20. The Gazes of Two Men

The woman in the green dress who descended with Claucet vanished quickly, making it impossible to examine her closely.

Although she wore a similar eye mask to Claucet, covering half of her face, it was difficult to identify her due to such a brief glimpse.

Klaus, who had approached Claucet, looking in the direction where the woman disappeared, asked her, “Who was the woman you were with earlier?”

“Oh! You startled me!”

Startled by Klaus’s sudden voice, Claucet, with a genuinely surprised expression, looked at Klaus, clutching her chest.

However, quickly returning to her usual nonchalant expression, Claucet casually replied, “She’s a friend of mine.”

“Which noble family does she belong to?”

Unaware of whether Claucet was caught off guard by such probing, she expressed her irritation for a moment.

“Since when have you cared about the background of my friends? Or the friends I have in the first place? Why do you suddenly ask me now?”

Despite Claucet’s sharp response, Klaus, familiar with her temperament, simply tilted his champagne glass in the woman’s disappearing direction without any further comment.

 

The crowd in the venue suddenly began to stir, looking towards the entrance.

The gatekeeper, who had been momentarily flustered and failed to perform his role properly, belatedly announced the arrival of the guests.

“His Highness Esteban Vandelroth de Lugbelzet, the Prince of Lugbelzet, and Her Highness Eveline de Lugbelzet, Princess of Lugbelzet, have arrived!”

Both Klaus and Claucet’s gaze turned simultaneously towards the door.

There, in an elegant pose, Crown Princess Eveline arrived and Crown Prince Esteban entered with a disgruntled expression, his fists clenched.

Both the Crown Prince and Princess wore golden eye masks.

Considering that it was the fashion trend originally set by the Crown Princess, it was not particularly surprising.

As the Crown Prince and Princess, wearing their ornate eye masks, stepped into the venue, the crowd naturally made way, creating a path towards Claucet and Klaus, the protagonists of this event.

Approaching and standing in front of them, when the Crown Prince and Princess bowed slightly, Klaus stiffened his face and respectfully lowered his head.

“I greet the Prince of Lugbelzet. We apologize for the inconvenience that may have been caused.”

Responding to Klaus’s formal greeting, Eveline smiled gracefully and replied, “Claucet is like a younger sibling to me. There was no inconvenience at all.”

After saying that, the Princess glanced at the Prince, who reciprocated with a brief dismissing look.

It was a signal given to the Prince for a courteous greeting.

However, Prince Esteban’s gaze seemed to be fixated somewhere, completely ignoring the etiquette required.

Uncomfortably observing Esteban’s intense scrutiny while standing beside his sister, Klaus absentmindedly turned his head in the same direction.

The woman dressed in green he had been pondering about earlier stood there.

And at the moment their eyes met, Klaus was suddenly struck with a familiar feeling. It was as if he had met her before.

It was undoubtedly the woman he encountered in the tavern. But how could she be here?

Just as Klaus was beginning to contemplate this question, Esteban started walking towards the woman in green, seemingly captivated.

Roselia was bewildered by the approaching Prince’s actions. As he moved, the crowd naturally parted to make way for him.

Due to this, everyone’s attention was drawn towards Roselia at the end of the path Esteban was following.

While Roselia unconsciously took a step back, everyone’s gaze focused on her, creating an uncomfortable scene for Roselia.

Caught off guard, Roselia’s eyes met Klaus’s, who was looking at her with a predatory stare. In shock, she instinctively averted her gaze toward the direction of Prince Esteban.

As the Prince approached her, smiling warmly, Roselia’s eyes widened in surprise.

“We surprisingly meet here.”

Her eyes slightly squinted. Could it be… Did he actually recognize her?

She had only seen him once before, and besides, she was wearing a mask and a gown…

Unable to respond promptly, Roselia’s gaze accidentally met Klaus’s. His intense raptorial stare made her flinch, and she had to look away towards Prince Esteban.

The Prince, now standing next to her, grinned and lowered his head playfully.

“It’s a small world,isn’t it?”

Roselia’s eyes widened in disbelief.

 

Finding herself vaguely unresponsive, Roselia tried to maintain composure and replied firmly, “I believe you may have mistaken me to be someone else…”

In response to Roselia’s words, Prince Esteban raised his head with a smirk.

“Mistaken? I beg to differ.”

While they were engaged in this unexpected confrontation, the surroundings became increasingly restless.

“Goodness, is the Prince showing interest in another lady right now? That too, in front of the Princess?”

“Who is that lady? I can’t tell who she is because she’s wearing a mask.”

“To act so boldly in front of His Highness, the Crown Prince… Her conduct is quite presumptuous. The Crown Prince’s dignity is at stake.”

The expressions of the nobles were filled with murmurs and whispers, causing Prince Esteban and Klaus to wear stern expressions.

Claucet, standing next to Klaus, also wore a very interested expression, particularly looking at Klaus exhibiting a rather disdainful expression.

Klaus, for some reason, twisted his brow with a sense of discomfort.

It seems that the carefree actions of the Crown Prince, especially in front of the Princess, had irked him.

Klaus tried to convince himself that the discomfort he felt was because of this, glancing at Prince Esteban and the woman he had seen in the tavern.

Whether intentionally or not, the most unpleasant expression ever seen was on Klaus’s face.

 

 

Meanwhile, whether Prince Esteban recognized her or not, he maintained a composed expression while gazing at Roselia.

Roselia felt awkward and rolled her eyes in response to the restlessness among the nobles.

Unable to ignore the Prince and attracting the collective gaze of the nobles, she couldn’t discreetly escape.

At that moment, seemingly amused by Roselia’s awkward situation, Prince Esteban opened his mouth.

“Alright, let’s set aside your true identity for now. If you cooperate with me for a moment, I promise to let you off easily.”

