Chapter 108
As Aden listened to the conversation while sipping wine, he paused, looking at me intently.
I gave a slight smile, and Aden slowly spoke up.
“It’s not just this time that I receive attention; I’m not really sure about it.”
A short gasp escaped me at his words.
Well, that makes sense.
Aden had always been the center of attention, even more so in the past than now.
Just as I was about to respond to his nonchalant reaction, I noticed the daughter of the Marquis Polisia approaching us from across the room.
The two men who had noticed my gaze turned their bodies to face her.
She came closer, scanning Aden and Kestian before moving toward me.
Raising her chin high, she approached with an air of superiority but suddenly halted.
As she got closer, her posture shifted from looking down to looking up at me.
When she finally reached me, I quietly smiled, causing her expression to distort for a moment.
But she quickly regained her composure.
“I don’t believe we’ve met before.”
Her pale, slender hand reached out slowly.
“I’m Alisa, the second daughter of Polisia.”
I glanced at her outstretched hand before raising my head.
She held a calm expression, as if urging me to take her hand.
Accepting her greeting, I replied coolly.
“Is it customary to introduce yourself at a masquerade?”
Isn’t the fun of a masquerade to pretend to know or not know each other?
Realizing this, Alisa’s grip on her hand tightened for a moment.
As I smiled and let go, she cleared her throat.
“This is a masquerade hosted by noblewomen and ladies attending the tea party, so most of us know each other.”
“It seems there are more invited men than women. Besides, I don’t think it explicitly stated that only men should extend invitations.”
“That’s true, but since we’ve met, wouldn’t it be better to at least introduce ourselves?”
“As I said earlier, this is a masquerade based on anonymity, so I don’t see the need for introductions, Lady Polisia.”
At my response, Alisa froze, unable to continue speaking, her expression stiffening.
Tilting my head slightly, I noticed Alisa biting her lip as she crossed her arms.
Then, she made a gesture and expression that reminded me of someone.
“You seem to have a severe lack of social skills, especially being surrounded by such handsome gentlemen. Are you stuck in old-fashioned ways?”
“Is being stuck in the old ways a problem? Besides, I don’t need to mention those around me to define myself. Moreover….”
I cut off Alisa’s voice as she tried to continue and calmly added,
“Does the modern way require you to drag men around like accessories to express yourself and prove you’re sociable?”
After mimicking Alisa’s crossed arms and gesture, I lifted the corners of my mouth.
All of this was reminiscent of Bellieta’s behaviors and habits.
I’ve probably seen that look much more than you have.
I stepped a little closer to Alisa, who appeared rigid, perhaps genuinely surprised.
“I don’t see myself as an insecure or incapable woman.”
“That’s….”
“So, I guess you see yourself that way? A woman who can’t gain recognition on her own. Is that it?”
As I raised an eyebrow and let out a slow laugh, I noticed Alisa’s pupils flicker.
She seemed angry, clenching her fists before turning away.
I watched her retreating back, clicking my tongue.
“Looks like a rabbit thinks it can be king in a tiger’s den.”
Did she really think she was on the same level as Bellieta?
To even try and talk to me, she’d have to be at Bellieta’s level or above.
Someone like her wasn’t worth my time.
“Aren’t you being a bit harsh?”
“I was harsh yesterday.”
I let out a small chuckle, and Kestian shrugged.
As our conversation continued, the music changed.
Those dancing in the hall stepped down, and new people took their place.
As I watched them for a while, I felt a hand approach from behind.
Turning my waist, I saw Aden looking at me.
Not only did his hand reach for me, but he even bowed at the waist.
“Beautiful….”
Aden bit his lip shyly, seeming to hesitate in his words, but then he seemed to make up his mind and continued.
“Would you honor me with a dance, my lady in the beautiful mask?”
I was caught off guard by his unexpected request, standing stiffly as I noticed Kestian behind Aden nodding.
Narrowing my eyes, I saw Kestian smiling and shrugging.
This was so out of the blue.
A dance, just like that?
But…
“I’d be honored.”
It wasn’t so bad.
As I placed my hand on Aden’s palm, his golden eyes shimmered.
