His appearance, dressed in a neat white uniform unlike yesterday, was so striking that the word ‘elegant’ seemed insufficient. As I couldn’t take my eyes off him, Ruth casually shrugged his shoulders.
“I don’t want to interrupt the reunion of the siblings, but it’s time for us to enter.”
“……”
At Ruth’s words, Ian firmly closed his mouth and then swiftly passed by Ruth, disappearing outside the waiting room.
Once Ian was gone and it was just the two of us left, Ruth approached and extended his hand.
Though it might have been a meaningless action for him, the moment I saw his extended large hand before me, my heart fluttered.
“Shall we go?”
“……Yes.”
I replied a beat late and took his hand. The warmth felt under the thin gloves was comforting.
***
The banquet hall I entered following Ruth was as dazzling as it was a year ago. No, it was perhaps even more splendid.
As I entered with my arm linked with Ruth’s, all eyes were on us.
“…….”
I bit my lip and ignored the harsh stares. After all, these were gazes I had to get used to while living as the elder sister.
“Are you nervous?”
Ruth quietly asked, noticing my stiff expression.
I glanced at him, who appeared utterly indifferent, and replied.
“Yes. A little.”
“Is this the same fearless lady from yesterday?”
Ruth let out a chuckle but soon put away his smile and added.
“Don’t put on unnecessary airs and behave properly. If you do anything to diminish the Royal Family’s dignity…”
“You don’t need to say it, Your Highness.”
My voice was cool, and my heart felt pricked.
I struggled to keep my smile from falling.
He is not as kind to me as he used to be.
(TL/N: Well of course he isn’t your not the Serbia he loves)
Therefore, I should get used to this new Ruth, but that was easier said than done.
Ruth turned his gaze away as if he was satisfied upon understanding my reply.
Soon, our steps halted at the center of the banquet hall.
As he and I faced each other, a servant brought two rings. The ring, adorned with the finest diamonds, sparkled under the chandelier’s light.
The engagement ceremony consisted of us exchanging rings followed by a reception. It was a simpler ceremony compared to those of other nobility, but the rings alone showed how much Ruth had put into this.
I wonder how Ruth is feeling right now. I stared at Ruth, who was accepting the ring from the servant with a rigid expression.
This wasn’t the engagement ceremony he had wanted. Probably, he had desired a ceremony where he and ‘that child’ would exchange pretty rings and vow their love.
“Your hand.”
“Ah.”
Awakened from my thoughts by his request for my hand, I carefully handed over my left hand.
Ruth then slipped the ring onto my ring finger. Although it was a profoundly sacred act, none of us seemed happy.
“Don’t forget.”
Ruth, looking down at the ring shining on my finger without any visible emotion, opened his mouth.
“This ring is not yours.”
“…Yes.”
At his response, exactly as I had anticipated, I suddenly wanted to cry.
While I was trying to hold back my tears quietly, Ruth, who had put the ring on himself, gave a signal to the waiting orchestra.
“Let’s start the reception now.”
As the orchestra members prepared to play their instruments, Ruth wrapped his arm around my waist.
Startled by his sudden action, I blinked foolishly for a moment, then regained my composure and placed my hand on Ruth’s shoulder.
Unlike the relatively relaxed atmosphere of the masquerade ball, this time, people had to dance following proper etiquette, with the highest-ranking individuals starting first, allowing others to join in the dance thereafter.
Essentially, this meant that Ruth and I had to dance first for others to follow suit.
Dancing… What if I make a mistake?
I had learned from my mother, but I wasn’t skilled enough to perform well in front of so many people. I couldn’t help but be worried.
“Uh, just to let you know in advance, I’m not good at dancing.”
I confessed this nervously while trying to catch Ruth’s gaze as he started stepping casually.
At my confession, he raised an eyebrow quizzically.
“Didn’t you receive etiquette training when you were living as a noble, before living as a commoner?”
To be honest, I didn’t receive it. My father was even reluctant to assign me a tutor because of my secret.
Had I told the truth, it would have surely aroused Ruth’s suspicions.
I simply smiled calmly and shook my head, hoping that the perceptive him wouldn’t notice my lie.
“I did receive it, but it’s my first time dancing in front of so many people.”
“Ah.”
Fortunately, Ruth took my excuse without much suspicion.
“It doesn’t matter. We’re only going to dance this once anyway.”
As soon as he finished speaking, the music began. It was a slow piece, highlighted by the sound of string instruments, which made the dance slow as well.
