Chapter 20
Sis was shocked by the way he was casually using the word sex in such an official setting and tried to cover his mouth. She didn’t have time to pay attention to the eyes of those around him due to the embarrassment that came over her for a moment. Of course, after seeing the corners of his lips curl up gently, she realized it was a mischievous joke and quickly put her hands down.
“Why do you keep joking around these days?”
“When have I ever joked? I’m always serious.”
He chuckled softly in her ear. Sis, who had been grumbling, suddenly felt the hairs on her head stand on end and rolled her eyes.
Now that she looked, the eyes of those who had been targeting Alexis like prey were now turned to her. Well, they must have been quite close, with their arms linked and constantly talking. The searching gazes that could not be hidden by the mask were like thorns stuck in the back of Sis’s throat, and she swallowed her saliva.
“Have you ever been to a ball?”
Alexis took in all of Sis’s busy looking gaze around the ballroom like a sunflower. Her observation, closer to caution than curiosity, seemed to hint at her cautious nature.
“No. This is my first time.”
“Then I guess you’ve never danced before.”
Sis nodded. Alexis, who had been quietly looking down at her, suddenly grabbed her hand and led her somewhere. Sis was unable to say anything at the unexpected action and had to be dragged away by him.
The door made of transparent glass opened and they were standing on the balcony. It was not too cold even though it was evening, which reminded them of a sunny day.
“It’ll start soon.”
“What?”
Alexis pulled her waist closer to him, as if in a preparatory pose before dancing without answering, and supported her with one hand in a natural, flowing motion.
The two stood facing each other in an elegant pose that seemed ready to dance. With perfect timing, slow-tempo music began to
flow from inside the ballroom. Then, Alexis naturally took her hand and led her.
In fact, Sis was so physically ill that it was fortunate that she had never been to a ball when she was her age. She was almost incapable of using her body, and dancing was the worst of all. Knowing that about herself, she couldn’t help but feel flustered when she suddenly had to dance with Alexis.
As Sis’s feet began to wander about the floor, Alexis lifted her waist slightly and placed her shoes on his large feet.
“No! It might have hurt!”
I screamed in surprise, but I couldn’t move hastily for fear that he might get hurt.
Unlike her fidgeting, Alexis continued to dance with beautiful and elegant gestures.
At first, Siss didn’t know what to do, but as time went by, she began to feel more and more excited about moving to the music, and smiled innocently like a child. As her laughter flowed out, the corners of Alexis’ eyes, hidden behind the mask, curved into soft lines.
Sis really likes this atmosphere right now.
The music streaming through the window, the pleasant night breeze, the cheerful sound of shoes tapping to the beat, the beautiful view outside the balcony, and the peaceful and leisurely atmosphere, everything was perfect.
The best of all was, of course, Alexis Vegas, who gave me such a unique experience.
Alexis grabbed her by the waist and spun her around, lifting her into the air. Her neatly coiffed hair swayed in the air.
At that moment, the music that had been playing suddenly stopped. He sat Siss down on the balcony railing.
“I have a question.”
Perhaps because the music had just ended, his low tones sounded like sweet music.
“What is it?”
He carefully lifted Sis’s mask. The green mask fell off, revealing her face as pure as a single flower petal.
“Do you remember telling me that your entire family was dead?”
Sis’s shoulders flinched at the unexpected topic. This was a topic
that came up on their first date when they asked each other about their families. She couldn’t avoid answering the question because his face seemed to be piercing. Sis nodded her head slightly in agreement.
“When was that?”
Sis couldn’t understand why he was bringing up this topic again, so she stared at him quietly. Alexis also faced her without averting his gaze. The lanterns shone on his saturated golden eyes, creating a dizzying effect. He looked somewhat confused.
“It was a long time ago.”
A past that would probably be like history to Alexis, and a past that could be expressed in a lumpy way by Sis.
The two people are walking through the same time, but experiencing completely different times.
“… … A very long time ago.”
I tried to respond calmly, but the tip of my voice trembled terribly.
It was quite a struggle for Sis to recall the times with her family, especially since those memories were so happy. So she obsessively tried not to remember them.
In the past, there were several family portraits in the mansion, but whenever she looked at them, she would think of her family who were now dead and her own miserable situation as she was left alone, and it was hard. So she gave away all the portraits to the servants who had been following her family well and missed them. She thought that it wouldn’t be better to keep them for herself, because it would only cause her to feel sad.
