The kiss on the back of his hand stung the wound, leaving a tingling sensation. At the same time, Rosentine's sensitive skin vividly felt Shartus's lips.
Her face definitely turned red. Fortunately, the darkness around her only obscured that fact.
She thought that the Duke's daughter would blush at a mere kiss from a dance request, something that even a rookie who had just finished her debutante would not do.
Finally, Rosentine sighed and snapped back sharply.
"I don't know how to dance. Get ready to have a lot of feet trampled."
“I will endure it.”
Shartus smiled with satisfaction. No matter how much she tramples on the undefeated knight, he won't be hurt.
Rosentine, as Roan, placed a hand on Shartus's shoulder as he led.
The slow dance music ended, and upbeat music began to play. It was music that suited her perfectly.
Rosentine recalled the countless balls she had attended, with young ladies making their debuts in society.
A ball attended by ladies who were guardians, knights, and nobles.
She smiled. She'd danced a few times out of courtesy, but mostly with Heimt.
It's not that there weren't any hands reaching out to Rosentine. But she wanted to hide herself. No matter what happened, she wanted to be noticed, and her beloved Corte was shivering in the fire.
Rosentine's heart pounded restlessly as she thought of Corte. She knew the reason why she was willing to risk her life to secure a promise.
Why did she volunteer for such a dangerous task? The reason was that Corte would constantly be put in danger again. To protect what was precious to her.
Shartus put his hand around Rosentine's waist. When Rosentine flinched, he gently stroked her back as if to reassure her.
Since a wandering sorcerer couldn't possibly know the dances of a ball, she just listened to the music and stared blankly at Shartus.
Shartus led and supported her.
"Just follow my steps. Don't be nervous, just enjoy the music. I'll be there to support you."
The voice calling nearby was sweet and magical. Rosentine placed both hands on his shoulders and met Shartus's gaze.
There were no cherries here, no hostess bar to turn a blind eye to.
The heat of his blue eyes seemed to slowly engulf her. Suffocating, she kept thinking of Corte's face, trying not to give in to this situation. Until Corte's face overlapped Shartus's.
Surprisingly, the effect wasn't perfect. Shartus's perfect face moved in the moonlight like a demonic statue.
"I don't know what kind of change of heart you have."
Finally, Rosentine whispered under her breath, gazing intently into his eyes, unwilling to give in.
Shartus wasn't the kind of person who would give his heart easily, like a Princess who'd been kissed after being told her life had been saved. Neither he in politics nor the Shartus Rosentine had seen over the years had been like that.
Shartus was a man who kept himself aloof from others. So, it was fine if no one knew what was on his mind.
Standing at the center of rumors, spreading countless myths, he acts as if he were a person in a story.
No one knows the truth inside.
Not enjoying the secret, but as if it were a secret itself.
A cold person whom no one would like. But seeing him with Lucen and Hostang slowly made me feel out of place.
It was the same for her. After going through a few tests, he left everything to her to the point of being ridiculous, and made her win the results on her own.
He who is by his side will never be at peace.
Monarch. Rosentine looked at Chartus and thought of the eye of the storm.
She was slowly getting to know Shartus now. Not as a target, but as a person.
Rosentine was anxious about it. As if she had a premonition of something.
"It's just a dance."
"I know you're a person who enjoys women instead of dancing."
Rosentine said confidently. Shartus let out a small laugh. Even her bone-deep words were just a pleasant reaction.
Shartus pulled Rosentine a little closer and hugged her. Rosentine took a small breath as her body was gently pressed against him. His tight arm trapped Rosentine.
"That's right."
Even though he adheres to a cold attitude, he never stops having a woman by his side. It was a rumor that seemed natural to him.
Rosentine also knew this because she had witnessed the young lady next to Shartus change about four times.
Shartus said no more.
His arms, which led her to the music and led her powerfully, dragged Rosentine's clumsy steps. In fact, Rosentine hardly danced.
If she moves well, he can get suspicious, so it's better to just do nothing and just do what he does.
Shartus's face was dizzy as he smiled happily. To be honest, it was a perfect dance. To the point where she forgot about her situation and inadvertently adjusted her steps.
Rather than barely coming to her senses and dancing, she walks and follows him.
The music was beautiful, and even though she enjoyed it, Rosentine reminded herself several times that she had to come to her senses.
She stomped her feet after Shartus and spun to the left. When he took her hand and raised it above her head. It was a sign to make a turn. He was moving in detail as if he were really teaching. She could feel the feeling of caring for her.
As Shartus said, it was a ball worth enjoying with this kind of dance. She was faithfully keeping what he said. With a face of joy herself.
His attitude was so suspicious that Rosentine wondered if this was the attitude he had been seducing young ladies with so much.