I stepped slowly in time with the music, looking up at Ruth.
His violet eyes were on me, yet they seemed clouded, as if he were lost in deep thoughts.
“……”
Seeing him like that, I realized. Through me, Ruth was seeing another version of myself.
Our mismatched gazes didn’t align correctly until the music ended and we let go of each other.
***
“Sigh…”
A sigh full of worries leaked through my lips.
After the dance, I escaped to the terrace to avoid the crowd of people coming towards me.
…Foolishly.
Even though I should be getting used to the social circles by now, I still found my unchanged self from a year ago laughable.
If things go well with Ruth, I would need to enter these social circles for the next few months as the emperor’s fiancée, to uphold the condition I had set forth to him, but the thought alone was daunting.
“I can do it… I can do it, Selena.”
I murmured in a voice lacking confidence, leaning against the railing. Then, the flower ring hidden in my bosom rustled, as if trying to make its presence known.
“…”
I was captivated as I took out the flower ring from my bosom and stared at it for a long while.
The thought of showing it to Ruth flashed across my mind like a bolt of lightning, but, just like yesterday, I couldn’t bring myself to act on it. If it became known that my sister had run away, it was clear what would happen to the Obelton family.
Insulting the royal family was a serious crime. Even with Ruth’s help, the ambitious nobles would not easily let go of the Obelton family.
If it came to that, the still unsteadily established Obelton family and the emperor would be mercilessly torn apart by the nobles.
Family was precious, but I didn’t want to become a weakness for Ruth, even if I couldn’t be of help.
“Sigh.”
I took a deep breath in and out, then tucked the flower ring back into my bosom.
Feeling a bit more organized in my thoughts lifted my spirits.
Just as I was about to re-enter the banquet hall, having prepared myself mentally, the garden outside the terrace caught my eye.
That’s right, this was the place where I met him, wasn’t it? Realizing this brought back sudden memories of the man I had met here by chance a year ago.
A man whose name I didn’t know but who carried the scent of cedarwood.
The only thing I knew about him was that he had purple eyes.
Was he, as I had suspected, Ruth? I pondered for a moment, then let out a small laugh and looked away from the garden.
Whether that man was Ruth or not, nothing would change. So, it was a question I didn’t need to wonder about in the first place.
Composing my expression, I returned to the banquet hall and naturally accepted a glass of wine from a servant.
I responded with a smile to the greetings of the nobles and moved to a less crowded spot.
Blending in with the crowd without any issues was still too much for me. I’ll get used to it gradually.
I muttered to myself and took a sip of the wine, rich with the scent of grapes.
The wine tasted bitter at first but ended with a sweet aftertaste. Surprisingly, it was quite good, and I was enjoying it when our eyes met.
Ruth had been watching me, and I was startled by his predatory look, accidentally dropping my wine glass.
Crash. The sharp sound of breaking glass echoed through the banquet hall, drawing everyone’s attention to me.
Feeling their gazes piercing my skin, I hurriedly bent down to pick up the pieces.
It was an unbecoming behavior for a noble, but my mind had gone blank, and I didn’t realize it immediately. I only thought of escaping the situation as soon as possible.
While I was picking up the shards with trembling hands, I felt a sting near my wrist.
“Huh?”
I stopped and looked at the source of the pain.
I wasn’t sure when it happened, but there was a shallow yet deep cut on the inside of my wrist, and a bit of golden blood was oozing out.
“…!”
It felt as though there was a ringing in my ears.
With desperate hands covering my wounds, I hunched my shoulders tightly.
“The outside is too dangerous for you, Seri. People are greedy and selfish.”
I faintly remembered the words my father used to repeat like a habit when I was young.
Greedy and selfish.
“Sigh, sigh.”
The more I pondered my father’s words, the quicker my breathing became. If there was a tunnel somewhere here, I wanted to crawl into it.
Someone, please, take me away from here…
To calm the queasiness in my stomach, I tightly shut my eyes.
Time passed slowly, and at that moment when the sound of music also stopped, a heavy coat fell onto my head with a thud.
I slowly lifted my eyelids, which had been tightly closed, greeted by the familiar scent of cedarwood tickling my nose.
“It seems my fiancée is not in a good state. So, we’ll conclude the reception here.”
Ruth’s familiar voice was heard nearby.
With his decision, the banquet hall became noisy again. There were voices expressing dissatisfaction and others promising a next time.
I felt a sense of relief at the voices that sounded so distant.
“……I survived.”
