I Stole the Prince's First

Chapter 5

Between coincidence and necessity (2)

“Darn it.”
Because her name was called out so blatantly, she couldn’t pretend not to know and just pass by. Retina held onto the hem of her dress, wearing an embarrassed expression, and slowly turned around.

As Retina turned her gaze back towards the ballroom, the first thing she saw was the terrifyingly angry face of the charging prince. Upon seeing him with dark shadows under his eyes, Retina recalled one fact: ‘Prince Herald Rudenheim, also known as “Pitto” (Crazy for Blood), was notorious for having a nasty temper, often said to be rival of the Deneuve twins’.

Even though Retina was not particularly well-versed in the latest social gossip, however she was aware of that much.
“You, you’ve already noticed?”
Although the prince had the same expression today as he did on that first night they’d spent together, Retina, who had many secrets to hide, was alarmed. That didn’t mean the prince had a good reputation.
‘R, r, run.’
In that brief moment, Retina made a decision. Her feet were already in the process of stepping back, attempting to create distance from the prince with trembling legs.

“Whoa!”

In an attempt to gracefully step back, she accidentally tripped over her own dress and stumbled backward.

‘I’m falling!’

Fearing a broken tailbone at the very least or perhaps a concussion, Retina tightly shut her eyes. But then again, she wore a wig, so maybe she wouldn’t get a concussion? In the midst of her pondering, a strong force wrapped around her waist and abruptly pulled her away. She collided with something firm.

“That was close.”

Slowly lifting her eyelids, Retina gazed through narrowed eyes at the blazing sun.

‘I’m in trouble.’

It wasn’t a wall she had collided with, but rather his chest. His arms around her waist still held her tightly.
Retina briefly opened her eyes and then shut them again. She wanted to pretend to faint. Is all of this really happening? Isn’t this just a dream?

With her posture still sprawled backward over him, Retina clung to denial with all her might. Even with her eyes closed, she could feel the concentrated gazes on her. They were the eyes of those trying to figure out who was the troublemaker  that had created this embarrassing situation with the prince.

‘Wow, they’re ruthless.’

While it might seem ridiculous that she’d rather pretend she had fallen on her own, she didn’t want to become an enemy of all these nobles. She couldn’t stay in the prince’s arms forever, so Retina decided it was time to release herself.

“Somewhere feels familiar…”

At that moment, as the prince’s hand gripping Retina’s waist began to move, he muttered. His fingers explored the corset, and her spine stiffened. Pervert! Finally regaining her composure, Retina slowly but firmly separated herself from the prince.

“Reti! Are you okay?”

“Uh, yeah…”

The Deneuve twins approached Retina cautiously as she distanced herself from the prince. It seemed like they were concerned about her almost taking a big fall.

“I was afraid you were going to pass away from shame, being in Herald’s arms like that,”

“Maybe collapsing from a concussion would have been better than tripping over your own dress and ending up in the prince’s arms with a ridiculous pose.”

‘Please, just be quiet!’
Their concern escalated to another level. Retina couldn’t bring herself to look up further because of her brothers’ unnecessary remarks. And her brothers were also known as ‘Eunto (subtly crazy lunatic)’ and ‘Geunto (muscle-obsessed lunatic)’ who hung out with the ‘Pitto’ Prince.

‘I understand why the three of you stick together.’

Resignation painted Retina’s face. The attention that had already been drawn to her showed no signs of dissipating. Her plan to quietly attend the debutante ball had crumbled, or rather, it had fallen apart long before the social season even began.
She looked at the three men weakly. Just looking at their faces, they were considered the best in the empire in various fields. For example, they were ranked first in terms of personality within the empire, or the number of time they swapped dance partners at the ball…

‘Why are they staring at them like that? You see them every day, but are my brothers’ faces that handsome?’

‘Yes, I thought they were a little soft because they were my older brothers, but they are Euntto and Geuntto. No different from Pito’
With tears in her eyes, Retina once again reminded herself not to let these lunatics know about that day.

* * *

Translator: Stardust. Read on moonlight novels only

For some reason, her older brothers, who usually did not listen to their father, held her by their side, repeating their father’s orders when Retina tried to run away.

“Beautiful lady. I can’t distinguish whether the adornment in your hair is a flower or if it’s your beauty that’s the flower. I’d like to take a closer look to see which one is the real flower… Would tonight be all right?”

“Oh my, Lord Haint, what should I do if you make such jokes?”

“What if it’s not a joke? It’s a shame to only catch a whiff of a beautiful flower and pass by without a closer look.”

Haint swept away a strand of the lady’s hair with his hand and then smelled the fragrance. The lady blushed on both cheeks due to Haint’s blatant actions and covered her mouth.

‘It seems like he’s just writing a novel,’ Retina thought.