On the day she disposed of the last remaining portrait, Sis had a dream in which her family appeared for the first time in a long time. It was a happy nightmare. In the dream, they were together all along, but when she woke up, they disappeared like a mirage. Then, she would be left alone in this world again.
And now, as he asked about her family, memories of her family that she had suppressed until now came to the surface.
Her mother, father, and younger sister, Sheila, were worried about Sis until the very end. They worried about whether she would be happy in the life they had left behind. Right up until the very end.
“Okay.”
Sis was a little surprised by the simple answer, considering the topic that had been brought up so suddenly, and looked into his face.
The pupils that had clearly looked confused became calm as if they had guessed something and had become certain. It was as if they were looking at the eye of a typhoon. There were still many things around them that had not been resolved, but Alexis, that much, looked calm and composed.
“I’ll go in now. I think I should go and pay my respects to His Majesty.”
Alexis grabbed her hand and helped her down from the railing.
Just a moment ago, she felt as if she was floating on clouds, but in the blink of an eye, she was in shambles, as if she had fallen into a swamp. It wasn’t Alexis’ fault, but her own insides that were torn as she reflected on her own situation.
The nobles who attended a banquet or ball were required to show their faces to the Emperor at least once. Among them, Alexis, as the head of one of the few ducal families in the Empire, should have been the first to see the Emperor.
“Would you like to go together?”
“No, I’ll be waiting.”
Alexis looked down at her, nodded, and moved his feet.
Sis, who had been staring at his back as he walked away, took a moment to calm down and went out onto the balcony after receiving a glass of wine from the attendant.
I was standing in a corner, out of sight of others, sipping my drink when I suddenly heard a noise next to me.
“Who the hell is that guy?”
“I really wish someone would step up and kick that person out. There is a limit to recklessness.”
I couldn’t help but be interested in the young ladies’ displeased voices. It was a situation where the young ladies of noble families, who normally hide their feelings in order to maintain their dignity, were openly gossiping about someone, so I couldn’t help but be interested.
When she turned her head to where their gaze was directed, there was a man wearing a mask and acting shamefully towards a woman. The others seemed not to recognize who he was, but Siss clearly recognized the silhouette.
‘Hossun.’
It was Hasson, whom I had appointed as my agent.
I expected you to be here, but I never thought you would behave so shamelessly.
What on earth is he doing here as the representative of the family in my stead? There must have been a knight following him to watch him. I don’t know where the watchman went. Siss swallowed her anger and quietly approached Hasson.
Hosson was swearing as he looked at the Young-lady’s back, who had run away after looking at me with contempt. He smelled like a foul odor of alcohol as he stood nearby. I couldn’t even guess how much he had drunk.
“Let me look at you for a moment.”
Sis linked arms with Hasson and casually dragged him to the balcony, fearing that he might attract strange looks from others. She pushed the drunken man inside and locked the balcony door to prevent anyone from entering. Then she quickly took off his mask and frowned.
“What on earth are you doing now?”
Hosson was paid a huge sum of money for his fake role as ‘Dalian Millan’ – a sum that he, a commoner, would never touch or hear of in his entire life.
It was truly shocking for Sis to see him, who had a responsibility to faithfully carry out his duties in proportion to the money he received, behave in such a shameful manner in a social circle with so many people.
“No, who is this?”
Hosson, who was so drunk that he couldn’t even stand properly and kept staggering, realized that the person who had led him here was Sis, threw his mask to the floor, and smiled with a frown. It was a laugh that felt strange somehow.
“Is this our pretty master?”
He was grinning and smelled strongly of alcohol. Standing on the same balcony as before, I felt awkward, completely different from when I was with Alexis.
Sis sighed and rubbed her forehead.
“Don’t cause any more trouble here and go back now.”
I wanted to fire him right away, but I suppressed my anger and spoke quietly, not knowing what he might do when he was drunk. If he were to gossip about her to other people, especially Alexis, it could ruin everything we had planned. So the best thing to do now was to get him out of here.
After finishing her words, Sis turned around firmly. She didn’t want to be alone on the balcony with Hosson, and it seemed like it was time for Alexis to come looking for her. She was going to leave this place for now.
