RLPE Chapter 75

“It was a joke, my lady.”

Prince Zeta gave me a soft smile as I blinked in confusion, staring at him blankly.

“Were you that surprised?”

“Ahaha…! N-no, not at all!”

I scratched the back of my neck, feeling awkward. Of course the prince wouldn’t seriously want to dance with me twice in a row—I’d taken his joke way too literally, and now my face was burning.

“You’re really red. Embarrassed?”

Still smiling, the prince stepped back as I gave a hasty bow and retreated. Immediately, a flood of young ladies surged forward to take the spot I vacated.

‘Haa… What even was that?’

Face flushed from the whole ordeal, I made my way toward Armin. Sasha had already stepped away, likely drawn off by his friends.

“Armin.”

“Vivi.”

He wasn’t wearing his usual relaxed expression. Armin was looking at me with a stiff, cold face.

“You seemed to have a lengthy chat with Zeta.”

He saw that? My cheeks flushed even hotter with embarrassment.

“What did you two talk about?”

His tone was unusually curt, but I was too flustered to even notice the shift in his demeanor.

“It was nothing, really.”

If I had noticed, I probably would’ve given him a whole dramatic reenactment of that “nothing.”

I also didn’t notice the way his expression hardened even more at my answer. I was too busy trying to fan the heat out of my face.

“Armin, let’s go dance.”

“…”

He didn’t look like he was in the mood, but still, he stepped forward and took position to waltz with me.

It wasn’t until we started dancing that I realized—something was off about him.

“Armin, is something wrong?”

“What would be wrong?”

“You don’t look happy.”

He didn’t answer. He looked like someone who was irritated, but unsure at whom to direct the frustration.

“Don’t worry about it.”

Only after a while did Armin toss out those few curt words.

Don’t worry about it, he said. That made me feel weirdly hurt, and I ended up whining a little.

“How can I not worry?”

“It’s not because of you, Vivi. Don’t worry. I’ll be fine in a little while.”

“Why are you acting like this? Just tell me.”

They say when communication breaks down between a couple, that’s the start of the end. Even small things matter—we need to talk to understand each other.

I kept pressing, unwilling to let it go, and finally Armin frowned.

“When I ask, it’s ‘nothing,’ but when I say ‘don’t worry about it,’ you react like this?”

“Because mine really was nothing…”

“Is that so? Then I guess it’s not something I need to worry about either.”

His voice was cold. Unlike the gentle atmosphere shared by other dancing couples around us, the tension between Armin and me was stark—this was the first real conflict we’d had since starting our relationship.

I didn’t know how to respond to his words. It felt like there should be a textbook answer for this kind of situation. But afraid that saying the wrong thing would only make things worse, I couldn’t say anything at all.

In that awkward silence, the second song ended.

Without another word, Armin turned and left. He roughly tugged at his cravat as he walked out to the balcony, clearly trying to cool himself down. Watching him disappear like that made my own anger flare.

‘What the hell? Why is he even mad? What did I do wrong?’

Half of me felt wronged, and the other half was just angry at him. My emotions flipped back and forth like some kind of Asuras*. Unable to bear it, I too stepped away from the dance floor.

[*T/N: Beings from Buddhist mythology that are known to be powerful and chaotic and symbolize struggle, conflict, or unrest.]

I glared at the direction of the balcony Armin had gone to… then headed the opposite way. I didn’t want to run into him again while I was still upset.

Tonight was supposed to be perfect. This gown—Madame Dewey’s ambitious new design—was something I matched with Armin, and just wearing it side-by-side would’ve been enough for people to guess the nature of our relationship.

My plan had been simple: help quell the ridiculous rumors about poor Prince Zeta’s birth, then publicly announce my relationship with Armin to everyone present.

But out of all that, only one part had gone according to plan.

The night air outside was crisp. It was a welcome contrast to the warmth and intensity inside the ballroom, where all the people were gathered.

The sky was clear, not a cloud in sight. I could see both stars and the moon shining bright.

‘Come to think of it… it’s been a long time since I just looked up at the night sky like this.’

I made an effort to push thoughts of Armin out of my head. Once I’d cooled down a bit, I figured I could go talk to him again.

That’s when I heard the balcony door open behind me. Sounded like someone had come out without realizing I was here.

“There’s someone here.”

It was meant as a not-so-subtle please leave. But the footsteps kept approaching me.

“What are you doing out here?”

