A few hours before the start of the commemorative ball, Diana, who had heard the full story of the incident from Kayden as promised, looked at him with worried eyes.
“Are you sure you’re okay? You’re not feeling shaky or cold, are you?”
Even though Kayden reassured her several times that he was fine, Diana kept circling around him, checking him over. She frowned slightly when he wasn’t looking.
The treatment seemed to have gone well. Could it be a type of poison that has aftereffects…?
It was a half day earlier.
“The third prince has disappeared.”
When Diana heard that Kayden had gone missing, she escaped the crowd with the help of Fleur and Elliott and immediately sought out Belladova and Mizel.
“Bring the mask. And just in case, have a healer on standby.”
After ensuring everything was ready, Diana summoned Yuro.
“This is the fastest way.”
Even if Mizel started searching for Kayden, gathering people and initiating a search would take a considerable amount of time. It was faster for Diana to find Kayden herself while avoiding the eyes of others. She was quite familiar with Kayden’s mana, having calmed his seizures multiple times, and she had the ability to sensitively detect the magical energy of others.
Diana gathered all her mana and released Hillasa throughout the imperial palace, then concealed herself with Muf’s barrier before riding Yuro to search every corner of the imperial palace.
Starting from Kayden’s room in the Third Prince’s palace, where he first disappeared, she followed the faint traces of his mana that led beyond the garden into the forest. As soon as she arrived, she realized that the trail had abruptly ended.
“Kayden! Where are you!”
Diana searched the large forest desperately. Her fingers trembled, and her heart pounded with anxiety. Whenever Kayden disappeared without a word to anyone, it was always because something was wrong. She felt guilty for temporarily withdrawing Hillasa from Kayden to recharge her mana, thinking his seizures had stabilized recently.
“Kayden…”
However, as time passed without any leads, Carlotta’s faint cry reached her ears like a miracle.
“…me! Is anyone out there…! There’s someone…!”
Recognizing Carlotta’s voice, Diana jumped off Yuro and ran frantically. Without hesitation, she drew blood from her arm to use Yuro’s power and struck the ground where Carlotta’s voice was coming from with the heel of her shoe. She didn’t even have time to consider that her own body would also sink into the ground.
With a loud crash, the ground gave way, and she fell into a dark, expansive space, mixing with a small scream. Thanks to Yuro’s power, Diana landed without injury and immediately got up to look for Kayden. Her heart sank when she saw his contorted body stiffened in a pool of blood.
“…Kayden.”
She whispered his name softly, almost inaudibly. For a moment, she stood there frozen, unable to act or speak, until she realized his gaze was on her. Only then could she move.
Diana knelt beside him, reaching out her hand. Her gloved fingers trembled visibly. She placed her hand on his shoulder, breathing a sigh of relief as she felt his body still warm. Confirming he was alive, she could finally breathe properly. Meanwhile, Kayden, his face contorted in pain, blinked a few times before passing out.
After Kayden lost consciousness, Diana tied up Carlotta with the rope she had brought and rushed Kayden to the healer Mizel had arranged. The healer, an intermediate light elementalist, easily detoxified the poison in Kayden’s body. Not stopping there, Diana used a precious potion produced in the Kingdom of Arlas—so valuable that even the emperor wouldn’t use it unless it was a life-or-death situation—to heal his external wounds. It was money saved to bring down Rebecca and support Kayden, so she didn’t hesitate.
After treating him, Diana placed him in the garden of the Third Prince’s palace and pretended she had found him there by chance.
“What are you doing here? The parade is about to start…!”
Yet, Diana maintained a calm facade even when Kayden brought up the story about the owl mask.
Despite the current situation making it unlikely for Rebecca to surpass Kayden for the throne, Diana Bluebell had to appear completely unconnected to D. Obscure, just in case. Of course, her concern for Kayden was genuine.
Diana, with a worried face, grabbed Kayden’s shoulders and sat him down on the sofa. She perched beside him, speaking. “After going through such an ordeal, shouldn’t you rest after just making a brief appearance at the commemorative ball? Going out for the entire festival seems…”
“No, I’m really fine now. Look, all my wounds are healed.” Kayden hurriedly rolled up his sleeve to show his condition. This might be the first and last founding festival we can spend together.
Despite the attack, Kayden knew he would have to postpone his plan to confess his feelings to Diana. She was already so worried about him that she couldn’t possibly understand his feelings right now.
But apart from that, this Founding Festival might be the first and last they could spend together. If things went well and they didn’t divorce, there would be more opportunities, but if she didn’t accept his feelings… The mere thought made him dizzy.
Kayden shuddered and shook his head. Suppressing his anxiety, he tried to persuade Diana. “I’m really fine.”
“You look paler than usual.”
“That’s because… this is my first time standing before so many people. I was a bit nervous.”
“What? In that case, you should just dance the first dance and then return to your room to rest…”
Diana was startled and tried to break the promise immediately. Feeling desperate, Kayden leaned forward and rested his head on her lap.
“…Kayden?” Diana stiffened in surprise. She looked down at him, her voice trembling slightly.
Kayden, resting his head on her lap, turned his face to look up at her, his eyes glistening as if he might cry at any moment.
“If I rest like this until the ball, I think I’ll feel better…”
“…”
“Please, Diana.”
Kayden spoke with a pleading voice, gently wrapping his arms around her waist and snuggling into her. Diana shuddered at the ticklish sensation but ended up laughing at the sight of Kayden acting like a puppy seeking its owner’s comfort.
With a stern face, she patted his hair. “If you still look pale before the ball, you’ll dance the first dance and then quietly return to your room, understood?”
“What? I’m really fine.”
“Then why are you lying here? You should get up…”
“No, I feel like I’m getting sick again. I’ll stay like this until the ball.”
“I didn’t know you could control your illness so freely.”
“So, you don’t like it?”
“Hmm…”
“…Why are you hesitating? Your hesitation makes me anxious.”
They continued to bicker lightly, exchanging trivial conversations until the ball began. It was a brief moment of peace.
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