * *

Still holding my hand, Britton led me out of the ballroom.

A stone pathway stretched through the palace gardens.

After walking together for quite a while, we arrived at a small lake.

The moon hanging in the night sky reflected peacefully at its center.

Only after reaching a long, bench-shaped rock did Britton finally let go of my hand.

The rock was too low for adults to sit comfortably, but it was just the right height for children like us.

After helping me sit down, Britton bent slightly to examine me.

“…Are you truly unharmed?”

His blue eyes shimmered with concern.

Still a little dazed, I nodded.

“Yes.”

“You arrived just in time, Your Highness…”

“So nothing happened.”

Relieved, Britton raised a hand and removed his mask.

Though still only a young boy, his cool, handsome eyes and high nose were illuminated by the moonlight.

I also reached up and removed my own mask.

Honestly…

It was a shame I hadn’t gotten to smack Lariel on the head with it.

Actually, I wouldn’t even have cared if she’d shoved me.

After all, I’d spent my days yanking giant red sugar beets out of the ground.

There was no way a little girl’s push could knock me over.

Still…

Watching her shake with anger had been oddly satisfying.

“Your Highness…”

“Will you be all right?”

Britton tilted his head.

“What do you mean, my lady?”

“Lady Machert.”

“I heard the two of you were close…”

“And she seemed pretty betrayed.”

The corner of Britton’s lips twisted coldly.

His eyes remained gentle as always.

Yet somehow, a chilling aura surrounded him.

“My relationship with Lady Machert is no different from my relationship with any other noble.”

“They simply mistake their place.”

“It is merely the sort of relationship between ruler and subject that can be corrected through authority.”

His voice sounded as soft and sweet as warm milk.

Yet somehow…

A chill ran down my spine.

The tiny hairs on my body stood on end.

“If she continues to trouble you…”

“I’ll make sure she’s dealt with properly.”

“D-Dealt with?”

“It doesn’t have to go that far…”

Was Britton Aslet really as endlessly kind and gentle as he seemed?

He was always warm toward me.

Yet every now and then…

He revealed this frighteningly cold side of himself.

I swallowed before finally speaking.

“Your Highness…”

“You’ve always been incredibly kind to me.”

“Even though we only met for the first time at the Imperial Palace…”

“It feels like you’ve known me much longer than that.”

Silence settled between us.

“You always seem to want to help me.”

Britton’s eyes rippled deeply.

“Do I?”

I looked at him.

The moonlit lake reflected in his blue eyes.

“My lady…”

He slowly opened his mouth.

“I…”

A cool breeze swept across the lake, rippling its calm surface.

But I never heard the rest.

“…!”

Four figures suddenly burst from beneath the water.

They wore bluish clothing.

Each held a sword in both hands.

Britton’s expression instantly hardened.

“It’s an ambush!”

He hurriedly pushed me behind him and stepped forward.

“Run, my lady.”

The tension in his voice told me everything.

At the very least…

The people standing before us were certainly not allies.

Moonlight gleamed off their blades.

Just seeing those swords made my blood run cold.

I’d read countless battle scenes in novels.

But facing swords aimed at me in real life…

I felt like I might faint.

“No!”

“Let’s run together!”

Even now…

There was no way I could abandon Britton.

He’s just a kid too! How could I leave him behind?!

Besides…

Even if I ran, there were four attackers.

There was no guarantee one or two of them wouldn’t simply chase after me.

“…”

The four slowly closed in.

Their razor-sharp swords glimmered beneath the moon, sending chills through me.

This was an isolated lakeside.

Who are these people?

Why are they attacking us?

Britton looked as though he already knew the answer.

But in a situation like this, there was no time to ask.

“By my own hand…”

One of the men tightened his grip on his sword and shouted,

“I shall sever the bloodline of Parmes…”

“…that claimed the Imperial Throne through bloodshed!”