The person who’d entered the balcony was none other than Prince Zeta.

“A better question might be—why are you out here, Your Highness. Shouldn’t you be dancing?”

“I saw you come out for some air. Thought I’d stop by.”

Maybe it was because I’d helped put those rumors about his birth to rest. It was clear the prince held some kind of fondness for me. For him to have noticed me leaving the ballroom in the first place…

“I’ll head back in soon. You go on ahead.”

“The air is pretty chilly. Your dress looks too thin for this weather.”

He took off his outer coat and draped it over my shoulders. It was probably a sincere gesture of kindness, but I gently took it off and handed it back to him.

“Your Highness, excessive kindness like that can easily be misunderstood.”

“Ah.”

Zeta looked flustered as he took the coat back.

“I’ve… never done anything like that for any other lady before.”

“I’m sure all the other young ladies would be thrilled by it.”

“You, though…”

“Yes?”

“You, how do you feel about it?”

Seriously, was something in the water today? From the Empress, to Armin, and now even Prince Zeta—was everyone acting strange except me?

“Well… it was a kind gesture, so of course I appreciate it.”

“Then…”

“But still, people might get the wrong idea.”

Feeling like the mood was getting a bit heavy, I spoke teasingly, a mischievous smile playing on my lips.

“What if the other young ladies misunderstand and think you’re in love with me, Your Highness?”

“Misunderstand…”

“And besides, I already have someone who’ll take off his coat for me instead.”

I thought that was a rather cool thing to say. But as the prince had pointed out, my dress was thin. It wasn’t cold enough to catch a cold just yet, but the sharp contrast between the warm interior and the chilly night air made me start shivering almost immediately.

“At this rate, I am going to catch a cold.”

Not missing a beat, the prince offered his coat again.

“Well, since that person isn’t here right now, at least wear mine for the moment, my lady.”

He said it with such calm insistence that it felt arrogant to refuse again. I gave a small nod and let him drape the coat over my shoulders.

Still, I thought I should return it before heading back inside. I slipped the coat off again and held it out to him.

“It’ll be warm once I’m back inside, so really, you don’t need to give me your coat.”

“Even so—”

“Please, just put it on. You’ll catch a cold yourself, Your Highness.”

Back and forth, like squabbling siblings, we went on about the coat—him trying to give it, me trying to return it. If it had been Sasha instead of me, he would’ve either just worn it without a word or chucked it on the ground. But as a Viscount’s daughter, one of the lowest of the noble ranks, I couldn’t afford to act so brash in this rigid class society.

At last, I managed to push the coat back into his arms. When I opened the door to head back in, I saw that Armin had already returned to the ballroom. He was glancing around—maybe searching for me.

Our eyes met.

And then his gaze moved past me—and locked, unmoving, on Prince Zeta following right behind me.

* * *

“Ugh… my head.”

It felt like my skull was splitting open. I opened my eyes at the sound of Michelle entering the room, and the sunlight pouring in told me it was well past morning.

A sharp headache I’d never experienced before throbbed in my temples. The world was spinning so badly I couldn’t even sit up.

“I never thought I’d live to see the day you would get drunk, my lady… Here, drink this. All of it.”

Michelle shook her head and handed me a cup. I took a sip—sweetness slid down my throat. Honey water.

“What on earth happened? How did you end up drinking like that? You usually can’t even handle a single glass.”

Drinking? Right. I drank a lot last night. Remembering that made my stomach churn again.

“How did I get home last night?”

“You don’t remember?”

I had never blacked out from drinking before. This was a first—not just in this life, but even in my past ones.

“Was I… really weird?”

“You even have to ask?”

Michelle shivered at the memory, and a cold wave of dread swept over me.

“My life is collapsing.”

“My lady? What does ‘collapsing’ mean?”

“It’s… a word for when everything’s completely gone to hell.”

Frustration welled up deep in my gut, and I punched the pillow beside me. It was the only thing I could do to vent the storm brewing inside.

Michelle didn’t look particularly surprised. Her expression just said oh, my lady’s doing something strange again.

“My lady, seriously though—why did you drink so much?”

“Haa…”

A sigh escaped me. The whole situation was maddening, and yet there was no one I could hold responsible for this miserable mess.

But…

Even though I’d blacked out, I couldn’t forget the look on Armin’s face when our eyes met as I stepped off the balcony.

It was a side of Armin I’d never seen before.