Caught off guard by the unexpected proposal, Roselia looked up at him with a nonplussed expression.

“Whether you decide to ignore me or not, all you need to do is join me for the first dance at this ball.”

With a smile, the Crown Prince glanced momentarily toward the Crown Princess.

Only then did Roselia notice the sly intentions of Prince Esteban.

He seemed to be intentionally causing trouble for the Crown Princess by choosing another woman to dance with, creating an uncomfortable situation for her.

Feeling trapped and unable to discreetly leave, Roselia glanced at Klaus, who was watching her with an uncomfortable gaze.

 

 

Roselia was just unlucky to catch Esteban’s attention, that’s all.

There truly was no shortage of typical regrettable men.

How much would he regret and lament in front of the female protagonist later? How much would he need to plead?

As Roselia was about to express her discomfort and refuse, her gaze unintentionally met Klaus, who was approaching them with a determined look.

Startled, she found herself instinctively grabbing the hand extended towards her by Prince Esteban.

“You’ve made a good choice.”

The mischievous smile on the Crown Prince’s face persisted as he took Roselia’s hand and walked into the center of the ballroom.

Due to this, Klaus, who was approaching Roselia belatedly, had no choice but to gaze at the Crown Prince and Roselia walking away like a dog chasing a chicken, looking up at the roof in disbelief.

Roselia, feeling tense as the Crown Prince Esteban’s hand naturally wrapped around her waist, tried to maintain composure and casually responded.

“How impertinent.”

At her curt words, the Crown Prince’s gaze curiously landed on her.

“Seems like you’re deliberately trying to make things difficult for the Crown Princess.”

Roselia’s words made Prince Esteban smirk.

“You’re quite perceptive.”

Having said that, Prince Esteban pulled her waist tightly and chuckled.

“But you see, I’m perceptive too.”

As their eyes met for a moment, Roselia involuntarily swallowed down her saliva.

“What are you even talking about…”

Although she tried to act nonchalant, Prince Esteban, effortlessly, was extremely relaxed as if he could see through her.

Suddenly, as Prince Esteban held Roselia’s waist, one of his hands slipped naturally and gripped her wrist.

Just like on the day when he grabbed her wrist at the royal palace.

“As I thought, the wrist seems excessively slender.”

Having said so, Prince Esteban grinned meaningfully and made eye contact with Roselia again.

Roselia quickly pulled her wrist out of his hand with a sharp motion.

Unfazed, the Crown Prince, seemingly oblivious to her attitude, simply took her hand again to lead the dance.

The leisurely glance of the Crown Prince, leading her, briefly shifted towards Klaus.

Amidst numerous noble couples dancing in the central ballroom, Klaus, with a cold expression, was looking at Roselia and the Crown Prince as if he were about to devour them.

Finding the situation amusing, the Crown Prince spoke.

“Duke Valtezar still seems unaware, doesn’t he?”

As Roselia didn’t respond, Esteban, interpreting it as an affirmation, looked at her with renewed interest.

“Seems like we’ve unintentionally shared a secret, haven’t we?”

Roselia, bewildered by Esteban’s suggestive words, glanced at him with disbelief.

“I don’t know anything about Your Highness’s secrets.”

“Aren’t you aware of the conflict between me and the Crown Princess? That’s a secret significant enough to affect the safety of the royal family.”

Roselia sighed as if she couldn’t believe it.

“Seems like everyone already knew the moment we started dancing,” Roselia said.

In response to Roselia’s words, Esteban smirked.

“No, this isn’t enough.”

With those words, the Prince suddenly pulled her waist closer, leaning in as if their lips were about to meet.

Although their lips didn’t touch, the positioning and posture could easily be misunderstood by the onlookers as if they had just kissed.

With a vexatious smile, Esteban continued teasingly, “Now, this should be enough for everyone to notice.”

While Roselia was left speechless, the surroundings began to buzz with disorderly noise.

“Did you just see that?”

“Oh my, what is this?!”

All eyes turned not-so-subtly from the Crown Prince to the Crown Princess, who stood stiffly, seemingly unaffected.

Eveline maintained a stiff expression, standing tall as if impervious to any turmoil, and Roselia couldn’t help but feel guilty under her unyielding presence.

Meanwhile, the Crown Prince engaged in a battle of stares full of sparks with the Crown Princess, who had an air of authority.

No, damn it, if they want to have a lovers’ quarrel, they should do it among themselves! Why should they drag me into this?

Suppressing the urge to stick two fingers into those arrogantly confident golden eyes, Roselia kept her composure.

However, at that moment, her gaze met with Klaus, who was also glaring at her as if he wanted to devour her.

Why is that guy glaring at me like that again? Whether it’s because of the scene with the Crown Prince or because I drove a stake into the heart of his beloved Crown Princess, his eyes were burning with too many indescribable emotions.

Feeling unjustly treated, Roselia glared back at the Crown Prince, who nonchalantly shrugged.

“I’ll make sure not to forget about this debt, Antonio.”

Growling as if speaking to herself while glancing around cautiously, Roselia replied, “I’m Roselia for now.”

“Hmm, that name isn’t bad either. Sure, Roselia. But…”

As Esteban paused for a moment, he chuckled and looked beyond Roselia.

“It seems the Duke has something to say to you.”

Upon the Prince’s words, Roselia turned her head in confusion just as Klaus, who looked like an enraged bull, approached through the crowd, heading straight for her.

TL/N: All the past chapters of the novel are completely edited. Im sorry for the inconvenience, although I had an editor for this novel and it was a paid position… and you guys know the results. I’m not fluent in English I use various methods to tl my novels so I needed someone to edit. I’m really sorry about this. I will be careful in the future. And thank you guys for dismissing my mistake