【0. Prologue】
“Damn it, here we go again.”
I muttered quietly from behind the fan.
He was walking towards me. With the stinging gazes of all the young ladies in the banquet hall following his every footstep.
Locard Kaidel, eldest son of the Duke of Kaidel. Brilliant appearance, adept in both letter and sword, impeccable background, destructive personality, lacking a conscience, and…….
While I searched for more words to describe him, he came to stand in front of me.
As he was so unnecessarily tall, I didn’t like the fact that I had to raise my chin up to look him in the eyes.
This guy, so full of himself, proud of every strand of his smoothly combed black hair. How passionate were those purple eyes that focused on me.
There is only one word to describe how those glowing eyes are nestled on such a perfect face. Unfair. God is unfair.
Before he could open his mouth, I rolled my eyes and whispered a smile.
“Will you please get lost?”
“Miss Loire…….”
That little shit, look at his wounded face.
I straightened my fan to hide my snorting.
And then, I felt a certain heat emanating from behind him. It was the flames of jealousy in the eyes of the ladies who were pretending not to watch us.
Sigh. That’s it.
This bastard wants to burn me to death with those flames, without getting his own hands dirty.
I knew the inner workings of his dark mind. The reason why he was causing such a scene right now.
My tone was very rude and cold, but he took a step closer with a serious face. It was a gesture saying: so long as it comes from you, I will accept and cherish anything, even emotional pain.
I raised my eyes as if to say, ‘Stop right there!’, but then I met his moist eyes.
Making me an enemy to all the ladies of the empire, with that pitiful face of his.
He might have enchanted the whole empire with that overwhelming expression, but I wasn’t having any of it.
By the way, where the hell can you buy such a gaze? Damn it.
As I lost my focus for a second, he swooped right in.
“Miss Loire. I was going to ask for a dance, but I apologize in advance if I offended you. But if there is any misunderstanding, I want to clear it up. Can I ask for a moment to talk?”
It seemed that he hadn’t heard when I told him to back off.
“What kind of conversation would a person with bad hearing want?”
At this, he opened his chest and answered.
How irritating that glowing self-esteem and confidence was to someone like me – that guy wouldn’t realize that fact even if he died and came back alive again.
“Miss Loire, for what reason will you not give me the chance…….”
I cut him off mid-sentence, whispering ferociously so that only he could hear.
“You think I wouldn’t know your intentions, my ducal prince? You devil!”
Mom, I guess I am a bad kid. When I was young, I thought the village kids were mean, but now that I look at them, I guess they threw stones at me because I was the mean one.
I contemplated what to do next. In this situation, should I just pour him more alcohol to wet his lips, or should I pretend to comply with his request, then take him to the balcony and kick him hard on the shin?
But both outcomes meant trouble. If I dared to openly insult the first emissary of the Empire, Duke Kaidel’s successor, my father, Count Loire, would suffer the consequences. Since the count is lower in rank.
But if we went to the balcony together, I might as well be certifying to the world that I had fallen for that bloke.
Anyone watching us now wouldn’t even remotely believe that a woman who spending time alone with Prince Locard Laidel wouldn’t fall for him.
This rascal knew that all too well. He would laugh while rubbing his chapped shin after being kicked by me.
I glanced at the stinging gazes that fell on me, then spoke lowly and quickly.
“Stop it and go back. You are the victim in the eyes of others right now, isn’t that enough?”
Then he smiled widely and said.
“When it comes to feelings between a man and a woman, they say that the person who feels more loses. So maybe Miss Loire is right.”
“Ah. Yes.”
He must have picked that up from somewhere. How pathetic.
“Even though we serve different people, that does not mean we should not be closer. Miss Loire.…… Would you open your heart if I were to get down on my knees?”
“Oh my.”
I moved closer to him before he could draw more attention. I carefully controlled my movements, feeling that I was being surrounded by his wide arms.
Even when I reached upwards as best I could, I was short of height, so he bent down a little. Only then could I bring my lips right near his earlobes.
A subtle perfume scent mixed with fine musk followed my breath. Did he even have to brag about his wealth with his scent? It sure did smell good.
I whispered quickly.
“Can’t you see that nobody is dancing right now? They’re all watching us! Please, will you stop hitting on me?”
He showed his true colors right away. An evil and playful breath passed my ears.
“Will you dine with me someplace downtown? If you accept, I shall ‘get lost’ right away.”
“In a high-end restaurant, crowded with aristocrats who have nothing better to do even at mid-day?”
“Of course. Etrang sounds good. I shall send a carriage.”
“So, the rumors will spread that I, the princess’s maid of honor, had betrayed the princess and fallen in love with you?”
“That’s the plan. Even if not, it’s nice to have a chance to uncover your fraud.”
“Oh my, such ugly words! Anyone listening would misunderstand. My Prince Kaidel.”
“Please, call me Locard. Cry my name out loud. So everyone can hear. It’s okay to be angry. I like that your vocalizations are always full of emotion.”
“Ho-ho-ho. Please stop talking like a pervert.”
I barely held back the urge to tell him to shut up in front of everyone. Persevere and preserve some more. He was like a walking gauge of my patience.
But Prince Kaidel, instead of hitting back like I thought he would, looked down at me, his face blushing slightly.
No matter how much we are at war, I must have gone too far. My heart sank when I met the gaze with the silent purple eyes.
“Did you just call me a pervert?”
His unspoken feelings were palpable.
But I had a hunch. Especially in times, it was crucial to not be swayed. Because this wasn’t not just my fight.
I tightened my stomach and spoke as calmly as possible.
“Turns out your hearing is fine. Kaidel, my ducal prince.”
After a moment of silence, I could scarcely believe what I heard next.
“Pfft.”
His face was reddened from holding back laughter, then he calmed himself down by looking somewhere in the air.
Then suddenly, he took the back of my hand and kissed it. His lips whispered secretly and tickled the back of my hand like a feather.
“His Highness, the second Imperial Prince, didn’t call me Tagar’s lion cub for nothing. Miss Lorissa Loire. I swear I will break you down.”
I shook the fan finely like a butterfly flapping its wings and smiled heartily with my eyes.
“If you want to try, be my guest.”
