When Leonard left, Hikan looked as if he had removed a nuisance.
“Shit, if only he’s not the Crown Prince.”
Dalia looked around and covered Hikan’s mouth in surprise. Fortunately, no one heard it.
“I can even say that in front of His Majesty the Emperor.”
“……But still.”
Dalia said to Hikan.
“Brother, I have make a promise for the next dance.”
“……A promise?”
“With Adrisha.”
Hikan’s puzzled face immediately turned into a look of distrust.
“Did Adrisha Beniter suggest it first?”
‘Why do you always call her by full name?’
She honestly thought about it, but didn’t show it. She just nodded her head.
“……”
“I can’t?”
“……No, it’s not that you can’t.”
“Then why……?”
“If you go with Adrisha, then I’ll have to be with him again until you come back.”
Hikan really didn’t want to be with Leonard for another minute.
Well, it was even more strange if he and Leonard were close. Even if they barely get close, one of them cannot stand it and will definitely fall apart.
“……No. All right, go ahead. Come as soon as the dance is over.”
Hikan sighed and gestured for her to go.
If a person like that comes again, anyone will feel weak. Dalia thought while racking her brain.
“Then shall we stay away for a while? Until the Crown Prince returns?”
“But……”
“It’s okay. I have a lot of friends.”
Dalia smiled.
She thought that she had to slip away once anyway.
Hikan is a Duke, so he would have to talk about business with people, but to do so, Dalia couldn’t stay next to him.
In this world, a 16-year-old transcendent is treated more like an adult, but Dalia is younger than him and has nothing.
However, Hikan seemed to be reluctant to leave her alone. Since she’s still young.
Dalia pushed him on the back, saying that she was okay.
“Go ahead. I’ll go to the balcony and get some fresh air until the second dance is over.”
“……Okay. When you split up with Adrisha, come to me right away.”
For some reason, it seems like Hikan thought that she and Adrisha would escape somewhere else.
He emphasized many times that she had to come right away. Dalia only got permission after convincing him for a long time.
Maybe because he really didn’t want to be with Leonard, but Hikan hesitated for a long time and eventually left.
It was a little disappointing, but this is for the best.
Dalia went out to the balcony by herself. She could have talked to the ladies she met at the tea party, but then Adrisha would come in the middle and she didn’t want to let her meet them.
It was a day when the night wind was strong.
Dalia went to the balcony, held the railing with her fists and pressed her head carefully so that her tied hair wouldn’t fall out in the wind, and looked at the garden below.
Rustle.
‘Huh?’
Then, Dalia heard a strange sound from the tree above her head.
Dalia looked up at the unexpected sound.
At that moment, the wind blew strongly.
Dalia grabbed her head thinking that her hair shouldn’t be ruined.
However, the bracelet that had been hanging on her wrist fell under the railing.
Dalia was surprised and tiptoed to look below.
‘That’s…..my brother chose it for me.’
It was a rare bracelet that he liked.
Fortunately, the ballroom was on the second floor, so it wasn’t far below.
It fell into the grass right under her feet and it was in the topmost view. However, it was so expensive that she was worried that someone would take it away in the middle.
‘……I’ll be late for the appointment with Adrisha if I go down now.’
Thinking about it, Dalia looked at the tree that made the sound again.
‘Is it a squirrel?’
However she saw a young man squatting on a branch. It turned out to be much more than a squirrel. No, it was a human being.
He was a boy of Dalia’s age, or a little older than her. Under the black sky of the night, blond hair swaying in the wind with calm red eyes.
It was a boy that Dalia had seen before.
She admired the appearance, even though she knew what those red eyes meant.
‘I heard you ran away again, but this time you were closeby.’
It was Cedric Vercelona Michelio, the Second Prince.
She couldn’t see anything when she looked up a moment ago. It seemed that he was hiding with magic before, but this time he deliberately revealed himself.
He smiled calmly and looked down at Dalia with his chin’s up.
“Did it fall because of me?”
Dalia nodded as she watched his appearance blankly.
“Since it’s my fault, I’ll pick it up. Don’t tell them I’m here either.”
With those words, Cedric pointed to the bracelet caught in the bush. Then, the bracelet floated in the air and flew right in front of Dalia.
“Th, thank you!”
Dalia looked at the bracelet and Cedric alternately in surprise.
‘Is he a mage?’
She remembered faintly from the original that Cedric is also a transcendent, and his characteristic was multiple attribute magic.
He ran away from the palace, but why is he back here? She wanted to ask, but the two were not close enough to even talk about it.
“Oh, you’re not going inside?”
“Oh, yeah. There’s too many people so it’s quite nauseating.”
He smiled and said that, but there was nothing more to say. A manner that looks kind on the outside but an attitude that builds a clear wall.
Dalia awkwardly avoided his gaze.
He’s a difficult person.
She opened her mouth while worrying. It was disrespectful, but she thought as a Pesteros, she could say this much.
“Many people are looking for you. It’s your birthday soon, so isn’t it a pity that the birthday ball won’t be held?”
Cedric smiled nonchalantly, tilting his head.
“No. Because nobody wants to celebrate my birthday anyway.”
It was a cynical answer that didn’t go with his smile.
Dalia opened her eyes wide. Cedric was a member of the royal family and loved by the Emperor and Empress.
The nobles also wanted to get along with him. Cedric shrugged as if he had read Dalia’s thoughts.
“My personality is a bit terrible.”
“……”
“Everyone is pretending in front of me, but it’s obvious what they’re thinking of.”
At the end of his sentence, Cedric turned around to the ballroom with the expression of no interest. Dalia also looked over casually.
‘Should I just go in?’
As Dalia was contemplating, she heard someone trying to enter the balcony area.
As she got closer, she could hear a conversation, and there was a voice that Dalia was familiar with.
“To Sir Leonard……”
‘It’s Adrisha!’
Did she come looking for Dalia? Or something else to talk about? Anyway, she was going to say hello and move away from the balcony, but there was another voice.
It was the voice of an unfamiliar boy.
‘Who is it?’
Dalia was about to open the door in worry, but suddenly Cedric called Dalia.
“Dalia, you’re Dalia right?”
Dalia looked back in surprise and nodded.
“You stay with me for a moment. Don’t go out now. “
It was a friendly way of speaking, but somehow there was a pressure that made it hard for her to refuse.
Dalia opened her eyes wide and nodded again this time. Then Cedric smiled helplessly. At the same time, Dalia’s body was floating.
‘Gasp!’
Dalia closed her mouth tightly with her hands, thinking that she should not be caught by others.
Cedric sat Dalia next to the branch where he sat. After that, she felt like there was an invisible wall in front of her.
Cedric said kindly.
“You can talk now. Don’t be too loud.”
“Ah, ah, yes. But why am I……?”
“Because it seems that they’re talking about something serious.”
Dalia leaned over and looked down at the balcony. And she looked again after rubbing her eyes.
Brown hair, green eyes, handsome and give off a cute vibe. It was Aceras.
‘……Why both of them?’
Upon closer inspection, Adrisha was questioning Aceras with a terrifying look.
Dalia inadvertently leaned forward a little. Then Cedric reached out to block her and said warmly.
“If something goes wrong, you’ll fall.”
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