The corners of Shartus's mouth were dyed with the wind from the garden. It was a strangely free look. With such a face, she couldn't have imagined that he would reach out to the wandering shaman.
The eyes of Shartus and Rosentine met closely.
The climax of the dance song was approaching. After giving her a glance, Shartus hugged her waist and lifted her high.
"Wow!"
The spinning scenery made Rosentine forget what she was thinking about and burst into laughter.
Shartus lifted her with great force and spun her around, marking the end of the dance.
When he dropped Rosentine off, it was after she had enjoyed the wind to her heart's content.
The music was moving on to the next. Rosentine stumbled in dizziness and leaned on Shartus. It was the same posture as when dancing.
She took a breath. There was a problem that she had to ask about when she took the opportunity earlier.
"Are you seducing me?"
Rosentine didn't think that Shartus would act this way just because he was about to die. Her own value could not be so high for him.
Even if they are vassals, she is simply hired by contract. She was not worthy of being loyal to him and gaining his trust.
Rosentine was willing to use whatever she had if necessary, but if Shartus treated her with an impure heart, she would definitely be hurt.
Shartus smiled bitterly. It was a laugh that made her tingle somewhere. A short but sincere voice rang out.
"... I will not do anything disrespectful to your resolution."
He said that he would not treat it as a one-night object.
The granddaughter of a wandering fortune teller, a woman of this status wouldn't even consider the effort of seducing a noble. She could simply be coerced through his status and force.
To Roan's chagrin, that was the reality here. This was what she suspected. He did things that didn't need to be done, as if he had feelings for her.
Therefore, Rosentine could not see what Shartus was seeing in her.
But only one thing, Shartus respected all the abilities she showed and the efforts she made for him.
"Do you know?"
Letting Rosentine go from his arms, Shartus said. The hand that lowered the hem of the raised hem was meticulous.
It wasn't a lie that he said he wanted to see Rosentine dance. He was curious about other faces besides struggling to live. Even the expression to be made under the moonlight.
"No one has jumped in to save my life. Including myself."
Why do you risk your life to save my life?
Shartus remembered Roan, who had said she would step forward with a dagger in her hand.
A face that says there is no other way and does not back down. Burning eyes.
He had never seen anything so intense.
"It was an impressive performance. I'm looking forward to the rest."
It was a declaration that one mission had been successfully completed.
***
"...I thought I didn't have to worry since Your Highness was gone."
"Lucen!"
"Were you playing while I was working hard?"
"I came here to save a life, and now you're complaining?"
At the entrance of the garden, Lucen stood with a stern expression.
Seeing the fainting spy on the Prince's shoulder and the exhausted Roan, Lucen hurried over. When he arrived at the garden and saw the two dancing, he took a moment to bite himself.
It was an act for the lord, but the way he seduced a woman at a moment like this was truly appalling. From before, really.
He was a lord who could not predict even an inch ahead.
Shartus smiled relaxedly.
He threw a spy on the floor. A painful moan flowed from the man's mouth. The man showed no signs of waking up after hitting the nape of the neck so hard.
"Beware of the decline, Roan, for there are more than a few young ladies who are suffering because of the decline."
"Please refrain from talking nonsense."
Rosentine only shrugged her shoulders, thinking of Shartus a moment ago. The luck of life he was talking about seemed to refer to a distant place. Just like the face she saw when she thought of the Crown Prince in the study.
Shartus is liking, or at least interested, in her. This could be seen in the fact that Shartus gave Rosentine a chance to carry out what she had said.
Even if the price is his own life.
Come to think of it. Shartus did not show disgust for her identity as a shaman from the beginning.
That was strange. Even though Hostang was the only one who tried to hit her in the neck right away, Lucen's attitude was no different from Shartus's.
"I will lock up the spy. We will have a meeting after the banquet."
He said that he could not be away from the banquet for a long time.
Currently, all that was known about this commotion was the four of them who were close associates of Shartus, Count Almert, and who was behind it.
Rosentine nodded and returned to her position as maid. As a maid herself, she could be of great help to him.
Rosentine, despite being tired, ignored Shartus's suggestion to rest. Being treated too favorably would make her suspicious.
Even today, she was able to change the poison because she was an ordinary maid.
"Be sure to heal the wound. Something other than spit."
Remembering what happened a while ago, Rosentine shook her head slightly. Thinking back, it's not good for heart health.
Shartus pointed to the back of Rosentine's hand.
Lucen shook his head as if he knew it.
"Please come in. I will come see you."
"I'll let you come. It's not good to see an adjutant coming."
After a brief remark, Rosentine turned around. One task was finished, but in fact, the task of solving the case had just begun.
Starting with the spy and ending with the poisoned wine. There were enough clues to start working.
Comments
Post a Comment