Aden slowly smiled and took my hand, leading me toward the center of the room.
Pushed into a corner, Alisa bit her nails with a twisted expression on her face.
Her pride, which had never been crushed by anyone, was completely stomped on just moments ago by an unknown woman.
The eyes looking down at her, peeking out from behind the mask, glowed a faint red in the bright light.
The sharp gaze gave off an air of untouchability.
It reminded me of Princess Bozbourne and felt heavy.
As Alisa sorted out her thoughts, she couldn’t help but smirk.
What nonsense.
That she resembled Princess Bozbourne? Impossible.
Even the proud daughter of the Pallieva family couldn’t say a word in front of her now.
Alisa was confident that all the ladies from influential families were beneath her.
She believed that apart from Bozbourne, no one could stand above the name Polisia.
So, there was no way the woman dancing with that tall man over there could be above her.
With a biting sound, Alisa sunk her nails into her skin, her eyes darting around.
For a moment, her fiancé seemed inferior to her, someone she once thought would always be by her side.
‘A woman who can’t get recognized on her own.’
Alisa narrowed her eyes at the echo of those words in her mind.
Frowning at the haunting voice that seemed to mock her, she stood up.
“Let’s go.”
“Where to?”
Her fiancé, Gred, looked puzzled as he poured his drink.
Alisa glared at him, who was bothering her more than usual today.
Gred noticed that Alisa was in a bad mood but said nothing as he got up.
Alisa slowly approached the two people dancing in the center of the ballroom, positioning herself around them.
Gred frowned, unable to understand why Alisa suddenly started dancing.
What the hell is going on?
He thought his sensitive and picky fiancé was being particularly difficult today.
However, he didn’t want to upset her, so he matched his steps with hers without protest.
As the music played and they danced, their positions shifted.
Gred tried to lead Alisa with the steps he knew.
But despite his efforts, Alisa kept moving closer to Sierra.
“Alisa?”
Her movements were reckless, not resembling a dance at all.
Gred’s attempts to lead her fell flat as Alisa focused solely on one thing—Sierra.
Her eyes narrowed like she was hunting her prey.
* * *
“Who do you think suggested the dance?”
Aden looked down at me with a puzzled expression at my abrupt question.
Seeing the look on his face, I quietly smiled, and his gaze shifted away.
Swallowing a laugh that was bubbling up, I kept a bold expression.
“Did you suddenly feel like dancing? Or did you have this planned all along? Or maybe….”
I locked eyes with him again, raising my lips into a teasing smile.
“Did someone push you into it?”
“I just….”
“You’re not going to ask me to believe you just wanted to dance, are you?”
His mouth opened to speak but then closed, and his voice trailed off.
A chuckle escaped me before I could swallow it, making Aden look away shyly.
Even so, his grip on my hand was firm and gentle.
His hands, which had only ever held a sword, were calloused and rough.
While his coarse touch didn’t feel great compared to soft, supple hands, it strangely created an anticipation within me.
“Watch out.”
In a moment where we almost collided with someone while trying to navigate through the crowd, Aden pulled me closer with his arm.
I could see him checking behind us to avoid bumping into others.
My hand, wrapped in Aden’s, felt warm and firm.
I quietly watched our hands before calmly speaking up.
“It doesn’t matter to me either way.”
Aden’s gaze shifted back to me.
Looking into his eyes, I smiled softly.
“Whether someone pushed you or if you came forward on your own, it’s not important.”
When did I start feeling at ease next to this man?
It had always been difficult for me to lean on someone after being taught to stand alone.
After my mother collapsed, my father had always been by my side.
Naturally, my father’s absence left a void that I always had to fill.
At an age when I should have relied on my parents, I had to make all the decisions myself.
That was the burden a person born in Brilloxen had to bear.
“It feels like a lot of time has passed, but it hasn’t even been a year yet.”
Time didn’t matter when it came to meeting someone.
Even after knowing Bellieta for decades, I still found her personality hard to fully grasp, so how could time be significant?
“We met just before summer started, so it’s been about half a year now, right?”
Aden nodded in silence.
As the music flowed on in a simple major key, he led me smoothly through the dance floor.