She watched with an amused expression as the lady reacted coyly to Haint’s advances.
This was the fifth time a similar remark had been made.

“Sister, don’t trust that man too much,” Retina thought as she clenched her fist while watching the lady react to Haint’s advances with a shy face. She tried to signal to the lady with her eyes that Haint was not to be trusted, but the lady, who was already captured by his charm, seemed oblivious.

‘How much longer do I have to witness this?’ Retina wondered, shifting her gaze to the opposite side of the room.

“Lord Sat will inherit the marquis title if he gets married! How splendid will Lord Sat be as a Marquis?”

“Haha, Father wants to hand over the title quickly, but I’ve asked him to delay until I find the lady I want to marry. I still have a long way to go to be compared to Marquis Deneuve, there’s much I lack.”

“You’re being humble…? Graduating as the top student from the Eveline Academy and becoming the youngest Chief Secretary of the Imperial Court, you’re far from lacking! You’re already more than enough to be a Marquis!”

“Do you really think so? Haha, I’m not sure how to handle all this praise.” It seems similar on that side as well. Retina observed Sat, who was receiving praise and pretending not to know how to respond, and furrowed her brow.

That person in a fox’s disguise is so cunning. Sat, her older brother who seemed like an innocent lamb, had already completed all the preparations to receive the marquis title. He had yet to hold the inauguration ceremony simply because he wanted to enjoy his freedom a little longer, but it didn’t mean he wasn’t ready for it. Imperial law dictated that heirs who didn’t marry couldn’t receive their titles unless there were extraordinary circumstances. Therefore, most nobles celebrated their coming of age and soon after held their marriage ceremonies.

The so-called upper class of this empire, the imperial family, and the nobility, gathered and interacted with each other. It is pretended to be a social gathering, but in reality it is a breeding ground for inter-family marriages.

In the social circles where people explored each other to find a better husband or a wiser and more beautiful wife, wearing masks and impersonating false personalities was a common practice.

“Oh, how boring,” Retina thought to herself.

For Retina, who had no interest in the marriage market, such social gatherings were incredibly dull. She unfolded her fan, covering her face with it, and stifled a yawn behind it.

Today, as usual, the three handsome gentlemen of society were busy charming the ladies. Retina wondered why they didn’t just let her be and interact with each other, instead of keeping her around like a keychain.

She wiped away the tears that had come with the yawn, pursed her lips, and took a big bite of her cupcake.

“Oh, this is delicious,” she realized, her eyes widening with newfound energy, which had been lacking just moments ago.
Retina, who had finished the cupcake in one go, now reached for a chocolate cake. Although Retina had been told not to eat too much dessert because of her dress, how could she resist such delicious treats?

“Sailor’s desserts are delicious,” she thought.

In the dull party setting, Retina found a little joy in savoring the chocolate cake. It was soft and fluffy, with a rich chocolate mousse flavor that spread in her mouth. It was different from the chocolate cake served at the Duke’s party, just the right level of sweetness so she didn’t need to drink tea separately. While enjoying her dessert, a handkerchief was suddenly offered to Retina.

“It’s your nose.”

“What?”

The handkerchief was made of high-quality fabric, with a golden border and intricate patterns embroidered on it. Slowly raising her eyes along with the hand to the top, Retina met the gaze of someone with red eyes fixed on her.

“Your nose, there’s cream on it.”

“Ah!”

Retina jumped in surprise as she took the handkerchief and wiped her nose. It seemed there was cream on her nose from when she had the cupcake earlier.

“T-Thank you. I’ll wash the handkerchief…”

“Throw it away.”

“Oh, alright.”

With a firm refusal, Retina hesitated, folding the handkerchief. Even though she had seen plenty of luxury items at the Duke’s mansion, She still thought it was a waste to use such a beautiful handkerchief.

Maybe I could use it myself? She contemplated, touching the handkerchief stained with cream.

‘It feels really awkward.’

Retina glanced at the prince standing next to her. He didn’t seem to have any other business here, so why was he lingering?

Feeling the awkwardness, she straightened her posture and her hand reached up to her knee.

‘I wish he’d leave.’

Despite the somewhat uncomfortable situation, they found themselves in, Retina couldn’t help but feel a tinge of delight at being alone with the prince. However, even though she had been attracting the attention of the prince earlier, not a single one of those young ladies who were so keen on approaching him was in sight now.

Feeling trapped in a situation that could make her look like the culprit if she ran away with an uncomfortable expression, Retina remained where she was. She thought that she should say something, after all, as she was in the presence of the prince, but what?

“Um, Your Highness.”

“Lady Cecilia.”
Deciding to speak about anything just to break the silence, Retina addressed the prince, and at the same moment, Heralde called out to her. The two pairs of eyes, which had been gazing in different directions, met each other.

 

Translator: Stardust. Read on moonlight novels only